Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1911-03-24
Prophecy of Great Engineer

ocean, and not be costly. He was al
most heart-broken when it became APP
parent TO him that the government
would decide in favor of the present
Panama canal project.
During n conversation that I had
with Gen. Serren in 1894. when discus
sion over the probable government
canal across the Isthmus of Panama
was attracting a great deal of atten.
ton, / asked the general how he had
become interested in the construction
of canal along the San Bias route, in
view of the fact that, about half way
between the two oceans a great noun.
tain stood exactly in the pathway OF
his projected canal.
MY belief in the feasibility OF the
San Bias route is due to two of my
earlier experiences as an engineer"
was the reply. In the first place,
was one of the engineers employed by
Commodore William Aspinwall to
make a survey of the Panama railroad
across the lsthmus Of Panama so as to
shorten the route between the Atlantic
coast and San Francisco In California
gold days That experiment made me
very familiar with the isthmus; we
went all over the San Bias route be
fore deciding upon our final survey for
the Panama railroad
In the next place. my experience
with the Hoosac tunnel, one of the
Faouf ovcft{pu axDorfapcao of NV 1ffn
led me to realize how easily the San
Bias route could be constructed IN
spite of the mountain that towers In its
pathway near the center Of the 18TH
mus.
"The state of Massachusetts had au.
thorized the construction of a tunnel
under the great Hoosac mountain. That
meant tunneling through solid rock
about four and three-quarters miles,
and at the base of a mountain some
500 feet in height. Tunneling at that
time had not advanced so far as it has
at present The great problem with
us was to be sure that the two Dor
ings, one for the west and the other
from the east, would meet exactly az
the center
You can't imagine how exciting and
apprehensiye we were as the workmeu
from either end approached each 9th
er. At last one day the rocks were
pierced from the east TO the west, and
the drills met with deviation OF only
a little over an inch. That was spoken
Of at the time as great triumph of
tunnel engineering.
Now, said to myself, when I came
TO study this canal problem. II we
could cut the Hoosac tunnel so accu-
rately as that, we could easily tunnel
the San Bias mountain. although we
might have to cut the tunnel hundred
feet wide and a hundred and fifty
feet high. That, sir, would be sim.
pie question of draughting But with
that mountain tunneled in that way,
any ship could pass through We should
have a perfect sealevel canal only 30
miles long, the mountain tunneling be
ing only FIVE miles, and good natural
harbors at either end.
Il suppose that If it had not been
for my experience on the isthmus
when surveying the Panama railroad,
and my work as the engineer IN
charge OF the Hoosac tunnel construc
tion. I never should have thought q
the San Bias interoceanic canal route
And tell you" the great engineer add
ed emphatically land who dares II
deny prophetlcally?) that If our gov
eminent decides upon the Panama
or the Nicaraguan route. the day wtl
surely come In the next century when
an interoceanic canal win be construct
ed by private capital via the San Bias
route And whenever that time comes
let the government canal look out for
Copyright. 1910 by E J. Edwards Al.
Rights neRerved.l