month the Canal Company buried six hundred and fifty-four of its force. Such epidemics were of frequent occurrence in the period preceding the American occupation. It rarely happened that five years passed without a severe outbreak of yellow fever, and sporadic manifestations of the disease were too common to excite notice. A large proportion of the natives appear to be immune, but the presence of any considerable number of strangers from northern latitudes invariably marked the occurrence of an epidemic of yellow fever. Malaria was rife and even less notice was taken of it. The local authorities did nothing whatever to improve conditions, but, in fact, rather induced the spread of disease by their indifference to sanitary measures. The French companies did their best, under the circumstances, to prevent the increase of disease, and their provision for the care of the sick was admirable, but it was not until the Canal passed into our hands that effective measures for permanent sanitation were put into effect. It would be impossible to overrate the splendid work which has been done by Colonel Gorgas and his assistants. They produced conditions in which Americans can, by the exercise of or dinary discretion, maintain good health in connection with hard work. They have greatly reduced the mortality and sickness among the laborers, and so have proportionally increased the general efficiency of the force. In short, they have converted the entire Canal Zone, including the cities of Colon and Panama, into a region where the dangers and discomforts of living are decidedly less than those that generally prevail in the tropics. It is now admitted that the climate, while enervating, is not in itself especially harmful. Indeed, as will presently be shown, the vital statistics for the present time compare favorably with those of the most healthful portions of the United States. Without this improvement in sanitation, the work could have been done, if at all, only at great loss of life and health, not to mention an excessive consumption of time. The medical officers responsible for sanitation recognized this from the first, and urged the necessity of subordinating everything else to the improvement of health conditions, but they were not represented on the Commission until the later appointment of Colonel Gorgas as a member. The members of the Walker Commission were not unappreciative of this point of view, but they could not withstand the impatient demands of the American press that the dirt should be made to fly without delay. It is much to the credit of the sanitary officers that, under discouraging circumstances, they pursued their efforts uncomplainingly and with unimpared zeal. The Shonts Commission determined to devote its chief energies at the outset to cleaning up the Zone and pushing the sanitation work, realizing that when the health and comfort of the force should be provided for, the work of construction would proceed with fewer casualties, and at a greater rate of speed than if it were to be pushed ahead without such preliminary work. All along the line of the Canal a campaign was instituted against the two species of mosquito that convey respectively yellow fever and malaria. The experience of Colonel Gorgas and his associates in Cuba enabled them to attack this task with a definite and effective plan. This, whilst simple in its essential features, entailed a vast amount of labor. Since the malaria mosquito can only become infected by sucking the blood of a sufferer from that disease, it was evident that by placing as many of the victims |