The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1907-09-14
NEWS FROM
CANAL. ZONE
LLOYDE GILKEY WRITES IN
TERESTING LETTER
A Story in Detail of Life in the Pana-
ma Country-How the Work of the
Caral Commission is Progressing
Social Affairs in the Zone


Gneenville, Miss, Sept. 10, 1907.
The Times:
So many of my friends and your
editor have asked ME of the Canal
Zone that | have thought it best to
write this
Leaving Greenville in July, 1905,
sailei-. from New Ort,ars by the
fruit steamer Elfns, arriving at Co.
lon alter a five and Il half day ,elp
which was pleasant and uneventful,
ness, disease. and death ,sealt out py
turning to the Isthmus from pre-
yi0us stlv These stori-t caused cnh-
" sensations in my feet. but I re-
putting redpepper III my shoes and
kept a strong grip on my courage
until | landed at Coloa.
On arriving there | reported to Mr.
F. B. A1a1tby. division engineer. and
was, by him, transferred to Mr. VIM.
Geirg at La Boca, on th1 Pacific sid
of the Isthmus. There l found
things Just at beginning. The Pana-
ma railway had dor some years
owned a machine shop and marine
ways, which at the time | arrived,
had just been transferred to the
caFal commission and aroun TINS
was being organized a construction
and dredging division of the canal.
Under this temporary and hurried
organization made by Mr.. Wallace.
chief engineer (who left just a week
before | reached the IsthmuS) it was
at this time very difficult to obtain
material promptly to do the repair
work necessary to place the ola
French equipment in working con-
dition and in addition, no attempt
hadbeen made 10 furnish subs
for the American employees. These
two things hanrpered work great
deal. The first by delays, the Sc
oond by causing SO much dissatis-
faction over the poor food and poor
er service which could be obtained
from the natives or other loca board-
ing houses that, with the assistance
of the yellow f~v>r which existed.
Americans were leaving the Isthmns
as fast as they could be brought IN.
This condition continued for sever
al months The sanitary authorities
were working with the yellow fever
and by December, 1905, had almost
eradIcated It. The material and sup
ply departments, were gradually ac-
eutlytrlatiflg a stock, and the labor and
quarters branch OF the eoeaInis sion
MAS conmDncing to provide conn
mission hotels at which Americans
could procure a meal for 80 cents
each. or a cost of $27.oo per month.
These meals were an improvement
over the native boarding facilities,
but did not reach the quality of even
an average meal in the United States
for several months, the reason for
this being the small production OF
food stuffs in Panama and the con-
tagious country, and the fact that as
yet no cold storage plants had been
placed on the Panama railroad steam
ers. With the eradication of the
yellow fever and the improved con-
ditipns for obtaining food the dis
satisfaction among the employees
died down somewhat, and from this
time the organization began to TAX.
or some degree of permanence. New
quarters were being built as fast as
lumber and worknnien could be pro-
cured, reseroirs ard water systems
we're being built with local sewerage
systems for the villages along the
canal and the cities of Colon and
Panama. Postofices and town gov
ernments were being established and
a rigid and efficient system of sani-
tary regulations were being enforced
While the actual work of santa
ton and cleansing was being carried
vigorously on, steam shovels, dredg-
es, locomotives, track steel, bridge
steel lumber, cement, lime par ).
all kinds of hardware and modern
machine tools were being received
by the ship load. ALI sorts of pre-
paratory work was lseing pusf.-d ansi
Immense sums of money spent. Some
excavation had been done but 81.
small an amount that the American
press began to lafnpoon and Wilt,
the administration of Mr.. Stephens
who had succeeded Mr.. Wallace III
1905 as chief engineer. This whole
sale abuse and Misrepresentation was
Very bitterly felt and resented by tn,
canal employees generally especial
ly so by those who had risked life in
the yellow fever time and were con-
slcisais that they were doing their
best to get the work done. and were
each day bettering conditions littl~
by little. Had Poultlley Bigelow
made himself generally known on the
Isthmus just a few days after the
publication of his pafanoiac letter
he would probably have met with
rouA handling by the employees.
While I resented ii as much at the
time as. anyone, this Storm of abuse
by the press. sober after-thought and
the light OF later events make me
believe that the little girls statement,
a lie is an aboniiiation unto the
Lord, and an ever present help IN
time of tsou,ole, is III a very sreae
part true. The lies of Mr.. Bigc-
low and the yellow press ,spur-ed
the work IN almost every conceivable
way Indirectly. if not directly. it
caused the visit of President Roosc
welt and was distirciT -.
The. end to the work, about the only
real injurys.being what ever part they
played in <atisiilg the resignation OF
Mr. Stevens as chief engineer in
April. 1907. This was at the time
greatly re9retted by the employees
and was regarded By very many able