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SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XXIII. No. i 



the breeding places of the mosquito, and to build 

 clean, wholesome houses for the men. He went 

 down there himself and put his fingers into the 

 dry-rot, and found there the seeds of his own 

 mortal illness. Whitewash, either in engineering 

 or in politics, could not fool him. Had he lived, 

 he might have been able to check the tendency to 

 ' hustle ' in the scrambling ambition to make dirt 

 fly, simply that the foolable part of our country's 

 population might be deceived by the specious 

 appearance of ' something doing.' All calamity 

 howlers to the contrary notwithstanding, the 

 canal is as sure to be built as that a natural 

 law is certain of fulfilment; and those who to-day 

 busy themselves trying to find arguments against 

 it are going to be ashamed and sorry when the 

 seas are eventually linked by the greatest engi- 

 neering undertaking in the history of mankind. 



Mr. Waldo speaks knowingly and 'makes 

 clear the fundamental soundness of the 

 Panama Canal proposition, and the nature 

 of the temporary difficulties which have 

 hampered the execution of the plans.' 



Mr. Worcester R. Warner, of Cleveland, 

 0., who spent a week on the Isthmus in 

 the winter of 1904—5 with the congressional 

 committee, presented a paper on his 'Ob- 

 servations on the Panama Canal,' which 

 was read by the secretary, showing why he 

 is more convinced than ever that the sea- 

 level plan is the only one that our govern- 

 ment ought to adopt. He states: 



The cause of the failure of the French Com- 

 pany was primarily, and almost wholly, due to 

 maladministration, which is indicated by the 

 ruins of expensive machinery now lying along the 

 route of the canal, more particularly near the 

 Atlantic terminus. Twenty-five years ago, the 

 control of the Chagres River was considered the 

 diSicult problem ; now it is considered only ten 

 or fifteen per cent, of the problem. Now the great 

 difficulty is the excavation of the material from 

 the Culebra cut. The great wonder of the canal 

 is that so much of it is practically level. From 

 Colon to Gamboa, the fall is only two feet per 

 mile for twenty-eight miles. Ten miles at the 

 Pacific end of the canal compares in grade with 

 the Atlantic end. This leaves about ten miles 

 through the Culebra cut, which can be considered 

 as embodying practically all the difficulties in 

 excavation. 



If a sea-level canal is constructed, a dam will 



be required at Gamboa, where there is splendid 

 foundation for it, and it would make an artificial 

 lake with sufficient capacity to care for the lar- 

 gest freshets whose waters would be drawn off 

 towards the oceans by routes other than the canal 

 bed. Sufficient water would be let into the 

 canal to provide the necessary power for genera- 

 ting electricity for lighting and power purposes. 

 On the other hand, if a lock canal is constructed, 

 a dam 2,000 feet long must be built at Bohio, 

 and possibly another at Gatung, on foundations 

 which are found only at 150 feet or more below 

 sea level, and they can be constructed only with 

 the greatest trouble and at an enormous expense. 

 That a dirt dam at Bohio has been suggested 

 seems hardly credible. 



When we consider that the maximum height 

 of the canal at the beginning was less than the 

 height of some of our modern buildings, and 

 that the French Company reduced tha.t height to 

 150 feet above sea-level, which is practically 

 the height of our nine or ten story buildings, and 

 further, that this height extends only for less 

 than ten miles, Mr. Warner is confident that if 

 the present Congress does not direct a sea-level 

 canal to be built, that the next one will, for our 

 government engineering works in the past have 

 not been conducted on the ' penny-wise and pound- 

 foolish' plan. 



One other argument should be men- 

 tioned, and that is that without exception 

 the great engineering works of the present 

 generation have proven themselves too 

 small and too limited. This is illustrated 

 by the 'Soo' canal, the first locks of which 

 were discarded years ago and larger ones 

 built, which are soon to be replaced by 

 others still larger. If the Panama Canal 

 is built on the sea-level plan, it can be en- 

 larged without interfering with traffic and 

 without difficulty. On the other hand, if 

 a lock system is used it is limited, and can 

 not be enlarged without being rebuilt. 



The vice-presidential address was de- 

 livered by Professor Jacobus in the as- 

 sembly room of Gibson Hall. The subject 

 which he chose was 'Commercial Investi- 

 gations and Tests in Connection with Col- 

 lege Work.' It was concurred in and 

 heartily appreciated by the members of 

 the section and association who had the 



