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20 Mm A R | NUE Re YN I eo Plans for Panama Since the summit level of the Panama canal has not yet been determined, it is impossible to intelligently discuss the physical features of the cana! except in a general way. Until the surveys are completed by Chief Engineer John F. Wal- lace, which will not be until a year hence, the exact character of this connec- tion between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans ca a not be known. Briefly, however, the canal will be 46 miles long, varying from 250 to 500 it. wide at the top and TSO. | tt: wide at the bot- tom. The pres- ent plans call for a depth of 35 ft., but ow- ing to the ereat -- merease in the draught of ships it may be determined later to make the depth 4o ft. The only ac- tual construc- tion work at present under way is on the Culebra cut where tie French canal company had already done a great amount of excavation. Probably no undertaking of modern times is more generally misundersto o d and misrepre- sented than the construction of the Panama canal. The construction of this canal was originally undertaken by the French nation, In 1879 an international congress met at Paris and after in- vestigating various routes recommended the building of a sea level canal from Colon on the Atlantic to Panama on the Pacific. It was Ferdinand De Lesseps, emboldened by his success in the construction of the Suez canal, who per- suaded the nation to undertake this great work. Like Suez he wanted to make Panama a sea level canal. It is a mat- ter of history how the physical difficulties, handicapped by gross corruption on the part of the promoters, served to bank- rupt the company and to defeat De Lesseps. The company at the end of 1888 was forced to abandon its undertaking ow- ing to the fact that it could no longer obtain the necessary resources from the public. By this time $156,000,000 had been expended upon the Isthmus, of which sum about $88, - FILLING FLAT CARS WITH EARTH, CULEBRA CUT. [Copyrighted, roo4, by W. H. Rau. about 5,000,000 cubic yards. This was accomplished chiefly by the plant re- 000,000 had been put into excavation and embankment. In October, 1894, a new company was formed for the pur- pose of completing the canal. It was organized with a cap- ital of $13,000,000, which sum was actually paid in. The new company resumed work on the canal and carried it on regu- larly until the Spanish - Am- eCfican woa rt broke. out, which of course changed its en- tire political as- pect. So far as actual work to complete the canal is con- cerned the new company con- centrated its efforts upon the great Cul- ebra cut. They were wise in doing this be- cause whatever plan might ev- entually be adopted the Culebra Cut would have to be-:a: definite part. of the un- dertaking. The excavations Cattied On by the new com- pany extended over about five miles, embrac- ing the sections of the Empera- dor: and the Culebra. The total volume re- moved by the entire central cut by the new company was ceived from the old company with some new machines that it was desirable to test with a view to future work. Meanwhile the most exhaustive surveys were being made, and after elaborate measurements to determine topographical features and geological construction the new company defi- nitely decided to abandon the idea of a sea-level canal. The plan of the new company may therefore be summed up as follows: The total length of the canal from the point where it leaves the bay of Limon to the point where it enters the bay of Panama is 43.5 miles. About 3.1 miles should be added for its extension through the bay of Panama to reach deep water, which makes its total length 46.6 miles. The summit level has its bottom level at a height above mean tide of 68 ft. and its highest water level at 102.5 ft. above mean tide. The descent of the ocean on each slope is ef-