News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-10-07
GIRL WORKERS IN COAL PITS.
Picture of Underground Life in the Realm
of King Leopold.

from the Charleroi Revue Industrielle.l
A Young unmarried girl of II said in
reply to questions: My work IN the
coal pits begins at 3 O'Clock IN the
morning and ends between 8 and II at
night. l load from sixty to seventy
cars every day, and | earn francs cod. }
day. / went regularly to school from
nv eighth to my twelfth year. l could
read once but l have forgotten it all
now. Pit work ought to be prohibited
for girls"
Upon being pressed more closely by
the President she said it ruined the
morals of every good looking girl
1.-The OverseerS bride the prettiest girls
by giving them the best paid work."
| A married woman said: 1.-THE week
before last my husband earned Is francs
| Q1s.) He had never earned a larger
sum in a week. 1t is impossible for us
to live upon such wage. When have
bought our food and firing the whole
wage is spent; it is not enough to cover
rent and clothing"
The mother of family said: 81
scarcely know the taste of meat.
Another young girl said that her
working day in the pits began at ! or
| a m and closed at IL p. m, for which
| she received 1 franc so centimes to ,
| francs. A younger sister left off work
at D. M, but she only earned l franc
| so confines Us. 3d. Nearly all the girls
volunteered, i'll almost the same words,
the emphatic statement, "Girls ought
not to be allowed to work in the pits"
and they were unanimous in their com
plant of the temptations put in their
way by the overseers
The President asked each of them,
"What nourishment do you have2 Do
you often have meat 2"
One girl replied: "Three months ago
we had some meat on our table; l have
never tasted any since" Another said:
81 take bottle of water every morning;
/ cannot afford coffee
The President asked an old workman
who had spent his life in the pits why
bring their condition before tho notice
given evidence" said he, "but l knew
that l should be dismissed if l told any
story about the works. My comrades
have urged me to speak for them, as l
have so long an experience. But was
AFRAID to do 1t.
His present wages are 2 francs day
Us. Sd When he was younger and
stronger he used to earn the sum of 2
francs so confines day.
The President inquired if the workers
found regular wages OF piecework more
profitable.
1.-The day wage is miserable" said
the old man, ''but piece work is no bet
ter, for if the overseers find that a man
earns more by piece work. the terms are
at once lowered"
One of the workingclas leaders, who
was examined at great length by the
President and Commissioners, denied
that the work folk were Socialist revO-
lutionaries They will follow any lead
er in their despair, but their own actual
demands are very simple. The Presi-
dent asked him TO formulate as shortly
as possible the real programme desired
by the workingmen and women in the
pits.
Speaking of the employment of chill
dren, he said: eve want the work
day for hildren limited to eight hours,
and their wages fixed as follows: Chill
dren of IL to 10 years, l franc 20 cen
times day of eight hours; from 13 to
- years, 1 franc 90 confines; Is to II
years, francs.
The President Then you would not
abolish child labor?
''We would not abolish families. My
family consists of nine persons, only
thee of us earning anything. We have
to keep six who are not wage earners.
The united yearly income of the three
of US who are work ers is / 800 francs"
The President asked if they would
not like their children to go to school
after the twelfth year.
"No," replied the workman; sit
is not possible for the patents to wait
until long school term is ended, as the
family needs the wages of the elder
children. We have not only to keep
our Young children, but also our old
people After their fiftieth year man
can earn little in the pits, and is usually
dismissed"
This speaker the workers
were particularly anxious to have exam
ined, as he is in good repute both as a
workman and an orator-told the Com
missioners that the average weekly
wages of the head of a household in full
work is from twelve to fourteen francs.
81 need not say that a family cannot
live upon that; the wife must work
when she can, the children as soon as
they can
A married woman, who had been
worker in the coal-pit, said: 81 am the
mother of six children. We are very
poor; but L would rather starve than
that one of my girls should go to work
in the pits. The overseers use allmeans
in their power to ruin the girls. If no
thing else succeeds, they will put a
timid young girl to work in a solitary
place until she is terrified"
When she was asked what wages her
family earned, she replied that her hus-
band had thirteen francs a week, and
one of her sons eighty confines day.
To the question as to the food of the
family, she said: ''Every Sunday and
Thursday buy pound of meat; on all
other days we live on potatoes and
broad -