THE PANAMA CANAL. (Correspondent San Francisco News Latter.)

Waikato Times, Volume xxvi, Issue 2458, 8 May 1886, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE PANAMA CANAL. (Correspondent San Francisco News Latter.)

Mamh.. U. S. Colombia, January 5, 1880.— That the t'uuama Canal will be successfully fiuished docs not admit of u doubt; too much money has already b«?en sunk in tho onterprNo to permit of its abandonment. At the name time it it* equally certain that it will not be finished within anything like the time stated by Do Le*sepa, n«r within anything' like his estimate of the cost. A recent and very careful ox.iininution of tho line of the C.unl enables mo to make reliable M:itemfnts in regard to tho progress of tho w6rk. Of oonrnp, at the onticr, considerable ' time and money wan spent in tho erection of tho dwellings, hospitals, etablc, machino-shop*, cmreeii«, etc, required for tho accommodation of tho men, animals, and machinery engaged in the pwfeecation of the work. In this respect the routo seems now to bo pretty well supplied, and it mint be admitted that theko buildings have been well constructed on carefully chosen 6ites. At Colon, which will bo the entrance to the canal on the Atlantic side, the town has bnen paved by the Canal Co., and the entire appearauce of the place beautified by the planting of trees aud such like improvements. From this point to Gatun, a distance of about eight miles, hai been drodged and the water let in, but I have been told by engineers connected with the American ■ Dredging Co., which executed the work, that the depth of this channel will not average eight feet, And at no place will it reach a greater depth than twelve feet. This statement is corroborated by the size of the vesselsjwhich have been sent up the water-way. Near Gatnn a new channel for the Chngres river if better cut. At this place the river makes a long curve, and its course has to be changed in order to alow the Canal to pass between its natural channel and the mountains to the West. The length of the new channel will be about six miles. From Gatun to Bojio but little practical work in the way of digging the Canal- has been carried out. At Bojio there is the usual number of houses, canteens, etc., and also innumerable railroad tracks, for which apparently there is no use. Indeed the work from the one ocean to tho other shows a reckless use, or rather misuse of money. Economy does not seem to have studied in anything pertaining to machinery or material or their use. About a year ago a wooden bridge was built across the Chagres river at Bojio. It must have cost a large sum of money, because its construction consumed something like twelve months. And yet the plans upon which it was built were so illy considered that the first flood which came along swept the whole thing away. From Bojio going south there is a very heavy body of rock to be cut through, and' the course of the river has to be changed, which involved the formation of a new channel of a distance of about two miles. From here on to Tabernellia a distance of five miles, nothing has been done* to the channel. At Tabernellia excavators have been put together, and necessary houses, tracks, etc., built; excavating, however, has not yet been commenced. At San Pablo, two miles further on, there is another heavy rock cut, ab6ttt one hundred and twenty-five feet wide and two hundred and fifty feet long on which work has been proceeding for nine months past. In all this time a distance ot no more than forty feet has been made. ~ Some excavation has has been made on the canal at this place— say, on a liberal e3tiinate, two thousand meters of dirt. A great deal of excavation still remains to he done, as the cut ofr the bed of the river is about sixty feet deep at this point. Between San Pablo and Mamei work has been going on for over a year on a rock cut which ha* a depth of about one hundred aud fifty feet ; but one-tenth of the stone ha 3 not been removed. From this on to Gorgona, a distance of about three mile 3, some little eartll hadboen removed during the dry season, but as no precautions had been taken to protect the work the first heavy rains destroyed all that had been acomplished, Between Gorgona and Matachin the central machine shops, supply stores and the residences of the various chiefs are located. Of these chiefs it may be said that* there is a large army of them. There are chiefs of division (about four mile's long), chiefs of camp, chiefs of stores, chiefs of stable 3, chiefs of gardens, chiefs of bakeries, etc. ; besides a thousand one assistant chiefs, clerks, etc. Indeed, I make bold to say, that of every one hundred men whose namc3 grace the pay-roll not forty are actually engaged in the construction of the water-way. Near Matachin the canal leaves the river valley in order to cross the mountains. A little distance from this (at Las Crncez) a great dam for retaining the water of the Chagres is to be built. This dam is to be two hundred and fifty meters in length, and its height above the bed ot the river will be ten meters. Some idea of its cost may be formed by bearing in mind that Portland cement will cost about 'eight dollar* per barrel, sand (which has to be brought from the sea coast) would, only the Canal Company owns the railroad, cost sixty dollars per car for freight alone. After leaving Matachin heavy cutting is encountered on to Bas Ohispo, where a stream had to be diverted from its conrse by cutting a tunnel of some threc-quaters of a mile. Brom this point on to Paraiso a distance of soinfl nine miles, the excavating is exceptionally difficult, on account of the very hard formation of the ground. One trouble which shows itself at the Culebra Cut and other places is the difficulty of disposing of the material excavated, and this is a difficulty which grows as the work proceeds. Between Obiapo and Summit, dirt has to be run three quaters of a mile before a dumping ground is found. This is a considerable item of expense, and it is bound to grow larger. From Paraiso on to Panama comparatively little work has been done, but buildings for the accommodation of a working force have been erected, and everything is ready to go on. From Pedro Miguel to the Boca, where the Canal is to enter the Bay of Panama, is a distance of eight miles, which is bound to prove very difficult of construction. It may be said to run through a valley of mud and decomposed vegetation. Beneath this, the engineers say, lies a very hard coral formation, which must be cat through to a depth of twentyfive feet in order to form the great basin for ships about to enter the Canal. The rise and fall of the tide at this place averages from nineteen to twenty-four fcot, and consequently it will be impossible to undertake operations at this point until some arrangement, in the nature, of a coffer dam for keeping the cea out, is constructed. This will necessarily be very expensive. As regards tbo men employed in directing the work, I may say that that they are nearly all a low class of Frenchmen (fron the south of France principally), and are lacking in the experience necessary to enable them to control working forces. As a consequence there is great waste of, time and material. Another thing,, they are nearly all banded together in " rings " for the purpose of cheating. The timekeepers swindle with the pay-rolls, the sub contractor and the engineer join hands to swindle on measurements, the contractor and the officials in the head office join hands to swindle on the estimates, and so the thing goes all round from the highest to the lowest. Everybody is cheating, and so, of course, the construction of the canal is costing much mere than it ought., c.k. , _________

Out of 17 elected Presidents of thp United States, before thr prc^enfc h:oambent. four— H-irrison, Taylor, Lincoln, Gariield— died while in office, and two of them by the h uid of the assassin And all thii has been within the first eeutury of the office..