Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1907-06-24
Sanitary Conditions on the Isthmus.


work, think, however, as far as tn,
lcanal work is concerned, is the ex
tent to which malaria Is held II
check. While yellow fever was tn,
fatal disease to the French, It die
not AFFECT their sick rate to a very
great extent; that is, IL you take
their sick report day by day you
would find thirty or forty men sick
from yellow fever and 400 to SOC
men sick from malaria fever. so that
malaria was causing eight or ten
times the financial loss that yellow
did. Malaria 10 still with us the
principal cause of sickness; / mean
we have a good many more men
sick every day from malaria than
from any other one cause, but our
whole sick rate is very small. Last
month March, 190O our sick in
Hospitals amounted to less than
twenty per 1000. and our total ex-
cused on account of sickness from
all causes to about twenty-three per
900; that is, out OF every 1000
men we had absent on account of
sickness in hospitals, their homes
and everywhere an average every
day during the month of twenty
three men. This is as small a rate
as We would probably have IL we
were working in the United States,
and I doubt IL we are ever able to
obtain a smaller rate than this. L
am inclined to think that our sani-
tary work, as far as the sick rate Is
concerned, has reached Its maximum
efficiency and that all we can expect
to do for the future is to hold II up
to that rate, though to keep this
rate a great deal OF work will have
to be done.
The good water supply furnished
all our employees has kept dysontery
from being troublesome, so that
think We can claim that our sanitary
work has directly controlled mala-
ria, yellow fever and dysentery. the
three tropical diseases to which we
are liable. Bubonic plague is pretty
firmly established In some OF the
Peruvian ports TO the south of us,
and we have been very anxious on
this subject during our occupancy OF
Panama. In. the summer OF 1905.
two cases OF plague occurred at La
Boca, the Pacific terminal OF the
railroad and canal. Both men had
been living there for some time and
evidently contracted the disease
there. but very careful isolation
and disinfection OF the town of la
Boca, under the direction of DIR. j.
G. Perry, chief quarantine officer.
eradicatcd the disease at this point
and we have had no cases since.
Beri-bsri was quite prevalent on the
isthmus during our first year, but II
is now entirely confined to tho city.
of Panama and much reduced in
numbers.
| think therefore that the United
States authorities can fairly make
the following claim for their sanl-
tsry work; That when they got
control OF the isthmus In May, 1904,
the territory along the route of the
canal WIS In its normal condition as
TO health. IL was overgrown by a
dense tropical Jungle; the natural
were everywhere ideal
for breeding stegomyria and anophe-
les mosquitoes. The region was In
habited by a considerable popula-
tion. which was very poor, as the |
result OF the failure OF the French !
canal company and the recent bloody |
and destructive war which had In
Volved the whole country for some |
Lhree years. Malaria, dysentery and
smallpox were prevailing among
lhese people about as they would
anywhere In tho tropics under sim
lar conditions. yellow fever infec-
ion was present In both Panama and
Colon. In fact, the conditions were
more favorable for producing a high
upon the Introduction OF
! large force than they had been at
my time In the past. Into this re-
lion the Canal Commission has In
reduced the largest force ever pre-
ient on the isthmus. some 10000
persons, 10000 OF whom are white
Yet the sanitary
measures taken by the United States
Turing the period of the introduce
ion OF this unprecedented force have
'een such that yellow fever has dis
appeared. malaria held In check. and
he total sick rate in this force dur
Dg the month OF March. 1907. was
'nly twenty-three per 1000.
think that there can be no rea-
enable doubt that thore IA a direcf \