The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-04-02


 vertiser. Ancon, Canal Zone, Marcr | 22.-An epidemic of "cold feet" in 1t:
 most virulent form has been raging
 on the Isthmus for some weeks past
 and has become disease more to b.
 dreaded on the part of the canal or
 ganization than even the fearsoms
 Yellow Jack" Formerly this afflic.
 tion was known under the above ap pellation only among the unsympa-
 thetic. but of late, the term has been
 embodied in the official records. "Cold feet" in land of perpetual summer | may seem a trifle out of place, but the | young men. some of them not muc1
 more than boys. which the civil service
 mill at Washington ground out for
 duty on the Isthmus. and who are | now again at their home fireside, can
 if they would, testify to a touch of
 the complaint.
 The cnilliness in the loer extremi- | ties mas almost wholly been confined | to the newcomers on the Isthmus Newly arrived, they are full of exuber
 ance and spirit, and carry the air of | being able to dig the canal with their own hands. few days after with the | tales of the yellow peril' ringing m their ears. some wild and woody. and | far-fetched, 1t is true. feel qualms. which is the sure indication of the approaching malady of "cold feet. Not all succumb to the attack. With proper attention, and a little good sence" medicine. the patient rallies, and thereafter becomes a steady and dependable employe. but many with out adopting any means for euro buy return tickets to the States, going steerage sometimes, rather than stay another day on the Isthmian soil. At the present time. about half of the employees sent down here go back. In some ways the boys are not to be blamed. Coming from pleasant and cheering environment to a city where quarters are practically unobtalnable. and food altogether different from what they are accustomed, and then in addition, the dread spectre of yell low fever staring them In the face, it requires a certain amount of gem uine nerve to stay 1t out. The earli- CT ones that arrived are in better cir cumstances in many respects. They have had a chance to look around. made friends that paved the way to obtaining a betterment of their con- dition, and some are now occupying pleasant homes, and getting along fairly well.
 With the influx of Americans on the Isthmus, the landlords saw a chance to line their pockets with good Amer ican gold, and forced rents up to an exorbitant figure. Every two or three months there has been 8 general and concerted raise, until at the present time, on can rent apartments in New York city at a much lower figure. For instance a fairly good furnished room, but not as good as one Is ac- customed to in the State, rents at $40 gold per month, and the rent trans actions are always in gold, for 1t is American money the people here ev- anywhere want. For rom ana board. one will have to pay at least $60 gold per month, unless he shares his room with some one else, as is generally the case.
 In the clerical work or the canal, the wages paid are not much better than for similar positions in the States, and without the attraction of better wage, it will be impossible to keep men here for any length of time, be ne clerk or mechanic, and this fact the commission is beginning to realize.
 Yellow fever has scared a great many away during the past few months, and from reports in the pa pers the "cold-feets' go back with terrible tales to tell. Yellow fever is endemic in Panama all the year round, built has been years since there has been an epidemic. Since July 1, last, there has been 8 total of about fifty OIuClal cases III the canal LOnSs with mortality percentage of about 40. The Americans who have succumbed are in nearly all cases newcomers on the Isthmus. and on account of the scare ity of quarters, are forced to put up at any old place, and two cheap hotels in Panama have been responsible for at least fifth of the cases above men toned If the commission had proper sanitary quarters for tne men when they arrived here, the chances are that the yellow fever outbreak would have been reduced to a minimum in so far as the Americans are concerned.
 A merciless campaign has been, and is being waged against the mosquito in Panama today, but the mosquito still remains. An average of $2OO per day is being spent on pyretheum and sulphur for fumigation purposes by the commission. but the expenditure Is not Justified by the results. Some stunned mosquitoes. a few cockroaches and bedbugs knocked out is about all that comes out of it. On the other hand, if the sanitary authorities would start campaign of a house-cleaning nature, and keep up a constant house. toulouse inspection of premises, fore ing the people, and aiding them by example to lead cleanly lives-an edu- cattve campaign, rather than a fumi- gatiVe one-more good would be ac- complished it would seem than by the mosquito eXterminating plan. As an inspector remarked to me the other day. We drove yellow fever out of Santiago two years before the mosqui- to theory became prominent, and did 1t by inaugurating and carrying out an era of cleanliness"
 That the sanitary authorities are do- ing their best under the handicapped in which they are work ing. cannot be gainsaid. The cleaning of the streets. which are now a daily occurrence. the burning of underbrush from around the city and throughout the Canal Zone. and other methods em- ployed will do much to make this part of the Isthmus a safer place to reside.