The chronicle=news., 1912-11-18
NEWSFR0M
CANAL
ZONE


next summer or fail. no exact date
being specified. vessel will pass
from the Atlantic to the Pacific
across what Is now the IsthmUs OF
Panama. which consequently muSt
disappear from the Worlds Hcog.
raphy aud by the same human agen-
cy. the Western Hemisphere Will be
divided into two continents. The
vessel Will not be the Oregon nor any
other famous ship. but will be one
10 the many smaller water craft in
daily use by the canal builders: and
probably the only passengers will be
Col. George ". Goc,hals. and the
staff OF American engineers. who for
the past eight years have been ear
ryins on the greatest engineering
work the world has ever seen. II
Will be later than that. anywhere
from six months to n year perhaps.
before the formal opening OF the
waterway will take place and ma
val fleet headed by the famous old
Oregon will pass through into the
western ocean. and the canal may he
fairly said to be open to trade.
These facts are no, OF official rec
ord as yet: this da,. OF January I !.
1915. still stands for the opening pre-
dic;cd by Col. Goethals. Hut that
the opning will be anticipated TO n
great extent has been promised BY
the canal builders In unofficial state
men,s. and now comes clear intima-
tion OF their purpose to advance the
opening date. In the annual report Of
the Canal Commission. Just pub
llshed. II is disclosed while the COM
p'c,ion OF the great locks by January
TO contract delays. within six months
thereafter the channel will be fin
ishcd. while to insure the safe pass
age Of the locks. the contractor has
been called upon to finish the gates
In one flisht first. so that IL the rest
o! the work Is In condition passage
OF ships can be permitted without
waiting for the completion OF the
other flights. This statement will be
understood. when II is known that
the RTea, locks being built IN dupli-
Gates. Side by side. no, only to add
TO the capacity of the canal but to
insure its continuance In operation
in case OF n serious accident 20 n ship
In on. OF the locks.
The report shows a most saiisfac-
tory state OF progress OF the whole
great work. though In view OF the
fact that II Is dated Septembe. 10th
last. the figures regarding excava-
,ion: placing of concrete. erection Of
dams and locks and subsidiary works
are not as recent as those contained
In the regular monthly reports. Nat
urally the most interesting; feature
o! the repor, relates to I'll. operations
in he great Culcbra Cut. Here. great
landslides. many ranking with an
Alpine avalanche IN magnitude. have
so increased the amount of material
to be eScavated. that were II not
found possible to steadily reduce the
most per yard OF dredging and steam
shoveling through the growing eS-
pjertness OF the employees and i'm
proved engineering methods. the to-
tai cost OF excavation would have
been vastly greater than the estim-
atcs. During the last year nearly
$500, 900 cubic yards OF earth were
taken out OF this cut. leaving nearly
l2.OD0.1oo no be displaced before
the canal can be opened. The dam
age caused by the slides may be ap-
preciatcd from the fact that nearly
200, 900 yards of earth excavated
was so composed or nearly SO per
cent OF the total excavation.
There Is only one way to deal with
these slides. and that is to dig them
out as they occur. though some help
isc gained by tcrracing the upper
banks. That is because the geologic
al formation changes so frequently
and suddenly that no other effective
treatment has been found. SO un'
stable is the earth that the material
in one par, of the cut begins to move
on an inclintaion as low as l on Z
owing to the mass of stratified rocl
sloding over layer of Ignite. One
slode now in motion, near the bridg'
OF Culebra, covers an area OF q.
acres. from which 2.71O.o00 yard
have already been removed. leavin,
100000 still to be handled.
Then there is another little slid
OF no less than so acres on the oppo
site side of the canal. The result o
these earth movements which ar
Iouite exceptional in engineering
practice. has been to leave the cana
In its deepest portions, with YER
flat clopes. The encouraging featur
of the heavy work at that point !
found in the statement in the repor
that none of he slides which oc
CURED during he year would have in
terfered with the passage OF ship
had the canal been in operation
Already the appropriations mad
by Congress for the canal have ruI