The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1895-11-02
s..ss.s, a11sss sss@Z%a,o
jI.;S.}Ss&[l!ERARY1
49, St@@SzZS.gs>k- >>s--z..s-<-.
For the WING.
DOWN in A COAL MINE.
A Brief Description of Some of the
Miners Homes.

BY j. BARRY SHEEHAN.

by side. In much less marked degree
the same is true Of large towns. But in no
rural community, not adjacent to the
centers of population, are the contrasts so
marked as in the anthracite and bituminous
coal fields of Pennsylvania. The houses of
resident employers frequently possess con-
siderable architectural beauty, and are
finished with the best modern improve
ments without regard to expense, whilst
the houses built for their employees fire.
quently, and indeed as Il rule, are among
the worst class of laborers abodes in the
state. One explanation of this is in the
fact that generally, such houses are
appurtenant to the mine and not the owner
of the soil.
They were built as mere shelters for
workmen, to last the term of the lease, and
most of them men who proposed to en-
gage in precarious business with limited
capital. Naturally, they were built in the
cheapest manner possible without regard
either to beauty of design in the structure
or idea of comfort in the arrangement.
Sanitary considerations were not regarded
at all. In the last few years conditions of
ownership have greatly changed. Indi-
vidual operators have given way to mining
companies, and these again have, in the
majority of cases, been consolidated, and
are under either direct or indirect control
of railroad corporations But whilst scien-
tiiic mining has taken the place of the
rude improvements of the pioneer coal
operators, and whilst improved massive
and expensive machinery is used, there has
been little, if any, improvement in the
character of the miners houses As rule,
these are limited in number, and are of
necessity taken by the employees at rent,
charges altogether out of proportion to their
original cost.
The average house about the mines.
erected by the owner Of the land or lessee
of the mine, is built of unplaned boards,
contains from three to five rooms, and is
one and Il half or two stories high. Some
are lathed and plastered inside, whilst
others are not, and many are built on piers
or posts stuck in the ground without
cellar or drainage. Chimneys are often dis
Lensed with, and as a substitute stove
pipe is projected either through the Ioof or
side of the house. And, except what
natural location affords, there is an absence
of facilities for drainage. In fact, such
houses are built for shelter alone, without
regard to either comfort or health.
In the bituminous region, especially
along the banks OF the Monongahela river,
the houses OF the miners present desolate
appearance but in no section of the btu
minous coal region do they amount to more
than mere shanties, containing from one to
five rooms, and renting from two dollars
and half to eight dollars per month,
according to the size of the house and the
charging capacity of the owner. Many Of
these houses are built in blocks with one
yard common to all the tenants, and in
some cases having but one closet for as
many as four families. In the anthracite
coal region, especially where the large
towns of Shamokin, Wilkesbarre, Hazleton
and Shenandoah adjoin the coal fields,
there are much better quarters provided for
the miners than such as described in the
bituminous region.
The houses and the land upon which
they have been built, as has been before
stated are generally the property of coal
companies, so the miner or laborer is, or
rather has been until late years, to a great
extent, at their mercy in regard to houses.
The miners had at one time to accept the
accommodations afforded or do without
work, but that time is past and gone,
hope forever. For several years back,
there have been trains known as 'sminers'
trains,' run from all the large towns in
and about coal region to the colieries for
miles around, which enables the miners to
rent comfortable dwellings in town for the
same as they formerly paid for the miser-
able company houses at the colliery, which
are now occupied by none but Hungarians,
Italians, Poles and other non English speak
ing foreigners. Many OF these settlements
now bear such names as little Hungary"
"New Italy," etc, after their present in
habitants, all the English speaking people
having deserted them and taken up their
abode in the nearby towns, where a great
majority of them own their own homes
The most popular institutions of to-day are
the building associations of these towns,
which have grown to be cities in popula-
ton, and the Importance of their business
They lack but the charter to make them
such, as they are all governed the same as
our large cities, having large forces OF
uniformed police, paid firemen, letter car
riers and extensive trolley lines. The
population is fast obtaining a property
interest in the present and future pros
perity of these towns
This makes them safe place for the
capitalist to invest his money and display
his enterprise. 1t is estimated that in the
town Of Shamokin alone, the workingmen
pay between $685. 600 and $1,000 each
month into the building associations to
r