The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1909-09-27

barely enough clothing and food to
keep them alive and subjected to
brutal flogging and worse punish.
ments upon the slightest provoca-
tion. This form of slavery is much
more inhuman, outrageous and OBJ.
iectionable than that by which the
colored people were held in bondage
in this country in earlier years be-
cause It seems to be unrelieved by
any socia! alleviations or patriarchal
conditions 1t appears to be just q
dead-level of outrage and inhumanity
for gain.
We quote few paragraphs from
Mr.. Turner to show the real facts:
The slaves of Yucatan get nc
money. They are half starved. They
are worked almost to death. They
are beaten. A large percentage Of
them are locked up every night in a
house resembling Jail. If they are
sick they must still work, and il they
are sick that it is impossible for
them to work, they are not permitted
the services of physician. The
women are compelled to marry, com
PEELED to marry men of their own
plantation only, and some. times are
compelled to marry certain men not
OF their choice. There are no schools
for the children. Indeed, the entire
lives of these people are ordered at
the whim OF a master and If the
master wishes to kill them, he may
do so with impunity. l heard numer-
Gus stories of slaves being beaten to
death, but ! never heard of an in
stance in which the murderer was
punished, or even arrested. The police
the public prosecutors and the judges
know exactly what Is expected of
them, for the men who appoint them
are the planters themselves.
oeo rthaj dpafo eeolde stpoer ree'e
"One OF the first sights that we
saw on henequen plantation was
the beating OF a slave--a formal beat
ing before tire assembled toilers OF
the ranch early in the morning just
after the caily roll call. The slaves
was taken on the back Of a huge
Chinaman and given fifteen lashes
across the bare back with q heavy
wet rope, lashes so Justify delivered
that the blood ran down the victims
body. This method of beating is an
ancient one in Yucatan and is the GUS
tomary one on all the plantations for
boys and all except the heaviest men.
Women are required to kneel to be
beaten( as sometimes are men OF
graf. weight. Men and women are beat
en- in the fields as well as at morn
ing roll call. Each foreman, or cap
ataz, carries heavy cane with
which he punches and prods and
whacks the slaves at will. ! do not
remember of visiting single field In
which I did not see some of this
punching and prodding and whack-
ing going on.
II saw no punishment worse than
beating in Yucatan, but l heard OF It,
was tolc of men being strung up
by their fingures or the toes to be
beaten, of their being thrust into
black dungeon-like holes, of water
being dropped on the hand until the
victim screamed of the extremity OF
female punishment being found in
some outrage to the sense of modesty
in the woman"
The Liberals of Mexico say "Siber-
la" is hell frozen over; Yucatan Is
hell aflame."
AS our country caused the with
drawal Of the French troops by the
orders OF Louis Bonaporte under the
Second Empire and ultimately en-
abled the Mexicans to overthrow the
pretensions of Maximillian and es-
tablish their own government we are
to some extent responsible for the
conditions there and an agitation
should be inaugurated TO compel the
manumission of those slaves and the
enforcement OF the Mexican Consti-
tuition. Their written law is sound
but the central government being
false to the primary obligations OF
universal liberty winks at these
wrongs. There is probably not on the