The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-11-22

north pile was started a suction dredse removed deposits that had accumulated in the Chagres river over the 1200-foot length and also the same distance in the French
 canal. When this was done the north rock pile was started across the channels, and the water areas thus inclosed were pumped out, sheet piling up to sea level permitting the accomplishment of this.
 When the water level in the French canal had been reduced to-10, on Novem-
 Der 20 the memorable slip of a portion of l the south toe occurred at the intersection 1 of tho rock pile and the east bank of
 the French canal. The top of the pile was nearly at it's propor elevation; the
 rock settled and moved downstream. The
 depression In the crest was about 20 feet,
 the length affected being about POD feet: 1 a track on the north slope at about eeva- l ton 30 moved northward about 10 feet; l the track on the south side however at
 about the same elevation, was not dis ] turbed. The rock had been dumped from ] trestles and then from the embankment 1 itself; no preparations of any kind had
 been made of the bed of the channel that the embanlkment occupied. The east side of the channel had been French dump; and economy in time and money did not warrant methods for spreading the foun- dation to guard in advance against such
  canoe than those which had occurred on the railroad embankment in the vicinity of Gatun. However, 1t caused, accord ing to the press in the United States. such a feeling of uneasiness concerning the safety of the project that the President of the United States sent the Hon. w. H. Taft, then the President-elect, to the isthmus with the following engineers to examine into and to report upon the sit
 uation: Frederic F. Stearns. Arthur P. Davis, Henry A. Allen, James D. Schuy- Ter, Isham Randolph John R. Freeman and Allen Hazen. To them was submitted a plan for a dam with uniform slopes to the top, which was placed at 105 above sea level. They reported to the Presi
 dent on the Gatun situation as follows:
 The Gatun earth dam is the central point of discussion, and we were instruct ed by MT. Taft to give 1t first consid- eration in the light of all new evidence. We are satisfied, both from the records of the experiments that have been made, and from our own personal examination of the materials as seen in cuts now open
 and as disclosed by samples from test
 borings. that there will be no dangerous or objectionable seepage through the ma 1 terials under the base of the dam; nor are they so soft as to be liable to be pushed aside by the weight of the pro- posed dam so as to cause dangerous set l tlement
 We are also satisfied that the materials 1 available and which 1t Is proposed to use ! are suitable and can be readily placed to 1 form tight, stable and permanent dam. | Schools-During the year the schools of | the canal zone were reorganiZed and sys- i tematized. For white children 12 schools are maintained. and for colored children l IT, The enrolment of October l, 1908, showed 622 whites and 107S colored. The pupils were carefully graded and uniform l methods of instruction established. Two high schools are also provided, one at Culebra and one at Cristobal School buildings for white children were erected, a one-room building at Tabernilla a two room building at Corozal and a four-room building at Gatun.
 Courts-The supreme court held 13 ses- sions during the year. It confirmed the decision of the circuit court In three crim- inal cases and reversed the decision of that court in 10 criminal cases Eight civil cases were filed during the year, of which five were decided.
 In the circuit courts, crimInaI cases were filed against 39S persons, 204 were con victed and 55 acquitted Cases against 114 persons weer dismissed and 20 cases were pending at the end of the fiscal year. At the beginning of the year AS civil cases were pending, 2S9 were filed during the year, 163 were disposed of and 122 were pending at the end of the year.
 In the district courts. criminal cases against 6O25 persons were filed. 4606 were convicted, SS5 committed for action by the circuit courts, ITO acquitted and 219 dis charged, leaving five pending at the end