Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1913-09-10
PANAMA CANAL LIGHTING SYSTEM MND1tLYlEEXPLANED
BY NlLIANM BAXTER L JRRu OFFICIAL GUIDE OF ZONE

from these cylinders causes the chain
&c IL plays out to offer mors and more
60 the motion OF the vessel.
The chain is capable Of stopping In
20 feet a 10000 ton vessel running 4
miles per hour. The stock from which
u Is TO be forged is three inches In
o-ameter
When not in use the cylinders are
forced up, and the weight OF the chain
carries it down into the groove in the
bottom of the lock floor, and the YES
seI passes over II.
Guard Gates.
II a vessel should break through
the fender chain, it would then ram
the lock gate, but with this contin-
gency In view, two gates instead OF
one have been provided at the upper
and lower ends OF the highest lock
in each fight, the upper or guard gate
of each pair serving to protect the
lower gate from ramming. Both gates
would have to be broken down to put
the lock out of commission.
Lower Guard Gate.
At lie lower end of all the sets Of
locks small guard gate has been put
in, miterfng the other way from the
main lock gates, which inter toward
the high level, and IT has been design
ed to serve two purposes: First, as a
confer gate or dam, If at any time It
is necessary to pump the water from
the lower lock chamber; second, as
d guard gate to the lower lock gate,
for, mitering as 1t does. II will STAND
a heavier blow from the lower side
than the lock gate itself
Emergency Dam.
If all of these devices should fail
and there should be an acct
dent which would establish free
communication between the two
levels above and below a lock, a most
destructive accident would be the re-
suit, for the velocity of the water flow
ing through the lock chamber would
be "a feet per second, and the dis
charge would amount to $4,000 cubic
feet per second. In order to shut off
this water, and prevent it from tear
ing out the lock floor, it Is necessary
to employ a device known as an
Emergency dam, of which there are
two Installed at the upper end of each
set of locks, one for either side. These
resemble q swing bridge, and when
put in use they are swung out across
the lock, and from their lower side
a set of open-work wickets are lower
ed, engaging in grooved sill on the
lock floor.
Lock Gates.
The construction of the lock
gates is also interesting, They were
built up of big horizontal Orders
weighing from II to Is tons each, with
vertical framework in between, and
the sheathing plate both on the out
side and inside Of this frame. They
are cellular in construction, and the
lower half of the gate is an air cham
Der, which supports about three-quar-
tiers of the weight of the gate when
submerged. The upper half OF the gate
is arranged with openings in the
plates on the upstream side, SO that
water can flow in or out of the upper
half Of the gate at the same time that
Int flows In and out of the lock, in
creasfng the weight of the gate as
the height of the water on the outside
increases, overcoming in that way the
lifting effect Of the air chamber in the
bottom of the gate. as it is placed
deeper and deeper under the water.
These gates vary in height from AZ
to 50 feet, and in weight from 800 to
700 tons to each half gate. If each
half gate were laid fiat one on top Of
the other they would build up a tower
containing $4,000 tons of steel, stand
ing 80 feet higher than the Singer
5uilding in New York. There are 80
half gates. and each is 2 feet in
thickness
Another interesting comparative
,lgure is one pertaining to the exca-
waited material. All of the excavated
material which viii have been taken
out when the canal is completed, in
Guiding the 30,OO0,0oO cubic yards of
useful French excavation, If loaded
on one train of fat cars similar to
the wooden cars one sees commonly
on the work, would make a train over
10000 miles long. reaching more than
four times around the earth.
Sanitation.
Not one single factor has been more
important in. making the construction
OF this canal possibility than that
of sanitation. One of the worst snags
that the French ran against was this
very question of sanitation. Unfor-
tunately there are no accurate figures
obtainable on the lives lost. during the
French time; the only figure available
is for the mortality in Ancon Hospital,
which for the eight years between
1881 and 1888 amounted to 5,527. But
the French we're at this time doing
their work by contract, and each con-
tractor was charged dollar per day
for each man he had in hospital. It
will readily be understood, therefore,
that If the French contractor were
anything like the ordinary contractor,
not very large proportion of the
sick would go to this hospital We
hear of many individual instances of
heavy loss The first French direc.
Tor. Mr.. Dingler, came to the Isthmus
with his wife and three children. At
the. end Of the first six months All had