Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1906-12-22

W. anu tnat the trouble was
amy due to the extreme difficulty. and
ten impossibility, OF providing in ever
aee Tor the constant Increase In the
llhperS OF employees. Generally the pro-
sion Is made In advance, but IL Is not
lsslple ihat this should alW IS be the
lse when II Is not there ensues a
'llou OF time during which the cOndi-
ons are unsatisfactory, until a remedy
~ pe proVldedi but | never found a
use where the remedy was not being
'o'iaed as speedily as possible,
improvements in Cities.
The sanitation work in the cities Of
auama and Colon has been lust as
nportant as in the zone itself and in
ANY respects much more difficult be-
iuhe II was necessary to deal with
ne already existing population. which
aturaliy had scant sympathy with
evolutionary changes the value of
men they were for a long time not
Die to perceive. In Colon the popula-
on consists largely Of cOlOred labor
3 VINO. having come over from the
est indies to work on the canal.
1andon the work and either take TO
he brush or lie idle in Colon itself.
us peopling Colon with the least de-
rable among the imported laborers.
" the good and steady men Of course
ntinue at the work Yet astonish-
u progress has been made in both
DIES. In Panama 80 per cent OF the
seets that are to be paved at all are
seauy paved with an excellent brick
rement laid in heavy concrete, a few
othe streets being still in process OF
ping The sewer and water services
hthe city are Of the most modern hy-
gnlc type. some of the service hay-
II Just been completed.
4 Colon the conditions are peculiar.
a. 1t is as regards Colon that most Of
Il very bitter complaint has been
mic. Colon is built on a low coral
isnd covered at more or less shallow
dc MS with vegetable acCumulations
0rnold which affords sustenance and
stngth TO many varieties of low
ly tropical plants. One-half of the
suace Of the island is covered with
war a high tide, the average height
of ne land being ~ feet above low
It'd The slight undulations furnish
Shi oW, natural reservoirs or fresh
war breeding places for every varie-
W mosquito, and the ground tends
70 lowest in the middle. When the
TOW was originally built no attempt
wa'nade to fill the low ground, either
10 te streets or on the building sites
50 iat the entire surface was prac-
tirav dua Tmire. when the duaE-
mir became impossible certain of the
stres We're crudely improved by FILL
ing specially bad mud holes with soft
rOcElr other material In September
1908 systematic effort was begun to
fOrnlate general plan for the prop
er slltatlon of the city; in February
last emporary relief measures We're
take while in July the prosecution OF
the DIX was begun In good earnest
The esults are already visible In the
seweng draining, guttering and paw
ing the streets. Some four months
viii g required before the work Of
sewe-ge and street Improvement will
be cCpleted, but the progress already
made very marked Ditches have
been lg through the town connecting
the ST. water on both sides, and into
these he ponds, which have served as
breed g places for the mosquitoes, are
draine These bitches have answered
their urpose, for they are probably
the c.ef cause of the astonishing
diminron Of mosquitoes More bitches
OF thesind are being constructed,
Unjust Criticism.
Care nd forethought have been exer-
cised bthe commission, and nothing has
reheGte more credit upon them than
their rGsal either to go ahead too fast
or to b.deterred by the fear of criticism
from n going ahead fast enough. Ii IS
curious % note the fact that many OF
the mos severe critics Of the commission
crtlcise hem for precisely opposite rea-
sons, SOC complaining bitterly that the
work islOt in a more advanced Condl-
tion, VII the others complain that 1t has
been ruaed with such haste that there
has bee insufficient preparation for the
hygiene md comfort Of the employees,
AS a mGter Of fact neither criticism Is
just. nw0uld have been impossible to
go quicEr than the commission has
gone, fc such quickness would have
meant fsufiicient preparation. On the
other la to refuse 10 do anything un-
I'll every Ossible future contingency had
been met would have caused wholly un'
warrante delay The right course to
follow Va exactly the course which has
been foutEed Every reasonable prepara-
tion was aade IN advance, the hygienic
conditions in especial being made as
nearly peaect as possible, while on the
other han there has been no timld re-
fusal TO Ish forward the work because
of inabilit 20 anticipate every possible
emergenc. for, OF course, many defects
can only / shown by the working OF the
system In ictual practice.
lnasmucfas 80 many both of the white
and colore. employees have brought their
families VII them, schools have been
established the school service being un-
der Mr. OhnnOr. For the white pupils
white Amt can teachers are employed, {,
for the colred pupils there are also some
white Ainecan teachers. one Spanish
teacher, antone cOlOred American teach
err most OF them being Colored teachers
from jana Barbados and St. Lucia
The schoolf0ms were good, and II was
a pleasantatsng TO see the pride that the
teachers We taking in their work and
their pupils
Gre Of Employees.
Next in ir,ortance to the problem Of
sanitation, ai indeed now Of equal I'm
portance, iste problem Of securing and
caring for A. mechanics, laborers and
other employs who actually do the work
on the canai s1d the railroad This great
task has bet, under the control Of Mr..
Jackson Slnit and on the whole has
been we'll d.. At present there are
some 5000 vite employees and some
1900 colored .mployes on the isthmus,
| went over ne different places where
the differeut sinds of employees were
working | t1l saw representatives
OF every type 10Th M their work and In
their HOMESTEAD I conversed with prob
ably n counlt Of hundred Of them all
told. choosin, Them at random from
every class aIldincluding those who came
especially tosresent certain grievances
t olmost inyq6rmy va eNPTeSseGf ftb "a" ths CON con-.
ditions than fSi' those who called to
make compiaif-
Nearly 5000 ID the white employees had
come from the United States. No man
can see these young vigorous men
energeticaily d. their duty without
a thrill of prid. In them as Americans.
They represent IN the average q high
class Doubtles, 70 congress the wages
paid them will seem high, but as mat
ter OF fact the only general complaint
which l found hd any real basis among
the complaints made to me upon the
isthmus was TIA, owing to the peculiar
surroundings, ths cost OF living and the
distance from 8hne. the wages were
really not as mig as they should be. In
fact, almost eveg man I spoke to felt
that he ought u be receiving more
age man who BAYS at home in the
United States robably likewise holds
as regards himset / append figures Of
the wages paid, n that the congress can
Judge the matter hr itself. Later ! shall
confer on the slitect with certain repre-
sentative labor nn here in the United