The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-11-24
Chief Engineer Goethals
Submits Annual
Report.
CHANNEL
THROUGH SLIDES
Steady Progress Being Made by
Workers ill Opening Up Guile
bra Cut for Passage of Yes
sels-Mechanisrn of Locks
and Dams Tested With
Perfect Success.

Washing ton. November 33.,-No def
mite da,c for tho official opening or
tn" Panama Canal is sat in tho annual
report of Colonel George Goc:hals
chairman and chief engineer OF th.
canal Commission. which has just hec,,
Submitted to Secretary Garrison.
Neither Is there any prediction Of whom
the ships may first pass from ocean
TO ocean. The first day Of the Canars
actual operation still depends upon tho
ireachcrous slides OF Cuibra cut and
nov fast the drcdges can Keep tho
channels open.
IT has been the general belief that
IN" effect Of the water in tho cut
would tend ro rctard slides. ana ~.
perioncc below tn" Gatun locks fuliy
justif"s this belief" said Colonel
Goethals "on tho other hand. the
eeoloEist Is OF the opinion that tho
water may. 10 some extent dcvelop
new slides. Again, much ado Was mad.
In 1909 over the seam" character of
rock on the Isthmus. through which
water flows quite rapidly. In conse-
queace Of which tho question was rails
Cd that tho lake might leak out
through seams aud crcvices
Water Turned Into Cut.
'If these things arc liable 10 occur.
IN" sooner the better, II the official
opening of the Canal is to occur Jan
admitted this fall. but was deferred
until May /. 49,. tho fun height could
not be reached until October 1914 leav-
ing !lttle time For the determination
Of these questions. These considara-
tions led 10 tho conclusion that the
water should be turned into the Cut
at the earliest date practicable for
getting the dredges TO work on the
1 slides.
! The present plans. however. are
based upon the blowing up Of C;anboa
Dixie on October 10. it's removal hy
transfer OF two suction dredscs and
a ladder ,lrcdpe In thc Cucarachn Slide.
tho smaller dipper drcdS 10 work on
tho other sides ui.;il tho fun width OF the
channel Is attained. and the passage
OF vessels through tho canal as soon
as channels Of full depth and OF suf-
hcicnt width have been secured
Remove Dixie by Drcdges.
Before boats can be passed il will
he necessary To remove the Camboa
pike by dredges. and TO remove tho
slides as already outlined. The pas
sage Of commercial vessels Is depend
ent. therefore. upon the time when
proper channels can he drcdrcd
through the slides; should additi nal
ones occur, they will necessarily ad-
vance the date when this will be ac-
complished.
The Canal proper. exclusive of the
approaches. the machineshopS and
warehouses and great ocean docks at
either end. would have been completed
during the last fiscal ycar but for the
extensive slides III tho Culcbra cut
And 10 deal with the great problems
involved in the removal OF the slides,
n" effective way WAS found except tho
bodily displacement Of vast hills
Tie slides and breaks increased as
the cut was Gcepcned
No treatment has proven effective
for slides when once developed. EN-
cent that Of eNcavating and hauling
away material from the moving mass
the angle OF rcposc for the particular
material in motion is reached" said
Colonel Ciocthals.
Break Under Pressure.
Last YEAR il was predicted by
gcologists that the slides had been
conquered and that little more activity
could he expected because all the loose
on. exposing great ridges OF solid
basait rock. which would act as bar
riers 10 further earth movements. Vet,
when all was most promising and tn"
canal excavation had gotten within
sixty feet of the bottom of the cut on
the east side, tile rocks broke under
the tremendous pressure. and 1000 900
cubic yards Of material slid into and
closed up the cut. Since then. the
canal workers have been digging away
that material, and though there have
been several slides, steady progress
was made. for not only did giant
drcd2cs work on the face of tho slides
but powerful hydraulic monitors. such
as We're extensively used in hydraulic
mining on the Pacific Coast. were
brought into play To wash away the
trcachcrous hills from the rear. car
continued on Second pagc)