Arizona republican., 1913-04-17
AN APPALLING TASK
 THE LSTHMLAN CANAL

about a mile from the very interest - | ing Central American city of Pa mama, which is about due south of the city of Pittsburg and within five hundred miles of the equator The canal is a sea level canal for eight miles from the Atlantic en- trance, to the famous Gatun dam. At this point the isthmian canal commission have literally changed the whole face of nature. having built across the valley of the Cha gres veritabe mountain ridge a mile and half long and nearly a half mile wide al it's base, the crest of which is 105 feet above sea level. In this dam the outer sides are com posed of great ridges of rock and earth from the Culebra cut. be- tween which a hydraulic fill has been made creating practically imper- vious core throughout the dam Back of this dam the waters of the Cha gres are impounded, forming Gatun lake, with an area of 164 square miles, located on the very crest of the isthmus.
 At the east end of the dam are
 
 structure of concrete and concrete steel in existence, two million cubic yards of concrete having been used in these locks. These figures are so big that it is hard to realize what they mean. but this concrete would make wall eight feet wide and twelve feet high, 133 miles long. or long enough to reach half way around the state of Delaware, while all the concrete used in the canal construction would make a wall of the same size completely encircling the state of Delaware. These locks are constructed in a triple flight, the chambers are parallel so that vessels can be lifted from the sea level of the Atlantic end of the canal. to the S5 foot level in Gatun lake. at the same time that vessels going in the opposite direction are dropped down from the lake level to that of the Atlantic.
 Every possible protective device seems installed at these locks and while the structures are enormous, the installation is so complete and scientific that they can be controlled with the greatest simplicity. Each lock chamber is one thousand feet long and one hundred and ten feet wide with huge double steel gates at both ends one of the mechan- ical foremen in charge of finishing the gates. told me that he should not consider the gates perfectly in stalled until they would close to the ! fNf an inch Water is brought in from Gatun lake through twentyfoot cul- verts, and through very ingenious system of cross laterals. delivered through the bottom of the locks; one of these huge structures being filled in less than eight minutes. Vessels will not be allowed to go through the locks by their own pow CT but will be towed through by electric locomotives, and 1t will re- uuire but one hour and a half to pass a vessel from sea level through the three locks at Gatun. to the level of the great lake 85 feet above sea level
 Toward the center of the Gatun ! dam is d remarkable spillway of
 
 as at the Gatun locks, the engineers were very fortunate in encountering bedrock At the spillway. through a system of ingeniously devised gates in telephonic connection with the upper gauging stations on the Cha gres river the level of the lake will at all times be maintained at the desired point. and all surplus water will be carried through turbines at I the spillway, furnishing all power | used in connection with the opera : tions throughout the canal. and l eventually will furnish power to | operate the Panama railway. elec- | trically
 All engineers are now practically agreed that the building of the i Catun dam. which makes of the Pa mama canal a lock canal rather than g sea level canal. was the eminently wise thing to do. and that Ex-presi- l dent Roosevelt, in adopting the re- i port of the minority of the interna- | tionaI board of engineers. which minority was largely composed oi Americans, did the very best thine | for the nation.
 | Next to the malaral sWamps
 with their fever breeding mosquitoes the great problem which confronted | the French and wrecked their en- 1 terprise was the torrential character of the Chagres river which some times rises thirty feet in a night By the Gatun dam this immense flow of water is harnessed. made t' carry vessels through the locks ant generate the power for their opera tion.
 | When it rains in the fsthmus does so with vengeance. the rain! season lasting from April 18th t' | the latter part of December. Th'
 annual rainfall in Colon is over 15 inches. and their prize record Is PAS inch fall in three minutes, Whicl
 is going some.
 Probably the most famous DOT
 tion of the canal is the Culebra Cut
 My son. Bartlett. and I walked
 through this cut one morning, leaF
 ing Panama shortly after six o'clock
 and we spent about the most strenu ous morning of our lives as w
 tramped through six miles to tn
 Pedro Miguel locks where the dro
 from the Cuebra Cut-really a iOn