The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1906-10-19

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other things. an International Univer-
| sfty club. which Is composed of Amer
lean and Panaman college men. The
| Masonic and other orders already have
branches there"
About Health.
DO YOU think you have stamped out
the yellow fever. Mr.. Shonts?"
asked.
I'VE have had no cases since last
| November, and the warfare on. the
mosquito seems to have largely abolish
ed her from the isthmus. Many of the
men are growing careless and fail to
put down their mosquito nets at night;
and the fear of yellow fever has for the
time departed. Indeed, I was sur
prlsed to find SO few mosquitoes.
had occasion to stay there over night.
and slept on one Of the Pacific mail
steamers without misQuito netting or
any other similar protection. During
the evening I did not see mosquito,
and it was only after going Ito bed
that l heard one buzzihg. got up,
turned ON my light and killed it. and
then went back to bed. The work done
by the sanitary commission In that
respect is wonderful A year or SO
ago one stopping ut La Boca would
have been eaten up by mosquitoes.
Now there are not. venture. on the
lO-mile zone one-hundredth as many
mosquitoes as on any. similar strip
along the-New Jersey coast"
rs the malaria also disappearing?"
We are decreasing the malaria
said the chairman of the Isthmian
Canal commission, but there will al,
ways be more or less of that at Pam
anna. just as in many parts of the
United States. would say. however,
that the health of our employees IS
extraordinarily good. We have sick
rate of only 20 per 1000. and that is a
better showing than In New York
city. DIR. Gorgas reports that there are
$50 beds vacant in the hospitals, and
he is sanguine that he can now con-
troll the health situation. Our quaran-
tine arrangements are good and we
shall do everything We can to keep
out yellow fever and other diseases.
1nded, doubt If there is any place
in the world so carefully watched,
from health standpoint, as are our
stations at Panama. When we open
new labor camp the sanitary engi-
ners go ahead and lay it out. They
attend to the cleaning, and the men
are not allowed to begin until the dan
gers of i'll health are minimized."
Have you good water supp!y?"
Yes. Panama has it's own water
works, with reservcir<in the noun
tains Of somethink like S00,OO0,OO GAL
Ions. Empire has big reservoir, and
so also have Gorgona and Colon. Bias
Obispo is supplied by running stream.
The water has been analzyed at all
these places, and it is good with the
exception that it contains a slight per4
lcentage of vegetable mater Notwith-
standing this at some places they are
boiling the water"
Chief Engineer Stevens.
Tell me something about the chief
engineer, Mr.. Stevens? Is he the right
man for his place."
I'VE Think So" replied Mr.. Shonts.
He is man of extraordinary ability,
great industry and infexible integ-
rity. He is as straight as a string. He
has been dealing with big undertake
ings and is accustomed to handle large
bodies of men. He understands how
to organize his work and he has select
ed able assistants. Indeed, it seems to
me that Uncle Sam could not have got
better man for the place."
When are you going to finish the
canal?"
The chairman of the canal commits
sion smiled as he replied:
That Is a question which depends
much upon congress, and also largely
upon what kind of canal is decided
upon and how the work Is carried out
to conclusion. If lock canal, such
as We have recommended, shall be
permanently decided upon, we can fin
ish it and have some of the largest
steamers that float the ocean going
through it within eight years. think
Engineer Stevens puts it at seven or
seven and half, but will say eight.
These figures are based upon our pres
ept calculations and Investigations,
and we think them not far from
right. '-(Copyright, 1906, by F. G. Car
penter.)