The leader-enterprise. [volume] (Fitzgerald, Ga.) 1912-1915, 1914-02-06

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house or an apartment in a building
with two or four families, range.
double bed, two pillows. six dining
chairs, two kitchen chairs. one chit
fonier. two center tables, a mosquito
par. a refrigerator, double dresser,
double mattress. kitchen table, din
ing table. sideboard. bedroom mat and
three wicker porch chairs.
Married quarters were assigned In
1905 and 1906 ON the basis of one
square foot for each dollar of salary.
with extra allowances for the wife and
children. This method was abandoned.
and quarters are assigned without re-
gard to salary. except that officials re-
ceive first consideration. There are
one. two and four family houses. en-
tirely screened on the outside. Every
House or apartment has it's shower
bath. tubs not being used. and each
town has complete sewer system.
Bachelors. whether men or women.
are treated CORRESPONDENCE we'll
Quarters with two. three or four in a
room and janitor service are free. In
the early days there was unpleasant
crowdinS because of the scarcity of
buildings, but only occasionally has
there been congestion in late years
These buildings shelter from dozen
to sixty men and. like the married
quarters. are screened on the outside
Hotels operated by the commission
are the boarding places for the bach
elor employees. The wide verandas
are screened. and tables here are re-
served for the bachelor girls and for
the men who wear coats at mealtime
Inside the employees may eat in their
shirt sleeves. The meals cost 80 cents
each and are paid for by coupons that
come fifty to the book. These books
cost $15. and the amount is deducted
from the employees salary at the end
Of the month. so that no cash is handled
ut the hotels. except from nonemploy
ees, who must pay so cents for meal
The fare could not be duplicated in
the United States for 70 cents meal
A typical thirty cent menu includes
soup. two kinds of meat, four kinds of
vegetables, hot rolls or light bread.
salad, tea, coffee or cocoa, and for des-
sert ice cream or pie. On every table
are fruit. olives. preserves. condiments.
and for several years in the early
stages an open bowl Of quinine as a
malarial antidote.
The hotels for the gold employees
Of SrrHN
loss. while the European laborers'
messes and the colored laborers' kitch
ems have shown profit. At the mess
es for the Europeans, principally
Spaniards and Italians, the cost of
three meals is 40 cents, while at the
kitchens where the West Indian labor
ers get their food cooked to take away
and eat the cost is 80 cents for three
meals. The food is always wholesome
and plentiful, and the tastes Of the va
rious nationalities are studied to give
them that to which they are accustom-
ed. The West Indians consume more
than 100 tons of rice monthly, the Ital
ians want macaroni, and the SpaniardS
eat vast quantities of bread.
Stewards at the hotels for the gold
employees found that each man aver
aged only two meals day. The saw
ing to an employee by cutting out one
meal is SO month. They substitute
fruit or a sandwich from the clubhouse
for the third meal and in the two they
do eat stow away enough to. satisfy
their needs. Three meals a day at 80
cents each would cost $27 a month
Two meals a day, or sixty for the
month. cost SIS. Some of the employ
ees cut out breakfast and some lunch,
so the stewards prepare food for an
average of two meals per employee.
The Tivoli hotel at Ancon. on the
Pacific side. is the tourist hotel oper-
ated by the commission. Its rates,
American plan. are $3.50 a day and
up. There are 219 rooms and dining
room that will seat $50 persons. At
Colon. on the Atlantic side. the COM
for the use Of visitors to the canal zone.
Still another factor that makes liv-
ing in the canal zone cheaper than in
the United States is the result of the
climate. With Il uniformly warm
temperature the quality of clothes does
not vary the year round-for the wom-
en-. light, summary goods, largely
white; for the men, duck or linen suits
or light staple cloths. The saving
from not having to buy new clothes
with the change of seasons is impor-
tant. and the employees generally try
to arrange their vacations so as to be
In the United States in mild weather.
A bride starts out life there on
basis that means a rude jolt to her
when the canal is finished and she re-
turns to the United States. Young
couples who have been treading the
easy path of high salary, free rent,
free water. light and fuel, cheaper
food, clothes and furniture, elastic
class distinctions and plentiful though
not efficient servants must ever look
back upon their canal zone experience
as the particularly bright period in
their careers. The whitening blasts Of
social competition, high cost of living
and salaries from one to two-thirds