Pitched Unfairly

Isthmian Canal Office of the Chief Engineer

Sanitation first, then dig.

Project kickoff · Isthmus of Panama · 1905

CARIBBEAN SEA PACIFIC OCEAN Colón Gatún Culebra Panamá Chagres R. the divide N
Line of the canal, Colón to Panamá. Sketch, not to scale.

01 / Why this project

One year in, we have fever, panic and no chief engineer. We fix the order.

May 4, 1904
The United States takes over the French works.
2,150
French buildings inherited. Many unfit to live in.
Decayed
The Panama Railroad, our only way across.
Spring 1905
Yellow fever epidemic. Senior officials among the dead.
June 1905
The chief engineer resigns.

The plan

Pause the big dig. Make the Isthmus livable first.

“The digging is the least thing of all.” J. F. Stevens

02 / What failed before

The French spent eight years and an estimated 22,000 lives. Their ledger is our checklist.

1881 to 1889
Years at work
$287M
Spent
About 22,000
Lives lost (est.)
Two-fifths
Of the canal dug

What happened

By 1884 deaths ran over 200 a month. Nobody yet knew the mosquito carried the fever.

Our rule

Sanitation is phase one, not overhead.

03 / The goal

Done means a ship crosses ocean to ocean.

Atlantic Pacific

And it counts only if

  • No yellow fever anywhere on the Isthmus.
  • Running water and sewers in Panamá and Colón.
  • A railway that can carry the spoil away.
  • A profile chosen and funded by Congress.

04 / Scope

We build everything a canal needs before the big cut.

In scope

  • Mosquito controlScreens, fumigation, drained and oiled water
  • Water and sewersRunning water in Panamá and Colón
  • The railwayHeavier track, engines and cars, rebuilt end to end
  • HousingQuarters, mess halls, hospitals, stores
  • RecruitingThe labor force the Cut will need

Out, for now

  • Full-scale digging at Culebra until phases 1 and 2 sign off
  • The sea-level plan we will recommend locks; Congress decides
  • Hiring anyone we cannot house yet

05 / Why sanitation first works

In Havana, Gorgas went after the mosquito, and the fever went with it.

18

yellow fever deaths in Havana, 1901

Deaths from yellow fever, city of Havana, by month. Dashed: 1900. Source: Havana mortality returns, as tabled by W. C. Gorgas.

06 / The plan

The dig stays locked until sanitation and the railway sign off.

  1. 01 SanitationOwner: Dr. W. C. Gorgas No new yellow fever on the line
  2. 02 Railway and housingOwner: J. F. Stevens The line carries spoil; every hire has a bed
  3. 03 Dig at full scale: the Culebra CutOwner: J. F. Stevens Opens when 01 and 02 sign off UnlockedLocked
  4. 04 Dams and locksOwner: J. F. Stevens Opens when Congress picks the profile

07 / Roles

Every row has one name accountable. Mosquitoes are Gorgas.

Workstream
Mosquito control CARIII
Water and sewers ARCI
Railway and spoil trains ARI
Housing and hospitals ARCI
Recruiting ARCC
Budget CCARCI
Lock or sea level RCCA

Gorgas is accountable for mosquito control. Responsible for 1, consulted on 4.

R does it A answers for it C consulted I informed

08 / Risks and assumptions

Four risks with an owner each. One assumption nobody tested.

RiskOwnerMitigationStatus
Yellow fever returns with every new hire Gorgas Screens, house-by-house fumigation, running water in the cities.Last case in Panamá on November 11, 1905. The last on the Isthmus, in Colón, May 1906. Fix in handHeld
Malaria, the bigger killer Gorgas Drain and oil standing water. Screened sleeping quarters.Hospital admissions for malaria fell from 821 per 1,000 workers in 1906 to 76 in 1913. Fix in handHeld
The Commission balks at the cost Stevens Back Gorgas in writing. Take it to the President if needed.The chairman asked Roosevelt to remove Gorgas. Roosevelt backed Gorgas. Fix in handHeld
Congress picks a sea-level canal Stevens Make the case for locks, with the Chagres in flood.The Senate chose locks, 36 to 31, in June 1906. The House followed on June 27. Fix in handHeld
Assumption: sanitation and housing reach every worker Stevens, Gorgas Assumed, not tested.It did not. Most laborers were West Indian, many from Barbados, and many lived outside the screened housing. In 1906 Black workers died at ten times the rate of white workers. UntestedFailed

09 / Cadence

One ledger a week, with three colors that mean one thing each.

Weekly
One line and one color per workstream, to the chairman.
Same day
Anything red goes by cable.
Direct
Sanitation reports to the chairman, not through the governor.
Monthly
The full ledger to the Secretary of War.
  • GreenOn track.
  • AmberA risk, and the fix is in hand.
  • RedWe need help. Today.

10 / The first two weeks

Two weeks to start. One decision to ask for.

Week 1

  • Back Gorgas in public, in writing
  • Hold full-scale digging at the Cut
  • Order heavier rail, engines and cars

Week 2

  • Start water mains in Panamá and Colón
  • Start quarters and mess halls on the line
  • Open recruiting for the labor force

Decision needed

Fund sanitation in full, with Gorgas reporting straight to the chairman.

Decider
Commission chairman
By
End of week two

Then we dig.

The record

It opened on August 15, 1914. Thousands never saw it.

June 1906
Congress chooses a lock canal.
April 1907
Stevens resigns. George W. Goethals takes over and finishes the job.
Aug. 15, 1914
The SS Ancon makes the first official transit, ahead of the 1916 target date.

About 22,000

died in the French attempt, 1881 to 1889 (estimated)

About 5,600

died in the American effort, 1904 to 1914. Most were laborers from the West Indies, many from Barbados.