The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1908-12-03

their defense.
1t since has been shown that the
whole soJCalled rpeonage" agitation
was started by irresponsible work.
men who had been sent south by
the company and then, after the
usual manner of hoboes had run
away from their work and sought
by their tales of slavery to Justify
their leaving.
Several of these men had them
selves interviewed for newspaper pur-
poses but later, when IL came TO
making affidavits as to the truth
of their statements, they were forced
to recant woefully and to admit
they were ,well-treated while work
! ing on the keys.
When the Florida East Coast Bx-
tension was projected the Florida
State authorities offered to the rail-
road, which has done all Its own
corsnsrtion work without sublet-
ting.'a single contract. the use OF
every convict under sentence Had
this offer been accepted the Z road
would have had sufficient humber
OF pien at work at forty cents a.
day without the Importation of
single bit of labor.
When the proposition was OUT
| lineod TO Mr.. Flagler by his repre-
sentatives he declined to build the
road by any hands other than free
American labor,( and the work OF
| bringing in this labor was begun.
AT first the men were paid $1.25
day and had to make their con-
tributions toward their own COM
missary department. This, as was
found early in the proceeding, was
| unsatisfactory and within short
time the railroad was paying mini
mum OF $1.50 day to It's men and
was providing them with their food
and quarters. Figures connected with
1 the work show that 1t has cost
the company $i0S day to feed each
man employed and both Generals
Shattuc and Brooke OF The United
States Army, on tours of inspection
OF the work. declared that the sani
/ tary conditions of the camps and of
the@eommissaria for the men were
better than was to be found in the
regular United States Army
1 1t Is a sufficient fact that while
the so-cared paonage cases were pend
ing in Tire United States Court fully
! 800 letters were reviewed by the mon
in charge OF the constructitll work
and OF the litigation. written by men
who had been engaged in building
road and who voluntarily offered their
! services as witnesses to tell of the
conditions of the camp and of the
work. The Government, on the other
hand, hal to pay expensive mi.age
Icfarges and expense accounts fcr var
ious witnesses that dts attorneys
brought from long distances, withou.
even estPISlirhing so much as a SEM
blance of substantiation fcr its ,ha ge
1t is noteworthy, in connection with
all thet has been said and written.
Concerning the work on this great
Inc, that each fall, when construction
work Is resumed after the. hot GUNNER
fonths, more than fifty per cent OF
the men who go to the camps arelmen
who have worked on the linc during
the previous winters.
The camps in which the men live
are provided with well-built bunk
ho'4es, each consisting of large
sleeping room with two tiers of hunks
extending down the center and along
each side. Each bunk is supplied with
c'ean balding and a clean mattress
filled with sponges. and Is cover
ed with mosquito netting. There Is
janitcr employed at each holse to
make the beds fIri keep the place
d!ean. Then there Is camp eating
house where fresh meat is served at
lor0t twice a week, although In hot
climates meat cannot be eaten so
heartily as In the north.
The houses of the superintendent
and OF the engineers alre located I'm
the camrs and thore are also libraries
49, ''"S~fNNA lNNth papers ullu lldSdL-. j
ines to which the men haye free ac-
cess, hospitals, in charge OF surgeons,
where al! minor cases of illness or in
jury ere treated. The more serious
cases are sent TO the main hospital az
the road at Miami. All of these instl1
tutions are maintained by the rail-
road, which. already has spent ups
ward of $4,000 for medical services.
What this vast enterprise will
mean when completed. TO commercial
Cuba, bclongs TO the realm of fancy.
but 1t is doubtful If dts Importance
cclld be exaggerated. It's utilization
Also would give THE United States
tremendous strategical advantage.
from a military STANDPOINT, were IL
nece7rary eit any time to rush troops
TO F'n I-len1 Reprl5llc. Furthermore
in vi,V Of the tremendous possibi 1T
les r~r' the future OF Cuba, Panama
aP1 South Amer',a, the Flngler road
wfll srobly the closest link conlneot-
ing dhe United States with those