El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-06-01
A Noon, Canal Zone June las CT
- the Spanish-American war ~


taught the lesson that made possible
the construction of that great water
way across the Isthmus. When, in a
quiet little council chamber, those
three heroic army surgeons, Reed, Car
roll and Lazear under orders from the
government to attempt to discover the
cause of the prevailing epidemic OF
! yellow fever in the army of occupation
| in Cuba, decided that somebody must
offer himself as a martyr to science
to prove the theory Of the transmission
! of the disease by mosquitoes, and all
three offered their own bodies and
lives. the success of the Panama canal
was made possible.
From Death Trap to Health Resort.
One Of the men who had admins
trative charge Of giving effect to the
knowledge learned from those fateful
lessons in Havana was Col. William
c. Gorgas Afterward he was selected
as the head of the sanitation work in
connection with the digging of the
Panama canal. Here he has been won
made in Cuba have been demonstrated
on large scale in Panama, and a
tropical death trap has been converted
into a tropical health resort
The mosquito that carries the yell
low fever germ is Of the genus Steg-
omyia- It's cousins of the genus Ano-
pheles. in a similar manner, carry the
poison of malaria The mosquitoes
of these two kinds drove the French,
defeated, from the Isthmus OF Panama,
but SO insidious was their warfare that
they were never suspected of being
the real culprits. The Americans first
conquered these insect enemies and
then attacked the less formidable bar
no fof hof in haS
arated the Atlantic from the Pacific.
The Canal zone region was one Of
the best breeding places for mOsQui-
toes to be found on earth. There are
90 or more families OF mosquitoes here,
but only the yellow fever carrier end
the malaria transmitter have bad rep
utations. However, the methods used
to Danish the most dangerous ones
also drove into exile the IS varieties Of
less harmful ones-for even orthodox
persons decline to believe shat any
mosquito is entirely harmless. The
entire mosquito army has been driven
back into the jungle away from both
sides of the canal. and nowadays cne
seldom sees or hears a mosquito on
the Canal zone
Mosquito Fight Expensive.
No people ever had better provis-
people of the zone. The United States
government spends 100000 n year
for work of keeping MI: the mosquito
and maintaining the nealtn Of the
canal zone. Including he cities Of
Panama and Colon, which are embrac-
ed in the sanitary work, there are few
er than 150.O00 people living in the re-
gion of the canal. If as much money
were spent for public health in the
United States as in the Canal zone, in
proportion to population, it '-Guld
amount to $1.200.0o0.009 a year. or
about two hundred million dollars
more than is now spent by the federal
government for all purposes whatso-
ever.
The area of the Canal zone. includ-
ing the cities of Panama and Colon
is less than 500 square miles. If the
expenditure on account OF public health
were as great in the United States as
it is here in propOr-icn II area. The
annual total would amount to the stu
pendous sum OF twelve aillion dollars.
or so percent more than the value Of
all the crops of the American farms.
These things are sufficient explana-
ton Of why the Canal zone has been
made such healthy place. The money
has been forthcoming to do it. In the
born. living and dying, with but lit
tie relative effect on industry and
commerce. But here on the Isthmus
the healthfulness Of the country had TO
be assured before there could be any
reasonable possibility of doing the
work designed to be done.
The work Of the department of san
itation of the canal government con-
sists in keeping down the mosquito.
keeping out yellow fever, and caring
for the health of the Individual mem
bers of the canal force. 1t employs
a large force of men who are con-
stantly on the lookout for mosquito
breeding places, it has charge of the
quarantine, looks after sanitary mat
ters in Panama and Colon. and con-
ducts a large hospital at Ancon, q
smaller one at Colon, the island sani-
tarium of Toboga and a leper colony
at Pala Seco.
Fight Is Incessant.
Eternal vigilance is the price of
health as well as of liberty. On the
Canal zone a large force of men is at
work all the time pouring oil and
larvacides on the standing waters Of
the canal region; draining small pools
and ponds, keeping open millions Of
feet Of drainage ditcnes. cutting down
the jungle DruSn, trimming the grass
and burning trash. Fortunately the
mosquito pest is a comparatively easy
one to fight. The mosquito deposits
its eggs n water and when the baby
in the form of ''wiggle-
tails, hatch out they must remain I'M
der water a considerable time before
obtaining wings ready to venture
forth into the aerial world. But as
they must have frequent breaths of
fresh air each wiggler must make
about 5000 separate trips to the sur
face. If. on any one Of these journeys,
the baby mosquito happens to come in
contact with tiny drop of oil, its ca
reer is cut short. Therefore oil on
the surface OF the water makes mos
quito breeding impossible.
French Encouraged Yellow Fever.
When the French were in Panama
they knew nothing of the mosquito
theory of the transmission of yellow
fever and malaria-indeed, nobody
knew anything about it at that time
except one Cuban physician whom
everybody said was crazy-and the
French physicians actually encouraged
the breeding OF the stegomyia. The
yellow fever mosquito prefers clean.
clear water around a human habita
ton. The legs OF the beds in the
French hospital at Ancon were set in