The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-12-18
THE PRESIDENT SENDS THREE MESSAGES TO CONGRESS IN ONE DAY


above low tide. The slight undulations
| furnish shallow, natural reservoirs or
| freshwater breeding places for every va
| riety of mosquito and the ground tends
| to be lowest in the middle. When the town
was originally built no attempt was made
| to fill the low ground, either in the streets
or on the building sites. SO that the
entire surface was practically a quag-
mire; when the quagmire became in-
passable certain of the streets were
erudely improved by filing especially bad
! mud holes with soft rock or other ma
terial. In September, 1905, a systematic
effort was begun to formulate a general
plan for the proper sanitation of the
city; in February last temporary relief
measures We're taken, while in July the
prosecution of the work was begun In
good earnest. The results are already Wis
ible in the sewering, draining, guttering
and paving of the streets. Some four
months will be required before the work
of sewerage and street improvement will
be completed, but the progress already
made Is very marked. bitches have been
dug thru the town, connecting the salt
water on both sides, and into these the
ponds, which have served as breeding
places for the mosquitoes, are drained.
These bitches have answered their pur-
pose, for they are probably the CHIEF
cause of the astonishing diminution In
the number of mosquitoes. More bitches
of the kind are being constructed.
Colon Water Supply.
1t was not practicable with the force
at the commissions disposal, and in view
of the need that the force should be
used in the larger town of Panama, to
begin this work before early last win
ter Water mains We're than laid in the
town and water was furnished to the
people early in March from a temporary
reservoir, This reservoir proved to be of
insufficient capacity before the end of the
dry season and the shortage was made
up by hauling water over the Panama
railroad, so that there was at all times
an ample supply of the very best wa
ter Since that time the new reservoir
back of Mount Hope has been practically
completed. | visited this reservoir. 1t is
lake over a mile long and half mile
broad. 1t now carries some o00,000000 gal
Ions of first class water. | forward here
with "a photograph of this lake, together
with certain other photographs of what
! saw while | was on the isthmus. Moth
ing but a eataelysm will hereafter rem
der 1t necessary in the dry season to
haul water for the use of Colon and
Crstobal.
One of the most amusing (as well as
dishonesty attacks made upon the COM
mission was in connection with this reser-
voir. The writer in question usually con-
fined himself TO vague general mendaeity;
but in this case he specifically stated that
there was no water In the vicinity tit
for a reservoir q drank 1t, and 1t was eX-
eellenD, and that this particular reservoir
would never hold water anyway. Accom-
panying this message as l have said
above, is photograph of the reservoir as
I myself saw it. and as it has been i'll
existence ever since the article in ques-
ton was published. With typical Ameri-
can humor the engineering corps still at
work al the reservoir have christened a
large boat which is now used on the res
ervoir by the name Of the individual who
thus denied the possibility of the reser-
voir's existence.
Colon Pavements.
| rode thru the streets of Colon, seeing
them at the height of -the rainy season,
after two days of almost unexampled
doWnpour, when they were at their very
worst Taken as a whole they were UNI
doubtedly very bad; as bad as Pennsyl-
yanla avenue in Washington before
Grants administration. Front street is
already in thoroly satisfactory shape,
however. Some of the side streets are also
in good condition. In others the change
in the streets is rapidly going on Thru
three-fourths of the town 1t Is now pos
sible to walk, even during the period of
Tremendous rain, Ill ipW Withode
wetting ones feet, owing to the rapidity
with which the surface water is carried
away In the bitches. In the remaining one
fourth of the streets the mud is very
deep-about as deep as in the ordinary
street of a low-lying prairie river town OF
the same size IN the United States during
early spring. All men to whom | spoke
were unit in saying that the conditions
of the Colon streets were 100 per cent bet
ter than year ago. The most superficial
examnation of the town shows the pro-
gress that has been made and Is being
made in matchmaking the streets. Com
plant was made to me by an entirely
reputable man as to the character OF
some of the material used for repairing
certain streets. On investigation the conn
plain proved well founded, but 1t also APP
peared that the use of the material in
question had been abandoned, the conf
mission after having tried 1t in one or
two streets finding it not appropriate.
Complaints Not Well Founded.
The result of the investigation of this
honest complaint was typical of what &C.
Cured when | investigated most of the
other honest complaints made to me.
That is where the complaints were not
made wantonly or malciously, they al
most always proved due to failure to ap-
preciate the fact that time was neces-
this Titanic work in a tropic wilderness.
1t is impossible to avoid some mistakes
in building a giant canal thru jungle-cov-
cred mountains and swamps, while at the
same time sanitating tropfc cities, and
providing for the feeding and general
care of from 20 900 to 10000 workers. The
complaints brought to me, either of in
sufficient provision in caring for some of
the laborers of failure to finish the
pavements of Colon, or of failure to sup
ply water or of failure to build wooden
sidewalks for the use of the laborers in
the rainy season. on investigation proved,
almost without exception, to be due mere
~ to the utter inability of the commits
sion to do everything at once.
For instance, 1t was imperative that
Panama. which had the highest death
rate and where the chance of a yellow
fever epidemic was strongest. should be
cared for first: yet most of the COM
plants as to the delay in taking care
of Colon were due to the inability or I'M
willingness to appreciate this simple fact
Again. as the thousands of laborers are
brought over and housed. it is not always
possible at the outset to supply wooden
walks and bath houses. because other
more vital necessities have to be met; and
in consequence while most OF the settle
ments have good bath houses, and, to a
large extent at least, wooden walks, there
are plenty of settlements where wooden
walks have not yet been laid down, and
| visited one where the bath houses have
not been provided. But in this very set
Element the frames of the bath houses
are already up and In every case the ut
most effort is being made to provide tho
wooden walks. OF course. in some of the
newest camps tents are used pending the
building of houses Where possible