Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1896-10-17
CHICAGO TRADE AND LABOR CON-
MITTEE MAKES IT'S REPORT.
skilled Mechanics Receive GOOD
Pay. While UnSkiIIed Labor
Gets Poor Reward.


TIE condition d the laboring classes or
;Aat country, has returned TO Chicago
a1d submitted its report at the meeting
81 the assembly this afternoon The
report IS in part as follows
The hrs; stop made BY your COM
nItiee was at FL Paso. Texas where we
iayest lsated the wages paid and the con-
diuou OF the American laborers. From
that point We crossed to the city OF Ju-
arez, but TWO miles from Ell Paso. At
this place complete change met the
eye-eyerythng assuming a Mexican air
and we realized that the time had ar
rived Unen the real duties of our mis-
sion began. We took observations OF
tbo people as to their appearance, mode
or living, social condition, wages paid
ana prices of commodities. and were sur
prised at the contrast as compared with
conditions we left in Eel Paso, The Two
peoples as to their habits. tastes, GUS
toms and modes of life, are such that
a comparison is unnatural.
Life is regarded from quite different
standpolnts, as they live under different
conditions, inasmuch as the Mexican
laboTer is apparently Contented with the
four bare walls Of his 10-foot square
adobe hut, with nothing inside but the
ground to sleep on, d shawl or blanket
to cover or wrap himself up in. a dish
of t0rtillas corn pancakes) and friJoIes
(beans) for his frugal meal, and in
large number Of cases little pig, a dog
and Il chicken or two OF the game cock
order, sharing his scant quarters, while
the American Iaborer, across the line,
has all the comforts of home and many
Of the luxurIes OF life
wages in Mexico, except the skilled
and steady NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. foreign
ers-are low. On railroads, engineers
lAmercan) on passenger trains receive
$2lU per month while the firemen Mex
icaHs) receive $l.S5 per day; freight Ell
gIneers (Americans), 500 per month; hre-
men (Mcxicans), $3.50 to $l75 per day;
passenger conductors (Anerican), $50
per month; brakemen (MeXicans), $l.5U
per day; freight conductors CAmerican),
$2C0 per month; brakemen (McXtcans),
S57 to $63 per month; Pullman conductors,
$50 per month american money!, and the
porters SIS per month american money!,
with s. per month extra for being able
10 talk Spanish. The national soldiers
Irregular army of Mexico, called ru-
ra!es, and who are all eX-bandits, receive
81 per day.
III a broom factory near the uGpOt
at Juarez the men are paid 80 cents, Wo-
men and children % to 37l2 cents per
day IN the cotton mills, seed oil mills
AMI soap factories at Torreon, men are
paid Ale 10 30 cents women and chill
dren % cents per day. A carcador pub
lie carrier has a rate Of l21a cents per
hour, but you can hire him for from
% 10 31l4 cents per day.
yKr1 H.
er goods are manufactured, the peon gets
his leather cut for shoes or other goods
to be made by him, and take the mate
rial to his hut, where the whole family
assist him, the same as in the sweat
shops of Chicago. For making shoes he
receives 81 and upwards per dozen
pairs; on the other goods he receives
371h to 50 cents per day for his labors,
working as long as daylight lasts averag-
ing from u to IA hours per day. Com
mon laborers can be hired for IS to 20
cents per day. House servants, male or
female, receive So to s. per month and
board themselves. In or near the cities
poems live in adobe houses and pay
rental of SO a year for the ground. When
leaving this for another location ali i'm
provements the people have made go to
the landlord, or owner of the land, who
pays no taxes whatever on the land
The report was adopted by an almost
unanimous vote, only two members
speaking in opposition to 1t. The dele
gates claimed, in submitting their report,
that they carried out their mission in
an unbiased and non-partisan manner,
and they pictured the low state Of the
working classes as 1t was, without ref
ercnce 10 political questions. There were
many aia cl1la tiOpS IF a StOniShment the
pitiable pictures presented, and the mo-
ton to adopt the report called forth but
Httle debate