The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-06-11

penter.)
Sncon. Canal Zone. Panama
have many letters from the Cilteo
States asking me to write Oh III
American women a FandHld. hoi
ara several Of them, and they come
fror, every part of the Union. They
ara Of all classes and conditions.
from the wives of the high offlclals,
such as the commissioners: VINO ora"
their $4,000, and upward a year,
down to those of the lowest salaFleu
clerks. who get 500 OF $40 a monlh
Many Of them are the wives OF me
chanics, Of railroad engineers, OF elec-
tricians and steam-shovel men. ana
not a few are nurses, school teacher
and the daughters Of emDl1eS OF al
classes. In general, l may say tnal
the woman here is above the average
of her sex in any American CITY.
She has been benefited by mixing
with others of her sex from all parls
of the ountry by her travels down 20
the isthmus. and by a life here under
different conditions than those "nlch
prevail anywhere else. She is olteh
poodlOokiug. She is almost unlver-
sally healthy, and she lacks the INES
and wrinkles of worry which seam
the faces Of her sisters up north.
Housekeeping on the Isthmus.
In the first place she has an easier
life thar at home. Her h~ouSekeeplnS
worries are less, and she has Uncle
Sam for her landlord n he chaTges
No rent. According to the CONTRACT
with the men the IuI-
nishes the quarters. and 1t gives each
family a home according to the salary
md rank it's head holds in the work.
The highest officials have m1gnltlcent
residences. great tWo-StOry structures.
many Of the rooms Of which are
twenty feet square and SO arranged
that they open one into the Otner
like a high class Japanese residence.
letting the wind blow through from
all sides. These houses are equipped
with bathrooms of tile. They have
furniture to correspond and are as
delightful homes for entertaining as
q man Of that class could wish.
Further down on the salary list are
homes less p~retentious. the quarters
DECLINING in character until they
reach the two and four family nous
es OF the more modest clerks. All OF
the homes are exceedingly comforta-
BILE. and all have wide verandas run
ming about them which are so cover
ed with woven wire netting that the
mosquitoes and onats and the tlnles'
insects cannot get in. Every house
has its light on all Sides, and all are
surrounded by hedges Of brilliant
leaves Of many colors. or by strange
vines and tropical flowers. Uncle
Sam is the gardener, and the lawns
are watered and kept trimmed By
West Indian negroes. The plants are
to a certain extent the choice OF thu
resident. Nearly every woman herr
is a flower lover and there are wives
machinists who have co~IlecOitns o
orchids which would cost a small for
tune in dear old New York.
A TyDical Home,
But let me give you some picture
OF one Of the well-tO-dO-hOmeS Of
the isthmus. The man who lives il
it is a railroad official. not the highes
nor even neXt to the highest. He /
fairly we'll down in the ranks. an
his salary is a little above $2Oo pc
month. His home is the ordinar
house. which Uncle Sam furnishes t
a man of that class.
How shall I describe it? 1t is stu
ated on the side of a hill here at Al
con in plain view of the rolling Pa
cific. Back of 1t there is a row c
royal palms. and bou it a hedge
red and green leaves.
has altogether a half dozen room
and is surrounded by a wide pore
screened in with wire and covere
with vines. Inside the wire. at th
front. orchids and other air plan
hang from the roof and also ferr
in pots with leaves which exten
from the ceiling quite down to tn
floor. Some Of these ferns hay
fronds as those OF the maiden-ha
fern. and others have leaves. whic
loo like the horns of a deer. Thel
are chairs on the veranda- and tn
forms the o~ut-of-dOor sitting room
Entering h house you come in
a living room. which is. I judge Gig
teen feet square. At the left is
bedroom quite as large. and on IL
other side Of the living room is a b
dining room with a china closet bui
into the wall. There is also a dr.
in room Of about the size Of an ord
nary hal bedroom. which has an {
ectric stove to keep the clothes fro
molding during the wet season. al
on the opposite side Of this is a kite
en-. The house has also a Shove
bath and other modern convenience,
The Furniture.
The furniture Of the house is