The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1911-11-22
Estimates Call For $685.
531 More to Complete Work.
EARTHQUAKES LITTLE FELT.
Commissions Report Tells Of Years
Work, Including Lighting Plants,
cuIebra Cut, Completion of Locks
and Checking Landslides.

utCleu WIFI llG COuSJIuCllOu VI lut
Panama canal, which is to be opened
to the government in January 1915,
| pass in review in the annual report Of
the isthmian canal commission just
made public. The record of the years
achievements in the gigantic task that
is being worked out by the Washing
ton government, under congressional
appropriations that so far aggregate
| $293,561, ,4S6, includes:
Completion of almost three quarters Of
| Culebra cut. Total excavation of material
| from Culebra during year, 16, 2H, ,672 cubic
yards at average cost of 5S.S cents per
| yard.
| Big plans laid for canal terminals, in
| cluding storage of fuel, fresh water and
other supplies, repair facilities, etc. Pa
| cific terminal to have drydock, storehouse
| and coaling stations.
Practical completion of plans of all
| locks.
Elaborate scheme for lighting the ce-a,.
Safeguarding of the canal against big
| landslides.
Locks Problem.
The locks have been great problem.
Designs for the approach walls at all
locks, except one, have been prepared.
Contracts in force at the beginning of
the fiscal year were practically COM
pleted and new contracts entered into
for vast amount of frames, valves,
gates and other paraphernalia needed
to put the canal into operation. More
than 954 tons of castings were made
on the isthmus. Building Of the great
lock gates-each leaf of which is fifty
four feet eight inches high-was expe-
dited. At each lock entrance strong
fender chains attached to powerful
springs will be installed to prevent
ships from battering down the locks.
The Culebra cut is ten miles long
and deep enough to receive the United
States capitol, dome and all. From
this cut, despite the enormous excava-
tion during the year, on July last
there remained 1892, ,140 cubic yards
to be removed. Estimates of excaya-
tion necessary in this cut have been
largely increased to allow for the great
earth slides. Last year these slides
that had to be removed from the canal
cutting after it had been practically
completed was 4,S79,37S yards, or over
from the cut.
These slides have occurred where the
material eXcavated was left on a slope
sleeper than the permanent incline will
be, and the trouble is expected to cease
when the natural slope of the canal
banks is restored.
Breaks have occurred on both sides
of the cut where the underlying rock is
of poor quality and is broken up and
squeezed upward by the pressure from
beneath and from the sides, interrupt
ing the drainage and covering up the
railroad tracks. To meet this condition
intermediate benches have been cut
along the slope to distribute the top
weight and reduce the amount of ma
terial to be removed. 1t is declared
that when the bottom grade of the ca
nal is reached no further trouble need
be anticipated, as greater stability will
be given by the water.
Slides Didn't Increase Cost.
The slides have caused no increase
in the total estimated cost of the Guile
bra cut. The Cucaracha slide covered
Al acres and the Culebra slide 4G.6
acres.
The total appropriations made by
congress leave $S1, ,63O,531 of the esti-
mated cost of canal yet to be appro-
priated.
The temperature for the calendar
year 1910 was about normal for all the
stations. The highest recorded was
"a degrees F. at Ancon on March IL,
1910, and the lowest, 81 degrees F., at
Culebra on March 81, 1910.
The average rainfall over the canal
zone for the calendar year 1910 was
well above normal, being unusually
heavy in July and December, but be-
low that of the previous year.
Slight seismic disturbances were of
frequent occurrence during the year,
very few of which, however, were
physically observed in the zone.
Sanitary Work.
The work performed for the sanitary
department has increased, the grass
cutting area having been further ex-
tended to include more territory. The
amount expended by the quartermas-
ter's department on orders from the
sanitary department for zone santa
ton was $210, 0,4O3.29 and for hospitals,
quarantine, etc, $77,2s4.4S.
AT the end of the fiscal year this de-
partment was operating the Tivoli ho-
tel, nineteen line hotels, three night
restaurants, sixteen European laborers'
messes and fourteen common laborers'
kitchens, an increase of one hotel and
a decrease " three messes and four
Kitchens. The total number of meals
served by the hotels was 2,216,74O,
which was an increase of 4O,2S9 over
the previous fiscal year. The cost OF
supplies per meal was 25.44 cents, or
0.57 cent more than during the previ-
Ous fiscal year and the expense in pre-
pairing and serving meals was 0.62 cent
less, or 5.61 cents, resulting in de-