The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1910-03-18

tuieDfa cut. Al OaCull, lOcdlcu ScNcI
miles from the Atlantic waters, an inn
mense dam is being built which with
the water that flows through the
square miles to n depth of from 10 to
IS feet. This territory when so flood
ed will be known as Gatm lake, but
there is not at present any lake with
in the l64 square miles mentioned.
After considerable dredging yet to be
completed in the Atlantic waters, the
largest ships will sail up an ocean
level canal for I miles where they will
he lifted 50 feet by three immense
locks eacn % and l-3 feet high. They
will then sail through the lake, TO be
made, for a distance of thirty two miles
where they will be lowered thirty feet
by Pador Miguel lock. Next they will
steam onward one mile through Mira
flores lake, vet to be made. At this
point they will be lowered fifty five
feet by Niirafores' two locks, each of
which is twenty seven and one half
feet high. Then they will be on Il
level with the water in the Pacific
Ocean and will sail out distance of
eight miles through a channel, which is
being deepened by dredges. 1t will
take from ten to twelve hours for the
largest vessel to pass through the locks
and the canal. 1t is estimated that
forty eight large vessels can pass
through the canal every day. Provis-
ion is thus being made for the passing
from ocean to ocean, by this route, of
SO,000,000 tones of merchandise every
twelve months. The average tonnage
of the Sault Ste Marie locks is 49,
100000 per year and the Suez canal, 81
100000 tons per year. The Panama
locks will be the largest in the world.
Each will be l0l bv 1000 feet. They
are in duplicate. 1t is estimated that
ninty-fve per cent OF sea going mer-
chandise is carried in vessels that are
not more tnan GOO feet in length.
There are few ships 1000 feet long.
Several ordinary vessels can be taken
through each lock at the same time,
as the locks can by smaller gates be
divided into apartments. The locks
are like those of the $500" They
have many values for filing and low
ering. The gates will be operated by
electricity produced by water power.
Electric motors will move backward
and forward on the concrete walls of
the locks and will draw the vessels
through the locks. Just inside the
Gatun dam is to be an immense res
ervOir for the benefit of vessels which
will not care to venture out on the
ocean during severe storms. They can
also be repaired if necessary. Anyone
who has ever been at the $500" is
we'll satisfied that the Panama locks
can be easily and successfully operated
The Istf-main canal is after all, in a
general way, quite simple, as the dis
lance to be eXcavated is, compared to
the length of the canal, relatively short
However, no person can, without Wis
iting Panama, have anything like a
fairly definite idea of the magnitude
of the work that is being done. Let
us give some of the facts and figures
in ass few words as possible, so that
the ordinary reader can understand
them fairly well. 81,
The Gatun lake, to be made, will
most likely, at places food the country
for width of twelve miles and other
places not more than 300 feet. In the
l64 square miles to be flooded there
are many high hills and mounds which
will become islands. All of the lake
will not be navigable. The idea is tC
have an immense reservoir, so that
there may always be an abundance OF
water, especially during the dry months
of January, February, March, and
April, the other eight months of the
year being rainy. From Gatun dam
to the Culebra cut the land is being
lowered so that there will be a chan
mel from 300 to 1000 feet wide in the
lake and at least fortyfvc feet deep
The ships will pass directely through
this channel lin the lake.
From the Atlantic waters to the
first locks at Gatun, there is consid
cradle dredging to be done to deeper
the channel From Gat,m locks for 9
distance of fifteen miles, the cana
bottom will be 1000 feet wide. The
next four miles will be 800 feet wide
and the next six miles it will be SOC
! feet wide. Through the deep Culebra
cut, for a distance of nine miles, the
canal will be three hundred feet wide
at the bottom and the water will bC
! forty-five feet deep. From the end o.
the Culebra cut the vessels are lower
ed into Mirahores lake and one milt
farther they are lowered to the Pacif
ic ocean level.
The general plan is the same as thai
Of the French canal. Only a few
changes have been made The Frencl
failed because theirs was a private com
pany, because they did not possess a
that time the knowledge that recen
discoveries have given Us regardin!
sanitary methods because their ma
chinery, the best of their time, wa
not so good as the machinery we ar
now using. Had we tried to build TIN
canal thirty years ago, we would mos
likely have failed. Colonel Goethal
and others who are most prominent il
the construction of the Panama can
al have great admiration for the abilit,
and the industry of the French an,
speak highly of their genius and thei
efforts.
The French spent $26O,OOO,OOO an