The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1913-10-10

staEd the rush OF the Chagres' wa
tiers, IL admitted now to be so strong
that nothing short of an earthquake
such as has never been known in the
Central American region can harm
1t. The Gatun dam. Gatun lake and
the Cuiebra cut. so gigantic are the
proportions of each. dwarf the other
engineering works Of the canal that
In themselves have challenged the
admiration Of the world.
World Gives GoethaIs Ccedit.
To Col. George Goethals, chairman
Of the Isthmian canal commission,
chief engineer Of the commission and
governor Of the canal zone, the world
will give the credit for the successful
completion Of the Panama canal. Col
onel Goethals could not have accom-
plished his task without the assist
ance of such men as Col. H. r.
Hodges, Lieut., Col. David Du B. Gall
lard and Lieut.. Col. William L. Sibert,
army engineers, who have had charge
Of various phases Of the work. but
Colonel Goethals is recognized as the
real builder of the canal.
Under Colonel GoethaIs the greater
part Of the safe, 100000 which the
canal will have cost when 1t Is conn
pleted has been spent. It has been by
far the costliest engineering project
in the world. Nearly three-fifths of
billion dollars has been spent IN dig
ging . 40-mile ditch. This means
that the Panama canal has cost the
United States 10000 900 "a mile.
Over $16,000,000 Of the total amount
spent has been used to make the canal
zone habitable and sanitary. It has
been suggested that this is an enor-
nous amount Of money to spend in
cleaning up place in which few peo-
pie will reside permanently. but the
engineers say that the sanitation Of
the canal zone was the chief factor in
making the canal a reality. The fall
ure Of the French has been attributed
to q large extent to the fact that
the workmen could not survive In the
fever and pest ridden country.
The building Of the great locks
which raise vessel to q height of 81
feet above sea level at one end Of
the canal and lower 1t the same dis
lance at the other end. has been in
charge Of two Of Colonel Goethals'
assistants Colonel Hodges and Lieu
tenant Colonel Sibert. Colonel Hodges
work in Installing the immense lock-
gates that form SO important a part
Of the operating machinery Of the
canal, and his ability to overcome all
obstacles had led Colonel Goethals to
call him genius. The building, pois-
ing and operation Of the lock gates
constitute one of the delicate prob
lens Of lock canal construction, and
the proper handling Of this problem
has been Colonel Hodges. contribu-
ton to the work of construction of
the canal.
Lieutenant Colonel Sibert has had
charge of the building Of the great
dam and locks at Gatun. in addition
to other duties. He saw long, ac-
tive service in the Philippines, and
he is known in the army as q night
er as well as an engineer. His fight
ing qualities have enabled him to
carry through the great work Of
which he has had charge in the
canal zone
Realize Dream Of Centuries.
Through the work Of these men--all
Of them members Of Uncle Sans
fighting body-the United States has
been able to attain what has been In
truth the dream OF centuries. In nine
years these men have carried through
an undertaking that was first thought
of several hundreds of years ago.
There Is evidence that the idea Of an,
isthmian canal was born as early az
the sixteenth century. for history re-
cords the fact that the Inquisition
declared such a project to alter the
face of the earth to be impious and
further discussion of the matter was
forbidden by Philip II. Of Spain. whose
reign began In 1856. More than CEN
fury later Scotchman named Patter-
son revived the scheme. established Q
colony on the shores of the isthmus.
and made a crude survey of the route.
The United States government first
took definite action looking toward
the construction Of an isthmian canal
In 1884, when the senate voted for
the building of a Nicaraguan canal.
An expedition was sent to Nicaragua
to make an investigation. and report
ed that the canal could be construct
ed for $25.OO0.OOO. hardly one-twenti-
eth OF the amount that the Panama
canal will have cost when completed.
De Lesseps First to dig.
The matter rested until after the
Civil war. when negotiations for a
canal commission we're entered into
by the United States government. Be-
fore anything had been accomplished
the concession for q. Panama canal
had been given to Lucien Napoleon
Banaparte Wyse, Frenchman. He
organized q company. which sold out
later to the flnanciers associated with
Ferdinand de Lesseps The company