The news & observer., 1905-10-22
No More Canal Than We Bought.

No More Canal Than We Bought.
when the United States acquired
possession of the canal from its
French owners. an excavation Of - 4
miles on the Atlantic side had been
completed and there is water in tho
ditch for that distance today. For the
remaining 80 miles there have been
sporadic attempts at ditching, but of
course there is no water in the exca-
vations which have been made at
these various points. In other words
there does not seem to have been
any proper system of eXcavatinG ov,r
the remaining distance between the / 4
miles of finished excavation and the
other side of the Isthmus opening on
the Pacific. Under privates$contrar
! this condition OF affairs would. be ma
fterialM eJ1nGed as thepwork would.
be cont nuousc performance; particu-
larry if. the tracts We're let tq cover
stretches of territory comprising not
more than five miles each
1T is possible that year would be
required to advertise for bids, assem-
Bile machinery. and get in readiness
for active work on the Isthmus. but
after these details were once arranged
there would be no let up in the work
of eXcavating and no delays such as
we have witnessed since the canal
zone was purchased.
'Inasmuch as the commission has
already been constituted by Congress
to superintend and supervise the con-
struction of this canal. it is only just
and proper that they should be contin-
ued and no obstruction be thrown in
their way to prevent the early compile
ton of the canal.
One Good Word for Panama.
Health conditions on the Isthmus
have been greatly exaggerated and,
after six weeks sojourn in Panama,
am prepared to say by actual expert
ence that it is much more comfortable
there than it is in many of the cities
of this country during the heated term
There are mosquitoes, to be sure. but
they are more monevolent than ma
lignant. During my stay on the 18TH
mus ! saw but one stegomyia fascata.
or yellow fever mosquito, and that one
was in a bottle, having been captured
and preserved by the health officer
at Panama.
while the days are warm and ener-
waiting. the evenings are cool and
pleasant, and my experience was that
Culebra Cut is a more desirable place
of residence than the city of Panama.
After days work, which usually
lasted from O'Clock in the morning
until ) in the afternoon, it was my
habit to go out to Culebra, which is
on higher ground than Panama, and
spend the night in one of the houses
which was erected by the French own
ers of the canal. These houses. which
are a legacy from the French owners,
are well built. comfortable and habit
able. One of them is now occupied by
the Governor of Panama. and. as
they are all on high ground which is
we'll drained, they are not subject to
visitatioHs from malaria. As a matter
of fact, owing to the salt water inSthe
marshes contiguous to Panama. there
is no more malaria to be feared than
is the case With the salt water marshes
of New Jersey in the vicinity of New
York. OF course where there are stag
nant pools malaria and mosquitoes
are bred just the same as they would
be in other localities where these con-
ditions exist.
All is Chaos at Present.
Everything is in chaotic condi-
tion at present, and throughout the
entire territory of the canal zone there
are remains of the former regime in
| the shape of rusted machinery, agri-
| cultural implements and digging tools
| Some of the machinery is of an obso-
| lete and worthless pattern, and most
| of it is covered with rust to such a
| depth that it could never be made
| serviceable by any process. Nobody
seems to know exactly how many men
are employed a present, and when the
question is asked the reply will be in
/ approximate numbers only. ranging
! from seven thousand or eight thous-
| and, all the way to sixteen to seven
! teen thousand. Nothing has been ac-
complshed in the way of eXcavating
with the possible exception of Culebra
| Cut. where species of loose rock or
! rotten stone. as it is sometimes called
has been encountered and is being