Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1913-09-10

Active WOTK was started Dy Ine
French on their canal in 1881, and
this first French company, which was
organized BY De Iesseps, failed dur
ing the latter part of 1888. after spend
ing S2o0, 600, 300. For FIVE years the
company remained in the hands of
a receiver, and in 1884 the new French
company was organized and kept up
the work on a very small scale until
1904, when the United States took
over the construction.
The rights and property of this
French company we're purchased by
the United States for S40,000.Go0,. and
up to date our country has realized
on this purchase, on very conserva-
tive estimate, over $42, 100000.
Out of the 80,000,000 cubic yards of
excavation work which the French
company had done only 5o,000,000
yards were useful in the construction
OF the present type of canal, and in
estimating the value OF the French
purchase an allowance Of $25,3S9, $40
was made for this excavation work 1t
had cost approximately $4,000, 900.
The value Of the Panama Railroad
was estimated at s9,000,00 This
railroad was acquired by the French
at cost of $1S,o00,000. In addition
to these two main items, the pur-
chase included a great deal of ma
chinery, and the commission Is today
using IS French locomotives and z
ladder, dredges included in the, proper
ty pprchased.
The Gatun DAM
The Gatun Dam is a huge earth
s~.ueture, and is, in fact, more of a
structed as to complete the natural
range of mountains which, excepting
at this one point. entirely surround
the low-lying basin of the Chagres. BY
completing this basin it is possible to
retain the waters of the Chagres, and
thereby form the Gatun Lake.
The dam is constructed of two out
Fer walls of dry fill, large part of
wn-ch was exeavated from the Culeb-
"a Cut. These two walls, or toes, as
they are usually called. were con-
structed so as to be 1900 feet apart
(inside measurement and this space
in between the two walls was filed
with mixture of sand and clay which
was sucked up from the river bed of
the Chagres, both above and below
the dam, by means of large suction
dredges, and then pumped through
long pipe lines into the space between
the two walls Of dry-earth fill About
20 per cent of the material passing
through these pipe lines was solid
matter, the balance water. After the
solid mattef settled the surplus water
| was drained OF, and in that way the
inner portion OF the dam was built up
1nis inner core is usually known as
the hydraulic core, and forms the wa:
ter-tight portion of the dam. After
the hydraulic core had been carried a
short way above the water level
| It was discontinued, and the outer
walls were then carried higher and
closer together until they entirely en-
cased and capped over the inner core.
The Gatun Dam at the base is 2,10O
feet, or about half mile, thick-400
feet thick at the water surface and
100 feet wide across the crest. The
crest OF the lam stands los feet
Above sea level, and 90 feet above the
surface of the water of the lake. The
length of the dam measured along the
crest is 7,5U0 feet, but Of this length
only 500 feet win be subject to the
full pressure of IS feet of water, due
to the natural rise of the ground along
the inner slopes of the dam.
In connection with this dam it is
interesting to know that a Frenchman
named Lepinay was the first to pro-
pose the plan of constructing dam at
Gatun. He proposed this plan in 1879
to the International Scientific Con-
g1ess, which had been convened at
Paris to determine upon the general
route of the proposed canal, but De
Lesseps, who was the leading spirit
Of this Congress, was so strong an
advocate of the sea-level canal that
Lepinay's plan was hardly discussed,
and is simply matter of record.
The spillway which is located about
midway Of the dam, is built right into
natural hill which stood at an ele-
walton Of Ito feet above sea level
This, hill was practically solid rock,
so it was only necessary to cut a
channel 300 feet wide through this
hill and line it with concrete. build
ing a dam across the head of this
channel to form the spillway or reg
ulating works for Gatun Lake. This
dam forms nearly semi-circle across
the head of the spillway channel, and
VIII be constructed. of solid concrete
up to elevation So. At this level piers
rise As feet apart on the crest of the
solid portion of the dam, and in be-
tween these piers come the steel
gates 10 feet high, which control the
level of the lake
With these gates closed the crest of
the dam would be .SS feet above sea
level, SO that it would be possible
to store up water in the Gatun Lake
up to about 81 feet above sea level.
The normal level of the lake is to be
co feet, and it will be maintained at
that level during most of the year;
Just at the last of the rainy season,
however. the lake level will be brought
ap- to 81 in order to supply the water