Los Angeles herald., 1906-06-10

G. REED +
sss.ss..s + i. !. i. 1. 4** 4s*s-s. /. a*a4*s
/ perhaps been inmates of such house
Most times of the year these girls
starved and at other times they were
the slaves of the men who were their
bosses in the yards.
AT first they looked upon the life
with horror but soon they grew used to
it and accepted it as the inevitable.
Many of them could not have kept their
positions otherwise.
yow could they ever hope to escape
with it all around them and with the
prospect of having it all around them
for the rest of their lives? A good
many of the forewomen had only OBJ
tanned their places through living with
some of the bosses.
The girls all around me worked
steadily without hardly the winking of
an eyelash. Their bodies were part
of the machinery, and machinery does
not need brains.
They were whipped with the lash of
an unseen hand and the welts from its
sting showed in the premature wrinkles
and dull eyes which were meant to
shine with the rest of Gods stars.
No Hope for Cleanliness
After half an hours work with the
tins their hands were so coated with
the red paint that it would be useless
to try to get it off. Soon their
faces were spotted with it and their
hair full of it.
The packers cannot afford to give
soap away They sell it.
The only place for washing in the
room where l worked was box, six
feet square, which was filled with
water the first thing in the morning
and then stood there all day.
The whole time the line around
it was three deep. They would rub
their hands through the water, shrow it
over their faces and necks and be ready
for another days work. By quitting
time the water was a dark red color
from the paint and was heavy with
dirt. The odor rising from it was so
strong that you could almost see it
lowering over the tank as If in a mist
Everybody washed in this tub. Even
the people who slept in the yards. In
the morning when the tank was filled
the water was not clean, for the bottom
of the box was never cleaned out and
all the refuse for many days before
covered it.
Workers Terror Stricken
At the end of the day when every
one quit work the silence was almost
deathlike. Everybody was sitting
still. They were too tired to move.
Then a few would get ready to go to
their miserable homes, some of the girls
would mingle with the men from the
other departments, and others would go
out to eat their ten-cent dinner.
Once there was panic.
Some one cried "the strikers are com
ing" The girls screamed. Some tried
to hide under the tables. Boxes tipped
over. barrels rolled away with the fran
tic attempt of some one to get inside
them The smaller girls were knocked
down. They might have been hurt but
that was nothing just then.
The men with oaths and curses
climbed up behind their machinery. A
few bolder ones brought out pistols and
were openly defiant.
To the bosses frenzied attempts to
quiet them there was not the slightest
heed. They knew that if the strikers
got mold of them they would kill them.
Presently tie terror ran itself out The
men put up their pistols. The girls
looked timidly out from under the
tables. Those behind the machinery
came out with a sheepish air Every
thing resumed its natural course again.
Sausage Maker Gags
In the coffee rooms employees from
all departments ate their meals. At
o. table were the men who had been
sweeping the blood into holes Their
clothes were stiff with blood. Their hair
stuck out In grotesque punches. 1t
had not been combed for weeks They
couldn't comb it. 1t was matted with
blood. The only thing they could do
was to keep it shaved and that was
too expensive Their hands and faces
were dyed a deep red. They had no
water to wash with so they went with
out washing. Accordingly the food
they ate was half blood.
A man from the sausage making de-
partment was trying TO eat piece of
sausage. He tried it several times and
then gave 1t up i'm despair. That same
day he had seen the refuse meat which
had lain on the floor for a week made
into sausage. 1t was too much for
him.
Tragedy of the Hospital
Right near the slaughter pens was
the doctors office.
Reception room, consultation room,
operating room, all were contained in
one small pen.
The floor was dirty with the mud of
many weeks The walls We're only
white in streaks As il was during the
strike accidents were constantly oc-
curing and the doctor was sadly over
worked.
When ! saw II ten people were stand
ing in line, waiting their turn. A man
lger from one Of the offices stood the
fifth in line while next to him a thin
faced teamster leaned against the wall.
his left arm hanging Imply by his side.
At his feet little stream of blood was