The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-01-03
THE CONDITIONS
IN P|TTSDURG
Some Startling Facts About In
dustrial Center
FROM TWO YEARS STUDY
First Publication of Investigations
Made by the Pittsburg Survey of
the Charities Publication
Committee-Amazlng.
FROM TWO YEARS STUDY

Exclusive Service. Charities and the
Commons Press Bureau.)
At a place where two rivers meet to
form the greatest feeder of the Mississip-
pi, on a narrow point of land shut in by
twisting hills and further cut off from
the world by high mountains which
blocked her growth and separated her
from the early influences which nodded
this country, has been built up by her
own devices the busiest and most virile
workshop in the world, and the most
Enthusiastically American community.
Starting with English, followed by Scotch
Irish, and after these, layer upon layer
of aliens each further than the last in
race and speech and ideals from the de-
scendants of the New England settlers,
there has been thrown together mass
of immigrants, each of whom found him
self at home, in that he found labor to
sell In a town which demanded only labor.
The one test, whether he were English
or German or Czech, whether he came
from city or farm or mine, whether he
were Catholic or Lutheran. voter or serf.
was can he work? He could, work. He
hurried to it, to find his place before the
next wave of brawny Europeans crowed
on his heels.
But working only, he has created
great half-done community, a lop-sided
city, this capital of district which has
known the tensest labor battle of a gen.
Grafton, which has produced the two
wealthiest men of our times, which is
given over to a Scotch observance law for
the shop-keeper, and a seven-day working
week for the steel mill hand and which
is the fastness of political machine part
and parcel of that at Harrisburg and
Philadelphia. The greatest producing
center of our age, Pittsburg has lacked
pure water to drink, has lacked even
enough houses to shelter her workers.
But in the very tangle of these conflict
ing conditions lies city which elects
reform mayor, which builds wonderful IL
braries and trade schools and shows signs
of a civic consciousness that. should 1t get
a grip upon the enthusiasm and efficien-
cy which have been shown in dominating
the steel markets of the world, would
make Pittsburg the pacemaker of munich
pal achievement.
Under the name of the Pittsburg Sur
vey, Charities Publication Committee has
carried on a series of investigations OF
some of the main elements entering into
the conditions of the wage earning popu
lation in the Pittsburg district-an invest
igation in which more than twenty train
ed workers have participated.
Today appears the first publication of the
findings of these Survey workers who
have investigated the Pittsburg district.
1t discloses many of the immigrants work.
ing force of the steel towns living in
filthy and overcrowed buildings. Pitts
burg has been town where half thous-
and people died every year from typhoid
fever and yet the movement to clear the
water supply was blocked at every turn
Half thousand workmen are killed every
year in the course of industry. and yet
the public has not taken the trouble to
sift the accidents through to see which
of them could be prevented. Nobody
Knows how many men are injured in the
course of year. Nobody knows how
many men and women are beset by trade
diseases Nobody knows how much the
community is paying for these wastes.
The estimates of the Survey go to show
that the numbers and costs are stupen-
dious. A myriad of one family dwellings
turned into congested tenements, men
and women working overtime in unsani-
| tary shops, an entire lack of factory in
| spection by the state, these are some of
| the findings of the survey. They are in
| contrast to the standards set by certain
| of the more progressive employers of the
| district. The town is not unprepared to
| make use of these facts as part of a new
! and aggressive movement for civic reform
| which is taking head throughout the dis
| trict The city last year opened five
! and half million filtration plant which
/ has cleared the water; typhoid fever
| commission is studying other sources Of
disease; a tenement house census has
been made carried out by the Bureau of
| Health; and Civic Improvement Com
| mission has just been appointed, broader
| in scope than any yet known in an Amer
| lean city.
| The director of the survey, Paul u.
| Kellogg. says that "It must be borne in
| mind that much that is said of Pitts
burg is true of practically all our indus