Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1879-05-14
LETTER FROM THE TUNNEL.
The Company AbandOns Its Com.
pulsory Policy in Regard to the
Hospital Tax-More Buildings
Going Up.
SUTRO, May u, 1879.

SUTRo, May IL, 1879.
EDITOR TINES: Building is still
going on as lively as ever in this city,
and many more houses are projected
What their owners expect to realize
from their investments l cannot see,
as it is very apparent that the rush
will be over in another month, and
that after that there will only be work
in the tunnel for few hundred men.
These men will be employed in rum
ming the lateral drifts. AS only two
headings can be run at once, it is not
likely that as many as 200 men, even,
will be employed. This is IN and
about the tunnel. On the ranches a
few more will get employment, but
not very many, as the expense of
working is said to be very great.
There has been no blood shed in
the camp, as yet, although there
have been several fights which prom
ised to terminate seriously. Our
new peace officers have therefore
not had much to do.
Thanks to THE TIMES, the tun-
mel employees are no longer COM
PEELED to pay the Hospital tax of
| SO per month which had been ex-
torted for over three years. Last
Tuesday the local officers of the
company officially abandoned the
cut-throat, "your-money-or-yo
job" policy which had been fol-
lowed in this respect, and it was
announced that, in future, the con-
tributions to the fund would be
voluntary. But, mark the sequel:
AS each man received his pay, he
was confronted by an employe
who took down his name and
asked him if he wanted to con-
tribute to the hospital fund q?
Upon his answering "yes," or "no,"
his name was taken down. This
was done in the office, in presence
of the timekeepers, clerks, and
about a dozen others. About three
hundred men paid the Stout Of
the whole number employed. These
were principally miners. Very few
mechanics paid. Among the latter,
I only know of Peter Savage, the
master mechanic, Caleb Crowley,
aud Levi Lamb. They are old
employees who have paid the tax
right along, and habit has there
fore become a second nature to
them. Among the miners / am
! informed that w. II. Atkinson,
President, NJ. j. McManus, Sec
rotary, and Joe Hebert, Financial
Secretary OF the Silver City Miners
Union. also paid the tax. As these
men have but recently come here
from the Justice, Silver Hill, or
other mines, where the miners, a
little over year ago, clicked"
like mules at the payment of 81
for the privileges of st. Mary's
Hospital "a really first-class insti-
tution), I suppose that they paid
the tax here merely as a matter of
policy. The majority of the miners
here would be perfectly willing to
pay 81 per month if they could
thereby secure good care and at
tendance in suitable building.
Employees are never unreasonable
in this respect, as, for instance,
those of the Central Pacific Rail-
road Company, who are taxed fifty
cents per month, and are prop
/ erly taken care of in case
OF sickness. But there is something
to show fos their money. Fine wards,
at Sacramento, are at their disposal,
with able physicians to attend them.
Here, however, the hospital is still to
be built, although the tax has been
levied for years. To be sure DIR.
Briefly, the company physician, land
a highly-es esteemed gentleman) is kept
here, with his wife and three or four
children, on the princely salary of
$50 per month! And it is also true
that he keeps on hand a small mis-
cellaneous assortment of pills and
things; but this dues notconstitute
hospital, with all the comfort
which the word implies.
l hope that you will keep hammer
ing away at this unjust measure un.
til the tunnel officials acknowledge
the error of their ways by putting a
stop to the practice complained of.
by reducing the tax to, say, III per
nnnth IF this 10 donp the mipprs