The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-02-18

culsbra cut they estisnate viii in- crease the cost of the work by about glS.0o0.ooo but they say 1t viii not delay the cumpletion of the canal, that # will permit ships to pass one an- other in this portion of the canal and will otherwise facilitate navigation.
 If slides occur after the completion nal is not as likely to be biooksd as a narrower one.' They approve the change in the proposed location of the breakwater at the Atlantic end of the canal.
 Their estimate of the complete cost of the canal is ssso.oo0.0oo. They say it is incorrect to state that the orig inal estimate of cost was tl40.0e0.ooo as this did not include "santtation and zone government" They estimate the expense of sanitation and some gov- ernment at S27,oo0.0oe while payments to the republic of Panama and to the New Panama Canal Co.,. amount to eb0.- 100000 which would make the differ ence between the present estimate and the previous estimate with cost of san itation and zone government and pay ments added. only ei4a,000, 900.
 "Of this amount" they say, nearly e-half can be accounted for by the change in the canal and appurtenant works already referred to and the re- mainder is to be attributed mainly to the higher unit cost of the different items of the work"
 Commentator Is expressed at the present condition of the work and the engineers voice the belief that 'tn no other great construction work has so much been done for employees in the way of furnishing necessitiee, comforts and luxuries of life at the cost of the work as has been done in this work. This Is one reason for the high cost of the canal"
 In their opinion "the work is we'll organized and Is being conducted en- ergetically and we'll"
 They commend the medical and san itary department flor its success in ex- ing malaria"
 Date For Completion.
 We see no reason" they add. "why the canal should not be completed as estimated by the~ chief engineer. by January 1, 1915; in fact, 1t seems that a somewhat earlier completion Is probable if all goes we'll"
 Considering the cost and time of construction of a sea level canal as compared with the lock type they hold that most of the factors which have operated to increase the cost of the lock canal would operate with similar effect to increase the cost of the sea level canal, and at the present time there are additional factors of even greater importance to be considered as affecting the time of completion and cost of sea level canal" One of these they find in the Gamboa dam, if work on which were to be started as soon as possible, they declare 'it could not be completed until after the time rec Quired for the completion of the lock canal"
 Further than this, they say that "a change in the type would result fin abandoning work which represents large expenditure"
 They claim that by the change the River Chagres and the rivers on the isthmus tributary thereto 'instead of being allies would be enemies of the canal and floods in them would great ly interfere with the work"
 Replying to the criticism that "the canal region is liable to earthquake shocks and that Q sea level canal would be less subject to injury by earth quakes than a lock canal" they assert that dams and locks are structures of great stability and little subject to damage by earthquake shocks." but that even if they could regard earth quakes as a source of serious damage to any type of canal on the isthmus' their effect upon the dams, locks and regulating works proposed for the sea level canal would be much the same as upon similar structures of the lock canal"
 As to the question of water. supply, they say @ityis 90 much greater than any need that can be reasonably an- ticipnted that the best method ef se- curing moro water when the time or need arrives does not require to ba considered now."
 They report that they can find no reason to apprehend important loss of water by seepage through the ridges Gatun dam while in our judgment they add ''the bed of the lake will be practically impervious te water"
 The engineers who composed the board are Frederick 2. Stearns. James D. Schuyler, Arthur P. Davis. Isham Henry D. Allen. John R. Freeman and Alien Hagen.