OFFICIAL 
 
 HANDBOOK 
 
 OF THE <^r 
 
 PANAMA 
 CANAL 
 
 HHE P CANAL EXHIBIT 
 
 "> BUiCT>IWQ, 
 SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF. 
 
 1915 
 
 S. S. ANCON PASSING CONTINENTAL DIVIDE, AUGUST 15, 1914. 
 

OFFICIAL 
 
 HANDBOOK 
 
 OF THE 
 
 PANAMA 
 CANAL 
 
 1915 
 
 WASHINGTON 
 
 GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 
 1915 
 

 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Introductory 5 
 
 Distances saved 7 
 
 Distances saved in trade routes between important areas 8 
 
 Tables of distances and time saved by canal route 10 
 
 How a vessel is handled through the canal 16 
 
 Methods of depositing Panama Canal tolls in United States and 
 
 foreign countries 16 
 
 Local agents unnecessary 17 
 
 Government pilots necessary 18 
 
 Time required for transit 18 
 
 Towing vessels through locks by towing locomotives 20 
 
 Handling of ships in locks 21 
 
 Tug service 21 
 
 Facilities for shipping "? 22 
 
 Large dry dock at Balboa 22 
 
 Fuel-oil handling plants 22 
 
 Coaling plants 22 
 
 Water supply for ships 22 
 
 General supplies - . 24 
 
 Repairs 24 
 
 Hotel and hospital accommodations and cable connections 25 
 
 Method of application for supplies 26 
 
 Prices of supplies 26 
 
 Charges for services 27 
 
 Savings in cost 30 
 
 Saving in cost of operation by use of canal specific instances 
 
 cited where vessels have used canal 30 
 
 Tolls 33 
 
 Levied on cargo and passenger carrying capacity .33 
 
 Officials from whom tonnage certificates may be obtained 33 
 
 Time required to measure vessels at Isthmus 33 
 
 Panama Canal tonnage 34 
 
 Bates of toll 34 
 
 Tonnage measurement in commercial operations compared with 
 
 Panama Canal tonnage 34 
 
 Tolls collected to May 1, 1915 36 
 
 3 
 
 311790 
 
4 CONTENTS. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Sailing ships 37 
 
 Use of canal by sailing ships 37 
 
 Savings effected , 38 
 
 The canal and the Navy 41 
 
 Effectiveness of Navy increased 41 
 
 Monetary saving to United States 41 
 
 Features of construction 42 
 
 Location of canal 42 
 
 Principal features of canal construction 44 
 
 Gatun Dam 44 
 
 Gatun Spillway 44 
 
 Hydroelectric station 45 
 
 Gatun Lake 45 
 
 Gaillard Cut 46 
 
 Miraflores Lake ; . . . 46 
 
 Locks 48 
 
 Traffic routes 51 
 
 First six months of canal operation destination of vessels and 
 
 their cargo tonnage 51 
 
 Coastwise trade of United States 51 
 
 Nature of traffic between various points 52 
 
 Principal commodities shipped via canal 52 
 
 Tabulation showing distribution of cargo tonnage 56 
 
 Canal tonnage in terms of railway traffic 56 
 
 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 Since the golden age of discovery inaugurated by Colum- 
 bus the quest for an all-water way from Europe to the Far 
 East, across Atlantic and Pacific, has been a world obsession. 
 
 The idea has possessed the minds of navigators, shippers, 
 business men, admirals, and Governments. Dozens of proj- 
 ects for the forcing of the passage have been advanced ; thou- 
 sands of lives have been lost in the efforts. 
 
 On May 4, 1904, the Government of the United States took 
 possession of a strip of land 10 miles wide running across 
 the Isthmus of Panama and called the Canal Zone. On 
 August 15, 1914, the Panama Canal was opened to commerce. 
 
 This began the era of operation. This is the time of reali- 
 zation of the actual condition to which we have been looking 
 forward so long. To tell something of the canal in opera- 
 tion, how it is managed, the distances it saves, with the result- 
 ing economy in operation of vessels using the canal, and the 
 ways the trade is moving, are some of the purposes of this 
 handbook. 
 
 5 
 
OFFICIAL HANDBOOK 
 
 OF THE 
 
 PANAMA CANAL. 
 
 <^ 
 
 DISTANCES SAVED. 
 
 From Colon, on the Atlantic side of the Isthmus of Pan- 
 ama, to Balboa, on the Pacific side, the distance by water, 
 around South America, is 10,500 nautical miles. Through 
 the canal that distance is reduced to less than 44 miles. 
 
 The difference in length of these routes, 10,456 miles, rep- 
 resents the maximum distance that can be saved to a vessel 
 by use of the canal. This maximum is more interesting geo- 
 graphically than commercially because vessels bound for the 
 Pacific coast by way of the Strait of Magellan would not 
 skirt the entire Atlantic coast of South America, but would 
 strike across the Caribbean, if from the United States, or the 
 central Atlantic, if from Europe, and proceed by the most 
 direct route consistent with commercial advantage. But the 
 saving is not purely hypothetical. The tug Reliance, once 
 employed in the Atlantic entrance of the canal, was trans- 
 ferred to the Pacific, entrance by way of Magellan. The 
 voyage required 126 days, and the Reliance has since several 
 times made the transit from ocean to ocean in one day in pass- 
 ing back and forth between Colon and Balboa by way of the 
 canal. 
 
 What counts in the commercial value of the canal is not 
 the distance that could be saved but the distances that are 
 saved by vessels substituting the canal route for the earlier 
 'round-the-continent route in regular trade. Following are 
 some of the savings on great trade routes, between important 
 areas : 
 
 The great United States Atlantic port of New York, for 
 instance, is nearer to the great Pacific port of San Francisco, 
 through the use of the canal, by 7,873 nautical miles. The 
 distance of 13,135 miles by Magellan has been reduced to 
 
 96642 15 2 7 
 
8 " 'OFFICIAL^ liA'NDBOOK OF PANAMA CANAL. 
 
 5,262 miles by the canal. The water distance between these 
 ports is two- fifths what it used to be. 
 
 So far in the use of the canal, over 40 per cent of the 
 vessels which have passed through it have been engaged in 
 the coastwise trade of the United States each of them 
 saving about 7,800 miles on each trip. If their average 
 speed be taken at 10 knots, they have averaged a saving of 
 over a month at sea on each voyage from coast to coast. 
 Where formerly the round trip of a 10-knot vessel required 
 about 55 days' actual steaming, the time at sea for the 
 same trip for the same vessel is now reduced to about 22 
 days. 
 
 The next heaviest traffic through the canal is between the 
 Pacific coast of the United States and Europe. The canal 
 makes San Francisco nearer to Liverpool by 5,666 miles, a 
 saving of two-fifths of the old journey by Magellan. The 
 distance between San Francisco and Gibraltar has been 
 reduced from 12,571 miles to 7,621 miles, a saving of 4,950 
 miles or 39 per cent of the former distance. 
 
 From San Francisco to Buenos Aires, via Valparaiso and 
 Magellan, is approximately 7,610 miles which is shorter 
 than the route through the canal, by which the distance is 
 8,941 miles. To Rio de Janeiro, the distance via Magellan is 
 8,609 miles; by the canal 7,885 miles. To Pernambuco, on 
 the eastern promontory of South America, the distance via 
 Magellan is 9,748 miles ; via the canal 6,746 miles. To Para 
 the distances via Magellan and via the canal are 10,852 and 
 5,642 miles, respectively. 
 
 From San Francisco to Freetown, on the west coast of 
 middle Africa, the distance by the most practicable route, 
 using the Strait of Magellan, is 11,380 miles. Through the 
 canal and by way of the island of Barbados, the distance is 
 7,277 miles. The new route is less than two-thirds of the 
 former. 
 
 With reference to the trade between the Atlantic coast of 
 the United States and the west coast of South America, New 
 York is nearer to Valparaiso by 3,717 miles by virtue of 
 the canal; to Iquique, one of the great nitrate ports, by 
 
OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF PANAMA CANAL. 9 
 
 4,139 miles; and to Guayaquil by 7,405 miles. From New 
 York to Guayaquil the present distance of 2,765 miles is 
 approximately 27 per cent of the former distance 10,270 
 miles. 
 
 As to the Far East, New York is nearer to Yokohama 
 by 3,768 miles than formerly by way of the Suez Canal, but 
 the latter route is 18 miles shorter than the Panama route 
 for vessels plying between New York and Hongkong. New 
 York is 41 miles nearer Manila by Panama than by Suez, 
 and 3,932 miles nearer Sydney by Panama. New York is 
 now, by virtue of the Panama Canal 3 nearer than Liverpool 
 to Yokohama by 1,880 miles, and nearer than Liverpool to 
 Sydney by 2,424 miles. 
 
 The foregoing are typical instances of the changes of 
 routes effected by the opening of the canal. Detailed tabu- 
 lations of distances are given in the appended tables. 
 
10 
 
 OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF PANAMA CANAL. 
 
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HOW A VESSEL IS HANDLED THROUGH THE 
 CANAL. 
 
 For a steamship owner or agent to send a vessel through 
 the canal is one of the simplest matters in all his business. 
 Practically all he has to do is to make a deposit with the Gov- 
 ernment to cover the vessel's canal expenses. The Govern- 
 ment will attend to everything else, and return his change 
 as soon as the vessel has cleared from the canal. 
 
 There are several ways by which money may be advanced 
 to cover canal charges. The simplest and most direct and 
 the one usually followed is to make a deposit with an as- 
 sistant treasurer of the United States (there is one in every 
 large port of the United States). The assistant treasurer 
 will, on request, telegraph the Washington office of The 
 Panama Canal which will cable notice of the placing of the 
 deposit to the canal authorities on the Isthmus, who then 
 make all arrangements to give the vessel the quickest dis- 
 patch through the canal as soon as it presents itself at either 
 port of entry. 
 
 The method outlined above is equally easy for an owner or 
 agent in a foreign country. He can simply direct his bank, 
 which will have connections with a bank or banks in the 
 United States, to have a deposit placed with the assistant 
 treasurer, say, in New York or San Francisco. This done, 
 16 
 
OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF PANAMA CANAL. 17 
 
 the conduct of the rest of the business is in the hands of the 
 Government. 
 
 Another method which may be followed in making the 
 deposit, but which is more complicated, is to deposit certain 
 high-grade bonds with the assistant auditor of the Panama 
 Canal in Washington as security and to make payment by 
 draft. Drafts to the accepted value of the bonds will then 
 be accepted for conversion into cash, the value of the drafts 
 being secured to the Government by its tenure of the bonds. 
 This arrangement is supposed to be especially convenient for 
 companies having frequent sailings through the canal. 
 
 A third method is to make payment in cash to the collector 
 on the Isthmus. The probabilities are that this method will 
 not be used often, except in cases of yachts and other small 
 vessels, on account of the inconvenience and risk of carrying 
 credit, to apply on future bills. 
 
 By whichever method the advance payment is made, it 
 should be amply sufficient to cover the estimated tolls as well 
 as any other probable expenses, such as for fuel, supplies, 
 cable messages, etc. Whatever balance is due the depositor 
 after the vessel's expenses have been paid will be refunded 
 him, by check on the Treasurer of the United States, directly 
 after the vessel has cleared from the canal. If the depositor 
 expressely requests it, any balance due him will be left to his 
 credit, to apply on future bills. 
 
 Some owners or agents who may have been unaware of the 
 simple and prompt method by which their business with the 
 canal can be handled, have employed local agents on the 
 Isthmus to look after the interests of their vessels, or have 
 arranged with local banks to pay their bills. Such arrange- 
 ments are neither necessary nor desirable. The one thing 
 important is to provide the money to pay the ship's bills. 
 That is done most expeditiously through the Government's 
 arrangements, as outlined above, and when it has been done 
 the canal organization handles the ship's business with a 
 minimum of delay. The introduction of a third party in the 
 transaction tends to complicate the situation and actually to 
 delay the transit of the ship, by interfering with the usual 
 
18 OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF PANAMA CANAL. 
 
 methods of handling business by the canal authorities in 
 connection therewith. 
 
 When the ship enters the harbor of either of the terminal 
 ports it is boarded by officers of the canal who examine its 
 bill of health and clearance, see that its certificate of canal 
 measurement is properly made out, and ascertain any of the 
 vessels needs in the matters of fuel, supplies, extra men to 
 handle the lines during the passage of the locks, etc. These 
 matters are immediately reported to the Captain of the 
 Port, who gives the necessary orders to insure proper attend- 
 ance on the vessel's needs and directs its start through the 
 canal whenever it is ready. 
 
 In all stages of its transit of the canal the vessel must have 
 on board a Government pilot. There is no charge for pilot- 
 age on vessels going directly through the canal without stop- 
 ping to discharge cargo or passengers at the terminal ports. 
 The pilot is on board in an advisory capacity and is re- 
 quired to confer with the master of the vessel, giving him 
 the benefit of his knowledge and advice as to the handling of 
 the vessel in the various reaches, but the master, who is best 
 acquainted wdth the peculiarities of his vessel and hor ways 
 of answering the helm, is responsible for the navigation pf 
 the vessel, except when she is passing through the locks. 
 
 The handling of a vessel during its transit of the canal is 
 like the handling of a railway train on its " run." The 
 course is equipped with all requisite signals, facilities for 
 mooring, like sidings, and a system of communication be- 
 tween points along the" line, which includes a special tele- 
 phone system connecting all the important points of control 
 in series. 
 
 As soon as the vessel starts on its transit of the canal, the 
 Captain of the Port at the point of entrance telephones its 
 starting to the other stations along the course. As the vessel 
 arrives and departs from each of these points, the fact is 
 telephoned along the line, so that there is exact knowledge at 
 each station all the time of the status of traffic, and complete 
 cooperation from the several points of control. 
 
 The transit of the canal requires about 10 hours, of which 
 approximately 3 hours are spent in the locks. In the sea- 
 
20 OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF PANAMA CANAL. 
 
 level channels and Gaillard (formerly "Culebra") Cut the 
 speed of vessels is limited to 6 knots; through Gatun Lake 
 they may make 10, 12, and 15 knots, according to the width 
 of the channel. A vessel may clear from the canal port at 
 which it enters and, after passing through the last of the 
 locks, put direct to sea without further stop. 
 
 The handling of a vessel all through the canal, except in 
 the locks, is essentially the same as its handling through any 
 charted channel where observance of signals, ranges, and 
 turns is necessary. The canal channel throughout is very 
 accurately charted, fully equipped with aids to navigation, 
 and governed by explicit rules with which the pilots, of 
 course, are thoroughly familiar. 
 
 In the locks, the vessel is under the control of the lock-oper- 
 ating force. As the vessel approaches the locks, the operator 
 in charge at the control house indicates by an electrically op- 
 erated signal at the outer end of the approach wall if the 
 vessel shall enter the locks, and, if so, on which side ; or if it 
 shall keep back or moor alongside the approach wall. If 
 everything is ready for the transit of the locks, the vessel 
 approaches the center approach wall, which is a pier extend- 
 ing about a thousand feet from the locks proper, lines are 
 thrown out, and connections are made with the electric tow- 
 ing locomotives on the approach wall. 
 
 The vessel then moves forward slowly until it is in the 
 entrance chamber, when lines are thrown out on the other 
 side and connections are made with towing locomotives on the 
 side wall. Six locomotives are used for the larger vessels, 
 three on each wall of the lock chamber. Two keep forward 
 of the vessel, pulling and holding her head to the center of 
 the chamber; two aft, holding the vessel in check; and two 
 slightly forward of amidships, which do most of the towing 
 of the vessel through the chamber. The locomotives are pow- 
 erful affairs, secured against slipping by the engagement of 
 cogs with a rack running along the center of the track, and 
 equipped with a slip drum and towing windlass, which allow 
 the prompt paying out and taking in of hawser as required. 
 No trouble has been experienced in maintaining absolute con- 
 trol over the vessels. 
 
OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF PANAMA CANAL. 21 
 
 The water within the lock chamber proper, beyond the 
 entrance chamber, is brought to the level of that in the ap- 
 proach, the gates toward the vessel are opened, the fender 
 chain is lowered, and the locomotives maneuver the vessel 
 into the chamber and bring it to rest. The gates are then 
 closed, the water raised or lowered, as the case may be, to the 
 level of that in the next chamber, the gates at the other end 
 are opened, and the vessel moved forward. Three such steps 
 are made at Gatun, two at Miraflores, and one at Pedro 
 Miguel. 
 
 When the vessel has passed into the approach chamber at 
 the end of the locks, the lines from the towing locomotives 
 on the side wall are first cast off, then those from the loco- 
 motives on the approach wall, and the vessel clears under its 
 own power. 
 
 Towing is not ordinarily required in any part of the canal, 
 except in the locks, for steam or motor vessels. Tug service 
 for sailing ships or vessels without motive power is at the 
 rate of $15 per hour. If the channel in the Cut has been dis- 
 turbed by a slide, tugs may be used to handle vessels past the 
 narrow places, but in such cases there is no charge for the 
 service to vessels of less than 15,000 gross tonnage. 
 
FACILITIES FOR SHIPPING. 
 
 In line with its policy of making the canal thoroughly 
 serviceable in a commercial sense, the Government is equip- 
 ping it with all requisite facilities to minimize the incidental 
 delays and expenses of vessels passing through it. 
 
 The facilities are now ample for the present traffic, except 
 for the lack of a large dry dock. The concrete is now being 
 placed for the permanent dry dock at Balboa, which will 
 accommodate the largest vessels afloat, and is to be finished 
 b} the end of 1915. 
 
 Extensive fuel-oil handling plants, with which are con- 
 nected tanks belonging to individuals and companies, as 
 well as those erected by the Government, have been estab- 
 lished at both terminals of the canal. Oil can be supplied 
 to ships at the rate of 1,200 barrels per hour to each vessel. 
 
 The permanent coaling plants, now under construction at 
 both terminals, will each be able to load coal into bunkers of 
 vessels at the rate of 2,000 tons per hour. The plant at the 
 Atlantic entrance is to have a storage capacity of a little 
 over 400,000 tons, and that at the Pacific entrance w y ill have 
 a capacity of 200,000 tons. Both will be equipped with un- 
 loading and loading cranes. These plants are to be com- 
 pleted early in 1916. The present means of supplying coal 
 to vessels are from lighters at the Pacific entrance, and from 
 lighters, or from cars alongside the wharves, or by cantilever 
 crane at the coal wharf at the Atlantic entrance. 
 
 Water is supplied from the mains on the terminal wharves 
 and piers. The water in Gatun Lake is fresh, but is not 
 safe for drinking purposes in an untreated state. The water 
 sold at the docks is drawn from the regular water-supply 
 systems and has been purified. 
 22 
 
96642 1! 
 
24 OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF PANAMA CANAL. 
 
 GENERAL SUPPLIES. 
 
 As The Panama Canal and the Panama Railroad Company 
 are together operating a large number of vessels of a variety 
 of classes, from tugs to ocean-going passenger and freight 
 vessels, supplies for practically any kind of vessel are kept 
 on hand on the Isthmus. Such supplies are for sale to all 
 ships using the canal, or calling at the terminal ports. The 
 storehouses at Cristobal and Balboa have in stock all stand- 
 ard lubricants, light and heavy hardware, cordage, and mis- 
 cellaneous ship-chandlery supplies. 
 
 Foodstuffs and the general variety of merchandise han- 
 dled by the commissary department of The Panama Canal 
 may be purchased for ships. The fact that the supply de- 
 partment is supplying regularly most of the food and wear- 
 ing apparel of approximately 50,000 people is a warrant that 
 its operations are on a scale which can easily include the 
 needs of ships no\v coming to the canal. Prices are generally 
 lower than the retail prices in the United States, or possibly 
 about 10 per cent higher than the wholesale prices there, and 
 compare favorably with prices in any port of the world. 
 
 A large stock of fresh meats, vegetables, fruits, canned 
 groceries, bakery products, etc., is always on hand, and ad- 
 vance arrangements can be made for supplies of any article 
 obtainable in the markets of the world. 
 
 Ice may be purchased in any reasonable quantity. 
 
 Laundry is handled quickly. No advance notice is re- 
 quired, and ship's laundry can be returned on the same day 
 it is received. A vessel entering the canal can forward its 
 laundry by rail to the plant at Cristobal or the one at Ancon 
 and receive it back by the time it is ready to clear from the 
 other end of the canal. Passengers' laundry can be handled 
 with corresponding dispatch, but it is preferred to have at 
 least two days for the work. 
 
 REPAIRS. 
 
 Except for the limitations imposed at present by the ab- 
 sence of a large dry dock, and of lathes for turning the 
 largest crank shafts and longest line shafts of modern ves- 
 sels, the canal shops can do practically any repair work which 
 
OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF PANAMA CANAL. 25 
 
 a vessel might bring. Sufficient materials, including heavy 
 billets and all sizes of plates and angles, are kept on hand to 
 meet every probable need. The foundry can make steel cast- 
 ings up to 5 tons in weight, and iron castings up to 10 tons, 
 as well as brass castings of any ordinary size. 
 
 The shops at Balboa are equipped with a 540-ton hydraulic 
 forging press, an open-side extension planer with capacity 
 to plane 132 inches wide, 96 inches high, and 24 feet long, 
 lathes large enough for ordinary line-shaft work, and the 
 usual accessories of fully equipped machine, boiler, and ship- 
 fitters' shops. The shops alongside the dry dock at Mount 
 Hope can do small machine work of moderate size, and prac- 
 tically any plate work likely to be required. By submitting 
 to the delay necessary to transport parts to Balboa, all the 
 facilities of the Balboa shops are also available for work at 
 Mount Hope. The Mount Hope Dry Dock can take ships 
 drawing 13J feet of water and 300 feet long ; the permanent 
 dry dock now under construction at Balboa will take any 
 vessel that can pass through the canal. 
 
 The Balboa shops contain a plant for the generation of 
 oxygen and acetylene, and both they and the shops at Mount 
 Hope are equipped with tools for all kinds of cutting and 
 welding. Compressed air, steam, water, oil, and electric cur- 
 rent are available at the repair wharves in the maximum 
 quantity required. Locomotive and wrecking cranes are 
 available at the wharf side for lifting, and a derrick barge 
 with a lifting capacity of 40 tons may be brought into service 
 if necessary. Two floating derricks of 250-tons capacity 
 have been erected and are practically ready for service. 
 
 Contracts for doing repair work at a stated cost can not 
 be made b}^ The Panama Canal, though estimates of probable 
 cost can be furnished from the shops. Charges are made 
 on the basis of actual cost of repairs, plus a percentage to 
 cover overhead expenses, prescribed by The Panama Canal. 
 
 HOTEL AND HOSPITAL ACCOMMODATIONS AND CABLE CONNEC- 
 TIONS. *- 
 
 The Hotel Washington at Colon and the Hotel Tivoli at 
 Ancon, adjoining Balboa, and the Hotel Aspinwall, on 
 
26 OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF PANAMA CANAL. 
 
 Taboga Island, are owned and operated by the Government 
 for the accommodation of the traveling public. Reserva- 
 tions can be made in the same way as at privately owned 
 hotels. 
 
 Ancon Hospital is equipped with 800 beds. It treats about 
 35,000 cases a year, in which approximately 7,000 surgical 
 operations are performed. Its staff of physicians and sur- 
 geons includes men of marked experience and ability and 
 several experts in tropical medicine. The treatment of cases 
 from neighboring countries and from ships is a part of its 
 regular work. 
 
 Direct cable connections extend from the Isthmus to New 
 York and to the west coasts of Mexico, Central, and South 
 America. The radio stations at Colon and Balboa handle 
 commercial business. 
 
 METHOD OF APPLICATION FOR SUPPLIES. 
 
 Steamship captains or agents desiring the services of The 
 Panama Canal in the way of supplies, repairs, etc., will re- 
 ceive prompt response on communicating Avith the Captain 
 of the Port at Balboa or Cristobal. Ships may communi- 
 cate their wants by radio in advance of arrival. The canal 
 organization, having made ample preparations for serving 
 vessels, is desirous of giving prompt and satisfactory service 
 on a businesslike basis without unnecessary delay or red tape. 
 
 The Captain of the Port will furnish information in re- 
 gard to placing orders, and should be notified of all orders 
 placed, so that he may be able to keep track of them in rela- 
 tion to clearing ship, etc. 
 
 Bills for all supplies will be submitted through the offices 
 of the deputy collectors at the ports for collection, or cash 
 may be sent with orders. Bills for supplies furnished ships 
 of regularly established lines will be submitted to the local 
 agents, if desired. 
 
 PRICES OF SUPPLIES. 
 
 The following is a partial list of the charges prevailing 
 at present for various services, but they are subject to change 
 from time to time : 
 
OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF PANAMA CANAL. 27 
 
 Coal. At Cristobal, from lighters, trimmed in bunkers, 
 or from cars alongside wharf, handled by ships' gear, per 
 ton, $5.40; use of steam hoist and crane, per hour, $1. At 
 Balboa the price is $1 more per ton, either form of delivery. 
 
 Fuel oil. Regular sales, $1.25 per barrel. 
 
 Water. Delivered at dock, 25 cents per 1,000 gallons; 
 minimum charge, $3. 
 
 General supplies, foodstuffs, etc. Prices are usually less 
 than retail prices in the United States. Wholesale lists may 
 be obtained from the offices of the port captains. 
 
 Ice. At Cristobal, 30 cents per 100 pounds ; at Balboa, 35 
 cents per 100 pounds. 
 
 Laundry. The following representative prices will give a 
 fair idea of charges. For passengers: Drawers or under- 
 shirts, 10 cents each ; socks, 5 cents per pair ; collars, 3 cents 
 each. For ships : Waiters' coats, 10 cents each ; blankets,' 10 
 cents each; trousers and jackets, 5 cents each; aprons, caps, 
 sheets, tablecloths, napkins, towels, 1 cent each. 
 
 CHARGES FOR SERVICES. 
 
 Barges and lighters. With towing machine, 400 tons or 
 over, $2.25 per hour; without towing machine, 400 tons or 
 over, 90 cents per hour ; under 400 tons, 30 cents per hour. 
 
 The charge for barges or lighters will depend upon the 
 kind and class of service rendered, time in use, and charges 
 in connection with handling freight and cargo. 
 
 Wharfage. All steam or motor vessels, per day or frac- 
 tion thereof, per foot of length, measured over all, 12J cents. 
 Sailing vessels, 100 feet in length or less, per foot, 5 cents; 
 over 100 but less than 200 feet, per foot, 10 cents; over 200 
 feet, per foot, 12| cents. 
 
 Dry docking at Mount Hope. For vessel docked alone, $75 
 for the first day, and $25 for each subsequent day. For a 
 vessel docked with another vessel, $50 for the first day, and 
 $18 for each subsequent day. 
 
 Launches. larger launches, for the first hour, $7.50, and 
 $5 for each succeeding hour ; smaller launches, $5 for the first 
 hour, and $2.50 for each succeeding hour. 
 
28 OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF PANAMA CANAL. 
 
 Diverts service. For the first four hours or fraction 
 thereof from time of arrival at point of diving $60, for each 
 subsequent hour $10. 
 
 Freight. Rates for handling freight depend upon the 
 kind and class of services required. Freight is handled at 
 the terminal ports either by the Panama Railroad or the 
 agents of vessels. 
 
 Tugs. For harbor work, shifting berths, work around 
 piers or locks, and short tows, $15 per hour. For towing 
 through the canal 4 cents per displacement ton, or 10 cents 
 per net Panama Canal ton; minimum charge for towing 
 through the canal $150. 
 
 Pilotage. Charges are based upon the maximum draft; 
 rate per foot or fraction of foot exceeding 6 inches $1. In 
 case pilot is taken on outside of the Atlantic breakwaters an 
 extra charge of $10 is imposed. There is no charge for pilot- 
 age when a vessel goes direct through the canal without stop- 
 ping at either terminal port to take on or discharge cargo or 
 passengers. Through passengers will be allowed to land 
 without affecting the status of the vessel in this respect. 
 
 Tolls. On merchant vessels carrying passengers or cargo 
 per net ton (each 100 cubic feet) of actual earning capacity 
 $1.20. 
 
 On vessels in ballast without passengers or cargo, per ton, 
 75 cents. 
 
 On naval vessels, other than transports, colliers, hospital 
 ships, and supply ships, per displacement ton, 50 cents. 
 
 On Army and Navy transports, colliers, hospital ships, 
 and supply ships, the vessel to be measured by the same rules 
 as are employed in determining the net tonnage of merchant 
 vessels, per net ton, $1.20. 
 
 Additional charges are made for deck loads, depending 
 on the space occupied ; per net vessel ton, $1.20. 
 
 For passengers, no specific charge is made, but passenger 
 space is included in the net tonnage upon which tolls are 
 charged. 
 
SAVINGS IN COST. 
 
 Fundamentally, the saving to a vessel by the use of the 
 canal in place of a longer route is the difference between the 
 cost of the voyage over the longer route and the cost over 
 the canal route, in which latter must be included the canal 
 tolls. The actual cost per day at sea on any route is affected 
 by various factors, chief among which are the cost of fuel 
 and of supplies which must be taken aboard en route ; these 
 factors, as may be judged from the description of facilities 
 for vessels at the canal, and the broader influences of 
 weather, conditions at sea, and connections with secondary 
 trade areas, are generally favorable to the canal in compari- 
 son with alternate routes. The advantage of quicker delivery 
 of goods is in most cases an appreciable consideration. 
 
 For a specific voyage between two ports, by way of the 
 canal or by an alternate route, the cost will vary in any 
 number of vessels according to their individual expenses of 
 operation. All cases can not be covered by exact formula. 
 The following typical instances are, however, illustrative of 
 general conditions : 
 
 With reference to the trade from the Atlantic coast of the 
 United States to the Far East, the voyage of the Penrith 
 Castle, which passed through the canal on October 22-23 en 
 route from Galveston to Yokohama with a cargo of 3,270 
 tons of raw cotton, is typical. 
 
 By using The Panama Canal, this vessel saved at least 
 5.280 miles of travel between these ports. The distance via 
 the canal, San Francisco, and the Great Circle is 9,294 miles ; 
 via the Suez Canal and the most direct sailing, about 14,575 
 miles. On a speed of 10 knots this means a saving of 22 
 days on the outward voyage alone. 
 30 
 
OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF PANAMA CANAL. 31 
 
 The Penrith Castle is 361 feet long, 42.6 feet in the beam, 
 17.6 feet in mean draft, has a net registered tonnage of 2,337 
 by the rules of measurement of the British Board of Trade, 
 and is propelled by a three-cylinder, triple-expansion engine, 
 with 24, 40, and 67 inch cylinders and 45-inch stroke. The 
 crew numbers 28, officers and men. Its operating expenses 
 may be approximated at $230 per day on this route. 
 
 The saving of 22 days at sea amounts, accordingly, to a 
 saving of $5,060. The tolls collected at the canal $4,101.60 
 (at $1.20 per ton on 3,418 tons, including 111 tons of deck 
 load) should not be deducted from the saving, as an equiv- 
 alent amount would have been collected at the Suez Canal. 
 
 If the vessel had elected to go by way of the Strait, of 
 Magellan, it would have had to travel approximately 15,071 
 miles, or 5,777 miles farther than by the canal route, and 
 the cost, on the basis followed above, would have exceeded 
 the cost by the canal, including tolls, by $1,533.40. The Cape 
 of Good Hope route would have increased the voyage about 
 7,700 miles over the canal voyage and would have cost at 
 least $3,258.40 more than the use of the canal route. 
 
 Concerning the traffic between the Pacific coast of the 
 United States and Europe, the following is an approxima- 
 tion based on the transit of 17 vessels of foreign registry 
 laden with grain from San Francisco and Puget Sound to 
 European ports, principally in Great Britain: The distance 
 saved by the use of the canal in place of the Strait of 
 Magellan was about 5,550 miles for each vessel. For a 
 speed of 10 knots, the saving in time at sea was 23 days. 
 The average net tonnage of the 17 vessels British Board 
 of Trade measurement was 3,094 ; the average net tonnage 
 under the rules for the measurement of vessels for The 
 Panama Canal was 4,050 tons, and the average tolls were, 
 accordingly, $4,860. If the average per diem cost at sea be 
 rated at $0.09 per net registered ton, the average saving per 
 vessel by the use of the canal was the average daily cost of 
 operation $278.46 multiplied by 23, less the canal tolls, 
 or $1,544.58. 
 
 In the traffic between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the 
 United States, involving over 40 per cent of the movements 
 
32 OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF PANAMA CANAL. 
 
 through the canal, an idea of the saving may be obtained 
 from the case of one of the American Hawaiian Co.'s liners, 
 the Arizonan, for instance: On the basis of a speed of 12 
 knots, the canal saves the Arizonan about 26y8 days at sea on 
 each voyage from coast to coast. The Arizonan is a rela- 
 tively large vessel, 470 feet long by 57.2 feet in the beam, and 
 has carried as much as 11,780 tons of cargo through the canal 
 on one of her voyages. The canal tolls levied on each pas- 
 sage are $7,891.20. The cost of operating the Arizonan at 
 sea may be taken at $450 a day. For 26 days this means 
 $11,700, from which the subtraction of the tolls leaves a net 
 saving of approximately $3,808 per voyage. 
 
 Similar instances might be cited without end. Those 
 given are indicative of the great element of saving which 
 will be introduced into some of the more important routes. 
 
TOLLS. 
 
 To offset, at least in part, the cost of the maintenance and 
 operation of the canal and the interest on the money invested 
 in it, the Government charges tolls on the vessels which 
 make use of it. 
 
 Tolls are levied on the basis of the cargo and passenger 
 carrying capacity of each vessel. The determination of 
 capacity is embraced in a set of rules of measurement of ves- 
 sels for The Panama Canal, according to which the net ton- 
 nage of a vessel is the units of interior space of 100 cubic feet, 
 or 2.83 cubic meters, which may be devoted to carrying cargo 
 or passengers. 
 
 The interior cargo-carrying capacity or net canal tonnage 
 is the primary basis on which tolls are levied, but there is 
 additional charge for open space on deck occupied by cargo 
 or deckload. 
 
 A vessel may be measured for its Panama Canal certificate 
 by the surveyor of any port of the United States, and copies 
 of the rules for measurement have been sent to the Govern- 
 ments of all the principal maritime countries where duly 
 appointed foreign officials may measure vessels and issue 
 certificates; and the canal maintains a staff to measure ves- 
 sels which arrive at the canal without a certificate, and to 
 check the certificates issued at other ports. The canal force 
 can measure and certificate vessels ordinarily in from 24 to 
 36 hours, if the masters furnish the constructor's blue prints 
 and the ship's certificate of national registry, or check a pre- 
 viously issued certificate in an hour unless it contains excep- 
 tional errors. 
 
 33 
 
34 OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF PANAMA CANAL. 
 
 Gross tonnage, according to The Panama Canal rules, in- 
 cludes, in general, the total capacity of the vessel or the cubi- 
 cal contents of all spaces below the upper deck and of all per- 
 manently covered or closed-in spaces on or above that deck, 
 excepting spaces specifically designated for exemption from 
 such measurement. 
 
 The principal deductions from the gross tonnage for the 
 determination of the net tonnage include, in general, spaces 
 which serve for the navigation of the ship, its propulsion, 
 spaces devoted to the use of officers and crew, for its- fuel sup- 
 ply, boatswain's stores, feed-water tanks, and spaces framed 
 in around the funnels for the admission of light and air to 
 the engine and fire rooms. No space not included in the 
 gross tonnage is ever deducted in the determination of the 
 net tonnage. 
 
 The > canal system of designation of tonnage differs some- 
 what from the systems in practice in the United States and 
 various foreign nations and from that for the measurement 
 of vessels for the Suez Canal. The classifications of space 
 for registry are at such variance that it was decided to work 
 out a separate plan for the measurement of vessels- for the 
 canal which should be fair to all, irrespective of previous 
 registry. 
 
 On loaded commercial vessels the toll charge is $1.20 per 
 net canal ton, plus $1.20 per 100 cubic feet of deck load, 
 provided that the sum of these charges shall not exceed an 
 amount equivalent to a charge of $1.25 per net ton on the 
 vessel, as measured for United States registry. 
 
 Vessels going through the canal without cargo or passen- 
 gers that is, in ballast will be charged 72 cents per net 
 canal ton, provided that if this amount is not equivalent 
 to the product of the vessel's net tonnage according to meas- 
 urement for American registry by 75 cents, the larger sum 
 shall be collected. 
 
 In commercial operations, steamship agents charge freight 
 on the basis of weight or of space occupied. On the basis 
 of space, they ordinarily rate 40 cubic feet as a ton. Accord- 
 ingly, the 100 cubic feet called a ton in canal measurement 
 could contain two and one-half tons of cargo, on the com- 
 
36 OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF PANAMA CANAL. 
 
 mercial basis of 40 cubic feet to the ton. In the case of 
 ideally compact loading, the canal toll of $1.20 per ton of 
 canal space would be equivalent to a charge of 48 cents per 
 ship's ton of cargo. As a matter of experience with vessels 
 which have so far used the canal, with great variations in 
 loading, the toll charge has averaged approximately 75 cents 
 per ton of cargo as declared in the ship's manifests. The 
 heavier the loading in proportion to capacity the smaller the 
 cost per ton of cargo. The steamship Historian, rated at 
 5,378 net canal tons, paid $6,453.60 in tolls to pass through 
 the canal on November 14 on the way from San Francisco 
 to London. She was laden with 12,000 tons of cargo on 
 which, accordingly, the cost per ton was approximately 54 
 cents. 
 
 The Panama Canal, however, has no direct interest in the 
 proportionate loading of vessels carrying cargo through the 
 canal, or in the nature of the cargo, other than explosives or 
 other commodities requiring precautions in handling or 
 liable to menace the safety of the canal. Its rates are en- 
 tirely flat, on the simple basis of cargo-carrying capacity, 
 and there are no complicated tariffs. 
 
 The first tolls were collected on May 18, 1914, before the 
 opening of the canal to ocean-going vessels, and were as- 
 sessed on loaded barges towed through the canal by tugs. 
 The actual collection of tolls (less $11,551.20 refunded) be- 
 tween that date and May 1, 1915, may be summarized as 
 follows : 
 
 Prior to Aug. 15, 1914 $11, 610. 69 
 
 Aug. 15 to 31 98, 066. 19 
 
 Sept. 1 to 30 263,220.00 
 
 Oct. 1 to 31 349,986.48 
 
 Nov. 1 to 30 349, 382. 15 
 
 Dec. 1 to 31 395,169.57 
 
 Jan. 1 to 31, 1915 376, 810. 88 
 
 Feb. 1 to 28 403, 118. 36 
 
 Mar. 1 to 31 606, 316. 56 
 
 Apr. 1 to 30 - 420. 884. 69 
 
 Total - 3,274,565.57 
 
SAILING SHIPS. 
 
 Prior to the opening of the canal it was widely assumed 
 that the new route would not be used by sailing vessels, and 
 there has been very little discussion of the relations of the 
 canal to sailing traffic. 
 
 To date half a dozen sailing vessels have gone through the 
 canal. Something of the cost of handling them through 
 the canal may be judged from these figures on the passage 
 of the schooner Zeta and the barkentine John Ena, which 
 went through the canal well laden and may be regarded as 
 typical of the traffic: 
 
 The Zeta is a wooden three-masted schooner 132 feet long, 
 32 feet in the beam, and 12 feet deep. She is registered at 
 335 net tons, Lloyds' measurement, and at 313 net tons, canal 
 measurement. Her expenses in transiting the canal were: 
 Tolls, $520.80; tug service, $150; total, $670.80. The vessel 
 was carrying 600 tons of lumber; .her expenses in passing 
 through the canal amounted to $1.118 per ton of cargo. 
 
 The John Ena is a four-masted steel barkentine, 313 feet 
 long, 48 feet in the beam, and 25 feet deep. The registered 
 net tonnage of this vessel is 2,706; the canal measurement 
 rates it at 2,609 net tons. Expenses for going through the 
 canal were: Tolls, $3,130.80; tug service, $302.15; total, 
 $3,432.95. On a cargo of 4,400 tons of petroleum and wax 
 the total expenses prorate at 78 cents per ton. 
 
 To date, under conditions of average loading, the tolls on 
 laden steam vessels have been equivalent to approximately 
 75 cents per ton of cargo carried. 
 
 From the foregoing instances it is seen that sailing vessels 
 can be handled through the canal economically, as far as 
 the actual passage of the canal is concerned. A factor of 
 
 37 
 
38 OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF PANAMA CANAL. 
 
 greater importance, admitting of less certainty in its deter- 
 mination, is the relative time which it will take a sailing 
 vessel to reach the Isthmus and its ultimate destination, in 
 comparison with the passage over the longer alternative 
 routes around the Horn or the Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 On the Atlantic side, according to sailing directions, the 
 time of transit of an average sailing vessel between New 
 York and the Isthmus may be approximated at 20 days. 
 The time from the English Channel to the Isthmus is reck- 
 oned as 30 days for a yearly average; the homeward voyage 
 to Europe is taken at 40 days. Limon Bay is easily acces- 
 sible to sailing vessels at all times of the year and vessels 
 may generally expect a fair wind for entering. 
 
 On the Pacific side vessels may generally expect a fair 
 wind offshore on departing from the Isthmus, light from 
 May to November, and somewhat stronger from December to 
 April. Vessels entering the Gulf of Panama will almost 
 invariably encounter head winds, often very light, and find 
 difficulty in beating up to the canal. Off shore on the Pacific 
 side the regular trades may not be expected until several 
 hundred miles off shore. Sailing directions should be freely 
 consulted by all sailing masters, particularly in regard to 
 the wind and currents on the Pacific side. If due notice be 
 given, tugs may be obtained from the canal authorities. 
 
 The average time of a sailing vessel from Panama to San 
 Francisco is considered to be between 37 and 40 days; for 
 the return about 31 days from April to October, and 26 
 days from October to April. 
 
 Accordingly the time of transit of a vessel from New 
 York to San Francisco may be reckoned generally at 60 
 days, including a day in the canal. The return trip should 
 consume about 57 days in the winter months and 62 in the 
 summer season. The generally accepted average time for 
 sailing vessels to go from New York to San Francisco 
 around Cape Horn is 140 da}^s; the return voyage requires 
 from 110 to 115 days. On this basis the normal time for a 
 round trip between the two ports by way of the canal may 
 be rated at 120 days ; by way of the Horn about 250 days. 
 
40 OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF PANAMA CANAL. 
 
 The extent to which sailing vessels will use the canal will 
 be dependent on many conditions in the shipping world, 
 but it appears that under normal conditions the canal route 
 is favorable to them. For instance, on the voyage from New 
 York to San Francisco under average conditions a vessel 
 might be expected to save 80 days at sea. Shipowners state 
 that a vessel of 2,000 tons net may be operated at sea at a 
 cost of $75 per day. The charges for passing such a vessel 
 through the canal would approximate $2,700. If these 
 charges be subtracted from the saving of 80 days at sea, at 
 $75 per day, or $6,000, the net saving to the operator would 
 be $3,300. 
 
 In the case of such a vessel the saving of 36 days at sea 
 would cover its canal expenses. Between this period and 
 the normal expectation of saving by way of the canal, 80 
 days, is a leeway of 44 days; that is, if the operator used 
 the canal and then had his vessel arrive 44 days late, as com- 
 pared to the normal voyage over the route, he would still 
 "break even." If the vessel arrived 30 days late over the 
 normal time, he would be benefited to the extent of 14 days 
 at sea, which, at $75 per day, is equivalent to $1,050. 
 
THE CANAL AND THE NAVY. 
 
 The opening of the canal has greatly increased the effec- 
 tiveness of the Navy of the United States. It has reduced 
 the distance between the central points of the Atlantic and 
 Pacific coasts from 13,000 to 5,000 miles and greatly reduced 
 the problem of coaling on a cruise from coast to coast. It 
 has made possible the concentration of a fleet at either 
 entrance of the canal which, with a cruising speed of 15 
 knots, could reach the center of the Pacific coast in 9 days 
 and the center of the Atlantic coast in 5 days. 
 
 Where formerly the fleets stationed opposite the middle 
 of each coast were, from a cruising point of view, as far 
 apart as opposite sides of the world, they are now as near 
 as if one were off New York and the other off Buenos 
 Aires. 
 
 With regard to the monetary saving to the United States 
 resulting from the availability of the canal for naval use, 
 it is apparent that the distance and time between the coasts 
 have been reduced to less than two-fifths of the former fig- 
 ures. The cost of coast-to-coast movements is reduced 
 accordingly, for though vessels of the Navy pay tolls, such 
 payment is in effect a transfer of money from one branch 
 of the Government to another. 
 
 The strategic importance of the canal is inestimable from 
 a monetary standpoint. 
 
 41 
 

 FEATURES OF CONSTRUCTION. 
 
 The Isthmus of Panama connects the two continents 
 through an elbow or segment of an arc running almost east 
 and west. The canal runs more nearly north and south than 
 east and west, and the Pacific end of it is east of the Atlantic 
 end. The starting point in Limon Bay lies at latitude 9 23' 
 north by longitude 79 56' west, and the other end of the 
 canal, in the Bay of Panama, lies at 8 54' north by 79 32' 
 west. 
 
 The distance by air from shore to shore of this narrow part 
 of the Isthmus is about 30 miles. The canal is 43.84 nautical 
 miles in length from deep water to deep water. It passes 
 through a varied and picturesque country, at places rugged, 
 and where Gaillard Cut 1 goes through the Continental Di- 
 vide the lowest point was formerly some 700 feet above sea 
 level. The route selected has, in general, followed the valley 
 of the Mindi and Chagres Rivers on the Atlantic slope of the 
 divide, and the valley of the Rio Grande on the Pacific slope. 
 Sea-level channels were dredged inward from either end of 
 the canal as far as practicable that is,, from deep water in 
 the Pacific northward to Miraflores, and from? deep water 
 in the Atlantic southward to Gatun and two artificial lakes 
 were formed by damming the ^waters of the rivers 'at higher 
 levels, one, the Miraflores Lake, extending between Miraflores 
 and Pedro Miguel, with surface 54f feet above sea level, and 
 the other, Gatun Lake, extending from Pedro Miguel to 
 Gatun, with surface 85 feet above sea level. Gaillard Cut, 
 which is approximately 8 miles long, forms the southern arm 
 
 1 The " Culebra Cut " was renamed " Gaillard Cut " by Executive order of 
 the President dated April 27, 1915. 
 
 42 
 
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44 OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF PANAMA CANAL. 
 
 of the Gatun Lake. The locks at Miraflores, Pedro Miguel, 
 and Gatun are used as elevators for raising and lowering 
 vessels between the levels mentioned. 
 
 From the initial station in Limon Bay, on the Atlantic side, 
 the canal runs almost due south 7 miles in a sea-level section 
 reaching to the valley of the Chagres at Gatun. Here is the 
 great Gatun Dam, nearly a mile and a half long, closing a 
 gap through the western end of the Quebrancha Range. The 
 dam is an artificial ridge formed by pumping an impervious 
 core of dredged clay and sand between parallel ridges or 
 ' toes " of rock and earth. Its construction, across swampy 
 bottoms, w r as considered the most difficult feature of the 
 canal. The top was smoothed over with earth, and the part 
 of the slope on the lake side, lying between levels 10 feet 
 above and 10 feet below the normal water surface, has 
 been riprapped with hard rock to protect against wave ero- 
 sion. 
 
 As completed, Gatun Dam is about half a mile wide at the 
 base and 100 feet wide at the top, which is 103.5 feet above 
 sea level. It contains 10,728,965 cubic yards of wet fill and 
 12,229,104 cubic yards of dry fill, a total 22,958,069 cubic 
 yards, which is more than one-sixth of the total excavation 
 from Gaillard Cut to date. 
 
 Near the center of the dam is a concrete spillway, for dis- 
 charging the surplus waters of the lake into the lower chan- 
 nel of the Chagres. The discharge channel is 285 feet wide 
 and 1,200 feet long; and the spillway dam across its upper 
 end is 808 feet long, being in the form of an arc of a circle. 
 The top of this dam is 69 feet above sea level, and is sur- 
 mounted by regulating gates 20 feet high, the tops of which 
 are accordingly at elevation 89 feet, or 2 feet above the pro- 
 posed maximum elevation of the lake. The 14 regulating 
 gates are installed between vertical concrete piers and are 
 raised and lowered by means of chains running over sheaves 
 at the top of the piers and down through the piers to the 
 operating machinery in the body of the dam. The operating 
 machinery is accessible by means of a tunnel through the cen- 
 ter of the spillway dam, and may be operated by remote 
 control from a switchboard in the hydroelectric station, 
 
OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF PANAMA CANAL. 45 
 
 which is situated on the east side of the spillway discharge 
 channel. When all the gates are open the discharge of water 
 is greater than any known rate of run-off from the Chagres 
 watershed. Dropping down the 60-foot slope of the ogee and 
 striking against the baffle piers at the bottom, the water 
 makes a turbulent fall which is one of the beautiful sights 
 of the Isthmus. 
 
 The hydroelectric station uses water from Gatun Lake for 
 driving three turbo-generators of 2,000-kilowatt capacity 
 each, which supply electricity for the operation of the lock 
 and spillway machinery, the terminal shops and adjacent 
 facilities, and for the lighting of the locks and the canal 
 villages and fortifications. Transmission over the Zone is 
 effected through four substations and a connecting high volt- 
 age transmission line which follows the main line of the 
 Panama Railroad. 
 
 Gatun Lake, impounded by Gatun Dam, has an area of 
 164 square miles when its surface is at the normal elevation 
 of 85 feet above sea level, and is the largest artificially formed 
 lake in the world. The area of the watershed tributary to 
 the lake is 1,320 square miles. During the rainy season, 
 from April to the latter part of December, the run-off from 
 this basin exceeds considerably the consumption of water, 
 and the surplus is discharged through the spillway of Gatun 
 Dam. Toward the end of the rainy season the surface of the 
 lake is raised to about 87 feet above sea level, in order to 
 afford a surplus or reserve supply to keep the channel full to 
 operating depth during the dry season, in part of which the 
 consumption and evaporation are in excess of the supply. 
 It is calculated that when this level has been attained at the 
 beginning of the dry season the reserve is sufficient to assure 
 a surface elevation of at least 79 feet at the end of the dry 
 season in spite of the consumption at the hydroelectric sta- 
 tion, and allowing 41 passages of vessels through the locks 
 each day with the use of the full length of the chambers, or 
 58 lockages a day when the shorter sections of the chambers 
 are used and cross filling is employed, which would usually 
 be the case. This is a greater number of lockages than can be 
 made in one day. 
 
46 OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF PANAMA CANAL. 
 
 The creation of the lake made it possible to have a channel 
 45 feet deep with its bottom at 40 feet above sea level. By 
 following the valley of the Chagres as far as Gamboa, 24 
 miles of channel were thus completed with relatively little 
 excavation. At the same time the lake, by backing water 
 far up the valleys of the Chagres and its tributaries, deadens 
 the currents of the rivers before they reach the canal channel 
 and decreases silting to a minimum. 
 
 At Gamboa the Chagres Valley turns sharply to the east 
 and the line of the canal leaves it for the heavy cut through 
 the Continental Divide. Gaillard Cut, forming the passage- 
 way between the opposite slopes of the divide, is 7.97 miles 
 long, 300 feet wide at the bottom, and from 45 to 65 feet in 
 depth. The great depth of the Cut is responsible for the 
 magnitude of the slides, which are breaks in the banks, due 
 to the pressure of the material. The elementary phenomena 
 of slides are encountered in almost any kind of cutting or 
 trenching through earth; the great depth of the Gaillard 
 Cut has caused similar breaks even in ordinarily firm rock. 
 The slides are responsible for 35,158,225 cubic yards of addi- 
 tional excavation to February 1, 1915. To that date the 
 total excavation from the Cut has been 117,077,044 cubic 
 yards. The Cut is an arm of Gatun Lake and its bottom 
 is accordingly 40 feet above sea level. 
 
 At the south end of the Cut, on the Pacific slope of the 
 divide, the waters are held back by Pedro Miguel Dam and 
 Lock. The dam is of earth, protected by rock riprap at the 
 water levels, and is 1,400 feet long, extending from a high 
 hill on the west to the lock, which is set at the base of a high 
 hill on the east. 
 
 Below Pedro Miguel Lock and Dam is a small lake, Mira- 
 flores Lake, through which the channel passes to Miraflores 
 Locks, which effect the transit between Mirdflores Lake and 
 the Pacific entrance channel. The surface is normally 55 
 feet above sea level. Its area is 1.88 square miles, and it may 
 always be kept at full depth by supplying water, if needed, 
 from Gatun Lake, as to fill it completely from Gatun Lake 
 would lower the surface of the latter less than 6 inches. The 
 length of the canal channel through it is 1.4 miles. The lake 
 
II 
 
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 <t 
 
48 OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF PANAMA CANAL. 
 
 is impounded by an earth dam 2,700 feet long, connecting 
 with Miraflores Locks from the west, and by a concrete spill- 
 way dam to the east of the locks, 500 feet long, on which are 
 mounted eight regulating gates similar to those on the Gatun 
 Spillway. 
 
 The transits between the several levels of the canal be- 
 tween the Atlantic and Gatun Lake, between Gatun Lake 
 (Gaillard Cut) and Miraflores Lake, and between Mira- 
 flores Lake and the Pacific are effected by means of massive 
 locks of concrete and gates of steel. 
 
 Three sets of locks were built one set in three successive 
 levels at Gatun, a set with one lift at Pedro Miguel, and a 
 set with two lifts at Miraflores. The differences in levels 
 overcome at the three places are, respectively, 85 y 30 J, and 
 54f feet, the latter varying according to the tide in the 
 Pacific, the figure given being for mean tide. 
 
 Each lock consists of two parallel chambers, which effect 
 a double-tracking of the channel and allow vessels going in 
 opposite directions to use the same flight of locks simul- 
 taneously. All of the chambers have the same length^ 1,000 
 feet, and width, 110 feet; the depth of water in the locks 
 varies from approximately 81 feet when a boat is being 
 locked down and 45 feet when a boat is being locked up, and 
 there is always a minimum depth over the gate sill of 45 feet. 
 
 At the upper and lower ends of each set of locks the 
 center wall was extended approximately 1,250 feet to form 
 a long pier, against which entering vessels can bring up 
 before entering the chambers of the locks proper; and the 
 side walls were flared out at an angle of 60 to form a 
 funnel-shaped entrance. Both the center-approach walls and 
 the flare walls- are fitted with strips of timbers resting on 
 helical springs to form buffers for the vessels, and the outer- 
 end of the center wall is fitted with a resilient fender of 
 heavy timbers. . 
 
 The channels of the lock are blocked by massive steel 
 gates which cut off the flow of water and divide the locks 
 into chambers. The flow of water into and from the cham- 
 bers is effected through culverts running longitudinally 
 through the bottoms of the side and center walls and feeding 
 
50 OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF PANAMA CANAL. 
 
 into the chambers through lateral culverts running under 
 thl floors of the chambers and emptying upward. The cul- 
 verts are controlled by valves. 
 
 In all 92 leaves, forming 46 gates of two leaves each, are 
 used in the three sets of locks. Each leaf is 65 feet long, so 
 that when two are swung together to form a closed gate 
 they meet in the center of the 110-foot width at an obtuse 
 angle. The leaves are so set that this junction always points 
 upstream against the downward pressure of the water; 
 this pressure accordingly forces them firmly together and 
 affords an element of safety, since a gate can not be opened 
 until the water on both sides has been equalized. The leaves 
 range from 47 to 82 feet in height, according to location, 
 and they weigh from 390 to 730 tons each. The 82-foot gates 
 occur only at the lower end of Miraflores Locks, where they 
 are necessary on account of tidal conditions. 
 
 The leaves are hinged to anchorages in the walls and are 
 swung back and forth like ordinary gates. They are moved 
 by machines driven by electric motors. In fact, every piece 
 of mechanism in the locks is actuated by electricity, and this 
 has made possible a central control by which an operator 
 at a central switchboard can cause every movement of the 
 lock equipment except the running of the towing loco- 
 motives, which are under the control of individual opera- 
 tors riding on them, and the handling of the emergency 
 dams. 
 
TRAFFIC ROUTES. 
 
 During the first six months of canal operation, from 
 August 15, 1914, to February 15, 1915, it was seen that at 
 least 95 out of every 100 ships using the canal were traveling 
 over four great trade routes. 
 
 These were the routes of coastwise trade between the 
 Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the United States; the route 
 between the Pacific coast of North America and Europe; a 
 route between the west coast of South America and the 
 Atlantic coast of the United States and Europe (vessels fre- 
 quently proceeding along one of these coasts and across to the 
 other) ; and a route between the Atlantic coast of the United 
 States and the Far East, including Australia and New Zea- 
 land. 
 
 During the first six months 496 ocean-going vessels passed 
 through the canal. The way they were going and the cargo 
 carried bv them ma v be summarized in this manner : 
 
 Route. 
 
 Number 
 of 
 vessels. 
 
 Cargo 
 tonnage. 
 
 United States coastwise, eastbound 
 
 97 
 
 499. 439 
 
 United States coastwise, westbound 
 
 109 
 
 493, 272 
 
 United States Pacific coast to Europe 
 
 66 
 
 444 855 
 
 Europe to United States Pacific coast 
 
 16 
 
 59,516 
 
 South America to United States and Europe 
 
 
 378, 386 
 
 United States and Europe to South America 
 
 31 
 
 128 922 
 
 United States Atlantic coast to Far East 
 
 48 
 
 287, 782 
 
 Far East to United States Atlantic coast 
 
 2 
 
 14, 500 
 
 Miscellaneous routings 
 
 13 
 
 60,572 
 
 Vessels without cargo 
 
 45 
 
 
 
 
 
 Total 
 
 496 
 
 2, 367, 244 
 
 
 
 
 The heaviest traffic, from the Pacific coast to the Atlantic 
 coast of the United States, has consisted principally of 
 
 51 
 
52 OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF PANAMA CANAL. 
 
 canned fruit and fish, lumber, wine, pineapples, sugar, ores, 
 and other items of the general produce of the west coast and 
 adjacent inland areas. The return leg of this trade, from the 
 Atlantic to the Pacific coast of the United States, has con- 
 sisted principally of coal, structural iron, machinery, and, 
 above all, a great variety of merchandise. Some idea of it 
 may be gained from the following note, which appeared in 
 the Canal Eecord of March 24, 1915 : 
 
 As an example of the great variety of goods carried in the west- 
 bound United States coastwise trade, it is interesting to note some of 
 the items in the cargo of 4,500 tons carried by the Peter II. Croivell 
 through the canal March 10 on the way from New York to Los Angeles 
 and San Francisco. Among the items listed by the master on the 
 partial cargo declaration form supplied by The Panama Canal were : 
 Battery cells, caustic soda, olives, chemicals, earthenware, glassware, 
 lard, liquors, structural steel, machinery, refined petroleum, vegetable 
 oils, paint, paper and paperware, pianos, rubber goods, salt, soap, 
 stamped ware, textiles, tobacco, wooden ware, marble, starch, and 
 thread ; and the declaration was finished with " Balance, 1,189 tons, 
 small lots of various articles." 
 
 From the west coast of the United States and Canada to 
 Europe, over half the traffic was in grain, and the balance w r as 
 in the same sort of general produce which constitutes the 
 bulk of the eastbound American coastwise trade. Forty-four 
 vessels carried western grain to Europe during the first six 
 months of canal operation. They transported 155,146 tons 
 of wheat and 134,145 tons of barley. Expressed in bushels 
 the quantities were 5,752,402 bushels of wheat and 6,170,670 
 bushels of barley, an aggregate of over 11,923.000 bushels of 
 grain. 
 
 The trade from Europe direct to the west coast has been 
 about one-seventh that from the west coast to Europe. The 
 cargo has been mostly coal and those sorts of general mer- 
 chandise which make up the bulk of the trade from the 
 Atlantic coast of the United States to the Pacific coast. 
 Numbers of vessels have gone through the canal empty or 
 " in ballast " from the Atlantic to load with cargo on the 
 Pacific coast and return. This was especially noticeable at 
 one time in the traffic in grain. 
 
z 
 < 
 
 (J 
 
 02 
 
 ID Oi 
 
 O *- 
 
54 OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF PANAMA CANAL. 
 
 The traffic from the west coast of South America to the 
 Atlantic coast of the United States has had as its largest 
 single item nitrates. Of this item, 204,441 tons were shipped 
 through the canal during the first six months of operation, 
 the greater part going to the United States. Iron ore has 
 been another important item, amounting in the period to 
 41,300 tons. Other items distinguished by their size were 
 fuel oil and benzene, amounting to 16,799 tons, and sugar, 
 about 18,000 tons, of which 13,360 tons came through in two 
 ships. In addition to these, there was an export of about 
 100,000 tons of general cargo, a great variety of native 
 produce, in which ores, wool, hardwoods, and grain are note- 
 worthy. 
 
 The traffic to South America through the canal during the 
 first six months was less than one-half of the exportations 
 from the west coast which passed through the canal. The 31 
 laden vessels which made the transit on their way to the west 
 coast carried 128,922 tons of cargo. This was mainly ma- 
 chinery, structural material, clothing, and a great variety of 
 general merchandise. 
 
 Shipments from the Atlantic coast of the United States 
 to the Far East included 87,857 tons of refined petroleum and 
 other petroleum products, 38,239 tons of raw cotton, and 
 162,686 tons of a great variety of manufactured goods, of 
 which machinery, structural steel, railroad material, and 
 textiles have been considerable items. About half of these 
 vessels cleared for Australia and New Zealand, the rest for 
 Japan, China, and Vladivostok. The trade to Vladivostok 
 has been unexpectedly heavy. 
 
 During the first six months only two vessels returned 
 through the canal directly from the Far East. Most of the 
 vessels which go out over this route load in the Far East for 
 ports in Europe or return first to the Pacific coast of North 
 America, discharging cargo there and reloading. The cargo 
 coming through the canal from the Far East has included 
 Chinese groceries, matting, antimony, vegetable oils, curios, 
 rattan, bamboo, silk, tallow, tea, wool, etc. 
 
 The routes just described were used by all but 13 of the 
 vessels passing through the canal during its first half year. 
 
OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF PANAMA CANAL. 55 
 
 The 13 miscellaneous vessels not to be classified with the prin- 
 cipal routes included 4 vessels of a whaling fleet, on the way 
 from Magdalena Bay to Norway ; several stray vessels in the 
 Central American coasting trade, and several vessels carry- 
 ing coal to undeclared destinations. 
 
 The half dozen leading commodities shipped through the 
 canal during the first half year were, in order of their ton- 
 nage, grain, nitrates, coal, refined petroleum products, lum- 
 ber, and cotton. These six commodities together amounted 
 to approximately one-third of all goods shipped through the 
 canal. 
 
 Grain shipments amounted to 303,124 tons, of which all 
 but 13,733 tons were shipped from the west coast of the 
 United States and Canada. Of the other 13,733 tons, 6,200 
 tons were barley shipped from Valparaiso to Great Britain 
 and 7,533 tons were wheat shipped from St. Johns, New 
 Brunswick, to New Zealand. 
 
 The grain shipments from the west coast of North Amer- 
 ica consisted of 155,246 tons of wheat (5,744,000 bushels) 
 and 134,145 tons of barley (6,170,000 bushels), a total of 
 approximately 11,914,000 bushels. 
 
 Nitrates shipped from the west coast of South America 
 to various ports in the United States and Europe amounted 
 to 204,441 tons. 
 
 Coal, all moving to the Pacific, amounted to 151,745 tons. 
 Of this quantity, 83,081 tons were shipped from the Atlantic 
 seaboard of the United States and 68,664 tons from the 
 United Kingdom. 
 
 Eefined petroleum and other products amounted to 102,456 
 tons, of which 87,857 tons were shipped from the Atlantic 
 seaboard of the United States to China, Japan, and Korea, 
 and 14,599 tons were shipped from Talara, Peru, to Great 
 Britain. 
 
 Shipments of lumber amounted to 56,078 tons. All but 
 600 tons (shipped from Gulf port to Panama City) were 
 from the west coast of North America. Of the 55,478 tons 
 shipped from the west coast all were shipped from ports 
 of the United States except 6,891 tons from Nanaimo, British 
 Columbia. 
 
56 
 
 OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF PANAMA CANAL. 
 
 Raw cotton shipments amounted to 38,239 tons, en route 
 from the Atlantic seaboard of the United States to the Far 
 East. Over 70 per cent of the cotton passing through the 
 canal was consigned to Japan. 
 
 The total cargo handled through the canal in its first half 
 year was 2,367,244 tons. In the month and a half after 
 February 15 nearly 1,000,000 tons more of cargo went 
 through the canal, and the total up to April 1 was 3,246,019 
 tons. Its proportionate distribution over the principal routes 
 is about the same, as shown in the following tabulation : 
 
 
 Vessels. 
 
 Tonnage. 
 
 Total 
 tonnage. 
 
 United States coastwise castbound 
 
 137 
 
 650, 921 
 
 
 United States coastwise, westbound 
 
 132 
 
 616, 872 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 67 793 
 
 North Pacific coast to Europe 
 
 83 
 
 60, 988 
 
 
 Europe to North Pacific coast . 
 
 21 
 
 6.3,043 
 
 
 
 
 
 689 031 
 
 South and Central America to United States and Europe. 
 United States and Europe to South and Central America. 
 
 103 
 53 
 
 593, 812 
 100,330 
 
 784 1 <9 
 
 Atlantic coast to Far East 
 
 62 
 
 373,007 
 
 
 Far East to \tlantic coast 
 
 6 
 
 45,100 
 
 
 
 
 
 418 197 
 
 Miscellaneous routines 
 
 16 
 
 
 86,856 
 
 
 56 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Grand total . . 
 
 679 
 
 
 3.246,019 
 
 
 
 
 
 Up to April 1, 1915. the canal had been in operation seven 
 and a half months. Through that period the movement of 
 cargo averaged 432,802 tons a month, which is at the rate of 
 over 5,000,000 tons a year. 
 
 An expression of this quantity in terms of railway traffic 
 is illuminating. During the fiscal year ending June 30, 1914, 
 the Panama Railroad handled 643,178 tons of through 
 freight between the seaboards of the Isthmus. During that 
 year the railroad was supposed to be handling more freight 
 per mile of track than any other railroad in the world. It 
 will be noted that the through traffic of the Panama Railroad 
 that year was within 9,000 tons of the amount carried 
 through the canal during the month of March, 1915 (which 
 was 635,057 tons) ; in other words, that the canal has handled 
 in a month almost as much as the railroad did during a year. 
 
' .OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF PANAMA CANAL. 
 
 The trains of the Panama Railroad engaged in hauling 
 through freight were made up of from 18 to 20 loaded cars, 
 carrying in the aggregate about 350 tons. To handle 5,000,- 
 000 tons of cargo across the Isthmus in a year by rail would 
 require the operation of 39 trains a day. It would mean 
 dispatching a train each way every hour and a quarter, and 
 trains passing a given point about every 40 minutes through 
 every hour of the year. The 14,285 trains necessary for 
 handling this traffic would have, at 800 feet each, an aggre- 
 gate length of over 2,142 miles, greater than the distance 
 from New York to Colon. In a single train the cars would 
 reach from New York to Chicago and back, or from New 
 York to Chicago and then down to New Orleans, and leave 
 several hundred miles of train to spare. 
 
 During the month of March, 1915, the laden vessels going 
 through the canal had an average of 5,040 tons of cargo. 
 Thus the vessels contained, on an average, over 14 trainloads 
 of goods each. 
 
 The locomotives and trains of the Panama Railroad are 
 about the average in freight work. A comparison in the 
 maximum terms of railway traffic is afforded by the trial 
 trip made last year by what was called the world's largest 
 locomotive, the " Matt H. Shay," of the Erie Railroad. This 
 was termed " three engines in one," and on its trial trip han- 
 dled a train of 55 cars of coal, said to have been the heaviest 
 train ever hauled from Baltimore to Philadelphia by one 
 locomotive. This train carried 4,012 tons, which is less than 
 the average load on each ship going through the canal. 
 

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