The location, size and plan of the Panama Canal with several recent
changes which have been ordered by the President and adopted by the
commission is described in the “Canal Record” as follows: “A channel,
500 feet wide at sea-level will lead from deep water in Limon Bay to
Gatun, a distance of 6.76 miles. At Gatun a dam one and one-half miles
long and 115 feet high will impound the waters of the Chagres river in
a lake, the normal level of which will be 85 feet above mean sea-level,
A flight of three twin locks, each 1,000 feet long, 110 feet wide, and
allowing for 41⅓ feet of water over the sills, will raise vessels from
sea-level to the lake, or lower them from the lake to the sea-level
channel. From Gatun navigation will be through the lake in a channel
from 1,000 feet to 500 feet wide for a distance of 23.59 miles to Bas
Obispo where Culebra cut begins. The channel through the continental
divide, from Bas Obispo to Pedro Miguel, a distance of 8.11 miles
will be 300 feet wide, and the surface of the water will be at the
lake level. At Pedro Miguel vessels will be lowered from the 85-foot
level to a small lake at 55 feet above sea-level, in twin locks of
one flight. A channel 500 feet wide and 0.97 miles long will lead to
Miraflores locks, where the descent to sea-level will be made in twin
locks of two flights. The locks at Pedro Miguel and Miraflores will be
of the same dimensions as those at Gatun. From Miraflores to deep water
in Panama Bay, a distance of 8.31 miles, the channel will be 500 feet
wide and 45 feet deep at mean tide. The channel widths given are all
bottom widths. The entrance both in Limon Bay and in Panama Bay will be
protected by breakwaters.”
VI. ORGANIZATION OF FORCES
Work on the Isthmus is in the hands of an Isthmian Canal Commission,
consisting of seven members, all of whom are appointed by the
President. All of them have headquarters on the Isthmus. The present
personnel of the Commission is as follows. Lieutenant Colonel G.
Goethals, U. S. A., chairman and chief engineer; Major David Du B.
Gaillard, U. S. A., corps of engineers; Major William L. Sibert,
U. S. A., corps of engineers: Colonel William C. Gorgas, U. S. A.,
medical department; Harry Rosseau, U. S. A., civil engineer; Lieutenant
Colonel H. F. Hodges, U. S. A., corps of engineers and Joseph C. S.
Blackburn, civilian.
As chairman, Colonel Goethals receives a salary of $15,000 annually.
Majors Gaillard and Sibert and Civil Engineer Rosseau $14,000 each and
Dr. Gorgas, Colonel Hodges and Mr. Blackburn $10,000 each.
The principal departments on the Isthmus, each in charge of a head who
is directly responsible for the work carried on under his direction
are: Construction and Engineering; Quartermaster’s; Subsistence; Civil
Administration; Sanitation; Disbursements; and Examination of Accounts.
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