The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1906-12-21

possible that this should always he the
ease. when il Is not there ensues
period Of time during which the cOndl-
tons are unsatisfactory, until 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 il was necessary to deal with
the already existing population. winch
naturally had Scant sympathy with
revolutionary changes, the value OF
which they were for a long time not
able to perceive In Colon the popuIa-
ton consists largely Of colOred labor
erS 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-
srable among the imported lab0rers,
for the good and steady men of course
continue at the work Yet aStoniSh-
ing progress has been made in both
cities. In Panama 80 per cent Of the
streets that are to be paved at all are
already paved with an excellent brick
pavement laid in heavy concrete. a few
OF the streets being still in process OF
| pA wing. The sewer and water services
+ IN the city are Of the most modern by
gienic type, some of the service haV-
ing just been completed
In Colon the conditions are peculiar
and II 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. Onc-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
| shallow, natural reservoirs or fresh
| water breeding places for every Varie-
| ty Of 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-
! ticallv a dna 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,
| 1905, a systematic effort was begun to
| formulate a 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.
| L
| SeWering. draining, guttCring 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
I Of 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
| or to be 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 1t has
| been rushed with such haste that there
has been insufficient preparation for the
| hygiene and comfort of the employees.
| AS a matter of fact neither criticism Is
| just 1t would have been impossible to
go quicker than the commission has
| gone, for such quickness would have
meant insufficient preparation. On the
other hand. to refuse to do anything UNI
til every possible future contingency had
been met would have caused wholly un-
| warranted delay. The right course 10
follow was exactly the course which has
been followed Every reasonable prepare
ton was made in advance, the hygienic
conditions in especial being made as
nearly perfect as possible: while on the
| there
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
families with them. schools have been
| established, the school service being un-
der Mr.. O'COnnor. 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.
| er. 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
| on the canal and the railroad This great
| task has been under the control of Mr.
| jackson Smith, and on the whole has
been we'll done. At present there are
some 5000 white employees and some
$4,000 colored employees on the isthmus
| went over the different places where
the different kinds of employees, were
working! | think | saw representatives
of every type both at their work and ir
their homes and l conversed with prob
ably a couple of hundred Of them al
told, choosing them at random from
every class and including those who came
especially to present certain grievances
oImost invariably expressed far greatel
content and satisfaction with the con
ditions than did those who called t
make complaint.
Nearly 5000 of the white employees haG
can see these young, vigorous mer
theoretically doing their duty without
thrill of pride in them as Americans
They represent on the average a high
class. Doubtless to congress the wages
paid them will seem high, but as a mat
ter of fact the only general complain
which found had any real basis among
the complaints made to me upon tht
isthmus was that, owing to the peculiar
surroundings, the cost of living, and TIT
distance from home, the wages were
really not IS high as they should be. II
fact almost every man l spoke to fel
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 hold!
as regards himself. l append figures o