The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-04-30
WHEN THE CANAL is COMPLETED
Col George w. Goethals Talks With Frank y carpenter d =
How the Great Machine Should BE Handled
By FRANK G. CARPENTER.
Bv FRANK G, CARPENTER.

the In addition there 5
the human element which would IN
yoiye mpIications not only WIN
the canal authorities, bu with the
Panamanians.
Then you do not think the LANDS
of the zone should be open to settle
mento"
1T would De a mistake TO open
them
Then just what should the zone
be-"
Nothing bat a military reserva-
ton. It's only homes should be those
Of the canal employees and OF the
military. If it is made such 1t VIII
unity the management and reduce
the cost Of operation. BY the terms
of the treaty the ten-mlle strip was
to be devoted to the construction,
operation. maintenance. sanitation and
protection Of the canal. That is the
foundation upon which our right To
it stands. and it should be kept So
The Notifications of the Canal.
There are many Of our people.
Col. Goethals. who think the canai
should not be fortified
That may be So was the reply.
but / am not n Of them. There
is no question about the need ana
desirability of Notifications in my
mind. Indeed. we are bound to fortify
it by our treaty obligations. if for no
other reason. BY those treaties we
have engaged TO maintain the neutral
ity Of the canal, TO keep it free FOL
all nations, and to prevent its being
blockaded. To do that we must
have Notifications.
But that is outside the main
| nroctj0n COL GnathaIc uyapt on
THE chief thing is hat VT have built
the canal as a military necessity. and
that in order that it may benefit the
United States we must be able to de-
fend it against all possible attacks by
sea and land"
But can it be SO defended?"
1t can be-
How"
by sea it can be defended by sea.
coast batteries against bOmbardmen
and naval attacks. BY land it mus
be defended by Qualifications on lane
in the vicinity Of the locks and dams
There must also be other defense:
against landing parties.'
What 90 such defenses mean"
asked.
They mean forts on the island
and on the mainland at the Paciti
terminus. and they mean fortlfication
at the entrances at the Atlantic. The
also mean Qualifications along the lin
of the canal at certain points. W
have planned such fo]rtifications an
are already building them.
The Cost of Fortifying.
5 But will not these defenses ad
greatly to the cost of the ~canal?"
] Nothing like as much as one woul
/ suppose replied Col. Goethals. "On
reason for this is hat the characte
e Of the modern battleship is such tia
| the umbc Of guns on hore to kee
off d fleet can be reduced to u min
e mum. No naval attack will be a
tempted on any fortified position III
q til after the supremacy Of the riy;
navy at sea has been settled. Nor.
over. the loss of a single battleshi
e would destroy n balance of pow,
and involve the risk of losing a flee
o Now, n Of our shots could destr,
IS a ship, and under such conditions II
l. fleets would be very chary of con
IS ing near than. The navies reali
sc this danger, and for hat reason IL
ye Japanese fleet kept pretty we'll o
50 from Port Arthur. Indeed, as it
re now. the navies Of the great powe
are 50 evenly balanced hat no
II. would risk the destruction of a pa
Is OF its force at sea by attacking for
~ 1icatlons on land, and assuming tn
one fleet had been destroyed, t
as enormous cost of a battleship wou
e keep an enemy from risking it
es an unequal fight with land defense.
st VIVA will our Qualifications cost
They will cost infinitely less tn
d would have been spent had we tri
he to Increase our fleet and depend up
it alone to defend the canal. Eve
or additional battleship. of the type u,
OF needed. costs not less than $40. 0 O
ks to build. and there is in addition
Ut that an ever-increasing maintenar
us charge. When all these {
IS lenses are completed and those
the land q the expense altogetf
sc will not equal hat of two battleshi
the Notifications will be far m,
on permanent than the ships. Tn,
who opposed the Notifications clai
ed that the defense couldsbe acco
plshed by the navy in case of nee
ne Slty. In that event We SbOuld h.