The log cabin Democrat., 1909-07-15
GREATEST ENGINEERING WORK
Panama Canal Described by
 Mason E. Mitchell.
Former Conway Boy Writes Interestingly of Five Years Observation of
 Uncle Sam's Big Job.

especially for The Log Cabin Dem ocrat by Mason E. Mitchell, form erly of Conway who has spent five years in Panama:
 For many years the commercial interests of the world have desired a shorter route for ships from Europe to the west coast of South America and from New York to San Francisco. Many surveys have been made not only by our govern ment. but also by European nations. In 1878 the French un der that great engineer, Ferdinand be Lesseps. who had built the Suez canal, began operations in Panama. American capital had in 1854 built railroad from Aspin- wall to Panama, a distance of AS miles, to carry the hundreds of peo- pie at that time rushing to Cali fornia. This railroad followed the valley of the Chagres river and it was soon found that this route was the most desirable for canal.
 In 1880 real operations began and until 1904 the French worked on these plans, but after the third failure of the company and the expenditure of many millions of dollars, the franchise, lands, tools, machines, in fact every thing, were sold in March, 1904, to the Uuited States government for $40, COG, o,ooo. which has since proved to be great bargain. The possession of the property was given on May 4, 1904, and since that time work has been carried on under the super vision of the United States govern ment.
 The first two years were occupied in building houses, railroads, ma chine shops, perfecting an organi- zation of the working forces and cleaning up the zone, so as to make it possible to carry on the work.
 The Canal Zone, as it is called, is a strip of territory TO miles wide Give on either side of the axis of the canal) and about so miles long, situated almost in the center of the Republic of Panama and extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans. This strip of territory has population of more than 100000 people, gathered from all parts of the earth, representing about 50 nationalities, over whom former Senator Jo c. s. Blackburn of Kentucky rules as governor. The laws are made by the canal com mission and approved by the sec retary of war A model govern ment has been established. with its free schools, courts, police and fire departments, which is regarded as criterion by some of the near by republics, which have sent rep resentatives here to study the system.
 The canal itself has been a sub ject much discussed by the whole country and much time has been consumed in congress and the va rious committees which have charge of canal matters Finally, last year, the plans now being followed were approved. This is called the high-level cars' plan or the s5-foot plan. This Jan is as follows: A dam will be built across the Chagres river at Gatun, which will be 5000 feet long, ,6oo feet wide at it's base and I2o feet high. This dam will form lake about 25o square miles in area. In the center of this dam will be series of double locks in three lifts, each one 2813 feet high. The lake will extend to the noun tain at Bos Obispo, where chan mel 300 feet wide and nine miles long is being cut and is now about two-thirds completed. This chan nel extends from Bos Obispo to Pedro Miguel, where another dam is being built, and system of double locks in two flights will be built here to let the ships down in to a small lake mile wide. These locks are of the same height each as those at Gatun. The lake ex- tends from Pedro Miguel to Mira flores, where another double lock is buing built, which lets the ships down to sea level where they will steam eight miles on to the Pacific ocean.
 The canal follows the valley of the Chagres river and crosses the river bed some 20 times. This river is torrential stream and has been known to rise 22 feet in 10 hours,