New Britain Herald Newspaper, February 20, 1915, Page 9

ithe height of the divide and saw the } ‘a few miles from the modern city, for i / PANAMA CANAL, N B s Photos by American Press Association. §—Gatun locks, showing Atlantic entrance in distance. lights which will light way of ships through canal. 4.—Steamship Ancon passing through Culebra cut. town of Empire. Water passing over spillway at Gatun. racha after slide. HE Panama canal a reality! Behind that simple state- ment lie centuries of dreams unfulfilled and years of mo- mentous achievement. Columbus in 1502, searching for a strait, ,came to the harbor of Porto Bello, which he named. As the buz- zard files Porto Bello is about twenty miles northeast of the Atlantic (Carib- bean) terminus of the canal in Limon bay. Colon itself, on the shore of the bay, Is named, of course, for the great admiral. Balboa on Sept. 13, 1513, looked from Pacific. Pedrarias Davila, Balboa's father-in-law, built the city of Pana- ma in 1519 on the site of a fishing wharf. All that is left of the old town today is a church tower, two crumbling ‘bridges and other insignificant ruins, Morgan the buccaneer (afterward JEnighted by Charles IL) in 1671 sacked ind burned the place. _It is impossible in the severe limita- tions of space to trace the history of even the most important of the earlier reconnaissances and surveys for a wa- erway from sea to sea. Charles V. ordered a survey in 1534 and was told [ . Furope. 2—One of range 3.—Culebra cut and S5— 6.—Dredges at work in Cuca- by Governor Angoya that a canal was impossible. Not till the middle of the nineteenth century was systematic and constructive investigation begun. Then came the period when French companies sought to build the great waterway, only, after several attempts, to end in partial abandonment. . American Negotiations. In a letter of April 10, 1900, to Presi- dent Maurice Hutih of the new Pana- ma, Canal company, President Walker of the American commission, inquired whether the canal company was will- ing to sell to the United States its property and rights upon the isthmus; whether the company was able to con- vey a clear title in making such a sale, and, finally, what the price would be. President Hutin brought the reply to ‘Washington in the middle of October, 1901. The reply contained what seem- ed to the commissioners an excessive valuation. The figures of the new Pan- ama Canal company in estimating the value of their property were these: Francs. Dollars. Stock of the Panama railroad company.... 65,000,000 Buildings, lands, ete., on Panama isthmus, constituting the company’s private 10,615,000 estate ....... 9,000,000 1,737,000 WINTER DREADED BY ALL ARMIES Photos by American Press Assoclation. Upper—Servian ITH the advent of mid- winter a new and fright- ful enemy appeared on the scene in embattled It is the cold—as a destroyer of armies only less effective than epi- {demic disease. < ntinel guarding snow covered commissary wagons and Servian outposts. diers on skiis and on way to trenches. Cold is not merely a killer; it disables the fighting man. Soldiers suffering from it cannot fight well. They are dispirited and lose the “fighting edge.” Frostbites totally incapacitate many. Even numb fingers make it difficult for a man to handle a rifle or other Hospitals at Colon and at Panama. Amounts expended fo! concessions, with in- terest 4,632,000 Work done by the old | company y 80,095,000 | Work done by the new company to Jan. 1, 868,500 7,720,000 | 3,474,000 | Total ... ceereeeaee.. 565,500,000 109,141,500 | | In making thelr report to the presi- | dent on Nov. 16, 1901, the commission- ers decided in favor of the Nicaragua route. “There are certain phy 1 ad- vantages, such as a shorter canal line, | a more complete knowledge of the country through which it passes and | lower cost of maintenance and opera- tion in favor of the Panama route, but the price fixed by the Panama Canal company for a sale of its property and franchises is 50 unreasonable that its Technical surveys. 18,000,000 ic Lower—French sol- ‘weapon properly when it is near zero. The climate of the region where most of the battles have been fought in the past few' weeks is hardly less severe than that of New England. In Rus- | company sian Poland and East Prussia it is far colder, the thermometer falling far be- acceptance cannot be recommended by this commission.” On Dec. 21 the stockholders of the new Panama Canal company met in Paris, the newly elected president of the cabled to Washington tha the company accepted the valuation of the isthmian canal commission and would let the United States have the Panama canal at its own price—$40,- 000,000. The isthmian canal commis sion therefore changed its mind and in a supplementary report declared: “After considering the changed con- ditions that now exist and all the facts and circumstances on which its pres- ent judgment must be based the com- mission is of the opinion that ‘the most practicable and feasible route’ for an isthmian canal, to be ‘under the con- trol, 'management and ownership of the United States,’ is that known as the Panama route.” By an act of the Fifty-seventn con- gress, approved June 28, 1902—the | Spooner act—the president was au- | thorized to pay the price of $40,000,000 . oo to “acquire perpetual control of a strip of land, the territory of the republic of Colombia, not less than six | miles in width, extending from the | Caribbean to the - president al commi In cr sea The in | the isthm en member se sired control of land in Colombia the Nicaraqua route was to be chosen. The Title Unencumbered. To set at rest all doubts as to the validity of the title which the United States might receive from the new Pan- ama Canal company Attorney General Knox gave an opinion at Paris, under the date of Oct. 25, 1902. The opinion, with the appended papers, makes a volume of 365 pages, the opinion itself occupying thirty-two. The conclusion of the attorney general is: 1d on Jan. 2, 1902, Marius Do, | to the new Panama Canal company and ‘ * * * “Iam of the opinion that the United States would receive a good, valld and unencumbered title” The Hay-Herran convention, signed ‘JR'\. 22, 1903, followed by the telegram Pacific ocean.” |of President Roosevelt of Feb. 17, 1903, s to name |closing the option offered by the new on of ‘sev- [ Panama Canal company, and the rati- of an encumber- [fication of the Hay-Herran convention ed title or inability to obtain the de- |by the United States senate on the 17th of March, 1903, bring us close to the actual inception of the American un- dertaking. The rejection of the Flay-Herran convention by the congress at Bogota in its greed to get the $40,000,000 that would go to the French, in place of the $10,000,000 (and $100,000 annual rental) that Colombia was promised, is part of the recent history that has been so low zero and staying there for weeks at a time. Deep snows interfere great- ly with military movements. On the other hand, the freezing of rivers, and especially of the East Prussian lakes, facilitates in some instances the march- ing of armies, The digging of trenches in frozen soil is much more laborious and diffi- cult, and troops are not able to occupy them day and night, as they have been doing in northern France. It will be interesting to see how the troops from India stand the cold. Ac- customed as they are to a hot climate, it is to be expected that they will suf- fer greatly. But it is understood that they are excellently equipped with this prospect in view, bringing woolen uni- forms, heavy rugs and tents with them. One of the best ways to keep men confortable in cold weather is to give them piping hot meals. ITor this pur- pose the Germans have highly devel- oped the possibilities of “fireless” cook- ing. Large boxes (carried on motor wagons) are lined with felt and asbes- tos, and into these insulated recep- tacles each morning are put food ma- terials, such as stews, which have hardly begun to cook. Heat being pre- vented from escaping, the cooking goes on without the help of further fire and the “grub” is ready to serve in the evening, perhaps twelve hours later. Thus, on camping at night, the soldiers are able to have a hot meal. Cold has always been one of the most dreaded enemies of armies. Dur- ing our own civil war there was an immense amount of suffering from this cause. History tells what terrible ex- periences the American soldiers of the revolution went through one winter at Valley Forge. Such protection as they had from the weather was afforded by log huts, the construction of which was supervised by Washington him- self. The commanding officers of regi- ments were required to divide up their men into parties of twelve, each such party to build one hut to house that number of soldiers. Iach hut was 16 by 14 feet, with side walls 6% feet high. The sides, ends and roof were of logs—the roofs made tight with split slabs. The sides were smeared with clay to render them weather proof, and the same treatment was bestowed upon the interior of the fireplace in the rear of each but for the fireproofing. The officers’ huts were placed in a line be- hind those occupied by the troops. Washington gave a cash prize of $12 to the party in each regiment that finished its dwelling quickest and in the most workmanlike manner. WALTON WILLIAMS. OT until political institutions and moral greatness cease to interest men will ' George Washington be a topic that has become too tame and trite for fre- quent revival. It is fortunate that the later tendency of biographers of the Father of His Country has been to study him more closely from the sim- ple viewpoint of human nature. It is a very long stride from the Rev. Mason Locke Weems to some of the other biographers, yet we cannot deny to the former a certain claim upon our grati- tude. It is he who instilled into the souls of the early American youth that simple awe of the exalted character of Washington which no doubt had a deep influence upon our national ideals. What does it really matter if the story of the cherry tree and the little hatchet and that other equally pleas- ing one about the bed of cabbages which spelled the name of the future victor of Monmouth were apocryphal? They were not inconsistent with the after life of the hero, and, after all, there is but negative evidenee to support the assertion that they are false. Mr. Weems was pastor of a church near Mount Vernon, and he vis- ited the first president and sat at his table. He must have known many traditions of the latter's childhood that were not likely ever to reach the world at large. On this anniversary of Washington's birth it may not be out of place to print again the most famous of Mr. Weems' anecdotes of his childhood. Here it is: “When old he was none ieorge was about six years made the wealthy master of a hatchet, of which, like most boys, he was immoderately fond and was constantly going about chopping every- thing that came in his way. One day in the garden, where he often amused himself hacking his mother's pea bush- es, he unluckily tried the edge of his hatchet on the body of a beautiful young English cherry tree, which he barked so terribly that the tree never got the better of it. The next morning the old gentleman, finding out what had befalizn his tree, which, by the by, was a great favorite, came into the house and with much warmth asked for the mischievous author, declaring at the same time that he would not have taken flve guineas for the tree. ;\'uhoy‘ly could tell him anything about it. Presently George and his hachet n\.udn their appearance. ‘George,’ said his father. ‘do wou kmow who killed elaborately set forth late that it hardly | position here. The O rejected the treaty forming our state de & that negotiations | The “revolution” thal 'ama's independence | 1908, The Panama | was signed by See: | Bunau-Varilla Nov. proclaimed Feb. 26, Davis, the first civill canal one, came to | May 17. On June 1 | was appointed chiet signed in June, 184 Stevens took his ph 1907, Lieutenant Co Goethals of the e made chalrman of th chief engineer. Sin with the monument; and the sanitary cor hind his work, no entertained any doul tion of the Panama o A Few Facts and Fi By the French co cuble yards were Of that amount th ful to the American 000 cubic yards, The record of the tion, by years, has b May 4 to Dec. 31,1904, Jan. Dee, 1006, Jan. Dec. 1906, Jan. Dec. 1907.. Jan Dec. 1908, Jan. Dec. 1909, Jan. Dec. 21, 1910, Jan Dec. 1911, Jan. Dee. M3, | Jan. July 1913, | The length of the water to deep water, From shore to shore The maximum bo channel s 1,000 feet, Culebra cut) is 300 The area of Gatun miles. The channel through 45 feet deep; through The time of transit hours; through the 3 hours. The canal zone, 10 m area of about 44% squi At the helght of | 000 workmen were 5,000 were Americans. to to to to to to to to to to 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 WASHINGTON A MODEL FOR YO George Washington, monument to Father of the Country in Washington's home at Mount Vernon. that beautiful little cherry tree yonder in the garden? This was a tough question, and George staggersd under it for a moment, but quickly recovered himself, and, looking at his father, the sweet face of youth brightened with the inexpressible charm of all con-| quering truth, he bravely cried out: ‘I | can't tell a lle, father; you know I can't | tell a lie. I cut it with my hatgheg!’! ‘Run to my arms, cried his father in t my arm, Glad am I killed the tree, for yo for it a thousand tim of heroism in my som than a thousand somed with silver and purest gold.'” WIL