The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1910-12-09


orange, cocoanut and sugar cane grow
VIVID over the 1sthmus. If American
energy could discover some method of
revitaiizing the shiftless natives and
inspiring them to steady work, mil
lions may be made in the cultivation
of these crops. As IT is, the natives
most, can only be induced to give
half hearted attention to a small sec
tion of land.
The sun beats down mercilessly.
Until a few years ago the native child
rem. unembarrassed, Haunted their
chubby dark charms, sans gam
ments. Even at the present time one
may occasionally see swarthy young
sters at the bath in front Of shack
in natures garb. Strangest to all
American ears, is the Spanish, French
or English accent of the negros. They
are alike in feature with the Amer
lean negros but their environment
in Trinidad, or Martinique, Guade-
loupe, or Barbados, Jamaica OF St.
kits has left the accent OF the langu
age spoken there. II is infinitely anus
ing to the Americans to encounter q
coal black negro who talks with
cockney accent.
The Isthmus is cosmopolitan
place. The Republic of Panama
through which the United States owns
ribbon of land 10 miles i'm width
from ocean to ocean--the Canal Zone
Is, of course, South American, its
people speak Spanish mostly. They
are descendants of Spanish pioneers.
Some OF them with perhaps a mixture
of Indian blood. When the United
States began work on the Canal Ameri
cans brought the English tongue, and
laborers from Greece. Italy, and var
ious West India islands. Today, in
Panama City, capital of the Republic
one can manage to get along on Eng
lish.
DR.. Fable Arosemna. president Of
the Republic speaks English fluently,
as. Indeed do the majority of the up
per classes OF Panamanians The
daughters Of nearly all prominent citi
zens are educated either In the Unit
ed States or abroad, and many Of
their sons likewise.
While Panama is an Independent
| republic gaining freedom with the
tacit knowledge, If not actual co-opera
tion of the United States. she Is bound
very close to America. Merchants
and businessmen in the Republic have
grown rich by the $50, ,0000 which
Uncle Sam spends there yearly. More
over, America exercises what is very
| likely q protectorate over the country.
The treaty by which the United States
acquires the Canal Zone guarantees
its independence. More than that Uncle
Sam undertook the task of making
the principal cities of Colon and
Panama sanitary--land pavements and
forced the destruction of pestilentical
danger spots. There have been no
cases of yellow fever on the Isthmus
near or in the Canal Zone since 1905.
The herculean task of Transforming
a belt of land racked with tropical
fevers and alive with pestilence-a job
comparable to the engineering work
on the canal. has been accomplished
| by q corps of military physicians un-
der Col. Gorgas, with wonder and
efficiency.
Today the deadly yellow fever
mosquito is practically eradicated.
There is no diminution in preventive
work, however. and swamps and
stagnant water pools all over the
Zone are regularly oiled. Panama and
Colon have been made clean and
healthy cities--the latter being trans
| formed from n veritable swamp alive
with deadly fever
The department of sanitation even
sees to It that the citizens of the free
and Independent republic of Panama
keep their streets clean, and IL re-
| qulres a sanitary and modern collec-
| ton of garbage as well as the ex-
| termination of rats and mosquitoes.
An American need not fear to live
and work on the Isthmus nowadays.
Despite the heat, there has never
heen a sun stroke in the history of
the medical corps there. In 1904
three-quarters of those on the Zone
were infected with malaria and hos
pitals were kept busy treating about
80 per cent of the canal force. Now
adays scarcely one-third of this num-
ber are affected. The eight-hour
working day prevails and the work is
from Z a. m. to IL a. m. and 1 p. m.
| to lp. m, with two hours for lunch
con and siesta. There are Y. M. C..
A. stations. churches and clubs for
the employees. The government fur
nishes quarters, light, fuel and, If de-
sired, food This latter at prices
(which appear ridiculously low COM
pared with the states. free schools,
free medical and hospital attendance
and pay salaries SO to So per cent.
above those paid for similar work In
the United States. A laundry. own
ed and operated by the government,
does work for all employees and
charges 25 to 40 per cent. less than
those in the United States. EN-
ployees receive distilled water free
1 They get Ice from the government al
a cheap figure. II they desire they
can live at the government "hotels
and pay just 30 cents for a meal
which cannot be obtained in the Uni
ted States for rs cents or 81. This
Is only open for government EN-
lployees. The worker on the cana
can smoke cigars which would cost