Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-12-05


and he cannot see why he should no,
have it. 1t is a great mistake.
x
"a dollar and a half d month is .
cents a day." said I. THAT does not
seem much to me- And even out of those
wages l suppose the natives have to pay
taxes
Yes, we collect 6 shillings a year from
the well to do and those who have the
cash. and we make all others give us a
months work on the roads or he must
bring a certificate from his employer
showing that he has done work to the
amount of shillings, when his taxes are
remitted.'
I'm other words. every black man must
give one month of every year to the gov
eminent" said /.
Yes. it amounts to about that" was
the reply.
In South Africa the natives are charged
a hut tax. and they also have to pay
dog taxes and wife taxes. Every time d
man is married he pays 10 shilings to
the government. of which portion goes
back to his chief. In Cape Colony he
pays a license fee of from 81 cents to 81 %
on every dog over three months DID, and
the dog tax of Natal Is about the same.
In one year the natives of Natal paid
Sill 600 in marriage fees, and / am told
that d black man has to pay SO to the
government there when he gets divorce.
The hut taxes of Cape Colony are about
10 shillings per year per family. Four
teen shillings is the amount of that tax
in Natal and 10 that of Rhodesia. They
recently raised the tax in Basutoland to
SIS, and in Natal higher rate is paid
upon all houses of European construc-
ton.
These taxes may seem low to Ameri-
cans, but they are large in comparison
with the wages of the people. and so
large that they lead to the crowdng of
the natives. several families or unmarried
adults often living in one hut.
:: i
So far only small proportion of the
South African negroes has been greatly
influenced by the whites. There are alto
gether between five and six million abo-
rhymes below the Congo Free State. and
l venture that those employed in the
mines, on the farms and in the cities will
not number, all told. more than three
hundred thousand. There are something
like one hundred thousand in the gold
mines Kimberley had twenty thousand
before our panic caused the DE Beers
Company to cut down its labor force, and
there are something like ten thousand en-
ployed in the great diamond mine at GULL
man, In all these places the natives are
kept in compounds walled Enclosures;
and as far as those connected with the
diamond mines are concerned. they are
not allowed to go outside during the terms
of their contracts. They must buy their
food at the company shops; and, although
the rates there are low, the companies
probably make a profit. Not long ago at
a meeting of the De Beers Company one
of the officials stated what had become of
the profits made from the compounds that
year saying that $55.O0O had gone to the
sanatorium, $4,000 to the library, $1,000
to the town hall. $4,000 to the school OF
mines and $4,000 to the Kimberley
schools. None of this money helped the
natives from whom 1t was taken.
AS far as / can see, the natives are
fairly we'll treated by their employers.
The several governments try to protect
them and each has it's native labor in
spectors, who go through the mines,
above and below ground and report as to
the treatment of the negroes. Neverthe-
less, the white mine overseer is omnipO-
tent. and he can abuse the native If he
VIII. I asked the American foreman Of
the underground workings of a mine in
which 1000 negroes were employed
whether he could punish his men if they
did not do as he wished. He replied:
There is no trouble about that. If YOU
want to mash the face of negro down
here all you have to do is to see that you
get him alone in one part of the workings
You can then treat him as you WILL and
if he makes any complaint you can say
he assaulted you. The word of the black
man is never taken here as against that