“BIg DITCH” NOW
ALNOST COMPLETE
Removal of Gamboa Dike Means
End of Work Is Near.
WATERS OF OCEANS MEET
First Steps Are Taken Toward De-
struction of Big Embankment
Which Holds Gatun Lake Out
of Culebra Cut.
” Colon, Panama, Oct. 1.—The climax
of nine years of untiring work on the
part of the men who have been build- |
ing the Panama canal came today |
when the waters of Gatun lake were
permitted to run for the first time !
into the Culebra cut. This simple
operation marked the virtual comple-
tion of the great Isthmian waterway.
The water was permitted to flow
into "the cut today through four 26
inch pipes extending through the
Gamboa dike, which has held the,
waters of the lake back from the cut.
This was done in order that there
may be enough water in the cut to
prevent any damage when the dike is
finally removed
The final destruction of the big dike
is scheduled for October 10, when
charges of dynamite placed in holes
already drilled in the dike will be ex-
ploded. The explosion of these
charges will not completely destroy
the dike, but will weaken it and loos-
en the dirt so that the force of the
waters from Gatun lake will carry it
away. Steam shovels will remove the
remnants of the dike, leaving an open
passageway from ocean to ocean.
Canal Really Complete Now.
Although the canal will not be offi
cially declared completed for some
time, and the formal opening of the
waterway to the commerce of the
world more than a year distant the
canal engineers look upon the de-
struction of the Gamboa dike as mark-
ing the real completion of the canal.
The big engineering feats have all
been accomplished, the excavation
work practically has been completed, |
beset them at every hand.
Goethals to Make Final Test.
The first vessel to pass through the
canal probably will be a boat of the
Isthmian canal commission, Col
George W. Goethals, chairman of the
commission and chief engineer of the
canal, and his principal assistants.
scheduled for some time during this
month. Within another month it is
expected the waters in Gatun
will have risen high enough to bring
the waters In the entire canal up to
the deep water level required for the
It Is sald that as long ago as the
given Washington officially that if the
the entire
Atlantic battleship fleet could be put
through the canal into Pacific waters
within 60 days from that date. The
work has been hurried with that end
In view, it is sald, as no emergency
has existed, byt this assurance is an
indication of the belief of the engl
neers that thelr work is now practical
ly finished.
Culebra Cut Caused Trouble.
The excavation of the Culebra cut,
which the water has just been
turned, has been one of the engineer
ing feats connected with the building
of the canal, and has caused the en-
gineers more trouble than any oth
er portion of the big “ditch.” To
Col. D. D. Gaillard, the engineer of
the central division, Is given
credit for carrying this portion of the
work through to a successful termina-
tion
The disastrous
were discouraging
slides In the cut
to the engineers,
many weeks, but Colonel Gaillard and
his assistants have kept untiringly at
their work, and at last have conquer
ed the treacherous banks of the deep
cut. The engineers believe that the
danger of slides will be eliminated
into the cut,
A little more than a month ago the
glant steam shovels finished thelr
work in the Culebra cut. Since that
time the workmen have been busy
removing the shovels, the railroad
tracks and other machinery used in
the excavation work. There is still
some dirt to be removed from the cut
before the channel is finished. but
this work will be done by suction
This picture gives a view of
filling the Panama canal,
ships. To look at the picture one wou
The embankments that flank the chann
the Miraflores locks in the distance are
ing of the canal takes place. This i=
the present time which shows the can
and the great locks have heen con- ;
structed. The work that remains to |
be done is largely detail, and is but
child's play as compared with that
which has been done More dirt is |
to be removed from the channel, but |
this will be done with suction dredges |
floating upon the waters of the canal
There still remain some finishing |
touches to be placed upon the locks,
but this work will take comparatively i
little time and presents no engineer |
ing difficulties such as have been en- |
countered in the past.
The fact that the canal stands prae- |
tically complete more than a year be-
fore the time originally set as the
date for its completion is one of the
remarkable features of the work.
When Count de Lesseps, the great
French engineer, abandoned his ef.
forts to bulld the Panama canal after
eight rears of labor, he had scarcely
made a beginning upon the gigantic
task. In nine years, the American
engineers, starting almost at the same
point as de Lesseps, for the latter's
work was of little value to the Amert
cans, have virtually completed the
undertaking. When the work was
started the world scoffed at the idea
that it could be completed within the
time limit set, but hate are now off
to the American army engineers who
have more than kept thelr word, de
i
To Avold Counterfeiting, i
In the production of their notes, |
the Bank of England authorities’ |
chief aim is to issue a note which is |
impossible for anybody to counter.
feit. Toward this end, sll the parts |
of the note—the paper, the water |
mark, the Ink, the engraving, the |
printing—are prepared and done in a |
special, and, as far as possible, se |
cret manner. At the mills where the |
paper is manufactured the most strin- |
gent precautions are taken to bre |
rent any of the paper being stolen.
’
Id think that the canal
el,
was finished
the broad expanse of water and
Just as they will be when the open
the only photograph received up to
al as it will appear at the opening
OCeaAns
A A A a
dredges floating on the waters of the
canal, and will not interfere with nav
as may be allowed to pass through
Immense Artificial Lake Created.
Gatun lake, the waters of which are
now flowing into the Culebra cut, fs
tire canal system revolves, and
construction of Gatun dam, consti
tuted another great engineering feat
in the construction of the canal
lake is an artificial body of
water covering about 164 square miles
of territory and was created by the
bullding of the immense Gatun dam
and the impounding of the wild wa-
ters of Chagres river Beneath the
waters of Gatun lake lies what a few
months ago was the valley of the
Chagres, dotted with native villages
and plantations. The channel of the
canal passes through this lake for a
distance of 24 miles with a width vary-
ing from 500 to 1,000 feet
At the nerthern end of the lake
Is the Gatun dam, which Is in reality
an artificial ridge more than a mile
and a half long.
an adequate idea of
this dam. Nearly half a mile wide at
ite base, about 400 feet wide at the
water surface, and 100 feet wide at
the top, the dike which miiny engl.
never with
| stand the rush of the Chagres' wa
ters, is admitted now to be so strong
that nothing short of an earthquake
such as has never been known in the
| Central American region can harm
it. The Gatun dam, Gatun lake and
the Culebra cut, so gigantic are the
| proportions of each, dwarf the other
| engineering works of the canal that
{ In themselves have challenged the
| admiration of the world.
World Gives Goethals Credit,
of the Isthmian canal
completion of the Panama canal.
plished his task without the aseint-
| ance of such men as Col. H
Hodges, Lieut, Col. David Du B. Gall
lard and Lieut. Col. William L. Sibert,
army engineers, who have had charge
of various phases of the work, but
Colonel Goethals is recognized as the
real builder of the canal.
Under Colonel Goethals the greater
part of the $375000000 which the
canal will have cost when it is Lom-
pleted has been spent. It has besn by
far the costliest engineering project
in the world. Nearly three-fifths of a
billion dollars has been spent in dig
Eing a 40-mile “ditch.” This means
that the Panama canal has cost the
United States $10.000.000 a mile,
Over $16,000,000 of the total amount
spent has been used to make tha canal
{ zone habitable and sanitary it has
been suggested that this is an enor
mous amount of money to spand in
| cleaning up a place in which few peo
| ple will reside permanently, but the
engineers say that the sanitation of
the canal zone was the chief factor in
making the canal a reality. The tall
ure of the French has been attributed
to a large extent to the fact that
the workmen could not survive in the
fever and pest ridden country
The bullding of the great locks
which raise a vessel to a height of 87
feet above sea level at end
the canal and lower it the same dis
tance at the other end. has been in
charge of two of Colonel Goethals’
assistants, Colonel Hodges and Lieu
tenant Colonel Sibert. Colonel Hodges’
work In installing the Immense lock
gates that form important a part
of the operating machinery of the
canal, and his ability to overcome all
obstacles had led Colonel Goethals to
call him a genius. The building, pols
ing and operation of the lock gates
constitute of the delicate prob
lems of canal construction, and
the proper handling of this problem
has been Hodges’ contribu
tion to the work of construc
the canal
Lieutenant
charge the
dam locks
other duties
one of
0
One
lock
Colonel
tion of
Colonel] Sibert
building
at Gatun, in
He saw
has had
the great
addition
of of
and
to long, ac
the Philippines, and
the army as a fleht
engineer His fight
have enabled him
the great work
bad charge in
tw
tive
¥
service
is known
er AR
ing
Carry
ie in
well as an
qualities to
through
which he has
canal zone
Realize Dream of Centuries
Through the work of these men-—all
thems members of Uncle Sam's
fighting body—the United States has
been able to attain what has been in
truth the dream of centuries. In nine
| years these men have carried through
an undertaking that was first thought
of several of BgO
There is evidence that the idea of an
isthmian canal was born as early as
| the sixteenth century, for history re
cords the fact that the Inquisition
declared such a project to alter the
face of the earth to be impious and
further discussion of the matter was
forbidden by Philip 11. of Spain, whose
reign began in 1556. More than a cen-
tury later a Scotchman named Patter.
#on revived the scheme, established a
colony on the shores of the isthmus,
and made a crude survey of the route
The United States government first
took definite action looking toward
the construction of an isthmian canal
iin 1834, when the senate voted for
the building of a Nicaraguan canal
| An expedition was sent to Nicaragua
[to make an Investigation. and report.
ed that the canal could be construct.
ed for $25.000.000 hardly onetwent).
{eth of the amount that the Panama
canal will have cost when completed
De Lesseps First to Dig.
The matter rested until after
| Civil war, when negotiations for
of
the
of
hundreds YEArs
the
a
by the United States government. Be-
fore anything had been accomplished
i Banaparte Wyse. a Frenchman. He
Ferdinand de lLesseps
was the first one to actually begin op
| erations on the isthmus.
| ever was called upon to face.
| 400 years, until the day in 1904 when
{ Uncle Sam undertook the task.
turies has been realized.
~~ ~
Of course, there have been many
tempted robberies, but only once, In
the year 1562, were thioves success.
ful in obtaining any of the paper.
Very shortly afferward forged notes
were in circulation, The thieves did
not enjoy the triumph long, for with
in a short time they were captured,
Reading Between the Lines.
To get the good of the library In
the school of life you must bring into
It something better than a mere book.
Ish taste. You must bring the vower
at
| words, beyond the horizon of
printed page. Philip's question to the
chamberlain of Ethiopia was crucial:
| “Understandest thou what thou read
| OSL?" | want books not to pass the
time, but to fll it with beautiful
| thoughts and Images, to enlarge my
| world, to give me new friends in the
| opirit, to purity my ideals and make
| them clear, to show me the local color
| of unknown regions and the bright
I stars of universal truth.-~Henry Ven
Dabs
WASHINGTON -
tarift war reached its
gress, Chatrman
the Ways and Means Committee
before the House the report of
ferees hat the d
ences i
The
i 1 sta
HNgl Stage
twenty years
n Lon
Underwood
when O1
i- i
adic
the Con
announced t Her
between the
and
~tnate
compromised
had been
It the
that has
years
i he
present
that of
ByYCTape
cent
second
been passed
ling mag
shingles up
ferre manganese, 1
radiway
ore. w
lets
wheels, together wit}
€re put on t hist
te free
Was a
the Hq
1 domestic
Lattice
suitable
| wheat, flour and eggs were
ng
m tanff
House bill on goods
in American ships was retained
conference, & pro
visions that it would not “be n=
strived as to abrogate or in any man
ner impair or affect the provisions of
any treaty’ the United States now has
The administrative features as em-
bodied in the House bill emerged from
conference but little changed
The conference adopted a substitute
for the Senaate amendment to check
fraudulent invoices. This provides that
the arrival within the territorial limits
of the United States of any merchan-
dise consigned for sale and remaining
in the ith the added
80 C4
ceptance of a frandulent invoice by the
consignee or agent of the consignor shall
be deemed an attempt to enter such
merchandise whether or not actual en.
try is made or offered,
The Senate amendment requiring
statements of cost on merchandise con-
The conference agreed to the Senate
WILL FILL MARKET BASKET
WITH FREE LIST EDIBLES
the Senate
As compromised from :
tinal du-
and House provisions, the
dopted are as follows
tier adog oe
Hoe
Free
Sennte
Free
House.
Cattle ipo
Horses and
ded at lems
teh
Eheep
Rice
Wheat
Butter Lavan
Hin Saeus hin even iy
BC csevsasanurranive Wr, Gog
Foams BEES ovoviviied BME ID
Poss, green of dried... tie. bu.
Bananas | ‘ vis Pree
Chovalate and
miles val
than $00
' eons BIS Wee
Free
ge Ih
Free
Ye Ib
poe,
Frew
de. Pe. In
Toe. bu. Jw. be
1000. Ih Free
Coton,
ies Bp. Se Ih fe. 1b
10 pe
Free
ge. Ib
Foe
fige 1b
he Iv
Free
ih
iis 18 pe
four and meal ge. Ih
vis } a
2c. 1b
pe
Amc
¥
“8
Penalty,
1 tutist
: i $ wal V
Undervalyation
nate receded f
dilowing a
re
3
A
i the
margin
without
Or 1
Fyaiuation
lorieture
eo
when
Eo
Ley
market
nierence
TiCKr f
Reciprocity
nierees
free list,
ban and
The
fi4l 31s ghsidiaries now
all the
country i he
marketal ie ore
removal of duty
possible for
steel busi
YETIrQe
expected 1
ind ents
maepenagenst
vith
ig make it
to enter
s¢ hope of « ming
trust & handicap
Blow at the Beef Trust,
Beef Trust fared in the same
manner As a result the placing
of cattle o the free list, South
American nations are expected to de-
velop a cattle raising business for the
purpose of helping to feed North
Americans The entry of South
American beel is expected to cut the
price of meats, notwithstanding the
prophecies of the beef barons that
the price will continue to soar, .
The Woolen Trust was sheared
of the protection which has enabled
it to keep foreign-made goods out of
the country, while the sheep raisers
of the West will have to meet the
wool from Australia and other coun-
tries that will enter on a free-trade
basis,
The
fess me
the
The ;
Of
i
of maintaining high
through the opera-
cold storage
system
on CERES
tion of a nation-wide
Clothing, «tc, «ff oon
ton, in cembinstien
with San, oi
ule, cut
on
Cotton slotkings,
aad hall hose
valued The
$1.50
flannes
iv
for
{over
Bix b
ehtidren's
i
i
:
Paintings #nd statonry
fens than 50 sears oid Free
Weol wv cottton ban. y
kein, wained jess than i
de, Ib. ... v vidi poe.
Automebilee, value 81, -
0 0 RE... pe
Avtomcbiles jess than
cane wnnnvas SB INE
oe
be compelled
fig Hnport
mangan
priced
; products
duced Ho
creased
Pe stpone 3 r
the
gar on iTee
Teo Reduce Cost of Living.
compared with the gir
To Save $1,000,000,000 a Year
FA
ADMINISTRATIVE FEATURES
General Provisions
Les
Governing the
of the New Rates.
Sundries,
per cent. 3 ¢
otton Manufactures.
hiread cot
per
emimed per cen
cent
Silks and Silk Goods,
artly gmanufactured
than carded
ents a i
Silk pe
further
combed,
20 cents
and
ad ance d
from 35 ¢ WO e
a pound
Wool Manufacturers.
Blankets and flannels from 72.69 per
cent. to per cent
Larpets every
58 10 per iO
23
description from
50 per cent
Clothing.
Gloves, from 44 per
lorem to $2 a dozen
Woolen goods, from
pound to free list :
Hats and bonnets of
per cent. to 45 per cent,
Bags, satchels and pocketbooks,
from 47.33 per cent. to 30 per cent.
Children’s gloves, from 44.13 per
cent. to $2 per dozen,
| Pearl buttons, from 48 per cent. to
25 per cent
of
cent
cent. ad wa.
11 cents a
fur, from 351
FOOD SCHEDULE CHANGES.
Oatmeal and rolled oats, from 1
fcent a pound to 30 cents a hundred
pounds
| Butter and substitutes, from 6 per
cent, to 2% cents a pound.
{ Cheese and substitutes, from 31.70
{per cent, to 20 per cent.
| Onions, from 40 cents to 20 cents
ia bushel of 57 pounds,
| Peas, from .25 cents to 10 cents ‘a
| bushel,
Chocolate and cocoa, prepared or
manufactured, from 21.50 per cent
(10 2 vents a pound,
Cittle from $2 a head to free list.