New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-07-29

Brooklyn pays for overtime at one and
| one-haif the regular rate, Camp Upton
pays double time for all overtime, for
ali over four hours on Saturday and
for all time on Sunday.
The men are housed free Of charge
They sleep in tents, three to the tent
Each man is allotted steel cot, with
excellent springs, a good mattress and
q pair Of blankets.
The men are not driven by their
bosses. Loafers, of course. are not al.
lowed, but was all over the camp, and
nowhere did ! see laborer in a hurry
The only men who seemed to be In
deadly earnest were some uniformed
soldiers, several companies Of whom
are stationed at the camp.
The civilian laborers eat at messes
operated by the Van Noy Interstate
News Company, under the close super
| vision of government employees. Meals
are served at a standard price Of rs
cents each. The food served is of the
highest quality. Icy Kaplan, the
| famous Greeley photographer, fur
nished undoubted evidence of this.
Izzy buzzed around where the meat
cutter was slicing some roast pork.
The cutter was hospitable, and Icy
violated every injunction the rabbi
ever laid upon him.
Men Kick on Food
There Is no little kicking on the food,
but the American housewife can testify
that the male Of the species Is the most
fnicky creature on earth when. it comes
to what he eats. Growing gives him a
much better appetite than any kind Of
sauce.
All this any one can learn. 1t takes
more diplomacy, however, to get from
officials the truth about the mosquitoes.
They are touchy on this subject-as
much so as If one said their pet dog
was a sheep killer But there are mos
quitoes at Camp Upton-enough for
man to have his own little community
chorus at highland usually he does
have it,
II is predicted that, with the con-
tinued widening Of the area OF cleared
land and the constant burning Of brush,
the pest will disappear. 1t is declared
there are no swamps on the military
reservation; that the "humming-birds"
breed in marshes near by. Colonel
Henry A. Shaw, Of the army medical
corps, was at the camp last week, and
II is understood ne will recommend to
Washington that these marshes be COW
cred with petroleum. But It will take
time to get the benefit of such remedy.
This failure to face the mosquito
problem Is the first weakness Of the
camp administrative system. And 1t Is
proving very costly. Every morning
scores Of men leave on the first train
one night, or perhaps two, has proven
sufficient for them. Thursday there
1 %ha
roll, but more than 5000 had been hired
in the three and one-half weeks Of op.
Grafton there.
Need at Least Six Thousand Men
The contractors need at least six
thousand men. "All you can get us,
they tell any man who offers to supply
labor. The men come-and 90. The
wages are very high, the food is really
good and at low prices; sleeping quar-.
tiers cost nothing. The work is not g
severe tax, but "a man must sleep
explained returning workman to me
| Many more men would remain at the
camp were comprehensive employ
ment system in use. Despite the fact
that men are badly wanted, particularly
carpenters, ! saw fully a dozen wait.
| ing for the afternoon train to New
| 1oIh, VINO CtdiIleu tney Hdu Deeu tHeTe
since morning and had been unable Il
find the man who was hiring carpen-
! ters The method of getting to WORK
is cumbersome and proves irritating.
Because of this shortage Of labor
found no one who would say he really
believed the camp will be ready for oc.
cupancy by the drafted soldiers on the
date set-September 6. A miracle may
yet work the trick. There is no prece.
| dent 10 guide one. This is the biggest
construction Job Of its kind ever
tackled in the United States. Blu,
among those who are best entitled tc
guess, the confidential Don't quote
me" opinion Is that October is a much
more likely date for the completion Of
1 the camp.
At that II will be an achievement