and in winter and spring are mere mud and water. The gutters are open, shallow ditches, unless the hill slopes sharply, in which case they soon become deep gullies. These gutters are always a place of deposit for rubbish, household garbage, and discarded articles. Such articles, however, are not confined to the gutters, but litter streets and alleys, sidewalks and yards, as well.

In some towns the sidewalks are of coke ashes. In many cases there is a path at either side as unimproved as the street, sometimes not even separated from it by a gutter. In wet weather boards of various lengths and widths may be laid end to end along parts of the way by the neater of the inhabitants, but in general tenants step directly from their houses into the street. At intervals of perhaps 200 yards on either side of the street are hydrants, one for every eight or ten families. In some towns the ground about the houses is fenced off and there is sufficient space for small gardens, with lawns in front decorated with flower beds. There may even be shade trees along the sidewalks. In others there is only a small, untidy back yard, with a dutch oven. In still others the walks, yards, and grounds are covered with coke ashes. The typical company village is exceedingly insanitary. Surface drainage is the rule. The toilets are dry, with ground vaults, and in many instances are near the dwellings. In frequent cases the water supply comes unfiltered from wells sunk about the village, sometimes deep enough to insure good water, sometimes so shallow as to make the water of doubtful purity. A few mines located near cities are furnished the regular city water. At many plants, however, the water comes from company reservoirs, which sometimes derive their supply from very objectionable sources, though more or less filtration is provided. There are localities in which the water is taken directly from contaminated streams running through the village, but is "softened" by the use of soda ash and lime and is then filtered through coke ash and charcoal beds. On the whole, the water supply of the coal and coke town is very impure and a source of disease. The companies usually "clean up" the towns once a year; sometimes twice, but often not at all. There is little to stimulate cleanliness on the part of the tenants under such circumstances. The mine operators say that the existing conditions result from the fact that the foreigner is too dirty for the town to be other than what it is, but whether this is true or not, it seems that very little effort is made to improve the living conditions.

COMPANY HOUSES.

Relatively few mines are located sufficiently near the larger towns and cities to permit of their employees securing houses within such towns or cities. As a result, the mining companies find it necessary to erect houses to accommodate the workmen and their families in the detached and often isolated mining communities. A town is laid out, with streets, alleys, and lots properly platted, and dwellings of the type selected are constructed. These are usually, as has already been pointed out, two-story, double, frame buildings, of eight or ten, and in some cases twelve, rooms. They are designed to accommodate two families, one on either side of the building. Some of

a For floor plan and front and side elevation of a typical house, see p. 495

the houses are plastered and fairly well finished inside; others are much rougher in their finish. In a very few cases the houses are lighted by electricity supplied by the company, but as a rule oil lamps or other means of lighting must be furnished by the tenant.

Water for all domestic purposes must be carried by the housewife, from a few feet to several hundred yards. The distance of dry toilets from the houses varies with the depth of the lot, from a few feet to 30 or 40 yards. Waste water from the houses is sometimes carried off to the gutters along the village street by drain pipes from the kitchen. Sometimes these are omitted, and water which has been used for washing is emptied anywhere about the yard or grounds.

The usual rent for these houses is about $1.50 a room a monthe. g., a four-room house rents for $6 and a five-room house for $7.50. There are, of course, many variations, depending upon locality, size and type of house, and company, but this is a fair, general average. It should be noted in passing that this rent is usually a very satisfactory return on the investment. For instance, the houses of one company, costing $1,100 to construct, rent for $156 a year; at another mine, houses of similar construction and approximate cost rent for $144 a year; at another, similar houses, of approximately the same cost, rent for $168 a year. It is true that such houses could not now be constructed for this amount, since the cost of labor and material has increased; but, taking this fact into consideration, it is still evident that the houses yield a very good profit.

It is the policy of the companies when employing men to give preference to those who will live in company houses, and in cases where it is necessary to "lay off" a part of their workmen, other things being equal, those are usually first discharged who do not rent company houses. Less pressure is brought to bear in this direction when there is a shortage of labor. At such times men may be very gladly taken on whether their families occupy company houses or not, while at other periods, when labor is plentiful, those men are first chosen who will occupy company buildings. From this standpoint, the recent immigrants are more desirable than natives as workmen. The former will usually rent company houses without objection, while the latter generally prefer other dwellings.

It should be said that this policy of the companies is not altogether intended for the purpose of keeping up the profit from the rental of the houses, but also proceeds from a legitimate desire to keep an organized body of workmen at the plant. These houses are not always owned by the company itself, but are sometimes the property of individual members of the company.

THE COMPANY-STORE SYSTEM.

Company stores are generally found in all the detached mining villages. As conducted in the mining regions of western Pennsylvania, the company store system is usually an evasion of the law, and is often a means of exploiting immigrants and other employees. These company stores, strictly speaking, are not owned and managed by the same corporate body which owns and operates the coal mines, since the laws of Pennsylvania forbid a coal-mining company to own and operate such stores. In actual practice, however, they are very closely related to the coal-mining company. In most cases

a separate corporation is organized, composed of some or all of the principal stockholders of the mining company, and this second organization engages in the supply business at the mining plants of the coal company. In a few instances the stores are owned by individuals who are members of the mining company. In still other cases a third company owns the stock of both the mining company and the supply company. While the stores are therefore not legally the property of the coal-mining company, they are usually the property of some or all of the same interests as is the coal company.

The reasons for the existence of the company store are quite plain. The officials of the coal companies say the supply store is a necessity; that their workmen must be furnished general supplies on a reliable business basis. They say it is not feasible for anyone entirely outside, or not connected with the coal company, to conduct such a business, since the mining companies are constantly involved in controversies between the managers of such stores and the workmen of the company over the settlement of accounts; that, owing to the shifting character and general unreliability of the people living in the coal-mining towns, it is necessary that a store be able to collect its bills through the coal-mining company, and this necessitates a frictionless relationship between the mining and the supply companies. This contention may be true, but it is equally true that outside persons would voluntarily establish stores in these towns and run the risk of losses from bad debts were they permitted to do so by the mining company which owns the land and buildings of the company town. Here and there may be found an occasional small store, often managed by an immigrant, but in the more remote coal and coke towns this is the extent of competition to which the company store is subjected, and in some cases no stores even of this kind are permitted. The fact seems to be that a well-managed store will yield a very good profit and it is the intention of the members of the coalmining companies to retain this profit for themselves. The relation. between the company store and the mining company is simple. When a workman or a member of his family desires to purchase goods at the store and has no cash, or does not wish to use such cash as he has on hand, he asks the pay clerk of the mining company for a check of such amount as he may wish. This check is a printed slip which, in form, is an assignment to the store company of money owed by the mining company to the workman, with spaces left blank for the amount and the assignor's signature. If the mine employee's earnings to date, less previous checks, equal or exceed the amount desired, the check is made out, signed by the man, and received at the store in payment for the goods bought. On pay day the total amount of these checks is deducted from the man's earnings and turned over to the store in payment of his bills."

It is presumed that the employees of the mining companies are free to patronize any outside store if they see fit. When company officials are asked if men are required to patronize their stores, the usual answer is that a man is free to trade anywhere he wishes. Since the company stores are operated for profit, however, and since

a The extent to which employees purchase goods and the corresponding deductions made by the companies from earnings have already been shown by races in the preceding detailed exhibit. See pp. 318-320.

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a greater volume of business means a larger profit, it is only natural that the companies should seek to make the trade at the stores as large as possible. Various means are employed to accomplish this end, ranging from overmanning the plants and practical coercion to simple dependence on lower prices and better goods. On the other hand, trade at many company stores is favored by the inaccessibility of competing stores. The plants are often remote from towns and villages. During the winter months especially the roads are usually bad, and because of convenience and sometimes of necessity, a large proportion of the employee's purchases must be made at the company store.

As already noted, competing stores of importance are usually not permitted in the company towns. Hucksters and peddlers of fruits, vegetables, and meats are excluded as far as possible. Where the company village is located on the company's own land this is very easily accomplished. Trespass notices are posted and such hucksters and peddlers are prosecuted. As showing the relationship between the mining and the supply companies it is of interest here to remember that the prosecution is conducted by the mining company owning the store, though the mining company as such has nothing to lose by the presence of these vendors. Under such circumstances fruits, vegetables, meats, and groceries are sometimes carried from hucksters' wagons which wait out on the public highway a mile or so away. There are companies which do not exclude hucksters, farmers, and other persons from selling in the villages, and may even permit the establishment of some other small stores, but this is not the ordinary condition. The store check system also operates to stimulate trade at the company store. Such checks are good only for trade there. A workman is not permitted to draw his wages in cash at irregular intervals, but is given a store check which necessitates his purchasing his supplies at the company store. Their spending is not discouraged by the company so long as it does not involve more than is due the workman. Another very effective means of increasing trade at the store is that of having the manager and possibly some of the clerks "take orders" at regular intervals. Each housewife is visited and solicited to order from the store for the next week or two weeks such articles as she may desire. These goods are then delivered and the amount charged to the husband's store account. Not only does this give the store a definite amount of trade, but the manager also secures much valuable information as to the trade peculiarities of different families. He learns to know personally those families which are giving him all, or nearly all, of their trade, and those which are withholding a part of it and trading elsewhere. This enables him to concentrate to the best advantage his efforts at increasing the business of the store. No doubt his call to secure orders is sometimes considered by the housewife as more or less of a command to buy. In some instances this opinion is doubtless well founded, while in others it is a mistake, due to previous unhappy experiences under similar conditions or to a misinterpretation of the manager's speech.

At some stores other far less legitimate measures are employed to keep up the workman's store account. Cases are reported where each employee is expected to spend a certain proportion of his earnings each week in the store. A list is kept of those families which

fall short of the expected amount. If purchases do not increase, the head of the family is given an unpleasant place to work, a wet heading, a room with a bad roof, or a place where the conditions are otherwise unfavorable. If the employee, under these conditions, does not move, or if his store account does not reach the approximate amount expected, he is discharged at the first opportunity and a more subservient workman substituted. The attitude of the employees under such a system is naturally a matter of interest. Briefly stated, as a body they are antagonistic to the company store and often buy inferior goods at higher prices at other stores simply because they feel free from compulsion. The quality of the goods and the prices charged vary with different companies. Many company stores handle first-class goods throughout and charge prices no higher than in the best-managed town and city stores. They buy in very large quantities, thereby receiving unusually favorable quotations. They have few or no bad debts and consequently are able to make more than the average profit at moderate prices. These prices are maintained fairly, although the store enjoys a practical monopoly of trade and might exact higher prices. At the other extreme are stores in which the goods are of poor quality, and frequently the prices charged are above those for the same brand or kind of goods as charged elsewhere. No general statement can do justice to this situation. In some cases the employee receives reasonable value for his money; in others he is unquestionably exploited. At a few company stores trade is not required. Every workman is distinctly told that he can buy anywhere he pleases and is asked to inform the store manager if he considers the prices unfair and the qualities of goods inferior. It is the effort of such stores to deal with the company employees on a commercial basis. The managers of such stores report a better trade and much better spirit on the part of the workmen than do the managers of neighboring stores, where it is tacitly understood that the man will trade at the company store.

BENEFITS RECEIVED BY EMPLOYEES IN ADDITION TO WAGES.

As regards benefits received by mine workers in addition to their wages, medical and hospital services may be mentioned. In this respect coal and coke companies can be divided into four general classes. The majority of companies pay all the cost of treating a workman injured while on duty, and furnish whatever hospital service may be necessary; others pay these items only when the man himself is unable to pay them; still others simply call a physician or send the employee to a hospital and pay for the first treatment; and a few furnish neither medical nor hospital service, leaving the employee to run the risk of fatal or permanent injury, and to pay the cost of any treatment he may require.

Some mining companies also maintain benefit societies for their workmen. Dues of these societies range from 35 to 50 cents per month. Benefits, generally of $5 or $6 per week, are paid for injuries suffered while at work, and in case the accident is fatal a death benefit (usually of $100) is paid. In some instances these companies provide that if the wife of an employee dies the husband is paid a benefit of $50. Membership in these societies is usually compulsory at the mines where they are organized.