The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1883-04-02
TIE DAILY Argus.
HOW IT Is DONE.
thriving and Saving On S1.l0 a Day
With q Family Of Six Children to
Raise.

1
Raise.
| How much 10 you get paid a day ?''
a 'k',d an ERqUifet. reporter of a section
ll.ld on the Little Miami Railroad
m'.e:a lie met III a small VILLAGE about
! Twenty-Five miles distant from the city.
= fs3w DAYS ago.
4 dollar ten cents. was the reply.
Aud do you receive pay for every
| Working day in the month, work OF
pis p
10. indeed; we are only paid for the
TIM" We work. >
II suppose, though, you generally
make fun time?'
Net always; sometimes bad weather
AMI heavy rains prevent us from work
| ing.
well, then, if YOU make full time
your pay Is from $2S. so to 500. 40 per
month";"
Yes. that's about the amounts we re-
celve. according to the length of the
months. In February our pay is some
times even less.
Don't YOU ever make any extra
Hmco'
Yes, sometimes we are called out to
work ON Sunday. i'm eases OF emergency.
and ti.en We are allowed more than on
week DAYS for our labor.
don t YOU find it hard work living
on the wages YOU receive?"
Sometimes | have found il very diff
hcult TO get along, bat | have managed
To keep my family, and | own n piece of
property on the next street. Ii YOU viii
step around there with me | viii show
you where | live"
The reporter did rs requested, and
found a very good frame house, one
story in. height and containing four
rooms
This is my place." continued the
sect1on-Snan, land il was paid for sever
al years ago.
But how did you manage it?''
''Ncll, you see, when | bought the
place | was getting 81. Is day for work
ING on the section. Wages were better
then. | had little money saved, and |
made Il pay mcnt on the place, and after
that | paid as | could save the money
The place when | bought it wasn't in
near as good order rs it is now. | re-
paired the house ut odd times and on
Sundays. until | have ii now in pretty
good condition. us YOU see.
''Hcllo, Jimmy, is that YOU with the
coVs2' said the section man to lad
outside the fence with Il couple of very
fair looking COWS.
Yes, father; l just brought them
home: | have had them over the river
picking about. where there is still some
little grass.
Are those your cows?" asked the
news man, surprised that man receiv-
ing such n pittance could own cows.
Yes, sir; we make our own butter,
and sor..etimes have some to SELL
- But how can you afford to keep
cows?"
1T doesn't cost much in Summer
time, for then the boys take them out
along the road and let them eat grass,
which is plentiful when the season is not
too dry one. In Winter time, though.
it costs considerable to keep them. That
little red COW You see there was raised
from a calf; the other COW is her moth
err
Have you a large family?" asked
the reporter, wondering how many
could be kept on $ll0 day.
Il have wife and six children-three
girls and three boys.
.'And YOU mean to tell me YOU have
raised them all and never received more |
than Sl.25 per day for your work."
That's just it.
How do you manage to make your
money go so far?'
by being saving. l look after every |
penny. | have "a pretty good sized lot,
and we raise our vegetables in Summer
time. The boys and myself work in the |
garden. SO you can readily see how |
the vegetables and milk and butter we |
have help us along. L never spend any |
money for drink, like so many men of
my class do. Ispcnd little for tobac- |
co. and that is all l think | expend for |
Injuries, rs term the unnecessary art |
icles. or those that n man can pet along |
without Sometimes l used to have to |
watch tie corner pretty closely. That |
was when the children were all young. |
Now it is easier for me, and can live |
better. Two of my daughters are old |
enough to work and are living out, 50 |
they cost me nothing. Two of my sons |
are also able to support themselves, SO |
that / have but the two youngest child
rem and my wife to care for. taught
nv children habits of industry, and they
all were brought up to work. | sent
every one of them to school, and they all
have fair learning. | dressed them so
that they were comfortable, and we never
starved, although, of course, we didn't
have porterhouSe steaks or anything OF
that kind to eat. | tell you, | did all
this and never made over 1925 day.
Everything is in knowing how to do it, >
said the section man as the reporter left
him in a hurry to catch the train Gdth
tn the Cincinnati Enquirer.