The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-07-02
iCopyriGht, 1912, by Frank 6. Car
ptnter.

refer to the men who are now DIG
plng the canal down here at Pan
4ma. they number about $1,000.
When old Cheops built the pyramids
hc bad 20, 000 laborers, and when the
great church Of Santa Sophia was
greeted at COnstantinOple the work
uren were just half that lumber But
III both of these cases the labor was
more or less forced, and the fpyramid
feIlahin uorked like the Isra elites un-
der the lash Of the t~askmaster. The
iaborers here are free agents. They
San lay off If they please, and they are
only kept on the job by getting the
highest wages and best treatment of
any men Of their kind upon earth.
The man in charge of this army is
the chief QuarterlnaSter at Panama.
His name is Col. c. A. Devol, and he
is an officer Of the regular army. He
has not only recruited and hired the
labor, III he provides their houses
and quarters and gives them their
wages. He is also in charge of all
materials and supplies on the isthmus,
having lightweight warehouses;, which
if joined together would cover an
acreage bigger than that Of. a good
sized farm. He has charge. Of the
draft animals and he does the deliv-
.ring and tOting about OF" almost
everything and everybody except that
Done by the cars.
Uncle sam : big LABOR E0rCe.
colonel Devol tells me that the
labor problem has been one Of the
most difficult of any connected with
The canal, and that it has worried
every mpan which has done bust
ness down here on the isthmus. When
the Panama railroad was first built
the contractors sent to China for
laborers, and they died like flies.
Later on so many other WOrkmen
ner. hnria9 that If 10 C2i6 the road
cost a man for every tie laid In it's
tracks. The first French canal COM
pany scratched the world to find dig
gers. and they buried q large part Of
those whom they found The men
would not stay and they were always
recruiting. Uncle Sam has had good
labor ever since he began his con
Etruction and the job has become so
popular. that he can now have all the
men he needs without advertising.
During the past four years the aver
age number employed has been So
GEO, although at times it has run as
high as $4,000 and more. This is an
enormous force to be used in any
underta king outside those connected
with the army and navy, but it is
handled like one vast machine.
Silver n Gold Men.
You have all heard Of the silver and
gold men of the lsthmus Of ma
At IS under those two names that the
men are classified. The silver mar
IS the common everyday lifter-of-
earth, hewer-of-Wood and drawer-of-
water. He has a mighty small brain
and sells only his muscle. He i
usually a white Spaniard or an Italian
81 4 black man from one Of tn
West Indian islands. He is hired b,
'he authorities here on the isthmus
and has been recruited by agents sen
to- different ma rtc of the world Dur
ing the past four years we have ha
on the average $4,000 Of these in tn
shape Of West Indian negroes, ant
about 5000 more as aborers from
Europe.
The gold men are the skilled EN-
FioyeS, those who act as S~uperlnten
dents. foremen, civil engineers an
mechanics. They manage the big ma
'hlnery. run the trains and do all tn
skilled work. They are hired througl
Tie bureau at Washington and man
t them are subject to civil servlc
examinations. The silver man get
from 80 cents to $3.50 a day for hi
rine hours work. The gold man re
telNes on the average at least SD
per month. and. in addition, a 81
weeks vacation. with a month OF sic
leave and one Of injury leave, Whlc
rings his pay very much higher. II
has also extra advantages in the Wa
OF quarters and housing, and he is !
snort about the best treated Work
MAJ of All those who sell their brain
and muscle to the industrial worlt
A Talk With Colonel DeVOl.
But it will be more interesting to it
colonel Devol, the QuartermaSter ]
charge OF these forces, tell you abot
them. l have spent an afternoon wit
nm here at Culebra and have aSke
nm many questions as to the me
and their work.
One was as to the trouble of ge
ing the labOrers together said Co
Nhel DevOl. THE organization OF tn
canal force was not an easy one. Whe
we took hold, Panama had a ba
anne and it was difficult to get me-
November |, 1904, the total force W.
. 800, Of whom only 500 were Anne
hahs. We had considerable Sickne'