The Greeley tribune., 1907-05-09
ON PANAMA
DENVER MAN RETURNS AND
GIVES LECTURE
Alfred Patek Furnishes Fund Of
Valuable Information About
Work On the Great
Canal ii

Alfred Patek, a Denver newspaper
man who has recently returned from
the Isthmus of Panama, gave an H.
lustrated lecture on what he saw on
the great canal now being dug by
Uncle Sam.
Mr.. Patek brought back a wealth
of information about the work and
the good sized audience that heard
him secured the worth of Its money
in good. solid knowledge of the STU
pendous task.
They are actually throwing dirt
from the canal and from now on the
showing each month will be much
better than ever before. Most Of
the time and money spent thus far
has been for preliminary work; but
things are now in condition for ac-
tual construction work, which Is also
being pushed as rapidly as machinery
can be landed on the isthmus.
Culebra cut is being attacked by
fifty three giant steam shovels, each
capable of doing the work of 1000
men. More of these machines are
being added until 100 of them will
within year be at work in the big
cut. The cutting of the canal
through this row OF hills is really the
largest part of the work but the con-
struction of dams and locks to con-
troll the waters of the Chagres and
Rio Grande rivers will be the great
! lest Nasks Of thsir kind ever under
q tSksn. A good part OF the cansl
will be constructed by making deep
water way out of the two rivers
mentioned by the use of dams.
A vessel entering the canal will
have to literally climb a stairway
eighty five feet high to cross the
isthmus. Starting from the Pacific
coast the vessel would for a few
miles travel up the Rio Grande and
then come to the first set Of locks
that would raise 1t to the fifty.five
feet level, then along the river again
a few miles where second set OF
locks would raise it to the eighty.
five feet level, when 1t would, be
plain sailing on a high inland lake
for about half the distance. This
lake, as stated, is formed by damming
the Chagres river and controlling the
water. The edge of the lake reached,
the vessel will go down the stairway
of locks on the Atlantic side, the
whole trip taking about six hours,
the distance being a little less than
fifty miles.
That will be the plan of the canal
when completed, aud Engineer Stew
ems, who has been in charge and who
organized the working force on the
isthmus, says the canal will be tn'
ished in the year 1918.
The reason that SO much preliml'
nary work was done was to make the
canal zone habitable for white men,
and for a distance of ten miles back
from either side of the canal the
Jungle has been cleared, cities are
being rebuilt, others paved and
cleaned up and pure water systems
constructed. The fever breeding
mosquitoes have been practically ex-
Terminated, and in fact everything
done that would help to make the
place as healthful as any part OF the
United States. This result. has
practically been accomplished and
yellow fever, which has heretofore
been the scourge Of the isthmus, Is
now almost unknown in the canal
zone.
The facts and figures given by Mr..
patek were backed up by pictures,
moving or stereopticon, most OF
them taken last March while he was
at the canal. There was no posing
for these pictures but they were
taken just as the work was seen In
progress. There was wealth OF
information in these picturse that
spoke better than any word picture
of the work possibly could.
Mrs. L. b. Kidder is still suffer