New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-11-18
First Vessel Expected to Pass
Through the Waterway Next
Summer or Fall.
FORMAL OPENING IN 1914
Annual Report of the Commits
sion Tells of the Most Salts
factory Progress All
Along the Line.

10 the Pacific across what is now the
Isthmus Of Panama. The vessel will not
be the Oregon or any other famous ship
but will be one of the many small water
craft I'm daily use by the canal builders
and probably the only passengers will be
Colonel George w. Goethals and the stan
of American engineers who for the last
eight years have been carrying on lhe
greatest engineering work the worIo mas
I--r seen.
1t will be from six months to year
later, perhaps. before the formal opening
OF the waterway will take place ana
naval fleet headed by the famous Ola
oregon. will pass through into the west
crn ocean, and the canal will be larry
said 10 be open to trade.
These facts are not Of official record as
vet The date Of January !. 1919 SUI"
stands for the opening predicted by Colo.
mel Cocktails. But that the opening WIN
be anticipated has been promised by the
canal builders in unofficial statements
aud now comes a clear intimation OF their
purpose to advance the opening date IN
IQc dDlNdI ItpJiI VI 49,
son. just published.
II is disclosed that while the comP!eIio,
of the great LOCKS b. January l next VIII
not be possible, owing TO contract delays
within six months thereafter the chaH"ei
will be finished, while, 10 insure the saie
passage Of the locks, the contractor Ia"
been called upon to finish the gates III
one fight first 80 that II the rest oil the
work Is I'm condition passage OF shlps can
be permitted without waiting for the com
pletion oF the other flights The great
locks are being built in duplicate. SIDE by
side not only to add to the capacity Oh
the canal. but TO insure its continuance
in operation i'm case of serious accident
10 a ship in one OF the locks.
Most Satisfactory Progress.
The report shows most satisfactory
state Of progress OF the whole great work.
although, as it IS dated September 10 last
the figures regarding excavation, placing
of concrete. erection of dams and locks
and subsidiary works are not as recent
as those contained in the regular monthly
reports.
The most interesting feature Of the re-
port relates to the operations in the great
Culebra cut. Great landslides, many
ranking with an Alpine avalanche IN
magnitude, have so increased the amount
Of material 10 be eXcavated In this cut
that were it not found possible to steadily
reduce the cost per yard of dredging ana
steam shovelling through the growing eN-
pertness of the employees and improved
engineering methods, the total cost OF eX-
cavation would have been very much
greater than the estimates. During the
last year nearly l6,50O.000 cubic yards OF
earth were taken out Of this cut, leaving
nearly 100000 TO be displaced before the
canal can he opened The damage caused
by the slides may be appreciated from the
fact that nearly 6,OOOOOO yards Of earth
excavated was 80 composed, or nearly %
per cent of the total excavation.
There Is only one way to deal with
these slides II is stated, and that is to dig
them out as they occur, though some help
is gained by terracing the upper banks.
That Is because the geological formation
changes so frequently and suddenly that
no other effective treatment has been
found. So unstable is the earth that the
material in one part of the cut begins TO
move on an inclination as low as on T.
owing TO the mass of stratihed rock slid
ing over a layer Of Ignite. One slide now
in motion, near the bridge OF Culebra,
covers an area OF sixty-three acres, from
which 2,TO00o yards have already been
removed, leaving 10000 still TO be
handled.
Then there is another little slide OF
fifty acres on the opposite side Of the
canal The result Of these earth move
ments, which are quite exceptional in
engineering practice, has been to leave
the canal In its deepest portions with very
nat slopes
Slides Would Not Interfere.
The encouraging feature Of the heavy
work at that point is found in the state
ment in the report that none Of the
slides which occurred during the year
would have interfered with the passage
OF ships had the canal been in operation"
Already the appropriations made by
Congress for the canal have run into big
figures, the total up to June 30 last being
$293, 561, 46S. Since that date there have
been additional appropriations, exclusive
SOS $4,000 making the grand total SS22-
81, 46s. On June 30 Of all these appropria-
tions the engineers had expended SO per
cent Of the total estimated cost OF the
canal
OF even greater interest from an engi-
neering point of view than the vast but
commonplace work of excavation in
Culebra Cut was the work OF construct
ing the great locks at Gatun, Mirafores
and Pedro Miguel. for there many novel
problems have been solved and lock
machinery constructed of special designs
Of a magnitude never before heard of.
For Instance. so big are the valves at
the side of the Jocks that test showed
4, required a pun OF over ten tons on the
stem to open one OF these valves.
All this work Is done electrically, ana
here again the engineers were confronted
with new difficulties. Owing to the pecu-
liar climatic conditions on the isthmus,
with tropical heat and extreme humidity
and the deteriorating effect OF these con-
ditjons on the insulation OF electrical
machinery, the ordinary insulation proved
unreliable, and the engineers found IT
necessary TO make a great number OF
experiments. not less than sixteen sample
motors being pitted against one another
II was a severe test for dynamo and mo-
,or builders TO have their machines re-
s,,t.ad 20 onerate for ten DAYS In a build