Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1906-12-22

itaniy uue 70 the extreme difnculty, and
often impossibility. of providing in every
place for the constant increase i'm the
numbers or employees. Generally the pro-
VISION Is made in advance. but 1t is not
possible that this should always be the
case when IL is not there ensues "a
period of time during which. the condi-
IONS are unsatisfactory. until a remedy
can be provided; but / never found
case where the remedy was not being
provided as speedily as possible.
improvements in Cities.
The sanitation work in the cities OF
Panama and Colon has been Just as
important as in the zone itself. and in
many respects much more difficult, be-
cause II was necessary to deal with
the already existing population, which
naturally had scant sympathy with
revolutionary changes the value of
which they were for a long time not
able TO perceive In Colon the popula-
ton consists largely of colored labor
eers who having come over from the
West Indies to work on the canal,
abandon the work and either take to
the brush or lie idle in Colon itself;
thus peopling Colon with the least de-
slrable among the imported laborers,
FOR the good and steady men of course
continue at the work. Yet astonish-
ing progress has been made i'm both
cities. In Panama 80 per cent OF the
streets that are to be paved at all are
already paved with an excellent brick
OF the streets being still in process OF
paving. The sewer and water services
in the city are of the most modern hy-
Eiehic type, some OF the service hav-
Ing Just been completed.
In Colon the conditions are peculiar.
ana IL Is as regards Colon that most of
the very bitter complaint has been
made; Colon is built on a low coral
island covered at more or less shallow
depths with vegetable accommodations
or mold. which affords .sustenance and
strength to many varieties of low
lying tropical plants. One-half Of the
surface of the island is covered with
water at high tide, the average height
OF the land being ~ feet above low
tide. The Slight undulations furnish
swallow, natural reservoirs or fresh
water breeding places for every varie-
~ or mosquito, and the ground tends
TO be lowest in the middle. When the
town was originally built no attempt
was made TO fill the low ground. either
in the streets or on the building sites,
so that the entire surface was prac-
hcallv n dua gmire: when the ouag-
mire became impossible certain of the
streets Were crudelY improved by fill
ing especially bad mud holes with soft
rock or other material. In September.
1908, systematic effort was begun to
formulate general plan for the prop
er sanitation of the city; in February
last temporary relief measures were
taken, while in July the prosecution of
the work was begun in good earnest.
The results are already visible in the
sewering, draining, guttering and paw
ing OF the streets. Some four months
will be required before the work of
sewerage and street Improvement will
be completed. but the progress already
made is very marked. bitches have
been dug through the town, connecting
the salt water on both sides, and into
these the ponds, which have served as
breeding places for the mosquitoes, are
drained. These bitches have answered
their purpose, for they are probably
the. chief cause of the astonishing
diminution of mosquitoes. More bitches
or the kind are being constructed
Unjust Criticism.
Care and forethought have been exer-
cised by the commission, and nothing has
reflected more credit upon them than
their refusal either to go ahead too fast
or to he deferred by the fear of criticism
from not going ahead fast enough. 1t is
curious to note the fact that many of
the most severe critics of the commission
criticise them for precisely opposite rea-
sons, some complaining bitterly that the
work is not in more advanced condi-
ton, while the others complain that it has
been rushed with such haste that there
has been insufficient preparation for the
hygiene and comfort of the employees.
AS matter of fact neither criticism is
just. 1t would have been impossible to
go quicker than the commission has
meant insufficient preparation. On the
other hand, TO refuse to do anything un-
been met would have caused wholly UNI
warranted delay. The right course to
follow was exactly the course which has
been followed Every reasonable prepare
conditions in especial being made as
nearly perfect as possible; while the
other hand there has been no timid re-
fusal TO push forward the work because
of inability to anticipate every possible
emergency, for of course, many defects
can only be shown by the working of the
system in actual practice.
Inasmuch as so many both of the white
and colored employees have brought their
established, the school service being un-
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
err. most of them being colored teachers
from Jamaica, Barbados and st. Lucia.
The schoolrooms were good, and 1T was
a pleasant thing to see the pride that the
teachers were taking in their work and
their pupils.
Care Of Employees.
Next in Importance to the problem of
portance, is the problem of securing and
caring for the mechanics, laborers and
other employees who actually do the work
task has been under the control of Mr..
Jackson Smith, and on the whole has
been well done, At present there are
1900 colored employees on the isthmus.
/ went over the different places where
the different kinds of employees were
working! think, 1 saw representatives
of every type both at their work and in
their homes; and I conversed with prob
ably 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
can see these young, vigorous men
theoretically doing their duty without
thrill of pride in them as Americans.
They represent on the average a high
paid them will seem high, but as mat
ter of fact the only general complaint
which I found had any real basis among
the complaints made to me upon the
isthmus was that, owing to the peculiar
surroundings, the cost of living, and the
distance from home, the wages were
really not as high as they should be. In
fact almost every man / spoke to felt
that he ought to be receiving more
money--a view, however, which the aver
age man who stays at home in the
United States probably likewise holds
as regards himself. l append figures of
the wages paid, so that the congress can
Judge the matter for itself. Later L shall
confer on the subject with certain repre-
sentative labor men here in the United
States, as well as going over with Mr..
Stevens, the comparative wages paid on |
the zone and at home: and l may then |
my findings to the canal |
committees of the two houses.