The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1912-11-18
PROGRESS VERY GRATIFYING
Engineers Have Accomplished
Many Difficult Feats in
Work at Panama
$322,54l,468 COST TO DATE

WashnG;on, November lN-s'omc-
time next summer or f1ll, no exact
date being specified, a vessel Will pass
from the Atlantic To the Pacific across
what is now the lsthmus Of Panama
which COnsequently mast disappear
from the worlds geography aId by the
same human agency, the Wcster"
hemisphere will he divided into two
continents. The vessel will not be
the oregon nor any other famous ship,
bat WIN bc one Of the many small
water crafts in daily use by the caral
builders. and probably the only pac-
scugers VIII be Col, Geo. W. G,etEals
VINO for the past eight years have been
carry mg on the grcatcsa engineering
work the world has ever seen. 1t viii
ho later than that. anYwhor" from SIX
muntha 10 q year perhaps. before ire
fnlmal opening Of the waterway vii,
take place and uayal Zee, headed
D., the famous old oregon, will paS~
through int" the Western Ocean. amt
The canal may bc fairly said to be open
Co trade
These facts are not of official RECORD
ag yet. the date of JanUarr |. 1gij,
stll stands for the opening prvdictc"
lev col. rioethals Bat that The up,n-
.ng will bc anticipated tc a Great cN"
teut has been promised bv the cana!
nuilIers in unofficial statements, ami
now comes a clear intirnation cf then
purpose To advance the opening date:
IN the annual report nj the canal com
mission, iust published.
Locks Are Delayed.
1, Il. disclosed while the completion
If the grcat locks hv January lst next
win not be possible. uWinc to contra"i
delays. within six months thereafter
the channel will he finished, while to
insure the safe PASSAGE of the lUcfs the
contractor has boon called upcn to
mSh thc gates iu one lligh' first 50
that IL the rest ur the work is il, con"
ditlrr passage of cups can be per
mitted without waiting for the com
rletiun of the other flights. This state
m,u' Will he understood when 1t ~
known that the great llCks are being
hui,t i'm duplicate. side bv SilC. not onIN
&C. adj To the capacity of tie canal but
g. insure It's continuance IN operation
IN case OF Il serious accident TO a SIN
in one of the locks.
The report shows a most satisiac-
tory state Of progress of th" Wh"l'
srclt work. though in vicw of the lacl
'hot 1t Is dated september 10th last,
the figures regarding excavation. p'ac-
ma of concrete. erection of dams ana
utkS and subsidiary works Hc not rs
recent as those contained in the re,'u-
lar monthly reports. Naturally th"
must interesting feature uf the report
relates To the operations in the grca;
'ulcbla cut
Slides increase Work.
Here. great laudslidcs many rank
ing with an Alpine avalanche In mag
rtudc. have also u.croascd the amount
If material to bc cxcavated that we're
II not found possible to steadily reduce
The cost per yard of dredging aud
Stcam shuvCllin" through the g'oWln2
rNpcrtness of the employees, ana I'm y
proved engineering methods, In" total
cost of excavation wuCid have been
vastly greater than the estimates Dur
ing the last wear nearly l6,5OO,0O6 CUBIC
Yards of earth were taken out ~ TINS
cut, leaving l2.060 600 to y" displaced
before the canal can hc opened Inc
damage caused by The slides may pe
appreciated from th" fact that nearlN
"0No,"oo yards Of earth eXcavated was
8" composed or nearly 30 per cen'
"i the total excavation.
There IL only one way 10 deal w'th
these slides. and that is To tir theh
"dt as they occur. though some n"lN ~
Fnined by terrlclng the upper banks
Ihat is because the geological loriha
ton CHANGES so frequently and sudden
lF that no other effective treai im9ht
mas been found. So unstable - the
earth that the material IN one part oi
the cCt begins 10 move on an intlina'
lior as low as ! on Z. owing 10 the
(Continued on Pace Fivel