Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1907-12-12
CANAL READY IN 1874
lanes R. Mann'S Prediction Con-
Cerning lsthnian Waterway.
EMPLOYEES ARE VERY EAGER.
Everybody irnbued With Spirit of In
tense Energy, Says Illinois Repre-
sentative-Believes Cost Will Exceed
Estimate by $5o.ooo,000.

tense Energy, Says Illinois Repre-
sentative-8elieves Cost Will Exceed
Estimate by S5o,ooo,000.
The Panama canal wiz be finished
in the spring of 1914 after an expend-
iture of $J0,0o0.O00 more than the orig
inal estimates of the isthmian canal
ing engineers. according to Represent
ative James X. Mann of Illinois, who
recently returned from q trip to the
isthmus with a party of his colleagues,
says a Washington correspondent OF
the New York Tribune. He believes
that the foundations of the Gatun dam
are of rock and entirely satisfactory.
Mr.. Mann. who went TO the isthmus
at the request of the. president and
speaker in order to make a special
study of the Gatun dam feature. said:
Conditions in Panama are in most
excellent shape. Colonel Goethals has
proved himself master mind. The
organization is almost perfect. The
discipline is good. The enthusiasm OF
the employees is great. Every one
there seems imbued with the spirit OF
intense energy. Up TO the beginning OF
the present year the work there was
preparatory. but now the actual con
struction work Is going on.
"a comparison with the work of the
French company is instructive After
the French had been at work three
years, in October, 1885, they took out
of what we now know as the Culebra
cut 1000 cubic yards of dirt. In DC
tober, 1886, they took out 172,OOO Gu
bic yards. In October just passed we
took out $4,000 cubic yards. The
rainfall was about the same as III
1886. During the calendar year 1885
the French took out of the Culebra
cut 3,637000 cubic yards, while we re
moved during the year ended Oct. 81
last 100000 cubic yards.
THE main excavation made by the
French was not In the Culebra cut
but easy work near the Caribbean sea
Ours has been in the cut and mostly
rock excavation. Mr.. Randolph, one
of the board of consulting engineers
estimated the average capacity OF the
steam shovels at $500 yards a month
while in October last one of our shov
els took out 37,S57 cubic yards of rocl
and another 39,615 of rock and earth.
I'VE saw the work at the worst time
OF the year, and yet there was a con
slant movement of empty trains from
the dumps to the Shovels and of load
ed ones from the Shovels TO the dumps
/ The work has now progressed to sucl
an extent that even the lifting of tn,
/ track toward the embankment is done
/ by machinery and in short order. Dur
ing the last year we have removed
! about one-seventh of the material t.
[ be eXcavatcd from the great cut anC
/ o"r fun complement of machinery i,
not yet installed
II gave special study to the GatuI
dam locks and spillways and brough
home with me a large number of sam
/ pies of clay and rock which | gathered
/ by the side of these works. Major ST
{ bert, who is in charge of the GatuI
works under Colonel Goethals. is. lik,
Z y
| parently no move Is made withou
/ thorough knowledge of the conditions
/ From the borings which have beef
| made with diamond drills it Is certain
| that the foundation of the great lock.
/ is rock
/ There are numerous problems il
/ connection with the locks and dams
/ which are not vet worked out, bu
! the care with which the engineers IL
Z charge are proceeding leaves no doub
that when fully determined the plani
will be beyond proper criticism. Th,
I problems yet unsolved relate only Il
expense and not to ability to construc
safe dams and locks.
AT the rate of progress already es
tablished the Culebra cut can easil!
lie eXcavated within six years. 1t IL
/ probable that by the spring of 191
/ they can turn water into the new Ga
( tun lake. That VIII enable them t.
excavate a considerable section of tn,
canal by dredging. There is no rea
son to doubt. unless some improbable
| pestilence should seize the isthmus
/ that the canal will be finished an(
ready for test within seven years ant
probably even sooner.
THE original estimate for finishing
the canal was S145, 100000 but it viii
he necessary TO modify in many re
spects the suggested plans of the orig
inal commission and board in order Il
insure greater safety of construction
I This will add considerably TO the ex
pense. While we have expended enor
nous sums of money, and in some
cases extravagantly. upon sanitation
and buildings, and while we are pay
ing excessive salaries, yet the unit cos
of the work is probably a little less
| than the estimate of the board of con
| sulting engineers. 1t is probably safe
| to estimate the total cost at about
| 5000, 100000 in addition to the $4,000,
900 paid to the Panama republic anG
| the French Canal company. These es
| Inmates may be increased if it becomes
the policy further to widen and length
no