Salt Lake Tribune | 1906-08-14 | Page 1 | Labor Problem is the Vexing Question

LABOR PROBLEM IS THE VEXIHG qUESTIOH Chairman Has High' Hopes of Experiment With Chinese on the Canal. OYSTER BAY, Aug. 13. Chairman Shonts of tho Isthmian Canal commission commis-sion said after a visit to the President Presi-dent at Sagamore Hill today that he had given tho President a report up to date of tho progress of the canal work in Panama. The quostion of most importance im-portance now confronting the commission, commis-sion, he said, was that of obtaining labor. ""We shall advertise at onco for 2500 Chinese laborers in China," ho said, "and givo laborers of that nationality a thorough trial at the work. It has been represented to us that they will be more satisfactory than any class of laborers wo have yot tried. The Jamaican Ja-maican negroes, whom we have given an extensive trial, havo not proved satisfactory. satis-factory. Tho Spanish laborers, whom wo aro working now to a great extent, arc very much better than tue Jamaican negroes. "We 6hall endeavor to have laborers of as many nationalities as wo can get to work on tho canal, as it is better than having a larger forco of one natioualitv." Chairman Snonts said that tho new steam shovels ordered some time ago were arriving on the isthmus and wero being immediately installed. Tho dirt was coming out of Culebra cut so rapidly rap-idly that grcat difficulty was being found in disposing of it. Tho President November trip to Panama was not discussed today. Chairman Chair-man Shouts says that tho conditions on the isthmus were very much improve im-prove dand that both Secretary Taft and himself would go with tho President Presi-dent when he makes his inspection of the work in November.