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V Indices of Disorgnnizntion
TABLE V Indices of Disorganizo.tion
Average Annual Number of C�ses Ju.venile Dolinquency to 100,000 Children 10-17 years of age far Tho Territory far the two Yoars Numb0r of Persons Employed by the Foderal &nergenay Rolief Administration in Honolulu County in November, 1934, to each 1000 Man 20-54 Years of Age as Enu-
1929-1930
merated in 1930
l. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
7. Japanese Chinese White Y.
Korcun
Filipino He.wniic.n c.nd part Hnwaiian 34 1 812 1250
1391 1664
1701 Puerto Rict�n 2810 l. Filipino 2. Japnnese 3. 4. CMnese White tt
15 47 57 66
5. Hawniian and partHawaiian 122
6. Korean
133 7. Puerto RicEn 293
11: On account of the character of the data it wns nocessary to combine the Hawaiian nnd pnrt-Hawaiian ínto oneJ group and nlso the Portuguesa, Spf,nish nnd other Co.ucasians into one group, the white.
tt Far tho purposo of this corr,putation the men in military and navv.1 forvice werG excluded from the male population 20-54. yeo.rs of nge.
Scurce: Romanzo Adams: Inte_IT-ª.Q..ial �i.cyrfoge in f.awai:i_, p. 283.
Puorto Ricans display the highest rates in both cuses. The Puerto Rican juvonile dolinquency rate v,i,s 8 times that of the Japanese; the relief re.te wcs 19 timos that of th0 FHipinos.
Further evid0ncü on the lack of 0conornic success is found in the condition of the a.¡:;ed Puerto Ricans. There \'!ero 126 single Puer�o Ricans over 50 in 1939, of which L�6 were in need of institutional ea.re. 'l'here are no comparable figures for other ethnic groups, but 36.5 petcent would seem to be a high percentuge of indigenceo 30 /
Le.ter datn are not rof ined tul:, they seem to india ato that tbB Puerto Ricans aro still contributing more than their 11¡:¡haro11 to arresits, divarees, criminal and juvonile coUrt e.mes. The pcrcent that Puerto Rioá.ns representad of a11 adults arrestod in 1945 was 1.89; 191�6, 1.93; juveniles, 1945, 5.68; 1946, 5.78. Court cas1.'ls far 1946 showed the following e:xporfonce for P uerto Ricans: divo3'c,es, 8.3 of the total; criminal actj ons, l. 69; ,juvc-mile, 6. 08. The Puerto Ricans consti tute only 1.7 porcent of tho total population. 3�
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Lind .l3:..J states that the Puerto Ricans per capita have constituted an exceptionally heavy charge upen the community, while the Japanese and Chinese have required .the least. At another point he says, 11The Puerto Ricans have been less responsiv€ to the opportunities for econQmic and social advancement grant groups • .J]/ in Hawaii than any other bf the major immi
Adams .l!:.J gives the explanation of a careful student in the following paragraph:
11The Porto Ricans ore at a considerable disadvantage. The general social situation in Porto Rico prior to their departure was bad and there was an adverse selection of individuals. They are few in numbor and widely scattered. Except for such organization as is created by the plantations they have been almost unorganized. In the city they are found in prison and jails and in an exceptionally high <logree they depend on thc agencies of charity. More than thirty years have passed since the main body of Porto Rican immigrants came to Hawaii, but even in Honolulu where more than a third of them reside they have made only a slight beginning towarq the creation of an organized social life for themselves and they have made little progress towo.rd satisfactory status in relation to the rest of tho community. Nevertheless, soma families are gradually working out a better adjustment. 11
This would seern to express as close to n woll-roundod judgment as the circumstances permi t. Further study, particule.rly o: the bases of sel�tion and the type of person chosen would probr.bJ.y Cé.:.St much-noeded light on the reason for the general fo.ilure of tho n:igrants to make satisfactory �djustments.
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St. Croix, tho L'lrgost of tho Virgin Islc.nds, has been tho goal of Puo:btoJican migra:tion for 2.bout twenty years. Püorto Ricans now consti tute a.round ;-5 perc,mt of tho popuL:: tion .1nd a:c-e playing 2.11 increasingly important role in the lif'e o.f the com1'lunity. Whilc th:;y movo into the island, the nativos continu0 the cxodus from their homola.nd which has ma.rked tho islo.nd I s history s:i.nco 1835. A stu-::1.y of how, whon, why c.nd how many Puo:rto Rica.ns co.me, how they fare and how the Crucians react to them seemorl to offer possibilities of throwing light on the general pro'· l8r,: of emigr2.tion from Fuc:rto Rico. The a.uthor undc¿:r4ook such a study, tho roa.in aspects of which ar,J sunr:mrized horewith.W
Therc are abr::ut Ji 5'.)0 Puerto Rica.ns on St�. Croix, of whom at least 75 p(3rcent came from Vieques and 9 parcent from Culebra. These two small islands a::.�e both ai:-oas of high out-migrntion. They lost 26 and ';7.2 percent of their populations, rnspoc-'i,;ivoly, betwcen 19.30 and 19/+0• Our datn indice.to that a few pcrsons :.-enched thc falo.nd in 1917, the year sovcreignty passed from Domnark to the Unitod Sta.tos, but tho.t migratíon did not bocomo irnpo;�tant tmt:i.l imnigro.tion luw enforcement was tightened up in 19�7.
Most of the mi::;rants re,_chcd St. Croi:x secking work in the cane ficlds. Sovcnty-onc porcont of those intervicwod said thoy bad decidod to le�ve Puerto Rico becauso of bo.d economic conditions; six porcer.t wcre 11in search of adventure11 •
Farülios we-·e taken on the first tr5_p by 45.6 porcont of the migrants an:3. half of tho rost brought th0ir families uithin a month. Fifty-oight porcent arrivod with .\JO or lcss; L:,l p0rccnt with �)5 or less.
Thc m.i::;rants are predomino.ntly rnixcd, o.ccorrling to the 1940 census, .which g;c.vo thoir composition .:i.n 4.2 porcont whito, l?.2 p-rcent t!eero a.nd 23. 6 percent m±::rnd. Our intervj_owers :;_•ecordod skin color in the following proportions: whito, 56 percent; liJht bro,m, 15; brown, 16; dark brovm, 6; and black, 3,
The L1coming group thns c1.iff 0rs sh2.rply from the host group. It also differs fron the popul,-.tion which sta.ycd c,t home c..s the following percentnges of J!eero popul::d:.ion show: ?uerto Rico, 2.3. 5; Viec;_uos, .33,8; and Culebra, 37.1. This would soem to indica.te that tho white and mixed popti_lation is more prono to migr.:�te to St. Croix than the black.
Eviclcncc is olGntiful th,:-.t the newcor.mr has fared woll in spi te of who.t, to the Crucians, is an advorse onviroml".ont. 01.1.r schcdules show that 67 percent of thoso interviow8d ho..J an 2.nnual income gr);_t,,r than the.t uhich thcy had had in Puerto Rico; 20 porcont roportcd 11ubou.t thc s0J11e 11; 2:.nd only 13 porc")nt w0re rccei ving loss.
It is in the ficld of f ood merchandising thnt the r.ligrants havo made the great0.st strídes. Thc 11.dministro.tor of St. Croix told tho
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wri ter th.:.i.t he calleo. u mcotir.g of e.11 food raercha!'lts in 19/i-4 to .üscuss shortagos. Forty-thrce attcndod, of irhom J7 ,.,ere l-\,..,1rto ilicans. This is a testimony to tho interest of th0 nower �roup, howovei·, und not nn �.cctlratc 0st:wnate of their proportion e.:.non3 groccrs. 0fficial fig11.res show tho. t 65 of the 1;·2 retailers of all t?pcs 3.re Fi.!vrto IU·cans. 'l'her-e a::ro 100 licensed importers, of whom 33 are Puurto Rico.ns. It :;_s usua.lly osti.mated th2.t thc) do around 75 percent of o.11 reto.il gro�r:iry business, and that throe of tho ir1porters handle 90 pei'cent of clll incoming foodstuffs. 'l'wolve of th0 38 lic,:_uor sellcrs, including bf.rs, •srills c1.nd to.verns, él.l'O of the �·üc;rnnt group. P1F1rtr: .Uc2.?:.s ,ero rospon�íblc .for thc introductfon of tl·e fi.rst bus line on tho Ü·Jl:md, tho first r1airy using mo '!ern ncthods, more efficie�1t --üH: distrirution, .:!.nd th<.1.t doubtful bless:i.ng, the bootblack.
Success of th0 Puorlo Rica.ns on tl1e land h.:ts not bcen as drrimatic n� in tho case of norchan-15.sing, cut l1ore r.lso they hnve proved that opportunities still oxlst. ThePl.h"rto ?.ic2.ns proportionat,:;ly have te.kan ,v:lvo.ntJ.o;e of tl:.e h0Ncstoa,lin1s pro.'.5rn.m to a slightl�� hiCThor iegree th8.I1 have the Dé\ ti vos. Tho FuTI!l Se;curi ty A :!ministra tion in the sumT,1er of 1946 was hnndling e. total of J6? co.ses, of wli:i.ch 100 w0r0Püorl:o Ricans. Thoir incomos have :::ison .'.nd thJ;�c has been G !loticeable increase in cffort .::tr"l s·:llf-resp8ct, ,:.s well as o.n i.;1provc!ilent in social rel2.tions.
C<1nc is tl.c prir:.cipv.1 prod.uct reporto�-, follo•,od cy c2.ttlc, plantnins, �•autía, col'n, b.'V.8.nc:s, libe.tatas 11 a:1d r10.lc.mgcl.So S,3condary crops wore listerl. in thís or1er of jJ-,;_JortE .. nce: corn, 006.i1::;, ya--.rf:.ía, ñame, bananas, 11bata.fa. 1;, pl.1nt.:d.ns and tot:1cco. Cr·op.s gro1-m for home consumption ra.tcd as folJ.o\JS: �rautía, i;b;:,tRt.J.:¡, ño.lll0, bean�, banG.n2.s, corn; yuca anJ plnntuinr º Thcse lists indicr,te th,::-.t the rui1rants 1 .:,i0t hv.s proba'cly chcn(;od li ttle if any sincc t11ey left Puerto nico.
Tho ways in wl<ch th3 r,cont arrivtü supports r.irnself until ho socures a st>J8.'.1y job 2rc sh-:iwr. hy tta intorviews te bo as follows: 1�-fi th the rnoney I br0ught11 , ?.J.; living ·.áth reb.tiv0s, 10; on prccoeds of wj_fe I s work, 3; making c•n:l selling charcoal, 3; bor1·owing money, 2, living -1íth friends, 2� pedcUing, 2; anr1 fishin�, le
Estirr.a tes of the favorE'.blc fe.ctors of life on Stº Croix ar,:: g5.v0n in Tu.hl0 VI .J.ncl. of tho unfavora'blo on Te.ble VII.
TABLE VII
St. Croix: Puerto Rican Estimates of Unfavorable Factors
I miss my friends and relatives Low Y,ages High cost of living Homesick for Puerto Rico Lnck of favorite pastimes Schoolwork in E nglish Strange lunguage Adequate housing hnrd to find Work is too hard Cruciens are hostile Schools are too distant 37 34 26 26 24 20 13 11 11 9 8
There is, of coursc, conflict bet1.·men the Crucians and the newcomers. Puerto Rice.ns and Crucian,s exuhange blows in the stru:::,gle for existence and there are injuries. Tho cultural vmunds are troated and the well-being of the injurod group pr0served, at leo.st temporarily, by generalizing their nntagonisms. Thus, a Puerto Rican who mo.y have had a disagreeable oxperionce wíth a Crucian vrill be emphntic about their shortcomings o.s a. grq_'J.E: "Cruciuns are stupid", "They aro hypocri tes", etc. 'l'he Crucians will say: "Puerto Ricans are f:i.lthy", "they take money nway from the island", "they aro planning to drive us out of our homes". These shibboleths help mHintain self-respect in the two groups. It would be difficult to trcat thosc projudices without an undorstnnding of the function they perform in mainta:i.ning morale.
The chief source of o.ntnp-onism is, of course, economic competition. The native smull storokeopor, nlthough bittor ugainst the new corepetition, thus far carries little weight with the Cruciam.. His ovm faults stand out too clearly. It is in the en.ne fields nnd the few sourcos of unskilled and semi-skillcd employment thnt the dangerous friction occurs. It is ngninst this type of coT'.!potition that trie St. Croix labor union is organ1z1ng. The demand for day-rates instead of piece-rates is their key to the solution.
On the other he.nd, the Puerto Ricnns are adapting thomselvcs by slowing cl.own uithin two or three yenrs aftor their arrivul. Univorsnlly, the opinion is e�pressod that the newcomers "takc on Crucian habits within a few yenrs". Insofar as this becomes true, it will reduce friction, but it will c.lso lessen Puerto Iücc.n opportunities to mako a better living than nt home and it will tend to reduce the drive of what at present is economically the most dynrunic group on the island.
The island has beon stagooting economically for many yenrs. It lives lnrgely from federal money. If the Washington expenditures were olimi-
nated, thoro would be widesproad dfatross o.nd tho grim o.lternntivcs of emigration or slow ste.rvc.tion for around b:üf of thc populatfon. The Nationo.l Resources Planning Boar-d, in i ts Dcvelom§lnt Plan f.Qr. the -�_rgin Islnnds, suggests that with the fullost possiblo scientific exploite.tion of the few resources of the islnnd, onJ.y somo 6,000 persons cou1d be supported. The prosent population is almost GX[i.ctly double that numbor. It vrouJ.d be to the interost of tho island o.s ,1 whofo to wc1come tho Puerto Rican as a superior producur and to lenrn from him how to work more offoctively. The age composition of tho J.o.bor forco L1ilitates ae;ainst any such policy however, u;:id differonces of race, language e.nc1 customs complico.te the problem. The fate of the Crucio.n as well o.s the nm·!comors is dopendent on decisions beyond thoir control. Howover, no matter what policies o.re adopted in Washinrton, grenter productivity on the island itself is indispenso.blo to the m[�inten:_.nco o: acceptable living condi tions. The direction of dcsirable . e-ndjustL1ents seems to be toward more homesteac1 truck-gRrdening nnd better utílizetion of new under-gre.zed ln.nd for cattle raising. Th8re will havo to bo o. drantic sh:lft in the outlook and habits of thc poople beforo any such reorganization of the oconomy co.n take plo.ce. What will be the trcnd of Puerto Rican migr2.tion assuming a continuance of candi tions more or less as tlley riow arr.? Th:i s r.lso depends on outside factors. I.f thE:r::i �s prosperity in fuerto Rico, not so many people will come to thJ Virgin IslunGs. Puerto F.ico 1 s populution problem is so a.cu te, hor:eve.r, that i7e may snfol:r as sume the.t the pressure of people on srr..all rosourccs is not going to be relieved far sorne time. Projection of tho e1·owth of the Puorto Rican populntion on St. Croix is oxtreme1y hazardrms in vierr of the many porsible variablec and the sreall numbors inrolved. Howevor, it muy be uneful to see what the possibilities aro. .A.ssu.ming that (1) natural increaso continuos <1t the 1940-41� rate and (2) that the net immigration from Purrto Rico continues o.t the rute found for the 18 months from January 19L,.5 to June 1946, there -rH1 be soJT'e•·:here near 6,500 Puerto Ricans on the island in :i955. i7e havo no do.to. on Crucio.n out-migration but we have tho judgm(:nt of the National nesources Plo.nning Board "that gradua1ly total populo.tion will return f'.t least to its 19.30 figures". This would me1:m the.t Puerto Ricans wo11ld reprosent 57 percent of the total populc.tion in 1955, if we assume tho.t 11,41.3 (the 19.30 total) is tho popul tion in thr.t yoDro Moro important than the tot.:.11 numbers is the aee and sox compositionQ Thr➔ Crucians I re.to of 119.turo.l ir1crcaso is - 7 .1 por 1000, or less than that neoaed to roprociuco tho e:xisting numbors. The group is not only dying out, i t is desorting the isle.nd nnd 101:\ving i t in tho hmds of nomon and old men. The Puerto Rico.ns, m tho oth,ir hnnd, are increasing nt the high r�te of 51.5 per 1000.
Orgc.nized Migration Prior to Vlorld Wur II
Rccords at the Departmer.t of Labor have yielded scatt0red data on six projects in which Puerto Rice.ns w0r0 recruited for work abroad. The case of Hawaii, on which no r0cords have been discoverod herG, makes at least seven in the four d0cndes befare the vmr. Labor Department records indicnto thr..t thoy wero all clmost 100 porcent failures.
Hawaiinn e:--perience has been troatod separntely. Th0 next such venturo soems to·have beon organized during May, June, July and December of 1919 and J nnunry of 1920. Agents for Hoss and Bishop recruited 671 persons to work in tho Central Prestan of Cuba o The Central Río C::..uto, of Cuba, took 16 porsons during October of 1919.
The American Manufacturing Company, Brooklyn, New York, hired 130 Puerto Rican �onen during March, 1920. The Central Montellano, of the Do::-d nicen Rcy.:n1blic, placed 10 mochnnics during July of the saP.10 y0nr.
The noxt rocorded m:;igration took place during 1925 when two groups vmnt to CoJ.or.1bia to work on tho &.nta Marta coffee plantntion. There is no record of the number of pe�sons in the first group; the second consisted of 87 perso1s.
The following year two groups were given contrc.cts ns cottonpickers in the Salt Rivor valley of Arizona. There were about 1200 persons in all. Four hundred and eighty adults and 96 children under 12 yoo.rs of ngo left Puerto Rico on September 9 for Gc.lveston, from vrhich thoy wcre shippod by ro.il to Phoenix, arriving on September 170 Tho socond group of 105 families, made up of 581 persons, arrived in Ar:Lzona one month later. The need for tho ir.lportation of Puerto Ricans o.rose because _, in tho words of the Arizona Cotton Growers Associcticn, which man.e the arrangemonts:
"The shortago of casual or unskilled agr::.cultu.ral and other laborors in A1·izona and other sout-h\''estern st2.tcs has existod over several months and is steadily growingo This is the outsto.nding anos dueto being, a number of ce.usos, perhaps (1) tho tightcning-up of imnigration rogulat5 0118, r!hich has serio11sly rostrictod our ability to irnport labor frorn Old !Vtexico as we weru o.ble to do fo:naerly, and (2) tho prospority and industrial octivity in largo centors of population.
pnrticulnrly in the east, which hus nttracted labor previously o.vt.ilnble for agriculture. 11 _1!:.}
Disso.tisfaction started spreo.ding shortly after the first group arrived. The workers claimod that the tents, nnd adobe and lumber sho.cks in which they_ vere housed were unlivable. It wus reported thnt they hnd been shorn motion pictures of comfortable houses with bathrooms and other modern facilities. The com,Plaints also included the charge that thcy could not live on the 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 cents per pound they were being paid for picking cotton and that they had been promised $2.00 a do.y. Also they were working 10 to 16 hours a day instead of the 8 they had expocted. Soon the Phoen:.!x labor unions and state welfare department were fecding o.nd housing many of those who had ndeserted11 1,heir work.
TlJ.e growors I assocj_ation sto.tod that the housing fncilit:ies and wage rates were fully set forth in n contract dravm in Spnnish and that 11Although no rnisrcpresentation may ha.ve been mude to them, the majority must have come with the idea that picking cotton was o.n easy and pleasant job11 ._ ]J_/
Two groups, one of mechanics and thc other of seamstrossos, went to Venezuela to work in a clothing factory in 1927. Seventeen persons were involvod. �
There are mnny lotters in the files of the De�crtment of Labor indicating dissatisfaction ov: tho part of the ernigrants. The largest nu.�ber, ns would be eArpocted, involves those �ho "cnt to Arizona. The chief complaint was tho.t the cornpnnies failed to o.bide by thcir contracts. The cost of living wo.s found to be higher in Arizona th:m in Puerto Rico nnd several complainod about thc weather.
Mr. Jiménez f11ialarot i.n his report to the Commissione:r of Labor makes the following j_mportrmt obs0rvetions: 11 A juzgar por los informes que ,1parecen e]l el Departamento del Trabo.jo, todas las expediciones aquí cito.das fueron un fracaso estrepitoso. De acuerdo con los récords �rchivados en el Departnmonto del Trnbajo todas estas expediciones fracnsaron por les misrnns ro.zones. Vamos n citi.l:' las más imp,0rto.ntos: , l. En las emigraciones de trabajadores para dedicarlos a faenas agricolas no se seleccionaban los tro.bc.jadores y ce.si la totalidad de los emigrantes oran personas de las zonas ruraJ.e;;, sin ocupo.ción ni oficio nlguno. 2. Si en estas condiciones de trab�jadoros para dedicarlos a faenas agrícolas se consideraba, por casualidad, la culidad del obrero y se incluío. en e1J.es n trabajadores agrícolas, no se investigaba, en cambio,
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_Wnrtimc Migro.tion to the Continent
Tho drnstic drop in availablo shipping facilities during the war causad o. serious increnso in unemploynont.in Puerto Rico. The Governor's spocial committee reported thnt in July 1942 unemployed persons totaled 176,300 in spite of J4,300 on WPA nnd e. fo.irly lé'.:rge number on An-y and No.vy construction projects, Employment ho.d dropped 38. 7 percent in mnnufacturing and 40.8 porcent in construction during the provious yeo.r. Anong othcr rocomn:endo.tions was that the governrnent 11study tho industries possibilities in the United of the States. use of 11 .J:!../ Puerto Ricnn workers in war
Mr. Santiago Iglesias, Jr., acting commissioner of lnbor, discussed the possibilities of such work with dozens of officials in i'lashington in Novenber, 1942. The depart1!lents of Vfo.r, Navy, Labor, and Interior, the Wr.r Manpower Cornmission, the Social Security Board, the War Produation Board, nnd the WPA ns ficials were consultad • ..!!}_J woll ns .AFL, CIO and ro.ilroad lnbor ofThese converso.tions viere followod up by numerous lútters to government and labor union officinls, state employment servicos and personnel officos of privato businesses.
to The 1500 W"-r Dopo.rtment o.grecd in late workors por month. The U. s. December to transport from 800 Employment Service thcn asked tho Insular Dcpo.rtrnont of F.ducc.tion to ascertnin the nurnbor of Puerto Rice.ns willing to go to the Statos for vmr wor� for thc durntion. Mr, Winston Reilly, Jr,, Insular Supervisor, Occupational Information o.nd Guidance Service, conducted a survey for the Dopartment. Interviews were given in En,:-;lish 11for the purpose of dotermining if the c.pplico.nt co.n e.dc.pt himsolf to a nornal working condition fnr nway fron home (if he can understc.nd and converse in Enelish nnd if he is sufficiontly naturo to mo.ke the necossary personal and social adjustr!lents to a new onvironment). 11 Each person acceptod wc.s required to have between $75 and $100 bofare he was shipped and only pcrsons with vocc.tioncl trnining or six months or more of working expcrience, preferabl;y- fo thc tro.des, wore considerad._� One thouso.nd nnd thirty men were sent in smc.11 groups under this progrnm. IntorviGws with porsons connected vdth the progrrun indicnte tho.t tho number of oornplnints on the purt ei thcr of the workers or or.1ployors ,w.s small. The careful seloction seer.s to have been justified by tho satisfaction expressed by both sidos.
This progrnm wr.s ended d'ter o.bout six months far roasons not clear to tho wri ter. The War Manpowcr Cor.unission then adoptod the technique of having employerE 1 o.gents como to Puerto F�co nnd seloct their own mon. Contrncts, in English nnd Spnnish, vmre npprovcd by tho Insular Dc,x1rtr'lont of Le.bar. Mcn \'ierc solocted with rmch loss care, lnck of English was notan obstacle, and thero wo.s no roquiroment of c. "nest egg" . UnskillGd le.bar made up the bulk of those shipped. The principal employers and the numbor of r,1on recrui ted wero: Bc.ltimore and Ohio Rnilroc.d, 1,038; Cci.mpb�ll and UtQh Copper Co., 200,-..!:::J Soup Co., 488; Hurff Cr..nning Co,, 332;
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The lfar Ik:.npower Cornmission censed rccruiting cctivities in Puerto Rico in Junc, 1944. '1 he Houso Approprfotions Comui ttee on !Vlay 29, 1944, votod to dtmy tho Comr.1ission funds for its Puerto Rico.n progra.m. Congrossmon nre roported to have objected to bringing Puerto Ric,ms on the ground th�t thoy could not be sent bnck home nfter the need for thom had ended. Moxicans, Barbadims, Jumaicnns nnd other foreign workers could trncts alwe.ys be roquircd to return to their oun contained spocific clauses to tho.t country. cffoct. Their 43 / con
Tho po.ttorn of recrui tmont set during tho Vfo.r Manpo or Co1,inissiot:i' s o.ctivitics wo.s continued aftcr its withdrmml. Individual employers n0eding large groups of workcrs sent rocruiting o.gents. Their activities wero subject to the suporvision of the Insular Dopa.rtnent of Labor, which drnfted a model contrnct in Spnnish and English. Its main provisions woro: po.ymont of trnnsportntion o.nd ronsono.ble subsistence by tho omploycr, for which he dedum:d ton porcont of oo.ch po.y check; return transportation providod by the employer viithout reimbursemont, v1i th certnin excopt ions ; GI.iergency medie el caro -whilo on route; pro vis ion Ggo.inst discrimination "because of raco, creed or nntiomüity"; nnd a doduction of 25 pcrcent of the ,-:r.ge for dopendants in Puerto Rico. Wo.gos, hours, type of ,job and cost of food nnd housing vrore set forth. The ce.uses for torr.�j nntion of thc contrc.ct woro listad. Wages far gonerel laborers ran fron 50 to 66-1/2 cents per hour. Tho mine workors wero pnid $6.15 far un oight hour do.y, time und e half for ovortine nnd doublc time for tho sevebth consocutive de.y of work.
Complaints begnn to reach Puerto Rico soon o.ftor the workers wero on the job. Lotters to newspnpors, fricnds and tho Dopartnent of Labor ccrried reports of bcd food, inndequuto housing, lack of medico.l caro, no 8.L"'lusement facilities nnd discril.linr::.tion agninst thoso wi th darkor skins. SevernJ. inveatigations were made.
Ledo. Go.briel Guorrn Mondr.::i.gón, in reporting on his study, lnid rnost of the co:nplo.ints to 11tho o.djustment problora. 11 He found "one groat handicap ,ms lo.ck of 3nglish.11 In o.nswor to the conplaints about bad food he roported tha-1, in mo.ny plo.cos he hE.d found the food "good but not prepered in the ,w.y to which Puerto Ricans vmre o.ccustomcd. 11 (Tho Hurff Compnl'ly, for inste.neo, had hired o. Puerto Ricnn cook nnd after thc.t no complPints ho.d beon registerod.) He found thc,.t "sorne of tho vrorkors have ir.,proved physicnlJ.y. 11 In soveral plncos hG ho.d found evidencc of rnce discri2ination in restaurants, thentres, und other public plo.cos.J:i./ The Canpbell Soup Co., V!hich wc.s reportea to hnve po.id el.ose o.ttontion ·�o the r.idter of food, reportod in Soptember tho.t 11few \7orkers h11ve broken thoir contr2-cts. 11_.!!J./ 0n the othcr hand, tho rnilroo.d compo.ny reported 250 11descrtors11 out of 1,038 within <1 fow weeks of the start of work. El lf:1.lli).rcinl,. on l'i'.v.y 31st, 194L�, cc.rried n letter from 55 rnilroo.d co.r.ip v;orkers <1t Newton Falls, Ohio, sGying "living conditions e.ro bo.cl, uo co.nnot oat the food, o.nd we ho.ve no modicc.1 erre. 11 The Youngstovm Vindicv.tor.:i. on Juno 13th, 1944, gnvo dote.ils on rottcn moc.t servod to Puerto Rican l�borors in thc Struthers, Ohio Ce�p. Fourteon of tho fifty fivo workors ho.d "doserted.
Complaints about conditions on the ships to.king tho mcn to the States were frcquont, For instanco, the SS Sngitaire, built to accomodnte approximntely 100 pnssongers, was loc.ded with 490 nen, Thirty workers rofused to make the journey after they ho.d seen "dirty, damp, dnrk, their and own u nappoaling words, sleeping quarters in t,he hold of the ship,11 in
Discrimination rnised n considerable amount of controvorsy in Puerto Ricnn newspapers, Mayor Alexander BD.tche, of Manville, New Jersey, lle.te in July, 1944 attacked thc Puerto Ricnn laborcrs as 11undesirnblos who would develop opidemics and sexual crimes. 11 This statenent was repudic.tod by r.mny civic ond interrncial organizations in the United States, but of course, caused a storm of protest in Puerto Rico.
The flood of complaints which aroso from the sccond stage of thc recruiting progrnm cerried on by the War Mnnpower Comr-.ission, ns compared with the smnll number of complaints arising freo the first carefully selected group, has grec.t relevance for nny futuro c□igration progrnn. It will be recallcd thnt in the first stage workers were selected on the bnsis of certnin skills noeded in thc Stc.tcs, were required to understand nnd spcak English and to hove a ncst-egg of around $100. It would scom that prD.ctically no sr.foguards of a sir.iile.r natura were thought possible during tho second sto.ge. Thereforo, the problP.ms of adjustr.ient werc nc.turo.lly greo.ter for tho socond group.
A tabulo.tion has been me.de of the coreplr..ints registered by those recruited under tho first progrmn. The groe.test singlo source of dissntisfaction disagree2.blo wns the absonce of tho wec.thcr, und the third norker 1 vro.s 11 ! s fo.mily, the socond am not working c.t ny wrs trade. Complo.ints obout food wcro registered only o�c tenth as frequently as ·tho complnints cbout tho roscmce of thc family. A fe.irly lnrge numbor complained about life being too exponsive but other complnints wero r elo.tively infroquent.
Commonts on the difficulties supply importnnt cluos to tho needs e.nd wishes of the workers. The oYplanation for missing th0 fa.'!lilies was no ver nade in any except tho f ollmüng throc terrns: 11 If my wife wns hore she could fix my food11; 11 If my wife was hore she could keep housc f or me"; 11 If my wife o.nd children were hero they could work in defensa plants cnd earn noney too." If romc.ntic love entored into the mind of nny norker, it wns not exprossed on tho questionnnire from which these data wero gathered. Two othsr statemcnts which are vnlunble but which v1ero not no.do by lo.rge numbers of porsons include 11the .Americe.ns consider Puerto Ricans c.s slaves11 nnd "the English thoy spenk hcre is not the English that I learncd in Puerto Rico."
Social workers intervicwed tho far.1ilies of tho workers in thcir Puerto Ricnn homes to o.sk whnt roports and co□plaints they got from the workers. The response to these interviews shovmd thct the largest single cause of cornplaint (vlith 59 porscns) was "living expenses are too high for the wages wc were socond, with 50; nnd third, with 34, Fourtccn are paid. 11 Complaints nbout the weather complo.ints about tho family being nissed were men cornplained of not working at the trade
27
for which they wore trained, 8 onch were dissatisfied bec2use of night work or bccauso th0y wero homesick; 7 found the work too hi::.rd; 5 so.id that thoy lived too fnr from their work; and 3 fotmd 11customs o.re difforont." Only 2 complc.inod nbout food.
F�milios modo tho folloving conments about dissatisfactions exprossod: 11My son tho� ht he was going 11My husbo.nd doesn't liko it beco.uso he to li ve an casy ho.s to cook for lif e therc 11; hir.isclf; o.nd 11 Pcople do not undcrstand his Enelish. 11
Using those scuttered returns ns clues, the writer mude up two quosti.onno.ires which wo1�e sont by rnail to sorne 2400 workorn whosc names and o.o.drossos wore availnble at the Dcpartrient of Labor. Quostionm'.ire A (soc nppcndi..'{) wes dircctod to those uho hnd reno.ined in the United Statos and B wr:s directod to thoso who ho.d roturnod to Puerto Rico. They ucro sont with a covering letter signed by the Che...11.ccJ.lor of the Unive:rsity [!.sking thctn to hclp the Socinl Sdnnco fü.:ccc.rch Ccnter prepo.ro c. roport which would be useful to others considering er�igration nnd to tho govcrnr.1cnt in working out an omigrat:i.on progrnm. Both quostionnc.iros and tho lcttor wero in Spo.nish nnd a postc.ge--pnid, uddrossod roturn 0nvuJ.opc :ns j_ncluded.
Thero were 376 nccept.o.blo responses to quostionnnire A end 4.35 to quost:i.onnc.iro B. Thorc y;ero 248 lmdolivcrc.blc lcttors returned for vnrious ron.sr.ns r.nd 11 c_uostionnc.ires fj_llod out hE'..d to be discc.rded. There wc.s n high proportion of rcturns, ]$ porcent of all those which reo.ched tho nddresses. Gcnerc.lly, r.10.il quostionnairos bring only from 5 percont to 20 porcont replics.
The responses givo us mcny vnl1.mble cluos to the exporicncos of tho Puerto Rice.ns in the continent" and th0 fnctors v1hich r.mst be tnken into o.ccount in any discussion of the pror.1otion of Gmierntion. Thoy will be annlyzod in the following pcges.
..1'.he Expurience of the Wo.r Workers_
Tho qucstionnaires were designed to elicit informc.tion on both mo.terial facts and attitudes since the two e.ro inseparably linked in influencing actions. Thc replics nre sur:marized below o.nd those of tho workers who rcmnined on tho continent (honceforth roferred to as group A) �ro compo.red with group. B, those who returned to Puerto Rico._�
If we assUI'.le thnt the responses wero typiccü of the 3000 wcrko:r·s whovere recruited by the Wcr Mnnporror Cor.n:iission, wo me.y conclude thnt slightly ovcr hc.lf (53 percent) of those who went to tho continent returned to tho islc.nd. Thero is ovidonce in tho o.nswors, however, thnt somo of thoso crn:10 bnck only temporc.rily. Forty f i ve porccmt soid that they would roturn to the Stntes 11if offercd o.nothor tcr::poro.ry job," while 81 pcrcont would roturn for c. porno.nent job. P:resGnt a� dross wns given by 1g �sin tho Stctes nltho thoy woro writing from thc islnnd, which Bight indico.to tho.t thoir stay on the isl�nd wns considercd temporo.ry.
Persons in group A v!oro o.sked if they intond to rcri10.in in the Stntes "permc.nently. 11 Sixty-two pcrcent repJiod tho.t they did not. They wero next o.skod, "When do you propose to return to Puerto Rico, 11 in c.nswor to which 46 porcont gave 1119li-7-5011 ns tho probo.ble do.to. T1:onty-five porcont s�id, "1'nen I hnve onough money for both fare nnd a nestegg, 11 and 2..nothor twenty--fi ve percent didn' t ho.vo nny timo in nind. Tl'10 se.id, "When Puerto Rfoo is independent.11
Attitudes toward lifo on the contincnt nnd in Puerto Rico did not vnry grontly between tho two groups (T�ble VIII). Those who renoined found life oither 111:1or0 so.tisfnctory" or 1111:uch moro so.tisfr.ctory11 in 87.2 percent of tho co.scs, whoror..s tho S"..P!G responsos for those who returned totc.lod 82.7 percont, o. difforonco of only 4,5 porcent. Tho two :r.iost unfnvoruble r<?l".ctions vvoro ovan closer, 6.6 percent far the P,.. group to 4.6 for tho B.
TABLE X
Rating of Most Important Unfavorable Factors in Life on Continent
Low salaries . Miss my fnmily Climate e�trernes Not working at my tro.de Strenous life Le.ck of f r.vorite recreatione.1 Work too hard Food does not o.greo with me Miss Puerto Rico Uncongenial people Le.ck of adequate housing facilities ...A...
703 337 341 103 76
77 13/+ 219 26 134
The 11rnost disagreeo.ble experionces" of both gronps cr.st light on the problems of the m igrant. Gro1:p A ropol'ted a wider range thnn group B. Interestingly enough, tho9o v.bo stnyed reported more unpleasantness with "rnci�i:111 than tl ose who returnod. It wo.s first in the A eroup, with 22 percent of the unpleo.sant expcriences rocorded while it was tied for 6th place in the other gN:iup, with only 5 percent.
Climat0 tied for first plnco with 11bo.d c0Ti1pnnions" o.mong those who co..ioo bnck to the islcmd and socond 2.111ong those who renained. "Differont la.nguage" held third place in tho A group but wo.s unir.iportant in the other. Work too hard (or disagreeable) was second nmong tho Bs o.nd fourth e.rnong the As.
"I niss rny fnmily" bulked third in the B eroup altho it we.s only incidental e.mong the As. Lack of recreo.tion, poor r.1eJ.ls, · poor housing, illness, 11s ubwr.ys", unempJ.oymont, "vide. agitada", "la libertad femenina," o.nd bad traveling conditions wero runong others listed.
Pernonnl relo.tions were reported o.s fricndly by thE: overwhelming rnajority of both groups. Only 12 percont of group A end 9 percent of eroup B found poople unfricndly, The individual most often singled out ns not tr 0;ting the Puerto Rican worker well by both grottps WD.s the foremnn, wj_th feJlov1 workors noxt.
The reo.sons for unfri-endly trec.tment in the minds of the rncrnbers of both groups centered around tvo themes: racism and "they tried to shovo off most of the work on us. 11
Spccif ic roes o ns f or not returning to Puerto Rico vmre requested
from group A. The largest numoor, 220 out of 356 replying, or 61.8 percent, gave 11better economic situation.11 "Better general environment wns socond with 23, nlthough the 15 who replied "I like life in the United States" probnbly should be added to this. "No money with which to return" with 16 replies, wus the third. "Fmnily in the States"wns fourth. others were ;9cattered nmong 11lack of work in Puerto Rico," 11me.rried in States,11 11health better here,11 study, travel, and joining the Armed Forces. "
The opposite side of the picture comes from the v.nswers of group B to thc question, "What ·,as your main renson for returning to Puerto Rico." F amily reasons held first place, with 45 percent of all answers accounted for by "I wanted to see my frunily" or "Death (or illness) in my family.11 "Contra.et expired11 wns the answer of 23 percent who secm to hnve thought that they coulcJ not stay unless they were under contra.et or who did not ha.ve the initietive to attempt to secure anothor job. Illness wr.s n poor third, vlith only 7 percent.
Thirty-five porcent of group A ho.d their familias on the continent and 46 percent of the remainder expressed thoir intention of bringing them 11soon. 11 others would have brought them but for various reasons, among thc most importcmt of which woro: no housing nvailc.ble, nnd "they wouldn 1 t like it herG. 11 .An o.musing sidelight on chara.cter is supplied..., by the 13 persons who snid ·that thoy didn't write friends and rolatives to come to the S tates bccnuse they didn't believe in giving advice!
'\
Sixty five percent of group A were ma.rried, 26 single and 7 percont widowed or divorceda Grou� B contained 64 percont married, 26 percent single and 9 percent widowcd or divorc0d. The proportion of those • ·. djvorced is 14 to 18 times as great as the 1940 rnale populntion contnined. This might providc en importnnt clue in the study of the relation between mobility and disorgcnization. Skin colors of the two groups self-rccorded, show whnt seem significnnt difforencos (Té.'.ble xr1. The group which remained on to be the
TABLE XI Skin Color of Puerto Ricnn War Workers on Gontinent
Color
White Light Brown Brown Da.rk Brown Black Porccnteges Group A Grou2 B Differcnce
JA-_fil_
64.4
22.4 8.4
2.5 2.2 53.4
-11.0 16.7 - 5.7
11.2 5.5 13.1 /.. 2.8 /. 3.0 ,L10.9
continent is soen to be apprecinbly lighter than the returnees. It
