Panama and the canal . ful machinery secured. And while all these prej)arations were going on, waste and theft must be absolutely prevented. Our government expected to pay its workmen generously and to provide in every way for their comfort, but beyond that e\ery dollar of American 137 I3S DOCTOR AMADOR money must go toward building the canal. When all thesethings had been accomplished, the dirt might really beginto fly. One morning in the City of Panama, not long before theUnited States took possession of the Canal Zone, met the American consul. Amador was at thattime Chief Health O
Panama and the canal . ful machinery secured. And while all these prej)arations were going on, waste and theft must be absolutely prevented. Our government expected to pay its workmen generously and to provide in every way for their comfort, but beyond that e\ery dollar of American 137 I3S DOCTOR AMADOR money must go toward building the canal. When all thesethings had been accomplished, the dirt might really beginto fly. One morning in the City of Panama, not long before theUnited States took possession of the Canal Zone, met the American consul. Amador was at thattime Chief Health Officer of the City of Panama. Some- ^L li«..2 W- 5 »BtjJSH p mpi! ^ -J Si?^- • Entrance to Hospital Grounds—Ancon. thing serious was evidently troubling him, for his faceshowed great anxiety. Consul, said he, as the two men shook hands, wehave six cases of yellow fever in the city. THEY ARE ALL DEAD 139 At this bad news the consul was equally troubled and thetwo men discussed what could be done to stop the spread. View of Hospital Grounds from Entrance—Ancun. of the disease. Like most Panamanians, Dr. Amadorseemed to feel helpless in the presence of this old enemy. Bv chance the same men met upon the following morning. Well, consul, said Amador, now smiling and happy,it gives me pleasure to report that we now have no casesof yellow fever in Panama. How is that? said the consul. They are all dead, replied the doctor. This story is often told to illustrate the way in which I40 AN EVIL REPUTATION the people of Panama had come to look upon the tropicaldiseases so common upon the Isthmus. Here, as in manyother parts of the tropics, the people felt that nothing couldbe done to prevent the dreadful loss of life. They wereeither ignorant of the causes of the diseases or if theydid know, they were too lazy to remove them. The wholehistory of Panama, even from the days of Columbus, wasone long record of human lives cut off by malaria, bubonicplague, and yellow fever. It is true t
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