Southwest Washington labor press. [volume] (Hoquiam, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1925-02-20
SYSTEM
GROWTH IN WEST INDIES
INCREASES DAY LABOR

By international Labor News Service
WASHINGTON, D. c., Feb. 19.-
Charges that American capitalists
have exploited and ground down the
workers of Porto Rico and other
West Indian islands are supported in
full by a report just made by the
Department of Social Action of the
National Catholic Welfare Confer
ence.
For years the American Federation
of Labor and the Porto Rican Fed
GRAFTON of Labor have been protest
ing against conditions in Porto Rico
and appealing to Congress to investi-
gate the situation and right the
wrongs that exist in Porto Rico.
Presses Fight For Workers
Santiago Iglesias, president of the
Porto Rican Federation of Labor and
member of the Porto Rican Senate,
has repeatedly come to Washington
on behalf of the Porto Rican work
ers. He is now in Washington to
press a demand for congressional in
vestigation of frauds committed at
the last election and has appealed to
president Coolidge and Congress for
investigation of the charges of fraud
and of the condition of the Porto
Rican people. In an interview with !
President Coolidge, Mr.. Iglesias told |
the Chief Executive that elementary
justice to the people Of Porto Rico
demanded an investigation of the
misery and wretchedness that exist |
on the island.
Commenting on the report of the
National Catholic Welfare Confer |
ence, Mr.. Iglesias told International
Labor News Service that the report |
confirmed charges that have been
made by organized labor regarding |
conditions in the West Indies and
lent further strength to the demand
for a thorough investigation. The
report, said Mr.. Iglesias, constitutes
a severe indictment of those respon-
sible for the appalling condition in
Porto Rico.
People Become Day LabOFers
A summary Of the report follows:
american control and penetration |
of Porto Rico has turned most of the
people into landless day laborers on
sugar, tobacco and fruit plantations
and allied industries. To a less de-
gree the same is true of Cuba. The
same process is in an earlier stage of
development in the Dominican Re-
public and Haiti. These conclusions
are reached after a personal investi-
cation of these four countries for a
period of two months and half by
representative of the Social Action
Department of the National Catholic
Welfare Conference.
"A less highly developed planta-
ton system existed in Cuba and Por-
to Rico before the Americans came.
American business men built upon
this, extended it widely, bought out
and foreclosed native land owners,
opened up new lands and got posses
sion of irrigated districts. They are
now the dominant element in sugar
and fruit in both countries, certainly
the dominant element in Porto Rican
tobacco and probably so also in Gu
ban tobacco. Porto Rican coffee has
very little market in the United
States and is not controlled by
Americans. They have strong in-
side hold in banking but here they
have able competitors, some foreign
and others native.
Porto Rican Masses Wretched
"Porto Rico is specifically pros
porous but the masses Of the people
are wretched. They are landless in
an agricultural country. Some of
| them are allowed minute patch Of
ground on a plantation. In return
they are expected to work on the
plantation for a small wage. This is
locally called peonage, Others are
merely day laborerS and when there
is no work on the plantations they
are left to shift for themselves.
They are freer than the poems but
! their poverty IL al the greater, for