The leader-enterprise. [volume] (Fitzgerald, Ga.) 1912-1915, 1913-12-31

Coionel GOethalS had nothing to do but
sit back and watch the signals on the
main line of canal construction, as in
dictated by his predecessors. The decks,
indeed. had been cleared for action and
the biueprints nicely finished and tied
with ribbon, but the real struggle was
just beginning
The first annual report of the COM
mission. to be written as of June 80,
the end OF the governments fiscal year,
was issued by Colonel Goethals in 1907.
three months after Mr.. Stevens resign
ed. The president had asked Colonel
Goethals to report on the contract plan
after an inspection of the canal. and
this mastery argument against turn
ing it over to private contractors is the
reports most notable feature aside
from its unusual oomprehensiveness
Taking a survey Of the conditions
when he took charge, Colonel Goethals
found that so per cent of the plant for
finishing the canal was on the ground
or ordered. The preliminary work for
relocating the Panama railroad had
been done. and actual construction of
the new line was begun in June, 1907,
shortly after his arrival Excavations
in the lock sites were uncompleted, and
1t was two years later, in 1909. before
any concrete was laid. In April, the
month he arrived, nearly 100000 yards
were removed from the Culebra cut,
the best months work to that date.
Dredging in the Atlantic and Pacific
entrances Of the canal had gone ahead
steadily. though not extensively. Less
than 100000 yards had been removed
from the CuleSra cut by both Wallace
and Stevens
The fall Of 1907 and the month of
October presented a new problem in
the canal construction which ever since
has been one of the most formidable
and uncertain factors in the project.
A slide began at Cucaracha on the east
side of the cut near the town of Guile
bra and suddenly filed the cut, closing
1t for transportation. In 1884 the
French had noted this earth move
nent, and during Colonel Cocktails
first years on the canal it involved an
area of forty-seven acres. Before dirt
trains could move through the cut
steam shovels had to work night and
day for several weeks, and from that
time onward the slides have been the
bugbear Of the organization, not be-
cause they were insuperabe, but from
the extra work they involved and the
possibility that they might delay the
completion Of the project
Right then it was realized that the
canal involved more excavation than
the minority of the board of advisory
engineers had estimated. Several i'm
pOrtant changes in the plans for the
canal came within the first eighteen
months of the Goethals administra-
ton to make the job far more stu
pendous than contemplated in the
plans of 1906. Colonel Goethals recon-
mended and President Roosevelt ap-
proved on Dec. 20, 1907, a change in
the location of two of the Pacific locks.
The revised plans changed two locks
from La Boca, on the Pacific coast, to
Mirafores, about seven miles inland,
which not only would make them safe
from bombardment, but was a more
practicable engineering plan. A mile
and half farther inland were the Pc
dro Miguel locks, which would raise
ships the final height to the great Ga
tun lake at it's Pacific terminal, and be-
tween the Pedro Miguel and Mirafores
locks was a small artificial lake. From
Mirafores to the Pacific a sea level
channel 500 feet wide was to be dug.
Another change in the plans was ap-
proved by the president on recommen-
dations by the navy board on Jan. Is,
1908 The locks were ordered enlarged
from 95 by 900 feet to 10 feet by 1000
feet. disable dimensions, to meet the
anticipated increase in the size of COM
mercial and war vessels.
The Pennsylvania Of our navy will
be ninety-seven feet wide, or six and
one-half feet on each side Of the ship
in the locks. The Imperator of the
Hamburg American line is SO feet wide
and 919 feet long, so that it appears
that the locks may become too narrow
before they become too short. The cost
of the locks was increased $5,O00,O00
by the change in plans.
A third vital change in the original
plans came on Oct. %, 1908, when the
president authorized the widening of
the Culebra cut for five miles from
200 feet to 800 feet at the bottom. This
would enable ships to pass going in
opposite directions anywhere in the
cut and increased the cost of this part
of the canal by $14,OO0O0O. Since these
three important changes there have
been no substantial changes in the ca
nal plans except the decrease in the
proposed height of the huge Gatun
dam. Additional excavation to the ex-
tent of 70,S71 .594 cubic yards was ne
cessitated by the new plans over the
estimate of 103, 795, 900 yards made in
1906, or total of 174,666,594 yards for
the completed canal But slides that
later deYeIoped- and further changes in