Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-01-10
BACK FROM PANAMA
MR.. MCKINNEY ENTHUSIASTIC
OVER CONGRESSIONAL TRIP.
Declares That the Canal Work is
tt.r.-
Being Done in an Intelligent
and Efficient Manner.

Representative Mckinney of Illinois, one
Of the congressional party that returned
Tuesday from an over-the- holiday trip tt
the canal zone. spoke enthusiastically to-
day to a Star reporter concerning Tcoridi-
tons on the isthmus and the progress that
Is being made in the digging Of the big
ditch. --''' 80
The canal will be completed in seven
years." declared Mr.. Mckinney. Il am
not an engineer and I am not an expert
on such matters, but after spending six
days on the isthmus and observing at
close range and at first hand the. splendid
and efficient manner in which every detail
of the canal work is being carried out,
l feel no hesitancy' whatsoever in making
that prediction, Tbs. canal viii certainly
be completed within the time set"
From what Mr.. Mckinney. said the. trip
to the isthmuS must have been pleasant as
well as profitable in an informative way.
FOR SIX days the party chased back and
forth across the isthmuc. looking at this
that and the other thing, talking with canal
employees, high grade and low, climbing
nils, jumping here and there, inspecting
machinery in fact, getting as close a
view of every detail of the work as was
possible IN the limited stay on the isthmus.
Isthmian Police Force.
Mr.. Mckinney spoke in the highest terms
or praise of George w. Stanton, chief OF
police of the canal zone, who, Mr.. Nc
Kinney said, was a great big six-footer.
with door-wide shoulders, an ex-broncho
buster, who for three years was with
Gen. Wood, and for about the same length
OF time with i:uffalo Bill
lie handles the police situation in the
canal STRIP. said Mr.. Mckinney, in a
splendid, efficient way. He is a spectacular
sort of CLAP. and has slam-bang man.
Eer about hin: that seems to impress the
Panamans and the. eosmopolites to a great
extent. SLantcn doesn't know what fear
is, either During the, election last fall
he vas sh"t az score of times and re-
cetved other like attentions. But it didn't
bother HIM little bit. and they tell me
down there that :: was a Joy to sec. him
ride slap into an armed crowd of mall
contents
Efficient and Intelligent Work.
Mr.. Stevens wasn't on the isthmus dur
ing our visit said Mr.. Mckinney, but
Assistant Chief Ma1tby showed us around
and gave us every attention. We also
spent some time with General Manager
Beard of the Panama railroad and a couple
of days with Dr., Gorgas, in charge OF the
sanitation work on the strip. Every de-
partment Of the canal work seems to be
administered with a splendid degree of
efficiency. So far as the health in the
canal zone is concerned. 1 must say that
we saw but few patients in the hospitals,
and We were told that there wasn't a single
case of yellow fever.
The yellow fever mosquito has been
practically knocked out all along the line of
the canal. The same is true Of the ma
laria- carrying mosquito, and this means
great deal, for these two varieties of in
sects are domestic in their habits and sell
dom travel more than a hundred yards or
two from where they are born and raised -
Mr.. Mckinney said that, as far as he
could see, work on the canal was in the
hands Of capable, intelligent and pushing
men.
He made the emphatic declaration that
SO far as he conlu'see there was no reason
why Chinese labor should be employed in
the construction of the canal He would
give the preference. he said t. American
labor, but American labor of the pick and
United States, let alone on the IsthmuS Of
Panama. Next to that he preferred the
PIN under which the canal authorities are
al present ope,at ing-that is, the employ
ment Of laborers from Italy, Greece and
other countries. He didn't think that the
labor of the Panamans and West Indians
amounted to much
Mr. Mckinley said that General Supern-
tendent Gilbert of the Northern Pacific met
the party on the steamer going down. and
stayed with them throughout the trip. He
was able to assist the members of the
party a great deal by reason of his tech
meal knowledge of the engineering features
of the canal work. and according to Mr..
Mckinney Mr.. Gilbert said he had never
seen SO great project carried on In such
a thoroughly sys.ematIZed manner.
Among the pleasant features Of the trip
was an alligator hunt that occurred some
distance up an isthmian river with an UNI
pronouncable NAME The party bagCed a
dozen, some of them twenty feet long. At
least that is what Mr.. Mckinney said