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September, 1909 TAE MARINE REvIEwW Three Years in the Canal Zone. By Dr. SuMNER COOLIDGE. WO professions interested in the the. Panama = canal ical profession, to world turned for a_ solution of the health problem the Isthmus; and the engineers, whose handiwork is ex- pected to remove mountains and ail lesser obstacles that stand in the way of the finished canal. I am not here this evening to attempt a scientific discussion of any phase of the Panama canal, 'but to tell you of some of the vitally success of the med- which the are on incidents and impressions which go to make one of the most enjoyable and instructive experiences of my life. The northern public is always inter- ested and generally well informed on canal matters, but when history is being made on the Isthmus so fast that those on the spot have difficulty in keep- ing up with the work, it is not to be wondered at if you in the north do not keep track of it all. "What kind of a country is Panama, and how do you like it?'. "How can you stand the climate?" "Isn't it aw- fully hot down there?" are questions asked repeatedly. The city of Pana- ma lies close to the meridian of Buf- falo, N. Y.; and 9 degrees. north of the equator, a latitude where one would expect to have a hot climate. Though not the narrowest part of the Isthmus from ocean to ocean, the strip through which the canal is- to be dug contains the lowest point .in the mountain range that forms the backbone of the two continents, and consequently the point where the least digging will be re- quired to complete the canal. Of the entire distance of 47 mies between Colon and Panama, the line of the canal lies in swamps a little above sea level through about 17 miles. The dry season begins early in De- cember and continues till the latter part of April, during which time the tefreshing trade winds from the north- east blow continually, the on!y varia- tion being an occasional '"norther," which stirs up a dangerous Caribbean and cuts up interesting capers along the shore. The wet season is a time of many showers. Although 120 to 150 inches of rain fall in seven or eight months, all-day storms are not fre- quent and many of the nights are clear and beautiful. When _ the 'Tain storms are long continued, ee, ; *From_ the Journal of the Association of Engineering Societies, read before the Boston Society of Civil Engineers. giving insufficient time for the "run-off," freshets result, in which the river' may. rise 30 to. 40 in abo. its usual level. The rain does not prohibit any of the occupations, but amounts only to an inconvenience. The annual rainfall varies widely in different parts of this small canal zone, the records showing a somewhat high- er total on the Atlantic side, -- 63.16 at La -Boes, 135 + at Mt. Hope, for fiscal year 1906-07. (Character of the Canal Zone. The canal zone as we found it was as tropical as tropical could be, be- ing densely covered from the swamps to the hilltops with a mass of vege- tation that was for the most part im- passable except through the narrow trails of the natives. "It has been said by one writing of Panama that "her men are _ without honor, her women without virtue, her flowers without fragrance and _ her birds without song." The casual ob- server, crossing the Isthmus by train, hurrying through the uninhabited parts, and seeing little but squalor in the negro villages where the trains stop, observes little of the beauty of the lilies, morning glories, orchids, pas- sion? flowers, palms and ferns _ that abound, though nearly hidden by the rank growth of coarser plants. That song birds are there, too, I know by observation, but, like the fragrance of the flowers, the beauty of their song is hidden by the coarser voices of their kind--the screeching of parrots and paroquets, which must have im- pressed the author of the above quo- tation. Perhaps his estimate of the men and women was influenced by the coarser qualities of tha class he saw and heard most of,--but certain it is that standards of honor and virtue in Panama do not exactly coincide with our own. The temperature ranges between 65 degrees and 90 degrees, and although the humidity is high, the heat is not so oppressive, even for physical exer- tion, as on our hottest days here in Massachusetts, while the nights are so delightfully cool that almost every one living in a well-ventilated house sleeps under a blanket throughout the year. Americans on the Isthmus have few complaints of the climate, for it amounts to 12 months per year of very summer weather--and agreeable thrive on it--although Americans 331 summer weather becomes anonotonous if too long continued. Attitude of he Panamanians, The United States paid the Panama government $10,000,000 for the per- petual right of way through a strip of land called the canal zone 10 miles wide and 47 miles long; $40,000,000 to the French company for all of its rights and equipments; and a_ large sum for the stock of the Panama rail- road, the ownership of which was one of the first essentials to the pros- ecution of the work. The treaty signed by the two governments gave the United States absolute control of the canal zone, but as the 10-mile limit would have included the two principal cities of the young republic, Panama, the 'capital, and Colon, the Atlantic seaport, these were excepted in the purchase, and in all matters except sanitation are governed by the Pana- manians themselves. In the matter of sanitation, however, these cities are quite under our control. We have the right to promulgate and enforce al sanitary regulations deemed proper by the chief sanitary officer. Although the enforcement must be accomplished and penalties inflicted by the local courts--in the early days often accomplished with difficulty-- later developments have proved our treaty with the Panamanians to be an extremely wel!-executed document, at any rate from the United States stand- point. No doubt it granted us much more than would have been received from an older republic, in fact, more than we should obtain from the Panamanians themselves today, for they never have ceased to feel that they gave us a great deal more than they were willing that we should | have. Trouble With the Panamanians. In answer to your question, "What kind of people are the Panamanians?" I cannot better demonstrate than by telling you of their attitude toward -- us and the treaty, which of itself is the only excuse the world has for taking any notice of them. The human nature of the fellow who wanted to "have his pie and eat it too" is intensified in the Panamanians beyond all previous records in my experience. The fact that their two principal cities were being converted from the sloughs of filth and pestilence to clean, up-to- date municipalities by the money and labor of the United States did not seem to mitigate their feelings that we were intruders, and their chagrin that they were not handling the money. It is an actual fact that arrests of American workmen by Panamanian