CHAPTER XIV.

WORKING CONDITIONS.

Regularity of employment and method of wage payments-Mining accidents-Company houses and mining villages-The company-store system-Relations between the races-Hospital and medical service-Labor disputes [Text Tables 259 to 262.]

REGULARITY OF EMPLOYMENT AND METHOD OF WAGE PAYMENTS.

Work is regular the year round with the mining company, due to the steady demand for coal in the transatlantic trade. Ten-hour periods prevail for both day and night shifts. Men working under contract are not limited in the number of hours they may work or the number of tons of coal they may mine in a given period; but all work is supposed to be done in ten-hour shifts. Wage payments are made every two weeks, ending on Saturday, and are paid in gold coin for all multiples of five, and in silver and bills (national currency) for the odd amounts. Women have never been employed in the mines, and no children under 16 years of age are employed.

MINING ACCIDENTS.

Sanitary conditions in the mines are good, but in the mine colonies poor. There is no special liability to disease, but in the mines accidents are numerous.

The following tables, compiled from the annual reports of the Pennsylvania state department of mines, show, by nationality of employees, the number of accidents each year from 1898 to 1907:

TABLE 259.-Number of fatal accidents in the coal mines in Community A, by race, 1900

to 1907.

TABLE 260.-Number of nonfatal accidents in the coal mines in Community A, by race,

The American miners receive injuries on the motors and cars in nearly every instance through recklessness. Poles, Italians, Hungarians, Slovenians, and the other southeastern European races are injured through ignorance and carelessness, most often by the fall of rock in the working rooms of the mines where they have failed to place props, or by coming into contact with trolley wires. The records show clearly that about 80 per cent of the injuries received by recent immigrants could have been avoided if they had been instructed in the dangers surrounding their working places. A number of the accidents are unavoidable and affect all races, but, in general, ignorance and carelessness are the causes among the recent immigrants, and recklessness among the Americans and English-speaking races. Danger from gas explosions in the mines is negligible, as the workings all lie very near the surface and are well ventilated. Most of the mines are equipped with one or more large fans, averaging about 20 feet in diameter, which keep the air in the courses pure and fresh. Compressed air and electricity are used to drive the cutting machines. Electricity carried by overhead trolleys is used in running the mine cars and in lighting the main courses of the mines.

COMPANY HOUSES AND MINING VILLAGES.

The mining company does not furnish board or lodging, but rents houses to its employees in the several mine locations. Employees are not compelled by the company to rent houses, but as the mine colonies consist of houses owned by the company the employees have no choice. The rents range from $6 to $9 per month in the mine locations, according to proximity to the urban center, the highest rents being charged in the colonies lying nearest the town. Rents charged per month by colonies are as follows:

In addition to renting houses in the mine locations to its employees, the mining company constructs and sells houses and lots both in the mine colonies and in the urban center to those employees who wish to own their homes. In selling the houses, the company requires monthly payments on the following basis: Five-room house, cost $500, monthly payment $12; 6-room house, cost $700, monthly payment $15. The company will receive the monthly installments direct in cash, but more often the payments are deducted by the company from the monthly wages of the purchasing employee. In the urban center and subcommunities no one type of house prevails. The houses occupied by the majority of immigrants of all races are 2-story frame dwellings, containing from 4 to 6 rooms each. Coal and wood are burned as fuel, and oil is used for lighting purposes. Toilet facilities are poor. Dry closets are situated in the yards at a distance of from 25 to 50 feet from the houses. Flush closets and bathrooms are found only in the homes of the more prosperous classes of the English-speaking races. Conditions are somewhat different in the several mine locations. In these settlements are found houses built according to one standard plan, shown in the accompanying diagram, and owned by the mining company. The houses are built by the mining company and are rented to its employees who work in the mines. There are a few houses owned by the company in the mine locations that do not conform to the plan shown in the diagram. They are among the first houses erected by the company and are built in frame blocks, each block consisting of six houses side by side. Each house contains 4 rooms and is 2 stories high. Several of these blocks have been destroyed by the owners, and in the near future all will be destroyed and replaced by the new double house shown in the diagram.

Conditions found in mine location C are typical of all mine locations in the community, and by describing them in detail a clear idea of the settlements may be gained. The map on the following page shows the grouping of the houses and the location of the company store. Engineering precision is evident in the general plan of the place; regular streets, fire hydrants, and alleys are found. All houses conform to the standard plan shown in the diagram, and are heated by stoves and lighted by oil lamps. No bathrooms are available. The only toilets found are dry closets located in the back yards at a distance of about 50 feet from the houses. These toilets are built in blocks of four and are found in the rear of each double house. Water is drawn from hydrants located between alternate double houses. The source of supply

a See map on p. 472.

b See p. 495.

See map on p. 472, for location, and p. 480 for races living in settlements.