The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-08-11
CHEATED OUT OF
Time And
PITIFUL WAGES
Election Campaign Is
Way to Reach Men
by a Worker Correspondent

NDB N ~ " nor NOf fGo pOttNiCNbJ
KANSAS CITY, (By MaiD.-
The republican party politicians and
newspapers have already started to
disseminate their election propa-
ganda. They want to convince the
workers that under the republican
administration they enjoy pros
perity. The Kansas City Star in its
July 16 edition showed a cartoon
which suggests the idea that under
the G. o. P. administration, the
workers get the full dinner pail and
"a car for darn near everybody"
Well let some politician wander
off into camp of some kind of
a construction company and it would
not be long before he will quit ped
ding that prosperity bunk. The
conditions of the thousands of the
laborers working on the various
construction jobs are so miserable
that they will spit in the face of any
one that will talk to them about
prosperity"
Cheat Workers of Time.
l had a chance to closely observe
the life and work of the workers of
the List Construction Co., which
has contracted job for the Missouri
Pacific Railroad All workers get
80 cents an hour. The workers are
supposed to work ten hours. but
they work more. Here is how they
do 1t. About ten minutes to six
the bell rings and all workers get
up. Six o'clock another bell rings
and all workers go to have break
fast. The breakfast lasts ten to
twelve minutes. Then the workers
go back to the car and before thew
have a chance to rest ten minutes
the gang foreman comes over howl
ing, Come on boys!" and the BOYS
start to work at $50 instead of 7
o'clock.
The workers are supposed to get
an hour for lunch. But this is
miserable deception, they don't even
get half an hour. Instead of stop
ping at IL o'clock we stop five
minutes later. Then it takes the
gang five minutes to walk from the
to wash your face and
sometimes even more than five
because you have to stay in
line. Then you go to eat. When
you go out from the dining car it is
1890. At Is minutes to one the
foremen comes over with his usual
Come on boys!" and the boys walk
along. Instead of leaving the lob
at six, they leave ten or fifteen
minutes after.
Take Workers Money Away.
If a worker works all day he
makes $3.50, but he never gets that
sum of money. The company takes
off $1.20 daily for the three meals.
so If the workers does not buy any
cigarettes or some other things he
makes only $3.50 day.
The work is real hard. The work
ers are forced to work at a terrific
speed. Three or four years ago a
worker would rest at FREQUENT in
tervals and usually work only two
thirds of the time. But now it is
quite different. Not only is the
worker forbidden to rest but he is
speeded up. Take for instance.
the shovel gang.
The foreman does not care whether
you have to shovel sand or dig wet
Missouri mud. He speeds the worker
just the same. And when it happens
to be a hot day then the work is
simply killing. Many workers can't
stand the strain of the work and
they quit at three or four p. m. All
workers strain their last ounce of
energy to finish the days work and
when they finish the work they walk
to the cars hardly moving their
feet.
The workers are so exhausted that
at noon or after work they can't eat.
lhey have no appetite, but they
realize that working so hard they
nave to eat, so they simply shove
the food down their threats. After
the workers had their supper they
do nothing but lie Frustrated on their
cots. The wheel-barrel gang and
the spikers work even harder. OF
course none of these workers have
any faith in the propaganda of the
republican party.
Almost all of these workers are
native born, many come from Texas
New Mexico, Arizona, Oklahoma
Arkansas and other states. Manv
OF them were well to do. Manv are
farmers. But they prefer to work
Tor $3.50 day than stay on the
farm. If Coolidge ever talks to
these fellows about prosperity thew
VIII do more than spit at him. This
is not an isolated instance of the
degree to which the unskilled la
oorers are exploited in the South
West.
There are thousands of men work
ing as laborers on the railroads
construction roads, dams, harvest
fields, etc. In many places exploit
tation is still worse. There is one
contracting company called the
Lewis CONSERVATION ~ "a