The Northwest worker. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1915-1917, 1917-01-11
PORTO RICANS
TOO POOR TO
BUY SHOES
Patriotic Sugar BarOns Refuse
Workers a Wage of One
Dollar Per Day

went to New York to see a
pleasant appearing, decidedly
gentlemanly lawyer who has
offices at 62 Cedar street. The
lawyer told lglesias that the
plea of 100000 sugar plantation
workers in Porto Rico, whom
lglesias represents, for a mini
mum wage of 81 a day could not
be granted.
The lawyer was Frank II. Dilling-
ham of the firm of Rounds, Hatch
Dillingham; and De Bevoise. Iglesias
saw Mr.. Dillingham; as the represen.
tative of the Guanica Centrale COM
pany, and that the Guanica Centrale
company is the Porto Rican branch
of the sugar trust.
Fighting Dual Battle
Iglesias, president Of the Porto
Rico Free Federation of Labor, affil-
lated with the American Federation
Of Labor, is fighting dual battle on
his visit to the United States. In
Washington he has been fighting
with the American Federation of La
Dor to pull the teeth of the Jones bill
and that has been done in commit
tee-and in New York he has been
fighting for the demands of the Porto
Rico workers in the sugar industry.
These demands are for the 81 mini
mum wage, for an 8-hour day and for
the assurance that men called to re-
port for work should find work to do.
lglesias, usually calm and possess
ed Of the traditional Spanish softness
of speech, literally boiled with wrath
after ~his-visit~ -Dillinsham.-------
Get Only so Cents aSDay
thousands of our workers get on
ly 60 cents day." he said. "Women
work in the sugar industry for as low
as 4 cents an hour. In other agricul-
tural occupations they get as low as
PIP cents an hour"
Iglesias says that Dillingham; told
him that bonus of Is per cent would
be granted if the workers would not
strike. But to this Iglesias said,
Nothing doing" Commenting upon
it later, he said, Fifteen per cent
would only be trifle. In February,
when the crop is developed, we will
strike, as we did year ago"
That strike is still memorable, even
on the mainland. The echoes of police
brutality reached Washington. Dur
ing the conflict 113 members of the
union were imprisoned. There still
are 27 Of them in prison. Iglesas
himself has been thrown into prison
"a times. But he has never been con-
victed of any crime.
"Once," he said, 81 was arrested be-
cause | said that the police were eat
.ng food provided by the bosses, and
we're riding the bosses horses"
Driving Us to Fight
There was a menace to the SNUG
and profit-hungry in his voice as he
shouted, They are driving us to the
kind Of fighting that brings final JUS
tice."
And there were tears close to the
surface as he said; 81 tell you, these
men are starving. They will get a bit
of Goldfish, or a sardine, or piece of
banana and that will last them for
whole day!
eve demand now 81 a day for a
Cay Of eight hours and we demand
assurance of work. We will not &C
cept the bonus offer. That is a trifle
"The Guanica Centrale is the big
Gest company on the island. 1t dom
mates. We have a law-it is a part
CT our organic law-that no person
or corporation may have more than
I 500 acres of land. But the Guanica
Centrale controls $4,000 acres! 1t has
gone into Haiti and there it controls
thousands of acres. If you look close
you will find the Guanica Centrale
back of much of the Haitian trouble
Use Government Force
'They wave the stars and stripes in
our faces. They march the soldiers
in front of US. They sail the navy
along our shores-all to bluff US, all
TO show us that we must submit"
lnglesias says that in Porto Rice
abor organization there are 10000
members. He says the others cannot
afford to pay the dues of 60 cents PEI
0onth, but that when there is a strike
lhey all strike.
Many workers live miles from theil
wo k. Often when they reach then
work, after getting out of bed at
o'clock in the morning for the long
1udge5 they are told there is nc
work. And Inglesias says that Out
of the 100000 sugar workers, not
. more than 10 Der cent wear Shoes