The Mena weekly star., 1913-11-27

%6OR more than 400 years the VI
sion of canal across the 18TH
mus of Panama has fired the
imagination of the world. The vi
sion became a reality on October 10,
1913, when President Woodrow Will
son, in the White House at Wash
ington, pressed a button which sent
the electric current 1000 miles to ex-
plode forty tons of dynamite which
blew up the last barrier to a free
waterway across the isthmus.
"GambOa's bustedr' exclaimed the
president as he pressed the tele-
graph key. The casualness of his
remark was a tribute to the engi-
neers of the United States army, to
whom the digging of the canal has
been simply another job in the
routine of their regular work, and
one that called for no brass bands
or special ceremonies to glorify it.
With the same simplicity, the first
vessel to pass through the famous
Culebra Cut, after the breaking of
the Gamboa dixie had let in the
water, was an ordinary rowboat,
while a humble but useful tugboat
was the first craft of any kind to
make the passage through the great
Gatun Locks.
While the work at Panama is still
far from completed yet the canal
which the first Spanish explorers
yisualized is today an accomplished
fact. For the first time since the
mountains rose from the sea, there
is continuous water passage across
the isthmuS. Ships as large as most
of those of Balboa's day, can already
be flOated from ocean to ocean.
On September %, 1913, Nasco NJ
nee de Balboa climbed the peaks of
the Continental Divide and discov-
cred the Pacific oacean. which he
named The South Sea. From
where Balboa stood his new ocean
lay directly south, because of the
S-shaped twist of the isthmuS,
which brings the Pacific entrance to
the canal not only southwark but
eastward of the Atlantic terminal
When Balboas report of his dis
covery reached Spain, it was accom-
panied by the recommendation that
a canal be Immediately dug across
the isthmus. What the explorer
had in mind was a sea-level canal,
for although Leonardo da Vinci the
great Italian painter engineer, had
recently invented the hydraulic lock |
now generally used for lifting vessels
over elevations. it had not become
widely known. However, alluring as
it seemed. the canal project was
dismissed. According to some his |
tOrians its reflections was due main
ly to the influence of the church. !
To the simple faith of that day it |
appeared clear that if God had in
tended the waters to flow across the
lsthmus, He would have created a |
channel there.
The discovery of gold in California
IN 1913 was followed by a tremen-
dous volume of traffic between the
Atlantic and Pacific coasts and for |
fifteen years practically all of this |
traffic was by way of the isthmuS,
over the Panama railroad, opened |
III 1855 by Americans under con-
cession from the republic of New
Granada, now known as Colombia. |
The explorations and surveys for
the railroad work that is said to
have cost the life of a man for eV-
cry tie, led to a much more accurate |
knowledge of the topography and
geology of the isthmus than had
previously been available. Presi- !
dent Grant in 1869, asked Congress
to take up the matter of a canal.
The only action was a resolution
providing for an exploration by Of
ticers of the navy and the creation
Of a commission in 1872 to consider
their reports. Then, in May, 1876, |
the republic of Colombia granted a
concession for the construction of
canal from Colon to Panama, the |
terminals of the Panama railroad, to
Lieut.. Lucien Napoleon Bonaparte
Wyse, an officer of the French ar
my.
In 1894 a new French company
was organized and work was re-
sUmed. In 1899 the United States
Congress created the Isthmian Canal
Commission to examine all practi- |
cable routes and to report which |
was the most practicable and fea-
sibe for a canal under the control, |
management and ownership of the
United States The commission re
ported two alternative plans, one
for a canal at Panama and the
other across Nicaragua. 1t estimat-
ed the cost of a Panama canal at
Si56,378.25S, and of the Nicaragua
canal at S200,5i000O. But because
the route from New York to San
Francisco would be several hundred
miles shorter by way of Nicaragua.
and considering the existing French
concessions in Panama. the COM
mission gave ii as its belief that the
Nicaragua route was more desirable
under the circumstances. The eff
feet of this report was to induce the
French Panama Company to offer
its concessions to the United States