CHAPTER X.
LIFE AT THE ISTHMUS.
Before we go on to describe the canal and its method of construction, we must look at the sort of social life and civil administration which has prevailed since the Americans arrived. Construction camps in tropical climes are not usually distinguished for order and good morals. The Americans determined to make an exception at Panama. They had a perfectly free hand and the enjoyment of all sovereign rights at the isthmus, and were able to construct a brand-new little state on the most approved and ideal principles. We have seen what instructions were given by President Roosevelt to the first commission. An entire administrative system had to be established within this little plot 10 miles wide and 50 long. Laws had to be framed and civil government established, with all the needful accessories of judicial courts, police force, fire-brigades, customs and revenue service, post-offices, public works and financial department. The administration carried what is known as "paternalism" to all lengths. That is, it did all the catering and providing itself, and left little or nothing to private companies. Of course, everything had to be imported, for the little territory itself produced nothing. Whole villages and settlements with all the accessories of social life had to be built along the line of works. Over 2,000 structures, including offices, hospitals, hotels, messes, kitchens, shops, storehouses, and living quarters, were constructed, and more than 1,500 buildings taken over from the French, which were made available by necessary repairs.
Colonel Goethals gives us a brief insight into the work of the Commissary Department of the Panama Railroad:—
The Commissary Department of the Panama Railroad Company was enlarged until it is now [1911] a great department store, supplying to the employees whatever may be necessary for their comfort and convenience. Manufacturing, cold-storage, and laundry plants were established, and turn out each day about 90 tons of ice, 14,000 loaves of bread, 2,400 rolls, 250 gallons of ice-cream, 1,000 pounds of roasted coffee, and 7,500 pieces of laundry. Four or five refrigerator cars, loaded with meats, vegetables, and such fruits as can be obtained, are sent out on the night freight to distant points, and every morning a supply train of about 16 cars, of which number six to eight are refrigerator cars, leaves Cristobal at 4.30 to distribute foodstuffs and laundry to the local commissaries along the line, where the employees make their purchases, and where the hotels, messes, and kitchens secure their supplies for the day.
A graphic and representative picture of one of the construction settlements along the canal was given by the correspondent of The Times at Panama.[13] He chose "Emperador," or "Empire," as the typical village. This is the headquarters of the central division of the construction work, and is situated about halfway along the great Culebra Cut. The correspondent writes:—
According to the census just completed, it contains 7,152 inhabitants, of whom 1,757 are whites, 3,701 negroes, 1,569 mestizos, 101 Chinese, and 24 East Indians. North of the main street is a section called the "native town," apparently because it is inhabited by natives of other countries than Panama, but really because here was situated the native hamlet alongside which the French built their construction camp in 1881. It is occupied by the part of the population not employed by the government, and here are the American saloons, the Spanish cantinas and restaurants, Chinese shops, East Indian fancy-work shops, and negro tailoring and shoemaking places. On the south side of the American settlement are the labour "camps," consisting of barracks and eating-places. All the buildings are of wood, constructed to last not over ten years; and none are large, excepting the administration buildings and the club-house. On three sides of the village are the huts of the labourers who prefer the half-jungle life with its freedom; and here, with discomfort and squalor and liberty, is the only picturesque part of the settlement; all else is orderly, of one pattern, almost smug. On the fourth side the village is limited by the canal itself.
In the centre of the village is the commissariat, where the canal and railroad workers buy their food and clothing. Here congregate every morning the housewives of the village to do their shopping, and at night, after work, the men, to complete the family purchases. There is a similar store in each canal village—eighteen in all. The commissariat does away with the middleman's profit and buys in such large quantities, and for cash, that it obtains the lowest prices, while the many ways in which the materials purchased can be used prevent waste. If there is cause for complaint on the part of any class in the canal workers, that class is the bachelors, for they are discriminated against in the matter of quarters. But good provision is made for their meals, at the so-called "hotels" for the white employees, and the messes and kitchens for Spanish and negro labourers.