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hed on the exterior with rough lumber, to which a coat is applied. Only dry closets are provided, and there th, as in the other section.

THE COMPANY-STORE SYSTEM.

of commissaries is practically universal in all of the unities and in the iron and steel plant communities. è usually isolated enough to warrant the location of a or supplies of all kinds, while the steel plants employ a ber of men to justify the maintenance of company small plants within the limits of the city of Birmingmachine shops, frog and switch plants, cast-iron-pipe the like, neither own company houses nor operate but as a general rule whenever a company employs a ber of workers, or is isolated enough from the residence e city to warrant the owning and the renting of company mmissary system is also one of its features.

ssary or company store is much the same sort of an over the district in appearance, nature, and variety of it may be said in prices. They differ largely in size. è commissary is located in the center or in a very conon of the company quarters or camp, which has already ed as the community. It is usually a long, low, one-story no display windows, and possessing one or two entrances. are the bookkeeper's and the check master's offices, someed off from the rest of the space. Around the sides are for the stock, the counters, and on the floor is every lescription of goods. In the larger commissaries the dry ry, and other departments are kept separate, and someling partition is found which roughly separates the dry ardware from the groceries and the meat department. stances the commissary presents a miniature market, or orst conditions an amplified and well organized country . Generally everything that the employee needs is kept d unless there is some want out of the ordinary he need any other store. The wishes of the laborers are catered as possible and their demands studied. The result is nducement is offered in a legitimate way to employees in ure their patronage.

e commissaries themselves are operated in a manner be justly considered efficient, much of the patronage is the methods of wage payments. As pointed out in tion, the systems of commissary checks and commissary actically universal wherever the company maintains a The great majority of wage-payment periods are On pay days alone are payments made in currency; at etween the pay days payments are made in the form of commissary checks, whose face value expressed in dollars present the "time" or currency wages due the employee; credit, whereby the employee may deal directly with the e extent which his credit for wages on the company books

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allow him. In nearly all companies individual em records for financial reliability and steadiness n credit at the commissaries within certain limits in both under the store credit system or the commi

The effect of this policy is to encourage, and in have the effect of compelling, employees to deal wit In fact, according to the statements of some of t commissaries as a rule return not only a 20 per normal times to the company, but the system goes determine the race of employees. In certain cases negroes were preferred because their improvident them from being able to live on cash incomes paid forced them to draw their wages weekly, and even of commissary checks or store credits. Currency pa monthly partly for this purpose. As a result, the n little in debt to the commissaries; they are rarel any currency, and stay in the employ of one compa employers will allow them. Their wants are confi of goods furnished by the commissaries, with the ex and they have no funds for any other purpose than sistence. Exceptions to this generally improvide were found. For the same reason these employers immigrant laborers, and in some cases refuse to e gether. The immigrant exhibits a strong tendency in cash and to live on the lowest level possible to mai He patronizes not only as few stores as he can, and a but he seeks the cheapest places, and seeks for ther merchants of his own race. It is only when he be ized in his expenditures that he is a profitable em standpoint of the commissary owner.

Another effect of the commissary system is the te standardization of the manner in which the wants are satisfied. While, as it has been stated, the com makes a study of the wants of his patrons, yet it is t plies a given want by a small variety of goods. appreciable sameness in the kind of food, the qualit of dress of the employees, and in the many other co enter into the comforts and the details of the home the lack of variety is enhanced, and while it is true tha are satisfied, it is also true that no stimulant to varie is afforded by the influence of the commissary. Thi true of isolated communities.

A careful and detailed inquiry into a comparison commissaries and in the city markets and groceries r increase in the general run of prices in the former This increase did not exist in all instances, but on the evident. It was not sufficient to warrant any oth than the one given by the owners and operators of the that the additional expense of transportation of the maintenance of commissaries in communities with patronage justified a slight increase in prices.

Whether the slight increase in this case was a warran not be determined, of course, except by a minute in average cost of marketing the goods, the regularity of

e difference was so small as to make it possible to state purposes that the prices are the same. No difference existed where there were private stores competing with aries. The patronage of the commissary under condipetition with private stores thus may be ascribed to the ompulsion already referred to.

RELATIONS BETWEEN EMPLOYEES.

ng, living, and social relations of employees in both mines steel plants depend to a very considerable extent upon segregation according to race. It should be noted that e, except that of pick miners at work, the native whites egregated from the negroes. Rare exceptions occur to The native whites are separated by occupations, by locandustrial communities, and by very distinct social lines ro. Even in the case of pick mining the whites work on els or on different veins unless there is a case where the works on a contract and employs negroes in a subordinate

e general rule for the relations between the two native different condition exists with regard to other races. from southern Europe exhibit a tendency to work in ever possible, unless there is an effort on the part of the o prevent it. Segregation into gangs, however, only appreciable degree in one or two of the larger plants and he total number of immigrants in any one race at one paratively small. Segregation of this kind is caused prithe employment of immigrant foremen, the presence of mmigrant leader who exercises influence enough to bring migrants of his own race, and the natural racial tendency

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the larger iron plants the company has developed a policy aces. Italians and negroes and native whites and Italians ly mixed in the skilled and unskilled occupations upon hat a class or race spirit in any one occupation is prevented lividual is encouraged to develop his own efficiency. It that this policy has shown excellent results along the lines nd has ultimately produced a more efficient workman. e other effects, it is stated, are prevention of unionizing; ting of permanence among the Italians (in this case the rant race concerned) as to employment and residence; and I assistance superinduced by interracial relations, such as of a nonracial standard of efficiency. The last-named laimed by the employer who is making this experiment xing, is interestingly exhibited, for example, in the intert as between negroes and Italians. The negro's ability to ard work in spurts and the Italian's habit of slow, steady he blast furnaces and coke ovens, where these two races in the unskilled occupations connected with this work, mposite standard of rapidity and quality which is better

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individual immigrants who rise to this grade of em segregated from the native whites in any case.

This is seen especially in the instance of skilled Swedish, or other northern European races, even and camps where any considerable number of these ra As practically all of this class of immigrants are skil skilled as the native whites, there is never any segr

The relations in living conditions of the different ra in the location of residence. In communities not u tendency of the members and families of a given in well of negroes, is to congregate in sections, but prevented by the difficulty of obtaining houses close e purposes, except in the case of negroes. The imm ployed in the coal, iron, and steel industries who live pany quarters are not only too few in numbers t but they are, with the occasional exception of nor races who do not segregate themselves to any gre from native whites even when possible, too recent in to have formed a community life of their own. quarters and camps, however, a slightly different o the first place, the segregative tendency is at work he and segregation according to race is, so employers st preference. In the second place, race prejudice is Native whites, with English, Irish, Scotch, and other pean races, exhibit a strong aversion toward bein negroes, Italians, Bulgarians, and other southern and peans. Thirdly, the employer owners permit racial s in some cases require it. As a result, the average ca is made up of two distinct colonies: (1) The native w English, Scotch, Irish, Welsh, or German immigran employed there; (2) the negroes. If other races are form a third colony; and if any considerable number more races live in the community, the principle of rad is still further carried out.

SOCIAL ASSOCIATION.

Two distinct racial lines are drawn in association of a One of these is the color line between whites of all race and the other is the line drawn between native whites European races on the one hand and southern Euro the other. These are well defined and practically u only instance of a disregard of the color line is an occas of association of a social nature between the South It negro. Several employers made statements to this eff instances of it were seldom seen in practice. In the s ceptions to the second racial line were noted. In the when southern European immigrants had attained skilled it was stated that these skilled individuals associated with the native whites and northern European races. drawing of racial lines is evident between the various so pean races. Italians, for example, do not associate in with Slovaks, nor Bulgarians with Poles. The same is tically all of what may be termed this class of races.

on of any consequence, on the other hand, between the Welsh, or either of these with the English or the native quently company quarters or a camp containing several a community singularly lacking in cohesiveness. They re common aim, pride, or standard other than that of nt race, whatever that race may be. There is nothing, y true, to draw the different elements together with ent habits, speech, standards of life, with not a little ≈ to operate in the opposite direction.

WELFARE WORK BY THE EMPLOYERS.

re work” maintained by the employers in the Birmingmay, for purposes of clearness, be considered under namely, medical attention to employees, hospital servfare work of a general character. As regards medical distinction is made between medical services for illness cident and illness caused by disease. The cost of the me to varying extents by the companies, some companies onger period of free services than others. The great wever, provide for the cost of first aid to those injured , the larger mining camps and the larger steel companies regular physician for this purpose as well as for general ntion, which is described below. The cost of medical illness due to disease and prolonged effects of accidents s, except in that for one large mining company, borne by es through a system of assessments on wages by the comamounts are either 50 cents or 75 cents per month for -mployees, and 75 cents or $1 per month for married who have their families with them, the cheaper and the sive rates of assessments being about equally divided companies. This assessment covers all medical attention pers of the families, except male members, other than the 18 years of age, and at all times, as long as they are in of the company. The amount assessed is taken out of ue each employee at the end of the month or the payment , it is claimed, is turned over to the physician, who does ider a yearly contract.

no fixed rule regarding permanent disability from accident Some companies do not make any provision; others make visions for employees who, in the estimation of the emve been particularly faithful, either in the form of some at of a light nature or a pension or the gift of a lump sum r a piece of property. The whole matter of assistance to of employees depends on the individual employee and the employer, even though the latter be a corporation. But tention usually continues in the case of long-continued or illness from whatever cause until the patient, if he be an and unable to earn his wages, either dies or is known to ermanently incapacitated. In the case of the continued one of the members of an employee's family, the medical

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