Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1913-05-31
SAYS OUR CANAL
WILL Be USELESS
French Writer PeSSimiSticAbOut
Panama Ditch.
LOCKS NOT BIG ENOUGH.

to Pass Through the Channel as It 10
Being Made Now, Ayers M. Bunau-
NsriIIa In His Book.
Philippe Bunau-yarilla has just pub
! hshed in France an interesting book Of
/ great bulk entitled "Panama-Its Crea-
! ton, Destruction and Resurrection.
This deals with the whole history of
the enterprise from the most remote
beginnings to the present moment.
He calls the book "a witness before
the bar Of history. explaining how the
sublime creation OF French genius was
ravished from the patrimony of France
and showing how French genius com
pletelg solved tho problem OF joining
the two oceans"
In dealing with the international side
of the question he4 expresses these
views on the revolution which separat-
ed Panama from Colombia:
Colombia may say today that this
revolution was due to American pro-
lection. This is true IL by protection
is understood solidarity in justice to
and in defense of legitimate interests.
But it did not arise from a plot hatch
ed by the American authorities. 1t de-
veloped through parallel mo- ements
working at two distinct places toward
the same end-the completion of the
canal
"E'rom the moment of the first rev.
dictionary outbreak President Roose-
welt was careful to avoid anything
that might resemble unworthy collu-
sion Colombia may brandish her
rights of title over the isthmus, but
\ her. case was that of Shylock claiming
a pound of flesh. Shylock's rights We're
unquestionable. but it was impossible
for him to support his claim. 1t is the
same thing with Colomblas title to
Panama"
The Sea Level Idea,
The author discusses what he calls
the Bunau-Varilla idea that of lock ,
canal first then n sea level canal.
He points out that the date is stillun-
fixed for beginning the work of trans,
forming one into the other aud sskyS I
that it should be done Immediately, as
no precautions were taken for the
'tA1h9A'Au lstttSh tiuAAfS S0hSbi uStiVu VI
the locks. 43ssas as.
"1flie engineers have otstinately res ;
fused to make the necessary modifica-
ton for the application sof my nIatlpd
of transformation, which would permit
gradual disearding of the locks with
/ out interTuptipg navigation or dredging.
at great depths. Four or five years
will be necessary for this, preparatory
work TO getiinto swing before the up
per levels of the canal can begin to
be lowered while the transformation
itself will take ten years to carry OUT
Under the most favorable conditions,
says the writer the lock canal viii be
no longer workable in twenty or twen-
ty-five years. perhaps after only fifteen.
1t is absolutely necessary, he asserts,
that it be turned into a free strait for
the following reasons:
First, because the difference be-
tween the dimensions of the largest
ships now building and the locks are
ut most eighty feet in length and elev-
en- feet in width, which is merely n
strictly necessary margin. Thus in
few years time the locks viii be in
adequate to the needs of military and
commercial navigation
Second, because the canal must at
the earliest possible moment be re-
lieved of the menace of destruction
now overhanging it through the dam
gers to which the Gatun Dam is ex-
posed
Ditch May Leak.
'Third, because of fine danger that
the canal will lack sufficient water be-
cause of its escape through assures in
the banks.
Fourth. because the huge volume
Of traffic which win eventually thread
the canal will absolutely require free
waterway"
The book has been received with
great interest in Paris.
German experts continue to express
doubts Of one kind or another on the
Panama canal question. The latest
writer in a current magazine declares
that the canal win already be partial
ly antiquated when opened because the
locks are too small.
A comparison Of the Panama locks
with those of the new Kaiser VIII
helm canal shows the length of the
Panama locks to he 305 meters as
against $50 for the Kaiser Wilhelm,
the breadth 33.5S against As, the depth
1215 against 1917
The writer comes to the conclusion
that the future is much more favora-
bic for the Suez than for the Panama
canal and declares that this may ex-
plain the striking fact that England
took NO part in the more recent COM
petition for building the American ca
nal, leaving the matter entirely to
France aud the United States.