The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1932-01-15
HideOus Torture Of
Negro Workers on
Southern Leveea
War Department Denial Is Admission that Cb.,u
Horrible Conditions are True SIS Of

wages due him. He boa
l41S days at $1.25 per dar " J.
hours each day and Onlv w. i0f Z
Sc for all of his work, was Dad
"West Gray, near VALLEY y
paid all the men at the rate s $ I
per day for minimum of 10 10 q u
Information conveyed to =. TOa
US to believe that at leas, : IA ead'
were numerically heat ~ ueA
Roach's camp near Gre
Mississippi and run off tbs envy
without any part of the nav 40 Ns
due them. Seymour RicS..lp past
was badly beaten up BY foroaa
on the Roach job and carried isis %
doctor. He never received Ii.
pay. aus past
az. C. Dye only paid "
Hughes $3.50 per day on oo mose'
~: "IiH III bolivar COUNT
Miss, and he was required to nv,
from IL to Ia hours per dov "uIk
states that the men are geUs,,1s
cursed on the job. ..AcccrdiO"' y
our information from tbe
themselves, the gOvernmen, !. ~eA
working men IL hours Der day y,
longer in the first cOntraer v ..s
north of Greenville. This :"
government job.
"on the major portion Of a.
river projects in the GreenviIo -
ca the contractors estahlisb 80.
missaries, where their emnlo UOu.
are compelled to purchase : -;
imum of $3.50 per week ont t J,
their meager wages. If .bsv ~.
not married they are CHARGED y
per week for a cook. Thev y.
charged eNOrbitant prices fbr ths;,
goods and if their accounts ~, -
disputed they are taken Ont ~
whipped. Five cents Der dav i
charged for ice water used on IA
JOB during warm weather II,
women are flOgged if they Do Od
have the meals of their men fan,
on the works at meal time. aooM.
ing to witnesses. Women haw
been beaten because they disputed
cOmmissary accounts according b
testimony of other witnesses.
Some sample prices of commits
sary prices in the Greenville area
are. -Four pounds of lard rs cents
12-fb sack of flour 75cents; DIV
salt pork 20 cents per pound and
sugar two pounds for Is cents.
zone was refused his pay Be.
cause an old axle broke on a trac
tor which he was driving IL hCu
per day for SIPS. He was told
that he would be charged with the
, axle. One man received rs cents
a day for II hours toll and also
. was to receive rs cents a day iM
the use Of his mule, but was not
even paid for the mule.
/ "A mechanic of Is years exper.
; fence is paid only 81 per day fa
| keeping up large fleet of trae
, tors and never gets all that is due
/ him. A tractor turned over On
one man and he was severely in.
; jured internally but he was die.
charged without any damages q
even his pay.
This is the Hoover Hunger gov
eminent. This is the war depart.
5 ment Of Wall Street robbing work
! ers of their miserable wages, beat
2 ing and cursing them if they even
: dispute the treatment and robbery
to which they are subjected, fog
= ging women because they argue
r over the exorbitant prices charg'
ed at the "robissaries" owned BY
i the government contractors.
h Major General Brown, chief Of
: the engineers, openly stated thai
mo general action" will be taken
e because "no general misconduct
Z exists. He then states that spe'
: cific cases will be taken up Inn
means that no cases will be take
d up.
s "'I find that there is no eN
n dence whatever to show that any
f violence has been Offered to all
: man by contractors or contrac'0i
r agents. The labor is working 2
# its own free will and is under >,
: compulsion as to labor or place J
f living. In some cases labor
& compelled to purchase from eO "
v tractors commissary as a cOnu
: ton of employment. The "as.
y of common labor are in some %
q es relatively low. The hours :
Is labor in isolated cases are -
p reasonably long. .uruc
= WILL CORRECT SPEClFIC
CASES
= "'Since no general misc0nG y.
s'1is developed by this invesugsS
i no general action will be taken :,
i "'In certain specific cases =. !.
! gard the hours of work as uni =,
. onably long. I will direct -. :.
3 they be shortened except IN o.
A. of grave emergency. =. .m
! "'I consider it improper loi ~. -
!, : tractors to dispose Of suOs slD.,,
q or supplies in their comniSi, sbo
a Ibv means of forced sales 70 -. :,
: and will direct that all su'A
y es be terminated at once y, :. tale
- Specific action will U : ,rroul
= to correct specific cases OF s s;'so'
- doing whenever they are a
e cred. / have ample power "
- this /" dsuaf