The Dickinson press., 1909-05-01

cut IA opened. N;
Another slide occuared at Paraso
Culebra division, In @April followina
having area ZIG. 700 s64aare yards and
putting 10, 600 cubic Yards il motion.
Another slide Of so. 000Ia cubic yards at
New Culebfa. and still another near
Las Cascades Of 100. 600 cubic yards
were taken care Of.
At New Culebra station a sinking az
the ground surface west Of the west
slope OF the cut was noticed and 4
corresponding uplift Of the bottom Of the
cut took place. A similar action took
place at another location. In both in
stances the upward movement of tho
bottom was stopped BY removing weiRht
Of material on the upper levels. n
Thus an extra large amount Of emer
9ency work is entailed while the General
work proceeds for the fifty miles acrose
the lsthmus and at the same time
dredging 10 going on in Colon and
Panama harboss, with the work on
the breakwaters on the Atlantic and
Pacific sides also. with removal Of
material amounting up to millions Of
cubic yards.
It was originally intended to put the
two locks. now under construction at
Mirafiores four and one half miles in
land, at La Boca e the Bay of
Panama. Work. was commenced on the
dam at La Boca and trestles were built
from which to dump the matelia The
trestles failed after dumping began
and the material under the trestles
moved sideways carrying the weiehty
dump with il. This lateral movement
continued for two weeks after dumping
had stopped. The ground on either side
was forced up, forming mounds of mud
to the heieht of the level of the dump.
When the mounds and dumps balanced,
the weight of trains would then carry
the track and trestle down six to ten
feet. All this was caused by underlying
blue clay that would slip and slide
and would not remain stationary.
There is a strata of rock underlying this
blue CLAW. but military expediency re-
quiring that the locks be located further
inland where the hills afford ample
protection from bombardment. the ex-
pense of c%onquering the blue clay was
avoided and the locks moved to Mira
flores.
have quoted from Col. Goethal 8 report
of August Is, 1908, of which I borrowed
a copy from a good friend. This publ
cation Of 358 pages embracing various
maps and illustrations was limited to
one copy to each senator and congress
man. Paragraphs occur like this:
The old village of Gstun has been
torn down and moved to . new site on
afford additional fire protection to
gallon reserve storage reservoir is to be
0OnofnY0f0A an Anon Hnlv Tho NNok
Of water works. paving and sewerage in
Panama and Colon is to be reimbursed
to the United States through the cullec-
ton of water ratea The rate is thirty
cents per 1. 200 gallons at Panama with
five per cent off for cash. while at Colon
fifty cents per 1, 600 gallons with ten per
cent off for cash. :.
"N~inety-eight per cent of all quarters
constructed by the commission are con
nected with the sewerage, system"
THE total cost Of municipal improve
Ements in the canal zone has been for
waterw0rks, and sewers $2.358, $40 and
for roads, etc, ST, ia. 778."
.:3y executive order the: Chinese ex-
clusion law of the, government of
Panama was. extended to the canal
zone.
Total expenditures SO far for canal
purposes amount to, Sa44, ST, 9
The subject of q. veal level canal is an
attractive one: At best such q canal
would have a ~ foot lock at Miraflores
near the Pacific. to equalize the tides,
but as Goethals, says, if enc could dig
hills instead Of mountains the matter
would be simplified.
Eighty-iv feet deeper excavations
with widening slopes, and widening
slides would take. time and money in
abundance, involving q cost of $685.
600. 900 as against5$575 ,2a1, 900. A sea
level canal would leave the bed of
Chaeres river fifty feet shove the water
surface Of the. canal. This in itself
would involve a dam Of masonry 4, 500
feet long with sluice gates for discharg-
ing its waters into, the canal. Other
streams would be: damned O diverted
but not less than r. would flow directly
into the canal with no provision to
control the currents or check the deposits
of material carriea in during food
STAGES.
Those Of you who want to 60 to
heaven. sprout wingA> and sing with the
angels. 60 along. Those who want t.
join the croakers and knock at such an
enterprise as is being displayed II
Panama canal construction should sproul
horns and put On the devils tail. Fol
my part, I forgo; both Injuries and dream
of q time when I can take q vacation
and 90 DOWN on the zone and talk will
the canal employees and sit on thu
edge somewhere watch the construction
of the Gatun dam; watch the hurryini
mud trains and their dump cars ant
American locomotives 60 to and from
---s -...at -E%----A-$-N 1--&A-~-I.A-v