Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1922-08-04
HOW MEN LIVE At
TODD'S CUT SHOPS
Glimpse of the Place Today
Proved Interesting to News
paper Men.

An inspection OF the living conditions
Mt tho Todd's Cut shops OF the p. B. 4
w. railroad. made today by newspaper
ruen, on tho company's invitation.
shows that men working at that place
are receiving the best treatment
possible. Good sleeping quarters and
plenty To eat and smoke IL the order
of the day.
An idea of tho problem may he had
from the fact that between I 900 and
LOO mon arc fed at zach meal. Yes
tcrday LOSS men were fed at break
fast; 1.22S at lunch. and 1853 at din
ner. and 903 Mt midnight. Tho dining
room is located In what formerly was
the passenger car paint shop and there
are facilities for feeding 500 men Mt
sittinHs In order to feed all the men.
Sixty-two employees are used on each
shift Tor the cooking and serving OF
the meals. Twenty eight of these
men arc walters, with one head
waiter. There arc fve cooks and one
head cook, four potato mon. II dish
washers and the rest are garbage
men.
For lunch today tho mon were
Fried flsh. POTATOES an gratin.
macaroni and cheese. apricots and
coffee. Following the meal tho men
are given cigarettes or cigars.
Five barrels of potatoes are neCce-
sary for one meal, according to the
man I'm charge OF the kitchen. II takes
| four quarters of beef and 500 pounds
OF fish for one meal. Ninety lambs are
required FOR n meat. Perishahle goods
are stored in refrigerator car. while
grocery articles of n staple nature are
stored in other cars.
| Part of the paint shop is used for
sleeping quarters. while part OF n car
erecting shop Ia also used for this
purpose. The total sleeping capacity
is about 500, which does not include the
supervisory force. Plenty of water is
available and there are shower baths
Separate baths are provided for white
and Colorcd help. who also cat at diff
ferent tables.
The rest room 10 q faVOrite spot. A
barber shop IA In operation. A player
piano 10 also kept busy. stage has
been erected and shows are provided
for the entertainment Of the employees
Tho last show was held ON "Wednesday
risht Religious services were con
ducted today at noon Ivy Frank Mitch
ell of the Y. NJ. G. A. These services
were fairly we'll attended.
The sleeping quarters and meals are
furnished the men in addition to theii
paw. Very little sickness IL reported
At first there was some sickness, due
according to Master Mechanic Whit
man. to the men OVerloRdne then
stonaChs,
breakfast is served from TO .
Lunch IS served from 1880 To l2.S'
and dinner from to :. with the night
meal AT midnight My. Whitman stat
ed that some Of tho men after eatinf
three meals during the day. wait W
for the midnight meal.
One Of tho unusual troubles will
the sleeping quarters is that some %
the men sleep with their overalls an'
shoes on. To break this up. eigns arr
posted instructing the men To remove
their shoes before going 10 bed. Tit
linen today appeared clean, and &C
Cordjng to Mr.. Whitman. Il is changed
frequently.
-Four hundred and siNty-hV mon q
the old force are still at work, accord
. ling to figures given by MIR. Whitman
who added that his figures INCLUDE
only mechanics and helpers Th
: former force was .461. with the mum
=, her Of mon ON strike at about ',Oo0
Forty-s,x strikers have returned
these figures show. while there ar
4OO new men working at the shops
71hese men are from Philadelphia
chester and Wilmington The labo
force totals about $50. About Is E
40 new mon are heing engaged eac'
day.
MIR Whitman SAYS that although
during the first few weeks, there wa
a piling up Of heavy repair work. tn
, force now at work is gradually reduc
, ing this accumulation Of repair worf
T.. r. Whitman. master mechanic
q in charge Of tho Todd's cut plant
,. came there in March. 1890. He is
I Princeton graduate and spent fiv
, years as an apprentice at the Altoon
n shops. He served during the war, be
:. ing an officer in the Railroad Corp'
Q He was overseas 81 months.
;, ~