Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-17

greSs the wages paid them will seem high,
but as matter of fact the only general
complaint which found had any real basis
among the complaints made to me upon the
isthmus 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, al
most every man / spoke to felt that he
ought to be receiving more money-a view,
however, which the average man who stays
at home in the United States probably like
wise holds as regards himself. l append
figures of the wages paid, SO that the Con-
gress can judge the matter for itself Later
shall confer the subject with certain
representative labor men here in the United
States, as well as going over with Mr.. Ste
vens the comparative wages paid on the
zone and at home; and l may then COM
municate my findings to the canal commit
ICES of the two houses.
Quarters Good and Satisfactory.
The white Americans are employed, some
of them in office work, but the majority in
hand ing the great steam shovels, as en-
gineers and conductors on the dirt trains.
as machinists In the great repair shops, as
carpenters and timekee pers, superintend-
eats and foremen OF divisions and of
gangs, and 50 on and so on. Many of them
have brought down the Z wives and FAM
lies; and the child en- when not in school
are running about and behaving precisely
as the American snail 10y and small girl
behave at home. The bachelors among the
employees live. sometimes in small separate
houses. sometimes in large houses; quar-
tiers being furnished free to the men,
| married and unmarried. Usually the bache-
lors sleep two in room, as they would do
| IN this country. / found few cases where
three were in a room; and | was told Of,
although l did not see, large rooms in
which four were sleeping; for 1t lis not pos
| sible in what is really vast system of con-
struct.on camps always to provide in ad-
vance as ample house room as the COM
mission intend later to give. In one case,
where the house was an cd French house
with a leak in the roof, did not think the
accommodations were good. But in every
other case among the scores of houses |
! entered at random, the accommodations
were good; every room was neat and clean.
| usually having books, magazines, and small
| ornaments: and in short Just such room
as a Self-reSpecting craftsman would be
glad to live in at home. The quarters for
the married people wsre even better. Doubt
less there must be here and there 4 married
couple who. with or withoutreason, are not
| contented with their house on the iSthmus,
but / never happened to strike such cou-
pie. The wives of the steam-shovel men,
| engineers. machihists and carpenters into
whose houses | went, a with one accord
| expressed their pleasure in their home life
! and surroundings. Indeed l do not think
they could have done otherwise. The houses
| themselves were eXcellent-bath room, sit
| ting room, piazza and bed rooms being all
| that could be desired. In every house which
/ 1 happened to enter the mistress of the
home was evidently good American house
| wife and helpmeet, who had given to the
home life that touch OF ractiveness
| which, of course, the bachelor quarters
neither had nor could have
Food Supplies-A Thirty-Cent Meal.
The housewives purchase their supplies
directly or through their husbands. from
| the commissary stores of the commission
| All to whom / spoke agreed that the sup
plies were excellent and all but two stat
| ed that there was no complaint to be
| made: these two complained that the
prices were excessive as compared to the
| prices in the states. On investigation
did not feel that this complaint was wei
| founded The married men ate at home
| The unmarried men sometimes ate at pri.