Book 3, Chapter 20 Summary and Analysis

"Life and Times" depicts social life in the Canal Zone in the Goethals era, idyllic for the White minority and hellish for the black majority. American tourists crowd passenger trains, and as impressive as they find the Gatun Dam, locks, and Culebra Cut, the "vanquishing of pestilence" inspires the greatest patriotic pride. Local old-timers are no less amazed. For Whites, the "hard times" are long forgotten, they enjoy every creature comfort, and morale is amazing. People are too busy to see the detrimental effect of their structured, paternalistic life. Rewards are based on one's importance to the work -as Saint-Simon had said, "from each according to his ability, to each according to his work" In 1913, 5,362 gold-roll employees draw an average salary of $150 a month, ranging from nurses and teachers starting at $60 to steam shovel engineers at $310. Never more than...