The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-05-28

~ DIN
the Boy Scouts and a
Word About the Salvation Army.
Copyright, 1912. by Frank G. Car
penter.)
CTIEBRA. Canal Zone.
l have headed this letter Uncle
Sans Fight with the Devil. Inc
title is sensational, but it fits the story
II is the fight of Uncle Sam for the
souls Of his canal employees. IL teiis
how he has taken five or ten tnou-
sand men such Us you tlnd at q min
ing cainp or on the frontier, has put
them to work ut high age and at
the same time has kept them free
from gambling, lust and the otner
vices which have heretofore been al
ways associated with such organlza-
tons. When the French started this
canal they baptized it in champagne.
Ihei officials locked hands with lucl-
fer and Bacchus. They brought their
mistresses with them from Paris, and
graft and extravaganza danced beside
them over the Canal Zone on the
road to bankruptcy and ~anc de-
struction.
Uplift Work ri Panama.
So far, our canal has been buiit
without graft. We have spent nun
dreds Of millions and no one has
charged that u cent or a dollar has
gone into anything but the actual
construction of the canal or the leglti-
mate expenses connected herewith.
More than that, the work has been
done in a Christian way by a body
of Christian men, whose conduct is
morally as good as that of any social
community in the United States or
the world. This. it seems to me. is
quite as wonderful as the building Of
the canal itself.
How has it been accomplished?
1T has been don by the marrying
Of business to Chr stianity; by bring
sing to the front the forces which
make for good and as far as possible
eliminating those which make for the
bad; by throwing the Y. nj. {. A.
dubious and its attractions as open
rs the devil throws open the saloon,
md by feeding the minds and soul
pf the men with the good rather than
the bad.
The result has been a social uplift
rather than a social downfall, and
scores Of the employees who have
tome to Panama will leave here in a
better state morally than when they
arrived. This fight with the devil is
Btill going on. 1t may be seen along
livery part of the Canal Zone today,
pnd as far as | can see in every one
IF the canal towns the devil is getting
Abe worst OF the battle.
Hhe (lubhOuSes for Canal Employees.
: One Of the most important features
of the fight is the clubhouses which
have been built for the canal en-
blOyeS. These have been constructed
by the government, and the expert
fnced secretaries of the Y. NJ. G. A
have been called in to run them
SThey are SO managed that they are
largely self supporting, and the Y. NJ
c. A. and the government unite il
paying h deficit. l don't know how
much they run short, but their opera
ton last yea cost more han $3.50,
600. A great part Of this was mad
up OF dues and other receipts; Eaci
OF the two thousand and d mem
bers pays $40 annually. and tn
restaurants and billiard rooms brinl
in a considerable sum.
There are clubhouses of this kin
at every station Of Importance alonl
the Canal Zone. There is n a
Porto Bello, on the Caribbean sea
where there are hundreds of men en-
gagged in crushing rock for the Gatul
locks. There is another at Cristobal
adjOining Colon, the American port o.
the Atlantic, and "a third at Gatur
where they are making the dam. An,
tSaen we have a clubhouse at GorgOna
patroniZed by the men at work il
the shops; another at Empire, at tn
w IA ShS Tx III 4A1o Oh
here at Culebra, about midway O
the cut. There is also a clubhous
on the Pacific division Of the cana
at Coro2al.
Inside tho Clubhouses.
/ wish l could take YOU into thes
buildings. They have all the con
veniences and comforts Of our men
clubs at hCane, These houses ar
great pavilissns surrounded by wild
verandas, so that they are cool an
airy. The walls are yelled in Wove
wire netting to keep out the mos
q%uitoes. and everything is so lare
and roomy that it is cool day an
night. All OF the buildings have reai
ing rooms and libraries. They ha,
pool rooms and billiard rooms. The
have bowling alleys and gymnasium
as we'll as rooms for checkers, che.
and other games. Each house has i
own refreshment rooms, and in tt
iOpoy there are cigar and canl
stands.