Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1906-12-26

Philippines. and belonged to the best
type of-American soldier. Without ex-s
ception the black policemen whom
questioned had served either in the Brit
ish army or in the Jamaica or Barbados
police. They were evidently contented,
possible,the policemen are used to con-
troll people of their own color. but in
any emergency no hesitation is felt in
using them Unfortunately.
lnasmuch as so many both of the white
and colored employees have brought their
families with them, schools have been
der Mr.. OConnor. For the white pupils
white American teachers are employed:
for the colored pupils there are also some
white American teachers, one Spanish
teacher, and one colored American teach
er, most of them being colored teachers
a pleasant thing to see the pride that the
teachers We're taking in their work and
their pupils
Care of Employees.
Next in Importance to the problem of
sanitation, and indeed now of equal inn
portance, is the problem of securing and
caring for the mechanics, laborers and
other employees who actually do the work
on the canal and the railroad. This great
task has under ana 5he t sontT Of M
been well done. AT present there are
some 5000 white employees and some
I'VE / Went over the different places Where Where
the different kinds of employees were
working! 1 think l saw representatives
of every type both at their work and in
their homes; and conversed with prob
ably a couple of hundred of them all
told, choosing them at random from
every. class and including those who came
especially to present certain grievances
olmost Invariably expressed far greater
content and satisfaction with the con-
ditiOnS than did those who called to
make complaint.
Nearly 5000 of the white employees had
come from the United States. No man
theoretically doing their duty without
a thrill of pride in them as Americans.
They represent on the average a high
paid them will seem high. but as a mat
ter of fact the only general complaint
which 1 found had any real basis among
isthmus as,that, owing to the peculiar
surroundings, the cost of living, and the
distance from home. the wages were
fact. almost every man I spoke to felt
that he ought to be receiving more
money-a view, however, which the aver
United States probably likewise holds
as regards himself. ] append figures of
ine wa te pad SO rhas se the sSa
confer on the subject with certain repre-
sentative labor. men here in the United
States, as well as going over with Mr..
the zone and at home; and l may then
communicate my findings to the canal
committees of the two houses.
Chinese and Other Labor.
OF the $4,000 or 10000 day laborers
employed on the canal a few hundred
are SpaniardS. These do excellent
work. Their foreman told me that
they did twice as well as the West
Indian laborers. They keep healthy
and no difficulty is experienced with
them in any way. Some Italian labor-
ers are also employed in connection
with the drilling. AS might be ex-
pected. with labor as high priced as
at present in the United States. it has
not so far proved practicable to get
any ordinary laborers from the United
States. The American wage-workers
on the iSthmuS are the highly paid
skilled mechanics of the types men
toned previously. A steady effort is
being made to secure Italians, and es-
pecially to- procure more Spaniards,
because of the very satisfactory re-
suits that have come from their en-
ployment and their numbers will be
Increased as far as possible. 1t has
not proved possible, however, to get
them in anything like the numbers
needed for the work. and from present
appearances we shall in the main have
to rely, for the ordinary unskilled
work, partly upon colored laborers
from the West, Indies. partly upon
Chinese labor. 1t certainly ought to
be unnecessary to point out that the