The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-09-10
months it wei all oe

And then some OF the Ia1iOS were
swampy and they had to be ditched.
The rainfall here is ten lnehes a
month, or 100 inches a year, and the
banana tree will not grow with Its
feet in the water. In some other
banana plantations the land is SO dry
that irrigation is need. but here the
rainfall is just right. In planning the
plantations, roads and railroads we're
built. Farmhouses and homes for
miles, and blacksmith shops, stones
and Offices were erected.
Altogether 1t takes about 5000 men
to work these plantations, and the
community has to be housed, cared
for and ruled.
How the Labor is Handled
The most Of the men who work on
this banana estate are Jamaica neg
roe who were brought here for the
purpose. They live in shaeks scatter
ed here and there. along the railroad
and they go out from them to their
labor. The officials and foreman are
whites. and the responsible parts Of
The work are don by Americans sent
here from the United States. These
men are the best OF their kind and
they receive excellent wages. The
negroes are paid about the same that
the Jamaicans receive on the Panama
O0AA~, ~A0 AN ~ 40 " ~O
efficient.
A great deal Of the work is done by
the piece, and the man gets SO much
for clearing, so much for planting and
cleaning and SO much for picking the
fruft. As it is now, it costs about $40
per acre to clear the land, and the
managers can tell you just how much
every plant costs. They have cost
sheets like those OF a great factory
and a tell to the tenth Of a cent the
outlay spent on each bunch OF ba-
and where cent goes. 1t
is only by such methods that bananas
can be sold at h prices they bring in
the states and still give a profit. The
whole business is one OF petty ecOnO-
mics, which in the aggregate mean a
saving OF hundreds of thousands OF
dollars.
Not a Whiting Business.
AS I walked through the fields and
watched the great green punches being
cut by the hundreds and carried off
to the cars I asked one of the fOremen
If there would not be big money for
an American to come here and start a
rival fruit trust, and whether a man
with a small amount OF money could
not engage in the business at a profit.
He replied:
ut might so if you did not
| know the facts. The truth is this is
no whiting business. You have got
to have a big capital, and enough to
take care OF all kinds Of accidents.
| Sometimes a disease will wipe out a
plantation, and again a storm blows
up and we lose the whole crop. Just
q few months ago we had a hurricane
here which destroyed 1870, 900 punches
Of bananas in the space Of five min
ties That happens every now and
then, and it the property was h a OF
a small farmer it would mean total
ruin. A big concern like this can
stand it on account OF h profit it re-
ceives from its other plantations. AS
it Is now, there + many small plan
tations, but they sell THAR bananas to
US We pay them 70 cents a bunch,
and at that they can do very well.
Nevertheless the total product OF such
men about here is only 1900, punches
a week, which is a baEatelle in COM
parison with the 100, 900 punches we
ship during that time. AS to a rival
.3}rsA that might succeed. but it needs
good kinds and a fleet Of ships, and
AFRO good marketing facilities in the
! United States"
Our Big Banana Business.
One hundred thousand lunches 8
week. The men utter these words as
though they meant nothing. Never
theleSs, they were astounding to me.
nave you any ioea WfaI lO0,0 zoe
punches a week means? It means
$500, 600 punches Of bananas a year,
for the banana business goes ON all
the year through. A single bunch
contains 150 bananas, and from this
place alone they are sending forth
something like $50, 1000 900 per annum
We have 100, oOe, o6o people in the
United States. including Alaska and
, the Philippine Islands. These planta
tons could give every one Of US seven
bananas and have SO. 1000 900 to spare
1t could give thirty-fve to ever,
family.
But this is only one Of the estates
+ Oh the United Fruit Company. The
= banana trust has scores of others. an6
: it ships from Costa Rica Amos
, double as many bananas as from here
> 1t ships a vast deal from Cart gena
= and it is building up in Guatemala bis
! Which [ hope to visit
within the next few month. NJ