The Leavenworth echo. [volume] (Leavenworth, Wash.) 1904-current, 1914-04-17
A COUNTRY EDITOR
Sees PANAMA CANAL
And Tells the Echo Readers of His Trip
and What lie Sees and Hears

/ lHdL aS II may ne Is Credited Win lew
good ones-some excellent. He ever
had that rare quality, exercised by few,
of admitting that there were things he
could not understand, and among them
the ways Of ship al sea.
Solomon has been dead these many
years but his perplexities in this regard
still obtain.
The way of four funnel twin screw
is just as mysterious today as were those
OF the ancient barques which the men
of Tyre guided over the Aegean sea in
Solomon's time.
But if we don't understand the way
Of ship we can at least grasp the why
Of ship. This ship of ours is going
to sea because way to the south OF US
men are tearing into the spine Of con-
tinent and they need more supplies to
assist in the final operation. In remov-
ing the vertebrae of a hemisphere many
accessories are required, and it is by
the ships of the sea that these are sup
piled. This ship of ours is loaded with
provisions and supplies for the army Of
10000 who have labored long and well
at Panama.
| Stored away below the matches are
thousands OF tons Of freight, some for
Panama and some for the island peoples
of the tropics. Whisked from the dock
by the spidery arms Of the steam wench
and dropped below as gently as eggs in
a basket go the boxes and bales, an
endless array Of packages, till one won
ders where they manage. to store them.
This ship OF ours, while staunch and
true and ably manned. is by no means
large ship as ships Of today are meas
ed but it is nevertheless some baby of
the sea; holding below her matches about
the same tonnage as contained in load
ed freight train one hundred cars in
length.
The part Of the cargo which interest
ed me the most was the cold storage
department where the food is kept for
the table. I inquired OF the Captain
whether he was sure he had enough to
last and he said he thought so. Two
days later I sent him word by my bed
room steward that he might as well
throw it overheard as wouldn't need
it. He sent back that / was doing
/ very we'll tightening cargo and thought
he could carry the rest.
The most interesting part of boats
cargo is the human cargo. AS we
Journey towards Panama those who fol-
| low this series will find if they find in
terest at all, that it pays to get acquaint-
ed with the passengers as we'll as the
places along the route, and will take
this opportunity to look over the pas
senger list. There are several booked
for the cruise that is, from New York
to New York, sticking to the boat and
landing as occasion permits The points
they visit will be Santiago, Cuba; King
ston, Jamaica; Colon, Port Limon Costa
Rico; back to Colon and home via Kings
ton, where cargo of fruit is taken on.
Among the cruisers we find an editor Of
one of New York's large dailies, ac-
companied by his wife and daughter.
A party from Massachusetts,, among
them young lady from Lynn. who en-
tered a contest to win. She won it you
bet, and caught in her net, the hearts
Of all of the men.
Bound for Cuba was a travelling man
from Boston and young Englishmau
who was locating on large sugar plan
tation. For Kingston, couple of young
men from Pittsburg, on sightseeing
bent, and a couple Of tired business
men from Springfield, Mass, on rest
excursion, which they took playing golf
under the tropic sun, 100 proof. Also
for Kingston was Hamburg-American
marine engineer whose special hobby
was the construction Of dry docks, and
a mechanical. engineer from Omaha,
whose mission was the construction Of
an immense starch plant in the north
part OF the island. This particular starch
is derived from the casava plant. 1t is
a new industry for the Island and an
experiment. The starch is used in the
calico and cotton print industry, and
the starch hitherto employed comes