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The rate depends more or less upon the quality of the land and the crop raised. Most of these tenants came to Heber in the winter of 1907-8, so that the summer of 1909 was their second year. At Keystone the usual term was three years, and 1909 was in most cases the second year of the lease. The rent varied from $5 to $8 per acre, but the most usual rate was $6 for the first year, $7.50 for the second, and $8 for the third. A part of the rent is usually paid by the tenant in advance, and the rest is due after a part of the crop has been sold.

The lessors exercise no special control over the use of the land. Their main concern is to collect the rents regardless of what use the tenant has made of the land. The Japanese provide all the necessary equipment.

Nearly all the owners who lease to Japanese are residents of the valley. There are a great many nonresident ranch owners, but they usually lease to white men at a nominal rate and are glad to have some one improve the land for them. The white lessees usually raise alfalfa and stock. A very common practice is for an owner to fence his land, supply the stock and teams, and allow the tenant one-half of the increase for caring for the place. When the crop is alfalfa, one-half of it is given as rent.

Most of the Japanese lessees are growing cantaloupes, although some have planted barley, and still others have devoted part of their land to gardening. They are growing nearly all of the miscellaneous garden truck of the valley. Very few white farmers are competing with them in this more intensive kind of farming.

There is no land in the valley owned by Japanese. The settlers do not have absolute title to their land, and the Japanese, not being citizens, can not file on land or buy up relinquishments.

CHAPTER IX.

THE CELERY INDUSTRY OF ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.

INTRODUCTION.

According to the reports of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, some 2,000 carloads of celery are shipped each year from southern California. Between 90 and 95 per cent of this quantity is grown in and shipped from Orange County. The industry of that county centers in Smeltzer, which lies in a depression extending back some 10 miles from the ocean between Huntington Beach and Santa Ana, and from 2 to 6 miles wide. The land gradually rises from sea level to an altitude of some 50 feet. The land of this depression was formerly covered by the sea and is "made earth." Much of it has been cleared of brush and drained within the past twelve years, and there are still tracts of land which have not been reclaimed and reduced to cultivation.

The soil of this valley is of decayed vegetable origin, and because of its great fertility and the small expense of irrigation from artesian wells, is admirably adapted to the growing of vegetables. The first settlers, however, raised corn, potatoes, hay, and live stock. It was not until about seventeen years ago that one of the leading farmers experimented with the growing of celery. His experiment proved profitable, and the new industry rapidly expanded. Celery growing was followed by the planting of other vegetables, such as cabbage, cauliflower, and artichokes. Nine years ago 20 acres were planted in sugar beets as an experiment. The growing of beets proved to be profitable and was less hazardous than the growing of celery, so that many farmers devoted a part of their land to beets and some have entirely abandoned the production of celery. In 1909 the beet acreage was twice that of celery. The acreage devoted to the growing of celery, however, has not decreased, for new land has been reclaimed and devoted to that purpose. The acreage varies somewhat from year to year-between 2,500 acres as a minimum and 3,000 acres as a maximum. In 1909 it was approximately 2,800. Celery is a most uncertain crop because of the danger of blight, but when the crop is successfully grown it is most profitable, partly because of the organization of the celery growers' union, which for several years has controlled the shipping and marketing of this crop. Most farmers now grow both celery and sugar beets, and some of them grow other vegetables of much less importance as well."

• The producers of celery formerly competed with one another in selling their crops and as the industry expanded there were many independent and competing buyers and shippers. As a result of the poor distribution of shipments to the eastern markets and the competition between the shippers, the prices received were frequently unremunerative. Some nine or ten years ago, however, the

RACES EMPLOYED.

The growing of sugar beets, celery, and other vegetables has involved a labor problem because of the large amount of disagreeable hand work involved and of the variable number of men required in the community to do the work at different seasons of the year. As elsewhere explained," Mexicans and Japanese have done the hand work in the beet fields. Various races have been employed in the growing of celery, but at present practically all of the hand work is done by Japanese. Moreover, the members of this race now lease about one-third of the land devoted to the production of celery.

The growing of celery involves a great deal of hand labor, and the industry depends upon an adequate labor supply.

The work with teams, which consists of plowing, cultivating, harrowing, "disking," making ditches for irrigation, "crowding" and "banking" the celery, and hauling the crop, when crated, from the field to the cars, is usually done by white men. On a very few of the leased ranches, however, this work is done by the Japanese tenant. The "hand work," which requires many laborers, consists of the seeding, transplanting from the seed beds to the fields, weeding, hand cultivating, and the gathering of the crop. This is now done almost entirely by Japanese.

Inasmuch as the celery seed beds must be weeded from time to time, there is some hand work throughout almost the entire year, but at certain seasons the amount is greater than at other times. The greatest demand for laborers comes during what is called the planting season-May, June, July, and a part of August.

The transplanting of the celery from the seed beds to the fields involves a great deal of labor. For this purpose between 400 and 600 extra Japanese are brought into the district. After the celery has been planted the regular hand laborers do the weeding that is necessary in the fields. The harvest season, lasting from late in October until the end of March, requires in all about 400 Japanese, about onehalf of whom are brought in for that season only.

Each grower hires the laborers engaged in the growing of his crop, but the harvesting for all members of the Celery Growers' Association, except one large farm, is under the direction and at the expense of the association. During the harvest season the association employs six gangs of from 40 to 50 men each. The harvest work consists of the cutting, trimming, and crating of the celery, all of which is done in the fields.

men.

As previously stated, the teamwork is nearly all done by white On some of the smaller ranches the owner often does the work himself, but on others men are employed to do work of this kind. Of 15 white teamsters from whom personal data were secured, 9

Celery Growers' Association of Orange County was formed. This is an organization of practically all of the growers who through it pool their crops. The association markets its crop, except that sold in Los Angeles, through the California Vegetable Union, which is an organization of shippers. In this way the competition between growers and between shippers has been eliminated, prices controlled, and the industry made more profitable.

• Report on Immigrant Labor in the Beet Sugar Industry.

received $50 per month without board, 2 received $40 per month without board, but with certain privileges of value which constituted a material addition to their wages, and 4 were paid $30 per month with board.

Usually the white grower does the teamwork for his Japanese tenant, but in a few cases the Japanese lessees either do the work themselves or hire it done. Several Japanese teamsters were found to be hired by their countrymen. Of 20 teamsters found on 5 ranches visited, 15 were white men, and 5 were Japanese hired by Japanese lessees. One Japanese so employed was paid $2, four $1.50 per day. The hand workers are, with few exceptions, Japanese. About 200 Japanese are kept on the celery farms in the district throughout the year. Most of the Japanese, however, are transient laborers who are brought from Los Angeles by Japanese labor contractors. The Japanese "bosses" who find work and bring in the men receive 5 per cent of the men's wages as commissions.

The wages paid the Japanese hand laborers vary with the seasonranging from $1.25 to $1.70 per day. During the period of transplanting, when the greatest numbers are required, the Japanese were in 1909 paid $1.70 per day. For the regular work, when only a few laborers were required, as little as $1.25 per day was paid. At the time of the agent's investigation $1.50 per day was being paid for the regular hand labor.

A few Italians engage in celery work, and occasionally white men and women are employed. This year (1909) some Mexicans have also been employed because of the scarcity of Japanese, but the Mexicans in this community are usually found working in the beet fields. The wages of laborers in the celery fields are the same for the various races engaged in the same kind of work.

This investigation was not made at the busiest season. On the five ranches visited there were 70 Japanese and 2 Mexican celery weeders, all receiving $1.50 per day. As general laborers there were 6 Italians and 1 Chinaman receiving $1.50 per day, while 3 Mexicans digging ditches were paid $1.75 per day. An experienced Italian irrigator employed on a large ranch was paid $70 per month. On another ranch a Japanese irrigator was paid $2 per day. Of the Japanese working in the field, 3 were women. They were paid the same wage as the men. The wages noted are without board.

RACE CHANGES.

Before the introduction of the growing of vegetables and sugar beets nearly all of the farm work in this district was done by the members of the farmers' families and a small number of white farm hands. Chinese, however, were employed in some instances to husk corn and to dig and sack potatoes. The work in the celery fields was at first also done by white men and Chinese. Fifteen years ago the pioneer grower of celery brought 12 Italians from the East and the following year as many more came. These Italians worked for $1 per day, boarding themselves, while other white men and Chinese were paid $1.25 per day. At present the Italians are paid $1.50 per day as general farm laborers. Only two or three of those who

came as members of the first groups are still in the community; most of the small number who now reside there have come recently.

The Chinese who formerly found employment in this district have practically disappeared. This disappearance has been due to their decreasing numbers since the enactment of the Chinese-exclusion law and to the preference for the younger Japanese when they came to the community in large numbers. The Japanese first came to this district in 1902. The ranchers were at first reluctant to employ them, but a scarcity of other help and the ease with which they could be secured through their "bosses" soon led to their employment in large numbers. At present they practically control all hand work save in the beet fields. The white men, women, and children, who in the beginning of the industry were hired in the celery fields, are no longer available. The Japanese, arriving in large numbers, have displaced white persons. Moreover, most of this hand work requires a great deal of stooping, which makes it disagreeable. But the fact that Japanese do nearly all of this work has lowered it in the estimation of white persons so that they regard it as "Jap's work" which should not be done by white persons. The white men have found steadier and more agreeable work, while the white women are no longer working regularly for wages.

EMPLOYERS' OPINIONS OF RACES EMPLOYED.

As

White growers invariably prefer white men as teamsters. hand workers those who have had Italians prefer them to Chinese, Japanese, or Mexicans. They are industrious, attentive, regular, and satisfied with the work. Where Chinese have been employed they have usually been preferred to Japanese. The Japanese are always preferred to Mexicans because they are more industrious and better adapted to the hand work. The Japanese are good workers in the celery fields and seem to prefer this work to the work in the beet fields. Yet there is now much dissatisfaction with the Japanese. This is due largely to their control of the labor supply and their growing independence as the ranchers have become more dependent upon them. Moreover, they seek the highest wages they can command. The recently established custom of taking a smoking and resting period of from five to fifteen minutes when they finish weeding or cultivating a row of celery has grown out of this independent spirit due to their control of the labor situation. They know that the foreman is not likely to discharge them, since the work must be done, and if they give it up he will have difficulty in finding other laborers. Another objection to Japanese is that if one quits or is discharged they are all likely to quit. The extra Japanese help is also hard to keep till the end of the season, for the men leave to go to the grape districts before the end of the planting season, and before the end of the harvest many leave to pick oranges and later to pick strawberries. Employers generally dislike the Japanese, but, inasmuch as other laborers are not now available, they can not well get along without them.

The Japanese are more difficult to secure than before their immigration was restricted and when they were employed in fewer indus

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