Image: A Pay Car in Colon on payday for “Silver Workers 1910.
The appellative “Silver” comes from the Gold and Silver Roll system implemented by the American administrators of the Canal Zone in 1904 and enforced by the American government from the very beginning of what is historically known as the American Construction Era of the Panama Canal Zone which spanned the years 1904-1914.
The Gold and Silver Roll system, the imported version of “Jim Crow,” or the racially segregated system of the United States, became the foundation for Panama Canal Zone society and economy until it was phased out in the 1960’s.
Since the days of the building of the railroad and during the French period, the system was adopted from the railroad’s policy of different payrolls and the separation of the races soon became an implanted phenomenon. By the time the second large wave of West Indians arrived in the first decade of the turn of the twentieth century, the separation of the races was a practiced and established institution.
The Gold and Silver Roll system in the Panama Canal Zone was more than just a pay system designed to maintain a more privileged class of white semi-skilled and skilled workers happy with their stay in Panama. The Gold Roll, paid in American gold dollars, reflecting a much higher pay scale than in the U.S., at first was comprised of chiefly white American employees brought in from the United States mainland.
The Gold Roll enjoyed all of the privileges and amenities that the system had to offer. They enjoyed, of course, much higher pay, better and more spacious housing facilities for families, excellent and well equipped schools for their children, better nutrition, better health care, almost free entertainment and recreational facilities and a generally better quality of life. Their (the Gold Roll) comfort and satisfaction were central factors in most decisions made by the Canal administrators.
Other benefits that became very important “draws” in the recruitment process were sick leave and “home” leave, a privilege that included paid return passage back to their home state for a holiday while their job was preserved for them on the Zone. Although some blacks and other non-American members of the Gold roll were entitled to the “privileges” of this special group of people, they were, nevertheless placed at a lower pay scale and denied certain benefits, particularly, sick and home leave.
For the Silver Roll, whether they were West Indian or Black American citizens, however, every aspect of their lives would be segregated and generally inferior in quality to that offered to the members of the favored Gold roll workers. The separate housing areas then would become small cities that were also kept apart. Thus, all these rules and policies started becoming a reality as soon as the army of West Indian Blacks had given their all to secure and clean most of the area, making Panama fit for human habitation.
For the brave and stalwart black workers who had been the pioneers and the backbone of all the rugged preparations of the Canal construction before this new era of demarcation of the class structure began, the drastic changes that soon followed would make theirs a totally depressing experience. Soon they would see their expectations for any professional advancement stymied.
In 1908, after President William Howard Taft directed an executive order to apply the “nationality test” or restriction to all hiring on the Canal Zone, the pressure was on in the Zone to stop hiring any blacks as engineers on the rail road. By 1909 the once plentiful skilled Jamaican workers and U.S. Blacks who had been acting as “engineers of any kind, yard masters, hostlers, boat pilots, machinists, carpenters, wiremen,”* division engineers and even postal clerks, were barred from such positions in the future.
Despite objections from even the white department heads who valued their very competent and skilled black workers, the massive demotions in the thousands began. Of this period it has been said, “It was one of the most vicious episodes in canal history, remembered and resented deeply by the West Indians for years afterwards.”
Thus, the foundation for the Silver and Gold Roll system was established and, despite the many stumbling blocks it placed in the way of the “Silver People,” they managed to enjoy periods of prosperity and growth and, at the same time, give rise to a new culture, history and literature in their new home, the Republic of Panama.
The full workforce in the last year of construction (1914) numbered about 45,000 to 50,000, which nearly equaled the combined populations of Colon and Panama City. But, the total number of white North Americans was only about 6,000, of whom roughly 2,500 were women and children. Of the remaining 44,000 workers, easily 80% were of West Indian descent and members of the “Silver Roll.”
8 Comments
11/03/2008 at 1:53 PM
I started out by looking for ‘Panama’ on Utube. Found a comment about engineer Goethals being a racist (probably the norm at the time). Trying to find out more about him, put in ’silver and gold’ in Google, and voila!. I love the little country I was born in, even though spent most of my life in the U.S. (Instituto Nacional 1958: throwing rocks during student riots..! (beautiful…!))
11/03/2008 at 2:08 PM
Rolando,
It is that Love that you perceive that caused me to major in Black Studies in college. I was a National Institute student 1952 then transferred to Colon- Abel Bravo- until 1956. By 1958 I had been in the Service U.S.
Glad to have you reading, thanks for the comment.
11/16/2008 at 8:13 AM
Two cars with my relatives from Panama City rolled up and parked in our garage, and in front of our house one “Sunday Carnavalito”. There staggering to get out were my mom’s cousin Violeta, her husband, their five children, and my great grand aunt Edna and her husband.
They were all decked out in attractive looking outfits, the men wore guayabera shirts and large Carnaval looking straw hats on their heads. The women were dressed to kill.
Every “Carnavalito”, Black Panamanians and many others who lived on the other side of the isthmus, traveled to the city of Colon to participate in the revelry. Spreeing as they called it. After all, no one in their right mind would miss “Colon Carnavalito”.
As my relatives entered our house speaking loudly they repeated the regular greetings of folks who don’t see one another that often.They would then engage in a ritual of hugging and pinching us little children, their bodies smelling of sweet perfume and heavy cologne. I always pondered on the fact that as serious as my relatives were, they certainly knew how to have fun.
Carnaval is a four day celebration that begins on Saturday and ends the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. In Colon, the Carnaval rules were broken, because Carnavalito was celebrated the Sunday after Ash Wednesday. On that day, many Panamanians traveled to the city of Colon to celebrate what many considered the largest festivity ever. Colon a small city of only sixteen streets with a long park that runs in its center would come alive for this celebration.
As my relatives dropped some of their bags and head off to the city, my parents would take us to see and enjoy the Carnaval. My parents were never too fond of Carnaval, sometimes we never attended.But whenever our relatives showed up, they took us. I guess not to be considered” aguafiestas”.
Colon was notorious for its fabulous comparsas(entire blocks of singers and dancers) who sang and danced along the avenues in matched outfits, beating drums and anything that made noise. Sometimes the comparsas composed songs that became hits.
Brasileros, Campesinos and many more groups would dance along Bolivar Avenue straight to Central Avenue. The streets of Colon were usually jam packed with Rainbow crowd, Colon folks and Panama city visitors. Many tourists also watched the revelry.
Topper or “Tapa”, dancing Indian along with “Norma the man”, were two institutions during Carnavalito, with the little children running behind them. Diablos with their whips and the boys with many pants on accepting the whippings from the Diablitos.
Loud music in the air, the pulsating rhythmic sounds of drums and the participants in the comparsas swaying back and forth to a music that seemed capable of waking up even the dead.
There were queens from the many communities that made up the city of Colon, including the Canal Zone( both Black and White).
The Brasileros, always my favorite because of the samba beat, would lose their style and grace to the Campesinos, who came out dressed as peasants with real machetes and sugar canes in their hands. The people of Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and the upper streets near the sea all joined together block after block singing and dancing in such a way that those Carnavals became memorable.
” Ese nombre Campesino, nunca, nunca morira”. The Campesinos won me over for good. I became an eternal “Campesino fan”.
After the revelry, Colon remained pack with everyone just walking around, eating, talking and sitting in the park looking at the lovely view of folks all dressed up in glamorous looking clothing .
It always took a long while for the city of Colon to calm down after Carnavalito. As everyone grew tired and went to their homes reminiscing of the good time, and saying that “this was one of best Carnavalito ever”; the city of Colon smiled, knowing that it was host to one of the greatest shows on earth.
11/16/2008 at 12:00 PM
Anita,
Your splendid article has brought me up to date on a period after my times of adolecense in which we who grew up then, did not and could not participate in that type of Carnaval spirit. This vote of thanks is from one repentant who joined the Exodus.
12/20/2008 at 9:26 AM
As far as I can remember, when I was growing up in Rainbow City, people in the Canal Zone always appeared overly concerned about relations between Panama and the United United States.
I don’t remember how old I was when I heard the word ” treaty” or” treaties” for the first time.I believed it was even whispered. But I knew right away that it was a word concerning Panama and the United States, and especially those of us who lived in the Canal Zone.
And from that time it seemed to me that the descendants of the builders of the Panama Canal who lived in the Canal Zone and who identified ourselves as Panamanians were always concerned about the “new treaties”.
Although I was just a little girl,I remembered clearly when Marco Aurelio Robles ran for president in Panama. There was a nice jingle that he promoted himself with on tv, and I used to run around our house singing it:
“Robles, el Presidente va, Robles, el Presidente va. Robles,el presidente, el presidente,…”
Clueless as to Panamanian politics, because I was a mere child, I liked Robles just because of the catchy song. I was very happy when he won.I knew that Marco A. Robles was my president.
But as a child growing up, I noticed that it always seemed that the identity and patriotism of Panamanians living in the Canal Zone was always questioned or assumed not strong enough.The belief that some people are more patriotic than others because of their place of residence, history or whatever, is always irritating.
Often I would encounter my parents with our neighbors talking about how they felt things were going to manifest within the Panama /U.S. negotiations.The descendants of the builders of the Panama Canal who resided in the Canal Zone understood that Zone authorities had no great intentions regarding our future within the Canal context.
As the years went by, Panama was under military rule, and although insecurity still lingered ;I think many of us, like everyone else got used to some of the changes during that period, and accepted the idea that a new treaty was imminent.
The devastating 1989 US invasion, propelled Panama unto civilian rule.The timely turnover of the canal and the former Canal Zone was a tremendous success.
But even before the signing of the new treaties, and especially after, a large majority of Panamanians who lived along the great waterway left Panama to reside in the United States.
As the mighty Gatun, Miraflores and Pedro Miguel Locks and the grand Panama Canal , our roots in Panama are too firmly grounded to be uprooted. We owe it to our forefathers to remind the living that our ancestors helped build this monumental waterway.
12/20/2008 at 11:31 AM
Thank you so much for your “right on target” thoughts about our deeply rooted culture.
09/30/2009 at 6:50 AM
My Father, Jerome E. Steiner, was the Paymaster
on that paycar in thr photo. I went with him one
time when he traveled on the paycar, out from Balboa. It was extremely exciting for me. Sincerely,
Joanne Steiner Robinson
10/02/2009 at 11:29 AM
Dear Mrs. Robinson,
That memorable visit with your father has obviously stayed with you throughout your life and it is also part of our valuable heritage here on the Canal Zone.
Please do not forget us in your prayers and thank you for your visit and your lovely comment.
C. Roberto A. Reid