House paints, paint brushes, doors & windows, wrench sets, home improvement tools, steel safes, fencing, garden tools, wrenches & other assorted tools, water pumps, plows, milk cans, gasoline-powered generators. Sometimes they hired guards or brought in government troops to maintain order and control strikers. In the late 1800s mining was rough physical labor. Furniture, bookcases, carpets and rugs, curtains, hanging lamps, lightbulbs, table and floor lamps, clocks. Regardless of what their state government might or might not do to protect them, the miners of West Virginia had to rely on themselves and their buddies, rather than on company fire bosses and state mine inspectors, whose numbers were few and whose visits were infrequent. Source: BLS, Shows wages of various industrial and agricultural gender, in both Romanian leu and contemporary U.S. dollars. Source: BLS Monthly Labor Review (July 1930), Shows the average wages of multiple occupation in the mining industry. Corn visited coal mines and mountain communities from Virginia to Tennessee, photographing the working and domestic lives of miner families and their struggles with low wages, unsafe working conditions, and black lung disease. This website does a good job of organizing a complex topic. Shows salaries for teachers ofkindergarten, elementary school, junior high, high school, vocational school, college, and normal schools (teacher training academies). About half of the surveyed penal institutions gave prisoners some compensation, based on its use as incentive toward good work and better behavior, and to provide the convict with a small way to provide for his family. Source: BLS. 484. Source: BLS Monthly labor review, Oct 1927, Shows the average daily wages for 14 different occupations in the Florence district. Shows starting salary and increases granted based on marital status and number of children. Source: The cost of living in twelve industrial cities, p. 63. The union was very important to miners. This article reprinted from a January 1923 edition of, This source quotes medians (the mid-point, with 50% falling below the line), first quartiles (25% falling below) and third quartiles (75% falling below). This was the world Frank Keeney entered as a boy. Wages are shown in contemporary U.S. dollars. Published 1921. The miners world was dark and dangerous. Wages are shown in Sweden kronor. Source: Compares 1922 to1940 wage rates for a variety of RR jobs, pp. This mammoth work lists typical earnings as well as job descriptions and working conditions for thousands of occupations just before the Great Depression. Source: BLS, Shows the daily wages of workers in the glass factories of northern France. By 1854, forty-six percent of all American pig iron had been smelted with anthracite coal as a fuel, and by 1860 anthracite's share of pig iron was more than fifty-six . Shows expenditures among rural Virginia families for food, housing, clothing, automobiles, health insurance, recreation, personal items and more. Owners claimed property rights and managerial entitlements over the workplace. Coffee cost an average 47 per pound in 1920. The following is from James Greens The Devil is Here in These Hills. Source: Very simple table shows average hours and earnings for all production workers in manufacturing for each year from 1919-1960. of Agriculture report. It is not yet available to read online; check your local library for a printed copy. Source: AAUP report. Coal powered industrial America. Source: This calculator can be used to determine the historical purchasing power of currency in the United Kingdom from 1270 to 2017. over the years. Coal operators often provided services like company stores. A miners compulsion to load as much coal as possible was tempered by experience, however. Prices are shown in Hungarian crowns. Details the price of various building materials on pp. Shows the average daily wages of various occupations in Athens and Piraeus. Some stopped the cars by jamming pieces of wood into the spokes. Wages are listed in Mexican currency with exchange rate for calculating amounts in U.S. dollars. Chart shows median wages of women employed in Philadelphia households as chambermaids, cleaners, cooks, waitresses, laundress, seamstress, and children's nurses (nannies.) Taking a mine car out of turnconstituted another grave offense. Watch the rocks, theyre falling daily, These deposits could produce firedamp, which contained methane and sometimes carbon dioxide that seeped out of the coal seams. View object record Steam whistle With industrialization, workers lost control of when to start, eat, and end their day. $15 - $30. Source: American Druggist, January 1923 issue. In the late 1800s mining was rough physical labor. Compares wages in common industries such as building, engineering, shipbuilding, textiles, railway, agriculture, printing, and in pottery. See also "C" tab above for carpenters, cement workers, etc. Miners left their pits to fight the attempt of the Thatcher government to close the collieries, break the miners' union and the labour movement in general, and open the way to a free market economy in which deregulated financial capitalism would be set free by the Big Bang of 1986. Dining room furniture, silverware, dish sets. For example, a dollar earned in 2020 had the same buying power as 7 in 1928. Source: Cost of living and family expenditures in Kentucky, Tennessee and Texas. Prices are shown in Swiss francs. Also shows rowboat and pack horse rental rates, cost for guided tours, and transportation fares. Wages are shown in Brazilian milreis. Source: BLS. Heed no operators tale! Shows wages paid on American, Belgian, British, Danish, Dutch, French, Spanish and Swedish cargo ships, by occupations including seamen, engineers, first mates, second mates, radio operators, boatswains, firemen, coal passers, stewards, cooks, waiters, messmen, mess boys, carpenters, deck engineers, quartermasters, store keepers, donkey men, and more. The wage data is broken out by sex. Source: Appendix in. Source: BLS, Shows the average retail prices of food, clothing, and fuel prices in Shanghai. Prices are shown in Mexican pesos. Frank Keeney wanted to be a first-class tonnage man because he needed to support his widowed mother and two sisters, along with his new wife, a fair teenager named Bessie Meadows, an Eskdale girl who wanted to become a schoolteacher. Wages are shown in French francs. Phone (573) 882-0748. Source: BLS. He also learned not to scare the miners beloved pigeons or to be afraid of mine rats, because these creatures could sense danger coming before it struck. This answer is: Study guides. Coal mine owners and superintendents rarely went underground. Bonus. Shows forty pages of incomedata with numerous breakouts. Between 1880 and 1920, southern West Virginias population grew from 93,000 to 446,000, due almost entirely to the coal industry. Shows the average daily wages Greek workers were receiving in metal mines, lignite mines, smelting and refining plants, and quarries. Another statute required employers to hire pit bosses to examine every working place in the mine, but only as often as practicable. A third rule required the managers to water the coal dust, but only when they detected a dangerous level of gas. Issues of Telephone engineer & management detail rates for telephone service in many states. See "Blood donation" in. Took into account additional sources of income for farm families, such as income derived from animals or investments. Describes the labor policy of South Africa in the 1920's and throughout the rest of the early 20th century. Includes wage data for Chicago as well. View object record Miner's hat, about 1930 Prices are shown in Latvian rubles. Source: BLS, Shows the cost of foodstuffs and other necessities in Greece. Shows wage rates for engineers, conductors, passenger baggage men, coal passers, firemen, switch tenders, hostlers, signalmen, station agents, telegraphers, machinists, car cleaners, and more. In 1927, "$30 per month was taken as the average minimum expenditure for rent in Boston for the [working class] family of four living on the American standard.". 613. Board a ship to cross the wave; Source: BLS. Shows data on the number of nursing school graduates from 1880 to 1929 as well as salary information. Wages shown in litas, and US dollars in parentheses. Boys discovered that serious men turned into jokers when they toiled underground. Source: U.S. Federal Trade Commission report. Appalachias traditionally small, locally owned mines started merging with larger energy firms in the 1960s, and by 1970 bituminous coal employment had dropped to 140,000 people from its 1923 peak of 740,000. Under these terms, a hard worker could earn $2.00 for ten to twelve hours of labor, if the work was steady. Every workday a panel of miners, ranging from fourteen to twenty-eight men, passed through a main entry and then turneddown a side entry. Aboveground, many miners suffered at the hands of the company men who short-weighed tonnage a man had loaded or docked his pay because slate was found mixed in with the coal. Wages of pattern makers, molders, drill press operators, lathe hands, machinists and more. Wages are shown in 1931 US dollars. Source: BLS, Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, No. Dresses, dresses (in color), coats, bonnets and coats, hats, shoes, girl's toys. See quartile, "Women in Alabama industries: a study of hours, wages and working conditions," Women's Bureau Bulletin #34 (. Report published in 1923 tells wages by race and by industry. Keep your hand upon the dollar, Includes a table showing. This booklet shows prices for hotels and amenities such astelephone, restaurant meals,haircuts, bath house, etc. After undercutting the face, the collier turned the crank on a five-and-a-half-foot-long breast auger and pushed with all his weight to bore a hole high on the face. Source: BLS. Source: Missouri State Dept of Agriculture. Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, No. This was the room and pillar method of mining common in the Appalachian bituminous coalfields. Infant's: At suppertime, youngsters like Frank would sit with the men on a pile of slate and listen as veterans of the mine would sing songs, spin yarns, and tell jokes; they would rib the boys, trick them for laughs, and tell them tall tales of the devilish apparitions that appeared to them down in the hole. Nothing was the answer, nothing but the miserable life he and his family endured living inrented shanties hard on the railroad tracks. Boys younger than 12 often worked beside their fathers underground because, in many communities, it was the only paying job available. 90%. In the 1920s decade, 8% to 12%of peopleaged18-21enrolled incollege. Cottage and bungalow home designs with illustrations and floor plans in the "Wardway homes" catalog. Montgomery Ward catalog shows prices of radios and radio supplies on 60+ pages. Source: BLS, Shows the cost of various foodstuffs in the Riga markets. 523. The strike was officially called to a halt on March the 3rd 1985. An open flame provided the only light, and the cloth cap barely kept lamp soot away. Wages on pages34-40. Tells cost of public transportation and railway fares as well. Shows typical pay in stock companies, dramas, musical comedies, vaudeville and screen, from extras to Hollywood stars. Men's: Recognizable name brand items in the price lists include Canada Dry Ginger Ale, Quaker Oats, Cream of Wheat, Hershey's Cocoa, Aunt Jemima Pancake Flour, Mazola Oil, Wesson Oil, Coleman's Mustard, Post Toasties, Morton's Salt, Knox Gelatin, Sun Maid Raisins, Palmolive soap, Log Cabin syrup, Del Monte canned goods, Heinz ketchup, Gold Medal flour, Carnation Milk, Life Savers candy, Bon Ami scouring powder, Lucky Strike cigarettes, Camel cigarettes, Scott Tissue toilet paper, and many other brand name items. Taken from Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, No. Source: The tables show pay for employees engaged in the manufacture of automobiles, trucks, car bodies and parts. Shows the weekly wages of various occupations in Swiss farming as well as the daily wages of day laborers. Wages are shown in Belgian francs. Engineers working for Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Co. used this model to visualize the coal seams and design their mines. Former Timeline picture editor. An increase in annual vacation pay was also stipulated.Wage Chronology: Bituminous . Article compares the cost of renting versus buying a home in 1928. By the 1940s, the United Mine Workers union had established better wages and somewhat safer conditions for miners, though a contentious relationship between workers and bosses persisted. Wages are shown in Spanish pesetas. Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, No. Shows the changes in wages of united Illinois coal miners following a labor agreement. Source: The cost of living among wage-earners, Cincinnati OH, pp. Shows by county the price of undeveloped land, plow land and farm land. A mail order catalog for the Fall/Winter season, 1920-1921. Wage rates by occupation in foreign countries (sometimes just to a certain city in the foreign country), assembled for easy comparison to U.S. wage rates for the same occupations. It may be necessary to read the chapters pertaining to the country, but you can find the actual minimum wages in the discussion. The mine was run by the Japanese, who had occupied the area, along with the rest of the puppet state of Manchukuo, using prisoners of war or poorly-paid Chinese locals as their miners. Managers liked immigrants because they worked for low wages. The 1920 Montgomery Ward mail order catalog showed the price of. "A good hotel room costs only $4-5 per day while a hospital charges $6 and $7." Some picked slate and other debris out of the coal on fast-moving conveyor belts. Source: Lists costs of running a farm, including costs of power, labor, insurance, interest on loans, etc. In 1984 there were 174 deep coal mines in the UK by 1994 - the year the industry was finally privatized - there were just 15 left. Click "more" for direct links to wages in each occupation. The workday ended at 5:30 in the evening when the sunlight had already faded over the mountains. Source: BLS. This is a New Zealand government document. Its an era of company town labor we are not likely to see return as automation and renewable energy continue to render these kinds of occupations obsolete. Miners would lie on their backs and use a pick to undercut the coal. Shows wages and hours of workers in the cotton industry over a 23 year period. Source: BLS, Shows the daily wages for various occupations in Tokyo. As former miner Gary Bentley of Kentucky remarked in a recent New York Times article, Its not going to make a comeback. As a novice, Keeney learned the colliers trade from older craftsmenthe skills of cutting the face, setting the charges, and loading the coal without wrenching his back or crippling himself. Includes the states of RI, NJ, OH, DE, OK, MO, GA, TN, AR, KY, SC, AL and MS. Management's steam whistle now set the times. Shows average wages by industry in both rubles and US currency. In some cases, when a shot backfired out of the hole, it ignited coal dust or gas in the miners room and sent fire bursting into the main tunnel, where it could burn or suffocate the mules and their drivers passing through. Use the following hyperlinks to see values for AL, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY. Source: BLS. Source: BLS, Shows the average pay for a 48 hour week throughout 5 different industries in Milan. Source: Shows the average hourly wages for various occupation both in and outside of Paris. Managers worried about competition, costs, and controlling workers who spoke multiple languages and labored out of view. Shows the "living wage" per week for different metropolitan areas of Australia. Shows the daily wages of various common and low-skill occupations like building laborers, canners, and rice mill workers throughout the state. 525. ), athletic gear, boxing, baseball, & tennis supplies, Prices of articles bought by farmers, 1909-1924, Prices paid by farmers for household items, 1910-1960, Clothing prices paid by farmers, 1910-1960, Women's clothing catalog - B. Altman & Co., Summer 1920. Source: BLS, Shows the hourly, daily, and weekly earnings in Milan for various industries. Shows expenditures by category with prices per article and amounts needed annually for a family of five. Wages are shown in contemporary U.S. dollars. Then, with their lamps casting a dim yellow light on the dark hillside, the men and boys disappeared one by one into the hole, like ants entering a colony. Veteran colliers knew competitive individualism bred greed, hostility, thievery, and a disregard for mine safety. Boys labored inside, sorting coal by size and removing rock. Wages are shown in pounds, shillings, and pence. By 1910, more Italian immigrants lived in McDowell County than anywhere else in the state. Broken out by men's and women's jobs. Source: BLS, Shows the average daily wages of manual work occupations in Barcelona, Spain. Typewriters, school supplies, office supplies, fountain pens, more fountain pens, books, drawing sets, home office furniture. Source: Lists minimum and maximum daily wages for male and female workers. Shows the average weekly wages of NY factory workers every month over a 14 year period. Salary data for teachers, principals and school administrators in New York City, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Detroit, St. Louis, Chicago and Kansas City. Engineers used anemometers to measure airflow within mines. For best detail, see the full chapters on. Data available for additional years inMissouri Farm Census by Counties, Missouri State Dept of Agriculture. BookTok is Good, Actually: On the Undersung Joys of a Vast and Multifarious Platform, Seven Crime Novels Centered Around Musicians Out in 2023, Arlington Road: The Conspiracy Thriller That Foresaw the Spread of Far-Right Extremism in America, If you want to laugh, watch this Mitchell and Webb sketch about inviting Shaggy and Scooby Doo to a party, Uncrackable: 5 Films Featuring Devilishly Difficult Heists. Fascinating book that shows various imported items (such as kid gloves, bloomers, silk nightgown, men's pipe, electric flatiron, glass lamp, etc.) The survey covered 114 different cotton mills in 12 different state, and generally divides tables by occupation, sex, and year or occupation, sex, and state. Arthur Lewis. Shows average annual expenditure for food, rent, clothing, and medical care per family member. Wages are shown in German marks. 365-372. Shows the weekly earnings for 9 occupations in Amsterdam, Haarlem, the Hague, and Rotterdam. Compares average retail prices for "warehoused" name brand grocery items at independent and chain stores in Cincinnati. Compares wage rates and hours of work for the WWI and WWII eras, focusing specifically on the manufacturing, mining, railroad, printing and maritime industries, as well as farm labor wages. Source: BLS, Shows the retail prices of food and commodities in various cities throughout south Manchuria. One threat the animals and birds could detect was the odor of gas that oozed from the ancient vegetation compacted over the ages. Shows pay for those involved in "1st class New York City productions" including actors of various levels (from chorus to leads) as well as directors, designers, scene painters, stage hands, etc. Pianos, violins, guitars & banjos, accordions, other musical instruments. Before the days of electric cars, many boys served as mule drivers. Still he ventures to be brave. by STATE Green miners like Frank Keeney also learned that surviving underground required men to depend upon each other and to honor the wisdom of the most experienced men. Data gathered by the National Industrial Conference Board using foreign government sources. Source: BLS, Shows the average retail prices of staple foodstuffs in Madrid, Spain. Stealing another mans coal was considered a terrible crime. A thief could commit this offense easily, simply by removing one miners brass check from his coal car and replacing it with his own; but the miners often detected this kind of trickery and banded together to demand the thiefs termination. A strong, skilled coal loader might fill five or more cars in a day. Shows brand names. Cabinets and cookware. 1920, Home plans and costs to build in California, 1920, Retail prices of building materials by city, 1922, Building material prices paid by farmers, 1923-1924, Cost to construct houses, by type of material - 1921, Building material prices paid by farmers, 1910-1960, Farm real estate - Average value by state and county, 1920, Price of farm land by county in selected states, 1912-1924, New England farms and land - Average value by county, 1920-1930, Farm real estate values in Midwestern states, 1912-2019, Land in Missouri - Cost to rent or buy by county, 1922, Rents in working class neighborhoods in Cincinnati, 1920, Household heating fuel costs and expenditures by city, 1927, Electricity - Average monthly bill, 1924-1950, Household electricity costs and expenditures by city, 1927, Changes in retail prices of electricity, 1923-38, Car prices with illustrations, 1900-1920s, Gasoline prices andtaxes, and annual consumption per vehicle, 1920-1939, Horse-drawn carriages, buggies and accessories, 1920, Horse and mule prices by state, 1919-1920, City transit fares in NY, PA, OH and MA - 1927, Streetcar, omnibus and subway rates, 1926, Passenger train fare in the U.S., 1871-1933, RR ticket prices between NYC and Chicago, 1910-1944, accessories (diapers, baby bottles, etc.