Problems of ,the Panama Canal. By Brigadier - General H. L. Abbot,
U.S.A. (Macmillan and Co. 6s. 6d. net.)—General Abbot begins his narrative with the formation of the new Panama Company in 1890. The operations of this Company went on until the outbreak of the Spanish War. The ultimate result was that the United States bought the whole affair for 40,000,000 dollars. (The Senate had previously accepted the Nicaraguan scheme by a very largo majority ; but even the Senate has to yield to facts.) In this volume we have a statement of the comparative merits of the two schemes, showing a superiority in time for the Panama route of ten hours (transit) as against forty, and a very complete discussion of the engineering and other problems. The chief difficulty is the Chagres River, with freshets and flood for nine months of the year and scarcity for three. But there is nothing that may not be eventually overcome by the engineer. Nature has fortunately provided two lakes for the storage of water, scarcity being, of course, a more serious danger than superfluity. Other ditails—as, for instance, climate—are considered, and the whole case is exhaustively stated. The labour question is solved, it would seem, by the employment of negroes from the British Antilles.
Previous page
