The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-12-18

| other Tn all cases where the com
 Haai5. was to tnsiT treatment Sy ang that this individual was himself West
 India man of color, either a policeman, 2 storekeeper. or an assistant store complaints against Americans; but those to whom I spoke did not happen to make any such complaint to me. I saw but one set of quarters for colored laobrers which thought poor, and this was in an old French
 house The barracks for unmarried clean. with canvas hunks for each man. and a kind of false attic at the top, where the trunks and other belongings clothes are hung on clotheslines, 1oth- ing being allowed to be kept on the floor. Tn each of these big rooms there
 few books or. papers, and in almost
 every room there was a Bible: the
 books being the property of the labor CTS themselves. The cleanliness of the quarters is secured by daily inspection The quarters for the married negro laborers were good. They were neatly kept, and in almost every. case the men
 living. in them. whose wives or daugh- ters did the cooking for them, were far better satisfied and of higher grade than the ordinary bachelor ne- which these negro laborers were liv-
 ing much superior to those In which ! am informed they live at home. but
 aeS e wsre in qfs fSe of # ans
 self. beside the railroad trucks In
 mans live. as well as the negro work men when they leave the employ of the canal and go into the Jungles. sin gle glance at the two sets Of build
 ings Is enough to show the great su- iiness, and healthfulness of the gov. ernment houses as compared with the
 "@'i'e NeEToeu do Own Cooking.
 The negroes generally do their own
 cooking. the bachelors cooking in sheds provided by the government ana
 using their own pots. Tn the different
 the character of these cooking sheds.
 In some. where the camps were com nleted, the kitchen or cooking sheds, as we'll as the bathrooms and water
 closets, were all in excellent trim. while there were board sidewalks lead ing from building to building. Tn oth-
 had not been fioored, ana the sidewalks had not been put down, while in one
 camp the bath houses were not vet up
 In each case, however, every effort was ton, and I do not believe that the de- 1 lays had been greater than were lnev- l ttable in such work. The lanorerS are but there was much complaint, espec- l ially amon0 the bachelors. as to the l quantity. and some as to the quality, of the food they got from the commis- | sary department, especially as regards | yams. On the other hand, the married | men and their wives. and the more ad-
 vanced among the bachelors, almost in- variably expressed thefnseives as en- l tlgely satisfied with their treatment at | the commissary stores; except that I they stated that they generally could ! chase them outside. The chief com | plaint was that the. prices were too high. It is unavoidable that the prices
 should be higher than in their own l | came to the conclusion that the chief trouble lay in Nhe fact that the vans,
 ishable food, and are very bulky com. pared to the amount of nourishmept they contain. so that 1t isscostly to im-
 port them in large quantities and diff
 felt that an effort should be made to secure them 8 more ample supply or
 their favorite food. and so directed;
 and believe that ultimately the gov
 ernment must itself feed them. I am
 having this matter looked Into.
 The superintendent having immedi-
 ate charge of one gang or men M ndsae at sne
 and other nourishinE food for the
 stringy watery vans. becsases ss,t the Ssffsr men | on the more nourishing food. lnas. much. however, as they are accustomed
 to yams. it Is difficult to, get them 70 eat the more strengthening food. and
 some time elapses before they grow accustomed toit. At this reservoir there has been a curious experience. | It is off in the jungle by itself at the end of a couple of miles of a little toy railroad. Tn order to get the laborers
 there. they were given free food tand proved difHcuIt to keep them. because | they wished to be where they cou4d
 reach the sdramshop and places of amusement.
 | fort and responsibility of the lives of | the married men. It would, in my opln- | ion. be most admirable thing If a much larger number of the men had | their wives, for with their advent all | complaints about the food and cooking are almost sure to cease.
 | I had an interview with Mir. 44allel, | the British consul to find out if there | was any just cause for complaint as | to the treatment of the West India ne
 caily that there was not, and author | ized me to give his statement nuelic- | ity. He said that not only was the | condition of the laborers far better | than had been the case under the old | French Company. but that year by year | the condition was improving under our | new regime. He stated that complaints | were continually brought to him. fnd | that he always investigated them; and | that for the last six months he nad | failed to find a single complaint or | a serious nature EOuNSAhSN NhS | Justification whatever.
 Recreation and Amusement.
 One of the greatest needs at present | is to provide amusements both for the | white men and the black. The Young | Mems Christian Association .s trying | to do good work and should be in av- | cry way encouraged. But the govern | ment should do the main work. l have | Specifically called the attention of the | Commission to this matter, and some 1 thing has been accomplished already 7. | Anything done for the welfare of the 1 devoted to that purpose is therefore | properly to be considered as spent in | buiiding the canal It Is imperatiVelV | necessary to provide ample recreation | and amusement if the men are to pc l kept well and healthy. call the
 sneciai attention of Congress to thls
 This gathering, distributing: and ] caring for the great force of laborers | is one of the giant features of the l time occur in connection herewith is l inevitahie The astonishing thing Is l that the work has been peformed so | well and thaA the machinery runs so smoothly From my own experlence l l am able2to say that more care had been | exercised in housing, feeding and gen | eraiiy paying heed to the needs of the l skilled mechanics and ordinary labor | CTS in the work on this canal than IS l the case in the construcuon or new | vata ar pubIic work In the United | States proper; and 1t is the testimony | of all people competent to sneak that 1 on no other similar work anyWherS l in the Tropics-indeed. as Tar as I such forethought and such success
 acbieved in providing for the needs | of the men who dc the work.