Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1912-03-01

Panama. which has marched from
one victory to another under the lead
ership OF Col George W Goethsls. is
now preparing for the final assault on
the heights Of proud Culebra noun
tain.
Against what odds this canal army
has fought, few. even Of its admirers.
fully appreciate. When the plans for
its construction were prepared It was
estimated that nine years would be
required to remove the 100000 900
cubic yards Of material II was then
proposed to excavate. Since thar time
one din culty and another has arisen
and has forced up. notch by notch. the
total amount Of material TO be remov
ed. until today It is estimated that
the entire task win represent the ex.
csvation Of ls5.000O0O cubic yards
Slides in Culebra ,ut havs been re-
sponsible for a part Of this Increase.
while the widening Of that part OF the
big ditch by one-hah has added much
more. Then the ocean currents In the
Pacific and the work Of the Chagres
river on the Atlantic side have de-
posted large quantities OF silt in the
line OF the canal and all OF this must
be removed. writes Frederick J Has
kin in the indianapolis News
Yet in spite Of this tremendous In
crease in the amount Of material to be
removed. the last shovelful will come
out In a little more than six years
after the work began in earnest Thus
1t will be seen that while the amount
of work to be done has Increased by
more than seven-eighths. the time in
which II was estimated Il could be
done has been cut down by approx
mately one-third Furthermore so
magnincently has the canal army re-
sponded to the demands OF It's leader
for efficiency that the vast amount Of
additional work is being done with
money saved by economical operations
on the work originally planned When
one stops 70 consider that all OF this
additional work is being done on saw
ings effected elsewhere. and that It
has not added one penny to the orig
inal estimates OF cost the marvellous
results OF the efficiency campaign on
the isthmus become apparent
Culebra cut always has been the
backbone OF the canal problem once
II was thought Gatun dam would be
the most knotty feature OF the work.
but this great dam has proved so
much less Of a problem than was an.
ticipated that the canal officials long
ago ceased to worry about II They
felt. four years ago. when they were
beginning to plan the foundations OF
this great structure. that there would
be many difficulties to overcome and
yet they were prepsfed to meet them.
The actual work has not been nearly
so difficult Of accomplishment as they
had expected. very much to the dis
comfiture Of those people who Insisted
that the dam could never re built
Or the other hand. Coulebra cut has
proved TO be a much greater task
than was anticipated When Presi
dent Roosevelt ordered that Its bot.
tom width should be increased from
200 To 500 feet. be added consider.
able element TO the dificulues Of the
problem The great masses Of ma
terial that have been sliding into the
canal from the adjacent banks one
slide alone having surface area OF
~ acres. have added immensely ia. !
the seriousness OF the problem al
Cuiebra and yet, one By one these
difficulties and obstacles have heen
overcome. 20 that there now remains
to be removed less than 10000 900
cubic yards out of a total Of more
than $4,000 900 So rapidly has the
work progressed that II Il expected
that within four months the big cut
practically will be completed except
the three miles through the heart OF |
Culebra mountain There WIZ remain |
on that da'e. IN that three mile !
stretch. 100000 cubic yards Of ma
terial II Is expected that 20 steam
shove's can be operated advantage.
o0sly In this contracted area as |
against ~ now IN operation Assum.
ing that the 30 can do as well IN pro I
portion as the ~ now are doine the
last shovelful Of dirt will r~-,e out In
less than IS months from present
date
The canal authorities slwavs are
prerared for any emergency that may
arise They take nothing for granted
end accept no risks Every step must
be proved as well as human ipstru
mentalities may prove u before II IL
taken They prepare for every i'm
aginable contingency Recently they
had government geologist from
make an on the-ground
study OF the geological formations OF
the Culebra region. and they are as
sured from these Investigations that
they have made ali necessary allow
ances for further possible slides Yet
they are preparing to meet any new
ones which may develop Should there
be any additional slides after June
1918, the canal authorities will meet
them by moving the great dredges OF
the Pacific division into the cut and
dredging out the incoming material
At the rate Of millions Of yards g
month By that time the lock- and
dams OF the canal win have been com.
pleted and the water can be turned
into Culsbra cut But this 10 Q coa-