Evening star., 1911-01-12
TO SOUTH AMERICA
Panama Canal, the Eighth
Wonder of the World.
A HEATlESS EQUATOR
The Rainless, Stormless, Barren
West Coast, Rich in Nitrates.
GRAND SCENERY IN ANDES
Quaint Lima, PizGro's City-oroya
Railroad, Boldest in Engineering
and Highest in the World.
GRAND SCENERY IN ANDES
EDITORIAL Correspondence OF The Star.

Editorial Correspondence OF The Star.
After making an around South Amer
ica" trip by way OF Panama, the west
| coast. the trans-Andine railroad and the
east coast (as have just hurriedly done).
a few especially vivid remembrances and
impressions remain, which may be noted
for the benefit OF other Washingtonians.
| The first and perhaps the strongest i'm
preston Of all is that OF the vastness OF
the Panama canal project OF the work
which Uncle Sam has done, is doing and
will do on the isthmus. and of the world
influencing results to flow from the
canals completion. The canal work has
now been pushed to the point where its
main purpose and the significance and
value OF the results already attained
emerge from the chaotic confusion OF
intricate and infinite details. and are per-
ceived and understood even by the casual
observer. Reduced to the simplest form
Of statement, Uncle Sam solves the canal
problem by creating a great artificial lake
(Gatun), containing 164 square miles, with
a water level eighty-fve feet above sea
level, by damming the outlet OF the River
Chagres and combining the stream In
basin between the hills. The waters of
Gatun are to be extended at the lake
level through the continental divide by
long, deep cut Ohe Culebra), which thus
becomes a part of the lakes area. Thus
at the Atlantic end Of Gatun lake small
mountain is to be erected to dam the
Chagres river, and at the Pacific end OF
the lake a small mountain is to be re-
moved in cutting canal channel through
the continents 8 backbone. The Gatun will
be the largest artificial lake in the world,
as large as two or three Lake Georges,
Loeb Lomonds or Lake Lucernes, as large
as Como. Lugano and Maggiore COM
bined. Its Atlantic dam. 1900 feet long,
11o feet high, 200O feet wide at its base
and 100 feet wide at It's top. will be the
largest dam in the world. The Gatun
locks. which will raise ships to and lower
them from the lakes eighty-fve-foot
level. will be the largest locks in the
world.
Lake Making and Mountain-Moving.
Culebra cut removes from the canals
path a mass of rock and earth nine miles
long. Of 800 feet minimum width and OF
varying height. The greatest height at
which the French excavated here was 56i
feet: the highest point of surface excava-
IfOH OH tIiG dAlS VI lHc plcScHL CdidA WdS
81 feet. and the lowest point OF surface
excavation was 303 feet. This mountain
Gus mass seems very small il it Is only
to be crossed by tracks or pierced by
tunnel, but looms very large when 1t Is
for nine miles to be removed. The
French excavated over 100000 yards
of material from the Culebra cut. as
now planned. leaving over 100000 yards
to be REMOVED by the Americans, over
one-half of (which task has already been
accomplished.
To create this lake, to remove this
mountain, to build these locks and dams
Uncle Sam has collected on the isthmus
the most impressive and most effective
aggregation of labor-saving machinery
In the world and has enlisted an army
of canal workers one.half as large as the
nations standing army of soldiers.
Let us follow in lima gination the canals
course of fifty miles from deep water in
the Atlantic to deep water In the Pacific.
bring our ship TO Gatun locks, where it
is raised eiglhy-five feet into Gatun lake.
1t then goes at the eighty-five-fOOt level
for about thirty-three miles, crossing
Gatun lake and following for nine miles
Culebra cut to Pedro Miguel lock, where
1t is lowered to very small artificial
lake, which 1t traverses for about a mile
and a half to Mirafiores, where locks
lower it the remainder of the distance to
the Pacific level and 1t proceeds at sea
to deep water in the Pacific ocean.
The present Panama railroad traverses
the bed of the proposed Gatun lake, and
from its tracks one can see the huge
masses of masonry which are rising to
form Gatun dam, and most cOnspicuously
of all the vast Iockwalls at Gatun. One
can also get from the railroad striking
views of .Culebra cut: The excavating
and upbuilding operations at Gatun and.
the minor dams and locks and the exca-
vations at Culebra cut all give evidence
OF intelligent, systematic direction, in
tense activity and wonderful results
As a necessary preliminary to his work
of lake making and mountain moving
Uncle. Sam eliminated yellow fever and
made the mosquito-infested, marshy
Canal Zone livabIe. In two years Pan
anna and Colon have been supplied with
sewers, brick pavements and a whole.
some water supply. The difference be-
tween the old and the new can be quickly
noted by an excursion into the marshes
in the outskirts of Colon. Careful at
tention has been given to sanitary con-
ditions in the Canal Zone settlements, not
cnly at Cristobal adjacent to Colon and
Ancon adjacent to Panama. but. in all
that are scattered along the line Of the
railroad. each with its specific function in
the canal work.
New World Pyramids.