Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-31
First Ship to Pass Through Canal
Early in August.
MAY SEND SPECIAL MESSAGE
President Probably Will Advise Con-
gress of Conditions-Col. Goet-
halls Here for Conference.


t.. alve days.
The President is much pleased with
conditions in the Panama Canal Zone
He put in three days of careful inspec-
tion of the work, beginning with the Ia
nous Gatun dam and locks and ending
with a sail down the Pacific end of the
big waterway. passing the islands at
the mouth of the canal that are now be-
ing fortified by the United States. Col.
Goethals who accompanied the President
throughout the tour of inspection, re-
turned to Washington with him and VIII
be here several weeks, during which
time he will have one or two conferences
with Mr.. Taft.
President Taft is expected to send to
the Senate within a short time the nomi-
nation of Col. Goethals as civil governor
of the Canal Zone under the Panama
canal act of the last session of Con-
gress.
First Ship to Pass in August.
Col Goethals is still confident that he
will be able to turn the water into the
canal and permit the first ship to pass
through early in August, although there
remains to be done a tremendous
bra cut and elsewhere and the compile
tion of the locks at Culebra. PEDRO
Miguel and Milafiores. Officially. for
general use, the canal will not be ready
for the worlds commerce until January
/. 1915. Among many well informed
officials in the zone Col. Goethais Is
said to be too optimistic as to getting
the canal ready for the first experiment
tai trip the middle of next year. but
Col. GOethals has done so many Won
derful things and is in such intimate
touch with all the work that the
doubters are willing to admit that the
distinguished army engineers ought to
know better than they what may be eX-
pected.
Col. Goethals is counting upon immense
progress during the dry season. which
will cover the next three months win
a great army of more than 10000 men,
aided by hundreds of huge steam shovels.
dredges and other machines. millions OF
cubic yards of earth and stone VIII DE
lifted and hauled to the edges OF the
dams that are part of the waterway.
The approximate estimate is that more
than 6.OOg00o cubic yards of stone and
earth are yet to be removed. In years
past the average monthly excavation mas
been as high as 3,O0O.OO0. The expecta-
ton is that the monthly average will be
2OOOoOO for the next three. months.
French Excavation Useless.
The two French companies that under
took to construct the canal eXcavated
more than 7sOoo,GOO cubic yards. but the
American engineers found only about 90
100000 of this useful. When excavation
is completed the total taken out will
have been 1S3,0OO.O00 cubic yards.
The cement and iron work at the locks
is progressing favorably, the President
found. and he inspected this work with
deep interest.
Two of the great iron lock gates al
ready are in place, and were moved Tor
the President. swinging out from their
pIaces along the cement walls with the
ease of light machinery. These steel struc-
lures two to each gate. are seven feet
thick. siXty-five feet long and from forty
seven to eighty-two feet high. Ihey
weigh from 800 tons to 600 tons each.
Vessels will not pass through the locks
under their own control. They will be
towed into and through the locks by cleo
tric locomotives, running on cog rails laid
on top of the lock walls. Different size
locomotives will be used. depending on the
vessel. In most cases there VIII oe iour
locomotives to a vessel. two ahead. one
on each wall. and two behind. one on each
wall. Three hours will be taken in putting
a vessel through the various locks. and
the time of transit through the canal,
which will be fifty miles long, will be ten
to twelve hours.
President Taft. who has made five trips
to the canal as President and Secretary
of War, hopes to make the sixth as pri-
yate citizen when the first vessel goes
through. He feels that it will be world's s
event.
Estimated Cost, $375,OOO, 900.
The total cost of the canal is still esti-
mate dat 1919 100000 and the cost of
he ncfi in1o fn6 hx-
Goethals as soon as he can put together
figures he is having prepared. How much
money will be required for the changes
a fter the canal is completed also is to be
estimated At any rate, there will be for
the worlds use, when finally completed,
a canal fifty miles long from deep water In
the Atlantic to deep water in the Pacific.
From shore line to shore line 1t Is just
forty miles The maximum bottom width of
the canal, in Gatun lake, will be 1000 feet.
while the minimum width. in Culebra cut
will be SEQ feet. The depth will be from
forty-one to eighty-five feet. The original
French project was for canal one hum
dred feet wide and thirty-i1ve teet deep.
Whether the excavations yet to be
made will be increased by slides of earth
and rock into the Culebra cut is not
known although the engineer officers be-
Iiey, the slides will be unmpOrtant from
now on. Portions of Culebra cut are
through mountains more than GOO feet
high. The terrific charges of dynamite
necessary to go through the rock forma-
tions in parts of this cut. nine miles long.
together with the heavy rains. have
caused twenty-siX big slides of earth.
sometimes from one to forty acres of
debris falling in at a time, varying in
depth. One noted slide In Culebra cut
started when the French began work in
1894. and has continued to give trouble
ever since.
Col. Goethals is to have a number of
conferences while here. and will appear
before appropriations and other commit
tees of Congress having supervision over
canal subjects.
Col w. V. Judson, Engineer Commits
sioner Of the District. who is slated TO go
to Panama as vice governor and to sue
ceed Col Goethals upon the latter's re-
tirement, is one of the men who will be
consulted here by Col Goethals.
Col. Judson will go to Panama as soon
as he is relieved as Engineer Commis-
sioner of the District. That may be
within the next month, or Ii may not be
until the end of March, when Col. Jud-
sons four years as Engineer Commits
sioner will expire. Much will depend
upon how soon the President issues the
order for his transfer. Maj. Chester
Harding formerly assistant engineer
of the District. was prac-
tically selected some weeks ago to take
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