ALONG THE GREAT CANAL by H. C. Goodrich

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Oct 9, 1913

ALONG THE GREAT CANAL

By H. C. Goodrich

In the Canal Zone

Stretching across the Isthmus of Panama is the strip of land called the Canal Zone, ten miles wide and forty-seven miles long. The republic of Panama sold it to the United States for $10,000,000 and a yearly payment, beginning this year, of $250,000. We who live along the Zone have been watching the progress of the canal toward completion—the greatest feat of engineering ever undertaken by man.

The depth of water maintained will be from forty-one to forty-five feet, and the width at the bottom of the canal is from three hundred to five hundred feet. The French plan was a seventy-foot canal, with thirty feet of water, cut to sea-level. The plan now is a sea-level canal on the Caribbean side for seven miles inland, where the Gatun locks—three pairs of giant locks—lift the ships eighty-five feet, to the level of Gatun Lake. The lake is raised beyond its natural level by a dam across the outlet. The spillway of this dam runs the power plant that supplies the electricity for the operating of the locks. Ships pass across the greatly enlarged lake and along the canal for thirty-two miles, at an elevation of eighty-five feet above the sea, when the locks at the Pacific side let them down again to the sea-level canal, eight miles from the western ocean.

Chief among difficulties to be encountered was the prevalence of malaria, yellow fever, and smallpox. The canal builders gave their first attention to sanitation. The streets of the cities were paved. A complete system of waterworks was installed for the cities, by which filtered water is brought to every dwelling. Gangs of men in every little town are constantly at work cutting the grass and tropical bush, keeping the ground clean around every town. To clean up the two cities of Colon and Panama cost the commission $3,000,000, which will be returned in water-rates. As the result of this scientific attack upon germs and germ carriers the death-rate has been brought below that of many of the cities of the States.

About forty thousand men, from nearly every part of the world, have been employed on the canal the last nine years. The commission provides free public schools for the children, and if in one town along the canal there are not enough children to warrant a school, the children there are given free transportation over the railway to the next town where there is a school.

We have found this a fruitful field for evangelistic work. Among the thousands of employees are many who listen eagerly to the word of life. Our colporteurs have sold $12,000 worth of books and periodicals during the last year. We are sowing the seed in faith, and God is giving increase in rejoicing souls.

I wish to relate one or two incidents that have been an encouragement to us. A young man who lost his arm in an accident was recently converted. After being rejected by his former employer, he decided to go out among the people with books. He was very successful in this work, but he did more than to sell books. He improved every opportunity to tell his friends of the new-found truths from the Bible he had learned to love. Ten or twelve have lately taken hold of the message in Colon; and when we ask them where they learned about these truths, they say, “We learned them from Brother Lee.” This young man is faithful both in his work as a canvasser and also in his efforts to lead others to Christ.

The Lord has blessed our work here so that our people have found favor in the eyes of their employers. Some of the farm managers have told me, “The men after they become Seventh-day Adventists are better workmen than they were before.” Not only have they encouraged us to work among them, but the company has given us two buildings in which to hold meetings, and has given Elder Reid, our native minister, a house in which to live, free. Besides this, Brother Reid has a free pass for himself and wife and their folding organ over their railroad lines. The Lord has given us two organized churches and three companies, besides interests in other places.

H. C. GOODRICH.