T H U R S D A Y OCTOBER 9, 1913
FOREST GROVE PRESS
The Americans In Panama
Story of the Panama Canal From Start to Finish
Published t>y the Hraller Publishing company
601 Fifth avenue Naw York city
Copyright, mil and mil by William ft Scott
GATUN LAKE
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CHAPTER I.
T h « Land Divided—th« World United.
K It should huve bet-n said In 1904
thut lu nine years we would have
removed more than 200,000,000
cubic yards of eurth and rock,
laid .1.000.000 cubic yards of concrete,
nnule dams mid (Ills of more than 50.-
000.000 cubic yards, relocated the Pan
ama railroad, spent no more than
*300.000.000 and put the first ship
through from the Atlsntfc to the Psclf-
ic, Europe would have smiled at our
youthful temerity! Yet In 1913 we will
buve done precisely that.
During the first two years and a
half the canal was In Its first phase
It was the period o f pioneering, prep
aration and adjustment. Tw o chief
engineers were tried from the ranks
of civil life, accomplishing the main
preliminaries to canal construction be
fore their departure.
The second phase of the canal was
front the beginning of 1907 to the
spring o f 1912.
During these six
years the heart of the tusk was accom
plished.
President
Itoosevelt had
found the man who was to take the
organization built up by the men from
the ranks o f private Industry and burl
It against the natural obstacles that
stood iu the way of success. Colpuel
Goethals wns to take the blueprints
and u bead full of theories and work
them out into the locks, dams and
cuts in concrete mold today.
The third and last phase began In
1912. when the chief engineer set Oc
tober. 1913, as the date for the sub
stantial completion of the canal. It is
distinguished by the gradual disper- I
siou of the army of workers, by the
reverse process of the first two years
and by the creation o f a permanent
operating force with the detail finish
lng work that attends every large proj
ect.
The east has furnished the canal
with Its chief engineers—Wallace from
MAP OF THE ISTHMUS OF PANAMA.
Massachusetts, Stevens from Maine.
Goethals from New York. But every 000.000; civil administration, $6.500.- with a death rate among the Amer!
state in the Union has furnished the 000: fortifications. *3.000.000.
cans frequently lower than In large
rank and file, as well as every nation
At the San Francisco exposition somi centers of population In the United
lu the world.
compensation will be found for a fail States.
Standing out distinctly from the are to spe the canal by an exhibit ot
President Roosevelt selected Colonel
construction phase of the enterprise every kind of machinery used hy*thi William Crawford Gorgas to clean tip
is the figure o f Colonel Gorgas. the French and the Americans In the thir the Isthmus because o f his record In
chief sanitary officer, now. as In the ty-flve years of construction, or from sanitary work in Ctnta and elsewhere.
critical days of 1905. quiet, alert, con-
Chief Engineer Wallace doubted his
fideut. The last days of the canal find 1880 to 1915. When the government capacity, and so did Secretary o f War
a perfect mechanism o f his creation finally sold off the old French mu- Taft, but by 1909 the latter was ready
recordlug his ideas with dispatch and ehinery that had littered the canal to acknowledge his mistake. Colonel
precision, receiving the plaudits o f zone for three decades the best sped
Gorgas is a southern man. a native of
this and secure lu the admiration of men of each kind o f apparatus was re \labama. and so naturally quiet and
succeeding generations.
! served for this graphic exhibit.
••«•served In demeanor and deportment
The locks may grow too small, the j
-----------
that men accustomed to measure a
Gatun dam may break, a caving in of j
C H APTER II.
man by bluster and self assertiveness
the foundations of the colossal strut-- |
j he
co»t.
make the mistake o f assuming that he
tures may occur and other convulsions
_
E A8U RED iu money, the Pan- Is not strong. His manner and meth
of nature may disable the canal, but
Ilnm canal was to cost *375.- ods suggest General Robert F.. I.ee.
There were two prime needs, ns Colo
uotlilug can rob the Americans o f a
I V H
Wi0i000> Th u l(t impreS!,|ve.
wonderful achievement, nor will the -
~
but there ls another item of nel Gorgas viewed the Isthmus In 1904.
work have been without glory and jus- j COM( more Important—namely, "the life in any campaign for Improved health
tifiratioo no matter what the future cunt," or the cost lu buinuu lives of conditions. One wns to make the Isth
mu* clean and the other wns to kill
bolds. W e still could rejoice lu the digging the canal.
the mosquitoes, which he considered a
sheer courage, persistence and indom-
Contemplating the record o f the Istb
Itnble ability that have wrought the m,IH for unhealthfulness. It could not means o f propagating disease Prrtctl
work in Panama.
j but be anticipated In 1904. when the ■ •ally everything done by the health de
Just as the civil war developed Grant Americans took charge, tlrnt this cost partment had been along these main
and the Spanlsh-Amerlcan war Dewey would l>e heavy. That It should be 'line* o f theory.
The United State* profited by the
and Schley, so has the Panama canal surprisingly low constitutes a more
developed Goethals. He Justly Is cel significant achievement than any sav mistake* of the French to the extent
ebrated in the periodical and dally ing In the money or time cost o f the if reserving. In the treaty with the
republic of Panama, the exclusive right
presa and In books as a splendid em project.
On July 1. 1913. the Americans had to control the sanitation of Panama
bodiment o f Americanism—the Ideal
been nine years In the actual work of and Colon.
combination o f ability and Integrity.
A perspective view o f the whole en building the canal. In that period of
So In 1904 the engineers Immediately
went to work on a sewer, waterworks
terprise shows that Theodore Roose nine years there were:
velt by hi* Individual actions on at Deaths from d i s e a s e ......................... 4.475 and street paving plan that would
least three occasions vitally affected Deaths from violence...................... • t l6i make o f these two characteristically
the canal and Its successful consum Total deaths ................................... $
filthy Central American cities, clean.
mation. When lie cut the <lordlan knot
Another full year liefore the prac- decent, sanitary places of abode
o f diplomacy and took the canal zone tical and continuous operation of the
The nstlve population dumped all
he made the first loug stride toward completed canal will bring that total mtrbage and matter usually conr1"ned
interoceanio communication. When he of deaths, estimating on the average
sewers Into the street*.
These
threw his weight Into the scale for a
0f previous years and not considering streets were mud holes, which, wltli
lock type canal he decided the most unprecedented Increases, to less than
admixture of refuse, made a condl-
crttical question that ever nrose in the j «.¡¡oo by July 1. 1914. The sanitary 'i<>n Inconceivably dirty and naturally
career o f the enterprise. The third . department makes the following re|*»rt unhealthful.
The Americans made a
time 111* Judgment prevented a great
for the nine year period ending July reservoir In the mountains a dozen
tnlles away for the water supply of
mistake was when the project dell 1. 1913:
Number
Hate Panama, dug sewers and for ed the
nltely was taken from the possibility
per native houses to connect with th<*m
of em-
o f private construction and placed In ^
ployee* Death*. 1 .000. and then paved the street* with brick.
*2
13 26
427
.... n.,512
25.S6 A system tif garbage collection was or
supervision. There were leaser deci- 1906
.... 20.547
1.106
41.73 ganized. and the city was cleared of *M
aions of great moment, notably the
23 74 rubbish. Today the tourist *••«** some
.
.
_, ,
. ,
___, .. .. 190*
1.131
I
w ith the project was such as to rank
as the most b rilliant phase o f bia ad
ministrations.
T o July 1. 1913, the canal had cost.
J
*
?
,
*298.000.000. This was divided as fol-
lows: Canal zone. $10.000.000: French
purchase. *40.000.000: engineering snd
construction. *184.000.000: general ex-
pendlturee. $87.000,000; sanitation. <19.-
671
602
6M
639
♦67
246
1301
10.64
10 S3
11 02
10.60
_
.
The foregoing figure* not only cover
t bo* * " rUl" llv at work !,n ,he canal
but as well Include those who. while*
not regularly employed, are the wards
o f the commission when idle. From
1907 onward health bas been normal
| on the isthmus within the canal zone.
PAG E
| this Item alette iituoitn lng to a sum
bet wee u *750.900 and *1.000.INKL
Having cleaned up witbiu. rigid
quarantine regulation* were made to
keep out persons who might be brought
In a diseased condition from other
ports.
Vaccination of every person
who enters the canal zone is compul
sory unless a good scar can be shown.
In 1905 a shipload of oati'-®-*
3
op o a m a a
QD DE CD nn
LADIES INVITED to CALL
n
□ a
□a
BO
aa
And Examine Our
Martinique. Imported to work on the
canul. refused to land because they
thought vaccination wax a plan to
brand them so they could never re
turn to their home. They were forced
out at the point o f the bayonet and
SUITS
It wus beic.e these plan* had been
PB
matured that the first and ouly epi
demic of yellow fever occurred In the
cii uni zone.
In April. 1905. an etn
ployee lu the administration building
iu I’annma became sick with the fever
nud from then ou to September the
i-atml zone was in the throes of u fear
that was featured by the wholesale
departure of employees. The news
palters gave the epidemic wide aud
oftentimes erroneous publicity, with
the consequence that the government
had to pay for the four of the isthmus
thus created in greatly increased sal
nries and gratuities to secure Anierl
can employees.
By October. 1905. Colottel Gorgas had
mastered the epidemic, and. although
Isolated cases have occurred since, yel
low fever was permanently banished
as the bugbear o f Panama.
From
July I. 1904. to Nov. I. 1905. forty
four employees succumbed to this dls I
ease. While the epidemic raged from j
LE A D IN G C LO TH IER
B0
April to September, 1905. there were ,
□ B
thirty-seven deaths among employees,
mainly among Americans, with whom -
the epidemic started.
There was u siege with smallpox
and the plague, but they, too. were
eradicated in so far as epidemics are
oucerued. aud malaria, pneumonia
and tuberculosis remain as the most
frequent attributed causes of death.
Absolutely Safe and Reliable
Quinine has beeu bought by the ton
for the canal zone dispensaries and
hospitals, lu 1908 each employee av
eraged about an ounce of quinine anil
was advised to take three grains dally.
O f Forest Grove, Oregon
The French had left hospital build
ings in Colon and on the side of Ancon
Conducted on Economic and Business Principles. T h e Hom e
hill, just outside of I’auama.
The
Company That Has M ade G ood.
Insure You*
Americans renovated these aud added
Business or Dwelling in T h e
to them uutil the present vast facilities
Bankers & Merchants
came Into form. They sometimes have
more than 1.200 patients A large asy
lum for the Insane also Is maintained
Hospital cars are attached to the pas
senger trains to bring in patients to
the Aucou and Colon hospitals each
day.
In every towu or settlement j
there Is a dispensary with a physician
In charge and a sanitary officer to In I
spect conditions of living. There are !
about twenty-four employees out of I
every 1.000 constantly sick.
For the canal zone. Panama and |
Colon, in 1905 the death rate was 49.94 |
per 1.000. In 1911 it was 21.4(1. or cut
down more than one-half. In 1900 the
death rate among the Americans front
disease was 5.30. and In 1911 It wns
2 82. In 1908 and 1910 there were more j
Americans killed In accidents or died
from violence than died from disease.
It necessarily follows from an engi
neering task o f this magnitude, where
vast quantities of explosives are han
dled. where there Is a considerable
railroad mileage and other hazardous '
features of construction, that the death I
rate from accidents would be large.
Every month since the American oe- |
cupution begun lu May. 1904, there has
been an average of ten employees kill
ed or have died from external causes.
The total to July 1, 1912. was 995. and
d a n ì e l s o n *
by the time the caual Is completed. I
barring
unusual catastrophes, the |
..
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PACIFIC A VE.
PH O N E 306
deaths from this cause will be around
1.100. Under the head o f violence are [
included deaths by drowning, suicide,
dynamite explosions, railroad accidents,
poisonings, homicides, electric shocks,
The Forest G rove Press Print” Means Satisfaction to Yon
bums, lightning aDd accidental trau
matism o f various kinds.
Dynamit« Explosion In Culebra.
Si-ores of deaths have resulted from
the practice o f the native employees
in using the railroad tracks as public
highways. There buve been bad col
lision* aud wrecka with fatalities, and
dvnninlte has claimed about one-tenth
of the »Ictlros of external violence, lu
COATS
FURS
ANDERSON
I« Forest Grove
-
-
-
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Oregon j|jj
The Bankers & Merchants Mutual Fire Association
Washington County Agency
for O V E R L A N D Cars
Expert Automobile,
Motorcycle and
Bicycle Repairing.
I
1
We will soon open
> a First-Class Garage
H ASKELL & SON
c.c.
j
.1
Rasmussen’s Feed Store
Dealer in Flour, Feed and all kinds of
the handling o f 25.259 tons of dyna
mite. or 50,517.050 pounds, to July 1.
Garden Seeds in season......................
1912. the following prluelpal accidents
have occurred:
May 22. 1908. In Cfcagres division,
tw o killed: premature explosion of
twenty-six ton*, caused by lightning.
Oct. 8. 1908. at Empire. In the Uule-
bra cut. five killed and e'ght injured,
c Ave.
forest Grove, Oregon
premature explosion.
Oet. 10. lists, at Mlndl. seven k11 leal
and ten Injured, premature explosion:
dredging lit Atlantic entrance.
Dec 12. 19418. at Bas Obispo, prema
ture explosion o f twenty two tons In
the Culebra cut. twenty-six killed and
forty Injured.
Jan. 10. 190«. at Paralso. two kfll4>d,
ten Injured
July 25. 1909. on Panama railroad,
four killed, nine Injured.
Tinning and Plumbing, Sheet
Aug. 30. 1810, at Ancon quarry, four
Municipal Engineering
Metal W ork and Re
killed.
Surveying
and Subdividing
The second part of the program - kill
July 19. 1911. at Ancon quarry, four
pair Shcp.
ing the mosquitoes—was accomplished killed, two Injured.
Phone 482
pri nctpully bv fht* u*e of crude oil.
Forty deaths from dynamite explo
Erpry «tagnant r*,ol of water and sions are note<l for the ytutr 1iKi8. the
most* of” 'thc' runnl"ng streams except largest number for any one year o f
Abbot Building
rivers were treated with oil. and the canal constnt- tlon, and this doe* not North F irst Avenue, between Main and
rank ara** and tropical growths were take Into account several Individual
“ A ” S treets; phone 863.
kep. cut by hundreds o f scythe men. fatalities Chief Engineer Cnethnl* Is
FOREST GROVE. OREGON
As a further war measure all bouses sued stringent regulations to govern
Wl,re, screened, the amount spent on the hardline *-r M«e dvna*->|fe. but It
(C< ntinued on Page Eleven.)
I. RASMUSSEN, Proprietor
P a c i.'
W M . W E IT Z E L
A. A. K I R K W O O D
CIVIL ENGINEER AND SURVEYOR