Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1902-09-18
Letter From the Far Northwest.
Hoou1AM. WASH. Aug. 81. 1902.

Ed. Register:-According to promise
I will give you all some news from
Washington. My wife, little girl and
myself arrived here July 9th; all
stopped over at Portland. Oregon, the
night before and took good rest.
We had a very pleasant trip and saw
many notable things too numerous to
mention. 1t makes the hair rise on
your head to come through the Rocky
Mountains when the train is late. We
were five hours late in going up the
mountains, but | think we were ahead
of time when we struck the hole at
the bottom, from the way the engineer
opened the throttle. Sometimes 1t
seemed impossible to sit in the seat
going around curves, although we got
here Just the same.
can't say that l am "stuck" on
this place. There may be better
places in the State. There is plenty
of work here; anyone can get a job
here in Hoquiam, and wages are very
good; through this part of the harbor
mills pay $500 per day for common
labor such as stacking lumber, but
when mans store bill and house
rent and other incidentals are paid he
hasn't got much left.
People are coming here by the car
load, expecting, as Ibid, to get big
wages, make a stake and go to their
native home. A great many of them
return inside Of ten days, while the
most of them stay and 60 to work,
because they havn't got money enough
to get back with. These companies
are sending out agents and advertise
ments for people; this is all fake,
for when you get here the company
has cut wages or reduced the labor, or
a part of the firm has gone broke, and
they are very sorry for you-so sorry
that you can 60 to work for $500
stacking lumber. If man is broke
and has his family with him he can't
do otherwise as a general rule. This
is the way the companies do here. /
can't say how they do other places. |
expected good job when | got here,
but, like others, they had reduced
their crew and one of the branch yards
had failed, 80 you see | came long
ways to find it out. So the next thing
to do was to find job at my trade,
which I supposed would be $500 per
day. got a job at 81 cents per hour,
and that was the best wages paid for
carpenters. All their agents and ad.
vertsements quote wages high, but
when you get here and price the goods
a workingman uses, you will soon see
that it is better to be in good ole
Missouri working in mill for $1.2t
per day than be here and get $500.
The weather has been fine since we
arrived here. About the first Of Oc.
tober rain begins. l will stay with
the job until it begins to rain, then
have the promise OF an inside job.
am getting 500. 90 per month now; the
inside job will not be quite as gooc
wages but will be in the dry and mo-
as hard work as have now.
n We can look west and all there is tt
be seen are the Bad Waters Of Gray''
Harbor and the Pacific Ocean, anG
looking east there is nothing but the
green forest; trees as thick as they
can stand. There are places here
within mile OF town where mar
can't travel mile in day for timber
l have seen fir logs at the mills tina
were 10 feet and inches in diameter
and 100 feet long. There are two
saw and planning mills here, each saw
mill cuts an average of 100000 fee
each day, besides there are two shinglt
mills that make great many cedar
shingles
This Is town OF about four thou
sand inhabitants, and is claimed to b,
very healthy; there are nine doctor
and three drug stores, and all are do
ling good business at present. Their
; has not been much rain since Apri
and the tide-sloughs are getting filthy
which makes more sickness, although
we have high tide every six hours
but not so high as in rainy weather.
Some OF us went to West Port on a.
excursion boat one Sunday, taking ou
dinners and having pleasant trip
We all took off our shoes and waide
out in the ocean; they said 1t was 10,
tide, but to Q Missourian 1t looked lik
high tide to see the breakers com
: rolling up higher than houses an
n green as grass. 1t is very interest
ing place along the beach. We war
= to go on an excursion up to Mort
Beach soon, as the excursions sto
Z running after September; we expec
\ to go on Saturday and return Sunday
\ so that we can dig CLAIMS and gathe
I shells. Clam digging and fishing