The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-06-24

hole to a spot as it for human habi- tation as any. place on the globe
 It was after the Spanfsh-Arnertcan War, when, in 1898 the Oregon" was compelled to sail around Cape Horn to join the United States fleet off Gu ba. that the American people deter mined on the building of the canal. Therefore, in 1904 the canal proper ties were bought by the American government, under the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt-just the right man in every way to carry out such a project. Abbott says of him, "The Isthrnian Canal was precisely the great, epoch h-1narkins. spectacular enterprise to enlist the utmost en- thusiasm and energy of this pecu- lfRriy dynamic Presid dent. A man of strong conviction he favored the Pan anna route and got it. He believed in a lock canal and enforced his be- liefs over the report of the engineers invited. Of Q militant temperament he thought the canal should be dug by fhe arniy=and that is the way 1t was done. Not over tolerant of other peoples rights he thought the Unit ed States should have a free hand over the canal and adjacent terri tory--and when Columbia, which happened to own that territory was slow in accepting this view he set up out of nothing overnight the new Re DUDAC or fEHn4IQEb, TSCO&nIzGQ IL 3S n sovereign state two days. afterwards, concluded a treaty with it. giving the United States all he thought it should have, and years later in moment of frankness declared. I took Panama and left Congress to debate it later.' /"
 And in ten years the United States has completed the task successfully. From Colon the Canal stretches dt-l rectly south for the first seven miles; the rest runs in a south easterly di- rection to Panama It is cut through Culebra Mountain, the lowest pass narrowest pass but one on the 18th
 mus For fifteen miles it runs on a level with the ocean, the remaining thirty-ffve miles. higher. At the At Bay and sail i've miles to the Gatun Locks, be lifted by these giant three. stepped structures, pass through the great artificial lake for thirty five miles, then through CUlebra Cut, be let down by two other locks and has all been tremendous, but the most spectacular features are Gatun. Lake and Culebra Cut the former was formed by irnpounding the wa ters from the Chagres River and Is confined by dams at either end; the latter, started by the French, has been the most troublesome of the whole undertaking because of the nu-1 merous slides which have occurred But .-Culebra was approached as Grant approached vicksburg.'' and the slides were finally conquered. According to all reports the Canal will be formally opened on January first, 191Rs and what that opening will mean we may only suppose. Mr.
 Fraser, English traveler and journal. ist, thinks that the Canal will not .'for. many years to come yield a fair dfvi-. dend on the enormous capital sunk in it, and wo@ders If the American people will ever get value for their money in anything besides sentime ent. but Abbott believes 1t to be lone of the crownfng achievements in re- modelling GoTs world" that tits eff fects are to bel manifo fold-domestic as we'll as foreign, moral as well as ma terial, political as well as economic e and that fin the ages to come will be the greatest glory attached to the American flag" And can we, ask
 more The very greatest liberty has been taken with Nature that man has ever dared; the most wonderful un- dertaking in the world of engineer ing has been accomplished; it has received the admiration of the world, And it is American-tEae work of my countrymen.