New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-02-21
Will Remain in the Canal
Zone as Long as Secre-
tary Desires.
FRIENDS COUNT ON
AT LEAST A YEAR
Engineer Confident That Water
way Will BE Open to COM
MERGE by July Next.
iron The tribune Bureau ]

Washington, Feb. 20.-~That the Panama
Canal viii be open to commerce by July /
e tho expectation OF Colonel George W.
Goethas, chief engineer. who arrived nee
= today. With his usual conservatism
Colonel Goethals adds, barring acH-
dents" custom he has always followed
except I'm his prediction that the canal
will 10 fully completed In time for the
formal opening on July !. 1915
Colonel Goethals declined 90 say any
thing whatever regarding the possioiilty
OF his accepting the Police Commissioner
shin OF New York City, which his irleh1S
here still believe 10 be remote Ihey
think the prospects are that Colonei
Coetbals will remain a Governor or the
Canal Zone for al least year. and posi-
hlv longer In this he will be guided by
the wishes OF his chief. the Secretary OF
War.
Regarding the completion Of the canal.
the working OF the locks. the removal OF
the Cucaracha slide, ETC. Colonel
Goethals IS enthusiastic. His estimate OF
time for locking vessel through the
three locks M Gatun has always been nm
hour and a half but thus far not to ex-
coed an hour has been consumed. al
fhough in some instances groups of barges
which occupied the entire width OF the
locks have been put through.
THE great lock gates work like
charm. with all the precision of watch
movement" said the colonel.
Will Report Progress.
Colonel Goethals paid call Of respect
on the Secretary Of War to-day and lei'
his card at the White House. At an early
date he will have a long conference with
Secretary Garrison over the details OF the
permanent organization. and he Will
doubtless. make a personal report TO the
President on the progress of his work
He will appear before the committees OF
Congress which have charge of the an
nual appropriation for the canal on Mon
day and on such other days as they may
require his presence.
Colonel Goethals will appear before the
National Geographic Society in Washing
ton on March to receive the medal voted
10 him by the society. AS soon after THAI
as possible he will return to his work on
the isthmus, although he will make
short visit to his son. Thomas. who is
student at Harvard.
The chief engineer is confident that con-
troll of the Cucaracha slide has been
achieved The channel past the slide is
now 100 feet wide. which is as wide as the
locks. and while he realizes that as the
dredging Of the toe OF the slide continues
the soil may continue FOR some time 20
slip into the canal. he does not believe
that the channel will at any time be mar
rover than now.
Colonel Cocktails expressed the hope
that the free tolls provisions Of the canal
act would be repealed as recommended
by the President but insisted that he was
not lawyer and that his hope was
prompted by a desire 10 see the great
waterway enjoy the largest possible reve-
nue. He added. however. that he did not
believe any one except the steamship
companies would profit by free tolls
Silent as to New York Office.
Practically every newspaper man who
has seen Colonel Goethals to-day has
pressed him for some expression of his
intention regarding the New York Police
Commissionership, but TO all he has made
the uniform reply: Il have nothing TO
say on that subject"
Colonel Goethals has also reiterated his
declaration. first made in The Tribune a
year ago, that he would not If he could
possibly.avoid II. be present at the formal
opening OF the canal. There is nothing
significant IN this" he explained, but
you know ! never did like celebrations
If am Governor at that time l shall
ask my superiors for permission to take
leave OF absence until the fireworks
are all over"