Las Vegas optic., 1909-11-30
A SERIOUS
MENACE TO
PANAMA CANAL
PROTEST AGAINST ce,pp,nn.
OF SANITARY DEPART
MENT
MAY DISPENSE WITH IT
Bill Now Pending Before Congress- 70
Gust Same as Part Of the Official
Commission-stil Fighting for Pos
tai Savings 6anks-siIk Dresses 40
Out of style-other Chicago News.

Chicago, Dec. 1.-Serious menace
to the Panama Canal by the crippling
of the sanitary department against
which the American Medical associa-
ton has made emphatic protest from
its Chicago headquarters, Is based
ON conditions before Colonel w. G,
Gorgas, the hero of Havana's sani-
tary regeneration, was made a mem
Der of the Panama commission and
on a bill now pending to oust the
sanitary department from the COM
mission. The exposure of that bill
was started when letter from DR..
Frederick r. Green, secretary of the
committee on medical legislation was
made public. This was addressed to
Congressman Mann, of Chicago, a
sponsor with Senator Crawford OF
South Dakota for the bill and de-
clared: can examination of the bill
shows that in section 8, providing for
the organization of the canal board,
no provision is made for a chief san
itary officer of the same rank as the
director, chief engineer and governor.
The result of the adoption of the bill
in it's present form would evidently
be the subordination of the sanitary
department to the position which 1t
occupied under the first canal board =
Congressman Mann replied: Il am
not in favor of making chief san
itary officer on the Canal Zone of the
same rank as the chief engineer. 1t
is not possible to have good govern
ment on the zone with lot of diff;
ferent heads, but under the bill which
| introduced the president has full
authority to continue the chief sani-
tary officer and give him as much au-
thority as he now has" Concerning
the need of authority for the head
of the sanitary department, The
Journal" of the American Medical
association says in it's current issue:
Largely as the result of the freedom
of action youchsafed to it, the san1-
tary department of the Isthmian Can
al zone has achieved results that to-
day not only command the applause
of the civilized world but that have
resulted in the selection of Colonel
Gorgas, the chief of that service, as
the official head of the organized
medical profession of America. Yellow
fever, the perennial dread Of the
tropics, has been banished; malaria
the real pest of the isthmus, has
been reduced to minimum; the
bubonic plague has been challenged
at the portals and denied foot
hold"
Endorse the Postal Savings Banks.
Efforts to foster public thrift in the
United States have caused the State
Board of Trade of Massachusetts to
Join the powerful commercial organi-
cations which, after investigations,
have endorsed postal savings banks.
The Postal Savings Bank League,
with headquarters in Chicago. has
been notified that this association
some time ago appointed commit
tee on postoffices and postal laws,
it's chairman being Alfred w. Dono-
van, of Rockland, leading shoe man
ufacturer who has also been one OF
the energetic pioneers in the move
ment for old age pension and indus
trial life insurance at cost to be is
sued through the savings banks ot
Massachusetts. Mr.. Donovan's com
mittee made report. whicl was
adopted, on posal savings bank, as
follows: POSTAL savings banks would
foster thrift and increase the habit
OF saving in many states and locali.
ties where opportun for deposit
ing savings do not exist They wodld
be a real benefit not only for the
people, but to the existing financial
institutions. Practically all of the
leading nations of the earth have