The Washington herald., 1915-05-16

1t was q gruesome reply. but II was
not without its appropriateness. for those
wero days Of sruesome things. When
John F. Wallace was appointed chief en-
gineer Of the canal In 1904 he took his
personal coffin with him from New Y>rk
to Panama
In those days when the Isthnus still
was jungle and when the canal hardly
was more than a fond dream. funeral
professions continually were passing In
the streets of Colon. Panama, and An
con. and groups Of mourners were gatls.
cred at the doors of the churches frcsd
morning until night. Coffins consigned
to undertakers In the various working
camps were piled up at the stations Of
tho Panama Railroad in such numbers
that the authorities ordered them to be
stored out Of sight for fear Of their ef-
feet upon the public mind.
5000 Died in Hospital.
At Ancon q building was pointed out
In the hospital grounds. where, Il was
asserted. 5000 patients had died under
tne French regime. For years there
STOOD on Ancon Hill q structure known
as La Folie Dingler. or Dingler's Folly
q most gruesome yellow fever memorial.
rms house once had been the residence
OF Jules Dingler. first director general OF
canai construction Hnder the French
regime who took his wife, son and
oauehter with him to the Isthmus. After
mis- house was completed and furnished.
but before he could occupy II the wife
son and daughter fell victims to yellow
fever. Dinglerseturned OF France. where
ne soon died-of . broken heart. II is
said
Colon was called by the French s'the
white mans graveyard" The people oP
this and other communities depended
largely on unprotected cisterns for their
water supply. filled during the wet sea-
son, and on barrels filled from neighbor-
Ing streams. and breeding places for
mosquitoes. The filth Of ages had accu-
mulated around the dwellings and in the
streets, undisturbed except when washed
away by torrential rains. Pools Of stag
nant water had existed for years in
proximity to dwellings. and insect-breed-
Ing swamps lay undrained adjacent to
the cities and many Of the towns
such were the physical conditions at
Panama when the railroad men under
Mr.. Shonts assumed control. and the
marvel is that in two short years they
succeeded IN banishing disease and
plague. assembling q great force Of Ia
oorers' deciding upon a definite engineer
Ing program. converting the wilderness
into place Of comfortable habitation,
and gathering for excavation work cost
ly and modern machinery from the near
est base Of supply. 1900 miles away.
Mr.. Pepperman points out that the con-
Of the canal was the greatest
engineering project ever accomplished,
not primarily because Of the intrtcacy
and dificulty Of the undertaking, but
because of its magnitude and the fact
that the work had to be started amid
such unfavorable surroundings He In
Inmates that the most difficult work was
not the actual removal Of the dirt from
he cut. but rather the preliminary work
'r sanitation and preparation undertak-
N and accomplished by the railroad
men.
Among the possible future improve
nents to the canal, according TO M.
'epperman. will be the building. or rath-
r digging. Of the Tiger Hill cut-off," as
t is known to engineers. This Ia q tan
rent or strait sailing line extending
rom the head Of the Gatun Locks to the
Culebra Cut. 1t would shorten the dis
ance by three and q half miles over the
present route by Q substitution of . sin
yle straight route sixteen miles long for
'ne composed Of five short courses, hav-
ng total length Of nineteen and one
half miles.
Would Increase Safety,
1T not only would reduce the time OF
'assage by shortening the distance"
'ays the author. bat would add to the
'afetly Of navigating q vessel through
he canal. Had the railroad engineer
'enained In charge. It would not require
bold man to predict that such q line
would now be in operation, as the educa-
ion Of the railroader is to lessen dis
ance and straighten out his route, and
ie would more than likely. as the plans
Il the canal developed. have seen the ad-
Of this change that is SO
trikinsiy shown when the maps of the
QUITE are carefully studied"
Another possible change that Il is be-
ieved time will remedy. according to Mr..
'epperman. is the abandonment of the
'edro Miguel lock and the duplication Of
he Gatun flight at Afiranores. When IL
vas determined to move the locks back
rom La Boca to Mirahores. the Pedro
diguel locks also should have been
moved. in the opinion Of the author.
"As combined flight" he says, "they
you'd have cost less to build, maintain
nd operate, having less masonry and
ever lock gates. Such an arrangement
Eould cause ship to make one less stop
nd start In passing through the canal
would have done away with the little
dirahores Lake extending from the low
r gate Of the Pedro Miguel lock to the
ead gate Of the Mirahores. which Ii
My about one and one-haH miles in
ength. and in which q ship has to start,
ct under headway. and stop. In its
lace, had the Gatun flight been dupli-
ated. there would have been Q larEer
AXE with about thirty feet more Of
epth. forming an extension Of tho
'ulebra Cut. which by its area would
ave materially lessened the current In
his cut while the lock chambers were
Hing
= A second article - this boSk win
DDear In next Sundays Herall.
Addresses Nu-So.Iit Club.
Superintendent Of Schools Ernest L