Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-07-24
Italian and Austrian Gangs
of Laborers Make Fortunes
In America
GO HOME TO LIFE OF EASE
The Sum of $1,000 Saved Up From
the Wages of One of These Labor
ers Will, in His Native Land, Main
tain Him in Comfort for the Remain
der of His Days.
Special to Times-Republican.


Webster City. July 24.-The Italian
and Austrian gangs. who are working
about this city on the Illinois Central
railroad in the employ If both the road
and the Macarthur Bros, contractors.
are an exceedingly thrifty set of men.
There are about 400 of them, and on a
pay roll of about $4,000 month they
put about $4,000, or ore-half, in the
bank each month. These gangs are en-
gagged in making the Central's famous
| 100000 grading cut across the state.
The method of banking used by them
| IS ut once unique and interesting. They
do not send their money back to Italy
or Austria direct from here. as is gem
orally supposed. Instead they place 1t
in the banks at New York and Phila-
delpha, where they keep standing &C
count. In this they are an example to
| a large class of Americans. The Ital-
+, ians all place their money in the New
York banks while the Austrians use
the Philadelphia banks. The former
class are in the direct employ of the
| Illinois Central Railroad Company,
while the latter are in the employ OF
the Macarthur Bros. Many of the men
of both nationalities are unmarried.
They allow their money to accumulate
until they have such q sum as Will
maintain them in comfort in their ma
tive land for the remainder OF their
| days. This sum is not great. as they do
not require either the comforts or the
edibles which are required by an Amer
can Usually $1,000 will do it, altho
many of them go above this sum.
The men of family bank their money
in the same manner as the unmarried
men They do not. send their money dl-
rect TO their families. but at stated in
tervals small amount is sent to enable
the wife and children TO get along. In
many instances the family receive
nothing until the father returns home.
bringing with him what they call
fortune In some cases. during the alb
sence of the head of the family in this
country, the wife and children sustain
themselves wholly by dint of their own
efforts and thus contribute by their own
work to the making of the fortune.
The wages received by both these
classes of labor is s1.50 per day, with
time and a half allowance for over
| time. The Italians do considerable
amount of overtime work. The gang IS
| by no means a stable one. 1t is con-
stantly changing. due to the fact that
| the men are quarrelsome and can not
get along well together. Whenever a
gang becomes uncongenlal, part of 1t
| it removed to another point along the
| line and their places are filed by 9th
| ers. The Italians are exceedingly
tough customers" They are given to
soldering" while at work and are a
source of much trouble to the bosses.
When a man is caught loafing he ssent
| by the boss to the tool house. where he
must remain the rest of the day. This
method always results in one OF two
things. Either the fellow Is cured for
time or the whole gang mutinies In
sympathy with him, as occurred in this
city last week, when gang quit work
because six of their number had been
discharged, and attempted to keep 9th
ers from working unless the six were
allowed to come back. In their mad
ness over hundred of them seized
picks shovels, ETC., and were about to
make murderous attack upon the rest
of the gang when the city police ar
rived and prevented wholesale murder.
The most of this gang have now been
removed to some other point and have
been replaced by others. 1t Is an open
question whether the Italians are worth
the money paid them. They can not do
the work that an American will do and
their nature is such that it is exceed
ngly hard to get along with them. An
employee of the Central was asked the
reason for hiring this class of work
men. He replied that it was not posi-
BILE to get gangs of Americans to do the
work. A few here and there can be
found who will do the work, but as
general thing they can not be found in
sufficient numbers to warrant the road
in getting them, and as the Italians will
not work alongside of an American, or
sometimes vice versa. it is not practical
to work mixed gangs. The men all
board themselves out of their wages,
and do their own cooking, attending to
it after hours.