Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1908-09-11
PANAMA CANAL.
Columbia Lady Interestingly Describes
Immensity of the Work.
Columbia State.

|
the Isthmus of Panama, that slender
strip of land which is today the most
| important undeveloped spot in the
world and is. perhaps, one of the busi-
est places on the globe just now. Miss
Gasque is a niece of Mr.. Jackson Smith,
former Columbian and until recently
| a member Of the Panama canal COM
mission, and during her stay in the
canal zone she was at the home OF Mr.
Smith at Culebra, within a short dis
tance of the famous Culebra cut.
She was able to see the great work
that is being carried on by the United
States government close at hand and
thus became possessed of much 1nfor-
nation concerning the canal itself and
life upon the isthmus. Miss Gasque
talks Interestingly of the undertaking
and brings close home the work that
has been the dream of nations for
many years-the joining Of the At
lantic and Pacific.
"The first thing that strikes one in
taking a first view of the work being
Gasque, is the immensity Of the un-
dertaking. In the first place, l believe
every one has an idea that the isthmus
is strip of level country and that it
would thus be comparatively easy for
a. canal to be dug through it. But
this is by no means the case. Tine
isthmus is a 50-mile stretch of rolling
hills and rocky land, and this makes
the undertaking of building the canal
all the more difficult. 1t is almost
impossible to describe how great the
undertaking really is and one is stag |
gered when the situation is viewed.
AN idea of the work being done may
be gained, when it is known that 100
immense steam shovels are kept going
all the time 1t is stated that 100000
cubic feet of earth and rock are re-
moved each month. But better idea
OF the work is shown in that 500 train
loads Of material dug from the canal
are being handled every day. In the
afternoons the workmen begin to un-
load and when you think Of 500 train
loads passing your house you can i'm
agine the noise. 1t is impossible to
hear one another converse if you are
living anywhere near the railroad that
runs within the cut where the canal
isibeing dug.
This Culebra cut is about the most
difficult feat that the engineers have
met with in the construction of the
canal thus far. The cut is through a |
high mountain and the bigness Of this
job at this point battles description.
One has to go and see the work being |
done to appreciate the undertaking of
cutting through one of these mountains
and the work is not nearly done yet.
Another gigantic work is the building |
Of the Gatum dam on the Colon-which
is the Atlantic-side Of the isthmus. |
OF course, it will be necessary to re- |
build portions Of the Panama railroad,
which. now crosses the canal at points
and this railroad will be constructed |
throughout parallel with the canal. |
This is considered to be a big work
that is yet to be accomplished.
"Of the working force Of $4,000 per-
sons on the construction of the canal
5000 are Americans, 1000 are foreign
ers and the remainder are negroes, in
Guiding Jamaica negroes and Panama |
ians. Wages are good on the isthmus
and when you consider the small living
expenses the men are well off in that |
part of the world. And Panama is not
so different from other parts Of the
globe Before the work on the canal
proper was started an army Of workers
were sent to the isthmus to build
homes and provide for the coming of
the canal builders. There are already
in the neighborhood Of $500 buildings,
including office buildings, dwellings and
store houses of every description. There
are four water systems to supply the
men employed by the government and
those living in the towns on the 18TH
mus. All the modern equipments such
as electric lights, railroad shops, ice
factories, great bakeries and other util- |
ity plants are in the canal zone.
Low Cost of Living.
With a fair rate Of wage those
working on the isthmus are in good
circumstances, for their living expenses
are not very high. In the first place,
the homes are furnished those in the
employ of the United States govern |
ment. This means that electric lights,
fuel and other utilities are furnished,
together with the house. There are
married quarters and bachelor quar-
ters in the canal zone and the bach |
elor homes are furnished just the same
as the others. Meals are furnished at
the hotels at 80 cents. This gives
living expense Of about $50 month.
Panama City, the capital, is the
largest town on the isthmus, having
about $1,000 inhabitants. The other
towns do not average over 1000 inhab-
itants. The towns are built close to-
gether and one can stand on noun
tain near one of the cities and see the
others in the distance.
The isthmus is now in good condi-
ton and as far as the health of the
people living on it is concerned II is as
good as the average in any other part
of the world There are two big hos
pitfalls at Panama City, where the sick
are cared for Yellow fever has not
been known on the isthmus for sew
eral years and precaution has been
taken to keep away the dreaded dis
ease. Should a single case break out
on the isthmus every one there would
leave so afraid are those living there
of contracting the fever.
1T has been imagined for long
time that vegetables could not be rails
ed in Panama, but several crops have
now been successfully cultivated and
importations of vegetables are growing
less each year. Tomatoes, lettuce,
garden peas, beans and other vegeta-
bles are grown and are as good or
better than any in the states. Meats
are shipped to the isthmus in cold
w, md