davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1912-06-30

Yes, there were 100 OF them and
we took them at a valuation of $780,
Geo. They ranged IN SIZE from two storx
cottages up to the big De Lesseps home
at Cristobal. A great many of these build
ings are In use today. They gave us
homes at the start, which was a very
important consideration to our work"
Our Men Earn Their Wages
The conversation here turned to the
pay of the men, and Colonel Devoi
showed me the books by which he keeps
track OF the labor of these 5000 employees.
The system is a complete one, including
time books for odd days and even days
so that the men in the office can check
off the time, and still have the time
books in use.
Everything is done by system and IL
Is impossible for a man to get more
than he earns. The paying is through
pay checks by means of pay cars which
go from station to station and hand out
the money. 1t takes twelve days to pay
all the men on the canal. A pay car
starts out about the LIST of the month.
and it is not until the 18th that all the
men have been paid. The amount of
silver used every month is more than
one and half million dollars. or, If IL
were loaded upon two-horse wagons, as
much as eighty horses could haul over
country road.
The Gum Shoe Men
I asked Col Devol II any stealing or
graft had been discovered in connection
with such payments. He replied:
| mo. This is the cleanest Job that
Uncle Sam has ever undertaken We
have had scandals in the Philippines, In
Cuba and more or less In the adminis-
tration of almost every one of our home
cities. I know of none here on the
Canal zone, and our system of super
vision is so complete that 1t is almost
impossible for anything of that nature
to escape being caught at Its very be-
ginning.
Take, for instance, padding the rolls,
such as has been done in many big Jobs.
There is none of that here. We have
lire inspectors called gum-shoe men.
who go about through the various divi-
sions in ordinary clothing No ono
Knows them. and they have the right to
ask the foremen for their time books
and verify them as to the men employed
and the hours that they work. All dis
crepancy is Immediately reported. These
men are everywhere, and the foremen
know that dishonest report is sure to
be discovered
| FRANK G. CARPENTER.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1912-06-30
T PANAMA-By Frank G. Carpenter

where goods are sold at as near cost
as possible, and Uncle Sam pays their
house rent and gives them their quar-
ters The gold men work only eight
hours a day, and those who are mar
ried have in addition, what amounts
TO $40 a month outside their salary
The bache1ords have what is an equiva-
lent of about SIS per month.
What Canal Employees Get for Moth
ing
.sI do not understand just what you
mean by these allowances, Colonel De-
VOL
Il mean the things that the canal en-
Move gets for nothing, which, II ne
were in the United States. he would
have to pay for. We give every man
free quarters and free fuel, light, water
and medical attendance. The married
man receives more than the single man,
and he costs more. He lives in house
which costs us at least $3.50 To bulid
and furnish, and he saves at least szV
in the rent Of that house. He gets
about $3.50 worth of free medical at
tendance, 81 in free transportation over
the railroad, more than SIS in free light
and more than So worth of fuel. We
take care of his grounds and carry away
his garbage. We do not charge him
for janitor service, and altogether $40
is a low estimate of what he mas IN
addition to his salary. In the same way
the bachelor receives s14 to SIS In addi-
ton to his pay
Uncle Sans Homes for Employees
You have charge of the homes of the
employees"
Yes, that is under the quartern1aster' >
department. Our houses, as you know.
are all modern and up to date. They are
screened from mosquitoes and furnished
with modern plumbing and bath rooms,
and each house has its kitchen, parlor.
bed rooms and living room. Men who get
less than 500 per month live in four
family houses. Those who have between
that and $500 have bungalows and cot
tages, and those who have from $500 to
500 month have two story houses.
THE barrack building of the silver en-
ployes each accommodate r men. Their
arrangements are modelled after those OF
the United States transports and they are
each under the charge of a janitor, WING
keeps them clean The floors are scrubbed
twice week and the hunks are taken out
and boiled in an iron tank to kill the
bugs and other vemin."
Have you been able to use many OF
the old French buildings?" I asked.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1912-06-30

goes to the entire community. as do all
public works. The rent rate of land
is raised as the value of the land in
creases and the fund thnt comes from
this source is used for schools, churches,
waterworks and other utilities. There
is cooperation I'm tho purchase of sup
plies and the selling of crops
1t is more than seven years since the
first of McHughs immigrants settled
on his Carolina lands. He has learned
a lot in those seven years. He holds
| to the same beliefs he did in the be-
ginning, but he has seen enough to
know that the average man sent back
| to the land will fail In conditions are
not made easy for him.
He has seen the forests that he
bought transformed into fruitful land.
| Six hundred families-more than 5000
| persons-are in his colonies, of which
| there now are seven. From one OF
| these colonies two carloads of straw
berries a day have been shipped this
season. The range of products of the
| land is remarkably wide. New indus
tries are developing. Canneries are to
| be built for the surplus product. The
vineyards yield so much that the far
mers have wine presses and make wine
| for market. McHugh takes an inter-
est in every branch of the peoples
life. even in marriage and birth. To
| every child born in one of the colonies
he gives SIS gold piece and to every
bride s25 in gold.
| He considers the peasant from the
north of Italy a good and worthy i'm
| migrant He considers the southern
! italian unworthy. He considers the
Hollander the best addition to Amer
| ica's family He has found the Russian
| a remarkably faithful, good worker on
rough tasks, such as cutting timber
and clearing stiff land. He has found
| the German steady and dependable.
| The American, the English and the
other English-speaking people he has
no use for on the farm
He thinks efforts to move city-bred
people onto the land are idle, foolish or
| worse city people are untitled for the
life and would be overwhelmed by con-
iditions.
Today he Is more careful in peoplins
his lands than he was before. No
| longer does he seek any but the fit II
makes little difference IL they have
money If they are of the right class
they prosper If they are not 1t Is a
! waste of energy, of money ana or earth
| to bother with Them
He has not made any money, but he
| thinks he sees the way clear to profit
| He has made many mistakes, and he
knows now that in getting people back
| TO the land the selection of persons Ii
az important as is the selection of seed
in planting crop. He has the salts
| faction of having done his part toward
| INCREASING the prosperity of his native
state, of helping to some one of the
nations problems and of improving the
condition of several thousand of human
beings.
copyright. 1912 by Richard spillans)
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1912-06-30

more families, or owned foreign pub
lcation. or had written something to be
printed in some important foreign journal.
or wanted a certain advertising scneme
financed.
They got money at first, a lot of It,,
but 1t was not long before Mr.. McHugh
discovered he was getting nothing except
experience in return. That New York Of
flee cost him a fortune, and he got few
If anv additions to his colony by reason
OF the many thousands of dollars he dis
brrsed through It,
Then there came an experience that
S%as brighter. Or. Frederick Van Eden,
the greatest physician Holland has pro-
duced and one of the foremost thinkers
of the world came to America aud
went to the Carolina colonies. He had
heard of the Dutch settlement, and he
wanted to investigate IfcHugh's plan
and see for himself how the Dutuch i'm
migrants were progressing DIR. Van
Eden is the leading reformer of the
Netherlands. He has established CO.
operative colonies in various parts of
Holland and financed them through the
early periods OF their existence.
What he saw In the McHugh colonies
impressed DR.. Van Eden so much that
Dutch descent to Join him in the pur-
chase of 10000 acres In Fender county
for establishing colony of Hollanders.
1t is a sort of community settlement.
Each colonist gets life lease on his
farm. but the increment of land values
owing to the increase in population
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1912-06-30

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
menY'
Il think not. The white man can work
here quite as well as the colored man.
The Americans are perfectly healthy, and
I see no reason why they should not
work here all their lives. It is different
in the Philippines. The heat there Is more
intense and more enervating. When /
went to those islands ] weighed $50
pounds, and lost something like Is
pounds during my stay. Here find it
difficult to keep my weight down, and my
health Is excellent"
There has been much Misrepresentation
as to the unhealth of the tropics and the
tropical heat" continued Colonel Deyol.
This is so as TO both animals and men.
When we took possession of the Philip
pines we tried to acclimate our mules. At
first kept them under canvas during the
heat of the day for fear the sun would
hurt them. / soon found this useless, and
after a short time put them to work as
soon they came off the boats. I distrib-
uted thousands of them throughout the
islands, and they throve there quite as
well as at home.
LAS to the Americans on the isthmus.
you will not find healthier class of
workmen anywhere else. Their death
rate is exceedingly low, and far lower
than that of the United States. Seven 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
checx?'
No; ] doubt whether you will find a
more quiet body Of workmen anywhere
else on the face of the globe. We have
more than 10000 colored men on our rolls,
and we have had no serious labor trouble
since we began. There are no brawis 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 COM
mon expression among the West Indians
| that this is a white mans country"
But are our white women safe on the
sthmusT' nan
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1912-06-30

Copyright, 1912, by Frank G. carpenter.)
Culebra, Canal Zone, Panama.
YYyHIS letter is about the biggest army
of workmen ever gotten together. I
I refer to the men who are now dig
cling the canal down here at Panama.
They number about $1,000. When old
cheop built the pyramids he had 1900
laborers and when the great church OF
Santa Sophia was erected at Constanu-
nople the workmen were just half that
number. But in both of these cases the
labor was more or less forced, and the
pyramid fellailin worked like the Israel
ties under the lash of the taslsmaster.
The laborers here are free agents. They
can lay off If they please, and they arc
only kept on the job by getting the high
est wages and best treatment Of any men
OF their kind upon earth.
The man in charge of this army is the
chief uuartermaster at Panama. His name
is Col. c. A. Devol, and he is an officer
of the regular army. He has not only re-
cruited and hired the labor but he pro-
Vides their houses and quarters and gives
item their wages. He is also in charge OF
all materials and supplies on the isthmus,
aiaving IS warehouses, which II Joined to-
gether would cover an acreage bigger than
that of a good sized farm. He has charge
of the draft animals and he does the deliv-
ering and toting about of almost every
thing and everybody except that done by
the cars.
Uncle Sans Big Labor Force
Colonel Devol tells me that the labor
problem has been one of the most diff
ficult of any connected with the canal, and
that 1t has worried every company which
has done business down here on the 18th
mus. When the Panama railroad was first
built the contractors sent to China for
laborers, and they died like flies. Later
on so many other worzmen were buried
that 1t is said the road cost a man for
every tie laid in its tracks. The first
French canal company scratched the
world to find diggers, and they buried a
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 construction and
the job has become so popular that he
can now have all the men he needs with
out advertising. During the past four
years the average number employed has
been 5000, although at times 1t has run
as high as 5000 and more. This Is an
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1912-06-30

enormous force to be used in any under
taking outside those connected with the
army and navy. but IT is handled like one
vast machine.
Silver and Gold Men
You have all heard of the silver and
gold men of the Isthmus of Panama. 1t
is under those two names that the men
are classified The silver man is the
common everyday litter of-earth
hewer-of-wood and drawer7bf water.
He has mighty small brain and sells
only his muscle. He is usually a white
Spaniard or anTtalian, or black man
| from one of the West Indian islands
He is hired by the authorities here on
the isthmus and has been recruited by
agents sent to different parts Of the
world. During the past four years we
have had on the average $4,000 of these
| in the shape of West Indian negroes,
and about 5000 more as laborers from
Europe.
The gold men are the skilled en-
ployes, those who act as superintend-
ents, foremen, civil engineers and me-
chnnics. They manage the big ma
chinery, run tho trains and do all the
| skilled work. They are hired through
F; the bureau at Washington and many
of them are subject to civil service OK
animation. The silver man gets from 30
cents to $3.50 a day for his nine hours
work. The gold man receives on the
average at least $3.50 per month and. In
addition. a six weeks vacation, with a
month of sick leave and one of Injury
leave, which brings his pay very much
| higher. He has also extra advantages
in tho way of quarters and housing, and
he is in short about the best treated
workman of all those who sell their
brains and muscles to the industrial
wcrld.
A Talk With Colonel Devol
But 1t will be more interesting to let
| Colonel Devol, the quartermaster In
charge OF these forces, tell you about
them. I have spent an afternoon with
him here at Culebra. ana have asked
him many questions as to the men and
their work.
zone was as to the trouble of getting
the laborers together" said Colonel
Devol THE organization of the ca
nal force was not an easy one. When
we took hold, Panama had bad name
and 1t was difficult % get men. Mo-
vember /, 1904, the total force was $500.
OF whom only GOO were Americans. We
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1912-06-30

las far the West Indian negroes
are concerned they are absolutely sale.
They can go about as freely as in any part
of the United States. MY own daughters
have been here every summer. They rice
all over the country without an escort,
and they have never had any trouble or
any kind. Indeed. have not known or
a single case down here where a negro
has molested 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
rs much as at home. They have also
free quarters and their food is fur
nished at the rate of cents a meal.
The Spaniard gets more than twice what
what he can made in Spain, and his
meals cost him only 40 cents per day.
We have good quarters for housing
the Spaniards, 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
I'VE find that the Jamaicans prefer
to have huts of their own, and many
J 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 jamaican to live with Ihem
A year or so ago we had $4,000 negroes
in our barracks, but we have now only
1000. and the number grows less every
day"
How about the Spaniards7 Do they
hold to their quarters?"
| Yes. and the same is true of the
| Italians"
Americans at Panama
Are the American on the isthmus
satisfied with their jobs?"
II think there is no doubt OF that
You viii find kickers everywhere, but
the most of the Americans are content
ed and their only regret is that the
job is coming to an end. Indeed, they
ought to be satisfied. They get the
biggest wages of their kind and receive
on the average from rs to so per cent
more than they could get in the states.
Every man of them has six weeks va
cation and those who need 1t thirty
days sick leave. They are hard work
ers. but they have plenty of recrea-
ton, including tournaments and games
| and a system of clubhouses which is
free. They have a reduced rate of liv-
ing through the commissary stores,
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1912-06-30
The Spaniard VS.. the West Indian
Negro

Here the question arose as to the eff
cheney of European cheap labor in COM
parison with the West Indian labor, and
Colonel Devol said:
I'VE 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 half times that of the
Jamaican We then established rae
OF % cents gold per hour for the Span
iards, and 10 cents per hour for the ia
maicans. AS the work has progressed
the most of the men on the canal believe
that the Spaniard has only stood pat,
while the negro has steadily gained In
efficiency, and 1t is my own belief that the
negro is now about as good as the Span
lard. although he still receives less pay.
Indeed, my respect for this negro labor
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1912-06-30

had considerable sickness and this force
was not permanent, although IL steadily
grew In numbers. 1t was made up
largely of men who would stay only a
few months and then go away. Never
theless. It steadily grew. We found a
large amount of recruiting was neces-
sary, and within the next year or so we
brought In over $4,000 silver men. OF
these more than 1900 came from Eu-
rope, about 10000 from Barbados and
the balance from the other islands OF
the West Indies and Colombia.
I'VE had labor agents a Paris who
did the recruiting from Spain, getting
about 500 laborers at time and send
ing them over. We had to advance the
money, and it actually cost us $40 per
man for every Spanard, although that
sum was returned to the government
in the first two wage payments.
1T cost us S7.20 per head for the Ia
borers from the West Indies. This sum
was not paid back, but was charged to
the expense account. When I arrived
here In 1908 we still had recruiting
agencies in Barbados. Trinidad, France
and tho United States But we need moth
ing 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 Ameri-
ca? Have those countries furnished much
labor to the canal?" l asked
NO" replied Colonel Devol. I'VE re-
Gently brought In 40 or so Peruvians and
paid them 20 cents an hour But as rule
our labor has come frog the sources I
have mentioned
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1912-06-30

enormous force to be used in any under
taking outside those connected with the
army and navy. but 1t is handled like one
vast machine.
The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1912-01-31
GOES TO HUNT DEER:
ANIMAL HUNTS HIM
Plan to CborotoTm Buck Meets
With Knockout

John Buckley of Waverley avenue.
Captain Frederick Wood and L. Acker'
~. all Of Patchogue. N. Y. engaged in
a stirring battle in that place with a
buck deer. which after giving the men
a hard struggle and severely injuring
n Of them was stabbed to death.
The battle occurred on the estate of
Mrs. Kate L. Gilbert. a wealthy Man
haitian widow. says the New York
Press.
Mrs. Gilbert recently had a notice
printed in a Patchogue newspaper that
a fine buck deer on her property
would be given to any one who would
take away the animal. The deer was
known in Patchogue as ~"ferocious."
Buckley decided to devote a holiday to
the capture of the animal, believing he
could sell the deer at a good price. He
took a bottle of ch~loroform, cotton he
intended to saturate with the anaes.
thetic and a stout burlap bag in which
he intended to place the cotton and
throw it over the deer's head.
Buckley entered Mrs. Gilbert's estate
and found the buck. The animal i'm
smediately charged him and with it's
The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1912-01-31
Sheriff's Sale.

In the district court of the Twelfth judicial
district of the state of Montana, in and for the
county OF ChOuteau.
william r. Hensen, plaintiff, vs. John 8.
Roberts and Jessie Roberts, defendants.
To be sold at sherih's sale on the 18th day of
of county court house, Fort Benton, in the eaid
county Of Chouteau, state of Montana, the fol-
lowing described property:
All the right, title and interest of the defend
ants, John 8. Roberts and Jessie Roberts, Of, In,
and to the real property described Is follows,
to.wit:
A tract of land lying along the north side Of
lot number is, block number IL, being IL feet in
width and having for is north boundary line the
north boundary line of said lot 16, and for it's
south boundary line a line parallel to the north
boundary line of said lot and twelve feet distant
therefr0m extending from the east to the west
boundaries of said lot and having the east and
boundaries respectively of said tract; and also .
tract of land lying along the south side of lot
number IA, of block number IL, being nine 10y
feet in width and having for its south, east and
west boundaries respectively the south, east and
west boundaries of said lot and for Its north
boundary q line parallel to and nine 10y feet dis
tant from the south boundary line of said lot ID,
said lot II, all in the town of Chinook, according
to the official plat of the tOwnsite Of Chinook,
Chouteau county, Montana, on file in the Office
of the county clerk and recorder of Chouteau
county, Montana, and of the records of said
county, together with the appurtenances to said
and thereunto belonging or appertaining.
Dated this sd day of January, A. D. 1912.
GEO. BICKLE, Sheriff.
BY CHAs. CRAWFORD, Undersheri6.
D. L. Blackstone attorney or plaintiff.
First publication Jan. %. 1919.