Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-04-14
BY WILLIAM f. CURTIS.
Special Correspondence of The Star and the Chicago
Record Herald


could be reached only by bride paths.
For considerable distance the right-of
way passes through dense forests of ma
hogany and other cabinet woods, which
are very valuable, and ii has been demon
strated through the enterprise of Sir Will
liam Van Horne that forest land when
cleared, is even more fertile and Pro
duces larger crops Of sugar, tobacco and
other staples than the prairies and open
plains. Notwithstanding their fame for
richness of soil.
The railroad from AIatanzas runs
through succession OF sugar estates. dec
GRATED with beautiful palms and curious
looking matched huts. which / described
In my letter yesterday. There is great
deal of fire this year, for everything is so
dry. The drought is more serious than
has been known since 1863 The wells
are exhausted, the streams are very low.
water is being sold from door to door in
the towns and in the country is carried
long distances 10 the farm houses. The
cattle have difficulty in getting enough TO
drink.
Fires Caused by Accident.
We noticed that the vegetation is burned
almost continuously along both sides of the
track. where fires have been started by
sparks from the locomotives. and there
has been an unusual amount of cane burn
ed from similar acc dents. Cane fields are
very inflimmable when they are ripe for
the harvest. and for that reason sugar
planters are cons tant objects of blackm9l.
political persecution and private animosity,
we'll the victims of accidents. Only
the other day one of the finest mills in the
island was burned. 1t belonged to Soan-
ish company, Of which the mayor of Mad
rid Is president. The loss is estimated at
half million dollars Last year S:i51010
worth of new machinery from the United
States was put in At first it be-
neved 10 be due To inceadiaries prompted
by private animosity or political reasons.
but an investigation has shown that it
caught fire from lighted cigarette care
lessly thrown among some dry cane leaves
by one of the employees. 1t is asserted that
an unusual amount of cane has been burn
ed this year, but more from natural
causes and accidents and less for political
reasons than usual.
Careless smokers habitually throw the
burning ends of cigars and cigarettes into
the grass along the roadside. The larger
sugar plantations are girdled and grid.
ironed with narrow gauge railroads. on
which the cane is hauled from the fields TO
the mills and sparks from locomotives are
the cause of much destruction. Fires are
frequently started by laborers who
CRY because of real or fancied grievances
because of quarrels over wages. and i'll
treatment, and for thousand-and-o zone
other causes. 1t is also possible for panta-
ton hands to increase their earnings by
burning the cane. Laborers are paid from
$50 TO $50 per day for an ordinary days
labor. but where field has been burned the
must he cut Immediately and the men
are required to work extra hours for which
~ been an inducement for them TO set fire
10 the cane
Fires Started by Planters
The avarice of planters has sometimes
tempted men TO burn their own fields. The
rule AT the mills is that cane from which
the leaves have been burned must have
preference in grinding because it Will be
ruined if it is exposed for more than few
days. Hence owners of estates have been
suspected of burning their own fields to take
advantage of this custom. 1t often hap
pens. too, that cane cannot be harvested
because of lack of labor or for other rea-
sons As consequence weeds and under
brush grow up between the rows and made
the next years harvest very difficult. To
clear out the fields owners often set fire to
them on quiet days when there is no wind
II is customary, too. when there is an
excessive crop and low prices are threat
ened. TO burn cane fields to get the insur-
ance and frequently plantation fires are
looked upon with suspicion. During the
present year the area planted TO cane is
larger than usual and the crop is expected
TO be recOrd-breaker. The unusual supply
Is likely to be followed by low prices and
several fires in fields that are insured have
occasioned much gossip.
Cane planters suffer from a poisonous
weed called plea plea. which causes serious
Inflammation whenever it comes in contact
with the body and cane-cutters cannot be
Induced to enter a field where il is growing
out the weed and permit the cane TO be cut
without danger
1t should be explained that an ordinary
fire sweeping through a cane field DESTROYS
only the dry leaves and does not iniure the
stalks, which contains the juice. because
they are too green and-tough to catch.
Nature, however. provided the leaves as
protection and when they removed
and the stalk is exposed TO the sun or rain
the juice Will ferment or sour in a very
few days. Therefore IL is necessary to cut
fell innFp tell a Hra
Blackmailing Profession.
The fear of fires and the enormous dam
age that results from them has made sugar
planters the prey OF blackmailers, bandits
political enemies and spiteful and malicious
persons. man may burn his neighbours
field without fear of detection. For that
reason a planter finds II the best policy to
be good terms with his neghbors. As
] have stated in previous letter. blackmail-
ing and brgandage have been recognized
occupations in Cuba for generations and
many sugar planters have been In the
habit of paying stated sums annually to
men who have made their living that way
These payments have been the price of
&protection, not only against the men who
receive the money. but others who cherish
malice or would like to be paid in the same
way. Plantation managers have been ac-
customed to receive requests for loans of
stated amounts from dsreputable adyentur.
in the neighborhood. Ii is well under
stood that such loans will not be repaid
but if the requests are not granted the cane
fields are likely to be burned, and IL is
almost impossible to prove the guilt of any
person accused OF cane burning.
This blackmail system has cost plantation
owners large sums of money annually
which are charged to the regular expense
account. The custom has been universal
that people have ceased to discuss It. In
every community certain men are recog-
nized professional blackmalers who live
OF the plantation owners In their neighbor-
hood. Most of them are professional pa.
triots and have been continuously engaged