The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-01-07

Washington, Jan. -7.-Union Of the
Atlantic and Pacific oceans-the great
est marriage of waters in histoFy-hy
means of the Panama canal, is to be
the supreme American achievement of
1913. The big ditch is almost ready.
President Taft is preparing to an
nounce the program for acceptance of
eng1neering's latest gift, as a result OF
his trip to the Isthmian Canal Zone
last month.
'-Ninety-three per cent. completed -
was the report made to the Pres1dent
regarding the progress of the giant
sluiceway by Col. George w Goethals,
the engineering wizard of the tropics
Completion of all excavation neces-
sary to open the canal by June l, IS the
estimate in the hands of the President.
Flooding Of the Cuiebra Cut the most
stupendous task of the canal oonstruc-
ton is planned on July 1 without cele-
bration. During July, August and
September it is estimated, sum Gent
water will flow into the lake reSer-
Voira at the GatUn and M1ra1loreS
locks to enable passage of the first
vessel Panama railroad ship
through the entire canal on Oct. 8, the,
400th anniversary of the discovery OF
the Pacific by BalDoa- The cana MAJ VIII III
the world until after the dedication
on Jan. 1, 1915
The accom- plishrnents of 1912 on the
Isthmus and his hopes for the FIXTURE
were given as follows by Col Goeth-
ais while the Presidential party were
at Oulebra on Christmas Day:
During the year Of 1912 the GatIu1
dam was virtually completed and at
the close of the rainy season Gatun
Lake had risen to a height Of 81 feet,
which it will be allowed to attain. The
dam held back this volume of water
without leakage.
During the year about 30,Oo0DoO c1r-
bic yards OF material were removed
from the keystone of the cana1-Cule-
bre. OF this 100000 yards We're due
to slides in culebra Gut But slides
ed and dynamite blasting dtscontin-
ued.
There remains to be excavated
" 5000, 600 need be excavated before
the Canal can be opened. 1t is hop-
ed that the last steam shovel can pc
removed from the Gut by July L men
the water of Gatun Lake out of the
Cut, can be removed and the water
will flow. Remaining excavation nee
essary can be accomplished by steam
dredges-
Less than 8 per cent of the total
excavation and concrete works IS I'M
finished. At the present rate both
will be finished and all gates and ma
chinery for one set of locks will be in
stalled by September. Then, If the
water in Gatun Lake is high enough,
the Arst ship can be put through one
complete set of locks If one ship
can go any number can"
PRESIDENT
that sentiment attached to Balboa's
discovery of the Pacific 400 years ago
is to figure in the opening OF the "a
nal: During his visit to the zone last
month the President unequivocally in
dicated that he favors honoring Bal
boa by having the first ship sail from
ocean to ocean on Oct 5-exactly 4oO
years after the Spaniard sighted the
Pacific from what is now the termin-
usus of the Canal The President
plans to issue a proclamation before
&I,SeS do to f<ARs
the event An anti-c1imax planned is
to turn the water into CuIebra Cut,
the mammoth cash of steam shovels
through the miniature mountains in
the center of the canal district, on
July L.
Establishment of a civil govel!1-
nent in the zone, to replace the mill
tary regime incident to actual con-
struction work by the army and ma
w engineers, will precede the formal
and informal opening ceremonies.
nal is the choice of President Taft
| for Governor of the Zone. Goethals
has Indicated that he will accept such
an appointment-to finish the canal If
nothing more, putting the last touch
es of perfection on his titanic achieve
eat.
How near the canal is to actual use
was striking1y impressed upon the
| President and his party during their
| inspection last month. Every foot of
| the canal was looked over A special
| three days.
Here is what the President found:
All six locks about 20 per cent. COM
pleted.
Excavation 50 per cent. completed.
! Rackfllfng of the giant Ga,tun dam
| 90 per cent. complete
| Concrete work of the Gatun locks
the Atlantic entrance "a per cent
completed.
Tie spii1way of the Gatun dam
nearly 81 per cent completed.
| (fIT1ahra cent ROTnDlptod,
On December "A President Taft's
party landed at Cristobel, the Ameri-
can port on the Atlantic side of the
| isthnlus- Every inch of the so IL
miles to the extreme point of the ca
| nal breakwater at the Pacific entrance
was seen before the President sailed
for home December %
Al Cristobal the President saw. a
mammoth new concrete dock 1, 900
feet in length nearly completed; also
a modern concrete hotel, four stories
| in height, for Uncle Sans employ ees
and visitors.
AS the canal locks o-day-fnnag inc
| the waters of the Atlantic almost lap
ping the edges Of the Ca tun locks, a
! lake 10 miles 1OH"-entireIy artificial
Ito the Culebra Cas-; then a staggering
| dizzy abyss of the cut another lock
| AT Pedro Miguel another. Ia Ixe a mile
long. two more docks. a muddy chan
| mel teeming with dredges and steam
| pIeted canal, filled with the emerald
| blue waters of the Pacific. That is the
| canal as it is to-day, from Atlantic to
| Pacific.
| seventy-five feet below the Gatun
| locks three steam dredges are sucking
| out mud from the last brief barrier of
| earth to the Atlantic ocean. FIanking
| this last cut is the old French canal,
| almost filed in with vegetation by the
1 magic hand of nature in the tropics.
| The dixie of dirt between the locks and
| the channel leading to the Atlantic is
| barely a quarter of a mile long Be
yond the dredges. the canal is com