Evening journal., 1907-06-04

Editor The Evening Journal
TO understand rightly the stupen-
dous engineering task of connecting
the waters of the Atlantic and Paci-
nc oceans by means of a canal across
the Isthmus Of Darien it becomes nee
essary To know first of all the geo.
| graphical or compass bearings Of the
isthmus. So acute Is the coast line
trend on either ocean from northeast
to southwest, that the city Of Panama
on the Pacific side is by longitude
really east of Colon on the Atlantic,
| while the .ne OF the canal is from
southeast TO northwest in as nearly a
sharp angle.
Erroneous Impressions are apt to be
created by the usual practice of study
ing geography with the aid of the or
dinary fiat maps which have the effect
Of exaggerating the size of countries
In high lautudes and diminishing the
equatorial areas. 1t is a revelation 10
many well informed person to know
that south America is nearly as large
as North America.
For the study OF the Panama Canal
In its relations to the rest OF the world
the use of a globe. or a map on tho
/ IEiOlIlIlNuUGu
| Another point worth noticing in this
connection is that the most pro-
nounced diversion from the general
north and south trend of the Amer
Teas is found in the Isthmus of Darien
| which takes lateral direction east and
west and throws the southern conti-
nent so to speak out Of plumb so that
a line dropped due south from New
York would pass through the Pacific
Ocean Off the coast of Chile
Ever since Nasco Nunez De Balboa
in the early morning OF the 25th o.
September, 1913, with small party
of men forced a laborious way up tbs
densey covered face Of a steep ridge
and discovered the Pacific ocean, ca
nails and projects for an interoceani,
waterway between the oceans hav,
been started again and again through
the drift Of centuries.
Columbus with the vaauest ideas o.
the extent of the globe. and with none
but the most faulty charts for guide
thought 10 hnd CipansO when he rar
across Cuba and died without know
ing that he had discovered a CONT
nent. First in the West Indies and
later on in the main land Of America
he hoped to reach the capital OF the
Grand Khan 90 whom he bore letter.
from Ferdinand Of Spain.
When. upon his last disastrous voy-
age Columbus beat down the coast o.
Honduras TO Darlen seeking a strait
through the massive barrier that stay.
ed his farther progress TO the west
he little dreamed that az a point whicf
he passed in his disheartening search
a waterway would one day separate
two great continents and unite tive
vast oceans
The configuration of the canal fol-
lows nearly the same lines under the
! American occupancy as adopted by
the French company under De Lesseps
The harbor entrance win be locates
| of the northwestern point of the Island
! Of Mantzanillo. but Il IS at the mouth
of the river Mindi four and one-hal
miles beyond that the land canal be-
| gins on the Atlantic side Here the
| surface OF the ground is slightly above
the ocean level Three miles further
on it attains height Of IS feet in the
! vicinity OF Gatun.
1t then dips abruptly and from Gatun
| TO Obispo a distance Of 23 miles lies
at general elevation Of 40 feet above
| the mean level Of the Atlantic on
| reaching the divide Obispo may be
called the northern entrance and Pedro
! Miguel it's southern exit The Culebra
| Cut is at present at an elevation OF
! 113, the original crest being 1888 feet
above the mean level of the Pacific
| From Pedro Miguel to Sosa Hill or
the shore OF Panama Bay is a stretch
Of six miles throughout which the land
hardly anywhere exceeds an elevation
Of more than 10 feet above the mean
level Of the Pacific Ocean.
Then TO summarize The Atlantic
ocean level length 715 miles The
Summit level length, 3i.64 miles. The
Pedro Miguel-Sosa level. length. 5.47
miles. The Pacific ocean level length,
42S. giving a sum Of 1919 miles. 10
which. however. must be added the
total measurement Of locks making the
axis of the canal the exact length of
1872 miles or straight as the crow
flies Of S6 miles. The project OF an
S5-foot lock level waterway consists in
damming the Chagres river on one
side OF tire divide and the Rio Grande
on the other. and so forming two arti-
ficial lakes. and this work in connec-
tion with the cut through the Culebra
pass win at an times he the main feat
ures Of the work.
In order to secure a depth of As feet
throughout the canal the Culebra cut
must be reduced 1SS feet TAis for a
lock canal would bring il 40 feet above
sea level, but for waterway at sea
level it would require 40 feet below
normal ocean tide Then il appears
that the cut through the Culebra pass
and the damming of the Chages river
at GatSn does now and have all along
been the chief engineering difficulties
In the solution of the Panama Canal
problems, but It is not so. not so at
least, In the opinion of the United
states Isthmian Canal Commission.
The main difficulty in the previous at-
tempts TO cut a pathway for the
waters lies altogether In the province
OF sanitation. Before yielding TO the
popular c,amor Of letting the dirt fy'
akin 10 the cry OF ION TO Richmond"
during the civil war, the United
states Commission took in hand the
appalling death rate under French
management in comparison with other