Spanish speaking peoples in Utah, oral histories: book 1, numbers 1 through 10

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INTERVIEW: Senor Santo Cabrerra Page 2 SC: I came in 1910. VM: And what part of the border did you cross over? SC: I crossed over in Texas and immediately began working with the Southern Pacific. VM: How many years did you work in Texas? SC: I worked in Texas with the Southern Pacific for thirty years. VM: And what year did you come to Utah? SC: I came in 1928. When I arrived, your father was still an unmarried man. Still full of vigor, he hadn't married yet, you know. VM: Mr. Cabrerra, what can you tell me about the working conditions,in Texas when you were working there? SC: In Texas while I was working on the railroad, we were getting a dollar a day for ten hours---ten cents an hour. It was the same through Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico on the Southern Pacific. They all paid a dollar a day. From there I went to California, again to work on the railroad. But there they paid a dollar fifty for a full day, eight hours. VM: In what year did you go to California, Mr. Cabrerra? SC: I went in 1912. VM: Mr. Cabrerra, how were the Mexicans treated and accepted in these states, Texas, California, New Mexico and Arizona? SC: Well, I tell you, one has to learn to take care of himself. For my part, I have no complaints whatsoever. If I treated other people