Panama and the canal . t care to leave their homes in the UnitedStates and go away off to Panama. There were plenty ofgood opportunities for work nearer at hand. The CanalCommission was, therefore, obliged to secure the bestlaborers it could get in lands whose climate was similar tothat of Panama. We shall find about 40,000 laborers of all sorts at workon the canal and on the Panama Railroad. The latter isThe Gold uow owued by the United States and run by^^^ the Canal Commission. Of the 40,000 men about 5,000 are the skilled workmen and are mostly Ameri-cans. These 5,000 are trained engineers,
Panama and the canal . t care to leave their homes in the UnitedStates and go away off to Panama. There were plenty ofgood opportunities for work nearer at hand. The CanalCommission was, therefore, obliged to secure the bestlaborers it could get in lands whose climate was similar tothat of Panama. We shall find about 40,000 laborers of all sorts at workon the canal and on the Panama Railroad. The latter isThe Gold uow owued by the United States and run by^^^ the Canal Commission. Of the 40,000 men about 5,000 are the skilled workmen and are mostly Ameri-cans. These 5,000 are trained engineers, draftsmen, clerks, 156 GOLD MEN 157 steam-shovel men, powder men, surveyors, foremen, people believe that no finer force of men than theseAmericans was ever gathered together for a great work. They are, indeed, a splendid lot. Without their brainsand energy no canal could be built. For this reason theyare well paid and well cared for. The pay received isabout one and one half times as much as for similar work. Dinner Time at a Commission Hotel. at home. Their wages are paid them in gold and they are,therefore, known in Panama as the Gold Men. The contrast between these American workers and thenatives of Panama is very striking. You see the Pana- 158 A CONTRAST manians idling out of windows and in the shade of doorwayswatching our driving work. They are thin, slow-moving,impassive, often solemn. There is no glow in the deadyellows and browns of their flesh. But when you look at
Size: 1887px × 1324px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookidpanamacanal0, bookyear1910
