344 DOCUMENTARY HISTORY OF THE FLORIDA CANAL

 "'It is further estimated that the sum of $26,000,000 can be profitably
 expended during the fiscal year 1987 as follows:
 Excavation, wet and dry ..----------------------- $20,000,000
 Bridges .......----...-------------------------..-----..- 2, 500, 000
 Flood-control works ------------------------------------ 6500, 000
 Gulf breakwater-------.---..-------.------..----- 1,000,000
 Engineering and contingencies ------- ------------------ 2000,000

 Total ---------- -----_ ---------- ---- 26,000,000
 "On October 22, 1935, in conformity with the conditions imposed by Federal
 authority, the six counties comprising the Florida ship-canal navigation district
 voted by a majority of 27 to 1 a bond Issue of $1,500,000 for the purchase of all
 necessary land for right-of-way for the canal. On January 23, 1986, the first
 block of 3$00,000 of these bonds was sold and the proceeds employed to deliver
 to the Federal Government right-of-way for excavation in the central or cut
 section of the canal
 "The foregoing is, in briefest form, the official record of the project Before
 proceeding further, it appears appropriate to direct attention to the exhaustive
 nature and broad scope of the examinations and studies made of this project by
 the Federal agencies. I quote from a letter from the Chief of Engineers to
 Senator Fletcher, under date of January 28, 1936:"

 WAa DIt'ariT rr,
 Omor or THa CaHIn or ENoNlaES,
 Washington, January 28, 1936.
 Hon. DUNoAN U. Flaream,
 United States Senate, Washingtos, D. C.
 MT DzA SWATo : In your letter of January 23, 1936, you referred to Senate
 Resolution No. 210, with respect to the Atlantic-Gulf waterway, and asked to be
 furnished with certain specific information.
 I take pleasure in furnishing this information herewith:
 1. You state that paragraph 1 of the resolution proposes an inquiry into
 "the nature and extent of expenditures to be made from emergency relief funds,
 and subsequent expenditures for construction and maintenance to be made
 from regular funds", and ask whether or not, in my opinion, there has been
 suffiient competent survey, examination, and study of this project to determine
 its construction and maintenance cost with the same degree of accuracy as in
 the case of other river and harbor improvements in general heretofore approved
 and constructed. The Investigations undertaken by this Department with re-
 spect to the Atlantic-Gulf waterway have been as exhaustive and detailed as
 those normally undertaken in connection with the preliminary examinations
 and surveys of river and harbor projects. This Department has realized from
 the inception of this examination that the magnitude of the project required a
 comprehensive study, and its investigations undertaken over a period of 6 years
 were conducted in scope and detail sufclent to establish construction costs with
 reasonable accuracy. The estimated cost of maintenance, which must be based
 in large part on the experience gained from the maintenance of the many river
 and harbor projects throughout the country, would also appear to be dependable.
 2. You refer to paragraph 2 of the resolution, which proposes an inquiry into
 "the sufficiency of plans and information to determine whether the canal should
 be a sea-level or a lock canal, and whether it should be 30 or 35 feet in depth",
 and asked if I believe that there has been gathered a sufficiency of such plans
 and information to determine whether the canal should be a sea-level or a lock
 canal, and whether it should be 30 or 35 feet in depth. The data before the
 Department indicate rather clearly that the effects of the sea-level canal on
 the underground water supply of the State will not be of a widespread and
 serious nature. Consequently, there is no necessity for the construction of a
 lock canal at an increase in construction cost and in operating time over a
 sea-level canaL The information gathered by the Department shows that a
 depth of 30 feet will suffice for practically all vessels now engaged in the Gulf
 trade, or likely to be engaged in that trade for some time in the future.
 3. You refer to paragraph 3 of the resolution, which proposes an inquiry Into
 "the sufliclency of authentic information to determine whether the canal will
 contaminate the ground-water supply of the adjacent areas", and asked if,
 In my opinion, a sufficiency of Information with respect to underground-water
 supply has been gathered to make a determination of the effect of the canal
on such supply. This Department, in its Investigations of the canal, has utilized