Army Engineers who will dig The Panama Canal.

sever his connection with the undertaking.

wishes were not complied with he would feel compelled to

A. Bienkowski PRR Jews Agency, Ancon, Canal Zone.

Maj. Wm. G. Sibert.

U.S.A.

Asst. Chief Engr.

Army Engineers in the Saddle.

305

FOURTH OF JULY SALOON.

FABIO RIVERA, Proprietor.
EMPIRE, CANAL ZONE.

The Most Popular Saloon in Empire. CLEAN, COMFORTABLE, COSY.

COMPLETE AND SPLENDID ASSORTMENT OF LIQUORS CONSTANTLY IN STOCK. Residents of Empire and Visitors Cordially Invited To Call.

The letter is reported to have been something of a shock to the President, who after deliberation cabled Stevens acceptance of his resignation. With the retirement of the Shonts Commission, the plan of carrying on the work under what might be termed civilian direction was abandoned, and steps were at once taken toward putting the project in charge of the army organization. This end was effected by the appointment of a commission consisting of the following:

Lieut.-Col. Geo. W. Goethals, U.S.A.,Chairman and Chief Engineer.
Maj. D. D. Gaillard, U.S.A.,

Maj. Wm. L. Sibert, U.S.A.,

Mr. H. H. Rousseau, U.S.N.,

Mr. Jo. C. S. Blackburn,

Col. W. C. Gorgas, U.S. A.,

Mr. Jackson Smith,

Mr. Joseph Bucklin Bishop, Secretary.

re

Under the new arrangement the positions of Chairman and Chief Engineer were combined, and it was quired that all the Commissioners take station permanently on the Isthmus. Later the work was divided as follows:Col. Goethals to have general charge; Maj. Gaillard to have charge of the Department of Excavation and Dredging; Maj. Sibert, Department of Locks and Dam Construction; Mr. Rousseau, Departments of Municipal Engineering, Motive Power and Machinery, and Building-Construction; Mr. Blackburn, Head of the Department of Civil Admin

istration and Governor of the Canal Zone; Col. Gorgas, Chief Sanitary Officer, Head of the Department of Sanitation; Mr. Jackson Smith, Manager of the Department of Labor, Quarters & Subsistence, and Mr. Joseph Bucklin Bishop, as Secretary of the Commission, and in charge of The Canal Record, the official I. C. C. organ. Under the Executive order of November 17, 1906, the judiciary and canal zone government was combined under the name of Law and Government, with Mr. Richard Reid Rogers, General Counsel, in charge. The civil government was later transferred to the Isthmus and now comes under the head of Department of Civil Administration.

there was arrival, a

On this

At the time Col. Goethals took charge much talk about militarism. Shortly after his reception was given him at the Corozal Hotel. subject he said. "I will say that I expect to be the Chief of the division of engineers, while the heads of the various departments are going to be colonels, the foremen are going to be the captains, and the men who do the labor are going to be the privates. There will be no more militarism in the future than there has been in the past. am no longer a commander in the United States Army. I now consider I am commanding the Army of Panama, and that the enemy we are going to combat is the Culebra cut, and the locks and dams at both ends of the canal. Every man here who does his duty will never have any cause to complain on account of militarism.”

The Canal Route-Plans Amended.

I

On December 9, 1907, a special report was made by the Chairman of the Commission to the Secretary of War, recommending locks and dams at Miraflores, instead of at La Boca. This does away with the necessity for Lake Sosa, and the Sosa-Corozal and La Boca-San Juan dams. It also probably removes the necessity of changing the

The Canal Route-Plans Amended.

307

site of old La Boca, and saves many legal preliminaries in connection with the securing of private lands in the submerged area contemplated by Lake Sosa. A brief sketch of the canal by sections, and the work that is being done is given herewith:

LIMON HARBOR CHANNEL.-The harbor channel of the canal at the Atlantic end begins at a point in Limon Bay about half a mile outside of a line drawn across from Manzanillo Point, to Point Toro. The width of the channel's mouth will be approximately 1,000 fect, and the opening will be protected by converging jetties. The channel from this point to the mouth of the Mindi River, a distance of four and one-half miles, will have a bottom width of 500 feet, and will be dredged to a depth of 40 feet. At Mindi where the canal proper starts the ground is only a little above sea level, but rises until at Gatun 2.6 miles away, the elevation is 85 feet. GATUN DAM.-Gatun is the site of the destined to impound the waters of the Chagres. will be of earth work riprapped in the portions most exposed to wear. The top of the dam is to be 100 feet wide, and its crest will be 50 feet above the normal lake level. The width of the dam at water level will be 374 feet, and at sea level 2,625 feet. Its total length will be in the neighborhood of 1700 feet, and its height 135 feet. The cross-section of the dam has been slightly changed from the original plans; the upstream slope is to be more gradual. A spillway will be constructed through the dam and work on this was begun in April, 1907.

great dam

The dam

GATUN LOCKS.—Gatun is also the site of a triple flight of locks. The original plans called for locks with usable lengths of 1,000 feet, and widths of 100 feet. During 1907, the question was raised as to whether the width as planned would be sufficient for future requirements. It is now proposed to increase their width to 110 or 120 feet. The President in his message to Congress in Decem

LUIS F.

ESTENOZ.

Comerciante en General y Constructor. AVENIDA PAEZ No. 53, COLON, R. P.

LUIS F. ESTENOZ, General Merchant and Constructor No. 53, AVENUE PAEZ, COLON, R. P.

ber, 1907, favored locks of the latter width. The gates are to be in duplicate and of the miter type, except that the rolling gate similar to that now in use on the Ohio River will be substituted for the duplicate set at the lower end of each summit-level lock. In addition there will be provided an auxiliary pair of gates at the lower end of each flight for use as coffer dams in case it may be necessary to pump out the locks, and it has been determined tentatively to adopt a swing-bridge type of dam for emergency

use.

GATUN LOCK SITE.-There has been a considerable division of opinion with reference to the suitability of the Gatun lock site. Former Chief Engineer Wallace went on record as opposed to dam and locks at this point on account of what he claimed to be lack of proper foundation. To actually develop the character of the foundations on which the locks are to rest five test pits, each six feet by eight, were sunk early in 1907 to the depths of the lock walls at Gatun, and one at the Gatun dam spillway. On their completion Engineers Alfred Noble, Frederick P. Stearns and John R. Freeman made a personal examination of material taken therefrom, and under date of May 2, 1907, reported as follows:

We beg to record that we found that all of the locks of the dimensions now proposed will rest upon rock of such a character that should furnish a safe and stable foundation.