The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-07-01

tho sugar Is dried. IN solne
rooms whers ,,s the men can stay lot vnIy
or these 10 at time without iainns
zen ',tteriy Frustrated; 10 onG ,nrnan
uuymred in these rooms ~. pn' ,a rdShnod "a
aiIo"s eise ever has the haruinoou "
No one Chen the heat Is on. You can
go tne' aua the outside that nearly All
housn. windows are closed, SO tnat ~
81 will escape. The men 90 not even
nave the opportunity 10 rush INTO .ne
" heat az they can at the iron miils.
W. M wear nothing but shoes and an
ION and at the few windows whicn are
osrnitted to remain open you see tneil
s,anding half naked and with tneir nalI
and boaies as wei as IL they H"u Piu"oNN
into the river.
During the summer heat prostrations
I'm the drying-room are so frequent that
~ is difficult 10 find enough men TO 90 tle
work. Last summer the men dropped like
dogs and were carried out by dozens. At
that time there was much talk In the
newspapers about the brutality with
which the men thus prostrated were
treated. II was all justified. The dry
room Is a hell. Prostrations at all times
OF the year are almost everyday occur
rences As many as sixty-two men have
been laid out in day. Sometimes n man
is killed. but it does not get into the
newspapers unless there is some slip In
the discipline OF the company. Many OF
die. but there are more TO take their
places and the fate of their predecessors
ia not known to newcomers. Even when
men are killed and newspaper men learn
Of IT they are not allowed to enter the
buildings. One enterprising fellow once
got as far as the third story before ne
was headed of There is n guard armed
with n club for every building and his
especial business is TO see that no one
crosses the threshold and TO answer no
go
One Of the men was observed TO run
stealthly across the street to n saloon,
whore he got a pail OF beer, hurrying
back, with 1t concealed as well as he
could I'm his scanty clothing. The saloon
keeper. on being asked for an explana-
ton OF the workman's apparent fear OF
discovery, Unmarried the surprising In
formal on that Havemeyer was in the
employees OF the sugar refinery buy their
beer OF the trust and get about one
third less according to the story OF the
men than they would get II they bought
saloons. "If they patroniZe an outsider
they are liable to lose their heads
said the saloon-keeper. When asked
about IT the men only shook their heads
the trust has a grip on their tongues as
well as their labor. The trust sells them
twenty-five tickets for ST. which are good
for twenty-five drinks, and three drinks
n pail at saloon for cents.
For dinner the men generally had two
slices OF brown bread and a piece of
meat about half as large as a mans
accompanied by n drink of Mr.. Have
meyers beer. except where the beer is
sought on the outside. Mr.. Havemeyer'S
bartender goes about ringing a bell 20
who give him their pals with tickets
and he fills them and brings them back
10 the owners. In this way the men lose
no time, they do not become fastidious
the dividends Of the Sugar Trust con-
tnue 10 increase 10 the Infinite satisfac-
ton Of the stockholders.
1t is seldom that one does not hear
done at a factory and the men gather
in little knots at joke and gossip for
few moments before they make their
Ways homeward to their families and
noted in the case Of Havemeyer's en-
ployes at the close Of a days work. a
few Of the men sat down on the long
platforms in front of the buildings. but
bent and their eyes were fastened upon
the ground. one by one some other en-
ploye. who was a brother or a friend,
would come M to one OF the men and
the two would walk woLriy away to-
gethcr without hardly exchanging a
word. And. finally. the last one OF the
day crew had gone away, over the nlthy,
ill-smelling pavements and the dingy
buildings. which look more like prisons
than anything else, were left 10 approach
ing darkness and the night crew. on
"Wednesday evening when they get their
pay hundreds Of the workingmens wives
come to the refinery and they take
charge Of their husbands earnings, which
must suffice 10 keep their families for
the next week. Although the scene. as
husbands and wives wait in pairs for
their pay, Is picturesque, the shadows Of
mosphere which surrounds the refinery.
the careworn faces Of men and women
alike. give IL sadness which is unusual
on such occasions as payday In this
country.