El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-04-06

. clear down Pennsylvania avenue All
the way TO the Library building. 1t
would make q wall 800 feet high. 300
feet thick and $500 feet long. These
quantities are so vast that they amaze
me They seem too big for my little
red head i would say. however, that
the estimate is based on the figures
OF Engineer Rousseau. who states that
q million cubic yards OF earth and rock
VIII equal cube measuring 200 reet
on each side.
Fighting OLD Ocean.
This great breakwater is necessary.
1t protects the canal from. an ocean
current which here Whirls around
through the sea. sweeping up the east
ern shore OF Panama bay and then
coming down the western shore, 50 that
Il crosses the canal from east to west
The current is so strong that Il car
ries quantities Of silt and refuse, and
this IS liable TO clog the canal channel
Therefore the engineers have put in
the breakwater. which shuts the cur
rent out from the low portion Of the
canal and forces II 70 run north and
south in the channel The tides here
rise IS high as 20 feet. and part or
the land near the breazwater IS bare
at low tide. although when the tide Is
high IS or 20 feet Of water flows over
A Civilian Engineer.
But come with me and let US take a
trip through che canal as Il runs in and
out 10 the Pacific ocean. ] made 5uch
a trip today with " o Comoer.
the engineer IN charge Ct this part u
the work. He ts q man who under
stands his Job and who has won MS
way TO the TOP BIZ MS work as civil
ian The most Of the engineers mere
belong 10 the army Iley are 81 aQu-
ates Of West Point and they have been
on government work all tLeir lives
or this Pacific division there are many
civilians. Col GOethals uses the best
men he can get, whether they De MILF
tary or civil and be seems TO nave
punched the civilians into this end Of
the work Mr.. COmber is now man OF
20 or more. He is an Euglishman by
olrtn, but he ran away from home TO
inis country as a boy Of IS and three
years after began work with the Missls-
slppl river commission in 1879. he
started in there az an aXman for
Term OF three months and stayed on the
sop lb years. At tile end o. that time
Le accepted position as resident en-
bluter with the istlmlan canal COM
mission. and ne has been here ever
slLee de has had much 70 do With
--ehlng me marine plans for this Pa
Cil-e sha or the canal and has also had
~-oie % carrying them out.
Trip on the Canal.
Engineer Comber will 20 with US on
our ZIP through the canal we take
a steam launch az the wharf near the
SHOPS enc are soon out IN mid channel
p are on me only part Of the canal
49, y -eLla-lF completed, or. az Mr. I
conner says. tie only oil wool yard
woe cana- mat we now have The
dredging opposite where we start Is
ali oone, ana THIS IS so Of a great part
Of The channel from here to the locks
ar Airaflores. From those locks out
20 the sea the canal Is nine miles in
length. n Is 800 feet vide al the bot
tom ana for rle greater part of the
way $50 feet vide ~ the top. ~ 81 now
Only about 80 feet deep for the stretch
which leads from the wharf to Tho
locks but mat running out 20 the IA
cific IS - feet deep and rs 81 wide -
a good sized river
IL Locks Like the Jordan.
The canal here is lined with low for
est clad hills which rise on each side OF
IL, thousand feet OF more back from
the shore The banks and this thousand
odd feet are covered with thick vege-
tatiOn consisting Of plants which will
live In salt water. They are mostly