The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1913-12-09
THREATEN
OPENING OF CANAL
Facts and Figures Given In
the Annual. Report of
Colonel GoethaIS.

year SCI lOlIu Ill Iut lGDOlI SlOMS
in a more striking manner than in the
current and fragmentary reports pub
lished from time to time the enormous
difficulties which the canal builders
have to overcome. Speaking of the
work in Culebra cut, where the heav-
lest slides have occurred, the report
says:
"The estimated amount removed be-
cause of slides was 5,S99,200 cubic
yards, and of this amount 1,593,000 Gu
bic yards of material was taken from
the upper reaches of the banks to re-
duce the quantity to be taken from the
bottom or as a preventive measure
against slides and breaks-in other
words, 1857 per cent removed from the
cut was due to slides as against $500
per cent during the previous fiscal
year.
Big Increase Over Estimate.
"The amount remaining to be re-
moved was again increased at the
close of the year and aggregates for the
Culebra cut S200,000 cubic yards. In
other words, there will be an increase
for the central division of 9,2S0,237
cubic yards over the estimate submit
ted in the last annual report. OF this
total remaining 1924, ,944 cubic yards
were inside the canal prism lines and
6,S60500 cubic yards estimated for
slides. which estimate includes the
amount for benching back of the banks
so as to relieve the pressure which,
crushing the underlying strata, may
either increase the extent of existing
slides or cause new ones.
"The total amount of material due to
slides so far removed aggregates 22,-'
570,200 cubic yards, or an increase of
2,304 200 cubic yards over that esti-
mated in the last annual report. Slides
and breaks increased as the cut was
deepened. No treatment has proved
effective for slides when once devel-
oped except that of eXcavating and
hauling away material from the mov-
ing mass until the slide comes to rest
or until the angle of repose for the par
ticular material in motion is reached.
"The prediction of the geoOgiSt in
the last annual report, with reference
to the Cucaracha slide, that the end
of the activity of this slide is now well
in sight, however, because all loose
surface stone and clay has almost slid
off, exposing several large dikes and
flows of basalt which would maintain
in place most of the remaining ma
terial,' have not been realized. The
hpttnn1 orra1n of fbn canal had hnpn
reached and the widening cuts had
progressed satisfactorily until within
approximately sixty feet of the line
of the prism was reached on the east
| side, when on Jan. 20 the basalt rocks
| broke and there slid into the cut ap-
proximately 100000 cubic yards Of
material, extending completely across
the cut, topping the tracks on the
sixty-seven foot level and completely
stopping the passage of trains from the
north. Bottom grade was subsequent
ly reached for sufficient width to put
in drainage pipes for handling the wa
| ter from the north, but the rains
saturating the loosened material oc-
/ casioned a fiattening of the slope, thus
causing another movement, and the
weight Of the superimposed mass
broke the pipes.
Slide Covered Fifty Acres.
"Work was continued on the slide
during the year, but principally for the
purpose of maintaining the tracks on
the sixty-seven foot level open for the
passage of trains. This slide at the
close of the fiscal year covered an
area of approximately fifty acres. The
total amount removed thus far since
July, 1905, when it began moving, is
1885, 800 cubic yards, leaving approx
mately 100000 cubic yards still to be
removed"
The financial operations of the cana
are told in big figures. The disbursine
officer has paid out 20,524 ,705 on pay
rolls alone. Congress so far has appro
priated $349, 1905, ,223 for canal construc
ton, of which $1O,676,95O went fol
Notifications.
In great detail Colonel Goethals tells
the story of the engineers work during
the last year, and with particular salts
luCllOu II 10 lCPOlbSu Ihob tLS AASNh"A
ism of the vast locks and dams was
tested with perfect success. The gates
at Gatun were swung in one minut'
and fifty seconds for each leaf. Th'
heavy iron chains which are depended
upon to prevent an unruly vessel from
crashing into the locks were raised ant
lowered in ample time to meet an!
} emergency and demonstrated their abil
ity to check or stop any vessel unless
of very great size and moving at exces
sive speed. The locomotives which toy
the vessels through the locks wer
tried out and proved their ability b
7 handle the largest vessels. The cleo
} tric installation, which will involve tn
! use of a current Of 44,000 volts pres
sure, was completely successful.
Altogether the technical sections o