Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1913-02-20

of peace they are often forced to work
for the ruling classes and petty author-
ties, and may or may not receive their
dues.
So abused have they been in the past,
both under the Spanish regime and after
ward by the republican authorities, and
their attitude toward the foreipner-and
every one is a foreigner who Is not of
the uplands or who speaks Spanish in
stead Of Quecha-is one of deep distrust
ana suspicion. The present writer on his
| expeditions has had occasion to employ
these Cholos and having paid them their
contracted wage, without fines, rebate
or delay. has overheard them exclaiming
to each other that the Senior, the "Ingles"
has positively paid Them and paid all
that was agreed upon, as IL a pleasing
and unwonted occurrence. He improved
the occasion by informing them that the
'lngles" always pays
Between the priests and the petty au-
thoritics and large landholders these Door
people are ruthessly ground down, and
due to the abuse OF alcohol, made and
sold by the large landowners, who reap
fortunes from sugarcano rum in the low.
lands and the miserable and unsanitary
condition OF their lives, they are decreas.
ing. When they disappear the Andes will
practically become unnhabited for M
other race could live and dwell at those
elevations. These conditions are not pecu
liar to Peru, but occur throughout 30
,lvia, Ecuador and Colombia, and In som,
respects Mexico presents a similar stat,
Of affairs among the peones.
TnI &C ho n,
the Andes form a people apart They ar
under neither civil or religious control
They dwell in bands and settlements ii
the almost impenetrabe jungles. general
~ upon the river banks of the Amazon
valley. The only "civilizing" influence t,
which they are sub iect or circumstance
in which they come in contact with tn
. white man or the mestizo, is that of rub
Der gathering. and these are the poo
wretches whose ruthless and crimna
abuse and torture has at length aroused
the indignation Of the British and foreigi
public and press, This abuse is, in reallt,
no new thing, although its horrors hav
= been accumulated In the Putumayo rubbe
stations, nor is Peru the only territor.
y where ill-treatment takes place.
The present writer drew attention t.
such abuses In his book, The Andes an,
the Amazon" published in 1907 "a bool
which has reached It's fourth editlon) Tn
book drew attention to the fact tina
D these Indians were hunted and bough
l. and sold like slaves, and that bullets, al
y cohol and fever were rapidly reducin
n their numbers. The life of the rubbe
gatherer is an exceedingly hard one 4
u any case in the inundated forests. an
: 1t is safe to say that when this sourc
I OF labor fails wild rubber will no longe
y be procurablo from the Amazon valley
@ The same remark applies to the pro
: duction Of the alpaca, llama and vicun
G woods, which is an important industry G
= Peru and Bolivia, hut which cannot b
a carried on by other labor than the In
: diars Of the highlands. 1t might hav
. been supposed that even from a con-
i mercial point Of view the ruling classe
l. of the republics of South America woul
e have protected the Indians, even If the
" Were cailous as regards humanitaria
considerations.
- The conditions of native labor through
" out the whole of Latin America call III
= gently for reform. A considera BILE respo,
~ sibtity rests with the numerous ente,
: prises with headquarters in Great Britain
n for whom this poor native labor of II
. New World earns dividends. and this r,
n sponsibility will have to be shouldered
70 the future.