The water-supply system of the Canal Zone consists of a number of reservoirs on the watersheds of the Isthmus where no human habitations are allowed, and where trespassing is forbidden. The waters are examined for bacteria and other properties once each month, and a report thereon is made to the proper officials. Twice each month a physical examination of each reservoir, and the land from which it receives its water, is made by inspectors who report all conditions to the sanitary and other authorities. If there is any sign of contamination, steps to overcome the trouble are taken immediately.
Where the reservoirs fill up to the spillway the waste water is not allowed to go over the top, but is drawn out from the bottom in order that the under layers of water may be the ones wasted. Water drawn out for domestic purposes is taken from the top wherever possible. The water has a somewhat unpleasant taste to people newly arrived upon the Isthmus, and in some cases serves to disturb the digestive tract, but to the people who become accustomed to it the unpleasant flavor, due to the presence of decayed vegetation, is forgotten, and the workers on the Canal Zone frequently declare they miss the Panama water when they go back to the States.
The permanent Government of the Canal Zone will be, in the main, merely a miniature of the government during the construction period. The law providing for the operation of the canal makes this Government entirely subsidiary to the main purpose for which the canal was built. It provides that when war is in prospect the President may appoint a military officer to take charge of the Canal Zone, and to conduct its affairs as they might be conducted were the Zone nothing more than a military reservation. The Government will have its headquarters at the Pacific end of the canal where Balboa, the principal permanent town on the Isthmus, will be located. This little American city will be Government-built and Government-owned, and it will be the smallest of all the world's capitals.
SMOKE FROM HEATED ROCKS IN CULEBRA CUT
TOM M. COOKE
THE POST OFFICE, ANCON
Under the new Government all old laws, not specifically repealed, or contrary to the new ones, will be continued in force. All executive orders issued by the President, and all orders and ordinances promulgated by the Canal Commission, during the construction period, not inconsistent with the act creating a permanent form of government, are made laws of the Canal Zone to continue as such until specifically repealed by act of Congress.