Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-02-05
Col. GoethaIs Favors Plan to
Defend Coasts of Isthmus.
SUMMONED TO WASHINGTON
Engineer Believes Locks Should Be
Protected by Batteries.
EAGER TO COMPLETE WORK
Government o@cia1 Thinks Water.
way Will Be Ready for
Ships in July, 1913.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

Special Dispatch to The Star
NEW YORK, February 4.--Col. George
W. Goethals, who arrived today on the
steamship Colon from Panama. en- route
for Washington, In response to cable
from the Secretary Of War, said that his
visit to the capital is to report to the
appropriations committee regarding the
Notifications OF the canal.
Now that we have spent SO much
money on the canal, there Is only one
thing to do, and that is to fortify 1t,
said the colonel. as the steamship came
I'D from quarantine. 1T would be a mis-
take to leave II unprotected, and 1t would
also be a mistake to use the navy to de-
fend it.
I'm time Of war the navy Is supposed
to take the aggressive and seek Out the
enemy and destroy it as soon as possible,
and the use Of the navy for defending
territory that can be we'll defended by
land Notifications would be wrong.
Would Build Batteries.
Eve should build batteries along the
seacoast and provide sufficient means for
defense Of the locks SO that any land
force could be prevented from harming
them. The Secretary Of War asked me
to come to Washington at once, SO
caught the first boat and shall be In
Washington Monday
Col. Goethals said that although tho
canal will be officially open January !,
1915. it will be possible for boats to pass
through as soon as the contra ctofs com
plete the locks. which will probably De
In July, 1918. When 1t Is decided to be-
gin the work Of fortihcation the colonel
says he wants to do the Job.
.'The estimates were all prepared by the
board Of Notifications he continued,
but / have got an organization on the
isthmus that can handle the whole thing
and save the government expense.
Regarding the landslides that have
caused so much trouble at the CuleoIa
cut, Col. Goethals said this work will be
the experimental feature OF the canal
rather than tho Gatun dam. He says
the lar.uslides do net cause much alarm
and that 1t Is just question OF waiting
until the earth finds It's natural slope be-
fore the slides cease.
Gardens Swept Away.
I'VE estimated there would be about
COCO, 900 cubic yards Of earth that would
slide and we calculate there are 5000. 900
cubic yards to come" the colonel added.
1.-The last slide caused tremor OF ex-
citement. because tho gardens adjoining
q few houses were swept away. and when
the owners awoke they found that their
gardens were some thirty or thirty-five
feet lower
Last year Il, COX, 900 pounds Of dynamite
was used for blasting and the explosive
is received on the isthmus in threc-thou-
sanction shipments Col. Goethals said
it required tho utmost vigilance on the
part &c the police to keep track Of the
dynamite. as the laborers steal IT and
sell it to fishermen.
The isthmus has its four hundred. he
said. And a mans position in society
Is determined more or less by the wages
he earns, the house he lives in. the
food he eats a.,d the quality OF his furni-
turc All these details, however. form
topics Of conversation between the wives
who have but little else to think OF.