Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1913-08-01

CotOn, =. I'm 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; h locks are u~nequalled in
size; the work of the department Of
sanitation is the most remarkable
ever carried out, and SO 1t goes
But there is one other feature of
the building of the canal that calls
loudly for the superlative degree-the
commissary department and the way
in which it has fed the Zone. Not fed
1t only, either, but largely clothed it
and supplied it with household neces-
stiles and ven luxuries.
The commissary department is a 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 18TH
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. 1t is esti-
mated hat the department supplies
about 10000 people daily, computing
one dependent for each employee. Z,
THE business of the department for
the fiscal years ending June so, 1912,
was Sc, 702 ,355.6S, to transact which it
is necessary to carry a stock valued
at about 5 1000, 900"
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
unending procession bring to the
docks at Cristobal the vast bulk of
supplies and as continually these are
sent out to the score of stores main
tanned 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 3:45 o'clock each morn
ing the long supply train starts out
from Colon. 1t consists of 81 cars, II
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.
In Cristobal is the biggest store of
all, and it compares well with the
huge department stores Of American
cities. There may be obtained all
kinds Of foo 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 CON
sequently such things as fine English
chinaware can be bought there at
prices far below those charged in the
states. 1t is said on the isthmus, and
generally believed, that the members
of congressional junketing parties
which from time to time go down to
inspect the canal always carry home
with them a lot of this choice por-
celain.
At the head OF the commissary de-.
partment is the subsistence officer,
Col. Eugene Wilson, whose huge phys
ical bulk is well matched by his great
executive ability. 1t would seem that
no better man could possibly have
been found for the position, for he has
in hand every detail Of the immense
business and it runs like clockwork.
Seldom is a complaint heard from
ever the most exacting of housewives,
and when one is registered it is Jul
teously received and the fault. if one
exists. promptly rectifed.
Cleanliness before godliness every
time is Colonel Wilson's motto and
though it is not posted on am wall,
every employee understands hat his
job depends primarily on his cleanli-
ness. In Cristobal 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 I'M
written rule "be clean" is adhered to
with the utmost care. Nowhere, if it
can be avoided, is there personal con-
tact with the food, and the
and ingenious automatic machines are
kept s~crupulously clean.
Now let's get back to figures, in
order to obtain some idea of the mag
nitude Of the commissary departments
operations. Take the cold storage
plant first. In it's 1920 cubic feet of
refrigerated space are kept constantly
on hand meat and vegetable supplies
for ten days at least, in some in
stances much more. Hanging in long
rows in the icy cold rooms are the
Of 400 beeves and hogs and
sheep in due proportion. In other
rooms, not so cold, are $50 tons of po-
tatoes, and vast quantities of onions,
turnips, beets, carrots, cabbages,
yams, celery, tomatoes and other veg
etables. In yet other rooms are ten
IONS of poultry, and elsewhere are
boxes of fruit without number And
this enormous supply is daily depleted
and daily renewed.
Adjoining the cold storage plant is
the bakery, in whose immense ovens
are baked each working day about