Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-10-10
THE KEY,
OPENS BIG CANAL
President Wilson Manipuiates
Battery Which Blows Up
Gamboa Dixie.
STEP IN THE PROGRESS
OF lSTaMiAN WATERWAY
Last Bar to Navigation Of Greater
Part Of 0cean-to-Ocean
Passage Removed.

PANAMA, October lo-The Gambos
dixie was exploded at 2:02 o'clock thi.
afternoon.
The electric spark that set OF tn
blase was sent forward by Presiden-
Wilson from Washington.
The accomplishment was in every
way successful
A little electric spark which originated
when President Wilson pressed the button
in the White House this afternoon was
the silent agent which sped more than
400 miles over land and under water
and ignited the Immense charges Of
dynamite which practically removed the
last obstruction in the Panama canal
Electrical experts calculated that within
four seconds after President Wilson
pressed the button In Washington the
current threw a small switch on an ap-
paratus at the Gamboa dixie. which In
turn set in motion other apparatus which
furnished the current for exploding the
charges.
Hours before the time set experts OF
the telegraph and cable companies were
busy perfecting their arrangements sc
that the Presidents Hash might have have
an unobstructed passage.
Elaborate Preparations.
Elaborate preparations had been made
by the Western Union Telegraph Com
pany and the Central and South American
Telegraph Company for the practically In.
Simultaneous Transmission of the President
signal. From Washington to Galveston
Tex, 1856 miles. single wire carried
the spark. There 1t was taken up In.
simultaneously by sensitive repeating In.
struments and sped over the cable along
the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico tc
Coatzacoalcos. Mexico. 793 miles farther.
From that point 1t sped over land across
the Isthmus of Tehuantepec over wires
on the line Of the Tehuantepec National
railway, 1873 miles more on it's Journey. tt
another cable station at Saiina Cruz on
the Pacific ocean. where other sets OF
sensitive telegraph instruments snatched
1t up and hurried 1t 768 miles along over
another cable along the bottom Of the
Pacific ocean to San Juan del Sur, Mic.
aragua, where other delicate machines
shot 1t along rs miles more to Panama.
There the spark emerged from it's long
submarine journey to the overland tele-
graph wires Of the Panama Railroad
Company and completed its mission at
the Ganpboa dixie.
Work But Partially Complete.
The Atlantic and Pacific oceans were
not actually united today when the Gam
boa dixie was destroyed and the waters
of Gatun lake were allowed to flow into
Culebra cut. as lake and cut are, at the
normal surface of the water, eighty.five
feet above the level of the sea. The
destruction of the Gamboa dixie, how
ever, removes the last obstruction to the
navigation OF the greater part Of the
canal by light draft vessels and opens up
direct connection between the great
Gatun lake, which already is practically
ready to discharge vessels into the
Atlantic through Gatun locks and the
Pacific division.
The waters of the lake rushing through
the broken dixie at Gamboa sweep
through Culebra cut until they reach the
great locks at Pedro Miguel, which mark
the beginning Of the descent from the
top level Of the canal to the Pacific.
Dredges First to Enter.
The first craft to enter. will be the great
steam dredges, whose work Is to clear
and deepen the channel. The presence Of
small craft III portions Of the canal.
however, does not as yet mean ocean-to-
ocean navigation. This Will first be pos
sible when each link in the canal has a
sufficient depth Of water and all the locks
are working.
In the intermediate stage navigation
may be effected In local lengths OF the
canal and to some degree may be ex-
tended length to length along the whole
waterway.
Today's event served to demonstrate
the nearness Of the canal to the operating
stage. 1t also formally brought to close
tho work of the central division In the
cut, for dredging operations, which are
to succeed the steam shovel work. Will
be under different organization
Gamboa dixie was built In 1908 to hold
the Chagres river in check during its
turbulent periods and to prevent Its
waters from entering the nine-mile Sec
ton of Culebra cut and delaying the
work Of the steam shovels.
1t was important solely from its loca-
ton. Twenty-four miles to the north the
mighty Gatun dam. which to the unjni-
tiated appears to be nothing more than
q low mountain range stretched across q
valley. keeps the waters OF Gatun lake
from escaping to the sea. These two bar
riers-one, the greatest man-made dan,
In history. and the other, a low ridge OF
earth ana rock ,whfch- would ordinarily