Page:Mexico and its reconstruction.djvu/137

Rh through the day, except for meal hours, was small indeed. There were rests, lunch periods, siestas, periods for smoking, and the unavoidable interruptions that seem to be inherent in the work of any aboriginal or semi-aboriginal labor group. All these made the actual effective labor hours much less than their nominal total.

There were so many variations in labor conditions that no average standard can be discussed without destroying the most distinctive feature of the picture, its variety. Illustrations from the south, the center, and the northern part of the country at various periods give a fair idea of the sort of contrasts encountered.

In Chiapas in the Department of Pichucalco in the middle '80s the laborers were of three classes: free and debt servants and intermittent workers. The first received 25 centavos and subsistence, or 38 to 50 centavos without subsistence. Such servants were hard to find. Few "liked to work by the day."

The debt worker presented himself to the intending employer and received an advance of wages and a so-called card account, carta cuenta, stating the amount owed. This was recognized before a legal authority, before whom was also drawn up a statement of the term—regularly one or two years—for which the man agreed to work every day but feast days. The proprietor promised to pay the wages agreed upon, furnish stipulated food, and make the necessary advances in cash, clothing, and tools. Often the formal legalization of the contract did not take place, the card account being issued and both relying on custom to determine their rights and duties. The services of the wife might