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146 Personality of Colonel Goethals
In his dealings with men his chief weapons
are frankness, simplicity, and fairness
as absolute as he can make it. In his
first speech, to which I have alluded in the
The colonel, with the inevitable cigarette and colored glasses,
watching the approaching ship.
early part of this paper, by saying that
any one in the force could go to him at any
time he paved the way for what became
later his famous Sunday-morning court,
with its doors wide open to all comers.
This institution was itself a master-stroke
in administration. It not only won for
him the confidence and loyal devotion of
the force, but it gave him intimate knowledge
of everything that went on in that
force, knowledge of what made for discontent
and what made for contentment,
and, what was of far greater importance,
knowledge of the capabilities and conduct
of all the subordinate officers in the organization.
This knowledge
of detail was an aid to wise
administration the value of
which could not be overestimated.
His intimate and universal
knowledge became a cause of
wonder and, at times, of
dread. An employee who
thought he had not received
fair treatment decided to call
on the colonel and state his
case. He described the interview
as follows: "'What is
your grievance?' asked the
colonel, as soon as I got into
his room. I stated it, and
when I had finished he pushed
a button and told the clerk
who answered to bring my
record. The clerk brought
in a lot of papers with a slip,
and the colonel read it off to
me. I was mighty glad I had
told him no lies, for everything
I had done was there.
He talked the whole thing
over with me and when we
got through I saw I had no
grievance. Oh, he's square,
I tell you. He talks the thing
right out with you and
doesn't dodge."
Two Canal workers were
overheard talking on a railway-train.
One was praising
the colonel, with whom he
had had an interview at one
of the sessions of the Sundaymorning
court. The other
listened until the narrative
was ended, when he said: "Well, I have
never met the colonel personally—never
said a word to him or he to me—I don't
give a damn for him—but he's all right!"
It was a part of my duties to investigate
through a special inspector all complaints
made by the common laborers, especially
Spaniards and other Europeans,
concerning their treatment by gang foremen
and others in authority over them.
By far the greater number of these com-