The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1904-07-20
Negroes TO Dig the Canal.

VIA w eIiiPpcu VI large pOrtlOp OF
Its labor for work Oh the Panama ca
nal.
The isthmian canal commission is
finding the labor problem one Of the
most difficult with which it hes to deal
and as yet they have been unable to
determine from what source the 3d.
600 or perhaps so, 900 workmen needed
will be drawn. Admiral Walker, chair-
man OF the commission, has hereto.
fore always shown objection to the plan
of drawing workmen from the negro
population in the South, but since the
immigration authorities backed by
congress ha'e shut down on the
scheme of importing Chinese coolies
the commissioners have now come
face to face with the fact that they will
not be able to fill rush order for labor
from the sources at present in sight
which include the natives Of Panama
and the negroes Of Jamaica. Great
hopes were staked on this Jamaica
source of supply, but by careful in
vestigation the commission believes
now that they will be unable to Get
more than 5000 or 1000 from that
island. The natives resident on the
strip will Of course furnish a working
basis FOR the start, but an estimate Of
the available men on hand does not
give more than 5000 or 5000.
The commission must have at least
$4,000 more at an early date after the
canal work is fairly we'll under way
and there is no closer place to draw
from and no men better suited to the
work than the phosphate miners and
turpentine hands of the negro popula-
tion in the South.
The wages for the canal diggers has
not yet been decided on but in the
face of scarcity of labor it is expect
ed that larger price will have to be
given than was anticipated to induce
the negro laborers of the South to
give up their present positions to go to
a fever laden country. 1t will not be
the idle or worthless class Of negroes
in the South tha: the commission
will draw from-more' the pity-for
ouly an able bodied snd healthy 10.
will be taken. The situation as it now
faces the South therefore is g very
large decrease in it's able-bodied force
of workmen and o consequent proba-
BILE rise in the price of plantation
hands, turpentine workers and miners.
Of course the taking away Of Is, 900
mon amongst the many thousand more
negroes employed in the South might
not seem at first glance to be very
serious loss, but it is the present con-
ditions of labor in the South that will
make the difference. All the cotton
fields it is said are hard pressed to get
cheap labor, and should Panama prove
attractive to the class at present at
work in the fields and in the phosphate
mines South Carolina and Georgia will
be particularly affected.
Some Of the engineers here are fig
uring on doing the whole work on the
canal with 10000 men, but most Of
these estimates are mere guess work.
Admiral Walker himself has never
committed himself to an estimate Of
the number needed, but is known to
have looked rather skeptioal over the
small number suggested by other
engineers. The admiral has concen-
trated his heart On getting the canal
finished in eight years ct the most
and if it takes $4,000 70 do the trick
he will not hesitate to make the neces-
sary requisition. There is possi-
bility Of course that the contract for
tSe work will be let out TO number
Of different firms. This in fact seoms
to be the more probable course at the
present timo though the point has not
been settled by the commission who,
as it were, are "just looking around"
to get their bearings before starting
actual construction. But with the
private firms there will be the same
labor problem as there would be were
tho commission itself to undertake 60
do the work and it is believed that
southern laborers will be needed all
the same. Puerto Rico is also sug.
gested as another source Of supply,
but the number that could be furnish
ed by that island is also limited.