The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-02-01
AT negro cooking

au'h fry OF the President of the United
St.,s.
The next important question con-
fronting the management is what to do
with some 10000 work people whose
services will not much longer Ice re-
Qu.rtd. Undoubtedly a good many of
them would prefer to remain, but, with
out regular work to do. they would be-
come source of trouble Further
more. 1t is not the Governments wish
that the Zone shall be populated save
for the military and the few thousands
Of employees whom. for reasons pres
entity to be explained. il will Ice neCes-
saIt To- retain.
For some time past Uncle Sam has
ie'n buying up all the land in the ten
me strip which belonged to private
owners The Government wishes to
obtain exclusive proprietorship over the
Z,rr mainly because the safety of the
canal Will I've insured thereby. There
has been some discussion of the posi-
h..jies of the territory for agriculture
hut no farming is TO be allowed there.
Roughly speaking. about half the
working force is employed under con-
tracts which require that the employee
shall be returned To his home. in the
West Indies or elsewhere, at the end
Of "A given term Of service. In thou
sands of other instances the men Will
b., sent back, even though lacking any
su.a guarantee, because 1t is necessary
L. -, rid of them. AS far as possible,
thr Canal Commission is trying To get
work for them elsewhere by advertls-
.ne labor recruiting agents being in
v.,.i To- apply to the Chief Quarter
uls.rr at Culebra.
VIII the consent OF the commission,
d, United Fruit Company opened last
autumn an employment bureau at CO.
Ion. ADVERTISING for 5000 locomotive en-
g.He,rS, fremen, plumbers, trackmen,
carpenters. mechanics and field labor
ers for railroad construction in Hon
dur,. and to work on its banana farms
in Costa R!ca and in the province OF
Booa del Toro. Panama. The same con-
ceru has sent 1899 laborers from the
2ouo to Guatemala to work on Its pam
tat.ou-
l. : estimated that the cost OF re-
turning to their homes the people Tor
whom no employment is found VIII DO
about $1,000 As yet the work OF re-
parr.at.un has only begun in a small
way hl, during the next few months
Il mus, be- carried on much more rap
the employees will be dropped from
thr payrp,ls hy the end of the present
year Not long ago a batch of twenty
i've mrn were shipped back to Fortune
Island being the last of total OF 500
originally recruited there. The Fortune
Islanders were among the first OF the
West Iudian contract laborers to be
recruited and by no means the best.
tt" white American employees, most
q them Jerks and numbering about
1900 arc entitled Under their contracts
In trar sportation back to their homes.
Many e them. however, will remain IN
The IHar for reasons to be explained
later Th,r" are some thousands OF
lahororS from spain who have similar
'ontrav,. as we'll as large percentage
" tho West Indian negroes. There
ough, Co., b" no difficulty about trans
por',rs hes" people, inasmuch as the
Panama i.alroad, which il the property
o! The Guycrnment, owns seven large
Steamship and various steamship COM
pan.cs have already put in bids to at
tend {" as much Of the business as the
comm ION Is willing to hand over td
them
Whom work on the canal was frst
begun 20" IN" United States Government
le'fu'iu- agents were sent to Jamaica
hafhai'- and all over the West In
ues :" irum up labor At various sea-
ports 'i"F got in touch with the labor
mark and arranged with the steam
snip 'n1panies for transportation
lo' u' ady"rtising was done. 1t was
"afh.I Incidentally that men from
hof'h'.n spain. known as Gallegos, had
SNOW 'a,us"lves very efficient as la
"''is 90 cuba. Accordingly some re-
uH1tiH' vas done in Spain, whence
anou' a'0 'iallcgos were eventually OBJ
tainol
~ mr.. was hard to persuade Eu
''p'ahs ~ ,ome over. owing to wide
spread reports Of the unhealthfulness Ol
'' region in which they were invited
'"- hlt aftcrward, having hearf
tood accounts Of the high pay anc
.'her Favorable conditions from thei'
trends, they nocked to the Zone. with
wv urnAHd.ng contracts. not only from
Wv, "e ih'r'n Peninsula, but also from
Italy arl Greece.
IN Ih' first day Of November, 1904