The Nicaragua Canal has been so often referred to lately that it will
prove interesting to our readers to know more about this project and
what its successful completion will mean to the maritime nations of the
world, and especially to the United States.
After Columbus had discovered America and it was known that the Indies
had not been reached, but that a new continent barred the way, the early
discoverers sought a short route past this continent. Hudson, Baffin,
and others sought this route in the North, and others tried every
available opening in both North and South America, but of course
unsuccessfully, as it was soon known that no such route existed.
It must be remembered that the expeditions sailing to the new continent
had no knowledge of it geographically. It is hard to understand now,
maps are so familiar to all of us now, and we can in a moment call up
the shape of the continents, that then they had no knowledge of the
Western hemisphere except what could be obtained by their ships slowly
crawling along the coasts.
It was not unnatural, therefore, when they sailed into what we now call
the Gulf of Mexico and observed how far west they went before coming to
land, that they should expect to find the passage there.
When you look at the map that we print herewith, you will see that it is
but a short step--for the mind--from the strait that was not found to
the idea of connecting the two oceans by a manufactured strait or canal.
Much more than a century ago the suggestion was made, and ever since
efforts have been made to build such a canal.
[Illustration]
The Panama Railroad, a regular steam railroad for passengers and
freight, was built across the narrow part of the Isthmus, as indicated
in the map, in 1850 to 1855, and at that time negotiations were
definitely entered into looking toward the construction of a canal.
Ferdinand de Lesseps, a Frenchman, who made himself famous by building
the Suez Canal, organized a company in France, and work was commenced on
the Panama route. His plan was to construct what is known as a sea-level
canal across the very narrow part of the Isthmus (see map). "Sea level"
means that it was to be merely a cut in which the water would be all the
way at the same level--an open clear waterway from one ocean to the
other. This proved impracticable on account of engineering difficulties
and the crossing of the Chagres River, and in 1887 it was decided that
it could only be built with locks.
The system of using locks allows the water in different parts of the
canal to be at different levels. This is done by closing both ends of
each section of the canal with gates; a second pair of gates is placed a
short distance beyond, and the space between these is called a "lock."
If a vessel is to be taken into a section of the canal higher than that
from which she has come, she goes into the lock; water is then let into
this lock from the higher level by opening a water-gate until enough has
entered to float the vessel up to the level of the higher section of the
canal; the gates before the vessel are then opened and she passes out
into the new section. If she is to be taken to a lower section, the
reverse of this operation accomplishes this: the water is let out until
she is on the lower level.
[Illustration: ROUTE OF NICARAGUA CANAL.]
Mr. Eiffel, the engineer who designed the great tower in Paris which has
his name, designed locks for the Panama Canal, but in March, 1889, work
was stopped on account of lack of money.
How extravagant an operation this canal was, is told by the figures. Two
hundred and fifty millions of dollars were spent, and only one hundred
and forty millions' worth of work can be shown for it. This great
difference created a scandal throughout France, especially as the poorer
French people had been led to invest in canal shares, in the belief that
they would yield great profit.
The Nicaragua Canal plan is a very different one. The distance across
the Isthmus at the point chosen for this route is much greater than for
the Panama Canal, and yet there are fewer difficulties in the way.
Although the route is one hundred and seventy miles long, there will
have to be only twenty-seven miles of actual canal and only six locks.
This is on account of the use of Nicaragua Lake and the rivers. The lake
is the largest of any lying between the Great Lakes of the United States
and Lake Titicaca in Peru.
The route, as laid out after many exploring expeditions have been sent
to Nicaragua, is: From Greytown on the Caribbean Sea to the San Juan
River by canal, through this river to the lake, through the lake a
distance of over sixty miles in clear open water, then by the Lajas
River and by canal to the Pacific Coast at Brito. It will be seen that
about seventy-five miles of the course is in the rivers and over sixty
miles in the lake. Of course the waterway of the rivers will have to be
improved, but the cost of this is small compared to making an entirely
new cutting. The engineering expeditions have been over every inch of
the route to be traversed, and have made thorough examination both of
the surface conditions and of the formation of the soil, etc.
All engineers who have investigated the project unite in believing it
thoroughly practical and not subject to any extraordinary difficulties.
It was at first planned that the United States Government should build
and control this canal, but a bill for this purpose was vetoed by
President Cleveland on account of the conditions named by the Government
of Nicaragua.
In 1889 a private company was formed to undertake the work, but this
company has since failed. It is now hoped that bills can be passed and
financial arrangements made which will enable this company to finish the
work and the United States to control the canal. The estimated cost of
this canal is $150,000,000, and, as General Tracy said in his speech,
the saving, etc., will more than compensate the Government for the
outlay.
The importance of having this waterway joining the two great oceans has
long been recognized and is easily seen. The distance from New York to
San Francisco, when vessels have to go all the way around South America,
is about fourteen thousand eight hundred miles. If they could pass
through a canal at the Isthmus it would be reduced to under five
thousand, or about one-third of the distance. Think of the saving in
time and money that this would mean!
The great advantages of such a plan are evident in a moment.
We have referred to the speech of General Tracy, who, you will remember,
was, during President Harrison's administration, Secretary of the Navy.
In that speech he stated that, were this canal completed, we would need
to have but one navy where now we practically must have two,--one to
guard the Atlantic coast and one the Pacific coast.
If the canal were open, vessels of our navy could be sent from one coast
to the other in a very short time.
Moreover, the canal would make trade with the East--China, Japan,
etc.--much more direct than now, and, because the voyage would be easier
and quicker, greatly increase that trade.
It has been said that the nation that controls such a canal will hold
the "key to the Pacific," and with the considerations of our shipping
interests, and the desirability of having our war-ships easily
transferable from one coast to the other, and our great expanse of
country, it would seem that the United States should control it.