The Dominion. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 1909. A GREAT UNDERTAKING.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 677, 30 November 1909, Page 6

The Dominion. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 1909. A GREAT UNDERTAKING.

Theue 'is good reason to believe that the iyear 1915 will see in the completion of tho 'Panama Canal the. realisation of the dream of four centuries, and perhaps tho greatest engineering achievement:in tho history of the world.. To cut a'pas-, sage through the great mountain: barrier that stretches in a continuous line throughout :the entire length -of- the American- Continent; i i rom the Arctic Ocean to Capo Horn, has been a cherished ambition successively of tho Spanish, the British, tho French,; and the Americans. The cutting' of the ..isthmus, .which "Sir; Thomas Browne, two hundred and fifty years" ago, said ''if policie would permit were moat, worthy the attempt, 'it being but a few miles over and would : open-a shorter cuturito the East Indies 'and China ". is at present : the most important material question before the commerpial world. The' type of canal to be built,' sea-level or lock, has been under active' discussion ever since the' ratifies* tion by the United States Senate on December 16, 1901, of the; HAYrPAtJtfCHFOTE Treaty- between Great Britain and the ;United States " to facilitate: the construction of a ship canal to connect the Atlantic 'and' Pacific Oceans.'.' Advocates of a 'sea-level! canal wore, able to put forward many weighty arguments .against the practicability^.of the lock type, urging .the enormous cost of up-keep .and operating expenses, ■-cstimated ! at. year, .with the uncertainty of stability, and consequent risks and delays .' in transit. 'Against these..;objections, however, the Taft Commission, in'defence of their ..final; resolve; in favour of a lock canal,: pointed out the huge cost of a sea-level channel—-a cost originally estimated at at least:£70,000,000, but which, in view of .the cable message on .'the subject published yesterday, would probably, reach £90,000,000—and.a,'delay of.several years in completion. , The work of con-' struction is now. being pushed steadily ■ forward and involves .engineering iprob■lems .of great magnitude and daring, chief of which is the creation of: a.great inland lake by. means' of'a dam built across the Ohagrcs Kiver near its mouth, and which will furnish a channel twentythree miles in length, of an: average width of 750 feet, through which steamers will be able to proceed at full :speed.. Lake Bohio, as it is t-o bo called, will be eightyfive feetabo'iiisoa lever and reached on cither sido by three locks built in duplicate, each 1000 feet in length,and 110 in breadth.-. ... ~ ...

The plan of damming and controlling: the Chagres River is : . fraught. with, extreme risks and dangers.. Not only is the river subject -to tropical floods:' of great yolume and fury, but the rocky foundation upon which the dam must ultimately rest, is from 260 to 300 feet be-, low the surface, with intervening strata of soil quito; unable to resist, \yithout the construction. of earth works ■of: stupendous proportions,: the: enormous pressuro to which it will bo subject. Upon the stability of the Gatun dam, thereforo, depends the success- of the whole project, and it is doubtlessly, this feature that is giving rise to'.such gravo apprehension in: the, United States concerning the lock schomc.: Should the lock type however eventuate. it. is calculated that the locks can be negotiated in three hours by steamers of any size, and that tho passago through the entire canal, , a distance o.f forty-nine miles, can^bo-made in a minimum time of ten hours, thus. allowing for twenty-eight steamers, either way, each twonty-four hours. The economic importance of the canal is much in dispute, particularly in regard to European trade with the East."; It is-pointed' out that no saving of time will be effected to any part of Asia, including Australia, excepting the Far Eastern littoral and New ( iZealand. This reduces Asiatic and Australian ' trade : to and from Europe via the Panama Canal to a .veryi small margin. The' benefits commercially must therefore accrue to the United States, which will then be in command of a prac; ■tically continuous coastline from Maine to'the State of Washington, a saving in the distance frqm.-New York to Seattle of 9000 miles, and from three moDths "teas' many, weeks in.'.time. ' The strategic value of the canal, either to tho United States or Great Britain, cannot bo overestimated, and as it is the avowed intention of the Government at AVashington to declare the canal.neutral, it-will bo no, inconsiderablo factor in perpetuating Britain's control of the sea; The Monroe doctrine, it is, claimed, will, be placed boyond tho fear of challenge; the inviolability of the South' American Continent will be assured. The American .Navyi' in viow of the rise to world-power of Japan and the fiwakening of China, is doubled -inV effectiveness .without: increasing, its numerical Bttength. -.: Tho United ■ Btatea

and England ■ command the app roaches ;to the canal through tho Caribbean Sea, and the latter; country : is; furnished with a direct line of communication to her .possessions in Asia and'.'Australasia, alternative to tho-vulnerable Suez Canal route, with tho furthor advantage over other European Powers :of a chain of coaling stations. Tho Panama Canal is, therefore, to be an asset of firegrate importance, and should contribute'to tho solidarity and the continued supremacy of the two great branches of the Anglo- ■ Saxon race. . ;