The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1906-12-18
PRESDEN S MESSAGE.
fcogrINuED FROM FIRST PAeEa



o'clock from the hotel We went
through the CuIebra cut stopping on
to zee the marines ana also to investi-
Gaze certain towns one, Of white EN-
ployees, as to which IN certain respects
complaint had been made to me and
another town where | wanted to see
certain houses Of the colored employ
ees. We went over the site Of the pro-
posed Gatun dam, having on the first
day Inspected the sites of the proposal
La Boca and Sosa DAMS We went out
on a little toy railway to The reservoir,
which had been built to supply the
people Of Colon with water for their
houses There we took lunch dit the en-
gineers mess. We then went through
the stores and shops OF Cristobal, I'M
specting carefully the houses Of both
the white and colored employees, mar
ried and unmarried, together with the
other buildings We then went to Co
lon and saw the fire department at
work In four minutes from the signal
the engines had come down to Front
street and twenty-one two and a half
inch hose pipes were raising streams
of water seventy-ive feet high We
rode about Colon, through the various
streets, paved, unpaYed and III process
Of paving, looking at the bitches, sew
ers curbing and the lights. then
went over the Colon hospital in order
to compare it with the temporary town
or field receiving hospitals which had
already seen and inspected, also in.
spected some of the dwellings of the
employees In the evening | attended
a reception given by the American EN-
ployees on the isthmus, which took
place on one Of the docks in Colon, and
from there went aboard the Louisiana.
Each day from twelve to eighteen
hours were spent in going over and in
specting all there was to be seen and
in examining various employees.
what the French Left
At the outset I wish to pay tribute
to the amount of work done by the
French Canal company under very diff
hcult circumstances. Many Of the
buildings they put up were excellent
and are still in use, though naturally
the houses are now getting out Of re
pair, and much of the work they did
in the Culebra cut and some Of the
work they did in digging have been of
direct and real benefit. This country
has never made better Investment
than the $4O,000.O00 which it paid to
the French company for work and bet
terments, including especially the Pan
anna railroad
An inspection on the ground at the
height Of the rainy season served to
convince me Of the wisdom Of con-
gress in refusing to adopt either a high
level or a sea level canal. There seems
to be q universal agreement among all
people competent to judge that the
Panama route. the,one actually chosen,
IS much superior to both the Nicaragua
and Darlen routes
Preliminary work.
The wisdom of the canal manage
ment has been shown IN nothing more
clearly than Ia the way in which the
foundations Of the work have been
laid.
The first great problem to be solved,
upon the solution Of which the success
of the rest Of the work depended was
the problem Of sanitation. This was
from the outset under the direction Of
DR. w G Gorgas, who is to be made
full member of the commission. The
results have been astounding. The
isthmus had been a byword for deadly
unhealthfulness. Now, after two years
of our occupation, the conditions as
regards sickness ana the death rate
compare favorably with reasonably
healthy localities III the United States
Especial care has been devoted to min
imlzing the risk due to those species
Of mosquitoes which have been found
to propagate malarial and yellow
fevers Everywhere are to be seen the
drainage bitches which have removed
the breeding places Of the mosquitoes.
while the whole jungle is cut away
for considerable space around the
habitations. thus destroying the places
In which the mosquitoes take shelter.
saw only one Mosquito
AS matter Of fact, but d single
mosquito aud this not Of the danger
ons species. was seen by any member
of our party during my three days
on the isthmus Equal care is taken by
the inspectors of the health depart
ment to secure cleanliness in the
houses ana proper hygienic conditions
Of every kind
Inspected the large hospitals at An
con and Colon. which are excellent
examples OF what tropical hospitals
should be. / also inspected the receiv-
ing hospitals Ia various settlements.
went through d number Of the wSfds
in which the colored men are treated. a
number Of those In which the white
men are treated Americans and Span
iards. Both white men and black men
are treated exactly alike. and their
treatment is as good as that which
could be obtained IN our first class hos
pitfalls at home
Health showing Remarkably Good.
In October there We're ninety-nine
deaths among the employees Of the
isthmns There were then on the rolls
$500 whites. seven-eighths Of them
Americans a. these whites but two
died Of disease and neither was an
American OF the G000 white Aneri-
cans. ucluding some 1900 women and
children. not q single death has oc-
CURED IN the past three months where.
as in an average city in the United
States the number Of deaths for sim
liar number Il people ID that time
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