﻿140 The Philippine Journal of Science 1914 



The sanitary problem of the Mindoro property compares 

 favorably in magnitude with that of the Canal Zone. The total 

 area of the Canal Zone is between three and four times as large 

 as that of the Mindoro property, but the boundary lines and 

 surroundings as well as the internal difficulties are so much 

 greater in the Mindoro property than they are in the Canal Zone, 

 that the sum total of the two problems should not be considered 

 very different. In the Canal Zone, every interest is subservient 

 to the digging of the canal. In the Mindoro property, drainage, 

 irrigation, and other requisites for successful agricultural cultiva- 

 tion must be maintained while the sanitary problem is being 

 solved. In both places, labor must be imported to do the work. 

 Panama is fortunate in being able to select a more healthful 

 class of employees, because of an unlimited supply and consequent 

 ability to enforce more rigid physical requirements. In Mindoro, 

 the labor practically must come from other parts of the Philippine 

 Islands, and, in consequence, is made up largely of Filipinos. 

 The extreme difficulty in securing this class of labor in sufficient 

 numbers has made it seem advisable for the corporation to dis- 

 regard the health of applicants for work, and consequently un- 

 healthy people — a large number of them even suffering from 

 infectious diseases — have been, and constantly are being, im- 

 ported into the estate. 



In Panama, due to the resources of a national government, 

 it has been possible to protect the boundary lines both by sea and 

 shore, and, with the abundant supply of labor and with the 

 ability to enforce rigid physical requirements to applicants for 

 positions, what may be termed the "external problem" of Panama 

 is a very simple one compared with that of the Mindoro Company. 



If the enormous sums of money expended for sanitation in 

 the Canal Zone are considered to have been economically admin- 

 istered and necessary for the protection and safety in that area 

 of property 16 kilometers wide and 64 kilometers long, it would 

 not seem possible to solve the equally complex and difficult sani- 

 tary problem of the Mindoro Estate within the bounds of any 

 financial consideration consistent with the profitable investment 

 of money. However, with the expenditure of funds inestimably 

 small compared with that of Panama, very marked progress has 

 been made in the sanitation of Mindoro, and it is believed that 

 it is possible, under wise direction, to solve this problem with the 

 expenditure of funds consistent with profit for the investors in 

 this large agricultural undertaking. 



The properties of the Mindoro Company and the San Jose 

 Estate are the most valuable on the west coast of Mindoro, and, 



