APPENDIX F.

REPORT OF THE CHIEF QUARTERMASTER, SUPPLY DEPARTMENT.

BALBOA HEIGHTS, CANAL ZONE,

July 15, 1915. SIR: I have the honor to submit the following report of the operations of the supply department for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1915.

ORGANIZATION.

The medical storehouse, which had been taken over by this department on April 1, 1914, was retransferred to the health department on July 1, 1914, together with its personnel.

The building division, which had been made a part of this department on August 1, 1913, was created into a separate division as of October 1, 1914, and its entire personnel transferred out of this department.

PERSONNEL.

The following are some of the changes in personnel during the fiscal year:

Capt. R. E. Wood, United States Army, was relieved as chief quartermaster, effective October 1, 1914.

Maj. W. R. Grove, United States Army, was appointed chief quartermaster, effective October 1, 1914.

Capt. Frank O. Whitlock, United States Army, was relieved as assistant chief quartermaster, effective October 7, 1914.

Mr. Harry Dundas was relieved as district quartermaster of the Pedro Miguel district, as of November 1, 1914, and Mr. H. F. Sedwick appointed in his place as of that date.

Capt. Frederic H. Smith, United States Army, was appointed assistant chief quartermaster, effective December 11, 1914.

Mr. Otis W. Barrett, horticulturist, was assigned to this department, effective December 15, 1914.

Mr. Benjamin L. Jacobson, was placed in charge of the line commissaries, in addition to his other duties as depot commissary, effective December 16, 1914.

Mr. Charles H. Mann was appointed sales agent, effective March 1, 1915, and the title of depot quartermaster was abolished.

LABOR.

Due to the continuance of construction work at the Pacific end of the canal, and dredging operations in Gaillard Cut, there was only a slight decrease in the force at work as of June 30, 1915, compared with the previous year, the exact figures being 26,897 for this fiscal

year as compared with 29,673 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1914, a difference of 2,776. The largest force working at any one time. was in July, 1914, when the total was 32,437.

Labor conditions have been favorable throughout the year, there being a surplus in all grades. This was particularly true as regards common laborers. With the closing of certain units of the work the surplus became so great that it became necessary to make some arrangements for the repatriation of those for whom it was impossible to secure employment. Preference was given first to employees who had been discharged on account of reduction of force, and their families; and second to men and their families in destitute circumstances, and those too old or physically unfit for efficient service. The first lot, consisting of 140, were given deck passage on the Royal Mail Steam Packet Co. steamship Magdalena, sailing from Colon on Thursday, October 6, 1914, destined for Barbados, Trinidad, Grenada, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Monserrat, Antigua, Nevia, and St. Kitts. The second dispatch was the United Fruit Co. steamship Metapan, on October 8, with 82 deck passengers for Kingston, Jamaica. The Royal Mail steamship Orotava on October 20 carried 323 laborers for Barbados, other ships following about fortnightly, until the total repatriated numbered 3,355 during the months of October, November and December, 1914, at a total cost of $52,468.75; the totals for the fiscal year being as follows:

This has materially relieved the congestion in the labor situation, although the number availing themselves of the opportunity to return to their homes, was not in proportion to those without employment, the men apparently not desiring to return to their native lands after becoming accustomed to the higher wage scale prevailing on the Canal Zone. The excess of departures continued throughout the year, although not so marked as for the previous one, the quarantine reports showing a net decrease of 5,466, as compared with 14,822 for the previous period. No contract laborers were recruited during the year.

QUARTERS.

The process, which was started in the closing months of the preceding fiscal year, of abandoning the settlements on the west side of the canal, was completed by the end of the calendar year 1914, although the town of Culebra was not taken over by the Army until March 25, 1915. The offices, together with the personnel, in the administration building, Culebra, were moved to the new administration building at Balboa Heights on September 1, 1914. For a time it was necessary for a number of employees, both gold and silver, to ride to and from Balboa on labor trains until such time as family quarters were available. This condition, however, was soon eliminated through assignments at Corozal, Ancon, and Balboa. A

number of temporary assignments were made at Culebra, and when this town was vacated these families were given quarters at La Boca, through the conversion of a type 18 house and several silver married quarters into apartments for gold families. The town of Empire was abandoned and taken over by the Army on November 25, 1914. There has been a general decrease in the number of waiting applicants for family quarters in all districts, and only in the AnconBalboa district is the situation acute, but even in that district the number has decreased from 545 on June 30, 1914, to 274 on June 30, 1915, while the total for the Isthmus has decreased from 1,188 to 642. Conditions are particularly favorable at Gatun, where all applicants who are working within the district and applying for family quarters, have been assigned. Assignments to gold family quarters at Corozal were discontinued on June 1, in order to prepare for the eventual turning over of this town to the Army, and arrangements were made to take care of the families now quartered there, by transfer to the Ancon-Balboa district, where 40 concrete and 80 frame apartments are now under construction, most of which will be completed by September 1, 1915. These apartments, together with the vacancies which will naturally occur in the meantime, will probably take care of the 180 families now living at Corozal. One district was abolished during the year, viz, Empire-Culebra, leaving five districts in the organization.

The total number of men, women, and children occupying Panama Canal quarters decreased from 17,938 to 15,076. This reduction can be accounted for by the abandonment of the settlements on the west side of the canal; a decrease in the work at Gatun, where a large number of gold employees and European laborers were laid off, together with a decrease in the number of Europeans employed generally over the work.

With the completion of the 120 family apartments authorized for the Ancon-Balboa district, there will be accommodations in that district for 613 gold families and 1,500 gold bachelor employees. This, it is believed, will afford sufficient accommodations to satisfactorily quarter the permanent gold bachelor force employed at the Pacific end of the canal, with some remodeling of quarters so as to make better living conditions; but it is probable that there will not be sufficient gold married quarters.

There is still a congestion in silver family quarters at La Boca, where there are over 500 applications on file. This condition, in a measure, also prevails in other districts on the Zone. Eighty apartments have been authorized for silver families at Pedro Miguel, and when these are completed it will partially relieve conditions at Paraiso and Pedro Miguel, as well as lessen the necessity for labor-train service between those places and Panama.

Under authority of Executive Order No. 2120, dated January 15, 1915, a rental was charged for all quarters, fuel, and electric current, effective March 1, 1915. Accordingly, a schedule of rents was adopted for all quarters, and put into effect as of that date. The schedule was based upon the area of the apartment occupied, the condition of the house, desirability of location, etc., the rates being one-half cent per square foot for living space, and one-quarter cent per square foot for porch space, per month. The type 14 family quarters being the predominating one on the Isthmus, was taken as a basis.

This style of house has four apartments, each containing approximately 1,000 square feet of floor space, divided into 600 square feet for living and 400 square feet for porch space, making the rental for an apartment of this type $4 a month. To this was added a monthly rent of $1.50 for furniture and 50 cents for the collection of garbage and care of grounds, making the total rental for an apartment in a type 14 house $6 per month. In addition to this the occupants paid for the fuel and electric current used. It was found that by applying these factors to the various types of houses on the Zone, that this schedule worked out reasonably and equitably for all, and very few complaints were received. The same principal was applied to bachelor quarters, excepting that furniture, care of grounds, and cleaning materials were figured at 75 cents per room per month, and janitor service at actual cost. During the three months this executive order remained in effect the rentals collected were as follows:

The order was suspended by the President, effective May 25, 1915, under provisions of Executive Order No. 2204.

The rock crusher at Porto Bello having been abandoned, a force of 8 gold and 120 silver employees went to Porto Bello in August to take out the balance of the houses, scrap, and equipment at that point. Three type 17 and four type 14 houses still remained on the hill, and these were taken down in sections, transported to Ancon, and reerected there. A large quantity of scrap, a miscellaneous assortment of tools and property, and a number of items of equipment were moved to Mount Hope Depot. The work was completed and the station permanently abandoned in September.

In order to encourage the silver employees quartered in La Boca in the policing and care of quarters and the cultivation of grass and plants, all with a view to improving the general appearance of the settlement, a general plan was approved on October 17 whereby prizes were offered for the best kept house of each type. Monthly inspections are made by a committee, and the employees to whom prizes are awarded are allowed the amount of the prize in the form of a deduction from the rental charge for the succeeding month. As a result there has been a decided improvement in the general appearance of the townsite and in the sanitary condition of the quarters.

ZONE SANITATION.

The collection and disposal of garbage and night soil and the cutting of grass continued under the supervision of this department throughout the year, excepting at Cristobal-Mount Hope. At these places the work was turned over to the health department in October, 1914, as it was not deemed advisable to maintain two separate organiza

tions in the same district, especially as the work at Cristobal-Mount Hope was only a small proportion of that performed by the health department in Colon. After eight months' trial this arrangement has proven satisfactory.

There has been a decided decrease in the area of grass to be cut for sanitary purposes on the Zone, as well as in the collection of garbage, owing to the abandonment of the settlements on the west side of the canal. The cost of Zone sanitation proper decreased from $84,594.32 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1914, to $47,550.52 for the present year.

CORRALS.

The demand for teams and wagon transportation throughout the year has exceeded expectations, with the result that all animals were worked to their full capacity. As nearly all of the animals have been on the work for a number of years, it has resulted in a number becoming unserviceable and unfit for further use. The number that died or were destroyed during the year was 6 horses and 40 mules, as compared with 9 horses and 41 mules for the preceding period. The following table shows the losses from disease, accident, condemnation, and sale since the inception of the work:

Anticipating a possible decrease in the demand for wagon transportation, no animals were purchased during the year, excepting two fire horses. This left the corrals with no reserve supply on hand. It is not the intention to replace the animals which are lost, but to substitute, so far as is practicable, motor trucks for wagon transportation, and in pursuance of this plan two small delivery trucks, one 1-ton truck, and one 3-ton truck have been purchased for the supply department, and the health department has purchased a 1-ton truck and an ambulance.

MATERIAL AND SUPPLIES.

The policy of limiting stocks so far as possible was continued. A total of 1,428 requisitions were prepared and forwarded to the general purchasing officer, as compared with 1,403 during the preceding fiscal year. There was an increase in the number of cable orders

placed.

The value of material received during the fiscal year was $8,018,418.03, as compared with $11,116,395.10 for the preceding fiscal year, and the local purchases amounted to $1,360,469.71, as compared with $2,293,144.66 for the fiscal year 1914. Local purchases of coal dropped from $929,176.57 to $543,055.36, and local purchases of oil dropped from $863,206.66 to $609,760.37. The reduction in the amount of fuel oil purchased locally was due to the provisions made for the storage of fuel oil and the taking over from the Union

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