The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1912-04-11

1880
Sayit fled with the supreme court by
Or. Benjamin Friedman, formerly of
his city now living In Hungary. Mrs.
Panama in Fact and Fiction.
Every n will admit that success in
;iEEiDg the Panama canal must be at
.r.buted largely 10 the human factor.
Our government has found efficient
men to do the work, and has succeeded
n maintaining their efficiency. Herein
les the superiority of our method over
hat of the French administration. No
we'll informed person will deny these
broad facts, and it remain only to give
credit to whom credit Is due.
There are about 10000 picked men
and women at work in the canal zone;
5000 of these are negro laborers from
The adjoining tropical countries, partlc-
uiarIy from the British West Indies.
These laborers found a climate to their
liking from the first day, and wages
and food better than most of them had
ever before received. Good treatment
with a negro begets docility and con-
tentnent which means obedience 70 law
and common sense regulations. hence
1t is not surprising that these colored
employes-all selected men and pro-
verbally healthy in their home country
where poverty and filth is the rule rath-
er than the eXception-should nave
prospered nightly under cleaner ana
happier surroundings. Indeed, would 1t
not have been surprising had results
been otherwise? SO while it may be
hare to say just what part the doctors
have contributed to the well being of
the colored class, the fact can hardly
be denied hat they have played a mi
F.. or role.
rhe same applies, perhaps, with
slight notifications, to the 5000 Span
ish and Italian laborers. To the south
ern European the tropics nave never
presented any terrors and the Latin
people have always been pioneers IN
tropical development. That these la
borers, most Of whom are Spanlards,
have bettered themselves industr1ally
by coming to Panama is self evident
so that their case is practically iden-
teal with that Of their colored CO.
laborers-a tribute to good pay, consld-
crate treatment n decent surround
ings. Here again the doctor has no log
ical claim to the limelight.
The tropics heretofore have proved a
great magnet to gold seekers, explorers
and various adventures who nave
courted hardship and privation. Is 1t
any wonder that the death rate was
hig among men who endeavored to
traverse impenetrable jungles, who fire.
quently set out ~unprovided with the
necessary food and supplies, and who
had to learn from the cruelest expe-
rience facts hat are now placed at the
disposal Of every canal employe?
1t Is not at Panama alone that the
tropics are losing their fictitious ter
rors. The northern tourist is now find
ing his way through the whole Carib-
bean country, and steamship companies
are loudly proclaiming the delights OF
residence throughout the West Indies
and the Spanish main. Statistics, more
over, show that yellow fever a been
on the decline long before the discov-
49, to, rn ~ | ~ ro - 1
Cuba and Panama, with its ideal condi-
tions, is not the only tropical city that
can boast Of a diminished death rate.
That is the economic and social con-
dition of the worker in Panama Is Ideal
no one can dispute. and If his leads to
physical, mental and moral well belng,
why should the facts be denied? Is not
this experiment too valuable during the
present era of industrial distress n
social upheaval to be subjected to the
slightest misrepresentation?
The American colony at Panama is
composed largely Of men in the prime
of life who have been subjected to the
most rigid physical examination before
acceptance. Having passed this exam
nation and received positions which in
most cases assure a salary much great
er than the recipients could earn in the
United States, they begin to learn bow
philanthropic an employer Uncle Sam
really is. The new employees are trans
ported free of charge to the scene of
their labor. On their arrival they find
themselves in a modern town or camp,
every building of which is constructed
of the best materials and contains every
modern Improvement. The newcomer in
most cases receives free quarters, and
though he must pay for his meals, these
are of the best quality and are provided
absolutely at cost. The householder who
must pay rent finds that Uncle Sam has
L.E Is-&-@1Ir a1I -~O
vided the maximum of comfort at the
minimum of expense. Food, clothing
and all the necessaries Of life. that is,
those not already provided free of cost,
are sold at such reduced rates that the
high cost OF living in the canal zone Is
this, let him consult the New York
| Evening Post for January % last, in
| which comparative tables of the cost OF
| food in New York n Panama are pre-
| scented, wholly to the advantage Of the
latter.
But Uncle Sam has gone farther in
his paternalism and provides free IN
%struction Of all kinds, free amusement
centers, free transportation, and as II
to eliminate the last chance Of worry
assures every worker that II he be-
comes i'll, there will be the best ac-
c~ommodation provided for him at the
| government hospitals, with wages con-
tinued, no matter how long the illness
and all care and attendance absolutely
free. This removes that ~corroding fear
SO widespread in our northern indus.
trial c%enters. to which many scientists
now attribute a large percentage O
disease with its consequent poverty AND
distress.
The above is a partial enumeration
only of the advantage of working fol
Uncle Sam In this new tropical outpost
E n