El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-05-24

May 24-Perhaps in no other
country in the new world are Ia
Dor conditions worse than in Guate-
mala. OF the 1000, 900 people who con-
stitute the population Of the republic,
100000 are full blOOded indians and
sOO,O are half breeds, leaving only
100000 to represent the people OF prop
erty and standing in the community.
The other 10000 must work Tor
their daily bread, and precious little OF
that do they get for their labor
To start with. there is peonage law
This means IN practice that debt slaV-
cry mas been recognized, altnOuSh
cnattel slavery is taboo The result 10
the slave is theoretically the same IN
der this law when an indian or a half
breed becomes indebted to man, he IS
compelled to pay his debt in actual IA
Dor Very few Of these people are able
TO keep out of debt. 1t has been estt-
mated that at least IS percent of the
men are poems, leaving only fourth
free. Perhaps the thing which more
than anything else, drives the indian
and half breed into peOnage is the ex-
empt1On tax which all OF them are re-
Quired to pay II they would escape the
army And most Of them have al ca
ger desire to save themselves from
service in the military organization OF
4 the country When Ii Is stated that
the pay OF a soldier amounts to less
than four cents a day. and that out OF
this he must subsist himself, one read
ily may see how unattractive the pro-
LeSSiOn OF arms Is to the average Qua
temaltecan. His superior officers are
men not noted for their kindness to
those under their control, and the pri-
Fate can afford nothing better than
blue jean shirt and Overalls. and some
times a delapidated straw hat. Unless
he gets into the service around the
palace at Guatemala City, he seldom
or never wears shoes. The hardships
Of the army are so many and so con-
Ia 10 M iva ne-rrar Hnr~ % int
II only at the point OF the bayOnet
But once in, they know better than TO
desert, for the hand OF the government
IS Omnipresent and the fate OF the
deserter is to be shot in his tracks
Prefer Slavery to Army Life.
The result Of all this is that the
men prefer to become poems to going
into the army The exemption tax IS
$50 pesos Of ready money, and the only
way TO get IL is 10 90 TO some planter
and borrow il. Borrowing means life
time service, for the peso and a half
wage per day they are paid seldom
suffices TO meet the absolute needs Of
life
When the mozo. as the laborer is
called. borrOws his money. he enters
into a contract to work II out. agree
ing that If he tries TO leave the plan
tatiOn before the debt is settled, he
must bear all the expense to which the
padrOne is put in order to bring him
back and enforce the contract When
the mOZO begins work he is given a
little book. a duplicate of the one in
the possession Of the padrOne. In this
the padrOne must enter all charges
against the mOzO and all credits for
work performed. The natives cannot
read or write. as a rule, yet they have
learned to watch their books carefully
and to prevent the Overcharges that
formerly were made against them
When Saturday night comes the mozO
usually wants a little money for
''whiteeye." the native brandy. and the
padrOne IS always ready TO furnish It
In fact, he Is willing to give the mOzO
anything in reason that he desires TO
keep him contented and happy. The
Guatemaltecan padrOne tries to keep
his moZOs in a happy frame OF mind.
When the mOZO wants 10 get married
the padrone furnishes him the neces-
sary money, and the same is true when
he is sick or hen members OF his
mOZO q place upon which to build his
little matched hut, where he can raise
his family.
Sometimes the mOZo and the padrOne
do not get along together and the re-
latiOnship IS unsatisfactory 10 both.
Under these conditions the mOzo may
be given a certain number of days to
look around to find some other planter
who will act as padrOne for him. II he
will pay off his debt 10 his former pa
drone and charge il up TO the peon,
and he must work il out
Must Register Poems.
Every padrOle must register his
mOzOs, and when he does this they
become exempt from military service
This registration is in the nature Of