The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-06-14
IMPORTED TO
ISLAND, SLAVES
PAID 8OC 4 DAY
Machado Terror Keeps
Them in Slave-Pens
(Bu q Worker CO1respOndenD

by a Worker Correspondent
HAVANA, Cuba (By MaiD.-l
am an American worker who has the
bad luck to be stuck on this island,
on which the dictator Machado has
reduced the workers to starvation.
While the Cuban workers here are
roaming the streets unemployed by
the thousands, begging for food, the
dictator brings over workers from
the neighboring West Indian Islands,
to slave on the roads and in the
sugar fields, and the latter tho work
ing, are little better off than the
Cuban workers who are unemployed.
Are Not Paid Any Cash.
Negro workers from neighboring
islands, like Jamaica, Haiti, San
Domingo, are imported into Cuba,
for work in the sugar cane fields,
and they receive practically no ac-
tual cash for their slavery in the
fields. These sugar cane planta-
tons are all owned by American
corporations, like the American
Sugar Refining, U. S. Sugar Corp,
etc.
They barely exist on the returns
they get from their slavery. They
are paid not in money, but in script
or checks good only at the stores
owned by the sugar companies,
where the prices are triple the prices
in ordinary stores.
Kept in Perpetual Debt.
They are kept in that way in per-
petual debt to the company, and be-
ing always in arrears, the police of
Machado see that the slaves are kept
in permanent slavery on the planta-
lions.
Their poverty is unbelievable. The
houses the company gives them are
falling shacks, which seem as if they
would tumble down any second. They
live in mosquito-infested areas. The
toilet facilities are terrible; one
toilet for every 100 men or even for
more than 100 men. Once they get
out of order, the toilets are never
repaired. Eventually the slaves
cannot use the toilets.
They are charged a big part of
their wages for the houses. Then
the food served them is so much
trash. 1t is terrible stuff that is fed
these Negro workers. For this also
they have to pay, out of their wages.
Slaves Kept in Ignorance.
They are very backward, but how
could they ever get a chance to be-
come "civilized?" For they get no
schools in the imperialist ruled
islands of the West Indies, the
schools are not for Negro workers;
they were purposely kept in ignor-
ance to enslave them more easily.
A Party of Parasites are Disguised
You ought to see a group of
American parasites when they visit
the plantations and come upon the
workers quarters. A party of
women parasites, chaperoned by a
foreman, (for the company isn't
ashamed of its treatment of the
slayes), came on one plantation the
other day. They went white when
they saw the outdoor latrines.
How disgusting" they cried. what
shame!"
~ Yes, it's a shame, but its your
parasite class that caused it. To
hell with you all. The slaves will
turn on you and exterminate you
from Cuba when they awaken.
Paid so Cents a Day.
The workers make from 60 cents
to $1.00 a day at the most, and it
is all eaten up by deductions fer
food, lodging, etc, made by the COM
pany.
The United States Sugar Corp.
representative Lakin was down to
the plantations of that slave-driving
company recently. "It's true the
workers get low wages 'occa-
sionally,'" he said, "but it's their
own fault. The reason is that they
can live on 70 cent our, and
they say, do not ork any
more. If they wi full days
work, they can M day."
What a barefacc- The slaves
work 10, II and IA hours a day.
For that they get 70 cents. Maybe
Lakin means that they could get
$1.50 if they worked "a hours a
day.
In the Cuban centrals wages are
80 cents day for laborers; cane cut
tiers get from 60 cents to 81 day.
The Haitian and Jamaican la
borers are brought over by the
thousands during the harvest season,