To give a comparison by the use of figures of the remarkable progress
made, I will say that about six months ago I took up the report of the
Canal Commission and I found that in the previous month the amount of
debris excavated for that one month exceeded 4,000,000 of cubic yards,
this tremendous output being a complete answer to the criticisms of the
opponents of canal construction.
In order to give a mental picture of the type of canal, let us take an
imaginary trip through the canal proper. It will be forty-two miles
from shore to shore. In addition to this there will be an excavation
out in Limon bay on the eastern side, and in Panama bay on the western
side, of about four miles on either side, in order to reach deep water.
Supposing that we are sailing down through Limon bay, which is a
small bay at the bottom of the Caribbean sea, on one of our American
battleships. We first enter the canal which leads from the bay up into
the shore toward Gatun dam, and this section of the canal will be 500
feet wide and 40 feet deep at low water level. This channel penetrates
through the mud banks and land about four miles, when it encounters
Gatun dam. Gatun dam must be surmounted through the agency of locks,
which have been previously described.