The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1909-04-09

ma, as against less than two feet at
engineering difficulty in the construc
ton of sea level canal.
seen. or otherwise become familiar
with the nature of locks, and their
working, but have found well-in
formed persons who were not clear on
this subject. | know that the great
majority of you who are familiar with
the matter, will pardon the use of a
few minutes to explain the same to
any who may not understand them.
In the case of the Panama canal,
there are three locks on either side,
raising the vessels total of eighty
five feet from sea level to the level
of the future Gatun lake. Vessels en-
tering from the sea 90 into the first
look, after which gates are closed be-
hind them, approximately fifty feet
higher than the water level. A basin
i. thus created into which water is
allowed to run from above until the
level in the basin is raised approx
mately thirty feet to that of the
next lock. The gates of the next lock
are then opened and the vessel proceeds
within, when the gates are again
closed behind it, and the same process
repeated until the vessel finally rises
the necessary distance and sails into
the lake. In leaving the canal at the
other end the same process is followed,
except that after closing the gates of
a lock the water is allowed to run out
of it until the level of the next lower
lock is reached, and SO Oh until the
vessel can sail out of the canal. 1t
is expected that about twelve hours
will be consumed in passing through
the locks and the canal.
The narrowest part of the canal is
through four and onehalf miles of
the Culebra cut, wher the width OF
the bottom will be 800 feet. This was
first planned for width of 200 feet,
but a few strokes of President Roose-
velts pen was all t'Iat the engineers
required to proceed with excavation
upon basis of their recommended in
crease of width, at an added cost of
about fifteen millions of dollars. Ex-
cepting for this distance through the
Culebra cut, the narrowest part of
the canal will be 500 feet wide and
will range from that to 1000 feet in
parts of the lake. The locks will be
500 feet wide by 1000 feet long, c; pa
BILE of receiving larger ships than any
yet built
I The distance from New York to
San Francisco via the Straits of Ma
gellan is IA little over $4,000 Di,las; via
the Panama canal it will be less than
$500 miles, and the construction of
the canal, aside from its immense I'M
portance from q political and n'Teina
tonal standpoint, should grea-iy slim
ulate trade between the east coast of
North America and the west coasts of
North and South America 1t will also
be as good, or better rout for British
ships to points on the Pacific ocean as
far west as the Philippine Islands.
One feature of information came
home to me more forcibly during this
trip than it ever had before, and that
is, the decadence of American interna-
tional shipping interests. The United
Fruit company, for instance, operating
about forty ships, and employing Il
capital of twenty-five millions, is own
cd almost entirely i'll Boston and New
York, and yet sails under the British
flag. Only about ten per cent of the
tonnage between American and foreign
ports is carried in American bottoms,
whereas before the Civil war the pro-
portion was exactly the reverse. No
vessel in international trade can fly
the American flag, except it is built
in America, whereas cost of ship con-
struction abroad is very mucn less
than here Severe conditions are i'm
posed upon masters flying the Ameri
can flag as to wages and treatment of
crews, SO that competition with ships
sailing under foreign flags is almost
impossible. Foreign countries permit
contracts with members of ships crews
for period of years, with retention
of part of their pay to secure continu-
ance of service, while American crews
must be paid off, with liberty of leav-
ing the service OH every return to the
home port. In addition to all these
handicaps i'll cost of construction anl
operation ships flying foreign flags are
ha ndsomply Subsidized for mail service
in contrast with treatment of American
shipping. In the recent circuit of The
globe by our navy, our ships were
obliged to depend upon foreign vessels
for coal, and these, of course, would
have quickly deserted us if any trou-
bic mad arisen 1t is much to be hoped
that in the near future these conditions
will be 50 changed that our country
may take a position ON the seas to
which it is entitled by its volume of
commerce.
In the early work of our government
in canal construction, great difficulty
was experienced in getting labor, but
with the improvement of sanitary and
living conditions, and corresponding fine
record as to sickness and mortality,
this condition mas changed until now
there is. if anything, a surfeit of la
Dor available. A large part of the
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