The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-07-19
THE PANAMA CANAL
By rrsdric J. Haskin.
VIH---AINUSEMENTS

culebra, Canal Zone. July is.-aThe principal drawback we are now expe- riencing in the building of the canal is the lack of rational amusements Tor the people," In these words colonci Gaethals, the chairman and Chfsf En- gineer of the Canal. summed up the situation with reference to the enter tainment of the canal employees. He added that Congress had been asked to provide additional club houses ana funds for this purpose, but that 1t had seen fit to ignore the demand.
 It does not take one long to ossccve, the truth of the assertion of Colonel Goethais for himself. At Cristobal. Gorgona, Empire and cuiebra. they have r. M C. A. club houses. Wherever these are. they have become the dom tnant factor in the social side of isth- milan life They provide good. healthy entertalnmcnt for the people, yet 10 one American settlement that mas club house. there are three that have none. In the towns where there are no club houses, about the only thing the men can do is to go to the nearest saloon and drink bad liquor. And this they usually do. In the four towns where the Y. M. c. A. club houses are located. bar room receipts fell on about 7s per cent. within a short time after the club hous e' were opened. Be- fore the club houses were built the saloon was the only general meeting place available. The Isthmian Canal Commission hotels had no Hobbies. the of1ces were cIo@d after business hours. and men being gregarious cre- attlres and wanting to meet and talk. went, perforce, to these drinking places. Ifemade no difference that the beer was lat and cost 25 cents per bottle. or that the wbisixey was bad and cost 16. cents for a good-siz thtmbleful of tt. Neither did 1t make any difference that no chairs or tables were allowed In the places. Even at the cost of stand ] ing up half the night they would meet { to talk matters over.
 when the r. NJ. c. A. rooms were opened practical men were placed at their head. One would not think oy card playing and dancing at Y. M. C. A. in the States. hut both are to be found in Association homes on the lsth- mus. Bowling alleys. billiard rooms, gvmnasfums and many other places for Entertainment were established in the buildings. Bowling teams were orgen- ized, billiard and pool contests were started gymnastfc instruction was given, pleasant reading rooms with complete supply of leading newspapers and periodicals. together with large array of trade journals, were provid- cd, soda fountains were established, and in general the places were made more attractive than any other spot in
 The result has been the practical desertion of the saloons. The bowling alleys are busy every evening. and some of the most spirited. contests ever wif- messed may be seen on these alleys. There are number. of teams In each Y. M. G. A. town. and these usually settle their own little contests and then tackle the champions form the other towns. There is something do- ing when these championship games are rolled. In the course of single month there are more than b.000 bowl ing games rolled at the Y. M. z. A alleys Some 13,000 games of billiards and pool are played per month. That the soda fountains are appreciated is shown by the fact that the monthly inc come from them Is not far from e1.b00. The total membership of the Assoctns tion Is nearly 1.b00, or almost one- third of the force of Americans on the Tsthmus, They have camera, chess, checker. minstrel and music clubs.
 The night schools at the I. n. C. A. are pretty well patronized by the new arrivals on the Isthmus, but there ts a species of lazyburg in that climate which, after he has been there for q year, makes a man want to rest when- ever he is off duty. Going to night
 
 that time. and so you find very few men In attendance who have been on the Isthmus more than a year. The study of Spanish is the one thing which night school pupils do not give up un- til they have mastered the subject For besides the satisfaction of being able to talk with native Panamanians and tha Spaniards who are in the Zone thsre is hope of reward. An em- pIoye who can pass an examination in Spanish stands a pretty good show of getting a promotion in the service. Besides, the fellow who has grit enough to carry through a course of study on the Isthmus, with it's enervating cIi- mate, is pretty sure to climb the lad der of success wherever he goes.
 There is. some enthusiasm on the Iethnus over basketball. Empire holds the South American championship in this popular sport. Baseball, IS as much the national game on the Isthmua as it fs in the States. and some good playing is seen on the diamonds al Culebra Empire and Ancon. Culebra and Empire are the strongest baseball towns and there is strong rivalry be. tween them. When they play cham. pionship series there is as much enthu- siasri as you win see at a champion ship contest between the White SoS and the Cubs or between the Athletics and the Giants. And as for money changigg hands, they have the game beaten to a atardstill.
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