The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1900-08-15
How Easy. Going Cubans Work.

III HoC SaJlHS tnat tHc NuDduS
are not capable Of sclf-govcrnmcnt,
said the New Englandcr, as he mixed
for the first time in the discussion,
but | spent two years on the island
as superintendent of q sugar planta-
tion, and came home nervous wreck
Lots Of Americans are rushing down
there, and lots more are making ready,
but | wouldn't return to my Job for
four times the salary paid me. The
native Cuban isn't uglymindcd or
lazy, nor stupid. Hes simply ma
tive. That means that nothing on
earth can make him hustle, and that
he lives and dies by program. When
we got ready to start the plantation,
we were confronted by the fact that
our workmen wanted to celebrate
about 200 holidays in the year. Ar
gumcnts were useless, but by bribery
we got EN- to knock off all but fifty
two. Later on, by increasing their
wages, we arranged for these fifty 1.-TWO
holidays to occur on Sundays. / had
220 men on the plantation. The
hours were supposed to be from sun
rise to sunset, but the last Of them
never got around before 8 clock and
a portion Of them would walk off an
hour before sundown. If ! raised a
row over the late comcrs, the answer
would be-
Senor, we were praying to our
saint to give US strength to work hard
during the day.
''If sought to restrain those who
were going away an hour too soon,
they always lugged some saint in as
an excuse, and might swear black
and blue without turning them for
their purpose. Five Americans would
have accomplished more work than
fifty Of them. Ia cutting down trees
they always wanted to sit down to
chop, and six or eight Of them would
take hold Of root or bush which l
could pull up with one hal.d.
"They had always used oxen by
tying rope to their horns. / got down
OK yokes, and spent hours and days
in trying to teach them how to yoke
up the oxen. Only one or two men
got on to the idea, and they became 80
pufcd Up over It that they quit work
to loaf around the towns. If the
yokes were put on the necks Of the
oxen, they we're upside down, but
they were as apt to be over the backs
Of the beasts as over the necks. The
average boy Of 10 would know how to
grease wagon after being shown
once, but in all the two years I could
net teach Cuban how to DO it.
When II wagon was loaded with cane
for the mill, the driver would give his
oxen the word to move. If they NOV
ed, the cane would came along in slow
time; if they didn't move, the fellow
would lie down fora snooze, and when
l rode down to see what the trouble
was he would innocently explain:
"'Upon my word, senor, 1 told
them tnat we must be going, but they
paid no attention to me-
"We had fifty hands in and about
the MILL" continued the ex-superin-
tendent, "and in spite of all my
swearing ] could not get one Of them
to hustle. They were not lazy, but
why hustle today when to o-morrow was
coming? I tried swearing and bull
doing and promise of higher wages
but all without avail. They took my
swearing as a matter Of course, and as
they were earning seventy cents per
day, why want to earn eighty? One
day | put up job with the American
fireman and engineer When all was
ready, the furnace doors were thrown
open, cloud of steam escaped from
the boiler, and the three Of us took to
our heels and cried out that the boiler
was about to explode. The trick was
q dire failure. The fellows sauntcred
out as cool as you please, and when
no explosion followed one Of them
turned to me with:
'Ah, senor, but in your uncalled
for rapidity you have left your hat be-
hind and brought the sweat to your
face - JK0shiuof0u II0st