Evening star., 1911-05-30
THE PANAMA CANAL.
YI-The American Workers.
By Frederic ]. Haskin.

| Nine thousand Americans live In tn,
| Canal Zone. More than half Of them
| about 5000. are employed by the cana
commission or the Panama railroad. 2.O0t
are the woman members of their familie,
| and the other 1900 are children. many OF
them born under tae Stars and Stripe.
here on this little ribbon Of territory
through which the great canal IL being
dug.
For the most part the Americans art
happy and contented; they like the work
| they like the pay. and they have learned
| how not to hate the weather. Perhaps
there are those who long for snow a
| the Yuletide, and those who wish they
| never would hear another word of the
"spiggoty' lingo. but those same persons
| will pine for the tropics when they are
once again back home
These workers from the states have
every material reason to be happy. Theil
wages are 80 per cent higher than the
wages. for similar work in. the United
States: tropical clothing Is much cheaper
than the clothing required In the north
they buy their food without paying 8
middleman's profit: their houses are pro-
vided rent-free; the electric current fol
their doctors bills are paid by the govern.
ment: there is free hospital for serious
illnesses and an island sanitarium for re-
cuperatfon. and their children are given
free transportation to free schools.
Most Of the men realize the opportuni-
ties afforded them, and are saving their
wages against the time when Cncle Sam
will no longer be paymaster. Quartermas-
ter and subsistence officer. OF course. not
all the workers are thrifty. for average
human nature is average human nature
in the Canal Zone just the same as In
Michigan or Mississippi. At the same
time there Is abundant proof that the
governmental. experiments in social prob
as successful as its experiments. In en-.
giHeering and sanitation.
k.-k-
/ The wisdom Of the government In pro.
viding houses for the families OF mar
ried workers has been
The Married thoroughly demonstrated
m..l 1t has been the expert.
"VAncAs' ence OF the rcanal au.
thorities that married men usually go to
Panama with definite purpose and tha,
they stay on the job, while single men
who are more inclined to rove, come and
go all the time.
Most Of the married workers now on
the isthmus have been therb two years
or more, and they will stick by the wOrE
until 1t Is finished. On the other hand
two years is a long time for an unmar.
ried worker to stay on the canal. DURING
the last fiscal year three-fifths of al
the Americans working on the Canal
Zone came back to the states. The great
majority OF those returning were single
men. This unstable condition Of the
personnel has prevailed ever since the
canal work was begun. the only excep-
tton being that class Of married men
who have been given houses to live In
These have recognized their greater OPP
portunities for saving. have been so com
Portable that they have not felt the ,ef-
fects OF the depressing climate as much
as the more lonely bachelors, and the
government has been well repaid for Its
paternal care Of them and their wives
and babies.
OF the 1,70o married men employed or
the work, more than i 900. were there
prior to January 1, 1908. OF the total
number Of 8. 1CO men at work last year.
$500 quit their jobs: Their places were
filled at once, about one-third by new
appointments from the states. one-third
from men on the isthmus and one-thir6
by re-employpent OF imen WHO, reDented
their designations. All appointments
made on the isthmus are temporary. sub
ject to the arrival Of permanent ap.
pointess from the states; and therefore
there Is little or no chance for the man
who goes to Panama on his own hook
Hundreds OF men looking for Jobs have
canal commission uses every possible
means to warn workmen not to go to the
canal joh-hunting on q mere prospect
tour.
+*.
The most striking thing about the
American workers Is their. intense inter-
est In the canal They
Enthusiasm of seem to think that II
m.L Is their personal prop.
WoAAS1s' erty. their own partic-
ular hobby, their pet plaything. yard
master at the Pedro Miguel locks SAID
that the whole canal force was a big
and happy family. Another said tina,
every man in the job. was working for
the one purpose of eclipsing every record
made last year. A captain Of police al
Gorgona declared that he had been watch
ing the progress Of the work for three
years with as much interest as IL the
At the Tivon Hotel one morning at
Z o'clock a well tanned wiry little Amer
ican at breakfast said he had gone to- bed
in Colon, at the other end OF the canal
at IL the night before. his telephone by
his side. He was called to transact bust
ness by telephone at midnight, again at
o'clock. and was awake at 3 Of his own
accord. At 4 he was ready for the train
and was whirled across the isthmus to q
I O'Clock breakfast. But" he said, II
am used to 1t. This thing down here
makes a fellow feel that things must be
kept going, and am willing to do my
part"
That Is the spirit Of the Americans on
the Canal Zone. They are living incarna-
tions Of the indomitable Yankee. determi-
nation that will not brook obstruction
even by q chain of mountains. Those
croaking pessimists who predicted that
the canal never would be finished did not
take into account the spirit Of the Ameri-
can workman.
y.
Already provision IL being made for tht
time when the canal construction worl
WILL be finished and thu
Looking to army Of workers will b.
~. ~ disbandsd. save for thos'
INC Emu. few who win be requires
for the permanent force OF maintenance
The commission has provided that eacf
man may accumulate his vacation leave vi
to eighty -four days. This means that any
man who feels able to forego some OF hi
annual leave each year will bs creditet
with the days he does not take up to 9
work is done, that man may come bacl
to the United States on leave for sever
weeks with full pay. And seven weeks !.
ample time for q good man to get q new
job.