Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1904-07-29

Not n single Case of Yellow Fever
seen-Much of Property Left by the
French IL In Good Condition-Bis
Cut ut CuIebra Half Finished.
seven Years to Complete Canal.
Charles W. Russell. special assistant
attorney general, who assisted In the
final negotiations for the transfer OF
title and property OF the Panama Ca
nal company TO the United States and
who was recalled from Paris to 20 to
the isthmus TO help in the organization
of government for the canal zone. re-
Gently returned TO Washington. In
speaking of conditions on the isthmus
10 a reporter of the Washington Post,
Judge Russell said: ..sr % -.
I'VE have some 450 square miles OF
territory along the canal route, occu-
pied by ten or twelve thousand people,
soon 10 be increased by several thou
sands. They are largely negroes who
speak what they regard as English and
Spanish. could seldom tell which
they were attempting. There are
few Chinese, very good gardeners and
shopkeepers, and some persons Of Span
ish and French extraction. The peo-
pie, all or nearly all, are living In lit
tie villages along the railroad, many
of them In houses now belonging to
us and some In houses they own, while
the land under them Is ours.
There is very little agriculture-a
few pineapple and vegetable patches
and some pastures for cows. j do not
know that the cows give milk. i never
saw any except the canned article.
The cattle look very fine and healthy.
however, and the Panama country Is
cattle country. Dense tropical trees,
vines and bushes on hills, some five to
eight hundred feet high, and In pictur-
esque valleys, fill the pictures behind
the villages except for the small rivers
and famous Chagres. which sometimes,
very rarely, rises twenty or thirty feet.
Near Panama and reaching near the
canal for miles Is salt marsh fire.
quented by alligators, throwing up
grass-so called-twice as high as corn
stalks, and variety of bushes, some
of them Towering prettily. as at Mira
flores, which takes its name from these
flowers.
"The populations Of Panama and
Colon, now carefully cut OF by a
boundary delimitation from our zone,
are similar, but there are more eau
casians and many Of unmistakable
Indian blood. Panama il Spanish
looking town Of about 10000 or $4,000
people, very picturesque from the sea.
Colon is less Spanish looking and large
ly of homely frame houses. 1t has pic
turesque spots-a few, Cristobal Colon,
near by, in the zone, comprises three
or four fine houses on the waters edge
and a statue of Columbus. The houses
are known as those of De Lesseps and
belong to us.
Il am frequently asked how much
work the French did on the canal-a
very important question. They did
very considerable amount, principally
cutting at Culebra, where the ground
Is high for couple Of miles. ! slept
at Culebra, going to Panama every
morning to work on the construction
of the zone government. The governor,
General George Davis, also made his
home at the cut. He has now moved
to hillside near the beautiful hos
pital buildings we acquired from the
French company In the suburbs Of
Panama.
zone hot, bright day, good for seeing
clearly, clambered up hill that
rises above the great cut, taking a
Jamaica negro with a machete to clear
path, and from the top could see
about twenty miles OF canal and canal
route, including mile or more Of the
Immense trench sunk by the Panama
company, where the force Of Jamaica
negroes transferred to US was working
with picks, shovels, locomotives and
lump cars.
ITO the eye the cut seems already
low and wide enough; but, Of course,
actual measurement leaves 1t from q
half to two-thirds unfinished. Almost
The whole length Of the canal has been
iut to some extent by the French, and
several miles on the Atlantic side are
actually open and navigabls from the
,ea.> The rapid tropical growth hides
much of the work, but it is there. In
addition to this, years Of recorded ex-
perience and sOundings,, borings and
surveys, food measurements, rain
gaugings, labor experiments and ex-
periments with machines are turned
: over by the French In minute and
painstaking charts and books. ~,
Il am also asked what about the
condition Of the property bought from
the French. At first that seemed to me
ieplorable, wrecks Of dump trains and
iigging machines strewing the line of
the canal in sorrowful abandonment.
But the case is not so bad. The build
ngs for wOrkmen and officials, nearly
Ill in fine condition, are very numerous
ind would cost large sum to replace,
Ind in many buildings are locomotives
~ the hundreds which are either fit
Tor use or, as experiments show, can
asily be made so. 1t is true that some
If the machines are not of the latest
Ind best types and will be used little
br not at all. @
"Then am asked about the climate
md sanitary matters. want to be
careful in speaking of these, since l
10 net desire to be responsible for
alarming those who would work ontthe
canal or, on the other hand, responsible
Tor the death Of persons who may &c
here. had the advantage Of living
with the principal medical officer then
bn the ground Colonel Gorgas and 9th
~ aanit a ri nc arrival as I wac Ioov