The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-04-23
ENTHUSIASTIC OVER
 CONDITIONS AT CANAL EFFECTIVE WORKING FORCE FIRST OF APRIL WAS
 17,6S1

Chairman Shonts Wha Has Just Re-
 turned from Panama Declares Health
 Conditions Most Satisfactory-Work
 ried Forward-Civil Service Commits
 sion to Establish Bureau for the
 Examination of Applicants for Work.
 New York, April 22-Theodore P. Shonts, chairman of the Panama canal commission, who arrived from the isth- mus last night on the steamer Colon, went to Washington this afternoon. In an interview to-day MT. Shonts spoke enthusiastically of the condition of af- fairs in the canal zone, and highly praised the work of Chief Engineer Stevens. The effective working force on the canal April numbered 17,6S1 persons Health conditions, MT. Shonts said, are most satisfactory, the sick rate being twenty in one thousand. There were 45O vacant beds in the hos pital during March.
 Chief Engineer Stevens" said the canal chairman, has carried forward the preliminary work on the canal and the railroad with much vigor. Many docks and railroad facilities have been completed, and the building department has houses ready fir 5000 more employees than are on the isthmus. The work on Cuebra cut has been carrier forward steadily. During March 24O,OOO cubic yards of material Were were moved with an average of ten and seven tentbg steam shovels working. By July or August it is believed forty shovels will be in position to move 100000 cu- bic yards a months The actual cost. figuring in contractors expenses, for work done in March was 53 1-2 cents a cubic yard.
 Law and order continue to be main- tained in high degree"
 MT. Shonts was accompanied on the isthmus on this last trip by United States Civil Service Commissioners Cooley and Higgins, who, after exam lining conditions, decided to create lo- cal examining board on the isthmus to test the fitness of employees for promo tion, and to establish lists of eligibles for the canal service.
 MT. Shonts also met on the isthmus by appointment R. F. Schwerin, vice president and general manager of the Pacific Mail Steamship company, for confluence relative to the interchange of traffic between the Panama Railroad and Steamship line and the Pacific Mall company
 Mr. Schwerin was accompanied by other officials of his line, and g demon stration of the facilities of the Panama railroad for handling traffic resulted In the settlement of all differences and an agreement to. work in harmony in the Interest of the entire route, Mir. Shonts said there has been no congestion of freight on the isthmus since Decem- Der,
 MT. shonts said that owing to the prolonged dry season the streams sup plying Colon with water were low but the reservoirs supplying Panama, Elm pire, Gorgona and Bas Obispo had suf- ficient supplies for many months to come. When the supply of Colon was reduced to 100000 gallons, 1t was de- cided to haul water into Colon for daily consumption, so as to reserve as much as possible of the reservoir supply for an emergency. Accordingly a water train has been equipped, three water stations established, and 250,0O0 gallons @ day brought into Colon This will rainy season fills the reservoirs. As in the case of the Panama water sup ply, water is furnished free to the pop ulation of Colon.
 "The only man who has been charged for water in Colon" said MT. Shonts, lis a hotel keeper, He desired a par ticular water 50 be found on the line of the Panama railroad. He was charged a reasonable rate for the trans portation of his car. I mention this because I am told some exaggerated stories have been calculated in the Unit ed States relative to this incident"