The existence and operation of the railroad greatly facilitated the work of construction, and, whilst the two greatest difficulties were the control of the Chagres River and the excavation of the Culebra cut, nothing had been planned that was not fully justified by practical experience.
For the control of the floods of the Chagres River it was proposed to construct two great artificial lakes, one at Bohio and the other at Alhajuela, and not at Gamboa, the site selected for a dam by the old company. With regard to the cutting at Culebra, the difficulty lies principally in transporting the excavated material to the dumps, and in effecting the transportation as rapidly as will keep pace with the efficiency of the excavating machines.
About the time that the report of this Technical Commission made its appearance, public sentiment in America had been greatly aroused in favour of an interoceanic canal under American control, and general opinion favoured the Nicaragua route. In anxiety lest a rival scheme should be initiated just at the time when the New Panama Company was about to appeal to the great financiers of the world for monetary support, the board of directors sent to the President of the United States the report of their Commission and a letter drawing his attention to the state of the work and the prospects of the new company. It was fully realised that should the American Government decide to construct a waterway, investors would be deterred from backing a private enterprise which could not commercially compete with a national undertaking, and, further, should a Government undertaking be commenced, the Panama Canal would be greatly retarded if not prevented by the difficulty of securing the requisite labour.
The American Senate being engaged in considering the advisability of supporting the Maritime Canal Company in its Nicaragua project, the New Panama Canal Company managed to secure a hearing, at which its position was fully explained and an offer made to re-incorporate the company under American law.
The upshot was that the President was authorised to make a thorough investigation as to the best route for a canal which should be under the control of the United States and the absolute property of that nation.
THE CHURCH AT CHAGRES.
This led to the appointment of the first Isthmian Canal Commission, who proceeded to ascertain upon what terms the property and rights of the New Panama Canal Company might be acquired by the United States. The company could hardly submit a definite figure to a body which had no authority either to accept or reject its offer, but submitted a tentative proposal to sell and transfer its canal property to the United States for $109,141,500. The Commission promptly assessed the value at $40,000,000 and submitted a report favouring the Nicaragua route. On this becoming known in Paris the directors of the company at once resigned, and at a general meeting of stockholders it was resolved to accept the Commission’s estimate.
This surrender was practically forced upon the company by the American Government, as the threat to construct a canal at Nicaragua meant death to any hopes of raising sufficient extra capital for the completion of the Panama Canal. A telegram was sent, offering to sell out all assets, rights, and interests to the only possible purchaser at that purchaser’s own figure of $40,000,000. At once the Commission issued a supplementary report, that under the altered conditions the most feasible and practical route for an isthmian canal under the control, management and ownership of the United States was the Panama route.
The scheme for beating down the New Panama Canal Company in its price having proved successful, Congress passed what is commonly known as the Spooner Act, which authorised the President to acquire the property of the Canal Company for a sum not exceeding forty millions of dollars, to acquire the necessary territory from the Republic of Colombia, and to proceed with the excavation, construction, and completion of the canal.