Los Angeles herald., 1907-03-27
HEARD AROUND
THE CORRIDORS
BY THE EAVEsDRGPPER
MAN OF BIG NAME
HAS DONE BIG THINGS

Captain Herbert Holford Brabant
Holland is at the Alexandria.
1t is a big name the captain bears,
but the captain Is a big man and he
carries it off without disaster. Besides
that he is many other things, in
Guiding mining and civil engineer of
note, an officer of the British army in
South Africa with an enviable record,
linguist and a scholar.
He has just come from New Orleans,
where with H. M. Secrest of Panama
he has been building a railroad.
The captain is Irish, though you
never would guess it-County Galway
Irish he says, though he was born in
the colonies and did not seei Ireland
until he was well out of long dresses.
His father is the lord chief justice of
South Africa and his uncle, General
Brabant, commander-in-chief of the
British army in South Africa.
Not long ago Captain Holland was
in the engineering department at
Panama and he made some interesting
observations about affairs in that Sec
ton Of the country contrary to the
general idea of it.
He and Mr.. Secrest were in Panama
together, where the latter was man
ager of the United Food company at
Bocas del Torro. Captain Holland
says that he found there the most per-
feet system of sanitation he has ever
seen and he deplores the resignation
of Engineer Stevens, declaring he will
be great loss to the work.
Panama canal is the greatest piece
of work ever undertaken by any ma
tion," said Captain Holland. 81 believe
that in from twelve to fifteen years it
will be completed. 1 have just come
from Louisiana and l believe that
Panama is far healthier. There has
been a great deal of talk about condi-
tions down there, but 1 think most of
the unfavorable comment has been al
together without foundation. 1t is to
Colonel Goggas that the perfect sani-
tary system Is due. When the Amer
lean government took control of things
in Panama the conditions were terri
BILE. White men could not live there.
All that is changed now and l see no
reason why there should be any further
block to the building of the canal.
Much trouble in Panama was
caused by the laborers. jamaican la
borers are worse than useless. The
Chinese are better and much of the
work is now being done by them. l do
not credit the stories of graft and in
fact believe they are absolutely with
out truth. Americans are the most
honest people on Gods universe. 1
have found them so always and though
1 realize there are the bad ones in
every country, you will find no coun-
try where honesty is so near rule as
1t is here"
Captain Holland was chief scout un-
der General Baden Powell in 1896 at
the time the bridges were demolished
and the Beers lost such great num-
ber of men. He was in the battle Of
Colenso and he says 1t was there that
all the Irish got theirs.
THE Beers seemed to pick us out as
targets just because we happened to
be sons of Erin and there were not
many of us left after the fight" said
he.
An ugly scar over one eye is the
visible testimony of this campaign and
the captain says he also has a bullet
in his thigh and another between his
ribs which occasionally remind him of
South Africa and the Boer war.
In spite of the scar the captains
physical beauty has not been marred
In the least and l predict a fiuttering
about the heart for some of the
maidens in this locality If the gallant
officer stays here long. He has spent
very little Of his time in lighting of
late and says he expects to spend less