Newark evening star and Newark advertiser., 1915-06-16

|
neers to join their forces, and nearly
every time the beekoning hand won
| the man.
II couldn't depend upon holding a
| civilian, and | don't blame him. HIS
| daily work is his future, as we'll as
| his present. The army officer can
| look forward to being retired at a
certain age and with good pension
| The civilian gets nothing, not even
thank you from the government.
That's one reason why l refuse to
permit time spent in the canal zone
to be credited to an officer in deter
mining his rating in the army or
navy.
Can Depend on Him.
But there is one thing l can do
with an army or navy officer | can
do with a civilian--l can depend upon
him. If give an order, / am pretty
sure il win be oheyed, and | know
the man won't quit me right in the
middle of the work, when ] want nm
most. A civilian may drop his lob
and go back to the States any mo-
ment, I have no way to keep him IN
hand. He is his own boss, while the
army or navy man is amenable TO
discipline.
Il fought off this charge for rent as
long as L COulut dIlb Nlltb liz -
dent and Congress decreed that rent
should be charged. like a good sol
dier. | obey. If | am personally
blamed, well and good. 1T is all in the
days work"
but. colonel, the civilians claim
you discriminate against them, in
favor of the military officers, and that
civilians jobs are taken by army
officers at higher pay was the next
question put.
That is not So" decisively replied
the colonel when civilian left
and | could get an army officer to
take the place, and who could do
equally as good work. why, naturally,
preferred the army officer, for the
reason Just stated. If the army Off
Ger could do the work, why shouldn't
he be entitled to the pay of the posi-
ton? As to paying more, that Is not
so, and l don't think you can
prove il.
THE real construction work of the
canal Is now over, and as the hardest
work Is through, one would naturally
think there ought to be reduction
of salaries OF all hands. Am getting
too much salary at So 900 year? Do
you know of any man in the States
who would come and take this job for
that much? 1t is worth ten thousand
a year just to put up with the annoy
ances of the position and the cr1tl-
cisms I have to bear, and the political
influences I have to fight which would
like to use this canal zone for
dumping ground of political prefer
ment. Why, | could go to the states
and get more money any time | want
to, and there are lot more army offi-
GERS patiently putting up with this
i fnY
than they could earn in other lines,
simply because they consider it their
duty to their country to stay here.
And, | want to add, there are lot
of civilians doing the same thing.
The civilian can go when he wants to,
but we army and navy men have JUST
got to stick.
Army Man Is Better.
"Why shouldn't lieutenant get a
majors pay If he does a majors
work." continued Col. Goethals. THE
government is getting the service and
isn't the man worthy of his labor
AS | have said before, / have prac-
ticed no discrimination against the
civilian, in fact | have favored MN
IL anything, but ] must confess | get
more satisfactory work out of an
army or navy man than | can out OF
a civilian force that is always finding
fault over trifles. The service man
doesn't dare talk back, he's just got
to take orders and obey
THE merchants of Panama ana
Colon claim they are not receiving
any benefit from the canal because
the Panama railroad commissary
stores are selling beneath their prices,
because of free transportation and no
duty charges" was next put to the
colonel.
Now, I want to tell you little
back history. When we came on this
isthmus and had to fight the fever,
yellow and typhus, some of our men
were laying in the hospital some
miles from here and we had to have
ice. | sent to Panama to buy ice ana
those sharks there demanded as
much as So q hundred pounds or they
wouldn't deliver it, and then we had
to transport it ourselves from Pana-
ma to the hospital. They charged ex-
orbitant prices for everything, and we
then determined we would have our
own ice plant and our own stores
| system so that we wouldn't be held
I'D again, and at the same time we
! intend selling to any of these ships
| that pass through the canal [ don't
intend to have the business of the
| canal hurt because a few avaricious
merchants try to swell their profits
at the expense of passing ships.
I'VE don't prevent any Panaman-
| ian merchant from selling to the ships.
! BY selling or offering for sale all
! kinds OF supplies to ships passing
/ through the canal at fair prices, we
really aid trade and make the canal
a. welcome place for shipmaster
rather than permitting 1t to gain a
reputation of permitting all kinds of
petty grating to go on.
I'VE sell Ice for soc hundred
pounds, because we can do so and
make a fair profit. We sell coal at
a profit of 15c a ton because 1t pays
us and facilitates the passage of ships
through the canal. That phase of the
business Is handled by the Panama
Railroad Company, of which l am
president, but l am not actively en-
gagged In it's management. There are
times overrule the management
when I feel that the interests OF
merchants, ships or the canal may
be affected. AS long as ] am here
I'm not going to permit the ship
owners or masters to be fieeced. II
the Panama merchants will meet ouI
prices they can get the business
we're not here to hinder them In get
ting business, but we are here to
facilitate the canal business"
'I suppose sometime there will b'
n civil government of the canal zone
but l know the best service can b'
given through management of th'
military authorities. Why, this cana
is really a military and naval neces
sity and may be the key to futur,
conflict, which is a mighty stroni
reason why the canal zone should b,
under military domination. That
where I stand"
And smiling, declining to have hi
picture taken, the colonel bowed hi
visitor out The impression mad