Commission had only hired male laborers so far, as most West Indian women traveled independently. But the opening of numerous hotels, hospitals, commissaries, and other facilities of life, along with the settlement of American neighborhoods “civilized” required a large number of laborers for what was seen as work—domestic “female” servants, nurses and laundresses. Many of the women spoke of Mr. Lavenel, the Commission recruiting agent in Martinique who promised them that there was plenty of work to be had in the Canal for women. The information spread through word of mouth and, in November 1905, the steamship left Martinique for Colon with 650 Floridian passengers, of which 280 were women. The unprecedented step of recruiting West Indian women and paying for their passage raised some eyebrows in the Canal community, and rumors began to circulate that they had been brought for immoral purposes. The official trouble began with a visit to the Canal from Poultney Bigelow, a New York journalist wishing to report on the status of West Indian workers in the Zone. His article in the New York Herald claimed that the occasion of my visit the clergy of the Isthmus were loud in protest because “On the United States authorities had imported at considerable expense several hundreds of colored ladies. Prostitutes are not needed on the Isthmus; if they were there is no call to send for them at the expense of the taxpayer. They may be trusted to come without any special assistance whenever Colon clamors for Bigelow's article kindred consolation.” also decried the abominable conditions of all West Indian workers: is “Colon to-day mainly a swamp, into which is dumped all the human excrement of the negro population and where this population is compelled to Bigelow's article created an uproar both sleep.” in the U.S. and the Canal Zone. President Roosevelt ordered a full Senate investigation of
Commission had only hired male laborers so far, as most West Indian women traveled independently. But the opening of numerous hotels, hospitals, commissaries, and other facilities of “civilized” life, along with the settlement of American neighborhoods required a large number of laborers for what was seen as “female” work—domestic servants, nurses and laundresses. Many of the women spoke of Mr. Lavenel, the Commission recruiting agent in Martinique who promised them that there was plenty of work to be had in the Canal for women. The information spread through word of mouth and, in November 1905, the steamship Floridian left Martinique for Colon with 650 passengers, of which 280 were women. The unprecedented step of recruiting West Indian women and paying for their passage raised some eyebrows in the Canal community, and rumors began to circulate that they had been brought for immoral purposes. The official trouble began with a visit to the Canal from Poultney Bigelow, a New York journalist wishing to report on the status of West Indian workers in the Zone. His article in the New York Herald claimed that “On the occasion of my visit the clergy of the Isthmus were loud in protest because the United States authorities had imported at considerable expense several hundreds of colored ladies. Prostitutes are not needed on the Isthmus; if they were there is no call to send for them at the expense of the taxpayer. They may be trusted to come without any special assistance whenever Colon clamors for kindred consolation.” Bigelow's article also decried the abominable conditions of all West Indian workers: “Colon to-day is mainly a swamp, into which is dumped all the human excrement of the negro population and where this population is compelled to sleep.” Bigelow's article created an uproar both in the U.S. and the Canal Zone. President Roosevelt ordered a full Senate investigation of
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