The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-12-18

| in the course of construction: and right
| near the defective water closet a new
| and excellent closet with a good sewer
| pipe was in process of construction and
nearly finished. Nevertheless this did not
excuse the fact that the bad condition
| had been allowed to prevail. Temporary
| accommodations even If only such as
| soldiers use when eamped in the field,
| should have been provided. Orders to
| this effect were issued l append the
| report of DR.. Gorgas on the Incident. I
was struck. however, by the fact that
E, in sais instance. as in almost every other
! where a complaint was made which
| proved to have any justification whatever.
1t appeared that steps had already been
| taken to remedy the evil complained of,
| and that the trouble was mainly due to
! the extreme difficulty. and often impossi-
| bility. of providing in every place for the
| constant increase in the numbers of en-
| ployes. Generally the provision is made
| in advance. but it is not possible that
| this should always be the case; when 1t
/ is not there ensues a period of time dur
| Ing which the conditions are unsatisfae-
/ tory, until remedy can be provided;
| but | never found case where the rem
| edy was not being provided as speedily
as possible.
Hospitals and Their Treatment.
/ inspected the large hospitals at Ancon
and Colon, which are excellent examples
of what tropical hospitals should be.
also inspected the receiving hospitals in
various settlements. | went thru a num-
Der of the wards in which the colored men
are treated, a number of those in which
the white men are Observation-Disclosures and
Spaniards. Both white men and black
men are treated exactly alike. and their
treatment is as good as that which could
be obtained in our hrst-elass hospitals at
~ 1 },
| one or two exceptions, were laborers or
other employees on the canal works and
I railways, most of them being eoored men
of the ordinary laborer stamp. Not only
are the men carefully cared for whenever
they apply for care, but far practi-
cable watch Is kept TO see that il they
need it they are sent to the hospitals,
whether they desire to go or not. From
no responsible source did any complaint
come to me as To- the management of the
hospital service, altho occasionally a very
ignorant West India negro when he is
first brought into the hospital becomes
frightened by the ordinary hospital rou-
tine
Health Showing Remarkably Good.
Just at present the health showing on
the isthmus Is remarkably good-so much
better than in most sections of the United
States that | do not believe that it can
| DOSSiDiN CpuiDut DIT lu1lb It's piHStill AVER
age Thus, early in the present year
band of several hundred Spanards were
brought to the isthmus as laborers, and
additions to their number have been made
from time to time; yet since thei 'rarriVal
in February last but one of those Span
iards thus brought over TO work ON the
canal has died of disease, and he of ty-
phoid fever. Two others wore killed, one
In a railroad accident, and one by a dyna-
mite explosion. There has been for the
last six months a Well-nigh steady de-
cline In the death rate for the population
of the zone, this being largely due to the
decrease in deaths from pnumonia, which
has been the most fatal disease on the
isthmus. In October there were ninety
nine deaths of every kind among the EN-
ployes of the isthmus. There were then
on the rolls $500 whites, seven eighths of
them being Americans. OF these whites
but two died of disease and as ii hap
pened neither man was an American. OF
the 5000 white Americans, including some
1900 women and children, not a single
death has occurred In the past three
| months, whereas in an average city in the
United States the number of deaths for
similar number of people in that time
would have been about thirty from dis
ease. This very remarkable showing can
not of course permanently obtain, but ii
certainly goes to prove that If good care
Is TAKEN TIE lSilllluS is not pau liCuldiiN
, unhealthy place. In October, of the $4,000
negroes on the roll eighty-six died from
disease; pneumonia being the most de-
struetive disease, and malaral fever COM
ing second. The difficulty of exercising
a thoro supervision over the colored labor
ers is of course greater than is the case
among the whites, and they are also less
competent to take care of themselves,
which accounts for the fact that their
death rate is so much higher than that of
the whites, in spite of the fact that their
have been used to similar climatic con-
ditions. Even among the colored employees
it will be seen that the death rate is not
high.
Demunition of Mosquitoes.
In Panama and Colon the death rate has
also been greatly reduced, this being
directly due to the vigorous work of the
special brigade of employees who have
been inspecting houses where the stego-
myia mosquito is to be found and destroy
ing it's larvae and breeding places, and
doing similar work in DISCRIMINATING the
maaral mosquitoes-in short in perform
ing all kinds of hygienic labor little
over a year ago all kinds of mosquitoes,
including the two fatal species, were nu-
merous about the Culbra cut. In this cut
during last October every room of every
house was carefully examined, and only
two mosquitoes, neither of them OF the
two fatal species, were found Unfaltcr-
ing energy in inspection and In disinfect-
ing and in the work of draining and of
clearing brush are responsible for the
charge. | append Doctor Gorgas report
on the health conditions; also letter
from Surgeon General Rixey to Doctor
Gorgas The surgeon general reported to
me that the hygienic conditions on the
isthmus were about good as, for in
stance, those in the Norfolk navy yard.
Corozal, some four miles from La Boca,
was formerly one of the most unsanitary
places on the isthmus, probably the most
unsanitary. There was marsh with
pond in the middle. Doctor Gorgas had
both the marsh and pond drained and the
brush cleared Off so that now when |
went over the ground. ii appeared like
smooth meadow intersected by drainage
bitches. The breeding places and shelter
ing spots of the dangerous mosquitoes had
been completely destroyed. The result Is
that Corozal for the last six months dixie
La Boca. which formerly also had a very
unsanitary record. shows one of the best
sick rates i'm the zone. having less than
/ per cent a week admitted to the hos
pital. At Corozal there Is big hotel
filled with employees of the isthmian canal
commission. some of them with their
wives and families. Yet this healthy and
attractive spot was stigmatized as hog
wallow" by one OF the least scrupulous
and most foolish of the professional scan
dal-mongers who from time to time have
written about the commissions work.
improvements in Panama and Colon.
The sanitation work in the cities of
Panama and Colon has been just as inn