The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1909-05-20
being done and in this way got an idea

being done and in this way got an idea
in my mind as to the general plan.
l don't pretend to know much about
canals or about civil engineering or
things like that, but l am pleased that
am able to come away from the canal
satisfied that the plan of work is the
right one, that the canal will be
built on time, by January 1, 1915, unless
something wholly unforeseen develops,
that the right men are at the head of
the work and that the whole force is
we'll organized, doing the work as we'll
and as cheaply as any such big govern
ment work can be done. | came away
much more enthusiastic about the work
than | was when | went down there,
and much more satisfied about the
things in connection with it. believe
that if every citizen of the Eighth dis
trict would take this same trip and look
over the canal work, almost everyone
would have the same idea.
The canal is of the lock type. That
means part of the canal is higher than
the other part, the boats being raised
or lowered from one level to the other
by means of locks. In this case, these
locks are great big square basins, 10
feet wide, 1 600 feet long and deep
enough to allow boat drawing 30 feet
of water to go through. The principal
upon which it works is like this: Sup
posing a boat is at the upper level, it
goes into lock, the upper gates are
closed so that no water can come
through and the water is allowed to run
ont of the lock where the boat is into
the next lock until the water in them
are the same level. AS the water runs
out the boat sinks with it, as soon as
the water in the lower lock is the same
level as in the upper lock the gates be-
tween the Two are opened and the boat
then goes on into the second lock.
guess maybe this will give you a little
idea of what mean when l talk about
the lock canal and you can see how the
boats are lowered. They are raised in
exactly the opposite way.
This canal has three of these locks
on each side, on the Atlantic and on the
Pacific side. Inasmuch as the higher
part of the canal is IS feet above the
sea level, you see that each of these
feet. From the Atlantic side the canal
A regular channel is made in the ocean
lOC dUOuU 1Out duu udll1 w Ul0
shore line, then the canal is on sea
level for about three miles, to the three
! locks which takes it at once to the IS
foot level; it keeps this level for nearly
- miles when it drops down to the SIS
foot level for nearly two miles, when
| by means of two more locks it goes
again to the sea level for about four
miles to the shore line, and then about
four miles of channel in the Pacific
ocean. So you see the greater part of
the canal, in fact nearly three-fourths
of it just counting to the shore line,
is IS feet above the sea. This was new
revelation to me because had not had
such conception of the canal until
after had seen it. | wonder if most of
the other folks who read this letter
know that the most of the famous Pan
anna canal was up in the air that way
1t has been up in the air other ways
most every body knows.
This IS foot level is maintained by
means of big artificial lake which is
made by dam at Gatum. This dam is
lis feet high. There are number OF
rivers which flow into this artificial
lake thus made, some twenty-five OF
more of them reckon. This lake will
be It's miles square and is feed by these
rivers. Will tell more about this lake
some other time, for this letter is toe
long now. w. D. JAMESON.