Stories from Deli

VI. The Workers.

Polonia, Helvetia, Rotterdam, Danmark, Glenorchy, St. Cyr, Arnhemia, Germania, Saentis, Bavaria, Hessia, Grien Bervie, Frankfurt, Hilversum, these names of some of the tobacco companies on the east coast of Sumatra indicate the origin of some of the explorers of that promised land. Most of the nations of Europe supplied their contingent, because there was room for the labor of many and our colonies are open to everyone. Already in the beginning, when the number of planters was still so small that everyone knew each other, the company was so mixed and twenty years ago, seven guests often sat together at one table in Medan, representing eight nations: a Dutchman, a Prussian, a Bavarian, a Dane, a Briton, a Pole, naturalized as a Swiss, and a Norwegian. Deli has retained this cosmopolitan character and it has prospered. Experience and knowledge from many countries were used; as a result, people did not get caught up in or submerged in the rut, which is especially dangerous in the tropics; through the constant arrivals from Europe, a fresh spirit remained dominant and through the rapid succession of people, mostly young people have the reins in their hands. The working people also gathered in Deli from all the neighboring countries, because precisely because the country was so sparsely populated, European agriculture found the necessary space there.

The Malays, the inhabitants of the coast, render only a few services as boatmen, sometimes as forest-cutters or barn-builders.

The Battahs, the inhabitants of the high interior, who do not find sufficient food on their poorly cultivated, deforested, drought- and strong-winded plateaus, do somewhat more. They come to settle for a while on the enterprises, where, not as permanent workers, but as contractors, they cut down almost all the forest, build barns and coolie houses, and as a reward they receive not only money, but also a part of the cleared land for their own rice cultivation. With them, too, tobacco cultivation was initially tried; but while the fields of the Chinese used for this at the same time looked splendid, theirs were I neglected, spoiled by insects and suckers. They worked when it suited their fancy, not when the cultivation required it. It is different with the Chinese, who are the main working force of the coast. In previous sketches they have been presented in image and word “in the fields” and “in the fermentation barn.” 1 It is therefore not necessary to do this again in detail.

A few words, however. The great tobacco culture on Sumatra’s East Coast stands or falls with the Chinese worker. The value of Sumatra tobacco lies mainly in its covering power. Therefore the leaves must be intact and supple; good of colour, smell and burning. These last three properties depend mainly on the soil and the weather, the first two on supervision. Already on the nursery beds the young plants must be protected from the sun’s rays and vermin, evenly moistened; when transplanting the root must come well into the ground, each plant must then be shaded separately without being pressed; as it grows it requires more care in earthing up, topping, breaking off the suckers, which — it is so often forgotten by bunglers — draw the best forces from the leaves, in seeking caterpillars and grasshoppers. And all that work must not be done naggingly and pettily — as it is b. v. van Javanen

see — but handy and quick, because the other work, the further planting, the harvesting too soon, demands time and energy.

The planter cannot live on the quality of the product alone; the quantity must not be lost sight of. Neither the Javanese nor the Klingalese can deliver both requirements; but the calculating Chinese thinks of the settlement with every activity he performs, and since the plants to be delivered by him are paid for according to the quantity and quality, he ensures, under good leadership, that he delivers a lot and well.

The Chinese on Sumatra’s east coast come from the southernmost province of China, Kwang Tung, of which Canton is the capital and Swatow the main shipping port for the emigrants. In In 1888 and 1889, more than 73,000 and 77,000 men left there, of whom 48,000 and 44,000 went to the Straits Settlements. The Straits was also the labour market where the Deli planters concluded their agreements, but the intermediaries, spoiled by the ever-increasing demand for labour, demanded such great advantages from employers and employees that the former decided to do everything possible to set up a direct emigration from Swatow to Deli.

After much effort and expense, they succeeded this, and in 1889 already 4343 men were transported directly from Swatow, being about one third of the annually required labour force. However, these were still very expensive, because on the charters of the steamships, used for this emigration, a loss of about four tons of gold was suffered. Measures are being devised to establish a regular steam navigation line and thereby limit the expenditure. It is hoped that this will result in a large part of the emigration from Kwang Tung being led regularly, without difficulties and at lower costs to Deli.

An experiment, made with direct emigration from the more northerly province of Foekian, failed; the emigrants from there are less suited for field work in the tropics and the Chinese authorities put an end to the export from Amoy, which had been temporarily permitted, but of which only moderate use was made.

According to the Planters Committee in Medan the number of Chinese, established on agricultural enterprises of members of the Deli Planters Association in Deli, Langkat and Serdang, amounted to 40,662 on 1 May 1890, of whom 7.47 per cent came from the province of Foekian and the island of Hainan together. It is no wonder that since Chinese workers are scarce and expensive, they are exclusively used as specialists for tobacco production and processing. They are relieved of all work, not directly related to this, as much as possible by workers of other nationalities. In the first place by Javanese.

About twenty years ago, farmers from Bagelen and former railway builders from the vicinity of Samarang were already imported directly from Java. Gradually, immigration increased, especially also from Bantam; However, the Javanese were not taken more than absolutely necessary, because they were not the best who went to Deli. Their first visit after arrival at Laboean was usually to the opium den and the women they brought with them, often of questionable morality, and married just before departure – over the well hook, our polder boys would say – bought this salve for the not very jealous husbands for extra income. But as the need for labour in Deli increased, the number of emigrations from some regions of Java also seems to have increased and with that the quality of those who left improved. At least it is not right to tar everyone with the same brush; besides the less good ones there are good ones, although the best ones stay at home. Their number on the east coast of Sumatra is constantly increasing.

On the enterprises of the members of the above-mentioned association, it amounted to 10,745 persons on 1 May 1890, to which certainly several thousand more come from other enterprises or work for their own account. The connection between Java and Deli has always been poor; the N.-L. Steamship Company and the Government have done little for that. As a result, Deli — although almost all tobacco goes to the Netherlands — is dependent on foreign flags for the transport of tobacco, just as it has been driven into the arms of foreigners for contacts with Chjna (in 1889 in that world empire not a single steam or sailing ship showed our tricolour).

The Royal Packet Company, which will start its activities on 1 January next, intends to open a fast service between Java and Deli without calling at Singapore or other places. The result of this will undoubtedly be that even more Javanese will seek better living conditions in Sumatra, but also that more Deli planters will visit Java for relaxation and for their benefit. In addition to many other good things that they can learn there, they will also see how pleasantly the Javanese lives in his dessa and what he leaves behind to go abroad, and when he returns to Deli, the planter will do his best to make it as homely as possible for his worker. In this way the bond between the two islands will become increasingly closer for the benefit of both. The work of the Javanese consists mainly of making roads and drainages; keeping clean or planting young forests in the planted fields of enterprises that do not face the future without worries; the side cultures, such as coffee, bamboo etc. in some enterprises; tillage, when the Chinese are behind; driving the oxen and feeding the carts, etc.

For this last work, however, the emigrants from the coast of Coromandel (Kalinga) Klingalese, called Klingen or Tamils, are preferably employed, who devote much more care to the cattle and treat them more gently than the Javanese. These people are much sought after on the enterprises and formerly many came from Pinang and Singapore, who, after having worked there under contract, came to Deli in search of better wages. These people, especially after they had become acclimatized in the Straits, were also excellent for making drainages in marshy areas and all kinds of digging.

In general they are very thrifty and need little for their subsistence, as they use neither opium nor meat, nor strong drink, unless they belong to the lowest caste, that of the pariahs. The latter are less fastidious, often give themselves over to drunkenness and are then very noisy. Their body shape is usually very beautiful, also that of the women, who know how to drape themselves gracefully in their graceful clothing, and are not a little proud of their ornaments of precious metal, nose and earrings or buttons, finger, arm and ankle rings, coli liers and what have you.

The language of the Kling is rolling, rapid, comes from a full mouth. Two quarreling white fishwives fall silent and lose out at , must give the palm of victory to two quarrelling Klingwomen. Such a pair and a pair of ducks “make a village” is the proverb. But usually the Klings remain alive; they are not heroes and serious disturbances of the peace are not to be expected from them. It would be very much in the interest of agriculture on Sumatra, and also of the mines and coffee enterprises on the West Coast, if this workforce could be brought from the coast of Coromandel, which is only a few days’ steam away; but this is not possible. Recruitment and contracting are not permitted in British India for the Dutch East Indies, and since the Straits also had to issue the same ban, only a few Klings come to Deli and then on their own.

The British Indian government is willing to permit emigration, but on conditions in the interest of its subjects abroad, which our government has not yet been willing to permit, although they are not onerous, unlike those established for emigration to Surinam. It is to be hoped that the objections, which have been waiting to be removed for years, will finally be removed.

The islanders of Bawean, situated north of Surabaya in the Java Sea, have been emigrating for many years to Singapore and Sera Wak and are known there by the name Boyan. In the former place they are mostly stable boys and coachmen. There they were also later, when Deli’s name became known, in clubs of 20 to 30 men under a mandoer, with contracts of at most one year and up to a monthly wage of eight dollars, engaged for Deli as house and barn builders.

The finer carpentry work, which is done by Chinese craftsmen, was excluded from their work; they made assistant houses, fermentation barns, stables and all kinds of construction work, which fell outside the normal contract work of the Battahs. They were also useful to take over or complete such work in case of emergency or haste.

The Boyans are quiet and reliable people; at the same time frugal. With each club usually come a few women, who cook the pot for all, and by the time the Poeasa (Lent) begins, most of them return to their country with the wages they have collected. In the past, one or two companies of these Boyans were gladly employed on each enterprise, but since the number of enterprises has risen to over 150, the small island of Bawean can no longer provide for all needs.

That is why Javanese, people from Borneo and other islands act as “veritable” Boyans; that is also why other tribes try to obtain a share of their work under their own name. From the very beginning, Bandjermasin has supplied the fine mats (maloeka mats) in which the tobacco is so neatly packed when it arrives in Europe, and also the coarser type is used in the fermentation sheds for covering the stacks and for other purposes.

Of the first-mentioned type, seven to eight hundred thousand pieces are processed annually on the East Coast. That is a few shiploads; and in later years some Bandjareezen came with those ships to see if they could find work in Deli. This was successful and now there are regular clubs of those people coming to work in the same way as the Boyans, and although they deserve preference, they also easily find employers. The number of Klings working in the above-mentioned enterprises on 1 May 1890 was 2,179, that of the Boyans and Handjareezen 3,870.

After we have thus briefly reviewed the different races and peoples who come to work Deli’s fertile soil, we still have to indicate the legal relationship that exists between employers and employees. Because almost all workers are immigrants without their own resources, and therefore initially dependent on the proceeds of their labor, and they must be able to count on housing, food, and nursing in sickness and health, the government had to give their rights certainty by means of legal regulation. But it was equally necessary that the employer had some guarantee that his people could not evade their obligations with impunity, because in order to enable them to emigrate, he had to spend large sums on their passage ht, equipment, provision for the first needs of relations left behind. Without regulation of mutual rights and obligations, therefore, no regular culture was possible, and hence on Sumatra’s East Coast a social legislation arose, which, first in the Dutch East Indies, has served as an example for similar regulations in other regions where immigrants are employed, such as Banda, Sumatra’s West Coast, Palembang, Borneo, and which is not considered necessary in countries where the own inhabitants offer their labour, although many, in increasing numbers, may insist on something similar. In 1880, four years after the entrepreneurs

had pointed out the necessity thereof in an extensive request, the above-mentioned regulation was made, which has generally worked well and was modified somewhat in the previous year. Under this regulation, workers from outside the NI Archipelago may not be employed for an agricultural enterprise other than by virtue of a written agreement, which only comes into force after registration by the head of the local government. Such agreements may also be concluded with workers from other parts of the Archipelago, but are no longer obligatory, for example, for those who have come from Java, Borneo, Bawean, etc., have served out their original work contract, and subsequently do not wish to work under contract.

The work contracts state, among other things, the type of work and the number of working hours, which may not exceed ten hours per day; the manner in which wages are settled and paid; the amount and settlement of advances received; the duration of the agreement, which may not exceed three years; the days off; the obligation of the employer to provide for the housing and medical treatment of the worker and his family at his own expense. When registering the contract, care is taken to prevent deception or coercion.

The employer is obliged to treat the workers well; to pay them the agreed wages regularly; to provide them with appropriate housing and medical care as well as the necessary medicines, even in the event of injuries not occurring in his service; to ensure good bathing and drinking water; also to give him a discharge letter at the end of the employment contract, which may not contain any judgment of the person. The worker is obliged to perform his work regularly; to refrain from leaving the company without permission, except on days off or to lodge complaints about bad treatment; and to properly fulfil his contract.

Disputes about the interpretation of the contract are settled as much as possible by amicable settlement, without any form of trial, by the head of the local government. Where this is not possible, the latter refers the parties to the civil or criminal court. Any arbitrary breach of the work contract is punished on the part of the employer with a fine of up to one hundred guilders, while in case of repetition the head of the regional government has the authority to declare the contract dissolved – a practical provision; on the part of the worker with a fine of up to fifty guilders, or to be put to work on public works for his living, without pay, for a maximum of one month. In case of repetition he can be sentenced to work for up to three months or the contract can also be declared dissolved, if the employer so desires.

Minor offences against good order can be punished with a fine of up to twenty-five guilders or with work for a maximum of twelve days; the same penalty is imposed on the recruitment of runaway workers as on the first arbitrary breach of the contract. This as regards the legal relationship between planter and worker. How the relationship is or should be from a social point of view is difficult to describe, depending as it is on the temperament, the degree of development and civilization of both parties.

The industrious, often childishly difficult or familiarly inclined Chinese; the dignified but submissive Javanese; the quiet Boyan; the simple, sometimes busy Kling; the superstitious Battah, each must be considered according to his nature and the planter must be able to distinguish sharply the good from the bad of each race. Just as it is difficult to catch hares with unwilling dogs, it is difficult to plant tobacco with unwilling coolies. In no culture perhaps is good care more necessary and is it also better rewarded; and that care is only given by a worker who enjoys his work and is satisfied. The best guarantee for Deli’s future is that the planters always keep this in mind. Good, careful treatment of the workers guarantees them, better than artificial means, a continued end supply of immigrants and good work, and the money, spent on good care and fair payment of the worker, is the most necessary and useful expenditure of the enterprise.

Eigen haard; geïllustreerd volkstijdschrift, 1890, no. 43, 01-01-1890