New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-08-22
CONDITION OF. THE TowN-coMPLETE CoNif'oi'
OF THE AMALGAMATED ASSOCIATION
CHARMING COTTAGES, BAD sTREEI'
AND VILE WATER TOO MANY

q.
classes live the kinds and size OF houses hui'ei
of rooms furniture, carpets, etc
90 What proportion OF men have been en-
r,ov.d for one year or more two years or MORE
five years more.
~ How MANY men own their own houses ciear
- ,ror+gaoe and how many under mortgage 10
the steel company i'll ho
"In the pursuit of these inquiries you VIII oc
careful to avoid any leaning toward either party
or either opinion, whether in your recoru oi i"0''
or in YOUR conversation with those whom you may
onnroach II is essential TO obtain an aosoiu'eS
impartial and unbiased statement OF the iac'''
Prices will he obtained as far as possipie' from
actual ssAs by storekeepers. Obtain such o'her
information as may be suggested 10 your n'.iD
hv these instructions and to the eno tnat VIC
information given may not be blasea your ren-
titv "a correspondent must be conceaieu'
,vSo.hor or how vour report will be published. you
do not know. nor that any public use Of it what
ever will be made, but you will use every care
TO have it absolutely accurate
II was n few days after the battle between thc
Iocked-out men and the Pinkerton guards ae
Homestead that | arrived III that town 10 caily
ont these instructions. There was large CROW"
around the depot when l arrived. Most OF 'he
men in the crowd were rough looking ana eA-
cecdingly muscular. Many OF them were uieNo"
with exceeding planness, but few wore cio.n-
ing that might have been made by fashiohapic
New-York tailor 1t was easy 10 see tiia' 'ne
crowd was composed almost exclusively OIL e'iiAei'
by the way in which they scanned every pelsoa
WIN aliQhtcd from the train. The militia hau
lust arrived in the town, and company vi SUI
dicrs were on guard at one END OF ohe s,a'io"
nla,form. The strikers and the soldiers paid no
anna rcnt attention 10 each other. There was no
noise and no confusion
That 7 Was watched as i walked along the
nlotform was evident The newspapers had pup-
Ished the fact that all strangers IN the Town
were REGARDED with suspicion. and was pre-
r,r,s M nc vvatcic,i, but the sensation OF being
shadowed soon found to he exceedingly uhcom-
Portable | walked along the main street, ana
stoned at one Of the stores 10 inquire for Doaru
ing housc When I departed | was conscious OF
being followed by two men. managed 10 scrape
their acduaintance, and was soon able 10 sa'siy
their curiosity concerning me, without IN any
way betrayng the object Of my visit. Or my lden-
tty.
Three DAYS later / removed to room in the
house of a workman whose acquaintance had
formed. and where found facilities for gather
ing at least part of the Information hau come
for | remained in Homestead little over two
weeks.
THE TOWN. ITS COTTAGE=. STREETS AND WATER.
Looked at from n distance. when the town Is
not overcast with the clouds OF soft coal smoke
that pour from the grlmy stacks OF the carnegie
mills Homestead is very pretty. Its hundreds OF
whit. and brown cottages nestle down among
the trccs on the banks of the Monongahea A
oloser insnection. however somewhat changes the
,icture There are many pretty houses IN the
,own 70 br sure. and nearly every house has
yard around it, with plenty OF shade, Dut there
the beauty of Homestead ends. save at distance,
and therr h not much cnchautment IN the pros
pect even there. a.
The street. of Homestead are probably the
yilest in any town Of its size III the lni'e' o''''
rho,. .re movements in only one street, and then
for not more than couple OF DOCKS i"h' !
Siv,h-ovc tbc main thoroughfare It is rail
road ward rs well street, four paranei
tracl,s Of the Pittsburs Virginia and Charles
town road running through it at grade
from end to end On each side oil the
,rocl,s is n roadwat 80 narrow that wagons can
,oss onlv with great difficulty. IL may be said
riobt here that the chief amusement Of the boys
of Homestead consists Of jumping on ana on OF
tbe freight trains in SiXth-ave, at the imminent
pciil Of their lives or limbs
Tho other streets are all Of soft dirt, and are
not even graded. But Homestead mas wors"
curses than unpaved or uncared-ior s'ree'S Inc
town il entirely without any system oi sewerage
or even Of effective drainage lhere are "eep
cuttcrs on both sides of every street. out III moS'
eases these are merely reccptacles Tor All sorts
% GIth The town is built on a slope The
outters along the streets leading toward the river
a., - some value. but in those which run parallel
with the stream they are worse thah useless
Whenever it rains, the streets are knce-deep WIN
mud the cutters I'LL up with water which re-
mains there until it stagnatcs, and becomes COW
cred with green, Shiny scum. and with rotting
vocctabc matter, which send up odoN slckening
in the extreme.
II il indeed wonder that there Is anything
ike good health in the place; yet the citizens
say that they have to contend with nothing worse
than n few cases of typhoid fever and diphtheria
every year The hieh-smelling cutters must DC
rosnopsble for some of the sickness at least, but
they are not the most unpleasant nor the most
d,nrerous of the towns shortcomings. The
drinking water is the most foul that ever found
ts way to human palate As there is no sewer
age systcm a ccsspool in the little yard behind
each house is an absolute necessity. So is cls-
term The cesspools and csterns are almost side
bv side. The result is as natural as 1t is dis
ousting The first glass Of water that i tried TO
drink was 30 offensive that l was affected ny
nausea After that l slal<ed my thirst with
mineral water at the druggists. There are
saloons on or near almost every prominent corner
in Homestead, perhaps forty in all, and their
owners are growing rich. One of the saloon
keepers wears diamonds, is regarded as high
roller in one of Pittsburgs expensive sporting
Gibbs and owns much property. He is a brawny
fellow, and / asked him If he had ever worked
in the mills.
Not H. said he "Why should l? have
over 5000 OF Carnegie's men working for me.
Ills meaning Mss plAin. The Aara'woskins men