The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-07-07
HEALTH FIRST AND THE
 MOVING OF DIRT AFTER
PLANS OF CHAIRMAN SH0NTS FOR DIGGING PANAMA
 CANAL.

Life to be HeaIthfuI, Comfortable and
 Enjoyable Before the Real Wrok Ia
 COmmenced-sIen Must Have Suitable
 Houses in Healthy Surroundings and
 Wholesome and Nourishing Food-
 Actual Conditions to be Made KnowR
 to the Public 1t All Times--wageA
 Not Cut But on Other Hand Increased. Washington, July 6.-Iife on the Isthmus of Panama is to be mada healthful, comfortable and enjoyable before the real work of digging the ca nal is begun, according to an announce- ment of policy made to-day by Chair man shonts, of the Panama canal cofn- mission. MT. Shonts said:
 "Our first duty is to create sound un- deriving conditions This is now vastly more important than the moving of dirt. The men must have suitable houses in healthy surroundings; they must have wholesome and nourlshing food at reasonable cost; they must have suitable transportation faciltties to get away from their work, and they must have opportunity for recreation afforded them. It will be the policy of the commission to provide these essen tials as quickly as possible, and to only announce the working force. aside from the mechanics necessary to provide these necessities, as fast as the facilI- ties indicated can be furnished. The commission realizes that It's adherence to this policy will result in the actual handling of less quantities of material temporarily. but it also knows that, with healthy underlying conditions. vastly more will be accomplished later on at less cost and with less friction.
 It will also be the invariable policy of the commission to give to the public the actual conditions as they exist on the isthmus. without any attempt tol either color or conceal. So much has been said by the press of an exagRer- ated character about health conditions there that it may be wise to reeapitu. late the facts regarding yellow fever. There have been between 5000 and 10.. 900 employees on the isthmus since the disease first appeared in May. During that month there were twenty car S employees stricken and two deata | June thirty canal employees we're en and four deaths. ssaS uT thoss siV.lifs ne being Americans appointed in tha United States and two persons ap- pointed locally on the isthmus. There were also three cases of fever among employees of the Panama Railroad com. pany, and no deaths.
 During the month of July up to thq sixth there have been no new cases and there is but one employe under treatment.
 As an evidence of the consideration the creation of health conditions is now receiving, 1t may be well to state thai twelve and one-half per cent. of the to.< tai number of employees are assigned to that work under Governor Magoon.
 In regard to the wages paid and tha statements that so many men have Ieft because of reduction in salaries the fact is that wages, instead of havin1 been reduced, have been very consider- ably increased in every branch of the service on the isthmus during the lifa of the present commission. It will ba the liked practice of the commission, as far as practicable, to fill the higher and more desirable positions by the promotion of deserving employees The entrance or beginners salary for tho clerical positions, such as boolkeepers. stenographers, typeWriters. etc, is $1, X 300 per annun, and fer draftsnen from $1.500 to s2000. The wages received inI the outdoor railroad positions are from 10 to 25 per cent. higher than those paid in the United States, being, in general. for switch engineers $125, engine fore- men $100, helpers $75, track foremen $Sa to $1OO, and supervisors $15O to s175 per month. All the mechanical tradesfngn such as carpenters, blacksmiths, ma chinists, etc, receive 56 cents per hour. In addition, all employees are furnished quarters, or allowed 15 per cent. in paw in lieu thereof, and are given six weeks leave of absence per year on full pay.
 As to the amount of work actually done, complete reports have not been received as yet at this office, although the acting chief engineer cables that the same have been sent. But in order to know exactly what has been done. and what the actual condition of fife work now is, the commission has sent two of it's engineering members to ths 1sthmus to make a personal exanlina- ton of the ground and make a formal report of their investigation.
 A cablegram received from Governor Magoon to-day reports no additional cases of yellow fever and no deaths and but one case under treatment on the Isthmus of Panama.
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