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Show - uu CANAL READY FOR USE IN ONE YEAR Washington, No;, 19. That tho Panama canal will be completed within with-in tho next twelvo months is clearly Indicated by Colonel George W Goe-thals, Goe-thals, In his annual report to the sec-rotary sec-rotary of war, which wan made public here last night. Whllo tho chief engineer of the biggest big-gest Job on earth doeH not say bo In so many words that his labors will be through In a year, he contrasts the work that was done during tho fiscal year ending June 30, 1912, -with what work remains to be done and the reasonable rea-sonable deduction is that by this time next year the gigantic task will bo at an end and cssels will be threading their way back and forth, between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the world's greatest artificial waterway. water-way. The most Important work that is yet to be done Is the completion of tho lock gates. Detailed Account. All the steel and other material that Is necessary to make these gates are now in tho shops of the canal zone and the work is going forward rapidly. The loport gives a detailed account of everything that has been done In tlie zone during the fiscal year which In any way affects the canal commission commis-sion qr the government The commission has not only had the actual work of constructing the canal to look after, but Its members have had to act as diplomatic agents for the Bernment In treating with the authorities of the Republic of Panama a task which lias at times re. quired the most delicate tact. In June. 1912. there were 3-1,957 people on the payroll of the commission, commis-sion, with an aggregate monthly salary sal-ary of $1,500,000. The population of the zone at the present time Is C2.S10. Of this number 42,174 are emploes and officials of the United States government, gov-ernment, their wives and children During the year ending June 20 las-l there wore 7 055 arrests. 6,152 male? and C03 females Convicts In Zone. At the time the report was written there were HI convicts in the pen! tentiary at Culebra. Rut this building has since tjcen removed to mak room for the canal work and the convicts arc held In a stockade. The commission conducts ninetenn hotels thrpughout the zone, three night restaurants, olghtecn European laborers' labor-ers' messe3 and eighteen common laborers' la-borers' kitchens, out of which thev made a total rrofit last ear of $37,-517 $37,-517 65. But all these profits accrue from the laborers' mesfjes and kitchens, j there being a loss on tho hotels of ?12.085.P.7. The old French scrap, which the commission boimht for $215,000, was sold for about ?75.000 In relation to the health conditions on the Isthmus the report savs; Tho total admissions to hospitals and sick camps. Including those sick in quarters during the year, was 48,-307, 48,-307, tho dally average 6ick was 22 91 out of every thousand employes, as against 24 77 for 1910-11 and 22.01 for 1909-10 on the basis that the total numbers employed during tho years mentioned were 50 00S, 49.129 and 50,-355 50,-355 respectively. The total numbor of deaths nmoug employes was 508, or which 35 wero Americans 79 v,oro white employes or other nationalities and 394 wore blacks Tho total number num-ber of deaths from violence, among all employes was 154, as against 173 for the preceding year In addition on tho recommendation of tho medical examining board 193 deportations were made. 111 for disease and 52 for injuries. |
