The Roswell daily record. [volume] (Roswell, N.M.) 1903-current, 1907-01-26

age these and other similar buildings
in the chief labor centers. Each club
will have its board of directors selec-
ted from its own membership, but
all clubs will be under the control,
so far as broad principles are con-
cerned, of a general board to be Sc
lected by the Commission. Authori-
ty has been given by the Commission
for the construction of a suitable mum
Der of appropriate buildings to ac-
commodate properly those h wish
to attend religious services, such build
ings to be available for all denomi-
nations and creeds. 1t is contemplate.
ed to erect at sucn points as 1ecessi-
ties seem to require, plain two-stor.
led buildings, the upper floors to be
fitted up as lodge rooms for the va
rious orders and societies formed or
to be formed among the employees,
and the first floors to be used for re-
ligious services. The use of the build
ings for lodge and religious purposes
is to be regulated by ean of allot-
ment or mutual agreement as to time
The problem of entertainment and
e ofib nded dfw.o1 TIL AR TIL ARTH
recreation, however, has been solved
in a measure by the employees them
selves, who have established clubs of
various kinds, frater1al orders, and
athletic associations in varous places
along the line of the canal.
The Commission now has sufficient
buildings to provide quarters for all
its bachelor employees. These build
ings are screened, and provided al
most universally with running water
and with modern plumbing, and are
comfortably furnished. In addition
to these buildings 335 separate nous
&c ond 10 1aronr h11i1diD &c nau1 hnan
constructed for married quarters pro-
viding accommodations for 375 fami-
lies. There are still many married
men, however, for whom no quarters
are available, but o the compile
ton of the houses now authorized
these will be provided for. There are
approximately 1900 American women
and children on the Istnmus.
The efforts of the Commission to
provide some method by which emplo
yees might obtain meals at a reason
able a have beer entirely success
full. Hotels and mess houses were es
tablished along the line OF the canal,
and at present the Commission main
tains fourteen of these places for the
benefit of white employees. These
hotels or mess houses were not OPP
ened originally by the Commission as
a permanent arrangement, but as a
substitute unit an experiment could
be made as to whether it was better
to operate them directly or under con
tract. The result has been generally
satisfactory. During the first few
months a loss of ver $14,0 900 was
shown, but at the end of the fiscal
year, OF June so, 1906, a total net gain
for the entire period of operation of
over IS, 200 was shown. 1t is not in
tended, however, to make any profit
whatever, but that every cent that is
taken shall be given back to the en-
ployeesI in the form of the best food
that it is possible to obtain for the
money or in reduction of price to en-
ployees when improvement in the
quality of o o ami character of SER
vice is unattainable. All the food
supplies are carried from the United
States in the refrigerating plants with
which the Governments steamers
nave been equipped, are placed in the
cold-storage ware house which the
Commission has erected at Colon, and
are distributed along the line of the
canal daily in refrigerator cars on
the Panama Railroad. All employ
ees are afforded opportunity to obtain
al abundant supply of wholesome food
cooked n uncooked, at reasonable
prices. In the mess houses meals are
furnished to the higher grades of en-
ployees at 80 cents each, and the com
non laborers can obtain meals at 10
cents each. President Roosevelt ate
in two of the mess houses and said
of the 30-ce1t meal that it struck him
as being "as good a meal as we get
in the United States at the ordinary
hotel in which a so cent meal is pro-
vided."
In regard to the common aborers
from the West Indies, experience has
shown that no price for food can be
low enough to induce them to eat a
sufficient quantity to keep them in
good physical condition. We offered
them cooked food at 10 cents per
meal, and h uncooked ingredients
of the meals at a price reduced by
h cost of cooking and service. Both
plans resulted unsatisfactory. We
even tried, in a single instance, under
peculiar conditions, the policy of CIV
ing them uncooked ood free. They
declined to go to the trouble of coo
ing it. Next we had it cooked and Of
Tered 1T to the same men free. Then
for the first time they ate, and ate
heartily. We decided, in the light of
this experience, to adopt a policy sim
liar to that which is followed in rail-
way and other construction work in
this country. Beginning with the Is
of the present month we are paying
them a fixed wage, including three
cooked meals a day. Two important
gains are expected from this policy.