The copper era and Morenci leader., 1913-11-14

Colon, c. Z.|In writing or talking
 about the Panama Canal the superla-
 tive degree is very likely to be over
 worked. The canal itself Is the big
 gest thing of the kind ever under
 taken; the locks are uneQualled in size; the work of the department of
 sanitation is the most remarkable
 ever carried out. and so it goes.
 But there is one other feature of
 the building of the canal that calls
 loudly for the superlative degree-the
 commfssary department and the way
 in which it has fed the Zone. Not fed
 1t only, either, but largely clothed it
 and supplied 1t with household neces-
 sities and even luxuries.
 The commissary department is de
 partment of the Panama railroad,
 which is owned by the United States
 and of which Chairman Goethals is
 president. As officially stated:
 'The commissary department Of the
 Panama railroad is operated by the
 subsistence department of the Isth-
 milan Canal commission for the pur- pose of supplying employees of the Panama railroad and Isthmian Canal commission and their families with foodstuffs, wearing apparel and house hold necessities. and also supplying food for the hotels, hospitals, messes, and kitchens operated by the Isthmian
 Canal commission and for the United States soldiers and marines located on the Isthmus of Panama, and ships of the United States navy. It is esti- mated that the department supplies about 10000 people daily, computing one dependent for each employe.
 ''The business of the department for the fiscal years ending June 30, 19I7. was $6,702, ,355.68, to transact which 1t at about $1.OO0. GOO"
 That sounds decidedly prosaic. but in truth the operations of this great bust ness machine are almost romantic. The vessels of the Panama railroad in amending procession bring to the docks at Cristobal thS vast bulk 6f supplies and as continually these are sent out to the score of stores main tained by the department along the route of the canal and at Porto Bello. Every evening each storekeeper tele- graphs to the headquarters in Cristo- bal the list of supplies of which he Is in need, and during the night the cars are loaded. At 8: 45 o'clock each morn ing the long supply train starts out from Colon. It consists of 21 cars, Il of which are refrigerated. and the food and ice are distributed along the route SO that they may be delivered to the quarters of families by 8 o'clock.
 r. l-- - all, and it compares well with the huge department stores of American cities. There may be obtained all kinds of food stuffs. American and European; clothing for men and wo- men, furniture, household wares, sup plies for travellers, cigars and cigar ettes-indeed almost anything one might call for except intoxicating drinks, Articles from foreign lands. being imported by the government it. self, of course pay no duty, and cop seQuently such things as fine English chinaware can be bought there at prices far below those charged in the states. It Is said on the isthmus, and believed, that the members I of congressional junketing parties which from time to time go down to inspect the canal always carry home with them 8 lot of this choice DOT o0lain
 At the head of the commissary de- partment Is the subsistence on1cer, Col. Eugene Wilson. whose huge phys Ical bulk is we'll matched by his great executive ability. It would seem that no better man could possibly have l e. R1 T. h~o In hand every detail of the immense-I business and it runs like clockwork. | Seldom Is a complaint heard from | oven the most exacting of housewives, | and when one is registered it is cour- | teously received and the fault, If one | exists, promptly rectifed.
 Cleanliness before godliness every | time' is Colonel Wilson's motto and | though 1t is not posted on any wall, every employe understands that his | lob depends primarily on his cleanH- ness. In Crfstobal are the great cold | storage plant. bakery, coffee plant. ice | plant, ice cream plant, corned beef plant, butter printing plant and laun- dry, and in every one of them the un- written rule "be clean" is adhered to with the utmost care. Nowhere, if it ,an be avoided, Is there personal con-,I tact with the food, and the numerous md ingenious automatic machines are kept scrupuiously clean.
 Now let's get. back to figures, in ,rder to obtain some idea of the mag litude of the commissary depax<ment's1 operations. Take the cold storage plant first In it's 1S2, ,230 cubic feet of space are kept constantly ,n hand meat and veRetabla suDpIios