The Washington herald., 1908-07-17
THE PANAMA CANAL.
VI-LABOR SITUATION.
Br FREDERIC ] HASKIN
By FREDERIC ]. HAsKIN

speSal Cos-esponasaoo Ths Washington Hszid
CUlebra. Canal Zone. July 6--There IS
a complete change OF the labor force on
the Panama Canal every eighteen
rnonths- n other words, every one Of the
5000 men who constitute the labor force
quits and goes home within eighteen
months. From this. one may readily
infer that It is no summer-evening task
10 keep the force CD 70 the required
standard in numbers and in efficiency. A
constant stream Of new men is coming
II and a constant stream Of old ones is
going out. Every ship that reaches Colon
brings its quota OF deck passengers. and
every one that leaves there takes away
very nearly as many.
This constant change Of force Is not
due to lack Of wages Every laborer on
the canal gets more than he could com
mand anywhere else. had he TIE means or
the inclination TO go. Neither is IL due
10 bad working OF living conditions. bOth
Of these are better than they ever en-
5oyed al home Il IS due IN part 10 high
wages and IN part 10 the depressing e.
feet OF work on the isthmus- The white
laborer gets % cents. American money,
Per hour, and the negro laboTer 10 cents
Free quarters are given ali who desire
them. and subsistence IS given them al
the rate OF 20 cents 8 day for the whites
and 30 cents a day for the blacks Out
Of this wage the whites can save 81 a
day easily. and the negro can put away
80 or 40 cents. A Spaniard or Italian.
with 800 OF 500 in his pockets, the say
tngs OF eighteen months. begins % feel
ike going home When the West Indian
negro gets 500 saved up. he is as much
OF e millionaire among his own people
as a Vanderbilt or a Gould IS among the
people OF the States.
This leads them TO give Up the work.
and Il there vas not a constant stream
OF incoming workmen, the canal project
would suffer from lack Of labor The
other cause. an enervatng climate. IS
ccntributory 10 the rapid emigration from
the iLthmus- The temperature on the
isthmus is not high at any time. In fact.
il seldom goes above S. a temperature
which Is frequently exceeded at many
boasted American summer resorts But
the atmosphere IS so humid that every
passing breeze seems laden 10 the point
OF thorough saturaIion, and n eighteen
AAD4AL1 L--G 4AlEA ; AA---4--e--Al-- ~ A-4---
work IS. indeed. as limp as a rag
Except for the climate-and that is ener-
waiting rather than Observation-Disclosures
conditions are IDEAL The workers quar-
ters are excellently adapted 10 their
needs They have sleeping barracks. with
hinged berths Ike those on steamboats,
These barracks are well ventilated. and
are supplied with sanitary plumbing and
shower baths IN fact, il would be hard
.
construction work in the United States
where the men are so comfortably housed
as they are on the isthmus- They are
vastly better cared for when they sleep
in commission barracks than when they
live in little shacks OF their own. for the
latter are damp. dirty. evil-smelling. yer
nin-laden. and without sanitary plumb
ing
As for the food. It IS clean. nourishing.
and to be had in abundance The com
nissl3n acts on the policy that an under
fed Iaborer is a poor Investment. and that
the greatest economy IS 10 feed the labor
ct well. In the case OF the SpanIards and
Italians. native cooks are employed. 50
thar they may have their dishes prepared
to their taste Their mess halls are large.
sfrv. and scrupulOusly clean Their
rations correspond 10 the work they have
10 DO. the aim being TO iced them the
character OF food that VIII best enable
them TO do a good days work There is
but very little complaint among the
Spaniards with reference 10 their fare.
The West Indian negroes would not
eat enough 20 keep their strength and
health when they were allowed 10 board
themselves, so now al who sleep at
commission quarters are obliged 10
patronize the commission kitchens. In
other words. --ey are charged 30 cents
q day for food. whether they eat il
or not. and 1t is needless 70 say that
none Of them skip a meal under such
conditions When the work was begun
the negroes were allowed 70 patronize
the kitchens OF TO subsist themselves.
just as they saw fit- Most OF them saw
ht TO subsIst themselves. A mango OF
two. perhaps a slice Of pineapple or q
couple Of bananas, and maybe a van.
would make their meal The consequence
was that they were always weak. And
when they were taken 10 the hoe7itaFi
with malaria. pneumonia OF some other
disease to which, By nature and through
habits Of life they are particularly sus-
ceptble they had no recuperative pow
ers. being literally half-starved- The per
centages Of recoveries was so low that
Ine hospital authorities made represauta- ]
lions that they were largely the victims /
Of undertaking The commission then de- I
cided 70 Ofier them the food free e thew
would cook f. But they are too IN 4
different 70 do this Then II was de-
cided 70 cook It for them and give il
TO them free As might be imagined. /
the West Indian kitchens did a land
ONCE business under these conditions.
After furnishing the cooked food free
for while the commission reached the
conclusion that the best way out OF the
oifaculty was to prepare the food foT
them, and charge them 80 cents a day
each, eat OF no eat There was q big hoyI
among the negroes about It They pro- ]
tested that It cost them too much In pro
portion to their wages. complained that
Il was not good 70 eat, and whole lot Of
other things But as a matter Of fact.
It was not against the food OF It's cost
that their real complaint lay. Down in 4
the West indies they have tightly drawn
social distinctions A carpenter sitting
down TO eat with a mere p!ck-and-sbovsI