The Washington times., 1905-09-01
CRISIS REACHED
ALONG THE CANAL
Governor Magoon of Pana-
ma Zene Makes Statement.
STARTLING REVELATIONS
Matter of Feeding People at Work
in the Ditch Serious
Proposition.

y remarkable communication from:
Governor Magoon.- of the Panama
canal zone. setting forth the tremendous
difficulties under which the ditch work
is being carried on, and explaining the
critical situation i'm which the commits
sion finds itself al this time, has been
received in Washington The letter pre-
as to organiza ton, commissariat rela-
tions with the Panama Republic. etc,
which have never before been so frankly
and freely set forth on official authority
Governor Magoon on August u wrote
/ q lengthy statement of this situation.
which has Just been received in Wash
ington. 1t was in the form of a letter
/ TO Don Ricardo Arias, a citizen OF tho
Panama Republic. and was in answer
to a letter received from that gentle
man.
Business Men Protest.
/ Don Arias had written to the gov
ernor telling him that there was much
protest among business interests in the
: zone against the determinati ton of the
! commissioners TO supply provisions di-
rect TO their employees and laborers.
f, The business men. who thus saw their
business taken away from them and
| turned into a Government monopoly
or something akin to it. believed that
! such policy would result i'm widespread
ruin to general business. disaster to the
republic b. reason OF looping off its
/ import duties, and decentralization which
! must have the graveSt results.
In his reply Governor MaSoon vigor-
! ously set forth that a crisis had been
reached in the matter of feeding the
people working in the zone. There mad
been a crop shortage; provisions could
not be brought from South American
I ports because OF the quarantine rules;
and the business interests of the region
had been utterly unable 90 cope with
the situation. There was not enough
food for the zone population; such food
was supplied was sold at excessive
prices: and finally. the private business
interests were unable To extend tne nee
essary credit to employees.
Sensational Statements.
Some OF the statements made by Gov
crnor Magoon are decidedly sensational.
Il After showing that the ordinary labor
row employed is so inefficient that
it is extremely expensive he quotes
Chief Engineer Wallace as saying:
This standard must bc raised 10 d
higher efficiency, and one way 10 make
IL more efficient is 10 see that the la
borers are properly fed, which they are
nished by the native merchants and
purveyors have reached such a point
that many of our laborers are livins
practically on sugar cane and have not
! the strength to do the work
And In another part of his letter the
governor quotes Chief Engineer Stevens,
, who has been on the zone only a few
weeks. thus:
THE success or failure of the present
| effort TO build the canal will be written
inside the next eighteen months
Governor Magoon points out that be
fore il was decided to conduct the com
nissariat under the commission. and &c
. ! sell supplies direct to the employees
every effort was made to secure az
! adequate amount of provisions at fail
prices The Panama government re-
duced it's import duties: the railroad and
steamship lines reduced freignts 90 pei
cent; by agreement of the Government
the commission banks and other In
tcrests the rate OF exchange was re-
duced to . per cent having bS&pre beer
) at times as high as so per H: and s
stable currency had been scshred- fe
all these utterly failed to secure enough
: provisions TO feed the workers. or TO re
duce them to such basis OF price tha
the men could afford TO buy them.
There was nothing left for ii but fol
the Government TO go into the store
1, eping business on it's own account.
The method OF issuing coupon book!
TO employees the coupons being redeem
: able at the commissary stores, is ex
O piained by Governor MagCon. He ex
presses confidence that under this sys
: TEN the demands OF the laborers viii
I be supplied. and is positive that the.
a could not have been cared ior other
wise.