The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-02-04
PROGRESS AT PANAMA
Ill., The Labor Problem SoIoed
By Frederic ]. Elaskin.

ireiative efficiency of the canal digging force In 1907 and 1908 may be gathered from the excavations for the month of August during the two years. Tn 1907 the excavation for the month. amounted Ito I,274oo0 cubic yards. This was thought to be such wonderful per- lformance that President Roosevelt Icabied his heartiest congratulations to Colonel Goethais and his men flor the lextraordinary showing you have made lduring the month of August. As this Is the height of the rainy season did Inot for . moment suppose you would be able to keep up your already big record of work lone. and I am as surprised as am pleased that you should have sur
 passed 1t" During last August the observations totalied 3,S1S,000 cubic Iyards. more than two and half times as much as called out the presidential
 message of surprise and delight only . Iyear before.
 In Q magazine article of recent date lit was estimated that only 3,o00 men
 couid work to advantage In Culebra
 Cut. and that at most they could harj- lly be expected to take more than half
 a million cubic yards of material out of
 the cut per month. Today they are
 many men in the Cut and are taking leut nearly three times as much
 material every month as the magazine
 writer had estimated--and he was one iof the Canal Commissioners at that Itime. The added excavating power of
 the canai-diGging machine ts due taimost solely to the superior develop lment Of the individual members of the lforce. Not only has there been no tm- lportant increase iu the number of llaborers. but likewise no important ad- lditions to the equipment. Since the in- Istallation of the new cost keeping Isystem every walking boss. every man ion the canal who has men at work under him. has been put on his mettle. land each one of them is trying to make ta better showing than his neighbor.
 This hea1thfui spirit of rivalry is lcounting much in the totals of things
 accomplished.
 The force now at work represents lhigh water mark in the employment of linen. The present year will see the
 work of relocating the Panama Rail-
 road we'll on toward completion. A the steam shovels work down further Howard the lower part Of the CuIebra
 Cut, it becomes narrower. and conse- Iauently there will be 6 gradual de- lcrease in the humber of shovels at
 work. and the number of laborers re- lquired to handle the spoil. On the Iother hand. the construction of the
 locks at Gatpn. Pedro Miguel. and Miraflores will require a large num- Der of men. so that few will have to be discharged in the next few years.
 After all 1t was the American doctor lthat made possible the solution of the labor problem. xt was not the failure Iof the French that kept labor away. though thousands faced upon starva- lflon when the French did fail 1t was with the dread of disease. It is inter- testing here to note how much better health conditions are today than even the most sangulne thought they could be made. Today Panama Is the healthi- est spot on the map of the TorTid Zone land its death rate is only slightly iu ., excess of that of the average city oi the United States. in spite of the fact , that 70 per cent of its population fl . negroes. and that the negro death rat { lis always higher than that of th, whites
 . (copyright. 1903. by Frederic J. Has. iein.)
 . T0moFrow--Progressi in Panama. ., IVs--The Cost Keeping sy1ssm.