Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-09-19
CANAL IS OPENED
ON ATLANTIC SIDE
Early in October There Will Be
Waterway Across the
ISthmuS.

Following the opening of the Panama
| canal from the Mirafores locks to the
| Pacific ocean few days ago, communi-
| cation has now been opened at the other
| end between the great Gatun locks and
| the Atlantic ocean. This followed the
| removal of the railroad trestle or span
| that crossed an earthen dixie between
| the locks and the sea. To make the
opening navigable about $4,000 yards of
earth in the dixie must be removed, and
at present two pipe line suction dredges
are working away on the dam, which
should be completely removed by Oc-
tober I.
There will then remain but one OBJ
structon to free communication in the
whole length of the canal, and that is
the dixie at Gamboa which restraints the
waters of Gatun lake from flowing into
and filling the great Culebra cut, ten
miles long \ big suction dredge is now
removing the earth and silt that has ac-
cumulated in the bed of the canal be
tween that dixie and Gahboa lake. since
the cut was made three years ago.
Early in October another and the last
tremendous blast will destroy the dixie
itself. leaving a clear waterway across
the isthinus
Novel Water Crossing.
| \ bridge on a boat is the device that
has been adopted by the Panama canal
engineers to secure temporary cross
| ing of the waterway at Paraiso, after
| the removal of the present bridge to
meet the demands of canal traffic The
idea was adopted as the result of the
| successful application of the principle
| BY the Chicago. Milwaukee and St
l'aul Railway to many Of its crossings.
In the case of the canal Il railroad
and a highway will be constructed on
trestle lib feet above the water
level, to meet the ground levels on
| either side of the canal at Paraiso
| That trestle work will be carried on a
| boat SIS feet long. So feet wide and 6
| feet deep. The great scow will be
connected with the canal bank on one
side by hinge or pivot, so that it can
pc swung out Of the way of passing
ships INTO a recess cut into the bank.
New Town in a Day.
How the denizens of the jungles and
small towns In the interior of the 18TH
mus OF Panama were driven out of
their homes by the rising waters of
uatun lake as the canal approaches
completion and how a new town
sprung up In day for their occupa-
tlon is told in the Canal Record, lust
received
DurinS the past year and a half 10
per cent of the population had been
moved out of the area to be flooded
some went entirely out of the lake
watershed upon being notified: others
had to be taken out when the rising
waters were almost at their doors:
some disappeared in the higher levels
with the Irackless silence of wood
creatures, and some moved in bodies
forming new settlements, preserving
the communal life of the old villages
Set Down on Townsite.
In one case $50 people scattered over
an area of several square miles were
collected and moved by rail and water
a distance of sixty miles and set down
upon a toWnsite arranged for them.
The government of Panama is selling
| these people building material and food
at cost and has even bought from the
canal commission SchoOinouse and a
Catholic church in the abandoned dis
tr1ct at upset prices and is erecting
| them for the use of the emigrants on
| the new sites.
| People living on the watersheds of
the Caimitillo, Cameron and Dominica
rivers in the Panama Canal Zone will
be required to tear down remove
their >houses on or before October l.
These streams will become tributaries
of Mraflores lake when the lake is
| lake on which will be situated the new
canal.