Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1908-08-05

and claim that they have received
short change.
The Spaniards are paid off in Am
erican gold. with Panamanian silver
for the smaller change. The negroes
are paid off in Panamanian silver
entirely. The negroes get only half
as much per hour in wages as the
white laborers, yet they are obliged
to take theirs in silver. and months
wages in Panamanian silver is a
bulky pile of money. One American
silver dollar is worth just two Pan
amanian silver dollars, variously
known as "Spigotty money" tin
money" and monkey money" When
the negro gets whole hatful of this
stuff and sees a Spaniard who works
by his side get double as much real
money, and in neat, convenient Am
erican gold pieces at that, he is in
no very pleasant frame of mind. But
yet he realizes that he is still get
ting far more than he would have
gotten in his native land, and that
there is another negro waiting for
his job. so he makes the best of
things
to protect the men against mistakes
on the part of pay clerks and from
the cupidity of their fellow laborers
American gold is always at a pre-
MUM among the negro laborers, and
they will pay liberal differences to
get it. Some of the Spaniards who
have been partly paid in gold will
loiter around and offer them a five
dollar gold piece for eleven dollars
"Spigotty." Many takers are found
for these offers, but plain clothes
men are mixing in the crowd and
usually the money changer has rath-
er uncermonious notice to move on.
When a laborer thinks he is un-
derpaid he goes to the cashier of the
pay car and makes his complaint
If he can tell which clerk paid him
the. matter is looked up at once 1t
is usually found that he has forgot
ten that there was a deduction for
commissary books, and that things
are all right. If his cash does not
tally with his ticket a note of it is
made, and when the balances are
taken they can tell whether a mis-
take has been made or not. There
pay car who can speak every lang
uage and dialact used in the zone.
The paying off of the negro labor
in Panamanian silver is an expensive
concession to the Republic of Pana-
ma. The United States is not bound
to do so. but does it simply out of
the goodness of it's heart, in order
to keep the Panamanian money in
There are no exact fig
ures to be had on the subject but it
is not improbable that it costs the
United States thousand dollars
a month more to pay off the labor
force in this ''Spigotty" money than
it would cost to pay off in good
American gold. Imagine the task of
counting out a million dollars in
American silver, and then reflect
that you have to count two pieces of
''Spigotty' money for every piece of
American silver, and you will begin
to see the trouble and expense in
volved in handling this Panamanian
money rather than American gold. If
a thousand dollars a month is a
fair estimate of the added expense,
and it takes six years more to build
VIZ II WIN COSI Us lHt lluy
sum of $4,000 to help the Panaman-
lans keep an impossible currency in
circulation.
And this, even, is a mere bagatele
to what it will eventually
cost the Americans on the Ithmus.
The stuff is so bulky and so much |
in ones way that no one from the |
states treats it as money. Men
spend it where they would not think |
Of spending their American silver |
and gold. Tender a ten dollar gold |
piece to a native store when buying |
a dollars worth of stuff and you
will get eighteen Panamanian silver |
dollars in exchange. You would have |
10 walk around with a travelling grip |
f you were doing ordinary shopping, |
and trundle a wheelbarrow if you \
we're going to spend a day replenish- |
ng your wardrobe. The Indifference
Of the American to the stuff costs |
lim about 20 per cent and his en- |
orced use of Panamanian silver |
puts premium on extravaganza and |
IN extra burden on his shoulders. |
Oisbursing Officer Williams has long
advocated the payment of all bills !