The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1929-12-20
.SIDEDOOR PULLMAN
By ALBERT ALNBERG

Well another week has gone Oy
so here / am again, on time.
After the Lake Mountain ire
Jack and myself went up the Bit
ter Root valley TO a little town
called Stevensville and got a JOB
picking apples. We stayed and
picked apples until the harvest was
over although we could see the
first day that it was no place for
white men. pardon me for claim
ing myself and Jack to be white
men-Jack is Irish and happen
to be a herring choker or Nor
wegian, so you may judge for
yourself what race we belong to-
Anyway the apple orchards were
flooded with Japs and Mexicans al
so a few Indians.
We were 10 furnish our own
board, do our own cooking, anO
have our own blankets. We were
to get Sc a box for picking apples
but the Japs and Mexicans offered
to pick for seven cents a box 81
the Irish and Norwegians had to
pick for seven cents.
After the apple harvest came the
! sugar beet harvest but Jack ana
did not stay as the JapS and Mex
leans offered to shovel sugar beet:
for 20 cents a ton and furnish theil
own board and blankets. We LEI
the Mexicans and Japs do ths
shoveling and went back to Mis-
soula where we stayed day try
ing to get a job IN the woods bu
the logging camps had not starteC
50 we decided to go further west
We got on one Of those polishe'
side door pullmans that belong &
the n. P. railway and went as IA
as st. Regis, Mont, but we did no
stay long there as there was a for
est fire there and we had had emu
forest fire fighting.
We went across the Missoul
river and got on a Milwaukee sid
door pullman, went TO sleep an,
woke up the next morning in 81
Mary's Idaho, or rather we were a
Weakened by a few men who askel
US if we could let them have emu
money to buy canned heat witt
which we let them have. What the
did with the c. H. we do not knoV
but one Of the men said It was
whole lot healthier to drink tina
coffee. Maybe it is, l don't know
We remained IN st. Mary's a
day trying TO get a job in Tn
woods but with no success. As Z
MiSsoula the camps had not starte
yet and there sure was a lot {
: lumber jacks there waiting 10
= them TO start. Jack and / figure
7 there were enough men there witt
out US so we agreed to move on :
we went 10 sleep again in a we!
going pullman" and were Gale
a for breakfast by a yard bull
Spokane. The cop was kind I
7 rough-cooked for a while asking I
questions about what cur busine:
was and also searched our belo.ls
ings. He said he was looking Ii
/. W. W. cards but could not lin
any-he could not find any for Il
simple reason that he could nj
= have searched close enough b
= cause Jack and l found our caro-
: later where we had put them Il
= evening before-in our socks
! where some people store the
!, money.
= Anyway the policeman said
), was glad he didn't find any l.
= ". cards IN cur possession so
, could let US go, and not take US
- lall as he said there was not muC
: room there. II happened ike It W.
= his duty to take everybody to ia
; that had an /. ". w. card. II a
pears that q man must not suppo
: any organization that stands
:; make conditions better for the /
: boring class. OF course the I.
W Is pretty much a union Of 4
past N the west as well as In 4
\ east. But they did some good
: their short life. The I. ". ". ";
> a great help 10 get the S-hour d.
IN the logging woods, factories az
mines Also clean beds to sleep !
h bath houses and good clean foo
OF course we have this in a Wa
10 yet but not as good as It was on
q few years ago. I happened to n,
y uee on my last triD that il is pc
+ ting closed IN on. We still have Il
= S-hour work day N this way tn:
y the laboring men work from eigl
: and a half to nine hours a day an
Il get paid for eight hours, so YOU 81
= we still have the S-hour work da
More of Overland Sims adver
lures next week