Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1912-05-05

greatly improved the prison discipline and
the efficiency of prison labor. We now
have 145 convicts In the penitentiary,
twenty-one have received five-year SEN
fences. twenty two-year sentences and
about fifty have been sentenced for one
year. We employ the couviets In tho
construction OF public roads. and the re-
suits are excellent
Keeping OPT white slaves.
What Is the future OF the social condl-
tons at the ends OF the canal? VIII
Panama and Colon be plous towns or will
they turn into hotbeds OF vice like suez
and Port said. the two pestholes at the
ends of the suez canal7''
II believe they viii be far different
from the towns on the suez canal" said
the governor OF the zone. Under our ar.
rangement with the Panamanian govern
nent we have Joint jurisdiction with II
as 10 immigration, and It is the policy OF
the two governments to work together 10
exclude vicious characters. or course.
there Is some wickedness going on in the
cities at the two ends OF the canal. but
the effort has been to minimize Il, I'm
| desirable characters from all over the
world are attracted here because OF the
canal work and the large sums OF money
being paid out. and they would overrun
these cities except for watchfulness in
the matter OF Immigration. The act OF
congress makes II unlawful to bring
into or through the canal zone women
for immoral purposes, and we are keep
ing them out OF the zone and are doing
everything possible to assist in Keeping
this evil within bounds In the two cities,
We have recently secured two convic-
lions In the canal zone courts against
white slave traders who had attempted
to bring women through the zone into
the city Of Panama These convictions
have had a very salutary effect. White
slave traffic through the port. OF Colon
has been practically broken up. and n Its
victims get into the city OF Panama
they must come In small boats or must
journey overland. Either course is
difficult one. Practically all the ships
coming into Panama on the Pacific side
make port at Balboa, the zone harbor,
and we prevent undersirabies' from
landing from such ships. A short time
ago We arrested a 'whiteslave trader
and secured his conviction on the charge
Of having violated In the canal gone the
'whitesiave' law. and he was sentenced
to twenty-one months Imprisonment in
tint zone penitentlary at Culebra- He had
plenty of money, and by the aid OF con-
federates on the outside he was enabled
to saw his way out and escaped. We
captured him. however on a boat near
the Colombian coast. On his return TO
prison he expressed his disgust with the
canal zone; he said he had been IN the
'whiteslaxe' trade for more than twenty
years, had operated In many countries
and he had been able to fix matters
with public officials everywhere but here.
We regarded the statement as quite
compliment to official conditions here"
word About Courts.
How about the courts Of Uncle sam
down here3"
We have good Judiciary. There are
district courts. circuit courts and a su-
preme court. We have a counsel and
chief attorney. prosecuting attorney and
an assistant prosecuting attorney. and a
number OF attorneys have been admitted
to practice In the various courts Last
year between sop and 500 criminal
cases were handled and over 4.eoo Of the
defendants were convicted. About 1.s0
civil cases were handled: most OF these
were OF q minor character"
What other divisions are there In the
department Of civil administrstionr'
Several We inspect all vessels com.
ing into rome waters. ana this WORK 1.
performed by q board Of Inspector
There IL also division Of posts. customs
and revenue Our postal service issues
money orders to the amount Of over
q. oa,oes year. We are now installing q
postal savings system. Annually, between
600 and f0seco mali pouches and sacks
are handled On the railway, which runs
across the isthmus. We collect al tGxss
ana issue al rcsnsss. There are some
saloons on the zone. and the men who
conduct them pay license Of no.. .
month each. Saloons are run mostly
By Chinese and ~ ssasFlS Dlscsa Our