The Idaho recorder. [volume] (Salmon City, Idaho) 1886-1927, 1906-12-27
Care of Employees.


their pUpih
Care Of Employees.
Next in Importance to the problem OF
sanitation, and indeed now OF equal I'M,
portauee IL the problem of securing anu
caring for the mechanics. laborers ana
other employees who actually do the wofk
on the canal aud the railroad. rms great
task has been under the control OF MT.
jackson Smith. and on the whole mas
been well done. At present thefe are
some 600 white employees and some
1860 colored employees on tHe lsti.-taus ,.
I went over the different places "hetc
the different kinds OF employees were
working I think | saw representative
Of every type both at their work anu ~
their homes. and | conycrsed with prom
ably IA couple OF hundred OF them all
todd. choosing them at random from
every class and including those VINO came
olmost Invariably expressed far greater
content and satisfaction with the con
ditions than did those VINO called 10
make complaint
Nearly 900 Of the white employees had
come from the United states. No man
can see these young, vigorous men
energetically doing their duty without
a thrill Of pride in them AS Americans.
They represent on the average high
class Doubtless To congress the wages
paid them VIII 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
lsthmus was that, owing to the peculiar
surroundings. the cost of living, ana the
distance from home. the wages were
really not az high as they should be. In
fact. almost every man I spoke TO ret
that he ought to be- receiving more
money--a view, however, which the aver
age man who stays at home In tne
United states probably likewise holds
as regards himself | append figures or
the wages paid. 40 that the congress can
Judge the matter for itself Later shall
confer on the subject with certain repre-
sentative labor men here in the United
states. as well as going over with MT
stevens the comparative wages paid on
the zone and at home; and ! may then
communicate my findings to the canal
committees OF the two houses.
Chinese and Other Labor.
or the 1000 or 10000 day laborers
employed on the canal a few hundred
are Spaniards These do excellent
work Their foreman told me that
Indian laborers. They keep healthy
and no difficulty is experienced with
them In any way Some Italian labor
ers are also employed in connection
pected with labor as high priced as
at present in the United states. II has
not 80 far proved practicable to get
any ordinary laborers from the United
states The American wage workers
on the lsthmus are TIE highly paid
skilled mechanics of the types men
toned previously. A steady EFFORT is
being made to secure Italians. and es-
pecially to procure more Spaniards,
because of the very satisfactory re-
suits that have come from their en-
ployment and their numbers will be
Increased as far as possible. II has
not proved possible. however. to get
them In anything like the numbers
needed for the work, and from present
appearances we shall in the main have
to rely. for the ordinary unskilled
work partly upon colored laborers
from the West indies. partly upon
Chinese labor, 1t certainly ought to
be nnneceSARrN to mint ont TINT the