The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-12-17


I happened to enter the mistress of the
home was evidently a good American
housewife and helpmeet. who had given
70 the home life that touch of attrac-
tiveness- which. Of course. the bachelor
quarters neither had nor could have.
Thirty-Cent Meal.
The housewives purchase their sup
plies directly, or through their hus-
the commission. All to whom I spoke
agreed that the supplies were excel
lent. and all but two stated that there
was no complaint 70 be made; these
two complained that the prices were
excessive as compared to the prices in
the states. On investigation I did not
feel that this complaint was well
founded The married men ate at
home The unmarried men sometimes
ate at private boarding houses. or prf-
vate messes. but more often, judging
oy the answers OF those whom ques-
toned at the government canteens or
hotels where the meal costs 80 cents
10 each employe- This 80 cent meal
struck ne as being as good meal as
we get in the United States at the or
binary hotel in which so cent meal
IS provided. Three-fOurths of the men
whom I questioned stated that the
meals furnished at these government
hotels We're good, the remaining one
fourth that they were not good 1
myself took dinner at the La BOca
government hotel. no warning what
ever having been given OF my coming
these hotels In one the employees
were allowed to dine without their
coats. While IN the other they had to
put them on. The 80 cent meal IN
cluded SOUP native beef (Which was
good), mashed potatoes. peas. beets,
chilli con carne, plum pudding, tea.
cohee"each man having as much OF
"a CHI dish as he desired. ON the taDle
there was a bottle of liquid quin1ne
tonic which two-thirds Of the guests,
as I was informed. used every day
- 10th n
kins. The men, who were taking the
meal at or about the same time, IN
Guided railroad men, machinists, snip
wrights. and members OF the once
force The rooms were clean, com
Portable and airy. with mosquito
screens around the outer piazza. l was
informed by some of those present that
this hotel and also the other similar
hotels were every Saturday night
turned into clubhOuses where the
American officials. the school teachers
and various employees appeared prlnS-
ing their wives, there being dancing
and singing There was piano in the
room. which I was informed was used
for the music on these occasions MY
meal was excellent and two newspaper
CORRESPONDENTS who had been on the
isthn1us several days Informed me that
it was precisely like the meals they
had been getting elsewh ere at other
government hotels One Of the en-
ployes was a cousin of one of the Sc
cret service men who was with me,
and he stated that the meals had al
ways been good, but that after time
ne grew tired Of them because they
seemed so much alike.
No Cause for Complaint.
came to the conclusion that speak
ing generally, there was no warrant
for complaint about the food DOUBT
less it grows mOnotonous after awhile.
ANY man accustomed to handling large
masses Of men knows that some OF
them, even though otherwise very
good men. are sure TO grunple ABOUT
something and usually about their
food SchOolboys. college boys, and
boarders in=-boarding houses mako /
similar complaints; SO do soldiers and
sailors On this very trip, on one OF
the Warships. seaman came TO COM
Main TO the second watch officer about
the quality of the cocoa at the sea
mems mess. saying that 1t was not
sweet enough; 1t was pointed out to
him that there was sugar on the table
and he could always put it in, to which
he responded that that was the cook
business and not his! / think that the
complaint as to the food on the 18TH
mus has but little more foundation
than that of the sailor in question
Moreover, I was given to understand
that one real cause Of complaint was
that at the government hotels no II
r1fOr is served and some of the drink
ing men. therefore, refused to go to
them. The number OF men using the
government hotels is steadily increas-
ing
of the nineteen or twenty thousand
day Iaborers employed on the canal, a
few hundred are Spaniards. These do
excellent work. Their foremen told
me that they did twice as we'll as the
West India labOrerS. They keep
healthy and no difficulty is experience
ed with them in any way. Some Ital-
ian laborers are also employed in con-
nection with the drilling. As might be
exDected with la Dor as high priced as
q Tinted States. 1t has
not so far proved practicable to get
any ordinary Iaborers 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-
pecfany to procure more spanlards,
because of the very satisfactory results
that have come from their employ
ment; and their numbers will be in
creased 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 ap-
pearances we shall in the main have
10 rely for the ordinary unskliled
work, partly upon colored laborers
from the West Indies. partly upon chi
nese labor II certainly ought to be
unnecessary to point out that the
American workingman in the United
states has no concern Whatever IN the
question as to whether the rough Work
on the 1SLnmuSs NAiCAt - ~ - -
aliens in any event, is done by aliens
from one country with black SKIN
~ ~ aliens from another country with
= yellow skin Our business is to dig
the canal as efficiently and as quickly
a. possible: provided always that moth
fnr il done that is inhumane to any
1sSo~ars and nothing that interferes
With the wages of or lowers the stan
5a~d 81 living of our own workmen.
Having in view this principle, l have
= ,-~anred to try several thousand Chi
-sse fa borers This is desirable both