The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-04-16
STOP LABOR IN
FIELDS AT BUSY
SEASON FOR S12
Whites, Negroes, Drlv-
en-, Hated, Feared
"a a Worker Corresp0Mdentl

CALIFORNIA, Md, (By Mai).-
For some time have thought Of writ
inc, YOU about the conditions OF the
farm laborers and farm tenants IN
the South, not the South as whole
hut one small section Of it, southern
Maryland.
He'll in Dixie.
You must understand that the con-
ditions in the far South are 1000
times worse than the conditions l
shall describe, as southern Maryland
is heaven compared with Georgia or
Mississippi.
I have spent the last six months IN
st. Mary's county, at a place called
Pearson, II miles from Washington
and 115 from Baltimore. l found
that st. Mary's county is about 800
square miles in area and has a popu-
lation of 10000. 1t is the last county
down in Maryland and borders on
King and Queen county, Virginia.
More than half the people are
Negroes.
Caste System.
| found a real caste system estab-
lished. The "Iowest class" more than
half the total, are Negro laborers and
tenants. landless, moneyless, held in
contempt, hated and feared. Very
few have been to school, as they are
needed as farm laborers. The wages
Of the Negro laborer are nine dollars
a week for 60 hour week. If it
rains no work can be done, Due to
the weather not a cent has been
earned this week, altho this is con-
sidered the busy season. You must
understand that in winter there is no
work
The next class is the poor white
trash. They are the whites who own
no property and work side by side
with the Negroes under the same con-
ditions of life. However, they look
down on the Negro and consider
themselves on a different plane.
Rats Their Food.
The next class are the "foresters.
They inhabit the central portion Of
the county, which is a forest. They
are both white and coIored. In sum-
mer they work a few half-starved
acres of land in tobacco, either as ten
ants and part-time sharers or as
owners. The tenants and part-time
sharers have their fields divided into
parts, one part for the owner Of the
land, the other for the farmer. In the
winter they hire themselves out on
oyster fleets. Their most common
food is rats" muskrats, in winter
and fish in summer.
Next come the land owning
farmers. Each farmer has several
laborers and tenants working for
him, but often works himself. Very
often their farms are mortgaged and
the farmer works his life away, to-
gether with the Negroes, only to lose
has land to the bank which holds the
mortgage.
At the top are the old landed aristo-
cracy. They are the farmer slave
owning class. They don't need to
have slaves now as their grandfathers
and great-grandfathers became rich
enough to do without slaves Allied
with these are millionaires from else
where.
Absentee Ownership.
The biggest farm in Pearson is
Cedar Point Farm Il was purchased
for $4,000 and is now worth 100000
1t is owned by Frank Furst. who
made Richie governor of Maryland.
About 40 laborers are employed there.
The farm is run by an overseer.
Frank Furst comes down for two
weeks in year.
The next largest farm is the Sus-
quehanna, owned by Sam Young, a
Texas oil millionaire. The next by a
New York capitalist.
There is absolutely no understand
ing here of the class struggle Of
unions, or any idea of world diff
ferent from what it is now. The peo-
pie are very religious. The Catholic
religion is the religion of the Negroes
and poor whites. Atho their religion
claims that we are all gods" chill
dren, there are two differen
churches, one, stone church on the
hill for the whites, the other. a
wooden one for the Negroes There
are different hours, too, for mass, for
confession and for social activities.
For all | know there may be two
graveyards. The Methodist is the
church Of the farmers. They are anti
dancing. anti-theatre, anti-movies
About Is miles from Pearson is
Valley Lee. There the laborers get
S12 week However, as the
laborers Of Pearson own neither autos
or horses they have no way of get
ting to Valley Lee and must remain
in Pearson for SO week
Last week there was strike at
Pearson on one farm for $12 a
week. BY strike mean that the