Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1908-08-24
PANAMA CANAL
FAST NEARING
COMPLETION
MARVELLOUS PROGRESS
ON GIGANTIC PROJECT
Health Conditions in One Time
Plague Spot Compare Well
With Most Favored Portion
of United States.

OF United States,
lby Morning journal special leased wIreI
oyster Bay n w. Aug. % Prcsl-
dent Roosevelt today made public re-
ports submitted to him on August 6
lay special commission consisting of
James Bronson Reynolds. samuel b.
DunnellN and Henry Beech Needham.
regarding conditions in Panama. Tho
commission was appointed Apri 26
last
That the president is pleased with
the report Is shown IN letter which
he sent to each member OF the com-
mission on Friday
He expresses particular pleasure
over the Fact that the commission up
holds the administration of Colonel
George Goethals. chairman Of the Is
thmiau Canal commission. and the
president has had copy mailed to
Colonel Gocthals requesting that the
recommendation made by the commits
sion be put into effect Immediately so
far as possible. The president win
submit the report to congress with
appropriate recommendations
The commission reports that IT I'm
9pccted the entire line of the canal eN-
caNatiou from la Boca, the southern
cor Pacific terminus, to CrlstobaL the
northern or Carribean terminus ana
Travelled through the excavation seY-
cral times, interviewing the men at
work"
Indicating the scope of the inspec-
tion the commission reports that II
visited the government workshops,
construction plants, warehouses ship
yards dredges, commissary stores, liv-
ing quarters. that Is hotels. messes,
kitchens, camps, schools club houses.
courts, police stations ana the con-
Nalcscent home at Tabuga,"
President RooscVelrs letter 10 the
investigators says:
81 doubt If there Il any piece of
| work undertaken on behalf of the Am-
cricun people In recent years OF which
the American people have more rea-
son to be- proud than of the work hith-
rrto done on the Panama canal
"The success has been astounding
Five years ago. whom We undertook
the task, no sane man would have
dared to hope for the results which
have already been achieved The work
itself has been advanced more ex-
pcdiously than we had ventured to
hope, and the rapidity of the rate Of
progress has steadily increased
Meanwhile the treatment of hy-
Eionic conditions on the isthmus has
been such as to make il literally the
model for an work OF the Kind In
tropical countries Five years ago
the isthmus of Panama was bNWord
for unhoalthincss of the most deadly
kind. At present the canal zone is
one of the healthlost places on the
globe. ANA the work which Is being
prosecuted with such tremendous
energy is being prosecuted under con-
ditions so favorable to the health and
well being of the workers that the
mortality among them Is abnormally
small.
FINALLY, in addition To the extreme
efficiency of the work under Colonel
Goethals ana his assistants ana the
extraordinary hygienic success achieved
under Dr Gorgas. there is the further
and exceedingly gratifying fact that
on the isthmus the United States gov
crnmcnt has been able to show Itself
a model employer. There are mat
tcrs 10 correct of course. as your trip
showed, but on the other hand it is
true that the United States Is look
ing after the welfare, health ana COM
fort of those working for It as no 9TH
cr government has ever done i'm work
of like character
In prefacing its report. the COM
mission says
Work on the construction OF the
isthmian canal has PASSED through two
stages. those ot planning and uf prepa-
ration % is now in the third stage,
the stage of construction.
"Hoth the earlier stages required the
presence of % large working force.
necessarily quarterrd in temporary
,p1 ruals.4hIft aecommuF ~ Be-
cause of these conditions nevitable
at tn, outset. early critics of the canal
enterprise mistook the initial and
temporary outht for the permanent
equipment
"Thr terrible SOURCE OF yellow
foyer. against which the French strug-
slrd in vain. the filth and pest breed
ug state of the principal Panamau
towns the rough lumber camps and
other hardships Of the first two eras
jpv. been eliminated through the brill
liant and persistent work of the de-
iarment of sanitation the depart
ucnt OF municipal engineering and the
,mldmg department. To-day We hnd
.cuow fewer driven from the isthmus.
Malaria and pneumonia greatly re-
iuccd and a high average of health
established
"Thc governments immediate object
in the islhmua IS - huila thc canal
ma provide living quarters for tenn
1orary enterprise hut b has also cree
ited comfortable homes and well or
s1nfyad socinl communities for its