The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1932-02-22
MINERS WAGESGO UPIN THE
U.SSR. AND DOWN IN THE us!

may not legally be employed, but the mining In
terests have seen to it that their industry in
spite of its terrific hazards Is not included
High STANDARD of Living For Soviet Miners
Formerly after 10 or ~ hours Of hard, eS-
hauSting, physical labor underground the Rus
sian miner went home to low-ceiled, damp,
earthen hut, where he slept in a crowded Stuffy
room, often huddled on the dirt floor. Dog
Town" was the name given to the miners hv-
ing quarters in the Donetz Basin under capt.
taGsn. consisting mostly of badly crowded bar
racks, huts and subterranean dwellings. miSer-
ably neglected, dark dirty with no system for
the disposal of sewage,
No fewer than 100000 persons Cminers and
their famihes) in 1881, are furnished with
dwellings which efficiently meet the demands
of health and hygiene and provide opportunity
for material and cultural service great
amount of work has been accomplished towards
improving the workers settlements Goad max
ing, provision Of sidewalks, tree planting, parks,
identification Of the houses, and the laying Of
water). incidentally in every plant design, en-
gineers must incorporate the fullest possible
provisions for the care and protection Of the
workers.
Housing for workers in the Soviet coal fields
is free or the charge for rent is so small as to be
merely a nominal payment Electric light, fuel
and other municipal services are entirely free
while working clothes, boots, tools and lights are
supplied by the industry.
New workers settlements, baths, dining rooms,
clubs, hospitals, educational institutions are
growing up at the mines Of the Donetz Basin,
where formerly there were only pitheads, novels
and churches. Huge palaces Of labor with
auditoriunS for a thousand or more persons,
athletic fields, and numerous cultural and So
cial institutions, including centers for the pro-
lection of motherhood and childhood are being
rapidly introduced.
Miserable HOyeIs for American Miners
Company patches, as dreary as the Dog
Towns Of Czarist Russia, are the only homes
for thousands of coal mine workers in the u S.
Wooden houses with roofs Of composition
paper, usually without a cellar and often sup
ported only on posts, with the wind sweeping
through under the floor are the prevailing type
Serious overcrowding in shacks, bad odors, pol
luted creeks and contaminated water supply
are common Only two of the 71s villages
studied by the U. S. Coal Commission were
listed as meeting the modest standard set by
the commission in both water supply and dis
posal of sewage and waste.
The life of the worker who has no voice In
the management of the company village, and
is not allowed to hold meetings Of protest or
organization, Is completely dominated BY the
company. Before he gets house the worker
must sign a special form OF lease FORGETTING his
legal rights as tenant and before he can get
job he must sign a yellow dog contract, giving
up his right to organize Tor struggle against the
intolerable conditions to which he is subjected
AS for the diet Of some of the workers in the
United States, Theodore Dresser states "They
have only polluted water, potatoes and beans to
dine on every night, and that the deaths from
starvation In the summer of 1881, among the
children were four to seven week" He is re-
ferring to Harlan and Bell Counties, Kentucky,
where conditions are VIGOROUSLY bad, but thou
sands OF miners in other states and counties
live under precisely the same conditions, and
those who work in the so-called prosperous
communities" also have limited diet the mar
gin between themselves and hunger being wiped
out as the crisis continues to deepen