Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1905-10-06
FEEDING THE CANAL WoRKMEN

FEEDING THE CANAL WoRKMEN.
j. {. Markell Tells About His Big Pan.
anna Contract.
]. E. Markell, who has just obtaine d
the contract to feed the workmen on
the Panama canal, began the business
Of feeding people nearly fifty years
ago when, as a boy. he took contract
20 feed workmen on a big fiatboat be-
tween st. Louis and New Orleans, on
the Mississippi river, says an Omaha
letter. He was raised on a farm near
Mark Twain's place In eastern Missou-
ri, and after his experience on the fiat
boat he settled down in st. Louis to
become a baker.
Next he drifted to the west, and In
1872 began operating eating houses
along the Union Pacific, with which
road he continued for thirty years. In
addition to his Panama interests, Mr..
Markell at present operates the board
ing and eating houses along the lines
Of the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Day
ton, the Illinois Central, the Denver and
Rio Grande the Rock Island, the Kan
sas City Southern. the Denver and
Northwestern and the new Moffatt
railroads, and manages number OF
big hotels in western cities.
His great experience in feeding
crowds placed him In a position to bid
intelligently for the Panama contract,
Regarding the contract and his plans,
Mr. Markell says:
1.-THE contract is not a s50,000.000 one
to feed any $4,000 men. as the newspa-
pers have reported. I don't believe
there will ever be more than 10000 men
employed at any one time. The con-
tract runs for five years.
II was first invited last March to
go to the Isthmus by Mr.. Wallace
and was studying the conditions when
he left. 1 kept watch Of things and
continued my Investigations until
found out Just what was wanted.
"I spent a whole month down there.
and when I finished I knew what was
necessary and knew just what was
bidding on. The result was that got
the contract.
What the commission wanted and
what am going to furnish is system
Of substantial meals at reasonable
prices, so that the employees on the ca
nal can afford to buy them and will be
In condition to return the commission
in labor the worth of their wages.
For instance, the Jamaica negroes,
now about 1000 employed on the canal
are scattered along in camps from one
to two miles apart, there being thirty
camps along the forty-seven miles OF
canal. These camps have from 200 to
200 negroes each.
1.-THE houses are built especially for
:he purpose and are thoroughly sani-
tary. There are strict rules for keep
ing them clean. The negroes have to
have everything cleaned up by a GER
tain hour each morning. The houses
are thoroughly scrubbed once a week
and fumigated every two weeks. They
have comfortable canvas beds.
But when 1t comes to eating, the
only things they can afford to buy with
their money as things now are on the
isthmus, are sugar cane, bananas and
such stuff, and a man can't stand up
and do a hard days work on such
diet and give back the value Of his
wages Eggs are 10 cents apiece, salt
fish is 40 cents a pound, fresh meat
from so cents to a dollar a pound, and
everything in proportion.
Now we are going to offer them
three meals a day with such stuff as
coffee, bread and meat for breakfast;
coffee bread, fish, two kinds Of vegeta-
bles and pie or pudding for dinner;
and much the same for supper, at 45
cents a day or $14 month.
I'm addition. we will have a place
at each camp where we will sell cook
ed food in bulk to the men with fam
lilies who want to take 1t home, or to
the men who live in clubs and do their
own cooking, or part Of 1t, and want
to buy a portion ready cooked. There
Is no compulsion about buying from
US; the men can buy wherever they
please, but I agree with the commits
sion to have the food there to offer
to the men at reasonable prices.
For the white men Of whom there
are $500 now, and there will be 5000
later, we will run hotels. Two are
now finished and the number will be
increased to ten. We furnish them
first class board at 81 a day. and rooms
at Sc a month each, making the cost
Of living $50 a month each.
Before these prices were made we
figured it out with the commission
that laborers generally in this country
have to pay from 40 to so per cent Of
their wages for living purposes; and
clerks and other salaried men in cities
about the same proportion. So we fig
ured on the canal to keep down the
cost of living to between 40 and so per
cent of the wages.
"The JamaicH negroes get from $1.75
to 1925 silver each day. This is from
80 cents to $1.1O gold. so the commits
sion held the cost Of living down to As
cents a day. Most Of the clerks get
from $3.50 to SITS month and no one
gets less than 500 a month, so their
living is also made comparatively
cheap.
Il shall assemble all my supplies at
New York for shipment to the 18TH
mus; my buying will be done wherever
it can be done to the best advantage.
The commission ships my stuff for me
on refrigerator steamers at rate that
just covers the actual cost; 1t gives
me cold storage rooms at Colon also
at cost or just a little above cost.
practically everything will have to
be shipped. There is absolutely moth
ing that can be bought on the Isthmus.
The natives are too worthless and lazy
to raise anything. AS fine fish as I
ever saw can be caught on the 18TH
mus, but the natives never catch
enough to amount to anything.
But l believe that the work of SAN
itation which is now going on and the
fact that the natives will have to keep
Il