WESTERN (HEMISPHERE IMMIGRATION - 381

groups of immigrant laborers; the gentlemen’s agreement cutting off Japanese
immigration and the war, so that the Mexicans have become the principal available
 source and now dominate overwhelmingly the hand labor situation in
sugar beets.

THE MEXICAN POPULATION

Page 108-114: The resident Mexican population of the seven principal sugar
beet growing counties of Colorado is estimated at "11,000 during the winter
months. Some of them engage in coal mining or work on the railroads. The
large majority, however, are beet workers and this 11,000 is expanded greatly
during the beet season, as Denver has been developed into a great Mexican labor
market, principally as a result of the use of Mexicans in the production of sugar
beets.

ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF SUGAR-BEET CULTURE

Page 114-119: From the standpoint of both labor and capital, sugar beets are
the dominant crop of the South Platte Valley. The economic tendency for
organization is developed to the highest degree in Colorado as all 13 factories
in the area are owned by one company, the Great Western Sugar Co. All beets
grown in the area are contracted for and manufactured into sugar by this one
company. The beet growers are also organized for collective bargaining in
marketing their crop under the Mountain States Beet Growers Association.
The influence of the manufacturing side permeates all aspects of beet culture.
The company finances the growing of the erop which it purchases and manufactures
 into sugar. In this area the company also lends to banks which finances
the growers. The company contracts to purchase the entire crop. It guarantees
a minimum price and in addition payments are made on a sliding scale based
on the market price of sugar and the sugar content of the beets. The company
sells the seeds to the growers and educates the farmers as to how best to grow
beets. It maintains an experimental farm near Longmont for this purpose and
with the cooperation of the railroads and the State Agriculture College sends
beet trains throughout the area for the purpose of instruction. It publishes a
monthly paper known as ‘Through the Leaves.” Finally each factory maintains
 its agricultural superintendent and field men whose principal duties are to
insure that the growers raise the largest possible crop of beets per acre. The
company secures the hand labor for working the beet crop which is not available
locally. The company draws up the labor contract, sometimes in consultation
with the Growers Association, and their factory staff aids in handling and supervising
 the work of the beet laborers. By the terms of the contract and in practice
the company field men and agricultural superintendents settle differences arising
between growers and laborers. These practices of the company are character-{otis
 not only of Colorado, but of all major areas of beet production in the United
tates.

THE LABOR MARKET

Page 119-129: The chief employment of Mexican labor in the valley of the
South Platte is in sugar heets. Two kinds of work are involved in the growing
of beets. The first is plowing, planting, cultivating, lifting and hauling. These
operations involve the use of machinery, teams, and tractors, and call for some
skill and experience which is usually performed by the farmer himself nr by
Americans or Europeans.
The second type of labor called hand labor is divided into four operations, i. e.,
bunching, thinning, weeding, pulling, and topping. This is the work for which
the Mexican is used as it is all hand work. It is drudgery, sometimes requiring
the worker to crawl on all fours, all bent over. It is most monotonous and is
generally shunned by Americans. Beet tenders on this class of work average
about 12 hours a day; women and children average somewhat shorter hours
than the men; the latter average at least 10 hours during the thinning season.
The span of employment falls within a period of about six months from the
latter part of May until the latter part of November, the average number of
days for a beet tender during a season being probably 80.
During the periods between operations in sugar beets, the workers are at
liberty to accept other employment, but such employment is decidedly limited
and the average amount earned outside of the beet industry does not average
more than $150 per year. In order to keep down transportation costs the
factories are located near the beet fields and the largest possible acreage is raised
within the area. As a result of this heavy concentration on one intensive crop,
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