Complete Issue Online - San Diego History Center

Patriotism and Profit: San Diego's Camp Kearny
Camp Kearny Parade, 2nd and Broadway, 1917 ©SDHC 81:9444.
precipitated a massive walkout. The leaders of San Diego’s individual labor unions
met with Hampton and Lieutenant Rogers to hash out the situation and, when
Hampton balked, Rogers simply ordered the contractor to comply with the labor
demands. With a fair wage and good conditions, the laborers worked a flexible
workweek with some ten-hour days that paid overtime. The men worked on
Sundays only if absolutely necessary, and if they chose to do so. Board and lodging
cost only $1 per day and included transportation. By the end of September some
four thousand workers swarmed over the construction site. 28
Another short-lived issue involved Mexican nationals working on the job.
In September, a rumor circulated that the government would force Mexican
citizens into the U.S. Army against their will and send them overseas to fight.
Camp Commander General Frederick Strong quickly quelled that rumor. In a
statement read in Spanish to the workers at their noon meal, Strong announced
the idea as “absolutely false.” He said that those who spread the falsehood were
“enemies of the United States” and wished to slow the progress of the camp.
Satisfied, the Mexican contingent returned to their duties without delay and
further disruption. 29
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