is practically certain that the
construction of a sea-level canal will consume not less than twenty
years.

The Isthmian Commission reexamined carefully the question of relative
efficiency of the proposed sea-level canal compared with a lock canal,
and they pronounce emphatically and unequivocally in favor of the lock
project. They consider that the assumed danger from accidents to locks
by passing vessels or otherwise is greatly exaggerated, and hold that
while no doubt accidents may occur, and possibly will occur, such
dangers can and will be sufficiently guarded against by an effective
method of supervision and control. They hold that a lock canal properly
constructed and managed is in no sense a menace to the safety of
vessels, and that much practical experience and particularly the
half-century of successful operation of the "Soo" Canal have
demonstrated the contrary beyond dispute. They point out that the canal
with locks at a level of eighty-five feet will be a waterway three times
the size, in navigable area, of the projected sea-level canal, and,
omitting the locks from consideration, will therefore afford three times
the shipping facilities.

They show that in the sea-level canal there will be many and serious
curves, while in the lock canal the courses are straight and changes of
direction will be made at intersecting tangents, the same as in our
river navigation, in which serious accidents are practically unknown.
They show that the courses in a lock canal can be marked with ranges
which will greatly facilitate navigation, particularly at night. The
Commission points out that the argument of the majority of the Board,
that locks will limit the traffic capacity of the canal, carries very
little if any weight, and they refer to the experience of the "Soo"
Canal, through which there passes annually a larger traffic than through
all the other ship canals of the world combined.

Finally, the Isthmian Commission discusses the cost of operation and
maintenance. The majority of the Board submit no details upon this most
important item in canal construction and subsequent operation. What
banking house in the world would advance a single dollar upon a canal or
railway project upon a mere statement of the probable ultimate cost, but
with no corresponding information as to cost of maintenance and
operation! Having been appointed to reexamine into all the facts, and,
so to speak, to reconsider the entire project, the