Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-02-22
THE PANAMA CANAL
Value Of Definite Statement
in Treaty.
CONSTRUCTION PLANS
FIRST THE SANITATION OF COLON
AND PANAMA.
Then Sewerage and Water Works-No
Lack Of Labor-Advice to Aneri-
cans Who Intend Going.

cans Who Intend Going.
4 Written for The Evening Star.
With the ratification Of the canal treaty
/ the new era opens on the isthmus. Colom-
1 bia may be little slow to recognize what
/ Is DONE but the people Of Panama are
| ready. even, impatient, for the work to be-
gin. They gsere ready last November
They wanted sanitation to start in Colon
| and Panama before the end of the dry sea-
/ son, SO called. 1t is not-very dry at any
season of the year. but there are yet two
months In which the moisture is relatively
light, compared with the other months, so
this advantage need not be lost.
+ 1t is a broad and far-reaching treaty,
probably more far-reaching than the ma
| jority of the American people realize, for
the public debates In the Senate have been
chiefly attacks on President RoOsevelt's
course and sturdy defense. AS the years go
by and the work progresses, there will be
more appreciation of Secretary Hays clear
and vigorous grasp of what the future, as
| well as the present, demanded. 1t is all in
| the treaty, as time will disclose.
In the beginning there was tendency
| shown to question the explicit agreement
of the United States to maintain the indie
/ peHueilce OF Panama OH TIE STOuuu IL
| established a protectorate. Yet it did not
| matter whether the canal was built under
! the Colombian sovereignty which formerly
| obtained on the isthmus. or whether the
other route was taken and the ditch dug
| across Nicaragua and corner of Costa
| Rica. Once the United States began build
| ing the waterway the protectOrate was es-
| tablished over whatever territory the canal
crossed. This was recognized in Central
| and South America more fully than In the
| United States.
Value of Definite Statement.
| The value Of the definite statement in the
| convention with Panama over the more
vague and guarded conditions in the trea-
ties negotiated with Colombia or with Mica
ragua is that every person and every coun-
try knows the fact from the start. The
! constitutional convention OF the republic
Of Panama. has inserted a provision accept
+! ing the Intervention of the United States;
that merely supplements the treaty
| When the terms of the convention as ne
| gotiated BY Secretary Hay and Minister
Bunau- Vaf4lla were published, there was
| some discussieTe in the newspapers of the
atin-Amerieaaf countries. One of them In
| Costa Rics raeited variation of story
which is familiar to those who are fond
| OF a certain game of cards. As it appeared
| in Spanishithee Incident was recited as that
OF the mayor of coast town., who had
| failed to give the proper salute to a visit
| ing naValieommander by firing the single
| cannon wffiehfsfthe port possessed The
| mayor was required to make his excuse in
| writing. Rh5s he did. setting forth twenty
| one reasons why the salute had not been
given. Reason stwenty-offe was the lack of
| powder HIS angered superior exclaimed:
IF this fellow had put his last reason first
| he would have saved me the trouble of
| reading the OTHERS
| The Costa ySican newspaper sarcasticalIy
congratulated the Panama republic In that
| us Us, minister 9au shown more sense than
\ tiIe' mayer, with his twenty zone reasons:
! for, in the treaty, the whole question was
settled in the first article, under which
| the United States agreed to maintain the
| independence of Panama. Though this
story s.t was tod IN fault-fnding spirit. the
accept It ana were thankful that they had
the chance to include the fifteen articles
Wmch FORM the treaty in one. They know
'hey are saved much trouble and vexation.
Sanitation Of Colon and Panama.
The plans for; construction work have
been 80 fully determined by Admiral Wal
ker and his associates on the commission
that 1t may be assumed there will be no
delay in getting to work on the ten-mile
strip which constitutes the canal zone Nat
urally the places at which to begin work
VIII be at either end of the zone. This
means the sanitation of Colon and Pan
ANA. In Colon probably the first step will
| NC W iii Ia the iSfdnQ OF ManZanfIlO
| which the town lies so that It will be less
| of swamp and possibly really be raised
above sea level. Colonel Black and the
other engineer oficers have studied the sub
Ject thoroughly. and there seems to be no
/ serious problem of sanitary engineering
| 1t Is simply question of getting dirt
! enough to MI in, and there Is dirt enough
| on the rest of the isthmts. since 1t Is NOT
| all swamp. As Colon itself is a town of
| frame buildings. and has been such since it
was DESTROYED by the fire which the revo-
lutionists set TO 1t In 1885, it can accom-
modate itself to whatever changes may
| be made. The section In the cocoanut
grove at the entrance of the canal is not SO
bad from the sanitary point of view.
some experts nave declared that the only
| to burn 1t down. and rebuild entirely. L
| have heard. one OF them wish that Morgan
and his buccaneers could return to earth
and wipe out the present town as they oblit-
| Grated old Panama. He was not inhuman.
! but he, was thinking of those old stone and
mortar buildings In which for 200 wears peo-
| pie have been born, lived and died, many
| or them before. their time because of the
disease breeding nature of these dwellings.
| Another engineer wished for an EARTHQUAKES
as the best means Of overturnfng the place.
| that destructive nature.
Since neither of the revivified buccaneers
/ nor the protests Of nature can be counted
on to wipe out a city Of 5000 inhabitants
| In order to lay the foundation for health
and cleanliness the government Of the
United States viii have to depend on less
radical measures which may be carried out
by the engineering officers of the army and
| their civffian assistants. With semi-mili-
| tary control 1t is not going to be dffficuit
| to enforce ordinary means of sanitation.
| such as keeping the streets clean and also
the private dEeaings. That can be done in
Panama agif was done In Havana. Havana
is free from yellow fever though there vet
has .been.ne shange In its sewerage system.
| sewsfa&9 and Water Works.
! After wbAt mAy be called the surface san
itation ofIHsrama is secured steps may be
! taken for sewerage and for waterworks.
There Is plthty e of pure water In the noun
| tains. sone say that 1t can be brought in
pipes FROM ioag twenty miles away, while
others declares shat It will be necessary to
go sixty nfldssl But whether the distance
is twenty miles or sixty or hundred. 1t is
feasible tS giYs the old town pure water.