Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-07-24
unskilled laborer an equal opportunity for
cleanliness with the highest paid laborer.
All Run nm a Rusin>s. Rs.,s

pure and simple they pay.
The library especially is of the greatest
| advantage to workmen who wish to i'm
prove themselves. Here will be found all
Of the best books bearing upon the various
trades and industries sought TO be deyel-
oped at Pullman. The workmeL are en-
couraged to come to thir library by every
possible means The regulations are of the
simplest character necessary for the preser-
walton of the library's contents. There is a
back room to the library with private
staircase, where workmen can come in fron
their work without changing their dress, as
| they might feel compelled to do in coming
into the large and handsome part of the
library.
One Policeman Covers the Town.
This gigantic experiment at Pullman is
! one that has attracted wide attention
throughout the world. 1t is the first time
that an experiment of this exact kind has
ever been attempted There is nowhere the
semblsnce of charity or benevolence. There
is no attempt to adopt the cooperative sys-
tenn or to give the employees shares in the
| profits OF the company. Even the church,
which is built in the town, is placed there
as building to Se rented by any particular
association that the workmen may them
selves designate. The workmen are never
lectured upon their duties Mr. Pullman
never permits the theater to be occupied by
professional philanthropists or lecturers,
who have special axes to grind. The town
itself has some 1900 inhabitants. No
liquor is sold in the town and one police
man is all that is required to maintain law
and order. This policeman has probably
less to do than any one of the Chicago
policemen.
None of the workmen are permitted to
own their houses in Pullman. This is con-
sdered by many as hardship But the
Pullman company say that otherwise they
could not manage their property on uni
form and harmonious system. The town is
managed as a private estate, and as such it
should be criticised and examined The
Pullman company does not require its en-
ployes to live in the town. Some 900 live
outside of it. They have all of the advan-
tages of the town, however, SO far as its
public institutions are concerned. These
1000 men have gone outside for the purpose
of owning their own homes. The towns of
Rosedale and Kensington, which border
upon the Pullman property, have been built
up by these employees
The Rentals Are Very Low
But many of the men prefer to remain in
Pullman. They say that the low rentals
enable them to live there as cheaplv as in
their own homes outside. They invest
their surplus in outside properties and so
many of them have become quite independ-
ent. 1t is true that the leases of the houses
in Pullman can be cancelled upon short no.
tice by the company if the tenant becomes
obnoxious, but this is never done for any
trifing reason. There is nothing ideal
about the town. There is is no one there
who is not obliged to work as he would in
anv manufacturing village There is never
any attempt to coddle the workmen. They
all live in a state Of independence and look
to their own mutual aid societies for relief
in cases of accident or sickness.
The healthfulness of the town is shown
bv the character of the children seen in the
streets Those who are familiar with the
pasty compilations, the dark circled ewes of |
the poor children in the crowded quarters |
where workmen are generally obliged to \
live in cities would take great pleasure in |
studying the character of the children seen
in this workingman's town. ] spent several |
weeks in Pullman last year, and don't
think that saw a single sickly child DUR
ing NV visit They are all sturdy, strong,
ROSY and clean, and are always well dressed.
The advantages of the school and the library
are very marked. There is no part of the
country where children of working people
have better chance than here. 1t is from
the ranks of these children that the COM
the future.
The Value of a Reserve Fund.
Very few corporations could afford to set
aside such great sum as was required for
the foundation of this village. But the
principles of the system it seems might
serve with many smaller corporations
With the Pullman Company it has proved
a good investment. 1t has been the policy
of this company to always carry large
reserve. This reserve enabled the company
first to construct the town in such a way as
to make its foundations solid aud its future
prosperity certain. This same reserve
enabled the corporation to keep its work
men busy even during periods of stringency.
Railroad corporations, like individuale, are
often short of money and would have to
cut down their orders if the Pullman Com
pany did not stand ready with this reserve
capital to extend credit to solvent corpora
tions The care required to keep all of this
vast business going is shown by the fact that
the wages paid out will average some $780,
600 month.
1t is pleasing to know that this expert
ment has been a financial success in many
ways In the first place the model town
has paid good return upon the investment
in the way of rents. Second, the increase
of the value of the real estate has been
more than enough to give great dividend
upon the investment Adjoining the town
and between it and the neighboring ones is
a broad strip of land containing some $500
acres. This land, bought originally
at valuation in the neighborhood Of $500 I
an acre, is now worth from "a 900 to So, 600
an acre. The town itself is incorporated
within the city of Chicago 1t has repre-
sentative in the municipal council. Its
sch ool is part of the public school system.
The workmen are not interfered with polit-
ically. Although MI. Pullman is an ardent
Republican the town often goes Democratic.
The Strike Twelve Years Ago
The most interesting feature however, is
the fact that the prosperity of the place has
rarely been shattered by strikes And even
then they have been SO mild in comparison
with outside strikes as to justify the as
sumption that the cause was not very
great one. Early in the history of the town,
which was established in 1880, there was a
general system of strikes in Chicago The
workmen in many of the mills and shops
were as savage and determined as were the
strikers at Homestead, In some of the
mills in South Chicago their owners did NOS
dare to venture among their workmen for
fear of being lynched. A general strike
was ordered all round, and this included
the Pullman works
Mr. Pullman was then somewhat dis
couraged. He had labored honestly for the
interests of his company and his workmen.
He went himself among the strikers and re-
ceived the delegation. He talked to them
for upward of an hour as one friend would
talk 10 another. He made no sentimental
appeals to them. He simply discussed the
business principles of the situation. He
asked them to show him just what they
honed to gain by such course Thev uere