Arizona republican., 1908-08-02

made ont in accordance with the ac-
counts of the time-keeper; and the
; Panamanian silver has been counted
out and wrapped up in packages OF
five dollars and multiples thereof.
If you happen to be in Empire about
10 o'clock in the morning on the 18th
tof any month and are awake, ayou will
see a half dozen lanterns moving from
different points towards the disbursing
loffice. And then you will hear the
rumble of half a dozen wagons going
in the same direction. over in the dis
Itance Gold hill and Culebra mountain
island like lone sentinels guarding the
llsthmian strong box. If you were not
initiated you might think some revivi-
flied buccaneers or freebooters of the
lold Spanish main had planned raid
on the several million dollars of gold
land silver stored there. But it is only
the pay force going to load the pay
lear. vaults in which the money is
Istored are made of concrete in which
lare embedded all sorts of old iron,
from steel rails to horseshoes, to give
lit security
The vault doors are opened, and
Iwhile dozen zone policemen. armed
to the teeth, stand round and see 1t
Iwell done, a half dozen brawny Span
iards carry the bold and silver out to
1.-THE wagons.
The bags of silver, each holding ST.
900, weigh "a pounds each. The gold
is carried in bags having $4,000 in
leach. Six tons of silver and about
$150,000 in gold are carried out into
the wagons, and then the jack o'-lant-
ern parade proceeds to the pay car a
half mile in the distance. The money
is loaded into it land by sunrise all
hands are ready for breakfast. This
is eaten in shifts, half the force stay
ing with the pay car while the other
half goes to breakfast. By 6 o'clock
breakfast is over and the pay train
starts for La Boca, the Pacific end of
the canal, where the paying off be-
gins.
| Excellent arrangements have been
made for handling the crowds of lab
orers. In the pay car there are five
doors on each side, opposite each
other. At one end there is one center
door, and az the other end two doors,
one in each corner. The silver" men
are lined up on the right hand side of
the car in four files. Four streams of
men are kept pouring through the car
all the time. half dozen policemen
line w the laborers. AS one comes to
the counter of the pay clerk he is COM
manded 70 take off his hat and pro-
duce his metal Identification check.
The policeman stationed at the coun-
ter examines the pay check and the
Identification check. If the numbers
on them correspond the pay clerk
takes It, throws the amount of money
called FOR into the hat of the laborer.
and commands him to pass on. There
is no time Cor the laborer to count
his money, but on the outside of the
car there are several plain clothes
members Of the police force who keep
a weather eve ont to see that they do
not make away with a part of their
money and then come back and claim
that they have received short change.
The Spaniards are paid off off in
American gold with Panamanian sill
yer for smaller change. The negroes
are paid off IL Panamanian silver en-
tirely. The negroes get only half as
much oer hour in wages as the white
laborers, yet they are obliged to take
III S-lN1ls anu lllOHtI nd5CS
in Panamanian silver is a bulky pile
of money. one American silver dollar
is worth Just two Panamanian silver
dollars, variously known as "spigotty
money, "tin money" and monkey
money. When the negro gets a whole
hatful of this stuff and sees a Span
lard who works by his side get double
as much real money. and in neat, con-
venient American gold pieces at that,
he is IN 70 very pleasant frame of
mind. But yet he realizes that he is
still getting 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
Elaborate precautions are made to
protect the men against mistakes on
the part of pay clerks and from the
Stupidity of their fellow laborers. Am
erican gold is always at a premium
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 rather unceremOnious notice to
move or.
When a laborer thinks he is under
paid he goes to the cashier of the pay
car and makes his complaint. If he
can tell which clerk paid him the mat
ter is looked up at once, 1t is usually
found that he has forgotten that there
was a deduction for commissary books, |
ard that things are all right. If his |
cash does not tally with his ticket a
note Of it is made, and when the bal
ances arc taken they can tell whether
a mistake has been made or not. There |
are interpreters who accompany me |
pay car who can speak every language
and dialect used in the Zone.
The paying off of the negro labor in |
PanLm9nian silver is an expensive /
concession to the Republic of Panama |
The United States is not bound to do |
so. bat does it simply out of the good |
ness of its heart, in order to keep the !
Fanaranian money in circulation |
There are no exact figures to be had
on the subject, but it is not improba-
bic that it costs the United States a |
thousand dollars a month more to pay
off the labor force in this "spigotty"
money than il would cost To nav off |