The sun., 1909-06-21


ing rock 10 not TO act under the delusion o.
q dream. They are officially reported b.
the chief engineers Of the two creates
canals on earth. they are officially reported
In the proceedings OF one Of the most i'm
portant Eotsntiho societies on earth. theJ
bear on large excavations OF several hun
dreda Of Thousands OF cubic yards.
To what rock can the Mindi rock be com
pared. to that Of Manchester or to that Of
6uezf
This is the only. point where shall venture
to advance my own appreciation, know
by personal inspection on the spot the ma
ture Of the three kinds Of rock do not
hesitate to declare that the Mind rock Il
softer than that OF Manchester. as much ID
the MANCHESTER rock 10 softer than the suez
rock on an average. Let us ooncede, how
ever. the parity Of softness With Mans chester.
and that the cost for shatterinx the Mind
rock will be i2X cents. admitting the In
sienihosnt reduction Of one-half cent to take
In account the extra cost due to the passage
Of ships. which 10 independent.
Now what does Mr.. Freeman call the
price estimated by Colonel GoethRls and
other experiepc cedL en- gineers for shatterlng
rock2 II Is easy to Andit. Colonel Goethala
uses in his estimates the standard price OF
80 for under water rock excavation. He
has published Ia the Canal Record. as we
have seen that the actual cost OF dredging
Is II cents. Therefore his estimate Of shat
tering rock under water Is $3.50. His estl-
mated price is therefore for the Mindi rock
more than nineteen times too great. 1t
would be about twelve times too great II we
admitted parity between the Mindi rock and
the Suez Canal rock.
1t IL established. think at loset. that In
regard to the Mindi rock ":ho dream OF the
one sponsor Of the Straits OF Panama
IL more than transf ormed into reality. 1t
Ia established that as regards the Mind
rock the price OF shattering rock Is not
only ten times but eighteen times smaller
than that estimated by Colonel Goethals
And other experienced engineers. II Mr..
Freeman admits after controlling them
that | am quoting true documents and
true figures he must also admit that the
Straits Of Panama are going to be q fact
provided demonstrate that what I say OF
the Mindi rock also applies to the Isthmian
rock in general.
There Is no rock however hard and COM
pact II may be. which resists the conclusion
system Of shsttering, This is proved by
the work At the Iron Gates on the Danube.
al Brest In France, and In other places. OF
course the cost Of shatterinR varies with
the hardness from two cents tcost In Japan
for very soft rock) to sixty cents for the
hardest variety. The question Of cost
therefore brings out the query: What Is
the hardness all round of the Isthmian
rock?
Mr.. Freeman will certainly offer no oh
lection II say that the great bulk OF the
lsthmian rock 10 In the central mass OF the
| isthmus. In the continental divide, In the
Culebra cut
Outside OF the Culebra cut the canal runs
In the valleys OF the Chagres and Of the
Rio Grande, where the loose material forms
the larger part Of the excavations and where
consequently dredging is supreme and unr
disputed master.
Who will tell authortatively the ch arac-
ter OF the rock OF the Culebra cut in general
averaged No better authorities will be found
than those OF the first Isthmian Canal Com
mission. of the former chief engineer Of the
Panama Canal. Mr.. Stevens, and Of the
International Consulting Board.
Here IL what the Isthmian Canal Com
mission says in the report of 1901
The summit cut Ia 7ei miles long from the
obispo gates 10 the Pedro Miguel lock. There
Is little very hard rock at the eastern end OF this
section. and the western two miles are In ordinary
materials. The remainder consiss Of . hard
lndurated clay With some softer material at the
top and some strata or dikes OF hard rock. In
hxlnG Inc price u mas pceu rotc0 &9 tOIt rOCk,
but Il must be given slopes equivalent 10 those
In earth probably nine. tenths OF the
material would naturally be cisssed as hard clay
Of stable character.
The Isthmian Canal Commission there
fore. making all compensations between the
rare hard rock u-1o) and the abundant
very soft rock. the hard clay te-iO). rates
the mass In general average as soft rock.
Mr. Stevens testified before the consult
Ing board In, 1905 a. follows: ID Il regard
the whole Culebrs cut as q soft rock prop
oetion."
Mr.. William Barclay Parsons having asked
Mr.. Stevens In the following terms: e.,
Taking the Culebra cut from obispo to
Paradise. averaging 1t all through. you would
call It soft rock proposition?"
M Stevens answered: What would call
hard trap is not large"
The consulting board went In 1908 further
than the Isthmian Canal Commission In
1901. They did not rate the Culebra cut all
through only as soft rock: they rated II as
something intermediary between earth and
soft rock
They showed this appreciation in the IA
ton Of the standard prices OF excavation
In the dry:
Cost Of excavation Of earth in the dry ...,.S 40
Cost Of excavation In the dry In the cuiehra
Cost Of excavation Of soft rock In the dry, 100
These three decisive testimonies establish
that the Isthmian rock. the representative e
mass Of which 10 the Culebra cut, Is not even
. soft rock: II Is something softer.
II We take the soft rock of the Mindt as
the general average type OF the lsthmian
rock we shall certainly be on the safe side.
II the power OF reasoning IL not entirely
departed from me, II seems to me that the
miracle which Mr.. Freeman thought to be
SO far distant is accomplished, that the
dream is . reality. that the Isthmian rock
can be shattered under water and dredRed
rapidly at l2H cents for shattering plus s
cents for dredging, say l7X cents a cubic
yard: that in other words the real price IL
not not only ten times but fourteen times
lower than the price estimate OF Colonel
Goethale and other experienced engineers. =
According to Mr.. Freeman the resiiza-
ton Of this dream was the only condition
which could keep the Straits Of Panama
waiting.
I hope, therefore. that Mr. Freeman will
from now on unite with me In believing thu at
this admirable and necessary form OF the
transoontinental waterway is also the most
feasible a. well a. the most desirable Of all
schemes. PHILIPPE BuSAU-VARILLA.
PARIS, May 81.
solvins the Mysteries sf the Deep.
TO rHs EpTroa or TIE SuK-,Sfr: Ny way OF
remembering starboard And port is to recall that
port Is . substitute for The older Term lsrboard.