Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 252, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 October 1913 — Final Victory at the Isthmus [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Final Victory at the Isthmus

ONLY a few years ago the results accomplished by the Americans in the construction of the Panama canal would have been deemed impossible in such a short time. The single statement that, from May 4, 1904, until the very nearing completion of the work, about 215,000,000 cubic yards of rock and earth will have been excavated is sufficient to illustrate the success of this wonderful undertaking. During the days when the ill-fated Freneh company sought to bring about the long desired union of the oceans it is estimated that 80,000,000 cubic yards were removed. The United States engineers have utilized about 30,000,000 yards of this work. The same amount of excavation, 245,000 cubic yards, would complete a tunnel 8,000 miles long around the earth with a diameter of 14 feet The story of the canal undertaking is a glorious one from the very outset of American occupancy. They found an almost impossible situation facing them, conditions of the very worpt as regards health and the beginning of their work. The graveyard in which lay buried hundreds of the French workers was a grim reminder of the awful carnage from yellow fever. Nor was this needed, for one after another many of the American pioneers were stricken fatally. The Spanish war had brought about the solution of the spread of yellow fever, but even before the sanitation authorities under Col. William C. Gorgas, could gain a foothold in the Canal Zone, the American death list was of appalling proportion's. Today the mortality is less than that of the average American city, and plans are already under way for the making of a popular winter resort at Panama Yellow Fever Disappears. Knowing the mosquito is responsible fpr yellow fever, efforts were directed toward the extermination of this dangerous insect The usual breeding spots, swamps and pools of stagnant water, were destroyed and remoyed and every house and building screened. The danger comes from a mosquito biting a person stricken with yellow fever and then injecting the infection into' the blood of a healthy human being. If the insect cannot reach the sick, there can be no spreading of the disease. In all fairness to the French it should be remembered that during the years of their labors yellow fever was an absolute mystery. In their efforts at well-doing not Infrequently moves were made which aided in the breeding of mosquitoes and increased the danger of infection. There was little or no action then in the direction of modern sanitary precautions, although medical and hospital facilities were of the best None gave heed to screening then; toAay a resident in the Canal Zone is absolutely compelled to meet the regulations. In studying the canal section the reader must benr in mind that the Isthmus is an east and west not a north and south strip of land connecting the two cortinents. At least in the individual maps of the Canal Zone this location may prove confusing, if not considered, for Colon, the terminus on. the Atlantic ocean of the canal, is nearly twenty miles west of Panama, the Pacific terminus. Thus, in connecting an eastern with a western ocean, the canal runs from the northwest to the southeast The civil administration of the canal Includes a school system which is said to compare favorably with the best in the United States; an efficient'police system; a Judiciary which, although without jury trial, is absoltgply just under its court rulings, and a progressive division of posts, customs and revenues. Of course, from these many departments there are numerous sub bureaus. The canal will cost the United States a total of $375,000,000, the funds being borrowed-for the purpose. This includes, the payment of $40,000,000 to the French company and $10,000,000 to the Republic of Panama. An approximate value of $25,600,000 Is

placed in the work done by the Freneh and the worth of all their property at nearly $43,000,000. In order to make the canal commercially self-supporting the annual revenue must reach sl9y 21)0,000. The operating and maintenance expenses are estimated at $3,500,000 yearly, with another $500,000 required for sanitation and for the government of the zone. At three peT cent, per annum the interest on $375,000,000 amounts to $11,250,000, and beginning with this year $250,000 must be paid annually to the Republic of Panama under the terms of the treaty. This makes a total of $15,500,000 to which should be added $3,750,000, which is one per cent per annum on $375,000,000, for the purpose of Creating a fund to clear off the cost debt. A Statistician’s Prediction. It is estimated by Emory R. Johnson, formerly a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, and now renowned as a statistician and commissioner on Panama traffic .and tolls, that the annual total tonnage of ships using the canal during the first two years wiH be 10,500,000. In 1911 the total net tonnage passing through the Suez canal was 18,000,000. Allowing 4,000 net tons to average vessel passing through the Panama canal this would mean 2,625 a year, or about seven a day. From 1915 to 1925 Professor Johnsdn predicts a 60 per cent. Increase, making the total for 1925 about 17,000,000 tons and an additional 10,000,000 tons increase in the 20 years following. Based on careful study of trade conditions, distances and the figures of the Buez and other leading canals, these figures are said to conservative. It was upon the report and recommendation of Professor Johnson that President Taft issued a proclamation in November, 1912, a* to the amount of canal tolls. Vessels carrying cargo and passengers, other than those engaged in coast-to-coast trade, must pay $1.20 on each net vessel ton, this being 100 cubic feet of cargo or earning- capacity. Thus a ship of 4,000 net tons would be required to pay a toll of $4,800 for each passage. Vessels in ballast will pay 40 per cent, less, warships will be taxed 50 cents per displacement ton. while army and navy transports, colliers and hospital supply ships will be reckoned on the same basis as cargo and passenger ships. These figures ten concisely the enormity of the canal project. At both entrances to the canal strong fortifications are being completed. Experts confidently state that the building of the canal doubles the naval strength of the United States. The mobility of the fleets will be so greatly increased, making for a more effective and at the same time more economical defence of widely separated seaboards. It will provide a naval base from which American warships can go forth and strike deadly blows, then return, certain of protection while coal and other supplies are being secured. Likewise, repairs can be made when necessary.