Evening Star Newspaper, May 3, 1925, Page 6

6 sugar mill. Its owner operated it for the grinding of the cane of neighbor- ing growers, somewhat as in old days in the States the neighborhood miller ground the grain of the farmers and took his toll in cash or in flour. IS FI.UWING GUI.D i e The old central has passed. In its stead has come the new central of high organization, the great factory o i capable of grinding several tmousand Tobacco, Coffee and Citrus |fanatle of grinding eeveral saousmnd Fruit S t Island’ of hands, owning’ several “hundred head of cattle, sometimes _several ruit Support Islana’s miles of railroad. This is the new de- X a velopment in Porto Rico, the concen- Big Population. tration of the sugar industry in a comparatively few corporations, which are producing the big money o C crop and working the cane to the last BY GIDEON A. LYON. penny of value and cutting the cor- o ners ‘in_intensive cultivation and the . most_efficient mill management. As cotton was once king in the| Porto Rico never could have Aot S b reached its present point of sugar Southern States ugar is king e | Production under the old system. - 1t Porto Rico. For sugar brings the |.ouid not have become a factor in‘the big money. In the sugar market, as it s today. .The with the tot field hands could never have attained valued :at $88,278 3 | their present state of prosperity were reck at $47 or 54| meager as their rewards may seem— per. cent. The exports to the United [on the old basis of the small, more or States during the same period were | less co-operative central tem. worth £50,754,000, of which sugar| So the old chimney stack, pathetic counted for $47,838,000, or 59 per cent. | souvenir of a_bygone system, s While dealing with stics, for [for the Porto Rico of yesterday to the sugar contents of their de- the momen on in acreage. | the great humming seat of Industry, |liverfes Porto Rico has a total area of 3,435 [ with its four or even more great! There is no waste in sugar manu square miles, or about 2,198,000 acres. | steel stacks, each sending forth a facture. All of the dry stalk refuse Sugar is grown on more than streamer of smoke, to which are used for fuel. It is called “bagasse. acres, or nearly one-tenth of the being wheeled hundreds of cars and [The mud from the defecators, or tire superficial area of the island carts of cane dally for the grinding, |cleansing tanks, after being pressed Here, then. is a crop that covers|is the token of the Porto Rico of to-|under high power to squeeze out the about a tenth of all the land and|day, the Porto Rico of prosperity ! last possible drgps of sugar syrup, is more than half of the total [ under American rule, used for fertilizing the fields. The values exported. No wonder that| The mills, when they start grind- |molasses, once much sought for the Porto Rico watches the sugar quota- |ing in January, run day and night |manufacture of liquors, goes out in | tions closely. For upon the price of [until the last stalk is crushed and the | tanks for animal feed, large quantities sugar in > New York market, |last drop of sirup is evaporated and |being shipped to the States. | where the raw material is shipped for | crystallized. On Sundays the vats and Were it not for the ‘“bagasse.,” or refinement, depends the welfare of | bollers and other processes whereby |dried cane stalk refuse, the central | practically the whole island. Upc 1].1» sugar is actually produced from |could not be operated wrofitably. For | the price depends the acreage plant still at work, while the [it is an almost perfect fuel and it re and cultivated and the quantity rus mills are idle for a few |places coal, which must be imported, cane ground, and therefore the num- | hours, giving & chance to clean and |as Porto Rico has no coal mines ber of fleld and factory hands em-|repair them. Day and night, cease ' ed. And, under a newly adopted |lessly, the stream continues to flow Evil Works of Agitators. vstem of wages which. prevails in | for sIx months, the golden stream that | So the great mills grind on, while the majority of cases, the price of | Columbus missed when he was hunt- |the fields are replanted and cultivated raw sugar governs in a large degree |ing for El Dorado. for the next year's crop, and the the earnings of the thousands of 5 workers are kept busy by the tens of wotkers Thie NNMAoE oF Blaga. thousands. Now and then an agitator Everywhere in Porto Rico, save in| A trip through a sugar central— |goes among the sugar workers and the upper altitudes, fields of sugar-always remember the accent on the |stirs them to the point of striking for cane stretch broadly, in varfous stages | second syllable—is an object lesson in |higher wages. Perhaps they do not of growth. The cutting and grinding |effielency, skill, watchfuiness, sclence |strike, but seek to destroy. Occasion season begips about January 1 and|and management. From the cars, |ally a cane field is fired, out of revenge lasts mearly six months, so that by loaded in the fields, the great masses |for dismissal, or because the manager March, the season during which T|of cane are hoisted by cranes and then |will not vield to pressure for better visited the land, it is in full head- |begins the procession that leads|ments, and sometimes Just for wanton way:. Chus the fields are in all stages |through the grinders. into the vats, | mischief. of treatment. Some are standing in finto the liming tanks, through | These cane fires are not uncommonly | ' tull cane, awaiting the cutters, the|the defecators. the fllter presses, |intentional, to make easier the cutting. | {Pe T chemists at the mills meamvhile tak-|the evaporators, the centrifugals | But great care must be taken to keep ing samples dai! to ‘determine the (and finaily into the bags. I|such fires @nder control and to cut proper moment for sending in the {may have missed one or two of the | the cane immediately, else the sucrose | men with their machetes. Some have |steps, perhaps more, for to the|content will diminish just been cut and the ox teams are |uninitiated the process is an astonish. The incendiary uses two methods—a pany hauling out the cane. Others have |ing succession of skilled manipula-|candle stuck on a board and burning | Some cases been cut and cleared and gangs are |tions and highly intelligent machines. [down to some dry leaves wrapped | prohibits the at work preparing them for the new | But there are the cars of cane at one{around the base, which gives the crop. Again, the new cane has|end of the mill and at the other, a few | malefactor a chance to get a long way sprouted and is already on the way [score of yards away, slide the bags of | off before the fire starts; or the throw for the next crop. there rises @ brick or |hours later. ney from the middle of a No smoke str ms from it. {important part of the works, for upon Skillful police work Is sening w e the gre Upper picture “Dollar-a-year” cocoanut r ba |in the island-—pl just before dawn, to burst into flame | payment diffe great field No ac shows around it. Closer |the tests constantly conducted there [these crimes. The bolshevist teachings | curs during the shows that the buildings are in (are based the payments to those who 1l group of radicals are be; grinding season s, or are entirely swept away, |sell the cane to the central. Not all interacted by intelligent co-opera leaving only the lonely stack of the cane is grown by the central memorial to the past. For this was |owning corporati a “central”—pronounced from the fields of nd syllabl orks by the corporations that |the year ir ¢ ,"" or private | housings are being provided by it in al of the ntrals. A m Sale Continues Tomorrow, Hundreds of Collar-Attached and Neckband Style Shirts of Im- ported English Broadcloth Included wage scale has been adopted by most of the companies rate for hands and unskilled fac- es at $1 a day— pay of the laborer lowest which is carefully ce for the w ably more than ed with a « con he minimum dol- ounts of the worker's kera in the ¢ sugar into the warehouse—perhaps 12 [Ing of a nitric product over the leaves h as §4 a day The chemical laboratory is the most | when the sun’s rays warm the leaves. | the field conditions nds are kept at Much of it comes | control the sugar industry. Company r . as i TAY 3, 1925 the most difficult of Porto Rico's in- dustrial problems. Coffee Cultivation. Coffee was formerly a relatively more important crop than it is at present This is due in chief to the very heavy increase in sugar cultivation. In part, however, it is the result of disastgrs that have wrecked the coffee planta- tions. The great hurricane of 1899 destroyed several millions of dollars in property, chiefly coffee trees, as well as several hundred lives. It took a long time for the coffee growers of the island to recover from this blow. The offec tree requires five seasons to reach the berry-bearing stage. Coffee_is grown mostly in the up- {lands. Guava and guama trees and also bananas are planted to afford the shade which the shrub requires. It is estimated that about 200,000 acres are devoted at present to coffee culture, about the same space as that given to cane. But cane is a closely growing crop and ylelds much more to_the acre than coffee. The advantage of the latter is that the grower can handle his own crop, which requires but little machinery and manipulation, whereas the cane grower is dependent upon the central In the fiscal vear ending June 30, the coffee production of Porto as measured by the exports, was short of 22,000,000 pounds, and the selling price was about $4,600,000 Thus It is to be seen that 200,000 acres of cane lands yielded a little less than $48,000,000 in export values, and the same acreage in coffee yielded less than one-tenth as much. But cane can- not be grown on lands which sustain the coffee tree, otherwise the 200,000 acres of coffee lands would have been Seeking a Larger Market. A diligent effort is being made to secure a ger market in the of excellent quality, in fact belng preferred by many persons of culti- vated coffee taste to the product of any other country. The coffee-picking season begins in July and lasts for six or seven months. The coffee pickers are almost exclusively mountain people, the true fibaros. They are pald by the plece, at the rate of a few cents for each “almude” or box of berries picked. During the harvest season they average about $1 a day. Men, women and children pick coffes, and the higher earnings are those of the taller, stronger workers. Coffee planters have found it ad- vantageous, indeed essential, to in sure dependable forces of pickers by glving these people free quarters a free bananas. During the dull se: they are paid about 50 cents for which they do such work may be necessary around the planta- tions to keep the coffee p. good order and to trim and tial to the coffee planters’ prosperity as the coffee bushes themselves. Of all the agricultural workers in Porto Rico the coffee pickers are s earn | probably in the most difficult posi- is of | tion. They have been the chief centrals and | ferers from uncinariasis, or hook- worm disease, and their mode of liv- ployment oc- | ing renders them subject to other afl- an of | of the department of health, however, throughout | s making headway against the ments. The intensive sanitary work afflictions, and the lot of the coffee pickers is becoming easier. Tol s at the present turning out the larger-valued product. | tates for Porto Rican coffee, which | the shade trees, which are as essen- | exports of this product during the fiscal year in both manufactured and leaf form, were valued at about $18,- 700,000. ' Porto Rican tobacco is growing in favor with clgar makers and indeed considerable quantities of tobacco of speclal qualities are im- ported as wrappers to permit the manufacture on the island of large numbers of cigars. The tobacco fields of the island present a singular appearance, inas- much as practically all of the better grades of tcbacco are grown under cloth. Thus in the middle-upland region, in the center of the island, with the town of Cayey as the prin- cipal nucleus of the industry, there are hundreds of acres of cheesecloth covered lands. The use of this shel- ter greatly improves the grade of the leaf and adds to the value. Tobacco is grown on about 40,000 acres of the Porto Rican sofl. The larger plantations are owned by or are under the control of corporations. But many small planters grow to- bacco, whic they ‘“crop’” together with other marketable products. Thus numerous dwellings with tobacco cur- | ing racks underneath, will be seen along the roadside The tol ) barns are picturesque, usually being thatched on the sides as well as the roofs with varfous leaf materials, such as cane leaves and palm branches, sometimes the dried banana leaf. Tobacco being a weed, its roots do not give any protectfon to the sofl against erosion. It tends, furthermore, to deplete the soll if grown too steadi- ly. There is a considerable sentiment in the fsland against its culture, but it glves employment to many people both in the flelds and in the factories, and 13 a material element for the ad ment of the welfare of the :ders. Yet the labor problem obaceo workers, especially ar factorle u vexing one hort tim c0 serious strikes oo urred as a result of differences over | the people a higher ¢ rules and wa, and severe suffering was caused by the consequent lay- ofts and shutdowns. At present all is alm In the tobacco Industry, though the introduction of a new clgar-mak ing machine recently threatened to precipitate trouble anew. Fruits and Cocoanuts. Other soll products of Porto Rico of some importance are the citrus fruits, pineapples and cocoanuts. There are some large groves from which both fresh and canned fruits Do not permit this Summer to find you without an auto. Bargains, too numerous to mention, are listed in the Sale Automobile columns of today's Star. Cars of all makes, and cars at your price Consult this extensive list before buying. If you want to sell your car, advertise it in The Star. Ior‘lday Morning, at 8:30—The Event You Always Find Worth Waiting For - Anniversary Sale of Fine P-B Shirts 3 for $4.75 Collar to match shirts of percale in pin stripes and other effec- tive patterns. Collar-attached and neckband style shirts of English Broadcloth, in white, blue and gray. Shirts of Oxford cloth come in white only in neckband and collar-attached styles —collars plain and button down. Neckband style shirts come in woven madras—in stripes and other effects—also a quantity of woven madras shirts with rayon stripes, sizes 13} to 18. Ail sleeve lengths. The illustrations will give you an idea of thefl many patterns and styles included HUNDREDS OF OTHER ANNIVERSARY ITEMS Limited space prevents an unlimited array of P-B Anniversary items—Men’s Suits, $27 —Men's Neckties, 85c—hundreds of other items—a visit to the store during Anniversary Week will disclose them. s NATIONALLY | The Avenue at Ninth OWN STORE e YA MY RY M) MY MY are shipped. The industry of canning | for their proper care and protection grapefruit is comparatively new and | there 4 is making progress, as the demand de-| Those responsible for the admin: velops for this form of the frult for|istration of the insular affairs are salad making. | looking to the development of agris The exports of citrus fruits and pine- culture, to make the soil yleld larget apples, fresh and canned, were valued | crops and t s to increase thde at $3,750,000 during the last fiscal | wealth of the island, to assist i1 year. At the same time $600,000 worth | solving the problem of caring fotr of cocoanuts were shipped out. the increasing population. The des The coconut is an ever-present fea- |partment of agriculture and labor ture of the landscape. It is the de-|ably headed by Carlos Chardon &1 light of the photographer in masses | commissioner, with Dr. Jafme Bagud and occasionally in lonesome m & ant commissioner, i= pre- composition. It has, however, a dis-|moting agricultural experiment work tinctly useful part in the economy of [to Secure the best use of the soil Porto Rico, and it might become an|and the largest possible yield. It is, even greater factor In her prosperity.|in co-operation with the department A goconut tree bears in seven years [of education, engaging in garden , after planting. Thenceforth, for an|Study promot A large expe indefinite time, it will net its owner,|mental farm in the suburbs of & it is estimated, at least $1 a vear, re. | as undertaken tests of ne quiring no cultivation or care and call- Plant disease: re being ing merely for the services from time | and headway has been made to time of the “tumbler,” who climbs | mbating them the tree to “tumble the nuts.”” When| In short, the welfare of the farn husked the nuts find a steady market | €rs, the planters, the larg a1 in the States. |users of the soil i About 80 or 100 trees can be plant-| Well as the hired w ed to the acre, in the poorest sort of (IS the ject of careful and thoroug sandy soil. With care and cultiva-|Study by the insula ton other crops, such as sweet po-| Porto Rico I tatoes, can be grown be in productiveness u nut culture is a potentiali at & K”""" tracts the tourist who is di ) con- | Would be sider Porto Rico as a place of resi-|tistical records dence on account of its balmy climate, | Chapter with mer its plcturesqueness and its delightful | the figures. In soclal conditions, m;mv of. property « n 1 Problems of Over-Populat | $312,384 The total externs Porto Rico has between 1,300 nm«‘n‘ to Rico in 1% s $16 and 1,400,000 people, and the number | 5’ 1 1.950:164 . | Ar se n that trade from is increasing; as disease is checked as considers g the fir the death rate widens. Already dense. | Year aft he Am 1 fag W ly populated, the ratio of Individua to the square mile is increasing. e What is the answer to this self Three Get Commissions dent problem? ) ymmissions in the Officer eption of needs. Wages are low, bu creasing steadily, if slowly. send numbers of the peop the country as agricultural work lands that need them, as, for example, econd Heutena certain_of the Southern States and|o y, 1 3 v P. Mone: Santo Domingo, have come to naught | § Jackson p because of the faflure of guarantees ant in the Qu T ts dresses and coats suitable for immediate wear have been reduced for imn ate clearance during the Anniversary Sale week. In most instances there is but one of a kind and naturally the assortments will not long remain complete. COATS (some fur-trimmed) 1 Imported Kasha Coat ... .$115.00 Now $95.00 TChaemeen: . .. ..o cneiteg,. 3500 86.50 1 Imported Kasha ........ 95.00 8250 2 Novelty Imported Fabric., 87.50 72.00 2 Imported Cheviot ........ 7500 67.50 2 Novelty Imported Fabrics 67.50 5750 3 Kasha Flannel ............ 5500 45.00 3 Flannel Sport Coats ..... 49.50 42.00 Flannel and Jersey Dresses 8 Jersey Dresses ........... $22.50 xow $18.50 6 Jersey Dresses . .......m... 2830 2250 14 Knitted Dresses .. ...aue 1950 1550 1 Flannel Dress .....w.imee 39.50 26.50 2 Flannel Dresses o 20 22.50 Silk Dresses 2 Dunwoodie Crepe Dresses $28.50 Now $22.50 1 Flat Crepe Dress ........ 2950 22.50 6 Paris Crepe Dresses 39.50 27.50 1 Paris Crepe Dress ....... 4950 32.50 1 Plaid Woolen Dress...... 49.50 2250 1 Poiret Twill and Satin.... 75.00 39.50 Sport Hats, $5.00 An Assortment of Felt and Straw Sports Hats have been reduced for Anniversary Sale. The quantity is limited—early shopping is urged. Dimity Waists, $3.95 Formerly $5.50 A Quantity of ' White Imported Dimity Waists at $3.95. Another group is' sale priced, $4.75 —formerly $7.50. The Avenue at Ninth %) KNOWN STOREr*, ' NATIONALLY