El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-06-29
Copyright 1912. by Frank C. Carpenter)

ing them over. We ha6 90 advance the
money and 1t actually cost US $40 per
man for every Spaniard, although that
sum was returned to the government
in the first two wage payments.
1t cost US $7-2O per head for the
labOrers from the West Indies. This
sum was not paid back, but was
charged to the expense account When
/ arrived here in 1908 we still had re-
cruiting agencies in Barbados, Trini-
dad, France and the United States. But
we need nothing of this character now
Indeed, we are offered more labor than
We can use and we are sending men
back home rather than bringing them
here"
How about Central and South Amer
lea? Have those countries furnished
much labor to the canalP l asked.
No" replied Co. Devol we recently
brought in 90 or so PerUviahs and paid
them 20 cents an hour. But as a rule
our labor has come from the sources 1
have mentioned"
The Spaniard vs.. West Indian Negro.
Here the question arose as to the ef-
ficiency Of European cheap labor in
comparison with the West Indian labor
and Col DevOl said;
We are, you know, paying the Span
iardS more than the West Indians We
fixed the wages at the beginning of the
work, estimating the Spanish labor as
worth two and a half times that of the
Jamaican. We then established a rate
of 20 cents gold per hour for the Span
ilrds. and 10 cents per hour for the
Jamalcans- As the work has progressed
the most of the men on the canal be-
Heve that the Spaniard has only stood
pat, while the negro has steadily
gained in efficiency, and it is now my
own belief that the negro is now about
as good as the Spaniard, although he
stin receives less pay Indeed, my re-
spect for the negro labOrer has risen
during every year of my stay. The
West Indians are teachable and anX-
iOuS to learn. I use many of them as
mule drivers, and although they were at
first very poor, they are now as good
as any in the country"
The White Man and the Tropics.
But cannot the negroes stand the
sun of the tropics better than the
white men,
4 think not. The white man can
work here quite as well as the cOlored
man 1 see no reason why they should
not work here all their lives. 1t is
different in the Philippines. The heat
there is more intense and more ener-
waiting. When 1 went to those Islands
/ weighed $50 pounds, and 1 lost some
thing like IS pounds during my stay.
Here L find it difficult to keep my
weight down, and my health is excel
lent
There has been much misapprehen-
sion as to the unhealth Of the tropics
and the tropical heat" continued Col.
DevOl- This is so as to both animals
and men, When we took possession Of
the Philippines we tried to acclimate
our mules. At first 1 kept them under
canvas during the heat of the day for
fear the sun would hurt them I soon
found this useless, and after a short
time put them to work as soon as they
came off the boats l distributed thou
sands of them throughout the islands,
and they thrOve there quite as well as
at home
"As to the Americans on the isthmus.
you viii not find a healthier class of
workmen anywhere else. Their death
rate is exceedingly low, and far lower
than that of the United States. Even in
Guiding the cOlored labor, we find that
our death and health rates are quite as
low as those Of most other parts Of the
world"
The Negroes and the Whites.
How about order? Do you have
much trouble in keeping the colored
men in check2"
NO. doubt whether you will find
more quiet body of wOrkmen anywhere
else on the face OF the globe. We have
more than 80, 600 cOlOred men on our
rolls, and we have had no serious labor
troubles since we began There are no
brawls and no drunkenness to speak
Of and the men are universally polite
and respectful to the Americans. Nearly
every silver man you meet takes off his
hat and it is a common expression
among the West Indians that this is a
white mans country
But are our white women safe on the
isthmus2'
las far as the West Indian negroes
are concerned they are absolutely safe.
They can go about as freely as in any
part Of the United States. Ny own
daughters have been here every sum
mer. They ride all over the country
without an escort, and they have never
had any trouble of any kind. I have
not known of a single case down here
where a negro has molested a white
woman"
How do the wages of the silver men
compare with those they receive at
homer
They are much higher. The Jamai-
cans and Barbadians get three times as
much as at home. They have also free
quarters and their food is furnished
at the rate of nine cents a meal The
Spaniard gets more than twice what
he can make in Spain, and his meals
cost him only 40 cents per day. We
have good quarters for housing the
SpIniards, and we have barracks for
the negroes with canvas beds which can
be raised and lowered These beds are
kept clean and are steamed every few
days
We find that the Jamaicans prefer to
have huts of their own, and many of
them have drifted out into the brush.
They have knocked up shacks Of poles
and such boards as they can find and
have brought their females, as they
call them, from Jamaica to live with
them A year or so ago we had % 900