The Colossal Business of the Commissary--The Task of Feeding Forty Nationalities--The Stern Suppression of the Social Class--Evil Effect of the Abolition of the Canteen--Some Figures Concerning the Commissary Service--The International Agreement on the Commissary--The Police System of the Zone--The School System of the Zone--Agricultural Possibilities on the Zone--Future Possibilities of the Canal Zone. CHAPTER XIX. FORTIFICATIONS, TOLLS, COMMERCE AND QUARANTINE 363 Why Fortify the Canal at All?--The Suez Canal no Parallel--Some Details of the Fortifications--The Mobile Force on the Zone--The Sufficiency of Fortifications Planned--Effect of the Canal on Trade Routes--The Railroad Fight on the Canal--The Canal and the Flag--The First Immediate Advantage of the Canal--The Much-mooted Question of Tolls--Our Trade with Pacific-Latin America--Time Saved by Panama Canal Route--The Possible Commerce of the Canal--Some Phases of Our Foreign Trade--The Need of Our Own Ships and Banks--What Our Merchant Marine is--The Grave Question of Quarantine. CHAPTER XX. DIPLOMACY AND POLITICS OF THE CANAL 399 Our Reckoning with Colombia--Our Commercial Interests in South America--Mutual Interests of the United States and Great Britain--What the Canal has and will Cost--New Work for the Interstate Commerce Commission--The Moral Lesson of the Panama Canal. LIST OF COLORED ILLUSTRATIONS 1 MAP OF PANAMA CANAL AND CANAL ZONE _Facing title page_ FACING PAGE 2 DUKE STREET, KINGSTON, JAMAICA 16 3 GOING TO MARKET 40 4 A NATIVE VILLAGE 72 5 OLD FRENCH CANAL AT MOUNT HOPE 104 6 ANCON HILL FROM THE HARBOR OF PANAMA 128 7 THE WASHING PLACE AT TABOGA 152 8 A NATIVE BAKERY 176 9 THE RIVER AND VILLAGE OF CHAGRES 192 10 THE CULEBRA CUT 216 11 AVENIDA B, PANAMA CITY 232 12 PANAMA BAY FROM ANCON HOSPITAL 256 13 A TYPICAL NATIVE HUT 280 14 VENDOR OF FRUIT AND POTTERY 304 15 OLD LANDING AT TABOGA 336 16 SWIMMING POOL AT PANAMA 368 17 SANTA ANA PLAZA, PANAMA 392 LIST OF BLACK AND WHITE ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE 1 The Sentinel Tree 5