The islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1891-1899, 1895-12-19
READS TO WORKMEN.
THE NOVEL OCCUPATION FOIIO OWED
BY A NEW YORK MAN.

Cuban Cigar Makers Pay Him Well For
Translating and Reading Aloud Newspa-
pers and Books While They Work-His
Audience Sometimes Critical
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 it keeps them
from talking, and there isn't minute
CT their time wasted.
The Cubaus are great takers, and
this is what probably started the GUS
tom i'll 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 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 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
hn 70 10 IF
Porto Rico, where he learned the Eng
lish language as we'll as a great many
other things He has had college ed
ucation and can translate the English
and American newspapers into Latin
and Greek as easily as in Spanish.
He is employed just now in two fac
tories, that of Lozano, Pendas & Co.,
at 209 Pearl street, and another one
at William and Plat streets. When
Barreda first came to this country,
he could not speak the language very
we'll, though he knew it 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 a vacancy in oneof 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. Ho pulled paper
out of his pocket and began reading a
tariff editorial to them They demand
ed more when he had finished the edi-
torial, and he read to them for an hour,
translating the cable news, the sensa-
tions of the day and the Washington
dispatches into their native Spanish.
The trial was satisfactory, and he was
engaged at once for four hours day.
There were 80 Cubans in the factory at
that time, and each agreed to give him
% cents week. Then Barreda made
an arrangement on the same terms with
another factory, which employed 40
men. and he was in receipt of good in
come at once.
He reads for 3 hours at each factory
in the morning and for 2 p 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 task as one might
suppose, said Barreda to a reporter.
The men are very critical, and if the
matter is dull or uninteresting they do
not hesitate to shout out and demand
change. They are especially interested
in the foreign news. Then they want
the general news and anything sensa-
tional in the city news. They like scan
dial. 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 great
deal that the men want to hear.
.'In the afternoon read to them out
of some book. Just now l am reading
Gil Blar' in one shop and Spanish
novel called The Two Sisters in the
other. When have finished novel, l
select half dozen others that l think
will suit them and reaG them list OF
titles. Then they vote on which one l
shall begin.
Are they good listeners?'
1.-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 one is reading, and
they realize that if they ever get to talk
ing together their bill at the end of the
week will be just SO much less. They
are nearly all revolutionists. 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 / do not
miss an editorial representing some par
ticular shade of opinion. Nomatter how
radical it is, it is sure to have some ad-
herent and some sympathizer in the
shop"
Barreda has learned to be very dis
eliminating newspaper reader. he
knows when to skip the dry part OF an
article, and he knows just what news
paper is the one to begin on in the morn
ing.
None of his hearers speaks English,
and their desire to know about the
country and the city they are living IN
makes the employment of the reader not
only a luxury which few workmen en-
Joy at their occupations, but an absolute
nacossitv New York World.