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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (June 30, 1912)
B THE OMAHA .SUNDAY BEE: JUNE 30, 1912. Big Wages MdlXBHA, Canal Zone Panama. I I A 1 This letter is about the big-1 I . li I gest army or workmen ever men who are now digging the canal down here at Pan ama. They number about 35,000. When old Cheops built the pyramids he had 30,000 laborers, and when the great church of Santa Sophia was erected at Constanti nople the workmen were just half that number. But In both of these cases the labor was more or less forced, and the pyramid fellahln worked like the Israel ites under the lash of the taskmaster. The laborers here are free agents. They can lay off if they please, and they are enly kept on the Job by getting the high est wages and best treatment of any man of their kind upon earth. The man in charge of this army is the chief quartermaster at Panama. Hie name is Colonel C. A. Devol, and he is an officer of the regular army. He has not only recruited and hired the labor, but he provides their houses and quarters and gives them their wages. He is also n charge of all materials and supplies on the isthmus, having eighty-eight ware houses, which if joined together would CnVPT an arMQtfa kirff than tkaf Af a good-sized farm. He haji nhnrrs nf th draft animals and -Jbe does the delivering and toting about of almost everything and everybody except that done by the cars. Uncle Sam's Big Labor Force. Colonel Devol tells me that the labor problem has been ont of the most diffi cult, of any connected with the canal, and that it has worried every company which hag done business down here on the Isthmus. When the Panama railroad was first built the contractors sent to China for laborers, and they died like flies. Later on so many other . workmen were buried that it 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 bur ied 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 t popular that he can now have all the men he needs without advertising. Dur ing the past four years the average num ber employed has been 35,000, although at times It has run as high as 38,000 and more. This Is an enormous force to be used in any undertaking outside those connected with the army and navy, but it Is handled like one ' vast machine. ' ' Sliver and Cold Men. You have all heard of the silver and gold men of the Isthmus of Panama. It Is under those two names that the men are classified. ' The silver man Is the common every-day lifter-of-earth, hewer-of-wood and drawer-of -water. . He has a mighty small brain and sells only his ' muscle. He Is usually a white Spaniard or an Italian, or. a black man from one of the West Indian islands. n Is TOred by the authorities here on the Isthmus, and has beeri recruited by agents sent to different parts of the world. During the past four yars we have had on the aver age 25,000 of these in the shape of West Indian negroes and about 5,000 more as laborers from Europe.. . The gold men are the skilled employes, those who act as superintendents, . fore men, civil engineers and mechanics. They manage the big machinery, "run the trains and do all the skilled work. They are : hired through the bureau at Washington and many ' of them are subject to civil service examinations. The 'silver' man gets from 90 cents to $1.80 a day for his nine hours' work. The gold man receives ?n the average at least $150 per month, a.nd, 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 advan tages In the way of quarters and hous ing, and he Is in short about the best treated workman of all those who sell , their brains and muscle to the industrial world. A Talk With Colonel Devol. But It 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 and have asked him many ques tions as to the men and their work. 1 "One was as to the trouble of getting the laborers together," said Colonel Devol. "The organization of the canal force was not an easy one. When we took hold, Panama had a bad name and It was diffi cult to get men. November V 1904, the total force was 3,500, of whom only 609 were Americans. We had considerable . sickness and this force was not perma nent, although It steadily grew In num bers. It was made up largely of men who would stay only a few months and then go away. Nevertheless, It steadily grew. We found a large amount of re cruiting was necessary, and within the next year or so we brought in over 43,000 silver men. .' Of these more than 11,000 came. from. Europe, about 19,000 from fearbadoea and . the balance from tho. other Islands of the West Indies and Colombia. 'i "We had labor agents at Paris who did the recruiting from Spain, getting about 600 laborers at a time and sending them (over. We had to advance the money, and It actually cost us 140 per man for every Spaniard, although that - sum . was re turned to the government in . the first two wage payments.. "It cost us 17.20 per head for the -laborers 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 Barbadoes, Trinidad. France ejhd the United States. But we need nothing of this character now. ' Indeed, we are offered more labor than we can Use and we are sending men back horns , rather than bringing them here." "How about Central and South Amer ica? Have those countries furnished much labor to the canal?" I asked. "No," replied Colonel. Devol. "We re cently brought in forty or fifty Peruvians and paid them 10 cents an hour. But as a rule our labor has come from t the s6urces I have mentioned." ' r gjMnlard . the West Indian TTearo. : Here the question arose as to the effi ciency of European cheap labor in com parison with the West Indian labor, and Colonel Devol Bald: . ;"We 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 a half times that of the Jamaican. We then established a rate of 20 cents gold per hour for the Jamaicans, as tne work naa progressed the most of the men on the canal be lieve .that the Spaniard has only stood jjt. while the negro has steadily gained In .efficiency, md It la my own belief that the negro is now about as good as th Spaniard, although he still receives for Uncle fikL " jii r lilt v -1 .asm, nnS iigp negro labor has risen during every year of my stay. The West Indians are teach able and anxious 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 this country." The White Man and the Tropic. "But cannot the negroes stand the sun of N the tropics better than the white men?" , s "I 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. 1 The heat there Is more intense and more enervating. When I went to those Islands I weighed 180 pounds, and I lost something like eight een pounds during my stay. 'Here I find it difficult to keep my weight down, and my health, is excellent "There has been much apprehension as to the unhealth of the tropics and the tropical heat," continued Colonel Devol. "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 I kept them under canvas during the heat of the day for fear the sun would hurt them. I soon found this use less, ' and after a short time put them to work as soon a they came 'off the boats. I distributed thousands of them through out the Islands, and they throve there quite as well as at home. "As to the Americans on the Isthmus, you will not find a healthier class of workmen anywhere else. Their death rate Is exceedingly low, and far lower than that of the United States. Even in cluding 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 check?" "No. I doubt whether you will find a more quiet body - of workmen anywhere else on the face of the globe. We have more than thirty thousand colored men on our rolls, and we have had no seri ous labor, trouble since we began. There are no brawls 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 common expres sion among the West Indians that this Is a 'white man's country." "But ' are our white . women safe on the isthmus?" "As far as the West Indian negroes are concerned they are absolutely safe. They can go about as freely as' In any part of the United States. My own daughters have been here every summer. They ride all over the country without an escort and they have never had any trouble of any kind. Indeed, I have not known of a single case down here where a negro has molested a white woman." "How do the . wages of the silver -men compare wun tnose tney receive at home?" "They are much higher. The Jamaicans and Barbadians get three times as much FEET-SORE? BEWARE! ' YOIIB HEALTH'S IN DANGER YOU MIGHT GO THROUGH LIFE LIMPING BUFFERING People who have brain trouble, backache, spinal trouble, dislocation of small bones, strained vital cords and numerous other serious troubles All their stomachs with medieihes and rub their bodies with ointments. Yet In ninety cases In a hundred, these same people have not reached the seat of the tronhln. , It they had only taken eare of their FEET these 'terrible afflic tions wowa not nave occurred. Bore, burning, squeezed, tired FEET OHI THE POO 8 THINGS ! covered with blis ters, Damons and corns will cause yon to strain and lime. Tour feet be come overworked they need a rest and treat ment. But you keep right on abusing them --yon strain when - von wait. And do you know the BESU1TS? The vital cords and bones of the body connected with the feet, become Injured--strained dislo cated. And what are the results? Tou may go through the rest of your life limping frowning euf ferine. But if you will BAN-; TITE your feet each morning with tbst marvelous new remedy wa h.r ha mtwh about RA V ATTTjrn w nni arm nt.i. blisters will heal and corns and bunion will cease to be cruel punishment 8AJJATITE Is different front any other foot remedy Inown. It's In a dry form In a powder puff. Simply dust It on the feet so fussing or mussing with soaking and water. The powerful Antiseptics In SANATITE DRAW OCT the poison and pain. Tour DRUGGIST has fiANATTTR In .nrl lv.i.p- ?M b',r ruin your ehances Insist on SANATITE. uv'u' 4W.s w w J auWNUK C1BU -LBn DO ir ne can't sup. Ply yon, SEJH 26c DIRECT TO The GEB5 i . : rku ..... Sam's Panama Canal Workers as at home. They have also free quarters and their food Is furnished at the rate of 9 cents a meal. The Spaniard gets more than" twice what he can make 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 cleaned and are steamed every few days. . ' "We find that the Jamaicans prefer to have huts of their own, and many of them have drifted out into the brush. They have knocked up shacks of poles and such boards as they can find and have Drought their females, as they call them, from Jamaica to live with them. A year or so ago we had 25,000 negroes In our barracks, but we have now only 7,000, and the number grows less every day." "How about the Spaniards? Do they hold to their quarters?" "Yes, and the same Is true of the Italians." "Are the Americans on the isthmus sat isfied with their jobs?" ' "I think there Is no doubt of that. You ri if If PxA-. s-U IMl)U will find kickers everywhere, but the most of the Americans are contented, and their only regret Is -that the Job Is com ing to an end. Indeed, they ought to be satisfied.' They get the biggest wages of their kind and receive 'on the average from 25 to 50 per cent more than they could get in the states. Every man of them has six weeks', vacation and' those who heed It 'thirty days'- sick leave. They are hard workers, but they have plenty ' of recreation, Including tourna ments and games and a system of club houses which Is free. They have a re duced rate of living through the commls. sary stores, where goods are sold at as near cost aiT possible, and Uncle Sanl pays their house rent and gives then their quarters. The gold men work only eight hours a day and those who are married have, in addition, what amounts to 340 a month outside their salary. The bachelors have what is an equivalent of about '$15 per month. . What Employ Get (or Nothing, "I do not understand juat what you mean by these allowances, Colonel Devol." "I mean the things that the canal em ploye gets for nothing, which, if he were THE BEER YOU LIKE in the United States, he would have to pay for. We give every man free quar ters and froe fuel, light, water and med ical attendance. The married man re reives more than the single man, and he costs more. He lives In a house which costs us at least 31,840 to build and fur nish, and he saves at least 320 In th rent of that house. He gets about 37.50 worth of free medical nttnHnnv 11 n rtree transportation over the railroad, more than 35 in free light and more than $3 worth of fuel. We take care of his grounds and carry away his garbage. We do not charge him for janitor service, and altogether 340 Is a low estimate of what he has In addition to .his salary. In the same way the bachelor receives 314 or $15 in addition to his pay." Uncle Sani-a. Homr for Employes "You have charge of the homes of the employes?" "Yes, that is under the quartermaster's department. Our houses, as you know, are all modern and up-to-date. They are screened from mosquitoes and furnished wljh modern plumbing and bathrooms, and each house has its kitchen, parlor, bedrooms and living room. Men who get LHHMK Ef Only Ipe Note! ' r J I . . " fwivima trie Att fllUCICf p LU III tsw refunded to you when the empty bottles are returned. (This basket offer holds good only until July ISth) . No for a Picnic with a picnic spirit; get your "Luxus" in this handy basket with a hinged top that covers the contents perfectly. N Light, easy to carry, and laden with a joyous supply of cooling, health. ful, high class "Luxus," entirely differentlom ANY other Omaha brew.'C : pHONE Douglas 1241 or Independent A-3241, or -call' or write for a Novel Picnic Basket filled with "Luxus." Case or barrel orders from out of town filled immediately. Write today for prices on "Luxus" and other "Krug" Beers. Free Delivery less than 3M0 per month live In four family houss. Those who have between that and 3300 have ' bungalows and cot tages, and those who have from 3300 to 3400 a month have two-story houses. "The barracks buildings of the silver employes each accommodate seventy-two men. Their arrangements are modeled after those of the United States trans port and they are each under the charge of a janitor, who keeps them clean. The floor are scrubbed twice a week and the bunks are taken out and boiled in an iron tank to kill the bugs and other vermin." "Have you been able to use many of the old French buildings V I asked. "Yes, there were 1.700 of them, and we took them at a valuation of $2.000,ou0. They ranged in size from two-story cot tages up to the big De Lessep home ' 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." Oar Men Earn Thrlr Waajra. The conversation here turned to th pay of the men, and Colonel Devol shewed me the books by which he keeps track of the labor of these 35,000 em ployes. The system Is a complete one, Including Umebooks 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 It Is Impossible for a man to get more than he earns. The paying Is through pay checks by means of pay cars, which go MAY BECOME A NATION OF BEARDED WOMEN If You Value Your Face, Beware of. So-Called Hair Removers. , They Cause a Soft Fuzz to Come Back a Stiff, " Bristly Beard. v ; ' It is the oponlon of eminent authorities that If women continue to' remove super fluous hair with worthless, poisonous de pilatories, it will be only a question of time before we will have a nation of bearded women, because even when a downy growth Is removed by these com pounds and concoctions. It Is sure to grow out again coarser and heavier after iach removal and eventually It will become a stiff, bristly beard. Then It will be nec essary to resort to the use of the razor, because no preparation will be' strong enough to remove It without ruining the skin . It can be safely said that ecsema will most likely become a national disease If women continue to use so-called depila tories... Nothing has done more to pro duce serious skin troubles - and ' eczema than the use of these preparations. While the harm caused by them Is not always noticeable with the flrttt few applica tions, the real- Injury plainly manifests itself after. frequent and .continued use. For years we have been cautioning wo men against the use of poisonous pastes, powders, fake "beauty article recipes' and so-called liquid "cures," but it seems that some are always willing' to be hum bugged, because as soon as on fakir has gotten all he can out of confiding women, another takes his place, and so It will continue as long as women will permit themselves to be victims of such Impostors. . K you don't mind . taking the risk ef disfigurement, why pay twenty-five cents to one dollar or more for such worthless preparations, when you can procure from any drug store for five or ten cents, a sufficient quantity of the Ingredients to last a year. ' It must be borne In mind that after the growth of hair is stimulated by the use of so-called depilatories It will nec essitate a much longer and more persist ent treatment with DeMiracle than It would have otherwise required. There fore, Isn't It safer to stoD exDerlmenttn and use the world-famous DeMiracle which Is acknowledged by eminent authorities everywhere as the standard depilatory the one perfected, non-poisonous, safe and harmless preparation that dissolves hair, thereby taking the vitality out of It, consequently retarding and preventing an increased growth. The best and most convlnclnar nroof thai DeMiracle is the only absolutely reliable and trustworthy hair remover Is that It 1T n 6fi Lrvs I i ) Q O n buys the basket and 10. small or 6 large' bottles of sparkling "LUXUS BEER." A charge of 25c to cover cost made at time nf We will deliver these "Picnic Baskets" free . within the following limits: Lake St. North, Vin ton St. South, 40th St, West and 9th St. East. 10c extra for delivery beyond these limits. 13 mm from station to station and hand " out the money. It takes, twelve days to pa all the men on the canal. A pay car starts out about the first of the month, and It Is not until the 12th that all the men have been paid. Th amount of sil ver used every month ia ' more than 31.500 000, or. If it were loaded upon two horse wagons, as much as eighty horses could haul over a country road. The Gam Shoe Men. , I asked Colonel Devol if any stealing1 or graft had been discovered in connec tion with such payments. He replied: "No. 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 administra tion of almost every one of our noma cities. I know of none here on the canal tone and our system of supervision is o complete that It is almost impossible for anything of that nature to escape being caught at its very beginning. "Take, for Instance, padding the roll such as has been done in many big jobs. There Is none of that here. Wa have Una Inspectors called gum-shoe men, who go about through the various divisions In ordinary clothing. No one knows them, and they have the right to ask the fore men for their time books and verify them aa to the men employed and the hours that they work. Any discrepancy ia immediately reported. These men are everywhere, and the foremen know that a dishonest report Is sure to be dis covered." FRANK Q. CARPENTER. has stood the test. of time. It was the largest selling depilatory ten years ago and more of it' has been sold eaoh year since thsn the combined sales of the nostrums. The mere fact' that fake-dangerous preparations are short-lived should alone be sufficient warning to avoid the use of any depilatory but that of proven, merit. - - Don't be deceived or deluded by allur ing and Impossible cleams of Impostors, who usually resort to publishing testi monials procured for a money considera tion from one or two physicians of ques tionable standing, or from some unknown woman, who Is dubbed a a "great so ciety leader." More than likely the pre parations were never 'used by the writers of the so-called testimonials. Tell any fine of them that DeMiracle Chemical Company will forfeit Five Thousand Dol lars if it can be proven that their so called superfluous hair "cures" aver eradicated one single growth of super fluous hair. 4 . . . Insist on. proof when fakirs say such preparations are "Indorsed by the medical profession." To substantiate our claim that DeMiracle is the only depilatory that has. ever been indorsed by' reputable phy sicians, surgeons, dermatologists, medical Journals, prominent magaslnea and news papers, we will send copies of the testi monials on request. And, mind you, every one, is genuine. If they were not, we could be compelled by law to discon tinue publishing them. All reliable dealers sell and recommend DeMiracle, knowing It to be the best and safest depilatory. Some unprincipled ones will tell you they cannot procure it so that they may more easily tnflucnca you to purchase their own or possibly soma other dangerous, worthless substitute un der another label for a few cents mora profit. To protect you from Juet such Im position, If your dealer will not supply you, mail us 3100 and we will send you. all charges paid. In plain, sealed wrapper, a 31.00 bottle of Dc-Mlracle, and we will make you a present of a full-size jar of DeMiracle Cream. It you care to, giva us the name of the dealei who tries to sell you a "Just as good" Imitation or substitute. Write for free booklet which will be mailed sealed in plain envelope. DeMiracle Chemical Company, Dept. 5Z, Park Ave., 129th and 130th Sts., New York. You can always procure DeMiracle with out argument In Omaha from Sherman it MoConnell Drug Co., and Loyal Phar macy. ... of bottles, will be less pay. Indeed, my respect for this 9tUmTuVMLUmU MB2404.... LIU J.