The chronicle=news., 1914-11-05
The Big Ditch About
Completed Permansn,
CitiesIn Course IT,. e,
ton g Facts Abou. lie
Canal.

~HE Panama Canal--ehe rig rof-
tyseven-mile ditch reaching
from the Caribbean Sea 10 the
- Pacific ocean, is almost COM
plete. When finished 1t VIII cost the
United States Government 1915. 20O.-
900. OF this amount about Sla0.000,-
900 was paid out for salaries and
-iWaKes. $3.50, lola.
Tho Americans began work on May
,4th, 1904. with FAC employees. These
were Increased from TINS TO time until
the number at the buses, period
reached 44.G6l. Between five and six
thousand of the workers were Amer
leans who allied such positions As eng
nsers. foremen, clerks ana policemen.
or these III. greater number came
from Pennsylvania. New York was =
close second H. furnishing employees
for the cana! ard OH, taird Men
from eighty-seven countries worked
on the ditch as iabnrers.
The average temperature OF the
Canal Zone. which comprises AS
square miles, is SIS degrees. The vege-
tatIon is tropical and the rainfs.ll
heavy. the annual average on the ! /
lantic side being l3o inches. ahd OF.
the Pacific 70 inches. These cpndi-
tlons coupled with excessive HUMILITY
naturally brought illness to the nortn-
erner. and during the early daya ...any
of the workers 0ieu from maiarU. In
1905 there was Il yellow fever epidemic
and thirty seven employees Were
among it's vir'lIas a.n Colonel
william G. Coz. . ,H.I q, Panama TO
clean up, the % a.... 9st5 +a,94 per
1000. In 1914 % 81. l,.r H.4css 1t
was 21,1s. cut duw!, a.. one
half. This decrease IL a.u .s,.J rate
was brought about 10y cles".a- NJ the
elites, killing the mosquituea ana en-
forcing a rigid quarantine. =. .,.''u
hundred employees were rcaH ln
tho sanitary department to carr nut
the reform in cleanliness. and i COST
the Government Sl6,500,VOO TO make
the place a livabie one fo- The Whit
man. The money was well spent, Tor
!. is doubtful whether the canal could
have been built at all 1. the sanitary
squad had relaxed its vigilance
During the period extending ovc'
ten years of American rule on tho
Zone about SIX thousand employees
died, eleven hundred being Killed by
accidents, such as dynamite explosions.
being run over by trains. hit by cranes.
etc.
Each employee was given thirty
Aays' sick leave each year with pay
and free medical! attention. Twenty
four out of every thousand employees
have been constantly on sick leave,
the most of them in the hospitals
which have a capacity Of about twelve
hundred patients. Six weeks vaca-
ton with pay was allowed to the
American employees.
Canal Commission Abolished.
On April first of this year the 18th
milan Canal Commission was abolished
and the permanent organization for
the operation and maintenance OF the
canal was put into effect, with Colonel
George w. Goethals as Governor.
Ever since the canal work was tax en-
over by the Americans Canal Com
mission has existed. From time &c
zine changes were made by the re-
tirement of different members. Their
was, however, little change made in
the policy of that body after 1905
when Colonel GoethaIs became it,
chairman. The labors of the Commits
sion were by no means easy. and many
times their plans We're unjustly al.
tackled by a hostile press Time anG
again muck rakers visited the cana
and when they We're unable to ind thu
slightest trace of graft they set abou
to criticise certain plans of the canal
For instance. the Gatun Dam was re.
ported as sinking. This is one o:
worlds greatest pieces Of engine
and was set up to dam the c.
River and form Gatun Lake, tn
gest artificial body of waller ..
world. The construction of III
alone cost thirteen and one hal
lion collars. 1t was commenS d
1906, pand finished in 1914 For
first two or three years the par
"a 10 236 w. Main Street