Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-10-07

Cubans, and are considered the best I'M
skilled laborers of Europe.
Attempts are also being made to bring in
Italians. The climate here is about the
same as that of Italy, and the Italians have
proved a success in Argentina, Brazil and
other South American countries. At pres
ent there is a floating immigration to Cuba
from Spain which comes and goes every
year. The men are brought in for the har-
vest season, working chiefly in the tobacco
districts. II costs them about $40 each for
their round trip. and the wages are such
that each can save $40 in single harvest.
A similar fmmigra ton is carried on be-
tween the coffee plantations of Brazil and
the wheat fields of Argentina. the men go
ing regularly back and forth.
Farm Hands in Cuba.
The greatest demand for labor is or the
farms and plantations. Cuba is an agri-
cultural country. and one-ffth of the whole
population works on the farms. The island
has about 10000 inhabitants. and of these
G1,GC0 are workers of one kind or another
1,ree hundred thousand do farming. and
only a. little over 10000 are engaged in man
ufacturing. There are less than 10000 at
WORK IN the mines and four or five thou
sand employed on the railroads l have
these figures from our Department OF La
Dor, which is my authority for other state
ments made further on in this article
Farm hands get all the way from $40 to
SO month and found. In some places
they are paid q dollar a day and at har.
vest time the wages rise to those of the
United States. great deal of work is
done by contract. man will take care
of certain piece of land on the shares or
keep II clean at so much per acre per
month. l know OF men who make $50 and
children help them in the fields and do the
work by the piece or by the day in addi-
ton to their contract.
Work on the Shares.
Many of the farms are rented out. Near
Havana tenant gets the use of five acres
and a yoke of oxen for half the crop Two
thirds OF the tobacco of Pinar del Rio is
raised by tenants. and a great deal of veg
etable gardening is carried on on the shares
The land is so fertile that small tract will
produce three or four crops year. There
are tenants raising corn near Havana who
cut five crops OF fodder a year They can
raise about ten tons TO the acre, and man
can, am told, realize 5000 year from a
hve-acre crop.
Much OF the sugar raising is done on the
shares, a tenant taking of so much
cane for part of the crop, which is dis
posed of at sugar mill nearby. Such
farming, however, Is more profitable in the
tobacco regions. The labor is lighter there
ana It Is such that almost all the members
or the families can work in the field.
There Is quite movement now in coffee
planting There is a high tariff on home
grown coffee and this will probably be con-
tnued Tor many years to come. II takes
three years TO get the first crop, and during
this time the tenants are paid about $40
per annum for attending TO tract of thir-
ty-three acres, with the understanding that
after that time the owner OF the land and
the tenant shall divide the crop equally.
The tenant takes care of the plants, he
picks the coffee and delivers it at the drying
place.
Wages in Cuba.
Wages are high here considering that
Cuba is a part of the West Indies, where
the common laborer often gets but % cents
a day. In Havana such workmen get from
81 a day upward Outside they receive 81
silver. and at flush times 81 In gold and
more Board is often included in such con-
tracts, but the board consists of rice,
terked beef. beans and little else. The
wages are highest in the tobacco regions.
These men are paid from 81 to 81 a day.
and sometimes even "a q day. There ~
a great deal of work In raising tobacco and
1t requires skilled labor to a large ex-
tent. The seeds have to be sowed in beda