New-York tribune., 1910-12-18
CEMENT USERS PLEASED
See Pictures Showing Progress
of Their Favorite Product.
MADE CANAL POSSIBLE
Thus Representative Madden, in
His Talk, Explains Success
of Panama Project.


users who are holding their meetings in
the Madison Square Concert Hall, while
the cement show is going on in the Garden.
some things they did not know before about
the construction Of the Panama. Canal. He
also showed them some moving pictures of
the work on the big cut that aroused much
enthusiasm
The audience was composed chiefly of
construction engineers, and they were
greatly amused by the picture of the
chine that moves a railroad without taking
the track from the ties. Such thing has
never been used in this country in construc-
fion work and Mr.. Madden explained that
one eff the employees of the government had
invented it especially TO expedite the work
on the canal.
They make their rails ont of maileable
sron in Panama so that they can be twisted
snto any shape, and the first picture showed
an engine coming down along the snakelike
rails that did not match. There was A gen
eraI laugh from the audience, but then
there were exclamafions of:
Look at her gor'
That's some speed for a track like that
And when the engine came TO a stop.
right in front OF the crowd, there was
cheer
Then there was another surprising thing.
a big plough unfolded from about the
gine and II started back Zip the track again.
dwelling off a place to the right for a new
track 10 he laid. This is another new thing
be done by machinerv- This work has
always been done by han5-a gang of men
with picks and shoveIs taking a week to
do what the plough does in a couple of
hours. t-.
Track Moved in Jiffy-
Right after the plough came the track
mover 1t was an engine with what looked
like a big pair of shears and chain DER
rick rigged on the front. gang of men
went along and hooked the chains to the
tracks Then the shears opened up ano
swung oyer 10 the right. and in two min
,4fes 2 section of the track twenty feet long
was twisted over and laid on the new bed
with q big s'S'' curve connecting it to ire
length of track beyond The engine moved
rir another section was picked up ana tNe
curve was moved up another twenty feet-
The audience had chance TO see hail-
mile Of track moved in ten minutes MI
Madden said that the moving pictures
worked a little faster than the engine "h
4b@ ;s1hr7lus. but not 50 very mnch ias'ei
i,t,.r He .5isplease6 his audience greatly
hv saying that the man VINO han INV
+be machine that had proved such money
-. g tho Government had never had
one dollar of allowance made TO MN i'-
his work ---os
,;c+,,re that was found interesting vas
no Of = steam shovel with a capacity "i
Eve c,llni> Yards loading cars IN Inc tul0
IRA chi The man who operator 'ii0
,,,,-el ,,7as 50 Well hidden in the machinery
,1a- Il was several minutes pe1oIe he
could be discovered. and the ing ShoFe'
,7.a+ ,5ronned into lust the right place in me
mic 1i-sd :
load and DUMPED it 50 carei"iis Sesi ~
he operating itself
When the audience found the operator
,nev applauded him freely for his deft
work The cement users were especiaiy
enthusiastic over his handling OF a pig
rock that might have tipped the car over,
f,s,e4-3t 1-,t been laid in so carefully that
setting hen would not have been dlsturped
b1, the coming of such neighboT
Talk and Pictures Comprehensive.
The rfctllres showed all parts of the
work on the canal. from tho dredging ot
the channel in the Caribbean TO The build
ing of the locks a CatUn ana Mira Flores
and the big Culebra cut. Mr.. Madden's
talk that preceded the picture exhibition,
told many interesting details of the work
and the history and cost of the big pro-
sect =
Balboa. in the 18th century, according
"a Mr.. Madden was the first man who
wahte5 to build Panama Canal, and
spain. at his request, had issued an edict
csli4nr- for plans and bids for digging
the ditch. The United States had come
along nearly four centuries later and had
proved itself the nation that could do the
JOB. Mr. Madden said he did not believe
thar the canal could ever have been buiIt
under the French company
a,aI1F i
tools and machinery to work with, and
esla not understand the sanitation problems.
= fsiIt he said the really big thing that had
made the canal possible was the improve
ment in the use Of cement.
Fifty years ago. he said 8len the locks
snd the walls of the cuts would have had
20 be built of rock, the canal would have
had 70 be given VI IS soon as that point
IN tbe work was reached. As II was, he
said. the United States was putting in
about 100000 yards Of concrete at cost
Of $3.50 a cubic yard.
There was great deal of talk about the
cost Of the canal, Mr.. Madden said, and
there was some justification for it, as the
government had started in to build a canal
that would cost s135. 900 and was wind
,ns I'd by building one at q cost Of S375.
asooea But he added that before the peo-
pie complained they should think Of the ad
vantages 20 be gained from the canal
He illustrated by the case OF a. battle
chip that had to go from Newport News 10
tire Pacific At the present time, he said,
IT took four months for vessel to go
from the Virginia capes 10 the Golden Gate
by way of the Horn, but with the canal
finished the trip could be made in four and
cne-half days.
Ir, comparing the sea level and lock canal
arguments Mr. Madden said the sea level
canal had been advised by a board Of en-
sineers, the majority OF whom were Euro
peans who did not want to see the canal
finished and the efficiency Of the United
States Navy greatly increased as the
completion OF the canal would mean.
Mr. Madden explained that while the At
1antic and Pacific oceans were at exactly
the same level, the tide rose on the At
Iantic side only fifteen inches, while 1t
rose on the Pacific side twenty-three feet
This, he said. would make IL impossible TO
operate a sea level canal. In addition to
that, he pointed out that If a sea level
caral were built the last forty feet of
excavation 10 get the depth of channel re-
ouired would be under water, and the cost
would De so enormous as TO be practically
prohibitive.
There was also the Culebra cut to be
considered. That cut now was half q mile
wide at the top and would be fbree hun