Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-07-22

of our money This is for first-class labor
and is the highest sum that has been paid.
The average planter, however, does not
pay his men in money. He pays them in
tin disks, the size Of a nickel, which are
only good at his little store on the planta-
ton. Each of the disks is labeled with his
initial. 1t represents centavo and can be
spent nowhere else. Upon some of the
plantations money is not paid at all. The
people are given so many bananas for their
days work and their steady work lasts only
for about five or six months of the year.
Sunday is the poems market day. On this
day you will see the country roads lined
with men. women and children on their way
to market. Each man carries bottle, hold
ing it by n string tied to its neck. The
usual bottle is half pint and il IS taken
to bring back the mans supply of rum for
the following week. half pint is not much,
but this is all he wants. although rum is
the national drink and he takes some every
morning before breakfast. Indeed l have
been surprised to see SO little drunkenness
here. The chief cases of intoXication are
among our soldiers, ard l have so far seen
ten drunken Americans to every drunken
Porto Rican.
4 Poor Mans Home.
I wish I could transport one of these Por-
to Rican huts to the United States. The
house 1 should choose would be one of a
common laborer's on rich sugar or coffee
plantation. There are thousands like it all
over Porto Rice. Here is how ii looks. 1t
is made of poles about as big around as
your arm and palm leaves thick the
average book cover and about half as wide
as a page of this paper.
The framework, including the bridge roof.
is of poles tied together. Then the palm
leaves are laid on and other poles Of about
the thickness of broomstick are tied hori-
Zontally across the walls OF the house 20
keep the palm leaves together. The floor
of the hut is Of poles. so loosely put to-
gethev that all the dirt drops through the
cracks. The roof is poorly made that the
rain drips through, and at night the cold
breezes whistle through the walls.
The hut has no windows. Its door Of
palm leaves can be lifted away during the
daytime 1t has absolutely no furniture
The family sleeps on the floor. The cooking
is done in a little lean-to at the back upon
a fire bed of earth. the pot being raised
upon stones above the Goals.
In this house, which L have described
fron. notes made in the hut itself, there
were eight children. three of them stark
naked, and one of the three was five years
old. 1t was deformed, and could only crawl
over the floor in its nakedness. All the
children were exceedingly lean, although
their heads and eyes were good.
Can't Have Gardens.
AS looked about this hut which belong
ed to the peon of rich coffee planter, 1
asked its owner why he did not have a
garden. He replied that the planter did
not allow his laborers TO have gardens, for
then they could raise what they wished to
eat and would not have to buy at his store
By inquiry 1 found this was so almost
everywhere. These people are surrounded
by good land but they dare not use it.
Many of them may be working among the
bananas all day and at the close have to
take the tin disks they receive in pay and
walk a mile perhaps to the ''touchme"
stores and buy the bananas which they use
for their evening meals. The streams are
f1J1 nf fCh hut how ans llr.x,-
fish in them because the waters belong to
their masters. They will be arrested if
they steal vegetables and they dare not
cut a stick without the consent of the men
for whom they work.
1t was for long time a wonder to me
that there was furniture in the houses