The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1903-12-01

| could see the Pacific ocean he lsth-
mus is only 4 miles wide between Colon
and Panama. and TO one standing AZ
either place It almost seems that the
beating OF the surf on the other shore )
audible. The next feeling that came
over me was one OF wonder THAI a nation
like the United States had for SO long al
lowed the isthmian canal TO remain IN
cut, while the trade OF a continent Ian
guished for the lack OF such q waterway
10 reach the teemlng millions OF the
Orient
J IL this manner began ". Z. Christian.
a. sistant general passenger agent OF tia
Seaboard Air Line railway. when asked
yesterday to give his impressions Of III
| country and the CauSeS that are now tie
center Of interest Of the world Panama
and the canal
In 1893 Mr.. Christian went TO the 18th
mus as staff representative OF The New
York Press, and his letters written from
that place were syndicated by Mcclure, Of
Philadelphia, and published in all tho
leading American newspapers and other
periodicals. Later Mr.. Christian repr"
serted The New York Herald on a sim
liar mission IN Cuba, during the Spanish
American war. IN that struggle he was
sergeant Of the First North Carolina reGl-
ment. In newspaper work, Mr.. ChrlstlaL
has had more experience than falls to
the lot OF most members OF the pro-
fession, and recognizing lis peculiar fit
ness for the work, The Press secured his
services to Investigate at first hand the
great Panama scandal, which shocked the
! world when its details were made public
some years ago.
In prosecuting his work OF the tsthmus.
Mr. Christian spent six weeks on the
scene, covering the entire territory en-
braced in the operations OF the French
Canal Company, and he probably knows
more about the land and the subject now
before the American people than any man
row residing IN this country.
MI. Christian consented TO tell the re-
suits Of his observations IN the land of
the insect and the fever, and the informa-
ton furnished by him IS here given to
the public:
I'll give you a description Of Panama
as it was, as it is and as it can be-
said Mr. Christian. when / went there
in 1898 the great bubble in which the
Frenchmen had invested their millions
had burst, and all those who nad robbed
| the company We're gone. Only q few
decrepit caretakers remained where the
thousands of laborers had been busy at
their tasks-only these and the whitcn-
ing bones of those who had persisted on
the fever-haunted marshes Of the moss
terrible land on the globe.
standing in ghostly silence, decaying
from the moist winds that blow cOnt!n-
ually during certain hours of the day,
were the splendid palaces built by the
French officers who came over to build
+lo -o -1 oopr 4hnCD CCto htjcIr .
was the house Of De Lesseps, the engi
neer who designed the canal. All Of
them were falling to pieces, and neglect
showed on all sides.
I had access to the books of the com
pany through the courtesy of NJ. De Sosa,
one of the engineers of the canal, and
from these books l discovered exactly
what had been expended, both on the
canal and on the houses and other ex-
travagances of the officers. Some Of
those residences were the biggest swindies
ever perpetrated on any people. The
house occupied by De Lesseps could nave
been built for $4,000, but 1t was placed
on the books of the company at a cost
Of $3.50, 900. A few one-story buildings.
called hospitals, all of which could nave
been erected for 10000, We're charged
up at 500, geo.
'Tbe total amount expended on the
isthmus, as figured by me from the com
pany's private books, was 1886, 000, 900.
With this great sum the canal was
cut Tor a distance of exactly 20 miles,
II miles on one side the isthmus and 9
on the other. Twenty-seven miles re-
main to be cut, and the part remaining
is the hardest Of all, for it requires that
mountains be moved-the kind OF noun
tains that require money as well as faith
TO move them.
directly in the Path of the survey
stands Culebra, the snake" as It shame
signifies, and before the first ship crosses
the isthmus Of Panama this snake must
be destroyed; the mountain must not
only be brought down 10 a level with
the surrounding country, but even IS
roots must be dug up. In spite of the
millions spent in cutting its gray sides,
Culebra stands today almost as if it had
never known the prick Of the laborer's
shovel. Millions more will have to be
poured into that black land of death
before the mountain disappears from the
path OF progress ard the waters of the
Atlantic and the Pacific unite. This, or
a system Of locks in connection with
Chagres river, Is said by eminent en-
glneers to be the only solution Of the
lsthmIan waterway.
Ni1 - ~ LII IAldht liz
country unhealthy. Annually it over
flows its banks and rushes over the low
swamp lands, leaving vegetable and an
lmal matter to decay under the fierce
rays OF the rope sun and breeding
strange and swift death for the people
who inhabit the isthmus. It is the source
OF the most dangerous fever ever known.
q fever that even the native Africans,
brought over by De Lesseps and his
company, could not Withstand In the
slightest degree. Thousands and thou
sands OF them succumbed to its attack,
shortly after they were landed on the
fatal coasts. The laborer. picking stead
lily at the wall OF the canal, would con-
PLAIN OF q slight indispcsition, and woulG
lean against the bank to rest a moment
Il. that position death would strike him
and there today his bones lie. This i:
the story Of the fever from one end q
the land to the other. When fresh dig.
glngS are made at the present time aIon,