The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-11-06
BACK TO ITALY FROM PANAMA.
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
BEEN NEtN TO HTw.
sl,rd In New Ssrs Cssy fsr r~ o Wears ana
in Panama Tor sixteen. sas nner shr
American rtng. and ant Get ttttkru-
chin Pspers ssing 10 Ris O,d Home.


! Amertean rtag. ami AIT Get CITIZEN.
saap Papers Gs,ng TO Ris Oad Home.
| Charles Gasparini says he has worked
| longer ON the Panama Canal than
almost any other white man Sixteen
/ years has Mr. Gaspar,ni spent in what ~
now the Canal Zone. and IN his time he has
mad. more negroes work than the over
se.rs OF a hundred Southern plantations
in the slavery days Now he il feeling
sore because the Federal authorities won't
le, him become an American citizen, so he
is going hack to Italy to find wife and
settle down in some business or other rs
subject Of the King Of Italy.
Mr. Gasparini's case Is peculiar. He
saws he came to New York in 1902 and
worked here for two years. taking out his
, first papers during that time. Then he
went down To the isthmus and has been
there most OF the time since. When th"
| United States took over the Canal Zone
Gasparini kept on living there and believed
he was again working in the United States.
as he was on American territory. 80 two
wears ago he came up here to take out his
| final papers for Americanship. hut when
, h. appliad mt the Federal Building he was
! told that the years he had spent under the
| American fiax in the Canal Zone would
| not count and that il he wanted TO become
| a citizen he would have to show that lac
had lived FIVE years within the borders OF
the United States.
No back went Mr. Casparini disap-
pointed to the zone. where he got job
again as foreman and continued saving
until few weeks ago he decided he would
, take his savings, go back TO Italy and
settle Their. for the rest Of his life.
When the New Panama Canal Com
pany started operations down there in
iss,,- said Mr.. Gasparini at the Hotel Vic
toria Yesterday. 1T advertised for men in
some Of the New York papers, and was
one Of those who got Job in answer to the
advertisement. left here on the steamer
Finance on November Q. 1894. When
got down there was landed in a swamp
| In fact that was about all Their. was down
| there besides jungle and mountain.
must not forget the mosquitoes. however
| We didn't get fairly started at the
work until 1895 and from then we kept
steadily al it until ise9, just doing enough
work to hold the concession from the
COLOMBIAN Government. All the work
was centred on the Culebra Gut and at
lCucaracha. We worked on She site q
the older French excavations. We had
ak OF seven hundred men mostly negroes.
a few old French excavafors and six or
seven small locomotives. and we could
not make much speed. There had not
been any work done for about seven
years when che new company took hold.
and our equipment was too insignificant
10 make much progress. Then the COM
pany was hard up for money.
An the time IL was understood that the
company was trying TO get the United
States to take up the scheme. II was
uphill work all the time for AZ that time
! TN. whole is'hmus was a real pesthole
and the negro workmen died by the score
Some mornings when | would look over
my gang ! would find half a dozen faces
we're missing ! would demand why
the men hadn't show n up. and the answer
would be thar they had died during the
nj ght sometimes II Was the yellow fever
some, lines smallpo and sometimes BLACK
water fever had the last soon aft er I
got there and I though, Vas dead for
sure. but l got well again and ever since
have had pretty good health
Speaking about mosquitoes. At Empire
We had "A mess room and when ne sa,
down To meal We would have 10 shut in
the diners with mosquito net. During
the night the insects would almost eat
YOU ,ip and many a time | have awakened
In the morning TO find my hands and face
black with then, Lock a. ;h= Top OF my
hand That rough. horny looking skin
has come from years ~ mosquito bites
COLON was nothing hat a swamp in
tho& days and II was a good place TO
STAY away from. There were no sanitary
arrangements 81 any kind on the i~1hmus
Colon wa a dirty looking nest 81 shantIes
built on sticks which were mainly drink
ing and gambling places
There was not such a thing to ha
had a. ice oufsid. II Panama There
an American gambler had an ice plant
hut AZ the price ne char ged. 10 or Is
cents q pound you ouaild not afford TO
buy a piece large enough to take into IN.
interior because IL melted so fast A few
private concerns ran messroOms near
Culehra cut bur tho food that was ser I'D
was Of very poor quality.
Then IN the old days 'he police arran ge-
ments were rad and there was a great
deal 81 fighting among the negroes and
cases Of murder We had two Colombian
policemen stationed AZ Culcbra, hut they
were just about az useful in pr-serv ing
order a. two pilot ographs
Immediately ncie Sam took charg.
things began TO improve Anybody who
went 20 the lsthmuS now for his first visit
would find ~ impossible to pica IRE what
thinR ~ were before this Government de-
cided to buid the Panama Canal Colon
IL "a fin. "A litt" CITY ss Won can find any
where and all along tn" route ~ m.
Panama Railroad here are excellent li,,l.
towns. oil with parsec' sanitation Even
Panama was dirty hole and is now I'm
recognizable II - now Just like an
American town You can live anywhere
along the railroad nov adays in a. much
comfort a. II you were IN a town in the
United States
The work on the canal will be done
long before the date Get, which is January
!. 1915 Tn. dirt IN flying down there.
and IL ought to make any American proud
70 see what has been accomplished so far
The only complaint have il that have
not been allowed TO become an American
, citiz~n, when ! think have COMPLIED
, with all the conditions I had SAVED up
, q comfortable sum and | wished 70 20 int q
business down there. but Of course for
ono who is not an American ci- izen there
are Disadvantages. IL would have been
, easy for me 20 have got papers. I found
had been willing TO pay a fee 20 some
. ~ the disr~putable persons who hang
about tho Federal Building for that p,,r
pose, but ! wanted 10 get my papers