The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1894-02-21
READS TO WORKMEN.
THE NOVEL OCCUPATION FOLLOWED
BY A NEW YORK MAN.


Audience Sometimes Critical.
The Spanish speaking cigar makers in
this town employ man to read to them
while they arc 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 it keeps them
from talking, and there isn't minute
of their time wasted.
Tho Cubans 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 reader moro than
ever. They arc very bright, intelligent
fellows, these Cubans, and they take a
deep interest III tho news of tho world
as we'll as tho latest Intelligence from
their own little island. They all sub
scribe to fund to pay their reader, and
they work all the harder for keeping
their mouths closed and their minds
employed rs they roll the tobacco.
julian Barreda is probably the most
popular of tho young men who earn q
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 Il great many
other things. He has had college cd
ucation and can translate tho English
and American newspapers into Latin
and Greek as easily as III Spanish.
He iS oInn1nvn1 ii1ct now, in t,-o fo
tories, that of Lozano, Pendas & Co.,
at 200 Pearl street, and another ono
at William and Plat streets. When
Barreda first came to this country,
no could not speak tho language very
well, though no knew it theoretically
and could read and write it. He is a
skilled electrician, but could get moth
ing to do in his limo and SO went to ad-
dressing envelopes at So 90 week.
There was vacancy in one of tho Gu
ban cigar factories after awhile, and by
that time Barreda had mastered the
speech of this country.
Ho walked into the factory one day,
and mounting the table which served as
rostrum for the reader no made n lit
Ito 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. Ho pulled IL 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.
TRANSMITTING the cable news, the sensa-
tions of the day and the Washington
al t,,hn
The trial was satisfactory, and he was
engaged at once for four hours IL day.
There were so Cubans i'll the factory at
that time, and each agreed to give him
30 cents Il week. Then Barreda made
an arrangement on the samo terms with
another factory, which employed 40
men. and he was in receipt of a good in
come at once.
He reads for - hours at each factory
i'll the morning and for az 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 busy one
1t is not so easy Il task as ono might
suppose, said Barreda to reporter.
The men are very critical, and if the
matter is dull or unintcrcsting they do
not hesitate to shout out and demand a
change. They are especially Interested
i'll the foreign news. Then they want
the general news and anything sensa-
tional in the city news. They like scan
DIAL. divorce case or anything on that
order just suits them. AS fast as the
Cuban papers arrive by mail get them
and road them. and the Spanish papers
published i'll the city contain Il great
deal that the men want TO hear.
In the afternoon | read to them ont
of some book. Just now am reading
Gil Bias i'll one shop and Spanish
novel called Tho Two Sisters in the
other. When have finished novel,
select half Il dozen others that think
will suit them and read them il list of
titles. Then they vote on which one
shall begin
Are they good listencrs?'
The best in the world. They are
working all the time. and they are anx-
ious not to miss word. They work
faster when some ono is reading. and
thoy realize that if they ever get to talk
ing together their bill at tho end of the
week will BIO just SO much less. They
arc nearly all rcvolutionists, you know,
and there is great chance for argument
among them, because they all belong to
different factions.
Il have to be very careful in reading
the Cuban papers and those published
in Spanish in this city that l do not
miss an editorial representing some par
ticular shade of opinion. No matter how