The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1909-01-16

,iiI ,si III =
tsence peopie. ,gupe ia the mischief
wrought :Eiby, cont toryj and biased
statements IS met on all hands. When
I mentioned q plya that mad. a bad
ireputatiqn 40 West, he said, s. Oh,
THAT is che slaughter house; they kill
them there every day I quote MIN
mot for his accuracy, but to show
how the rumors circulate and are real
to the people themselves. It. is I'M
doubtedly~ true, that. exaggerated
though the reports may be, the waste
in life and limb Isl great, and if it all
fell upon the native born cry would
long since have gone up which would
have stayed the slaughter
! And what does this typical Ameri-
can city offer to Its workers outside
of factory hours? i Twelve men sleep
In each room in a Slavic lodging house
they are mon of the day shift. When
they go to work, ~ Of the night shift
men will come to take their beds
This is the home life which Pitts
burg offers to it's unmarried immi-
grants. And the -crowding is just as
bad for tine families. There are few
modern tenement houses TN :Pittsburg
But, many old h6uses-built> for one
family-are now4'occupied by six or
eight families: -
Workers Are Not Educated.
| Pittsburg. has not done much to
educate these foreigners. 1t doesn't
even teach them English. But after
all, what's tine use. of: night schools
for men who work 12-hour shifts
There are churches FIN Pittsburg; but
the investigators did not find that
they were doing much for the work
Ing people. The gin shops and bawdy
houses are the. only 4.social'' institu-
tlons which seem to take a vital in
terest in the people,,
! Preachers are Muzzled.
| The churches in Homestead don't
have much Of a chance They can't
stand the competition with MT. Carne-
g1e's mills, which are open seven days
| a week. 80 49,
! The owners Of Homestead do not
believe IN tine Eve" don't patronize
list. But nowhere is the blacklist in
better working order.
| The congestion in: Homestead IL
awful. Here, In houses huddled to-
sether. where the. totally Inadequate
sanditary provisions and overcrowding
are comparable to"the worst sections
Of great city, we find now the homes
| of the Slavs. Courts where IS, or
! even in a few instances more than 100
people are dependent for water sup
ply on one hydrant,, and houses with
an average of four or five persons to
each room are frequent
1 e11x
! stead. No entertainments for the
adults. #5 -@%
! Mr.. Carnegie has given the place a
| public library, but It sets on the hill
| where the superintenients and clerks
and foremen live: 1T is out of the
reach Of the workingrnen. Anyhaw
they work II hours "a day.
Mr.. ,Frick nas-given a park. 1t is a
pretty sight, but the gardens are for
/ NAL, set affairs, and the lawn is care
fully guarded. 1t il no place to play
! The town of Homestead is divided
into two boroughs. The one, in which
are situated the properties: of the
| United States Steel corporation, pays
taxes at the rate sahl8h mills. The
! other: borough wherbs the Workingmen
live, pays Is mills. ea:2rheys can afford
it :'better thar" Mr.. *Caf.1eg1e. g.. -
( There are so SALOONS in Homestead
and this Is supposed to be a reproach
to the workingren for these saloons
are In their borough. But the wonder
to me cis that there are not more, fol
C-again am quoting Miss Byington:
| "People still pay a neighbor 81
kcents for the privilege of getting gooc
water from his well instead of insist
[sng that it be provided by the Dor
ough: "A river, polluted by the. sew
age Of many towns above it, a nd by
chemicals from the mills strone
enough to kill all the fish, furnishes
the drinking water for the town"
Carnesies Own city.~
This is MIR. Carnegfes town. Per-
haps he has sold out his interest in it
but he built it. 49,:
7 Now that we have a picture of Pitts
burg and the neignboring communities
for Homestead is as. typical of thu
small Industrial center as Pittsburs
is Of the big, let us cast up the &C.
count of our present day civilization
Let us balance the;fdebit and credi
Of modern Americanism., ...
The great credit item is STEEL.
And it Is. no small item. We are lay
ling the rails for the worlds trans.
|portation. Out Of Pittsburg com
bridges for South Africa and Easter,
Asia. Structural beams for man.
nations architecture: Wonderful pro
auctions of a wonderful product.
the debit list ts longer.
The Sanitary conditions ~ pstfsh,,,