Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-01-29
FIGHTING PESTS"
IN CANAL ZONE
Jos. A. COrrigan, of This City,
Senior Sanitary Inspector,
Tells of Work.
NEARLY LOST HIS LIFE
FROM YELLOW FEVER
Returning to big Ditch" After
Visit to Family
Here.

Joseph A. Corr1gan, young New
arker who has put in nine years
fighting mosquitoes and other pests
on the Isthmus of Panama, will sail
for the canal zone tomorrow. He Is
senior sanitary inspector on the 18TH
mus and has been here on a brief
leave of absence. He has been the
guest of his father-in-law, Francis
w. Murray, of 81 Providence street.
Since he returned to Newark three
weeks ago, Mr.. Corrigan has received
a number of invitations to take up
the work of mosquito determination
here. One of the invitations comes
from the Louisiana authorities. An
other is from promoters of a big land
proposition in Florida. So far Mr..
Corrigan has not announced his in
tention in regard to the offers. He
expects to continue in the Federal SER
vice at Panama for some time at
least, as he has received the guaran-
tee of a position with the permanent
force that the government is about to
create, coincident with the opening of
the Panama canal.
Mr.. Corrigan is one of the right
hand men of Colonel w. C. Gorgas,
chief sanitary officer, whose work in
cleaning up the Panama district has
gained him worldwide renown. The
young Newarker has been in the
thick of the fight from start to finish.
At one time it was thought Mr. Cor
rigan might be. victim of the in
sidious dangers of the zone, for he
was stricken with yellow fever. He,
however. came through safely, being
one of the few Americans who fell
before the scourge of the tropics, but
al. 10 6oh fhrn1tOb he eli 70
good health again.
1t was in the Twelfth ward that
Mr.. Corrigan grew up. He was edu-
Gated in st. Aloysiuss Parochial
School. For many years his family
lived on Waydell street. He was
twenty-five years old when he
passed the examinations for the
Panama service and was appointed
an inspector He reached Panama
just nine years ago this month.
When Mr.. Corrigan reached the
canal zone ON January IL. 1905, he was
assigned to the eradication of yellow
fever. This disease was reaping it's
largest number of victims during that
year. Inspector Corrigan was strick-
en- in July, six months after his ap-
pointment.
Cases Called Hopeless.
For a time the government physi-
clan attending the stricken inspector
regarded his case as a hopeless one,
but a strong constitution enabled the
Newarker to battle off the fever. On
August 81, 1905, he was recovered
sufficiently to make a trip home and
recuperate here. The following Oc-
tober he returned to his work at
Panama and has continued there up
to the present time. Speaking of the
work done by Colonel Gorgas, the
Newarker said:
when I made my first trip to the
isthmus after being appointed We
found ourselves up against the hard
est sort of a problem in trying to
eliminate yellow fever and malaria
There was absolutely no sanitation.
There was no regular provision for
a drinking water system or for sewer
disposal The only water obtained
was from wells. 1t was sold to the in
habitants in kerosene oil tins.
"At the beginning of the dry season
this well water sold at ten cents for
i've gallons. Toward the close of the
dry season the water was so scarce
that it sold for twenty cents per five
gallons
'sThis was the condition of affairs
at the City of Panama when we
reached there. This place had popu-
lation of 10000 at the time. The peo-
pie were without a sewer disposal
plant or a sewer main.
There are seventeen districts in
the canal zone, and each of these dis
tricts at present is well furnished
with all the sanitary equipment of
modern metropolis. have had charge
of sanitary corps at the districts of
Tabernilla, Pedro Miguel and Gutan.
AT present / am stationed at Gutan,
which includes an area of tWenty-one
miles.
The sanitary department, under
the leadership of Colonel Georges, has
equipped each district with a water
system and sewer mains. These ar
rangements with other systematic
methods, has changed the isthmus
from a place of deadly menace to a
health resort all within ten years.
When the Americans took possession
of the zone yellow fever was epidemic.
Sire 1906 yellow fever has disap-
peared from the isthmus.
1T was estimated that the death
rate from yellow fever and malaria in
1905 reached as high as 10 per cent.
The present rate is fifteen hundredths
of one per cent. That shows the re-
suits of applied sanitation.
Work of Inspectors.
THE work of the sanitary inspec-
tors consists of much the same cali
bre of work as is done by the local
mosquito determination commissions.
OF course the mosquito chasers here
are not obliged to collect garbage
and cut grass Like the local men,
we watch the drain pipes, sewers and
other breeding places of the pests.
1.-THE high grass in the canal zone
troubled us great deal at first You
see the grass grows thirty-six inches
in one month on the isthmus. An i'm
portant part of our work was to see
that the grass was kept short. 1t