The constitution gives to the poor of Chile the birthright of freedom, and all men are supposed to be equal under the laws of the Republic. Many of those living upon the large haciendas, however, have little freedom of action or individuality and some of them are little more than a part of the general farm equipment. They are dependent and apparently defenseless. Inquilinos almost invariably sell their labor in advance to the owners of the property on which they live. They never leave the hacienda, for conditions are everywhere the same. The rich landowners are powerful enough to force into subjugation all within their domains, and they assert their authority with the arrogance of autocrats. The inquilinos have nothing beyond a meager living; they always remain poor. They are not permitted to sow, reap or do any work for themselves until all the work of a similar character on the hacienda is finished. The majority of these poor people are honest with their patrons. When crimes are committed it is against others and not their master. As a rule the only offense of which they are guilty is that of harboring friendly thieves in their houses on the haciendas, thereby indirectly aiding in theft committed. If an hacienda changes hands, it makes not the slightest difference with the servants, who remain, many of them spending their entire lives upon the estate where they are born. The average wage of these farm laborers is about forty centavos per day. This low compensation is not due to a surplus of farm labor, for in fact there is a scarcity. The condition of the poor people in the farming communities has resulted in recent years in an exodus of labor to the nitrate fields and mineral districts of Atacama, Tarapaca, Copiapo and Coquimbo, where they receive good wages and are paid regularly. This inviting field for labor, within the territorial limits of the Republic, is encouraging a more independent spirit among the working classes. That, together with the resentment against oppression so long imposed upon them by the hacendados, has already produced a marked effect and is rapidly growing into a condition of open hostility between employer and employés. The laborers are already organizing themselves into unions which opens a fruitful field for the agitator and the political demagogue. This has been evidenced by organized demands for shorter hours and higher wages among the employés in many of the seaport towns within the past few years. It had its most striking and tragic illustration in the riots in Valparaiso in May, 1903, when the city was sacked and property burned by a mob of striking stevedores.