Durango semi-weekly herald., 1906-06-04

better. See these houses yonder
which look so new and clean? The
married artisans live there; one man
has three rooms and small pantry.
works eight hours a day, and receives
something over f3 a week. He fur
nislfes mis- own quarters. and some
times has as many as five persons
staying alone with him. This does
not imply overcrowding; you have
only to step inside with his permis-
sion) and prove this fact for yourself.
But now 1t is getting late. and SO we
will return to the meeting, which per-
haps is still going on. We have made
tour OF. Christobal in three hours,
and though we have seen that camp
life in the Canal Zone is rough and
not without some hardships, we nave
also found that 1t is not so bad as 1t
has sometimes been described, and
that even the West Indian laborer
does not live dogs life.
And this is the conclusion to whicn
every honest man must inevitably
come after weeks sojourn in the
Zone. To the man not acquainted
with tropical conditions, it may prob
ably appear that life in canal camp
for the negro Iaborers must be some
thing intolerable and to be submit
| ted to only as a last resort. Those
who know the West indies, however,
do not share this opinion; for, though
| the isthmus is not the place to which
| one would go merely for the sake OF
ones health, it is certainly not so bad
place for the laborer. For, first oil
ALL he will find ample protection OF
| life and property. the alleged Ill
treatment being merely figment OF
some silly persons imagination. The
only persons bearing arms are
policemen, and those do so only on
pay days. Even the unhealthiness OF
| the Zone is not so great as one might
imagine, and 1t will steadily become
lessened as the work OF the sanitary
department proceeds. The mistake
| that has hitherto been made is to con
| found Colon with the Zone. and to
forget that the latter is under Amer
lean administration. In Colon you
have people living in unhealthy spots
| in Christobal or any other camp you
break the law by throwing dirty WA
ter or any slops about. In the city
of Panama You have back streets
which grievously offend your sense
of smell and look as II they are never
attended to; in all the canal camps
there Is band of men who &c
through every laborers' house to sec
that 1t is clean and sanitary: and
night after night the camps In the
| Zone are inspected by members OF
the sanitary corps.
Nor are weeds allowed to grow
near the houses. AS you go through
/ the labor settlements you will notice
men hacking at the low bushes witt
cutlasses This is done to preyen
the propagation of the yellow fevel
mosquito, which does not live in tn,
swamps and cutters like the anop
heles. The sanitary department is
in truth one of the most vigorous AM
efficient institutions in the Zone, ant
it takes very good care too tina
its rules are obeyed.
i 1t even hopes to make the labor
ers houses mosquito proof in time
and this, indeed, is already beint
done in Camp Beird, the new railwa,
camp in Christobal. There is little
use in my attempting a description
i Cf ha hat in, pairI
words will give no true idea of them
Still, 1t may be said that they arr
probably the most comfortable in th'
whole Zone, and the verandas an,
windows of them are SO completed.
surrounded with gauze wire that ever
the indefatigable mosquito finds him
self bamed. These houses. were de
signed by Mr.. Beird himself, MAJ
whom 1t is an education to meet AM
who is one OF the ablest Americans
In the Zone. Under him, in fact, tilt
railway has come to be a splendid.
managed institution, and the arrange
ments he has made for the accommo
dation of his laborers deserve th
highest commentator. But this b,
the way. What l observe here is th
, fact that the sanitation of the Zon
is steadily improving and that ther
are men in the employ of the commits
sion who are honestly anxious to ren
der the lot of the laborer as littl
hard as possible. and who are doini
what they can to improve it.
| The hospitals alone are proof q
this. In some respects they are ia
better provided for than the averag
in the states, while the patients al,
, all treated with kindness and care
: They are now putting up new ward
in Colon, and when these are CON
pleted they will be able to accommu
date quite five hundred persons there
, In Ancon there is another fine hos
: lpital, with capacity of about 90
beds. At Empire they can attend Il
400 people. AT Mira Flores there i
1 a home for lepers and consumptives
r in Tabogo island there is fine SAM
tarium.
Il These hospitals are large. airy
wooden structures. erected in cool ant
| salubrious localities and fitted on