The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1904-07-13
paEPPhiIH|!NNaa G aefa oIa eaAaE. eaaaI
Trying to Make the Trip Healthy.
Actual Digging Not to Begin for
Some Time Yet.

Washington, July 7.-The headquar-
ters of the isthmian canal commission
are the seems of busy activity. With
the exception of the seven members
of the commission, of whom Rear
Admiral John G. Walker, u. S. N,
retired, is chairman, D. l. Murphy,
the newly elected secretary of the COM
mission, ant! Chief Clerk Redfern,
there are about dozen employees on
duty at the commission headquarters.
It will probably be some time before
the actual work constructing the canal
will be pushed. The most lmportant
problem now being consi dered by The
commission is that Of sanitation.
When this is satisfactorily settled and
the works are established on sanitary
basis, the actual work Of digging the
canal will proceed. This Lack OF
proper sanitary precautions ls SAID TO
have been one Of the most Important
factors in The failure Of the French
company, which resulted not only in
the death of thousands Of men but In a
loss of hundreds of thousands OF dol
lars.
The force of sanitary experts which
is now on the isthmus working out the
problem Of sanitation numbers among
its members some of the most eminent
and celebrated sanitarians in the
world. This force is under the COM
mand OF Col. W. G. Gorgas, q. S.:
A., chief .4,anitary officer of the COM
mission, Who has for his assistant
medical dirsetor John W. Ross OF the
navy.
Aside from the corps of sanitarians
there are bit comparatively few people
now stationed on the isthmus in the
employ of the commission. Mr.. John
T. Wallace, who was formerly general
manager of the Illinois Central rail
road Company, nowssthe chief engineer
of the canal commission, and who is
considered one of the best engineers in
the country, is on the isthmus with a
force Of assistants Eengaged In the
preliminary engineer work.
The only force working on the canal
proper is composed Of about 500 Ja-
maica negroes who we're in the employ
of the French company when the canal
was TUNED over to the isthmian COM
mission. These men are working on
what is known as Cuiebra cut, one Of
the most difficult and tedious pieces
of WORK aieng the route of the canal,
it being necessary to cut through an
extremely rocky formation.
There hsS been some discussion by
various cor tractors as to whether or
not the commission would undertake
the constructlo of the canal by en-
ploying its own labor, or whether it
would give the work ont by contract.
Mr.. Murphy, secretary o. the COM
mission, ir speaking OF the progress
of the work, said that there would
probably be but little development
until after the members of the COM
mission had returned from Panama in
the early fall.
4The question OF the employment of
contract work in the construction of
the canal,'' said Mr., Murphy, "has
not yet been determined, and will pro-
badly not come up for consideration
until the commissioners again visit the
isthmus ard GO over the ground thor
oue hly. 1t will then be determined
whether the work will be done by the
commission itself or given out by con-
tract.
'srhe report recently circulated that
the commission desired the services OF
800 additional physicians for service on
the isthm11s,'' said Secretary Murphy.
sis entirely without foundation, as
the medical corps now in the employ
of the commission IS all that will be
needed for some time to come; in
fact, there is small probability of any
appointments of moment being made
until the work of the commission de-
velops sorae time in the FUTURE