New-York tribune., 1905-01-09
The HEALTH OF PANAMA.
Not as Bad as 1t Night Be. nor as
Good as 1t Should and Uy;U Re-

and also in the direction OF corroot,,,.-
spread misapprehensions concerning +heIr -
emf condition I remember that when s,ar,o,,
70 so thl1hea Few weeks ago some neonla
were inclined 10 bid me last fearful soo5h, a.
one who Was going straight TO his death ,n ,b.
worst plague SPOT of the world. Take a s,,rr,,,
Of quinLae" they cried. Hoping against to,,o.
and wlsskey, and cumn,erbuhds. and never ~,
never sleep in the open night air, And-ba,,s ,-o,,
any last requests 20 make as to the disnos,,io,,
Of your remains" Others-a life ins,,ror,
agent among them-ssid Pooh, pooh. Regular
sanatcruIn down there. Needn't be A bit afraid
yellow fever is nothing but solar myth. and
ulslaria--pshaw! there isn't any such thing"
When ] got there found, as had expected 10
ind. that both were right. and both were wrong
Panama IS not a plague spot. though they DO
have plaques there. 1t is not a sanatoriun
though most people there are I'm good healtb
and l. in common with many other visitors
found il an agreeable place Of residence and
came away al the end of my visit I'm better
physical condition than / was i'm when went
thither. Apart from these general considera-
tons. there are some specific points which do
serve specific attention
We must remember that Panama lies we'll
within the tropics. II is between eight and nine
degrees. only. north of the Equator. That Is to
say it Is as far south the southern extremity
~ British India. and readers OF Kipinz need ,,ot
Re reminded how oppressive and unhealthful is
the climate Of India. even OF middle and north
ern India. it is a good deal further south than
The Soudsn I'm Africa, than the southern end Of
Arabia or than that earthly frying pan which
men call Alden. 1t lies in the latitude OF Bcrneo
q Ashautee. Of Nigeria. To expect such a
country 10 have the bracing selubrity OF more
temperate climes is TO expect the impossible
Tropical it is, tropical il must remain and II
has and VIII forever have the characteristics of
The tropics
Moreover there Is the rainy season. which
lasts for more than half the year We know in
Nev--York what old General Humidity" means
IN Z. measure. But just suppose we had six or
eight months Of il. and OF even worse quality
than We have here, That is why in a Panama
shop al the drygoods. instead Of being piled
openly upon shelves as here. are tightly
vrsppes mp and tied up in several thicknesses
of brown paper. 10 protect them from the damp.
Z IL were not for that precaution. they would
All he rrouldy within q month. That is why one
mus take his clothes out OF the closet every
tuo or three days and brush and air them, un-
less he wants them TO become covered with
green and white fuzz. a friend of mine left
his silk high hat I'm a closet for fortnight with
cut attention, and when he next took it out it
was transformed into a shaggy white beaver of
the apparent vintage Of 1913, Beyond doubt.
such climate is pretty nearly trying 10 the
inner man as II IS TO his external habiiments.
And the latitude and the humidity and various
other details are as far beyond cur power TO
change IS are the canals Of Mars
But there are some things which can be
changed. and which are changing, and the
hanging Of which viii mean a great deal for
the health of Panama. II wise thing that
We PUT into our compact with the Isthmian Re
public The clause providing for the sewering,
watering and paving Of the city Of Panama by
The United States and II is a wise supplement- 10
Il that are now doing that work with all
proper expedition. al the very beginning Of our
enterprise. The black vultures which they call
turkey buzzsrds chiefly because they are not
buzzsrds. are picturesque and impressive birds
on the wing. and they diligent and compre-
hensive scavengers. But after all, they do not
and can Tot do the work os sewers. One OF
ne most inspiring sights I in Panama was
the biz hole they have dug under the ancient
sea wall II is 10 be the outlet Of the sewer
system ~ the city. connecting the intrsmural
tunnels and pipes with vast conduit across and
through the vast terraces OF volcanic rocks TO
deep water iu the Bay Of Panama. 1t may seem
almost IS incongruous with the ancient wall
the sDick ana span up-to-date machine guns
which now surnount that venerable edfce.
why can't somebody put some old bronze Span
fish guns there, for the sake OF appearances0
Bur nothing could he fun Of promise for
the good of The city. The water wagons, too
are picturesque. with big barrel poised upon
the axle between two wheels. and a chubby little
donkey between the shafts-all the more pictu-
rescue when some skylarking American visitor
mounts the drivers seat and gives the public
ocular demonstration that, for once In his life
Ae really is 'on the water wagon! Yet under
ground mains. with pipes and taps IN every
house, "iil be incomparably better and that is
what Panama viii soon have. There is big
reservoir already made among the hills, and
big soueduci IS being finished, down TO a dis
Tbuung reservoir near Ancon. and before long
the city Hlil have a supply as abundant that
oi New York. and perhaps pure and whole
some. Again. there ara the pavements Some
io.k may like cobbIestone pavements with dia-
mond shaped patterns formed with rows OF big
ger stones laid diagonally across the street l
cor't-excepting in that few minutes ride over
them oispenses with gymnasium exercise for the
resi- of the day. But apart from their pictu-
resqueness and calisthenic value. such pave
nenfs are open to the objection Of uncleanliness
II viii be a great gain for cleanliness. and,
therefore. for health. TO have the streets all
paved with vitrihed brick, as is 20 be done as
soon as we have put down the sewers and water
pipes
There is another % lo-wit. the mosquitoes.
Perhaps should say Gititude of points. each
Insect having one. J.. .r great national fiesta
~ last November. wnru the Pananans cele-
orated the FIRST anniversary of their indepsn-
oenoe, the mosquito was the most impressive ig-
use. AT such time half the people I'm the city
q about the streets in fancy costumes and masks
The whole city is a gigantic Arion bail and
fKzl "a