The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1906-05-25

and the more economical In operation
and maintenance.
The estimates OF the minority and
the majority OF the board OF consult.
ing engineers on the time that would
be required to cxcavate the different
types OF canal are reviewed, and the
majority report concludes that the
sea.level canal would not require more
than two or three years more than
the lock type.
Risks encountered in the opera
tIon of the sea-level canal are made
light Of by tho report, which says the
Gamboa dam would be ready to con-
troll the Chagres floods before the
Culebra excavation is half finished,
and the balance of the excavation In
the prism and below sea level could
20 on without interruption. When the
Chagres is subsidized and controlled
and the sea-level canal made, its use
Will be attended with no more risk
than equal sailing distance In the
oceans
LOCKE ana
A chapter OF the report is devoted
to the locks and dams proposed by
the minority report OF the consulting
engineers. and these are asserted to
be an element OF danger The varl.
Gus accidents to which such mechanism
might be subject are recounted, and
the report asserts that these hazards
can be avoided by the small sacrifice
OF time necessary to the construction
of the sea.level canal
The claim Is made by the report
that ships of all classes could be
passed through the sea-level canal in
eight hours, and that half that time
would be consumed in passing ships
through locks alone. The cost Of an.
nual maintenance is estimated at ST..
$4,000 for the sea level and $780,.
900 for the lock type.
Discussing the advantage OF the sea-
level canal to the country controlling
1t In time of war, the report says:
III free from all obstacles to quick
transit 100 wnrships OF average size, NOV
| ing In one direction, route clear could be
PASSED from ocean to ocean in less than
| IAN naval commanders and commercial
| masters OF the great national and pri-
vate vessels of the world are almost to
9 man opposed unalterably to the intro
/ ductlor OF any lock to lit vessels over
the low summit that nature has left for
us TO remove"
The majority urges that an enemy
could destroy lock canal much
easier than n sea.ievel cana. with ex-
plosiyes
The ultimate final cost OF the sea
leycl canal, as estimated by the ma.
jorlty. is s250,0000U5, while the cost
OF the lock canal Is regarded as un.
certain. The minority OF the board
OF consulting engineers estimated tho
cost at s139,7O5.20O. and to this the
majority says should be added the in.
terest on the extra cost OF malnten-
ance, the expenses of clearing the
titles to the $4,000 acres of land that
would be submerged by the central
lake proposed by the lock plan, which,
1t Is estimated, would make the total
cost at least s190,000,000. The cost Of
transferring the lock plan into a sea.
level canal, after the former is COM
pleted. Is estimated at $500, 100000.
In conclusion, tho majority says:
Your committee feels entirely conn.
dent that the board of consulting engl.
neers. selected to study this problem,
has submitted plan that responds
In every respect to the conditions stat.
cd above, and that the sea.level canal
can be realized in ten or eleven years,
at cost not to exceed $50, 900 900
above that required by the construc.
tion OF the multi'lock canal proposed
by the minority"