The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-04-26

II DidNh ssss.ssssssssssssssO6fS
SO White Renters.........-....14c
13 Choppers .......,........... 8
Sc Black Renters............16c
36 +" Choppers ..............10c
The above figures are fairly re-
preventative Of the conditions which
prevail turnout the South. The crop
pers, as shown, live on an average
cash income of cents and upon
some such pauper wage the South
over. Can they hope to ever secure
and pay for a farm of their own?
Housing Conditions
The housing conditions of the land
less farmers are shocking. they are
characterized by uncomfortable filth,
primitive sanitary facility and over
crowding. Turnout the rural regions
of the United States, a marked con-
trast is noticeable between the hous-
ing conditions Of the farm owners
and farm tenants. An investigation
! of the Interchurch World Movement
made in 1920 in some Of the best
farming sections Of New Jersey and
Pennsylvania shows wretched hous-
ing conditions of the tenant farmers;
the houses were described as merely
places, whose function was ito fur
nish a roof and rooms in which to
eat and sleep"
In the South, the housing of the
tenants is particularly bad. On many
plantations, it is the custom to sup
ply the house free Of rent; the rea-
son being that most of these rent
houses ARE not fit to house the land
lords hogs" The houses are usually
very small, consisting Of two or three
rooms; the negro tenants house oft
ten does not possess even glass
windows; and Tight and ventilation
are received thru the opening that is
protected from rain and by a small
door on hinges" In most Of the dwell
ings of the farmers sit is possible to
study astronomy thru the holes in the
roof and geology thru cracks in the
floor; and it is in a building of this
kind that as many as ten people are
housed
The housing of the large numbers
of migratory workers is beyond any
description The types of housing and
accommodations include barns,
"shacks on Wheels" bunk houses"
shacks which are often mere cover
ings from the weather, etc. On the
truck farms of Maryland, the camps
provided for the workers are barn
like shacks; usually one or two rooms
are shared by 80 to 100 persons of
both sexes and all ages. In the Michi-
gan sugar beet fields, it was found
that IA families of four and five per-
sons, and four families with from six
to nine persons were living in one
room shanties. One family of eleven,
the youngest child, two years, the
Oldest 16 years, lived in an old coun-
try store which had but one window;
the wind and rain came thru the
holes in the walls, the ceiling was
very low, and the smoke from the
stove filed the room. Here the fam
lily ate, cooked and washed. In Tus-
colo county family Of six was found
living in a one-room shack with no
windows; light and ventilation were
thru the open door.
Such are the living conditions of
the landless farmers; conditions
which they were thrown into by the
ruthless exploitation of the capital
lists. The natural question to ask is:
How to remedy these conditions?
And there is only one answer to be
given; remove the cause; destroy the
system that generated these evils,
and this can only be accomplished
thru the organization of a strong
class-conscious Farmer-Labor Party,
whose slogan should be: A Workers
and Farmers Republic of the United
States