The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-02-02

| now they not only manufacture plenty
| for themselves, but export immense
quantities of sugar of better quality and
at lower prices to all those countries
| which used to buy of Cuba. Hence few
| of the Cuban manufacturers now make
the finer grades, but confine themselves
to the brown varieties and what is
known as raw sugar. No industry is
more exacting and luxurious The
grinding season extends from Deem
Der to April, and then work goes on I'M
interruptedly night and day, one gang
relieving another for few hours sleep.
The ripening cane must have it's juice
expressed promptly, at just the right
time, if its full value is to be retained
and serious loss avoided If the stalks
are left too long in the field the sap
tends to crystalline whereby the amount
of juice is diminished and its quality
impaired. A few years ago the Cuban
overseer was never seen without his
long, cutting whip, as well as his ma
chete and pistol; but nowadays he
wears only the latter. The disappear
ance of the whip is as much due to an
Improvement on the side of humanity as
to the fact that plantation labor Is now
nominally free. The darkest shadows of
the picture lie far in the past. For CEN
turtles the blood thirsty spirit of Span
ish shareholders had free scope In
Cuba; and after the aboriginal race was
sacrificed millions Of Africans were done
to death by over-work, insufficient food.
the lash, the tread-mill-simply to fill
the pockets of rapacious masters and
satisfy the mother country's demands
for tribute. Early writer's tell us how
the slaves were allowed but four hours
sleep out of the twenty-four, being
worked by watches throughout the
night Later, under the so-called i'm
proved slave-ccde, the blacks could le-
eally be kept at work only from sunrise
till sunset, with an hour for rest and
food in the middle of the day; but this
rule was as little regarded during the
grinding season as the northern farmer
minds wetting when his hay is out in
the rain. Nowadays the negroes and
mongral- blooded workmen look upon
the harvest season as the holiday of the
year, Notwithstanding IT'S arduous la
bors, because then they are sure Of a
job at good wages, with plenty to eat,
besides the special privileges and bois-
ferrous amusements pertaining to the
time.
The fact is the labor question is like
ly to become as serious in this Isle of
Tomorrow as in any other portion of
the earth. Some people contend that
the abolition of slavery demorallzed the
labor system; perhaps it Is possible that
the mischief dates farther back and the
decentralization began when slavery was
instituted. At any rate the negroes
freed from the enforcement of work are
prone to be idle and thriftless. having
no thought for the morrow and taking
no interest in the property out of which
they have to make a living. In the a.
son when the cutting of cane is neces-
sary they can not be commanded except
at wages which the times and the prices
Of sugar will not warrant; and even
then, whole gangs quit work for week
to enjoy some fiesta, or attend the fes-
tivitieS incident to funeral or a we'd
ding among their class, though their
employers lose thousands of dollars by
the delay One is astonished at the
number of negroes seen in Cienfuegos
and throughout Santa Clara province
until he reflects that each of the great
estates used to employ two or three
thousand of them and that there are
thirty estates within a days ride of CT |
snfuegos. They went en- masse into the |
Cuban army, and by the disarmament |
IF that body are again let loose upon |
The community. Seeing black faces at |
very turn, one finds no difficulty in be- |
ieving the oft-repeated statement that |
more than half the population of New |
Cuba is descended from the Africans. |
they are mostly uneducated, and of |
course untitled for any higher position
n life than working in the cane-fialds, |
VI bush whacking in the rag-tag army. |
Yet even now many of them are grow
ng ominously and threatening dire ven-
seance on Americans because they are |
lot given government positions under
he new regime. They say. 1--WE did the
lighting and now we want to share in
he benefits of independence"
Fannia Brigham War1