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The Condition of Canal —Its ‘Benefits to the South
ITS BENEFIT TO THE SOUTH.
(The Birmingham News.)
“The Panama Canal and What Its
Construction Means to the South” is
the subject of an article in the Chatta
nooga Tradesman of recent date. The
writer sets forth that the canal will
be a potent factor in the development
of the shipping interests at the Gulf
ports by reason of the fact that the
shortest route from the Pacific end
of the canal to China and Japan will
take a steamship within 125 miles of
the port of San Francisco, enabling it
to enter and leave that port with the
loss of only twenty-four hours on the
outward or return voyage, and that
San Francisco will naturally become
the principal port of call not only for
vessels bound from the Atlantic and
Gulf seaports of the United States
to the Orient, but for the great fleet
of vessels from London, Liverpool,
Hamburg, Bremen and other foreign
cities which will utilize this route both
because it is shorter than byway of
the Suez canal and because the Pana
ma canal is so much larger that it will
accommodate ships of greater draught.
With this great additional fleet doing
business to more or less extent with
Mobile, Gulfport, New Orleans, Galves
ton, some idea of its importance to the
south can be gained.
But the writer above referred to
says that the south will be benefited
by San Francisco becoming the princi
pal coaling port for vessels bound both
ways, because the Panama canal will
bring the coal mines of the southern
states nearer to that city than the fuel
deposits of Australia and other com
petitive regions, and thus the market
which San Francisco will offer to the
southern coal miners be a large
commercial advantage. The writer
adds:
“There is nd reason why the mining
companies of Alabama, Kentucky, Ten
nessee and possibly West Virginia,
should not furnish the bulk of the
bunker coal required for all this ship
ping at San Francisco as well as the
coaling stations which will doubtless
be established at one or both ends of
the canal. This means that a fleet of
colliers will be required for handling
coal alone from southern ports through
the canal to the Pacific coast.
“The cane plantations of Louisiana
and the southwest will have a far bet
ter opportunity to compete with the
Hawaiian producers in the American
market.
“The canal will afford an opportuni
ty to increase the commercial relations
between the south and such cities as
Seattle and Tacoma. What this means
to the textile interests of the south
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can be appreciated, bearing tn mind
the extensile market on. the Pacific
coast not only for cotton manufactures
but for the raw material. It is not
improbable that the coton trade with
the United States west of the Rocky
Mountains will be much more than
doubled, since the canal will allow the
material to be carried to this section
at much lower rates than overland
by rail as at present.
“But possibly the chief item of in
terest to the south through the com
pletion of the canal is the expansion
which will take place in the southern
iron and possibly steel industry. It
may be needless to say that up to
the present time the construction of
buildings and other developments in
the communities on the Pacific coast
. has been greatly retarded by the ex
pense of securing structural steel and
metal in other forms. Undoubtedly
ship building on the Pacific coast
would assume much greater dimen
sions if it were not for the excessive •
cost for frame work and hull plates
for vessels most of which is now
brought across the country by rail.
In spite of the remarkable growth
of the city of Seattle as an industrial
center, at the present time the pro
duction of iron and steel is practical
ly nominal for the reason that the jaw
material for these metals is not avail
able, the iron ore not being of a qual
ity which will allow it to be smelted
to produce iron of suitable composi
tion. As the coal mines are brought
near to the Pacific coast cities, the
iron makers will enjoy an equal ad
vantage and there is no question but
what the building of the canal will so
increase the demand that despite the
proportions of the ii dustry at present
it will be greatly enlarged, since the
use of structural material alone will
cause the Pacific coast to become a
very broad market, saying nothing of
the requirements for shipbuilding,
the construction o* railroads, electric
power plants and other enterprises
needing large quantities of metal.”
It will be seen from this that the Pan
ama canal bids fair to do big things
for the south in the development of
its coal, iron, steel, cotton and sugar
interests. This business can hardlv
be shifted from the south to othei
parts of the country by reason of the
conditions of its proximity to the ca
nal zone. How far the favoritism of
the government tn discriminating in
the interests of New York and other
eastern ports in the shipment of sup
plies to the canal zone may work
against the south in encouraging chan
nels of trade in favor of the east re
mains to be seen. In the case of coal,
iron and cotton, however, the econom
ic conditions in *avor of the south will
be hard to overcome by favoritism or
discrimination in Washington.
CONDITIONS DOWN IN PANAMA.
(The Fort Worth Telegram.)
The American people may confident
ly expect to hear stories of graft, plun
der and unwholesome conditions so
long as the work of digging the Pana
ma canal is in progress. Scandals
have already developed and more are
in prospect. Sunn public enterprises
are always regarded as legitimate op
portunities by designing characters
throughout the country, and it is going
to require a mighty effort to keep
such men from continually getting in
their nefarious work.
Our people as a whole know little of
conditions that prevail in Panama. Ail
they know is that even in the inctpi
ency of the work it has proven neces
sary for the president to inaugurate
several very effectual shakeups, but
according to report, he has only shak
en the situation immediately around
the edges. L. C. Hemeyer, a canal
zone sanitary inspector, who has just
returned to New York, tells a story of
imposition upon the laborers, who are
each compelled to pay a rake-off of $lO
per month to some one. He says these
laborers are being compelled to eat
food that is utterly unfit for use and
insufficient to keep them in condition
for work. Representative Rainey,
of Illinois, has also just returned from
a trip to the scene of canal operations,
and tells the same story as to the
conditions. Following is Hemeyer’s
story in part:
Unless the government takes steps
to improve the quality and quantity
of the food given the men the canal
never can be completed. Food condi
tions are simply appalling. Men do
not get near enough, and what they
do get is often unfit to eat.
Outdoor workmen require substan
tial food. Here is what they get for a
big meal: Two small pieces of meat,
about an inch square, cooked with
beans, a couple of ounces of soup; one
slice of bread and some coffee. It is
the same thing day in and day out, and
even if the food was palatable the
stomach rebels after a certain length
of time.
As a result the men are weak and
cannot do much work. The negro la
borers pay 30 cents a day gold for
board, and some one is making big
money even at that price. A few
days before my departure three ne
groes were killed as the result of a
bread riot. White men are all requir-
ed to board at the canteens, except
those who have their families along.
No family is allowed to take boarders
now. The canteen charges $27 a
month for board.
Families used to take boarders from
$lB to $24 a month. The boarders got
twice as much to eat at a private house
as at the canteen, but Jackson Smith,
a cousin of Secretary of War Taft, in
charge of the canteens, served notice
that all family boarding houses had
to quit and threatened heads of fam
ilies, where boarders were kept, with
discharge from work on the zone un
Jess the order was obeyed. As a re
sult all family boarding houses were
abolished. The government is not sup
posed to make a profit on the canteens,
but some one is getting a rake-off.
There is at least $lO profit per month
on every boarder.
The character of the food of the can
teen is awful. Among my other du
ties as Inspector I was called upon to
inspect canteens. One day I caught the
cooks boiling up a lot of meat with
maggots in it. I compelled them to
bury the rotten stuff. In a few days
an order was issued removing the can
teens from under my Inspection.
Embalmed beef is a dainty dish com
pared with the stuff dished up to the
men, both white and black, on the
canal. As an effect of poor feeding
the men topple over by hundreds ev
ery day. Even the Italians now being
brought in, strong and healthy men
when they arrive, soon begin to fail
in health.
Men are getting out whenever they
can. T'wo-thlrds of the white men
would gladly leave if they could, and
all the negroes are clamoring to get
away. For my part, I believe it would
be a good thing to get rid of the
negroes. The wives of all the men are
begging their husbands to quit and
come back to civilization.
If the government provides good
food it will be able to get work. But
if it doesn’t it will have trouble all
along the line later on. Men coming
back to this country soon will scatter
the story of starvation and discour
age others from going. I am here for
the purpose of sounding an alarm to
the administration. I wrote to Repre
sentative Boutelle of Illinois about con
ditions some time ago. He represents
my home district, and took It up with
President Roosevelt. The president,
he said, told him attention would be
given to the matter, but it hadn’t when
I left Panama last week. Completion
of the canal is jeopardized by the
poor food supply.
(Continued on page 14.)