Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1910-03-30
MORE ABOUT PANAMA.
Editor Describes Additional Points
OF Interest About the Canal
Zone.
GATUN DAM AND CULEBRA CUT
Interesting Facts Concerning the
Details of Construction, the De-
partments of Sanitation
and Subsistence, the
LabOrers, Etc.

The article in last weeks paper
concerning the great Panama canal
consisted of an historical sketch of
the canal project from the landing
OF Balboa on the Isthmus of Pana-
ma in 1915 until the present, noting
the various nations that have inter-
ested themselves in the matter of an
interoceanic waterway across the
isthmus, together with general
description of the plans of the canal
and the work undertaken and now
being rapidly carried forward to a
successful completion by the United
States.
There is so much that might be
written concerning this, the greatest
engineering project in the history of
the world that one scarcely knows
where to begin or when to leave off
We are trying to be as brief as pos
sible in these articles, and yet there
are still several items of interest
concerning the canal that we desire
to note, in the hope that from what
We are writing our readers may
form a general idea at least of this
great enterprise, in which every
loyal American citizen, and in fact.
every civilized nation on the globe,
is directly interested.
There are many who have a
wrong conception of the exact geo.
graphical location of the canal, un-
less they have taken the pains to
look the matter up. 1t is located on
the Isthmus of Panama, in the Re-
public of Panama (formerly Colom-
bia) between 400 and 500 miles
north of the equator, and is directly
south of the city of Pittsburg, Penn
sylvania, and east of the east coast
of Florida. There are also many
who think that the canal runs
practically east and west, whereas
just the opposite is true; its direc-
ton is from northwest to southeast.
Colon is the Atlantic entrance,
Panama the Pacific entrance, yet
Colon is west of Panama 26 " miles.
At Panama the sun seems to rise in
the Pacific and set in the Atlantic.
While the canal zone and the con-
struction of the canal is under the
War Department at Washington, d.
c., it is in direct charge of the 18TH
mian Canal Commission, consisting
of five members, with Col. Geo. w.
Goethals at it's head, with two other
members acting as heads of the de-
partments of Civil Administration
and Sanitation, respectively.
The operation of the Panama
Railroad is under the immediate
charge of General Manager. All
of the work of the Commission, in
Guiding the Panama Railroad, is un-
der the complete and direct control
Of the Chairman and Chief Engineer
of the Commission.
The plan of organization of the
engineering department divides all
construction work into three geo.
graphical districts, each under di-
vision engineer and member of the
Commission, with full control over
and responsibility for all work in
his district. The Atlantic Division
extends from deep water TO and in
Guiding the great Gatun dam and
locks; the Central Division from Ga
tun to Pedro Miguel, including the
big Culebra cut; and the Pacific Di-
vision, extending from Pedro Miguel
to the deep waterain the Pacific. in
cluding the Pedro Miguel and Mira
flores locks.
Our readers doubtless realize by
this time. if they did not already
know it, that the canal is practically
being built in the air, that is, there
is cutting or digging of only a little
over nine miles in the entire canal.
exclusive of the sea-level dredging
etc. Ships come from the Atlantic
TO the Gatun locks, are there lifted
by three locks or lifts of % 1-3 feet
to level Of S5 feet above sea-level,
whence they sail on the great Gatun
lake to Pedro Miguel lock, then are
lowered to Miraflores Lake, sail
to Mirafores locks. and are
there lowered to sea-level again,
and pass out into the Pacific. Now.
what is called "wet excavation"
done by dredges. etc. under water,
only 12 per cent OF the
entire work; dry excavation" the
removal of rock and earth with
blasting, steam shovels, etc. COM