Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1909-06-03
756e
Breaker Boy

Scott Nearing, former secretary of
the Pennsylvania child labor commit
tee, contributes to the Charities and
the Commons press bureau this re-
markable transcript of the experience
of child who has grown up in the
hard labor of the coal mines. 1t is a
wonder that he should know so much
as he does. This is the record of Mr..
Nearing:
whats that? What was l up to
yes'day? I amt sure can remember
1t all, but I'll try
My days is mostly all alike when
the mine is workin. Ma and me lives
in that there little log shanty with
little Bill and Sissy They goes to
school, but none of that for me. Never
learnt thing in school, | didn't.
There weren't no chance. When I
went to school, it was in one door and
out the other
Yep, I'm Is now-been worllin' in
the breaker since | was ten. Days is
mostly the same to me. Yes'day
mornin' | was dreaflilf away two
forty about our nine. We was playin'
the Hogtowners and they was one
ahead. | goes up to the bat and soaks
her for a homer, and jest as | was
gettin' around to third, and the fellers
was hollerin' to beat time, | comes
to and ma was a-singing':
Rise, Johnnie, rise,
Don't you hear the bells a-ringin?
Johnnie, are you wakin'
1t is time to be alive
Early in the mornin'
Continually keeps calm
Johnnie, are you wakin'?
1t is half past five,
She sings that every mornin' to get
me up. Pretty good of ma, to wake
Teller that way, amt it? It's a sight
bettern bein' hauled out by the hair
like some of the kids is.
so | gets up and puts on my
clothes That's the part | don't like
fer a cent. After you once gets dirty,
it don't makeno difference, but it's
pretty tough to get out of decent bed
and into them black mine clothes
Anyhow, | gets on my clothes, fills my
lamp and goes down to breakfast.
1T was a dandy, yes'day. Ma had
fried eggs and taters. Mas a swell
cook and she puts the real thing into
yer pail. uses the pail as belonged
to pa. When the cage fell ard killed
him, the pail he had wasn't broke at
all, so somebody brung it home to
ma and when | started in used that
pail. Looks pretty rough, don't it?
It's pretty much of tin can, but it
was pas and besides new pals cost
so cents, and that's half a days work
for me-
so yes'day | gets me to the breaker
by seven and gets over on the hill
and has ketch with the little kids
before goin' to work When we onct
get to work, there amt much chance
for baseball-it's just work all day.
Why do | have a lamp? Well. you
see, I've got the bad corners. Its
awful dark and the dust is bad. Us
older boys mostly gets them bad
places. Sometimes in sunny days |
Kin see to pick the slate in there. but
mostly it is so dark that | uses my
lamp all the time.
No, the work amt hard. only
sometimes yer back gifts sore. You
don't do nothin' but bend over and
pick, and fer q ereenhorn it amt no
cinch I've been there goin' on six
years now, and l never minds it. In
winter it's bad ON account of the cold
on your hands, but mostly it amt so
worse
Yes day we quit at four. Didn't
have no more cars, they said, so We
all skins home, takes wash of our
faces and hands, and makes for the
baseball. No, we don't wash all over
every day when there's steady work
Onct in couple of days does us
plenty
There was a good game up there
yes day. The Reds was playin' the
Yankees, so us little fellers never had
show till most six, but we had a
good one then. Played till near eight
and then we lost the ball.
Then we takes a sneak down by
the saloon, but there wasn't nothin
dom there, so we cuts it out and goes
home
Ma was sittin' on the stoop waitin
fer me. She don't like me to stay out
nights She's allus glad when she
sees me in bed of a night. Says she
knows where | am then.
There amt nothing else to tell you.
Oh, yes, there was Hunkie got killed
on the track to-day-but that amt
nothin'. There's ma a-callin now. |
suppose She wants me to go to the
store-so long"
Man tho eu,.;