The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1894-03-14
READS TO WORKMEN.
THE NOVEL OCCUPATION FOLLOWED
BY A NEW YORK MAN.

The Spanish speaking cigar makers in
this town employ man to read to them
while they are at work. In no other in
dustry is this thing done, though it
would seem that other workers ''by the
piece" could initiate the Cubans to ad-
vantage. Not only do they keep in touch
with all the news, but il keeps them
from talking, and there isn't minute
of their time wasted.
The Cubaus are great takers, and
this is what probably started the Gus
tom in the cigar factories of Havana.
When the men were brought to this
country to make their cigars in Key
West and the lower part of New York
city, they wanted a reader more than
ever. They are very bright, intelligent
fellows, these Cubans, and they take a
deep interest in the news of the world
as we'll as the latest intelligence from
their own little island. They all sub
scribe to a fund to pay their reader, and
they work all the harder for keeping
their mouths closed and their minds
employed as they roll the tobacco.
Julian Barreda is probably the most
popular of the young men who earn
good living by amusing and instructing
the cigar makers. He is native Of
Porto Rico, where he learned the Eng
lish language as well as n great many
other things. He has had college ed
ucation and can translate the English
ard American newspapers into Latin
and Greek as easily as in Spanish.
He is employed just now in two fac
tories. that of Lozano, Pendas e. Co.,
at 900 Pearl street, and another one
at William and Platt streets. When
Barreda first came to this country,
he could not speak the language very
well, though he knew IL theoretically
and could read and write it. He is a
skilled electrician, but could get moth
ing to do in his line and so went to ad-
dressing envelopes at $3.50 a week.
There was vacancy in one of the Gu
ban cigar factories after awhile, and by
that time Barreda had mastered the
speech of this country.
He walked into the factory one day,
and mounting the table which served as
a rostrum for the reader he made lit
tie speech to the men, the purport of
which was that he thought he would
make good reader for them.
They told him to go ahead and show
what he could do. HS pulled a paper
out of his pocket and began reading q
tariff editorial to them. They demand
ed more when he had finished the ,edi-
torial. and he read to them for an hour.
trnnslating the cable news, the sensa-
tions of the day and the Washington
dispatches into their native Spanish.
The al was satisfactory, and he was
engaged at once for four hours a day.
There were 80 Cubans in the factory at
that time, and each agreed to give him
25 cents week. Then Barreda made
an arrangement on the same terms with
another factory, which employed 40
men. and he was in receipt of a good in
come at once.
He reads for l X hours at each factory
in the morning and for 2L hours in the
afternoon. He has his evenings to him
self, but he occupies couple of hours
then in reading the afternoon papers to
familiarize himself with the late news,
and so his day is a busy one.
1T is not so easy task as one might
suppose" said Barreda to q reporter.
1.-The men are very critical, and If the
matter is dull or uninteresting they do
not hesitate to shout out and demand a
change. They are especially interested
In the foreign news. Then they want
the general news and anything sensa-
tiona in tho city news. They like scan-
.dal. A divorce case or anything on that
order Just suits them. AS fast as the
Cuban papers arrive by mail get them
and read them. and the Spanish papers
published IN the city contain a great
deal that the men want tolhear.
'In the afternoon ! read TO them out
,of some book. Just now am reading
'Gil Bias in one shop and Spanish
novel called The Two Sisters in the
other. When have finished novel,
select half dozen Others that think
Will suit them and read them list of
fifIqQ fThat, fbax, all, 4