Workmen's advocate., 1889-06-22
1riee ] Cents
ARGENTINE REPUBLIC,
Making Slaves of Mathematician
 of Capitalism,


 It matters not under what particular form of government the laboring class of any country exist, economically they are under the same rule. ditferentiating only in degree-the rule of private cap itallsm, of irresponsible capitalists. And so 1t Is not surprising to read of con dltlOn of affairs most shameful in our sister republic, the Argentine Republic of South America. Nor have the dis closures been made for the benefit of any labor paper-on the contrary, they were written by the correspondent of one of the most pronounced capitalist papers in the country.
 It seems that the extension of the Northern Central Railroad from Tucu- man, Uid Salta and Jujuy to the north en boundary was to have been con- pleted by March, this year, under heavy penalties, by contractor, Lucas Con zales, who got his contract from the government. Instead of that the con- tractor had only completed 15 kilomet- CTS of railroad and 20 kilometers of grading in two and one-half years, a task which would have taken the fo1. mer workers under direct control of the government about fifteen days. So the residents of the northern provinces cal. culate that they will have to wait five years for the first railroad train to reach them.
 The reason of all this delay is, that the contractor only employs 300 work CTS upon the whole line. He excuses himself by alleging that the laborers are afraid of the "chuchu" fever, and con- sequently he. cannot induce them to work for him.
 Opposed to this allegation are the fol. lowing facts;
 Formerly the government worked upon the line with 5000 instead of 800 men. The climate was the same then as it is now. But the difference lies in the fact that the laborers were then ade quately paid, while now they are sub- ject to the most bare-faced robbery.
 Lucas Gonzales, who contracted for the work at good prices, has subcon- tracted the work to under contractors, and these have again made further sub- | contracts, and so the work goes through the hands ol number of contractors and subcontractors, until it gets to the real worker. All these contractors have for primary object profit, which finally comes out of the laborer and op- presses him
 And so it has come to pass that the workers are paid very poorly, or even not at all. The laborers are hired at | Buenos Ayres to work for a certain price per cubic measure. Once at the scene of their labors, however, they are offered perhaps one.half or one-third of the price agreed upon. And so great caravans of laborers with their families are found returning on foot across the vast stretch of country to Tucuman, Cordova, Catamarca and other, places, cheated, poor and discouraged.
 These are the reasons why foreign workmen will not work on the road, and the contractor finds himself conl- pelled to hire native workers, pe0nes criolloS, who lazily sip their mate, enjoy their siesta, ride about upon their horses, and hardly do quarter the work of the European workers.
 But even the work that is done IS not paid for Scarcely week passes but riots break out in one or two divisions, Not getting their pay, the laborers throw down their tools and flee toward Tucu- man and other provinces. The govern ment has battalion of Regulars along the border, and they capture the fleeing laborers, and compel them to go to work without compelling the contract- ors to pay them the wages due. l Laborers in the United States who are approached by agents of these con- tractors should be warned of the hor- rible condition of things existing on the projected railroad line. It is only another example of private enterprise under bourgeois government, be it called republic or monarchy.