Arizona republican., 1907-10-20
THE CANAL
 OUTGROWN
A Recommendation for a
 Change of Plans
It Will Probably. Reopen Old Sea Level Question i'm Congress.

Washington. oct. 19.-The locks of the projected Panama canal must be made wider than they were originally planned. in the opinion of naval men on the Isthmian commission. Lieuten- ant and Civil Engineer H. H. Rosseau. who arrived at Washington today di- rect from the isthmus, bore a message from the commission itself. although that fact cannot be absolutely verified, owing to his departure from New York soon after his arrival here. He had time enough to lay his message before Secretary Metcalf, and catch the train for Gotham.
 Undoubtedly exigencies supplement- ed by the building of the giant Cunard- CT Lusitania was the basis for the pro- jected change of plans which involve an expenditure of many millions of dollars. and perhaps an extension of the time estimated for the completion of the canal.
 It is also probable that a mere sug- tion of such a considerable change as proposed by Lieutenant Rosseau would precipitate a general debate in con- sress and reopen the whole issue of the sea level vs. the lock canal. which was believed to have been favorably settled by Messrs. Roosevelt and Taft when the. gave the order for begin ming the work on the lock canal plan.
 The fact is that when congress was so warmly discussing the two projects two years ago the sea level canal ad- vocates made the point that this was the only plan that would have suffi- cient elasticity to meet the needs of the rapidly growing tonnage of marine construction. Their plan involved the use of but one lock, merely to offset the tidal difference between the eastern and western seas, a comparatively low and insignificant lock which could be easily widened when required. But they made strong point of the diffi- culty. expense and loss of time in the use of the canal that would follow an attempt to widen the complicated and massive locks required for a high level caEal.
 Possibly foreseeing the force of this argument the canal commission ap- parently feels it wise to make the locks wide enough in the beginning to ac- commodate the giant ships not only of the navy but of the merchant ma rine that are sure to be constructed in the near future.
 Up to this point substantially all the work has been done upon the canal prisms. into the great Culebra cut. on twenty odd miles of low lands and in the bottom of the hal'bors. Only the ground has been cleared and the holes dug for the great flights of the locks incident to the plan. so it is merely matter of widening the foundations that is involved in the last proposition
 Fortunately the canal prism itself. as projected. in the plans under exc cution will probably be wide enough at the narrowest point. but the locks themselves as originally planned by the last commission will be 2OOi fee: long and 100 feet wide at Gatun. It is d simple engineering task to increase the width and depth of the canal prism at any time. while the canal is in oper- ation. but the locks cannot be broad ened without seriously Interfering with the operation of the canal and at great expense owing to their duplicate char acter.
 Already the dimensions of these locks are being closely approximated by the navy and certain Atlantic liners will in the near future build great turbine ships which could never pass through the locks as heretofore planned. These facts have been laid before Secretary Metcalf and it will be for him to make some recommendation to the president in the matter.