THE PANAMA 



pany, in its attempt to cut a sea-level 

 canal, found it necessary to provide di- 

 version channels to care for the water 

 of the rivers. The New Panama Canal 

 Company adopted the plan of a dam 

 across the river valley at Bohio, creating 

 a lake above this point and discharging 

 the flood waters to the level below by 

 means of a spillway in the adjacent hills. 

 The canal which the President was au- 

 thorized to construct by the provisions 

 of the Spooner Act was the lock type 

 recommended by the first Isthmian Canal 

 Commission in its report submitted No- 

 vember 1 6, 1 90 1. This plan also pro- 

 vided a lake for controlling the Chagres 

 by a dam at Bohio, following along the 

 plans of the New Panama Canal Com- 

 pany, thereby utilizing to the fullest 

 extent the work already accomplished. 



Early in the progress of the work the 

 construction of a sea-level canal was agi- > 

 tated ; this is undoubtedly the ideal canal. ^ 

 It took such a hold on the public mind § 

 that, in consideration of the international 

 importance of the work, the President 5 

 convened a Board of Consulting Engi- o 

 neers to consider and report upon the 3 

 type of canal which should be adopted. > 

 This Board consisted of 13 members — N 

 five representatives of European coun- § 

 tries and eight Americans— and assem- w 

 bled in Washington in June, 1905. The 

 minority of this Board — five in number — 

 reported in favor of the lock type for 

 the reasons that such a canal would pro- 

 vide greater safety for ships and less 

 danger of interruption to traffic by rea- 

 son of its wider, straighter, and deeper 

 channels, as well as quicker passage for 

 large ships ; the other considerations 

 were that such a canal could be built in 

 less time and for less money. 



In forwarding the report of this Board 

 to Congress, on February 19, 1906, the 

 President stated : "The law now on our 

 statute books seems to contemplate a 

 lock canal. In my judgment a lock canal 

 as herein recommended is advisable." 

 On June 29, 1906, the Congress author- 

 ized the construction of the lock type of 

 canal, in accordance with the general 

 plans of the minority of the Board, and 



