The Yale expositor., 1905-10-06
Panama Officials Forced to Use Clubs
on Martinique Laborers.
STIRRING SCENES AT COLON
Men Hired to Work on Canal Chung to
Vessel, Declaring Deception Had
Been Used-Fifty Jumped Into Wa
ter During Vigorous Fight.

Unique who arrived here on the
French line steamer Versailles gave
officers much trouble. They refused to
disembark or to submit to vaccination,
which is imperative under the AmerI-
can sanitary regulations, and clamored
| to be taken back to Martinique, con-
tending that they had been misin-
which they said were intolerable ami
deadly.
Five hundred of them were with diff.
ficulty persuaded to disembark, and
these were sent to points along the
line of the canal. One hundred and
! clined TO leave the ship under any
consideration.
Not Amenable to Reason.
Early Sunday morning the French
| consul at Colon, NJ. Bonhenry, APP
! pealed to the men to listen TO reason,
explaining that they had left Martin
ique under contract with the canal
! zone emigration agent, guaranteeing
the payment of their passage here,
and that while working on the canal
| they would have in addition to their
wages the guarantee of free quarters
and free medical attendance. The
men, however, were not amenable to
! this reasoning. Notwithstanding the
efforts of the consul and of the Pan.
anna and American officials, and de-
| spite the information given them by
! several of their corn;rymen that
! health and other coalitions on the
isthmus were satir.Ictory and that the
! terms of their Employment would en-
able them to save money, they per1
sistently refused to leave the ship,
! barring their breast and invoking death
! in preference 10 going ashore.
The captain of the Versailles, who
! all through the trouble displayed an
extraordinary amount of patience, told
! the men that he was ready to take
! back to Martinique all those who were
able to pay their passage, but the men
| argued that the French government
would be willing to reimburse the
steamship company and that they
themselves were penniless.
Barred Their Breasts.
Before noon, at the instance of M.
Raven, the agent of the company, AMI
of the French consul, a squad of
twelve Panaman police went on board
the vessel and told the men that force
would be used if they persisted in
their refusal to disembarl. Seeing that
the police were armed with bayonets
and guns, the men again barred their
| breasts and said they preferred death
rather than be taken ashore. Gov.
Melendez, Mayor Andron, the chief of
police, and others argued with the
men, but again without effect.
Ten additional policemen arrived at
the wharf, but the governor, wishing
to avoid bloodshed and considering
that the police force was insufficient,
telegraphed to President Amador, ask.
ing permission to use the canal zone
police, to which the president consent
ed. In the meantime twelve police
men from the zone had arrived at the
dock and we're being held in readi-
ness.
CIubbed Them.
At 2 o'clock the laborers were in
formed that they would be given two
hours to consider their decision, and
at 4 o'clock three of them consented
to disembark, the others still holding
out. Then the Panaman police, armed
with clubs, approached the laborers,
and on their refusing to quit the ship
began to club them right and left
The zone police, few minutes
later, assisted in the clubbing, but
with better judgment and less indis-
criminately. About fifty of the labor
ers leaped into the sea, but all of the
men were able to swim. The captain,
however, lowered boat, which picked
them up. Nearly every man had re-
ceived blows and several of them were
bleeding from ugly wounds.
Seeing that resistance was useless,
the men yielded, came ashore and be-
gan to eat the food which had been
for several hours. Many of them had
not eaten since Saturday At 5 o'clock
all the laborers, who were in a pitiable
condition. were placed on hoard n