Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1912-07-24
THE PANAMA CANAL
5 INTERESTING DESCRIPTION BY A NOTED IOWA LAWYER
BY Hon James Q. Crosby Of Garnayllo:
By Hon. James Q. Crosby Of Garnayillo

10y OF GarQdpulO. Is $500 .F- IVA, rss JstaHfs5i
the tracks of the Panama railway for
the greater part OF its length and as
the road is necessary for the con
struction OF the canal and ultimately
for its operation and maintenance,
1t is being largely relocated by
line east Of Culebra cut.
Those monstrous locks! are alike in
size, with walls and floor Of con-
crete with water tight gates at each
end and side walls As feet to SO
feet wide at the surface of the floor
and feet wide at the top; the
middle wall 60. feet wide with
vertical walls, s1lfeet high with cul-
vert, 18 feet in Diameter in all the
walls, the water flowing in and out
by gravity, and through gates in the
floor lock can be filled or !emptied
in 8 minutes. The lock gates will
be steel structures z feet thick, 65.
feet long and from Al to 80 feet high.
They vii weigh from 800 to 600
tens each. Ninety-two leaves will
be required for the entire canal, the
total Weighing $1,000 tons!. In the
construction o. the locks 4 .1-2 mill
;lions cubic yards Of concrete viii be
used recurring the same number Of
barrels Of cement.
IN the center wall AZ 1-3 feet above
the surface of the floor and 15 feet
above the top Of the MIDDLE culvert
the wall divides into two parts leav-
ling q space down the center - feet
wide at the bottom. In this center
space will be a tunnel divided into
three stories. The lowest villa be
for drainage, the middle for the
4 wires that carry the electric current
to operate the gates and valve ma.
chinery which viii be installed IN
the center wall and the upper VIII be
! q passage for the operators.
The heaviest excavation is through
thee miles OF the Cuebra mountain.
At the beginning the depth to be tex-
cayated was 800: feet ofNwhich the
French removed 40 feet amounting
to 1856, 900 cubic yards. The meth
Cd Of excayating the rock Of Culebra
| ie by. setting several drilling ma
chimes, containing from s to IL drills
each driven by engines with com
pressed air instead OF steam, drilling
from IL feet to 20 feet deep, charg-
ling the holes with dynamite and
lexploding them by electricity, when
the rock is SO shattered that the
steam shoyels can pick it up and
deposit It on cars to be transported
| to places where it is needed on con-
lstruction work, or selected dumping
grounds s. The larger steam shoveas
thave excayated and loaded on the
cars as high as 1.749 cubic yards per
shovel In the 70 hour working day.
| The heavy; rains flood the cuts and
require drains Ito carry of the wa wa
tier, which adds largely to the labor boz
Of $excayating while the rain is pour
ing. N \. 81 ,s:s.S III u
The greatest obstacle in the con
|struction that cannot be estimated.
lis the loose earth above the rock In
| the Culebra & mountain. Ordinary
earth Will; stand on slope made by
| i 10 horizontal to one foot in height,
but the Culebra mountain earth IS
so friable that 1t slides In great
masses down into the cut and VIII ~
continue to do SO until the rains y
shall wash it, down until there is no no
more ore washable, and the only rem
edy is to remove It when it comes
Before the canal is completed Dy
steam shovels fand cars and by
dredges and barges afterwards. At
has been SO extensive as to be
serious trouble. y Sax Il ..1 5s
"A The work is set Off into three dis.
tricts, the first or Atlantic district
extends from the Atlantic entrance.
to kGatun and includes the dam and and
locks. the second or central district ict
extends from the Gatun locks to the ne
Pedro Miguel lock, the Pedro Miguel
district includes the lock and t Inc
rest Of the canal to deep water 5s IN
the Pacific. "a 4, u:
I The time announced for the opening
to the public for the passage OF boats
is January 1, 1915, but the work Work
has been carried on SO vigorously
that it's completion is expected In
1919 when the lake will be filled and
the little army necessary for its OPP
Grafton will be thoroughly drilled 20
operate it safely and il any deiects
are discovered to remedy them hem
There comes the question Of fortih-
cation s.3 sfg |
The French disposed Of 5000, 0Oo, 600
and the U. S. estimate to complete
it was SITS millions, but to keep
progress with the growth OF the
times it has now reached $376, Oo0,-
900, not including fortification.
Col. Goethals suggests that the Y.
s.. shall establish coaling stations
and stations for the sale OF all ne
cessary supplies for ships passing
through the canal on long voyages.
The compensation of employees
varies according to the ability OF
the workmen. The Americans and
other skilled workmen are classed as
the gold force, and unskilled common
laborers as the silver force. AL are
literally paid and the wages vary
from is to 40 cents an hour for the
silver men and skilled men as high
as $500 month. The path OF the i
phuanthropist is plainly marked
across the canal zone. In case OF
men with families quarters are pro-
vided in modern furnished houses,
they receive free medical attendance