618 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1921. 



Roosevelt, March 1, 1904. Here was a task worthy of the man and 

 a man equal to the task. 



There were many natural difficulties to overcome, and much oppo- 

 sition both active and passive to meet. There was disbelief in the 

 fact that yellow fever and malaria were transmitted by mosquitoes. 

 This resulted in disbelief in the man and in his methods. In those 

 early days a man less determined would have been not only dis- 

 couraged but dismayed. His removal was desired ; his recommenda- 

 tions held up and criticized, even characterized as " wild." All this 

 did not hasten the accomplishment of the task but rather delayed it. 

 The vicissitudes of the department of sanitation during this period 

 are a matter of history as any one interested may see by reading 

 the " Report to the Government, by Dr. Chas. A. L. Reed. Showing 

 how the Commission makes Efficient Sanitation Impossible," pub- 

 lished in the Journal of the American Medical Association, March 

 11, 1905, page 812; also the " Reply of the Commission to the charges 

 made in the Report to the Government by Dr. Chas. A. L. Reed," 

 published in the same Journal, April 1, 1905, page 1052. The fact 

 remains that after this report matters affecting sanitation received 

 more consideration, and recommendations were more promptly acted 

 upon than previously. President Roosevelt with his usual keen un- 

 derstanding of men and methods was the force that upheld General 

 Gorgas during those trying days and made success possible. 



Malaria, yellow fever, and dysentery, were the three dieases that 

 caused the greatest morbidity and mortality among employees of 

 the French Canal Co. and the natives on the Isthmus. The climate 

 was considered deadly, the whole region had a most sinister reputa- 

 tion. The " Forty-niners " crossing the Isthmus had died in great 

 numbers. Fevers and dysentery during the period of the construc- 

 tion of the Panama Railroad had taken an enormous toll from the 

 forces employed. It has been stated that each cross tie represented 

 a life sacrificed in the construction of the railroad. One town on 

 the line of the canal was said to have derived its name, Matachin, 

 because of the awful mortality of the Chinese laborers quartered 

 there. Neither of the statements are strictly true; they are quoted 

 for the purpose of emphasizing the awful unhealthfulness and evil 

 reputation of the Canal Zone and the cities of Panama and Colon, 

 the regions that must be made healthful. 



The death rate of the employees of the French Canal Co. has never 

 been known with any degree of accuracy, all statistics being based 

 on the deaths that occurred in hospitals only. The hospitals received 

 patients sent in by contractors or the individuals who entered on 

 their own responsibility. Under the French there was no free gen- 

 eral hospitalization of employees as during the construction of the 



