The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-06-18
THE PANAMA TERMINALS,
A GREAT UNDERTAKING
Frank Carpenter Tells How Mighty Works Will Be
Built for Ends of the Canal-BiS B~reakwaters al
Balboa and Limon Bav-Immense Storage Plants.

been devoted TO the terminals of our
great canal at Panama. kind
Of cities are We TO have at the At
lantic and Pacific ends Of Uncle Sam s
famous waterway How shall We
take care Of the shipping, and nat
VIII be the accommodations for pas
senEers going from one part Of the
iSthmuS to the other
These and other questions of termi-
nal facilities Will soon bulk large in
the minds Of the public. The dig
ging is fast approaching complete,
and the endless river of earth which
IS flowing from Culebra down to
Balboa win finally shrink and then
stop. have already o in from, the
Pacific end Of the canal almost TO
the Miraflorcs locks. The dredges are
still at work there, but within a few
months the channel could be made
ready for ships.
The dredging on the Atlantic side
is rapidly approaching completion.
h dam which crossed the canal at
Mindi has been cut through, and the
salt waters locks and within a stones
throw OF the Gatum dam.
The work Of building up the found
ations for the terminals of the future
Is already under way, and docks n
brcak-WaterS are rising on both sides
of the iSthmuS. So far there Is much
- w ~ = ~ 49, fA'1HD 49,
engineers have been carefully made,
and as soon as Congress gives its or
ders his part of the canal construc-
ton will rapidly move.
a Talk With Rcar Admiral Rousseau.
The canal cOmmiSSiOner who has
SPECIAL charge of the terminals is Mr..
II. II. Rousseau, one of the most eX-
pert engineers of the United States
navy. He is still a young man, but
he has had long experience in work
Of this kind, and he was was chief Of
our great naval bureau Of yards n
docks when he was appointed One Of
the canal engineer commissioners Of
the anal. He va a civil engineer by
profession at the time he passed COM
petitive examination for similar work
In the navy, with the RAM of lieuten-
ant, and he did so we'll there that
now, at the age of forty-two, he has
become a real admiral, and under
Commissioner Cocktails as chief has
some of the most important branches
OF the canal work undre him.
1t was in the administration build
ing here at Culebra that / looked over
the maps of the proposed terminals
and talked with Mr.. Rousseau about
them. Said he:
"The arrangements for the term
rails Of the canal are by no lean
complete. We have made cure plans,
but so far many Of them have not
been passed upon by Congress, and
much will depend upon the yolicy of
the goVernmentas to the treatment Of
canal tariff. Other matters have been
definitely settled and We are already
working them out. YOu have seen
the great b~reakwaters which we are
building at both ends OF the canal.
On the Atlantic ships will pass in by
TOrO point, where the lighthOus
stands From tina DOlnf we are Dllt-
ting in a breakwater Il, 600 feet long
tC shout out the prevailing storms
from the western side Of the harbOr
That breakWater has a width of fiji
teen feet at the top, and it will rise
ten feet above the NEAR level of the
sea. 1t will contain altogether in the
Eeighborhood of 5000, 600 cubis yards
Of rock, some Of which is coming
from the Quarries OF Porto BellO.
AT the Pacific end" continued Ad-
miral Rousseau, I'VE are making ar
even greater breakwater. This is tc
join the port of Balbao with Macs
Island, a distance of more tina three
miles. 1t will run nearly parallel witt
the axis of the ANA prim, and is tC
keep the current which sweeps VI
that shore from affecting the canal
That breakwater will contain abOu
Is 5000. 600 cubic yards Of earth an(
rock, which is equal to a blocmk 30t
rect VIDE. 3OU 1eet nlSn ana more tnaI
81 mile in length. The most Of this il
already in place, and it consists O
the spoil which has been brough
down from the Culebra cut. We be
gan work upon it in Moy, 1905"
Big Dock on the Atlantic.
Tell me something more abOu
your plans for the Atlantic end Of tn,
canal"
Accordingg to those we have al
ready made" said Mr.. Rousseau, Nv
shall, if Congress consents, build fv
great docks at Cristobal, each O
which will be 1000 feet long and Is
feet between each two of the dock!
and at the head Of each dock wi
be ample landingc for small boat:
The material will be reinforced con
crete, n the docks will have rail
road tracks, moving cranes and a
sorts Of machinery for handlin
freight of every description. The
will accommodate any steamer no
aflOat and should be sufficient for tn