From the very beginning the Commission underestimated the magnitude of the sanitary operations, as well as their cost, and when the sanitary authorities urged upon them more extensive preparation and larger expenditure, they thought us visionary and more or less lost confidence in us. This was very unfortunate both for the sanitary authorities, and for the Commission, and came very near being the cause of the complete collapse of sanitation. General George W. Davis, the governor, was the only member of the Commission who lived continuously on the Isthmus. He was the only member of the Commission who had any adequate idea of the difficulties with which the Sanitary Department was confronted. He gave us his heartiest support. Our force of unacclimated whites liable to yellow fever rapidly increased during the winter of 1904 and spring of 1905. Yellow fever increased with still greater rapidity. The authorities became more and more alarmed. In January, 1905, the first Commission was asked to resign, and a new Commission was appointed. Even after this change the Sanitary Department was in no better condition than it had been under the former Commission. The chief sanitary officer was still subordinate to the governor of the Canal, and had no means of access to the chairman, except through the governor. Such sanitary measures were carried through the importance of which the chief sanitary officer could impress upon the governor. Those, the importance of which the governor could not see, were with great difficulty carried into effect. This condition of affairs was unfortunate. The authorities had no sanitary training, and as they looked upon the ideas of the sanitary officials with regard to the method of conveyance of yellow fever by the mosquito as being wild and visionary, they could not be expected to have rose-colored views as to what would be the results of attempting to carry these views into effect. The sanitary authorities had no doubt of their ultimate success, and felt confident that they could eradicate yellow fever in Panama, as they had just done in Havana, if they could only hold on long enough and get reasonable support from the superior authorities. Conditions with regard to yellow fever kept going from bad to worse during the first six months of 1905. In April, 1905, several of the higher officials died of yellow fever. This caused widespread panic among the whites, and very great demoralization to the work itself. A considerable sprinkling of our white force had either been in Cuba with us, or knew what had been accomplished there with regard to yellow fever, but the rank and file of the men began to believe that they were doomed just as had been the French before them.