Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1886-12-02


of the Atlantic has this method of disposing
of towns sewage been SO successful as here.
The liquid sewage is drained from the garden
into the lake, but is SO purified by filtration
through the soil that the waters of the lake
are inhabited by fish, ara may even be drunk.
Pullman garden this year raised crop suff-
eient to fill eighty freight cars, some of which
was consumed in the town, but the bulk being
marketed abroad. A dairy farm supplies
fresh milk and butter to the whole popula-
ton.
There are rearly 1000 workmcn in Pull
man industries, and more than 1000 in Pull
mans car works alone One-half of these
workmen are foreigners, but they are for the
most part skilled artisans and men of intelli-
gence. Their wages rank as high, at least, as
those of workmen in similar lines throughout
the country. Men in the hammer shop earn
S.. 80 day, carvers So, decorators $3.50 to
$3.25, stripers and gilders $3.50 to 81, and
simple laborers $1.25 to S1.40. The average
earnings of the operatives, laborers included,
was little less than 5000 for each man dur
ing last year.
These workmen are as much a stock in
trade with the Pullman company as the
coaches which traverse the earth or the ma
great railways at the rate of thirty day.
The workmen inhabit Pullman houses, pay
Pullman rent, therefore, and make up the COM
munity which renders the gas works, the
water works, the garden and the dairy farm
profitabe-which pays the rental of the
stores, offices and theatre in the Arcade, of
the stalls in the market houses and supports
the churches and school buildings which Pull
m
Pullman as an industrial enterprise must
not only have work to do and workmen, but
all the men must be kept reasonably
busy, else the inhabitants will seek employ
ment elsewhere and the houses will stand va
cant and loss result to the one real owner
the place boasts Of. Here is feature of in
dustrial Pullman which most cities have over
looked. The workmen and their families are
the wards of the proprietors, and their prop
erty is his. The risk is the owners, too and
upon his success In keeping the wheels turn
ing and the hands employed depends his own
hope of profit. Long continued idleness of
even portion of the employees would be dis
astroUs to the interests of the proprietor.
The result of this unique relationship be-
tween employer and men has already borne
fruit in extraordinary executive energy and
in most admirable understanding as to
wages. The "piece" system prevails as to full
twothirds of the work done, and prices are
so acceptably scaled that, in the words of an
employe, "a good man is bound to make the
money and an inefficient man will not find it
to his interest to remain in the town" As
there is no idleness anywhere visible, but evil
dences of prosperity ON every hand, it Is fair
to presume that the good men largely pre-
dominate and that the wages are satisfac-
tory. But this is not all. The piece scale is
a sliding one. When Pullman, for instance,
finds it necessary, in order to secure work for
the plant and men, to take contracts at
figures lower than any other bidder, the
piece scale is cut accordingly. If, on a sue
ceeding contract, better prices are obtained
by the company, the earnings of the men are
correspondingly increased. Thus, not long
ago, the freight car shops of these works
turned out several thousand cars at cost to
the purchaser said to have been lower than
cars of like pattern had ever been made for
in this country.
In order to make sure of employment for
his tenants Pullman not only constructs and
repairs his own sleeping coaches but builds
passenger, freight, express, postal and pri-
vate cars i'll large quantities. He also
SlIetG cars, anu las |
even built houses and engaged in |
a general line of carpentry work In |
this field his methods were rather interesting |
and characteristic of the enterprise which is
with his name. During Chicago'S |
recent building boom several competent men
were constantly employed making bids on
the specifications of architects, securing many |
Then a small army of men were
set at work in the shops here preparing, un-
der the most favorable circumstances and
with all the advantages of machinery and ap-
pllances, every piece of timber set down in
the architects bills. When finished the whole
was transported to the site, and the erection
there made SO quickly as to astonish all be-
holders. Under Pullman's master hand large
houses grew full-siZed and well-nigh perfect
almost in a night. At times 800 men have
been employed in this building and carpentry
department.. In addition to these and the
other enterprises already mentioned, which
are directly or indirectly under Pullman's
control, there are extensive brickyards which
employ men in summer and ice houses to give
hem work in winter.