The evening times., 1899-05-16
THE UNDER DOG.
How Destitute Laborers Are Treated
I'm n Great City.

How Destitute Laborers Are Treated
I'm n Great City.
New York, May 16.-The University Set
tlement Society has just issued its annual
report on its last years work of helping
the poor and Industrious In 1t an inter-
esting experience is related by J. Robert
son Smith, under the head of "One Kind of
Street Cleaning" He says:
The cost Of a heavy snows,orm to New York
CITY i, balanced in many persons minds by the
immediate relief they think it gives to the
thousands employed ir removing the snow from
the streets. On the other hand. the men them
selves say that the payment for the work Is sn
Sow that TO meet any emergency distress with
il is out of the question
Many such complaints during the recent bliz-
zard led me to put on some old clothes and apply
for work on the streets. that ] might see for m,
self how true the charges of slow payment were
Incidentally. / noticed few other things.
II was half fpast nine before ] found a foreman
who would take me. ! was given green Ticket
number ss,oss. marked II O'Clock. ! informed the
the foreman that the correct time was $3.50, and
he replied: at must be half-past ten. at least,
and do not pay for the half-hour, ! have
marked your ticket IL"
/ was told to FL the carts rapidly posi-
bic. since the city paid the contractor b. the
cart-load; I started in rather vigorously, shov-
cling the Stow from the side piles into the carts
as they backed up. But it was not long before
myself, and rot to set n bad example. One fei-
low, named Dennis. especially anxious that
the established order Of things should not be
nterfered with. and told tine idea was 10
''iie by just much possbe;' SO. between
shoveius, ! stood looking at the passersby until
the foreman began to curse me.
Dennis told me that l did not do it right. and
that must watch him. He would go the maxi
mum distance scrapc together minimum
amount Of snoS. and carry it slowly TO the cart.
Thus he gave the appearance OF activity. when
the head foreman came around, and this was all
the overseeing foreman cared about for. he
said to US: ''You fellows know | don't give a
d--n how many carts you FILL
We finished that block at noon. and knocked
off half hour for dinner Dennis got the idea
that ] had been left in town. and told me ! had
better 20 home freight train. but as toI
him. he would never sst faut out Of New York.
for he could always get sork oi some Kind OF
other here; besde-. h thussxht no city in the
world did 50 much ~ IT. --pspuiafion." his
| child. five years old. Vss afirntiug kindergsr-
ten in one Of the public schools. and already
knew more. he said. than The odd woman
We fooled away a good deal oi time taking the
snow from pile 10 another. but finally the
foreman was forced TO l1y on half the gang.
and il was noticeable that the who went
were the who had worked the most steadily.
and who were, quite noticeably, too. Of other
races than the dominant one in New York city
politics.
At hall past five our tickets were marked. and
the foreman told us TO apply at the Seventeenth
Street stables for money; there We were
told to come Saturday. which ! did late in the
afternoon. ard found long line Of men who
were being paid very slowly few at time
and who bad Just received lis money told
he had been there since +. in the morning.
Great encouragement given TO the to
sell their tickets 4 discount to spectators
a. many of them did; misleading sign was
oyer the door. and many men were turned away
becauS. their tickets had not been marked by
their foreinen. Finally. at the end of two weeks
after repeated calls, | was paid - cents for six
hours work. although. I have indicated above,
| a member OF the force for seven hours and
i half.