50 a day under the shade of
a tree back in the jungle. Here are Basques in their boinas,
preferring their native "Euscarra" to Spanish; French "niggers"
and English "niggers" whom it is to the interest of peace and
order to keep as far apart as possible; occasionally a few
sunburned blond men in a shovel gang, but they prove to be Teutons
or Scandinavians; laborers of every color and degree--except
American laborers, more than conspicuous by their absence. For the
American negro is an untractable creature in large numbers, and
the caste system that forbids white Americans from engaging in
common labor side by side with negroes is to be expected in an
enterprise of which the leaders are not only military men but
largely southerners, however many may be shivering in the streets
of Chicago or roaming hungrily through the byways of St. Louis. It
is well so, perhaps. None of us who feels an affection for the
Zone would wish to see its atmosphere lowered from what it is to
the brutal depths of our railroad construction camps in the
States.
The attention of certain state legislatures might advantageously
be called to the Zone Spaniard's drinking-cup. It is really a tin
can on the end of a long stick, cover and all. The top is punched
sieve-like that the water may enter as it is dipped in the bucket
with which the water-boy strains along.
Pages:
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105