Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-03-31
BY REX COLLIER.

- HOULD Uncle Sam make his pres
ent canal in Panama larger OF
should he dig a second big ditch
~ across the Central American
isthmus?
That Is the question which Army
engineers have been directed by Con-
gresS to solve during the next two years
Almost before the ink of the Presidents
signature was dry on the newly enacted
measure the War Departments tech
nicians in khaki had begun to weigh
the problem and to sense its serious
proportions.
On their solution hinge many grave
questions. Involved in the problem
aside from engineering difficulties. are
considerations of international diplo-
macy. Of national defense, of trade and
of cost
Jadwin to Supervise Steps.
First steps in the investigation of
these issues will be taken under the
supervision of man who had an i'm
portant role under Goethals in the
digging of the Panama Canal. He is
Maj. Gen. Edgar Jadwin, chief OF
Engineers.
"It is an interesting study that we
bdhC, 1C1l OdAWAA OOA0 Vic
writer. 1--WE must find out whether 1t
is best to widen and deepen the Panama
Canal so that it will meet the demands
of present and future traffic or to cut
another canal through Central America.
1.-THE advisability of lowering the
present canal to sea level must be
considered, for one thing II we did
that, we could make the canal any
width we desired, and no locks would
be required. 1t would mean sinking the
present bed of the canal 80 feet-a
tremendous excavation project.
Believes Job Could Be Done.
1--WE had enough trouble cutting the
canal to its present level. To dig it
deeper would bring new slides, without
a doubt. Yet I would not say that a
sea-level canal is an engineering i'm
but whether it would be the best Solu-
ton of the whole canal problem is
another matter. We are going to look
into it, just as We are going to look
into all other possibilities.
The "moderniZation" of the Panama
Canal would satisfy those who deplore
the growing congestion at Panama, but
it would not satisfy those who contend
that an alternate ocean-to-ocean route
is essential to our national safety
Speaking of the latter contention, Gen
Jadwin said:
1T is true that with two canals, con-
Siderably separated, the chances of an
interruption Of traffic between the
oceans would be lessened. An earth
quake might destroy one canal, but
hardly both canals at once. A canal
through Nicaragua, moreover, would
shorten the ship lane between the East
and West Coasts of the United States.
Route Follows River Line.
The proposed route through Mica
ragua follows the line of the San Juan
River from Greytown, on the East Coast
to Lake Nicaragua and thence to the
Pacific Ocean at Brito, or by way OF
Lake Managua to the Gulf of Fonseca
! The San Juan River forms the boun-
dairy line between Nicaragua and Costa
RIGA and part Of the projected canal
tory. The United States already has
paid 100000 to Nicaragua for the
right to bisect her domain, but nego-
tiations for the Costa Rican concessions
remain to be made. President Hoover
learned during his South American
tour that Nicaragua and Costa Rica are
ready to cooperate to the fullest ex-
tent, for both countries expect to de-
rive trade benefits from the project
Isthmian canal history is replete with
interesting and romantic sidelights. II
is record of fantastic engineering
schemes gone wrong, of hopes of men
and corporations blasted, Of filibustering
run riot.
Dream Long Before Reality.
Men long had dreamed of a short
cut for ships between the North and
South American continents before the
vision became reality. One Of the
first of the dreamers was James B.
Eads, famous Mississippi River engineer.
Considering the possibility of ship
canal through Mexico across the narrow
1Sthmus of Tehuantepec, between the
Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean,
he hit upon plan for ship railway"
as substitute proposal.
Capt. Eads suggested the startling
plan of placing the steamers on rail-
road cars and hauling them over the
heights of the isthmus-cargo, passen-
gers and ALL Eads was enthusiastic
in advocating his ambitious project and
he received some support in engineering
circles Critics of the scheme pointed
out that apart from engineering OBJ
stacles, the undertaking would be
inpracticable from an economical