The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1911-03-01

rived in Boston.
Governor Draper is a practical man
The report which he makes OF the
progress of work on the canal. after
going over the ground and looking in
to every detail for his own satisfaction
is reproduced as follows from the col
umns of the Boston Globe:
l had an opportunity to form a gem
eral impression of the construction OF
the Panama canal. its engineering
problems and the greater question OF
sanitation. l made trip from ocean
to ocean ON the railroad and stopped
at the Culebra cut the Gatun dam
and the locks. seeing also the housing
of the employees and the hospitals.
knew that no engineering project
was too stupendous for our American
engineers so long as they could work.
or keep men strong enough to do the
work. Until one has ridden through
the canal zone and seen the natural
conditions which breed discase-the
tropical vegetation, the stagnant pools
and the miasmic mist the injecting
mosqutoes-he can form no idea of
the wonderful work the United States
government has done in transforming |
the isthmus into place where men can
work hard and retain good health.
] saw thousands of men working
with pick and shovel in the Culebra
cut and apparently they were as
strong and welded their implements
with as much vim as one Of our hear
ty laborers exhibits on brisk dag in
the north. Yet they were working in
a territory so rank with growth and
50 permeated with disease germs that
as we rode along on the railroad one
of our party said: I'm afraid
to put my head out of the window and
breathe this terrible moisture"
The secret of the health of these
anal workers is disclosed by glanc-
ng at tho hills where their homes are. c
The elevations chosen as the sites for a
he dwellings are bare of vegetation,
md are kept clear Of growth. Screens =
,eep out the mosquitoes and other "a
isease injecting insects. b
Every pool, every bit Of standing +
iater, every damp place has been !,
leaned out and treated with a chem !,
al preparation which checks the
readings Of mosquitoes. The precau-
ons taken have reduced the posi- IL
ilities Of Infection to a minimum. =
The great public works, the cuts, =
lie dam, the locks, the harbors on the h.
tlantic and Pacific ends of the canal. II
re all very impressive from an engi- ll'
eering standpoint To my mind. u,
owever, our greatest achievement in 9,
anama has been the solution of the m
initary problem. Of
When you see our healthy workmen, CT
lr fine houses and hospitals and then y
ok across at the abandoned French IN
rrickse end diggers. rusty and over ut
own with rank verdure, and notice pr
e graveyard on the hill where thou III
nds Of men were buried under the
peless French regime. the contrast
presses you with the greatness Of an
e achievement Of our sanitary engi- IS
ers. lis
Everybody with whom I talked ~
out the canal was optimistic and Oh
re Of the commercial success Of the ad
oject. All engaged in the construc- at
n are encouraged and believe that We
will be finished in a reasonable 90,
ne. From what have seen am thi
tain that the success Of the canal cal
assured. =
What the ex-governor reports may &
II reassure doubters and arouse g
de in the breast Of every Ameri- g