THE PANAMA CANAL 



159 



on by the United States with the various 

 tools and appliances then in use. 



MAKING THE ISTHMUS H EALTHY 



The first two and a half years of 

 American control were given to prepara- 

 tion. All energies were devoted during 

 that time to rid the Isthmus of disease 

 by sanitation, to recruiting and organiz- 

 ing a working force, and providing for 

 it suitable houses, hotels, messes, kitch- 

 ens, and an adequate food supply; to 

 assembling the plant to do the work; to 

 increasing the capacity of the existing 

 railway system, and to establishing a 

 system of civil government for the Canal 

 Zone, which is a strip of land 10 miles 

 wide (five miles on either side of the 

 center of the canal), extending across 

 the Isthmus. 



The work of sanitation included clear- 

 ing lands, draining and filling pooh and 

 swamps for the extermination of the 

 mosquito, the establishment of hospitals 

 for the care of the sick and injured, and 

 the quarantine. In addition, to secure 

 and maintain better health conditions, 

 municipal improvements were under- 

 taken in the cities of Panama and Colon, 

 and the various settlements along the 

 line of canal, such as the construction of 

 reservoirs, with mains and adjuncts, for 

 furnishing wholesome and sufficient 

 water, sewerage, pavements, and a sys- 

 tem of roads. 



Buildings to the number of 2,009 were 

 constructed, including office buildings, 

 hospitals, hotel's, messes, kitchens, shops, 

 storehouses, and living quarters. In ad- 

 dition to this, 1,536 buildings out o£ a 

 total of 2,200 buildings turned over by 

 the French were remodeled and repaired 

 for use. 



Recruiting agencies were established 

 in the United States, Europe, and the 

 West Indies. 



AN IMMENSE DEPARTMENT STORE 



The Commissary Department of the 

 Panama Railroad Company was enlarged 

 until it is now a great department store 

 supplying to the employees whatever 

 may be necessary for their comfort and 



convenience. Manufacturing, cold stor- 

 age, and laundry plants were established 

 and turn out each day alout 90 tons of 

 ice, 14,000 loaves of bread, 2,400 rolls, 

 250 gallons of ice-cream, 1,000 pounds 

 of roasted coffee, and 7,500 pieces of 

 laundry. Four to five refrigerator cars, 

 loaded with meats, vegetables, and such 

 fruits as can be obtained, are sent out 

 on the night freight to distant points, 

 and every morning a supply train of 

 about 16 cars, of which number six to 

 eight are refrigerator cars, leaves Cris- 

 tobal at 4.30 to distribute food-stuffs and 

 laundry to the local commissaries along 

 the line, where the employees make their 

 purchases and where the hotels, messes, 

 and kitchens secure their supplies for 

 the day. 



The construction plant, consisting of 

 steam shovels, locomotives, cars, unload- 

 ers, spreaders, track-shifters, pile-drivers, 

 cranes, dredges, steamboats, tugs, and 

 barges, was purchased for the most part 

 "knocked down," and shops for their 

 erection and repair were constructed 

 and enlarged. Some of the machinery 

 was built from parts manufactured in 

 the shops. The distance from the home 

 market, with attendant vexatious delays 

 in securing parts and material and the 

 necessity for keeping the construction 

 plant in the most efficient condition for 

 economical operation, made it imperative 

 that the shops be equipped to meet every 

 possible contingency. 



The capacity of the Panama Railroad, 

 over a large part of which the spoil from 

 Culebra Cut must be handled, was in- 

 creased by double tracking it through- 

 out, except from Cristobal to Gatun and 

 from Culebra to Paraiso. Yards were 

 enlarged and connections made to areas 

 available for dumping grounds. 



Laws were framed, and civil govern- 

 ment was established with its necessary 

 adjuncts of courts, police force, fire com- 

 panies, customs and revenue service, 

 post-offices, public works, and treasury. 



A purchasing department was organ- 

 ized in the United States for the obtain- 

 ment of supplies of all kinds and de- 

 scriptions. Upon arrival on the Isthmus, 



