Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1910-09-10
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have juster idea than our own
people of the magnitude and success
of the work. / wish our people to
realize what is being done on the Is
thmus. If man of intelligence who
had never left this country asked me
whether / would advise him to make
short trip to Europe, or a trip to
the Panama Canal, ! would, without
hesitation, advise him to go to the
| Panama Canal. He would there see
in operation the completing Of one
of the great feats of modern times.
| Colonel Goethals and the men work.
ing under him are rendering a ser
vice to this country which can only
be paralleled in our past history by
some of the services rendered in
certain wars.
"Six years ago last spring the Am
erican Government took possession
of the Isthmus. The first two years
were devoted to the sanitation of the
Isthmus to assembling the plant and
the working force, and providing
quarters, food, and water supplies
| In all these points the success was
extraordinary. From one of the
plague spots of the globe, one of the
most unhealthful regions in the en-
tire world, the Isthmus has been
turned into a singularly healthy
place of abode, where the death rate
is small, and where hundreds of
children are now being raised un-
| der as favorable conditions as in
most parts Of the United States. The
quarters, food and water supply are
| excellent and the plant the best ev-
er gathered for such purpose. Ac-
| tive excavation on a large scale did
not begin until January, 1907. Three
years and half have gone by since
| then, and threefifths of the total eX-
cavation has already been accom-
plished. The amount taken out has
| passed anything which previous ex-
perience warranted us in believing
| possible. In 1908 and 1909, the
monthly average of rock and earth
removed was three million cubic
yards, Notwithstanding the fact that
nine months of each year constitut-
ed season of very heavy rainfall.
There remains to be excavated only
about sixty million cubic yards. If
we could keep up the past average
Of excavation, this should be done in
twenty months; but it is impossible
to maintain such ratio as the depth
increases; for the output necessarily
diminishes as the field of operation
narrows. Still it is certain that
such rate can be maintained as will
enable the workers to finish the ex-
cavation considerably in advance of
the date fixed for opening the canal
January 1, 1915. Indeed, l shall
be surprised if the canal cannot be
opened six months or even a year
in advance of the time set.
The work has two great features;
The Culebra Cut, which l have been
considering and the great dam at
Gatun. The latter is to imprison
the waters of the Chagres and other
streams into lake with an area of
164 square miles. This work is ad-
vancing steadily and just as sue
cessfully as the work ON the CuI-
ebra Cut. The water which is ulti-
mately 20 fill the lock is now flowing
through the conceret spillway in the
center of the dam, the Chagres hav-
ing been diverted from its bed and
placed under complete control. The
construction of the dam has ad-
vanced sufficiently to convince the
engineers in charge Of the work of
its absolute stability and impervious-
ness. The concrete work on the
lock is advancing so rapidly that the
first double-set at Gatun will be COM
pleted this coming November, and
the engineer in charge has announ-
ced that all the concrete in all the
locks will be in place two years
hence. The date of final completion
and formal opening of the Canal to |
the commerce of the world will be
determined by the time consumed in
placing the great steel gates, en-
ergency dams, and all appliances
for operating the locks. But those |
in charge of the work announce with
out hesitation that everything will |
be finished well in advance of Jan
uary l, 1915.
This is stupendous record of
achievement. AS people we are
rather fond of criticizing ourselves,
and sometimes with very great JUS
tice; but even the most pessimistic
critic should sometimes think of
what is to our credit. Among our
assets of the past ten years will be
placed the extraordinary ability, in
,egrity, and success with which we
lave handled all the problems inher-
ted as the result of the Spanish
Var; the way we have handled our
selves in the Philippines, in Cuba,
n Porto Rico, in San Domingo and
n Panama. The cruise of the battle
leet around the world was a striking
roof that we had made good with