East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1905-06-29
A GRAVEYARD
OF THE NATIONS
PANAMA is SO TERMED
BY A SALEMITE.
One Thousand Dollars Per Month
Would Not Induce ID. l.. Peters, of
Salem, to Remain on the Isthmus
1t is Unsanitary. Sicltly. Foul and
Unfit for the Home of White Men.

Truly has it been called the
Graveyard of Nations, and is quite
as black as can possibly be painted.
Six months in that city is as long a
period as 1 want to remain there, and
$1,000 a month would be no induce
ment for me to return there to live.
1t is foul, unhealthy, unsanitary and
white men cannot live there and
work"
Thus does D. L. Peters, of Salem,
and but recently from the City of
Panama, epitomize that city and sum
up conditions there. Mr.. Peters has
been in Salem since April, having
come here direct from Panama,
where he had been for the six months
preceding, in the employ of large
tailoring. house in New York, which
had established branch office there,
says the Salem Statesman.
According to Mr.. Peters, the City
of Panama is i'm about the same con-
dition that it was several hundred
years ago when its outlines were first
mapped out by its earliest settlers.
True, he says, the sanitary commits
sion is doing something to remedy
the existing evils, but the best that 1t
can do will not be sufficient to over
come the dangers that lurk in the
water that is drunk, the food that is
eaten, the buildings in which people
live. and the air they breathe
The climate is the thing that Kills.
It's humidity is indescribable, says he.
1t gets to everything, laying its de-
structive touch upon everything, ana
man is no exception. The natives
can stand it, but the white man is
marked victim the moment he lands
unless he packs his trunk and seeks
a more congenial cline.
Speaking of the building of the
canal by this government Mr. Peters
says it will have to be done by Chi
nese coolies No white man can do
it and the natives won't do it, because
they are too lazy. 1T has been said
said he, that every tie of the rail-
road that penetrates that country
represents a human life. The white
man essayed to build it, and thous-
ands Of dead mark the progress it
made through that isthmus."
Under the present regime, when a
person is taken sick with the dread
yellow plague that is the curse of
the city, he is placed in wire screen
| ed cage, so that mosquitoes cannot
| get to him and, attacking him, carry
away the germs to some other person.
| The natives laugh at these precau-
| tions and say that something will
! have to be done to change the eli
] 70 arfu
scourge is removed effectively.
There is no water supply for the
/ city save the rain, which is gathered
from the roofs of the buildings, either
| in cisterns or barrels And this. after
] it has stood for a couple of days, be-
/ comes alive with germ life, and has
to be subjected to the closest filtra-
ton process before it is fit to drink
Vultures sit upon the roofs of the
houses all day long, adding to the
misery of the people. Another, and
a dangerous pest, although the ma
tives affect to pay little attention to
it, is the scorpion. This reptile is as
omnipresent as the climate. 1t is
found everywhere. climbing in and
out of the chinks of the walls OF
]
even in the beds, and the clothes that
hang i'm the closets.
And speaking of beds-such as we
know them, they exist not in Panama
They use canvas cots, with a sheet
for a covering. These are folded VI
during the day to keep scorpions and
other pests out. Eggs will not keeI
over "a hours-and remain fresh.
Tobacco, to be preserved in smok-
ing or chewing form, has to be wrap
ped in oiled paper, and even then II
will not last for more than a couple
of days. The intense humidity of the
climate casts mould upon every
thing and starched collars and shirts
/ wilt beneath its effect like dew be-
fore the MONDAY sun.
Mr.. Peters advice to white men is
keep away from it, read as much as
possible about it, but keep away from
it,
u,IIU,