Smyrna times., 1913-03-19
FORMER SMYRNIAN WRITES
OF CANAL AND GULF STREAM
SOME INTERESTING DATA FOR
THE READERS OF THE TIMES
James B Scott Of Wilmington. Tells
of the Panama Canal and Gulf
Stream and importance Of Each

" the PANAMA OdtaN anu ~AAA
Stream and importance Of Each
Wilmington. March II: About
300 miles due East, from the Allan
tic entrance, TO the Panama Canal
lies the "Sea Of Sargossa" a region
of dense matted grass held in place
by the equatorial currents on the South
and on the North by the Eastwardly
trade winds. Into this sea Of grass
are gathered the wandering of the
Flotsam and Jetsam of all the debris
passing along the highways of the At
lantic. IL was the determining factor
that enabled Columbus to reassure his /
mutinOus crew that land was near.
But land was not Columbus was in
quest Of. 1t was by sailing West to
cross the $50 Meridian of Longitude,
and reach the Indes of the Far East
by direct water route. Upward of
four centuries have passed away since
then and the impelling motive of Col
umbus is about to be realized in a
continuous water route to the East by
way Of the Panama Canal. Not any
thing could be more appropriate if on
the opening Of the Canal, duplicate
models of his two ships the Pinta and
Santa Maria could be sent through
from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and
thus pay tribute to the memory of the
great discoverer who frs. conceived a
direct passage way by water to the
Orient, exactly on the Latitude his
two ships were sailing when the "Sea
of Sargossa" gave its mute evidence
that land was near.
World Paying Tribute to Achiev en- en-
Today the world is paying tribute
to the achievement of the greatest
feat in engineering ability it has been
vouchsafe for this generation to wit
ness. II was not alone in thrOttling
the flow of mighty rivers, and clearing
away through rock-ribbed mountains
that solved the problem leading to
success, but rather in the mastery Of
humble details in Sanitation Hygiene
and the Food. Clothing and Shelter
for an army Of 40, 900 employees,
thereby securing the maximum effic-
ency in the progress Of the work.
Another Big Feat to be Attempted.
Now that another great task in en-
gineering skill is about being attempt
ed with the mysterious river of the
ocean "The Gulf Stream. The
abandoned farms of the New England
tier Of States bordering the Sea coast
is due TO the harsh climate, ard the
harsh climate Of those States is at
tributed TO the ice laden current from
the Arctic sweeping down through
Robson. Kennedy, and Smith chan
nels, and emerging through Davis
Straits along the coast Of Labrador
until turned westward by New Found
land and thence along the New England
coast interposing between the Gulf
Stream on its northern course and the
southern coast line states until il
merges with the warm waters Of the
Tropics. This stream of ice water is
called the Labrador current and the
intention is to turn it north of New
Foundland and change its course from
south to east, and thence, so il is pro-
posed, TO send il north again along
he - ff-...N..1
Sueh A Course A Benefit to Navigation
The benefit to the climate of the New
England states are secondary to the
change that will be made in naviga-
tiOn in the North Atlantic, the min
Cling Of the warm waters Of the Gulf
Stream and the colder waters from the
North are the prolific cause Of the
dense fOgs prevailing nearly at all
times in tbs Latitudes and added to
this are the large number Of huge
ice berges threading their way south
through ghostly fogs. causes naviga.
tion in these waters TO become indeed
perlious for here are located the lane
routes Of the great Atlantic Line.
crowded as they always are with hu
man freight. To turn the course Of
the Labrador current and cause it I,
describe the arc Of a circle. when Il
reaches the Latitude Of Newfoundland
would require a jetty 200 hundre,
miles long from west to east owe
soundings 235 feet until it reaches a
depth where the line runs down fiy
miles. This is the general plan jus
as the late Engineer Eads forced IN
current Of the Mississippi throug
jetties at its mouth and saved ap
preparation bills in congress, he utal
lied the forces always existing i
nature.
Status ofthe Gulf Stream in the AtIanii
Now nv rav of dfruossso,. l.4 d.