Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1915-10-23
HAVE THESE MOUNTAINS
REMOVED AT ONCE"
Col GoethaIs Starts In To
Change the Face of Nature
Along the Canal

(By United Press staff correspondent ]
Panama, Oct. 23.-These hills anC
valleys aud various other pieces OF
/ Panama geography that have been lum
bering around and falling into the
canal SO earelessly and getting it al
stuffed up, have peeyed Gov. Goethals
SO today he pointed out a couple OF
mountains that he said were causing
all the trouble and instructed his mer
/ to "take 'em away.t
"What, the mountainsl"
"Yes, the mountains. "
"You mean you would like these
mountains removed"
Precisely. Move 'em-at once. :"
The mountains, be it added, began
moving today.
It's really small matter. Moving
few mountains more or less is of
slight concern to Goethals. Chopping
hole in the face of the earth and
building young sea to connect cou-
pie Of Others-that didn't dismay him.
Why stop at shunting mountains
aroundY
"COnstruction days" are being re-
peated in Gaillard cut, formerly known
as Culebra cut. A score of big dredges
and steam shovels and an army of
workmen are removing thousands Of Gu.
bic yards Of earth from the recent
slides from Gold and Contractors
hills.
Gov. Goethals a few days ago ex-
pressed hope Of reopening the canal
November !, but the date may be ex-
tended Nearly 200 vessels, held up by
the slides since the latter part of Sep.
tember, wait at the docks at Balboa,
the Pacific terminal, and Colon on the
Atlantic.
"When will the slides permanently
stop7"
"That's as easy to predict as the end
of the European war;" Is the answer,
The removal, bodily, of the two
mountains Gold and Contractors ;, being
blasted away and the earth sluiced
down to fill hills ana valleys mile
distant, is expected to stop the slides
That the slides will sometime stop
forever" some day"-is certain. This
is confidently stated by Gov. Goethals
The worst slides, it is believed, are
now over The last was the worst
since the "big ditch" was opened.
"Shoring off" of the precipitous
mountains which form the giant bound.
aries Of GailIard cut is the gradual,
slow process which will prevent future
slides
The peculiar geological formation of
the Panamanian mountains makes this
the feat difficult. Instead of firm
rocks or sandy subsoil, interlaeed by
heavy forests, like the Rocky noun
tains, those Of Panama are shelving
hills Of red and yellow clay, covered
with tropical trees of small stature and
underground which does not "knit"
the loose soil.
The "slides' ARE not an avalanche
of rock and earth from the top of the
mountain peaks, but a movement from
below. As the base of the slantiig
cuts weaken through seepage of rains
and water in the canal the earth soft
ems and is, pressed, downward and out
ward into the canal channel by the
heavier and more composite masses
above.
The slide movement occurs compare
lively slowly. II is detected by en-
croachments from the base of the cliffs.
Sometimes the movement is so speedy
that dredges and tracks are covered
Generally the earth at the base slowly
mounts and is pushed until it encroach-
es into the channel.
When the upper part of the hills are
cut away TO such an angle that the
pressure upon the earth beneath is re-
moved. the slides will stop. The recent
slides were expected
As an expedient minimizing slide
danger, parts of the towering hills have
been cut away. in sections, or terraces,
like a steep lawn is terraced to pre-
vent erosion and "cave ins. " The same
principle, on gigantic style, win stor
the slides.
Gold hill has been known as the
Jonah of the t'Cut." Contractors hill.
another source of bad slides. is almos
straight across. These are the only
two important slide danger points re-
naming In the "Cut. -
When construction was first begun.
the sides Of Gold Hill were almost per.
pendicular. Now they have been cut
away to very slanting angle and win
soon be reduced to a point where slide
danger will be almost removed.