El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-01-20

time our government undertook the
greatest vaccination Job of all history.
1t had the army start to work to vaceI-
nate the whole people. There were at
least 100000 sore arms on the island dur
ing my stay, and the people were so dis
abled in places that the work practically
stopped. Among the places ] visited was
a vaccine farm, where the army surgeons
had 2000 cattle, ranging from eight
get vaccine matter, taking as many as
2O0O points from a single beast Since
then the vaccination has kept up from
time to time IWenty-six thousand per
sons were vaecinated last year, and the
doctors keep their eyes on the children.
As a result there is no smallpox in Porto
Rico, and very few cases Of varioloid.
The Water Supply.
At the time we took charge the water
supply was bad almost everywhere. The
streams were used as public sewers, and
the people took their drinking water
from them. In all Of the cities 1 found
wells not FAR from the cesspOOls; and
the doctors estimated that 5000 houses
had cisteTns whose water was polluted
m that way. The custom of burying
the dead was another source of disease.
The cemeteries were crowded, and great
piles of skulls and other human bones
were found in some of them Uncle sam
has caused new cemeteries to be opened;
and he has established in remote districts
many new ones, where free burial is
given to the poor.
Porto Rico has now its own health de-
partment, with an advisory board, con-
sisting OF a health supervisor, a physi-
clan, druggist, a lawyer and civil
engineer. A great deal Is being done to
wipe out tuberculosis, and the general
condition OF the people is 100 percent
better than It has been before.
Automobile Roads for Porto Rico.
Next to the hookworm. one of the big
gest things Uncle Sam has done in Porto
hieo has been in the good roads move
ment. de has started the work, and the
people have furnished the money to do
the business.
There Is no part of the United States
winch has such a road development as
mas had Porto Rico since we took hold.
AT that time the island had 40 miles of
good highways. These were built by
the Spanlards and mainly for military
purposes They consisted of one long
road across the mountains from the
CarlODean sea to the Atlantic and some
25anch roads running here and there.
nese military roads were As good as any
drlVeWays IN the United States. They
were as smooth as the floor. without peb-
pies or Tuts, and they would their way
IN easy slopes over the mountains. In
some places they hung to the sides of the
NUS and IN others they made innumer-
able horseshoe curves so that you could
see the road above and below YOU.
went over that road in 1899, and ] was
tod II had cost about $4,000 a mile.
Today you viii find roads like that /
connecting the chief parts of Porto Rico, |
ana you can 60 in an automobile all |
over the island. The roads have cost only /
olO'OOO mrle and they are now spend /
ing about $500 per mile per annum to /
Keep them in order. The aggregate /
length OF the macadam roads IS such 4
that II they were placed end to end they |
would reach from New York almost to /
lhlcago, and that would be a better auto
mobile road than If it were composed /
Of strips from the best roads OF New
England.
In addition to this wagon roads have
been made in the mountains connecting I
with these automobile highways, and 4
new trails have been cut so that trans