Newspaper Page Text
PAGE FOUR
THE GREAT WORK BEING DONE AT PANAMA
Whut Mr. Taft Saw on His
Recent Visit. Great
Progress All Along the
Canal. The Labor Prob
lem Which Has Disap
peared. The Isthmus Now
Almost a Health Resort.
(From the New York Times.)
COLON.—AII that Mr. Taft did and
the very little that the < or.sulting en
gineer* *ald during their eleven days'
stay upon the isthmus has been fully !
told In tabic dispatches. This Is to re- :
■ord some of the numerous points of j
IntoreM which came under the obscrv- I
ation of the official visitors and of the j
unofficial observer* attached to the |
party, matters Interesting enough In j
themselves, but not of sufficient news |
Importance to warrant the employment
of cable tolls.
Much has been written and said of
lute of Japanese sanitation ns it was
displayed during the war with Russia.
After looking at the work that has been
accomplished In this most renownol of
fnvor-breeding spots- at the, hard-won
triumph that transformed a humid ro
« gion, swarming with mosquitos, thick
with pestiferous swamps and Jungle
growth nnd fetid with malaria, into a
close-cropped rone, one kepi us clean ns
Is Central park, with no mosquitos and
with no plac 0 left wherein they might
breed, withal a p»n< o as healthful as
is the majority of the cities in the Uni
teu States, then one is J#l to express
hd opinion that It is high time to turn
attention from Japanese sanitation for a
moment nnd see what American sani
tation has accomplished here.
The sanitary service of this canal rone
extend* over a territory ten miles wldo
and forty-two miles In length. Camps
and settlements are scattered alofig the
entire route, and there are many places
that yet need to be watched. Those are
all under surveillance, and under ft sur
veillance so ceaseless and vigilant that
never a piece of refuse Is left to decay
and never a stagnant pool goes with
out Its daily drenching with oil.
Along the route of the canal and
about the settlements and ramps one
sees the sanitary squad collecting and
burning refuse with more assiduous care
than Is displayed by the White Wings
of New York In denning the streets of
thnt metropolis. And Wherever rain
water has collected from nny * sudden
downpour, (here also will you seo men
sprinkling oil over the surface.
When the United States government
decided to assume control of the con
st ruction of the cans I It at once became
apparent that the screening of living
quarters was a matter of vital neces
sity. For then If had been discovered
that the propagation of yellow fever nnd
malaria was by means of certain kind*
of mosquitos, and that It was necessary
thnt the houses he protected against
them until such time as the extermina
tion of Insects In the vicinity of the
buildings could ho accomplished.
This was ospedfii.y necessary In the
cose of the mosquito propagating yellow
fever. This breed of mosquito is usual
ly found In cities and towns, and Its
disposition is to stay near the place
where It was hatched. The malarial mos
quito, on the other hand. Is a country
or swamp bred mosquito, and usually
makes its appearance in the afternoon
or after dark. Light attracts It, and
it therefore becomes necessary to adopt
lom« menus for protecting the Inmates
of the houses.
There were two conditions to he met.
On© was the yellow fever mosquito
wlthtn the houses and content to re
main thors, and outside was the ma
larial mosquito, attracted by the light
and trying to gain entrance. The mos
quitos already within the building might
be exterminated by fumigation. But
thera wras no way to prevent those with
out from entering uxcept tjy screens.
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City and State
GROUP OF NOTED ENGINEERS WHO
WENT TO PANAMA WITH MR. TAFT
•% '' -*'*jfc>.^fr^A^nßwPf^«
Lv ' ' = ■ '
Panama canal engineers. From left to right, standing, are—Messrs. Ran
dolph, Allen and Hazcr. Those sitting are, from left to right, Messrs. Davis,
Schuyler, Freeman and Chairman Stearns.
With this in view the typo of houses
that tho Americans theh set about
erecting were not only built to bo whol
ly mosquito proof, but at the same time
were Intended to represent tho last word
in tropical sanitary architecture. It was
realised that wherever there was an il
luminated door or window there also
would be mosquitos heating against the
glass or screen and ready to swarm In
if cither l»o opened.
So instead of placing screens In doors
and windows, the houses were built witli
verandas extending all around them, atul
to these were attached screens that ex
tend the entire length. The screens are
practically useless now, for there are
no mosquitos to be forced off. [tut when
the work on the canal was first begun
there were so many myriads of them
swarming about the gone that the sani
tary officers frankly say that without
that early screening of houses the sick
ness find mortality might have run so
high as to have seriously Jeopardized
the enterprise of building tho canal. For
it was this pest and its deadly spread
of yellow fever and malaria which so
depopulated the army which France hub
seat to tho Isthmus, and which sub
sequently so largely influenced that na
tion in abandoning tlie enterprise.
Having thus disposed of tlie malarial
mosquito the sanitary corps of the canal
commission turned its attention to the
yellow fever miuqulto*, and by its order
there were house-to-house fumigation, a
filling in of all pools wehre stagnant
water had been wont to collect, a thor
ough cleaning up of every place that
neelcd cleansing, the establishment of a
system of drainage, and tlie detail of a
corps to sprinkle with oil such bodies of
water as could not he well drained.
Reservoirs were established nnd the
watersheds were patrolled to see thnt no
contamination cop Id reach the Impound
ed waters. In the City of Panama, a
complete sower system was Installed, tho
stroots wore cleared of debris, graded
and paved with vitrtflesd brick laid In
concrete, i
As a result of this work of sanitation
the sickness and mortality, which onco
ran so high, have now' fallen to nhout
twenty deaths In each thousand, about
the same as that of New York.
There Is an old and oft-repented story
told ot Illustrate the e rut while deadline's
of this climate. The ancient legend has
it that the Panama railroad, in Its build
ing'. burled a corpse under every croutte.
The conditions were bud enough, ns
crowded cemeteries show, but to give
the Isthmus its due. they were not ns
bad ns this. The road ns originally con
structed was approximately forty-eight
miles in length. With crossttes 22 in
ches apart, and allowing for sidings, this
would foot up to T 40.000. It Is a matter
of record that the road was built in five
years, and it is also a matter of record
that the largest number of laborers etn
| ployed st nay one time did not exceed
j 7,000.
| It cannot be denied that the son© Is
l hot. Nor is there any artificial device
| vet discovered by man that can modify
its perennial heat. At one end of the
son© nr© the dead calms of the Pacific,
lon the other the uncertain breeacs of
I the Caribbean.
Any who may be obscased with the no
tion that th© United States paid too
much when It paid $40,000,000 to France,
that sum Including the work which the
French had already accomplished dur
ing the twelve years that they had been
at It, should come to the Isthmus and
listen to what the American engineers
and other exports hfive to say on the
subject.
These are the men who took up the
work where the disheartened Frenchmen
left It off. They more than attv other
are in a better position to realise the
difficulties which the French encoun
i tored in their preliminary work, and the
j consensus of opinion among them is that
j the French did extraordinarily well with
the means at their disposal and with tho
j constant depletion in their ranks
J through th© Inroads of malaria, cholera
j and yellow fever, diseases which the
i Americans have utterly banished from
j the tone.
4 Tbs machinery employed by the French
was not nearly so efficient as that which
the Americans have brought into use.
Hut tlie 80,000,000 cubic yards which they
excavated made the work easier for
those who followed. Their old excav
ators, small dump cars and Hclglan en
gines, were excavating at the rate of
about 33,000 cubic yards per month.
This is 30 per cent, less than the Amer
icans with their more improved ma
chinery now take out in a single day.
The condition in which this wilder
ness of old machinery was loft by its
former operators is constant marvel
to tiie members of the new army of
canal cutters. Only a short time ago
three big steam dredges which had been
left by the old French company on the
banks of the Chagres were Moated down
toe river, nnd are now being utilized on
the Atlantic division. The engines are
said to have been In almost perfect or
der, twenty or more rainy seasons not
having penetrated the heavy coatings
/* paint which the caretakers put on the
machinery whan they abandoned the
dredges to the Jungle.
©There arc no figures available as to
what portion of the vast amount of
French capital sunk in the venture went
for machinery. But by the elaborate
double entry, dot ana carry one system
of the American it ih ascertained that
there is upward of $59,000,000 worth of
machinery now engaged In canal work.
The wonder Is frequently expressed as to
wlmt Is to become of this vast amount
of material when me work Is completed.
And there Is none to give answer, for no
one knows.
Whatever may bo its ultimate fate, this
up-to-date machinery and ttie energetic
army which operates it are making some
remarkable records in the way of work
accomplished. New York’s subway re
quired more than three years to build.
In the twenty-six working days of De
cember there was excavated from tho
canal more earth than was removed from
the subway bore.
The recent freshets In the Chagres
river caused frequent Interruptions of
the work during the month of January,
the result being thnt only 2.924,951
cubic yards were excavated during that
month, as against 3.261,673 in December.
In the work of dry, or land, excava
tions, eight different processes are In
volved. XVhere rock In encountered the
drillers come with their drills operated
by the compressed air system, and at
times one may see in a single stretch
at* many as a half hundred of the long
poles chugging up and down.
I Then come the blasters and their
charges of dynamite, next tHo red flags,
men the shattering explosion nnd the
quiver of the earth as from an earth
quake shock. Hardly has the dust set
tled and the smoke cleared away before
the steam shovels are scooping up the
debris with their gouging buckets and
swinging the spoil into dump cars back
ed up to receive it. A record of this kind
of work was recently made, when 311
cars were loaded In 370 minutes, an av
erage of on© minute eleven seconds per
car. As the cars were loaded to their
full capacity, this means that a cubic
yard of material was placed on them
every second*
This spectacle is stirring and eminent
jly typical of the tremendous energies
! for them at frequent intervals, in order
which have been lot loose on this gl
j auntie undertaking. But most spectacu
| Lit of all are the track shifters. The
i steam shovels, running on railway tracks
1 must, of course, have new tracks laid
!to bring their shoveling machinery to
; hear on earth or the shattered debris of
j rock. In most parts of the world the
construction of a new line of railway Is
, a strlous and Important thing. Down
S here it is the most casual and ordinary
thing that voters into the day’s work,
j By a mechanical appliance a new track
is leveled alongside the old. A track
shifter, a vnst complication of derrick
j and steam engine, rumbles up. grips tho
j track that needs to be removed, and
: without more ado deposits it. section by
! section, on the new track. Briefly, that
{ls about all there Is to it. But it is a
j bit eerie to see one of these big track
| shifters come along uuU pick up a rail
THE AUGUSTA HERALD
road from one track and deposit it on
another.
The foregoing may give an idea of the
work that is being done in the matter of
land excavation. Comes now the story of
the dredges:
At both the Atlantic and Pacific ends
of the canal two powerful steam dredges,
the Ancon and the Culdbra, are lessen
ing the distance between the oceans. In
Limon bay, on the Atlantic side, two
dipper and two of the old French dred
ges are working their way Into banks
toward the &T7ndi hills.
As the channel is being made through
the dry land the rock is blasted in ad
vance, but up to the present no subaque
ous blasting has been necessary. These
dredges will be followed by the Ancon, a
seagoing suction dredge, which will work
in the mud below the rock strata and
carry the channel down to 40 feet.
From the veranda of tne Atlantic di
vision office building at Gatun one can
look down the line on which the ships
will sail to the Gatun locks from Limon
bay and can get an idea of what, the
canal in this section will look like when
completed. Where the line pierces the
Mindi hills the cut has been completed
to sea level, and the steam shovels are
carrying the work below the level of the
near-by water. Only a mile from where
this cut is being made the Atlantic
dredging fieet is burrowing into the land,
tlie bidder and dipper dredges working
near the shore, while the suction dredge
Ancon is making a deep water channel
out to the point where tWfc bay merges
into the sea.
The two big suction dredges, the An
con and the Culebra work twenty-four
hours a day, six days a week, and the
seventh they spend not in rest, but in
making ready six days that are
to follow. In making of the canal
each of them is doing the work of eight
steam shovels and several dump trains.
Each in itself epitomizes the vast work
that is being accomplished; each might
be likened unto one of the villages of
the canal zone settlement, for In them
the crows work, rest, eat and sleep.
Each has Its quarters, mess hall, ma
chine shop, power house, and tools for
excavating. They are vessels these
dredges, 36S feet over all, 48 feet beam
and 25 feet deep. They came to the Isth
mus under their own steam from the
Chesapeake hay. The Culebra, station
ed on the Pacific side, made a journey
almost ns long as the famous one of tho
battleship fleet from Hampton Roads to
Tan Frnncitco, traveling the identical
route until Panama was reached.
1 On Sunday morning the Culebra ties
up at ta Boca to effect Ught repairs.
For the same purpose the Ancon ties up
at Chrtstobnl. On Monday both of them
are at work again, and until the follow
ing Sunday their engines never rest.
The problem of unskilled labor, so long
a vexing one, has wholly disappeared.
Common laborers are longer sought
after. They come to the isthmus of
their own volition and apply for work.
In the Canal Record, a weekly bulletin
issued by the isthmian canal commis
sion, it Is stated that the primary rea
son why the sign "No Help Wanted” is
displayed along the line of the canal is
that the work has passed its highest
point, sq far as the employment of men
is concerned. The present tendency is
not ».o emplby more men, but to reduce
the force, and this applies alike to
clerical, artisan and labor classes.
From this time forward the work In
the canal zone will be confined largely
to actual canal building, that is. to ex
! cavatlon and darn and lock construc
j tlon. Building and municipal work,
j erecting houses, installing w'ater and
i sewer systems, and road making, have
! reached the stage where most of the
expenditure from this time forth will be
| for maintenance. On this account the
j forces formerly engaged on municipal
! engineering and building have been re
duced. and in consequence the services
v»f a number of clerks, engineers, car
| penters, plumbers and other artisans
luxve been dispensed with. Wherever pos
i rdblc the men whose services are not
! needed In one division of the work are
employed on another, and this system of
j transferring members of the present
THEATRICAL FOLK
Use and Recommend
NEW BRO’S HERPICIDE
Extravagant claims for toilet remedies do not influence theatrical people, because long enables
them to discriminate intelligently. They demand merit and will rarely use a preparation that is not actually
worth as much or more than it costs in dollars and cents.
Herpicide kills the dandruff germ and by actual test does more than all other hair remedies combined.
This accounts for its popularity in theatrical circles.
‘‘Queen Roselle” writes of
Newbro’s Herpicide.
•
“I take pleasure In announcing the very satisfac
tory results I have had from the use of Newbro’s
Herpicide. My hair was falling out so rapidly that I
was afraid f would lose it all. A friend advised
Herpicide, and after using it faithfully my hair
stopped falling out, the dandruff disappeared and
my hair is now very soft and glossy.
I would like to see every lady of the profession try
Herpicide, for I am confident that they would be de-
Lighted wijth it.”
(Signed) QUEEN ROSELLE.
Send 10 cents in stamps to The Herpicide Com
pany, Dept. 7, Detroit Micli., for sample and book
let.
Two sizes: 50 cents and SI.OO. At Drug Stores.
When you o ill for Herpicide. do not accept a sub
stitute. Applications at Prominent Barber Shops.
Green & Horsey Drug Company.
820 Broad Street, Special Agents.
force also reduces the number of posi
tions open to new men.
The work of laying concrete in the
locks at Gatun and on the Pacific slope
cannot begin until the- completion of cer
tain contracts for the supply of the
plant needed to handle the* material.
These contracts will not be finished be
fore next spring. This being the case
there will be finished, as soon as the
locks and dams. The construction force
is, therefore, at its maximum until ihe
laying of concrete begins, when there
will be a demand for men skilled in
that work.
i inally the “gold" employes on the
canal work are no longer a shifting
force. The men who are here want to
stay, both because they arc interested in
their w'ork and like the country, and be
cause the wage scale is higher than in
the states. Thirteen hundred -gold”
employes out of the total of 4,328 have
their families here, and are occupying
commission quarters. They form a nu.r
cleus that not only is not anxious to.,
leave, but is desirous of staying until
the canal is completed.
Of the 7,000 "gold ’ employes of tlie
government stationed on tne isthmus 215
are women. These are chiefly engaged
as school teachers or as trained nurses.
In addition to the nurses and teacn
ers, forty-five women are employed by
the canal commission. Seventeen of
these are rated as copyists, ten as cou
pon counters, four as clerks, two as
postal clerks, two as dietists. two as
matrons, two as timekeeoers, one as a
telegrapher, one as a storekeeper and
one on special service. The highest sal
ary paid any woman in the canal ser
vice is $175 a month; the lowest salary
is $25 a month. The average pay is
$73.90.
Women have not been generally em
ployed ‘in clerical positions. The reason
assigned is that because of the neces- |
sity of providing special quarters for ,
them the expense of such employment
would be disproportionately high.
The much-abused bachelor may find a ,
source of gratification in the knowledge .
that there is at least one place in the j
world where he is appreciated above his |
benedict brother. That place \s the istn- |
mian canal zone. The chief reason for
his appreciation is that he costs lc«u\
Data compiled by the quartermaster’s
department show that the cost of bach
elor labor is far less than that of mar
pied men. The cost takes inti capsid- t
©ration the quarters assigned to em
ployes, and allowances for fuel, light,
water, care of grounds and janitor ser
vice.
Assuming a six years’ service, the fig
ures show that a married employe rep
resents an expenditure for maintenance
of $3,000: that of a bachelor employe
during the same period is only $730.
There is a surplus of bachelor quar
ters on the Isthmus, due to marriage and
to the migratory nature of the bachelor
population. The demand for married
quarters is so great that bachelor quar
ters are being converted into homes for
families.
SOCIALISTS TO MEET
AT KIDWELL S HALL
The Socialists will hold their rep
ular meeting Sunday at Kidwell's hall
at 8 p. m. Mr. B. P. Mclntyre will
! be the principle speaker. His sub
ject will be The L.abor Problem and
I its Remedy. Mr. Mclntyre will pre
; sent the labor question from a new
J point of view. This being a question
• of which the speaker has made a spe
cial stud}', his discourse will undoubt
edly be interesting.
Everyone invited; admission free.
Mr. Clint G.Ford who has been identified with
the very foremost dramatic attractions, including
Gillet's “Secret Service Co.,’’ “David Harum,”
“The Clans man,” etc., has this to say of New
bro's Herpicide:
"For years I was annoyed with dan
druff and itching of the scalp, all due 4
to my twenty years of tneatrlcal life
with its incumbent “make-up” and wig
wearing. At times the itching of the
• scalp was intense. All remedies failed
me until I tried Herpicide. and I soon
found that it was giving wonderful re- *
suits. The itching and also the dan
druff entirely ceased and my hair re
sumed its natural life and vigor.
There is no question in my mind about
the reality of the dandruff germ, and I
unhesitatingly recommend Herpicide to
my friends in the profession.”
(Signed) CLINT G. FORD.
KNIGHTS TO HAVE
BANQUET AT ALBION
Fourth Degree Members of
K. of C. Will Observe
Washington’s Birthday.
Washington’s birthday will be ob
served by the fourth degree members
of the Knights of Columbus with a
dinner at the Albion tomorrow eight,
beginning at 9 o’clock. The commit
tee in charge have arranged an ex
cellent menu and the occasion will
be enlivened by a number of inform
al spe’eches appropriate to the occa
sion. There will be no set discourses.
Chairman of t!\ Assembly F. X.
Dorr asks that all sir knights no
tice that while full dress will be
de rigueur, the sword and baldric
should not be worn. Plates will be
laid for seventy-five.
FREE TO YOU—MY SISTER 'SrC.'jrr
#1 am a woman.
I know woman's sufferings.
I have found the cure.
I will mail, free of any charge, my home treat*
meet with full instructions to any sufferer from
woman s ailments. I want to tell all women about
this cure—you, my reader, for yourself, your daughter,
your mother, or your sister. I want to tell you how
to cure yourselves at home without the help of a
doctor. Men cannot understand women's sufferings.
What wc women know from experience, we know
better than any doctor. I know that my home treat
ment is a safe and sure cure for Leucorrboea or
Whitish discharges, Ulceration, Displacement or
Falling of the Womb. Profuse, Scanty or Painful
Periods, Uterine or Ovarian Tumors or Growths;
also pains in the head, back and bowels, bearing
down feelings, nervousnnss, creeping feeling ur»
the spine, meiancholy, desire to cry, hot flashed,
weariness, kidney and bladder troubles whero
caused by weaknesses peculiar to our sex.
I want to cend you a complete ten day’s treat
ment entirely free to prove to you that you can cura
yourself at home, easily, quickly and surely. Ro
member, that it will cost you nothing to give tne
rreaunent a complete trial; and if you should wish to continue, it will cost you only about 12 cents s
week, or less than two cents a day. It will not interfere with yoor work or occupation. Just send
me your name and address, tell me how you suffer if you wish, and I will send you the treatment
for entirely free, in plain wrapper by return maii. I will also send you free of cost, my
book WOMANIS OWN MEDICAL ADVISER with explanatory illustrations showing why
women suffer, and how they can easily cure themselves at home. Every woman should have it, and
learn to think for herself. Then When the doctor says—* You must have an operation," you can
decide for yourself. Thousands of women have cured themselves with my home remedy. It cures ail,
old or young. To Mothers of Daughters, I will explain a simple home treatment which speedily
and effectually cures Leucorrhoea. Green Sickness and Painful or Irregular Menstruation in Young
Ladies. Plumpness and health always results from its use.
Wherever you live, I can refer you to ladies of your own locality who know and will gladly tell
any sufferer that this Home Treatment really cures all women’s disease and makes women well,
strong, plump and robust. Just send me your and the free —a day's treatment is yourt.
also the book. Write today, as you may not see this offer again. Ad 6 resa
’cis. as. summers, Box 88. • - South Bend, fnd.. U. S. A)
US . .sjijfjisf
<™™F=, 3.-J
SOUTHERN BELL TELEPHONE
AND TELEGRAPH COMPANY
Efficient Service Seasonable Rates
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY zi.
BETTER SCHEDULE
FOR AIKEN LINE
On the first day of March a change
of schedule will become effective on
the Augusta-Aiken electric road that
promises to prove a great conveni
ence toVpeonle residing in the rural
districts, between stations, who work
in the mills.
The first morning car, that now
leaves the barn at 6.10 o’clock, and
proceeds to Aiken, will, after that
date, leav,e at 6 o’clock, and make
the schedule to Aiken just that much
earlier.
Thti.s it will be possible for, people
working at the Clearwater? ..Bath,
Graniteville and other mills tb get
to work promptly on time in the
morning, many people who work in
Aiken hut reside this side, along the
line of the trolley road, will like
wise find it much easier to set to
work at a required time.
up and down
” ” stairs is hard work for a
woman. It requires seventeen
times more labor than walking
thy'same distance on a level.
AAVall Set Extension to your
Bell Telephone, located on the
other floor in your home, will
save your wife useless steps.
SI.OO PER MONTH
IN RESIDENCES
Call Contract Department