El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-05-31

TT NEON, Canal Zone, May S1.-The
West Indian negro has an i'm
pcrtant part in the building Of
the Panama canal Notwithstanding
his shortcomings, he has furnished the
bulk of the unskilled labor that mas
made the success Of the undertaking
certainty, and he is entitled to his full
need of praise. In the beginning the
West Indian negro had a bad reputa-
ton. It was said that he lacked ply
steal strength, that he had little or no
pluck. that he was absolutely unrelia-
bic. and that the canal never could be
finished if he was expected to supply
the greater part of the labor.
But he has lived down this bad repu-
! tation, in large part, and although it
must be admitted that he is shiftless.
| inconsistent and exasperating, he has
developed into a good workman and
has played a big part in the success
of the canal project
Gets Fair Wages.
The government pays the West In
dian laborer on the canal 90 cents
day, furnishes him with free lodgings
in quarters and sells him three SQUARE
| meals a day for 10 cents each, a total
of 80 cents day for the actual ex
penses of living. On the balance of go
cents a day the West Indian negro
| can get rich, as compared with his OPP
| portunities at home.
But the free sanitary quarters, and
| the necessarily strict discipline main
1 tanned therein. did not please him. He
| sighed for his matched hut IN the
! bush" for his wife and his chickens,
| for the freedom of the tropic world.
/ At first the canal commission was in
/ clined to resist the West Indians en-
| treaties. The authorities believed that
no i'll fed workman could do as much
1 work as a well fed one, and no bush
| dwel1er ever was known to be well fed.
But it was demonstrated that the ne
/ gro in the sanitary quarters sue
.cumbed to inconsistencies and threw up
| his job. Then the commission reached
| the conclusion that a stable force
| would be more easily obtained by per-
hitting the workmen to live in their
| own way. Permission was given, and
many Of the laborers exchanged the
| sanitary restrictions of the commission
| quarters for the dolce far niente of the
''bush"
Marriage bonds are loose in the
| West Indies. and IT might be saying too
much to say that the laborers brought
their wives to the canal zone but new
ertheless they did build matched huts
| all along the sides of the canal and
4 CStuOASI their IHSToln anu
| their broods OF poultry thereabouts.
| Do Not Like Steady Work.
! The result Of this experiment in
| larger liberty was in part a success
and in part a failure. The list of
names on the roll OF workers was
| greatly heightened, but there was no
| great addition to the force of men at
| work on any one day. 1t is a common
saying on the isthmus that If he were
] paid twice as much, a West Indian
would work only half as long. The
average negro works about four days
| week and enjoys himself the other
| three.
1t may be that the bush" dweller
| is not fed as scientifically as the quar-.
f, tiers man who gets three meals Of
about the same weight as the standard
! United States army field rations. but
he has his chickens. his truck patch,
| his family and his fiddle. and he makes
up in enjoyment what he loses in
science. The authorities have been
| able to note little difference in the
| working efficiency of the bush" men
and the furnished quarters" men, ex-
] cept that those negroes who are &C
| tually contented in quarters work
+! greater number of days in the month
When the Americans first began
work here II was an accepted dictum
that one Spaniard or Italian could do
as much work as three negroes But
the negro has proved this to be a
libel. and If ne only could be persuad-
ed to stick to the job six days week
he might be quite as efficient as the
European. But nothing can induce
him to work all the time
Exceptions to the Rule.
OF course there are exceptions to
this rule Some OF the negroes are in
dustricus, constant and thrifty. They
save all they can, work steadily Tor
year OF two. and then go back to ia
maica or Barbados TO invest their
Then. alone in his room he looked long
at those he had kept He saw again