The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1921-07-07

must strive to build up and maintain
consequently unless we receive as
sistance from others. we are liable T.
fan short of our highest attainment.
The safety engineers work not onl'
includes the actual inspection of tn
working places, with the view o
maintaining safety. but i'm many O
the smaller towns theirs is a tact
| leadership in the amusement and
recreation enjoyed by the inhabitants
In the larger cities they lead by sug-
gestions that have tendency toward
the development of civic pride
Camp Of Other Days.
The old-tnfe mining camp. like
Topsy "just erowed" The result
was fearful and wonderful to behold.
String towns three. five and some
times ten miles long. We're built along
either side of a dirty and literally
sinking little creek There was abb
solutely no thought of sanitation.
Each individual had g care for his
own water supply and a systematic
garbage disposal system was unheard
Of unless one could call the universal
practice of dumping the garbage i'm
the aforementioned creek systematic
Houses were placed side 10y side
butting into each other i'm such
manner that privacy was impossible;
modern two story dwellings side by
side with two and three-room shacks.
built from the leavings of the mine
timber dumps; no trees or grass plots.
except an occasional one around the
company's office. The food supply
was i'm many instances nearly impos-
sible If more than one company
We're operating in the town, one had
to trade at the store operated by the
company for which he was working
or get his time" Such were the con-
ditions to be endured by the married
miner; for the single man there was
the choice of living with one of these
families or in the company's board
ing house. Many of the children, ow-
ing to their environment were I'M
clean and sickly The public schools,
when they had such institutions,
were held in buildings that no longer
would serve for any other purpose.
Shiftlessness in the Mines.
The disorderliness of the town was
in the mines Costly and
intricate pieces of machinery were
housed in ramshackle buildings, lit
lie care or attention being given TO
heir upkeep until they wore out
through misuse, when they were re-
placed; "A costly procedure for the
mining company The dry house or
'hange house consisted. in many in
iividual cases. of two or three nails
lriven up behind the boiler in the
vain hope that ones clothes would
Try overnight The tools. such as
irilling machines, says. axes, shovels.
Dicks and drill steel. were more often
% be found i'm the waste piles than at
he working places; and everywhere
me found a tired, disgrunted and de-
'idedly discouraged bunch of men.
they would come to work tired in
he morning; would put in most of
heir time grumbling at the lack of
oOls. lack of air pressure, lack of
.entilatiOn. or general cussedness of
he shift boss as the case might be;
working along so as to barely exceed
he minimum acceptable amount of
work necessary to draw a days pay:
md go home no more tired than they
'ame to work in the morning In
he evening for rest and relaxation, .
here were the saloons, gambling
houses, or similar forms Of amuse- /
uent. There was no thought of the
morrow, or if at all it was to find for
yetfulness of the work and surround
ngs. if only for a few moments.
TINS program would be continued
lay after day, until, if the miner were
Jingle, he would leave for some other
amp; eventually developing into a /
tramp" miner or "ten-day" man. .
rhe tramp miner is, in many in
tances, a good miner and the only .
hing to be asid against him is that
he does not stay long enough to be
ONE acquainted with the company's /
Methods of operation; consequently it
ever receives as much value from
i'm in return for the money invested
s it would were the company to de-
elop in him a desire to remain in
hat particular locality
If the miner were a married man
18th responsibilities that would not
How of his leaving for other camps
e would often develop into a chronic
ROUGH and kicker Frequently such
zen were the only ones available for
ne positions of less responsibility
nd their disgruntled attitude was
effected by all the men under them
18th whom they came in contact.
In the army we would say that an
ltfit in which conditions approxim-
ted those just described had a de-
dedly low morale
Another Picture.
Imagine then the difference in the
iental attitude of a miner, both to-
ard his work and his home life,
hen living in a town such as the
ne Just described and when living in
town where the operating company 4
as taken pains and care to build