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I I NEW PANAMA CANAL LOCKS WASHINGTON, D. C, April 27.— Immediate construction of an additional set of locks at the Panama Canal to safeguard that vital link between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans from armed attack and sabotage was formally recommended today by the House merchant marine committee. In approving a bill to authorize the project at an estimated cost of 7,000,000, the committee simultaneously rejected proposals of three other routes, including the long-discussed Nicaragua Canal. In its formal report, the committee made no secret of the fact that the construction of a third set of locks at the Panama Canal at present is purely a national defense step and not a commercial one. It emphasized the new locks would alleviate the fears of national defense experts that the canal is vulnerable to air attacks and sabotage. —
