Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1913-10-11
President Wilson Pushes
Button and Explosion
Occurs at Panama
GREAT GAMBOA Dixie
is BLOWN TO ATOMS
Water From Lake Gatun
Flows Into Culebra Cut;
Still Work to Do

Washington, D. c., Oct. 1o.-Ex-
aetly At z o'clock eastern time thls
afternoon President Wilson, prsss.
Ing a button In the white house,
sent an electric current flashing
more than 1000 miles over land
and under seas to blow UP the
Gamboa dixie In the Panama can
al and removed the last practIeaI
obstaotle In the great lntsr-oesan
waterway.
Panama, Oct. 1o.-The 0amboa
dixie was exploded It 2:o2 .. n.
this afternoon. The deotructlon
Of the dixie was successful il
svery way.
Washington, d. G.. Oct. 1O.--A little
electric spark originating when Presi.
dent Wilson pressed the button In the
white house sped more than 900
miles over land and under water, IN.
nited the immSnse charges or dynamite
and practically cleared the Panama
canal, Electrical experts calculated
that within fonr seconds after the in.
tial impulse tFc current threw small
switch at the Ganiboa dixie which ii
turn. set lin motion other apparatus,
furnishing the current which exploded
the charges.
Elaborate preparations had been
made by the Western Union Telegraj,h
Co. and the Central and South AmAri-
ca Telegraph Co. for the practically
instantaneous transmission OF the
presidents signal. From Washington
to Galveston. Texas. 1856 miles
single wire carried the spark. There
1t was taken up instantaneously bv
sensitive repeating instruments rnd
sped over the cable along the bottom
OF the Gulf Of Mexico to Coatzacoalcos
Mexico, 793 miles further. From that
point 1t sped overland across the
istbmns of Tehauntepec. 1873 miles to
another cable station at Salina Crns
on the Pacific ocean where other sets
of sensitive telegraph Instruments
snatched 1t ND and hurried 1t 766 miles
through another cable on the bottom
Of the Pacific ocean to San Juan Del
Sur. Nicaragua. cable station There
another delicate machine transferred
it to still another cable and shot II
718 miles more to Panama. When the
spark emerged from It's long submarine
journey 1t took the overland telegraph
wires of the Panama railroad company
and completed Its mission at the Cam
boa dixie
Hours before tho time set. experts
OF the telegraph and cable companies
were busy perfecting their arrange.
ments' 30 the presidents fash might
have an unobstrncted passage.
History Of Project
The Atlantic and Pacific oceana
we're not actually united today when
the Gamboa dixie was destroyed and
the waters Of Gatun lake were allowed
to flow into Culebra cut.
The destruction OF the Gamboa dixie,
removes the last obstruction to the
Of the greater part Of the
canal by light draft vessels and opens
up direct connection between the
great Gatun lake, The waters Of the
lake dashing through the broken dixie
at Gamboa swept through Culebra cut
until they reached the great locks at
Pedro Miguel, which mark the begin
ming Of the descent from the top level
Of the canal to the Pacific.
The first craft to enter will be the
great steam dredges whose work ID to
clear and deepen the channel. The
presence Of small craft in portions OF
the canal, does not as vet mean
ocean to ocean navigation. This will