Source: BLS. The craftiness and deftness of the best colliers was most evident when they performed the riskiest task of all. Source: Lists results of 22 studies that show the % of family budget spent in various categories (rent, food, health, etc.). A miners compulsion to load as much coal as possible was tempered by experience, however. Careless miners always fail. Source: Hotel rates can often be found within the advertisements throughout the pages of the. Source: U.S. Dept. Source: Missouri State Dept of Agriculture. Shows weekly wages for male and female workers in common industries such as textile manufacture and mining, and also more uncommon like ice cream manufacture and hospitality services. Eventually, his sons and grandsons also worked in the mines. A mail order catalog for the Fall/Winter season, 1920-1921. The coal industry required more labor than southern West Virginia could supply. Prices are shown in either contemporary US dollars or Chinese coppers. April 26, 1942. Many of the reports can be found in. One threat the animals and birds could detect was the odor of gas that oozed from the ancient vegetation compacted over the ages. 1920, Wages by occupation - Manchuria, 1920-1921, Daily and monthly wage earnings - Soviet Union, 1926-1927, Average yearly wages in the Soviet Union, 1929-1932, salaries paid school teachers throughout Russia, seldom exceed 12 rubles per month in late 1923, Agricultural wages - Switzerland in 1914, 1921, 1930, Earnings and prices - Switzerland, 1920-1921, Wages in Great Britain, France and Germany (with addendum for Switzerland), Minimum wage legislation in various countries, Comparative wage rates in the U.S. and in foreign countries, 1927, Wages paid on steamships by country and occupation, 1922, wages paid to Chinese and Lascar (Indian or southeast Asian) employees, Farm family incomes in Wake County, North Carolina - 1926, Foods - Average retail prices over time, 1923-36, Foods - Average retail prices across 39 cities, 1920-1928, corn meal, rice, potatoes, granulated sugar, coffee and tea, onions, navy beans, prunes, raisins, canned salmon, evaporated milk, margarine, lard, oats, corn flakes, wheat cereal, macaroni, canned baked beans, canned corn, canned peas, canned tomatoes, bananas, oranges, Food price averages for each year from 1890-1970, Cigarette, cigar and rolling papers - Los Angeles, 1921, Farm houses in Iowa - Value and size, 1923, Sears homes with costs to build, 1908-1939, Cost of materials to build a Sears home, ca. Prices shown in marks. Coal diggers gave up some of their hard-earned pay to aid fellow miners when they were sick or injured, and when a mine exploded, they risked their lives to rescue the survivors trapped inside. Sporting goods: Shows the average weekly wages of NY factory workers every month over a 14 year period. Source: BLS, Shows the average retail prices of foodstuffs in Madrid and Barcelona. Shows expenditures among rural Virginia families for food, housing, clothing, automobiles, health insurance, recreation, personal items and more. Wages are shown in pounds, shillings, and pence. His pictures also reflect a variegated experience in Appalachia, countering stereotypes by depicting middle-class miners, racial diversity, and community pride. $20.00 per week. With industrialization, workers lost control of when to start, eat, and end their day. 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. Even in a good week, there was unpaid work to perform: propping up newly opened rooms with wooden posts, laying track to his room, and lowering the floor of the main tunnel so loaded coal cars could pass through. Source: BLS Monthly Labor Review, Dec 1920 The pit closures the miners had fought so hard to prevent began in earnest. Meal time was cold, cramped, and wet. 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. More passenger air fares from other sources: Household items: Retreat mining was a risky business, but at least the miners engineered these cave-ins. MERCHANDISE 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. Shows the average weekly hours and hourly wages for workers in the boot and shoe industry. Wages shown in litas, and US dollars in parentheses. Owners claimed property rights and managerial entitlements over the workplace. From. Also shows average family size in each state. Red Ash mine was also the location of a disaster in 1900, which killed forty-six miners. Tools and hardware: by RACE A good blast could bring down a ton or more of coal from the fractured face. Dresses, skirts, blouses, suits, patterns for sewing frocks,, dress gloves, shawls, sweaters, silk undergarments, pajamas, union suits, corsets, gowns, stockings, hats, winter coats, fur coats, winter gloves and mittens, shoes, purses and bags, diamond rings, necklaces and jewelry, brooches, perfume, wigs. Shows average value for farm land and buildings from 1850-1982. Wages are shown in Brazilian milreis. by SEX Prices are shown in Japanese yen. One statute required operators to print maps of their mines, but it excluded any provisions for enforcing this requirement. Coal Mine Worker Hourly Pay | PayScale Engineers used anemometers to measure airflow within mines. This series of tables shows the wage distribution and average weekly wages of a variety of industries and occupations in Missouri in 1921. Source: BLS Monthly Labor Review (April 1931). Lists wages paid to auto mechanics, office workers, window cleaners, barbers and hairdressers, bartenders in saloons, domestic servants, people working in social agencies, and more. 2012-08-05 00:38:00. Source: BLS, Shows the average pay for a 48 hour week throughout 5 different industries in Milan. Source: Women's Bureau Bulletin #25. Women's: Meanwhile, his wife Mary operated the Nellis boarding house for foreign-born miners. Source: BLS. Milk cost an average 33 per half gallon in 1920. Some occupations covered include telephone operators, waitresses, hotel maids, chambermaids, elevator girls, laundry workers, retail clerks, and factory workers in the wood working industry. 514. Before the 1930s, many boys worked in mines. Wages are listed in Mexican currency with exchange rate for calculating amounts in U.S. dollars. Next came preparations for extracting the coal. Source: BLS, Shows the cost of foodstuffs, clothing, and other necessities in Hungary. But you get a certain amount of desperation, where youre willing to believe stuff even though you know in your gut its not true.. Details the price of clothing for men, women, boys and girls on pp. Part of a section on Negro women's wages. Wages are based on the average weekly full-time positions from large cities. Data was originally published in the Industrial Bulletin of the State Department of Labor. Source: One-page table shows 80 years of average retail prices for bread, milk, eggs and other common food items. Starts on p. 44. Veteran colliers knew competitive individualism bred greed, hostility, thievery, and a disregard for mine safety. Wages on pages34-40. Shows breakouts for automobile manufacture, cigar making, boots/shoe making, men's clothing, iron/steel and more. Shows average wages by industry in both rubles and US currency. Cabinets and cookware. Source: BLS, Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, No. A strong, skilled coal loader might fill five or more cars in a day. Source: BLS, Shows the minimum hourly wages of various occupations in Brussels. Covers the states of NH, VT, MA, CT, KY, SC, AL, MO, KS, IA and OH. Shows average public employee pay for each state. 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. Source: U.S. Department of Commerce. Source: BLS Monthly labor review, Oct 1927, Shows the average daily wages for 14 different occupations in the Florence district. This risk increased enormously when inexperienced miners failed to undercut the coal before blasting and took the risk of shooting on the solid.. Constitution Avenue, NW Prices and Wages by Decade: 1920-1929 - University of Missouri See table 164 for average annual wage. The miners called this unpaid labor company work.. Source: U.S. Federal Trade Commission report. Source: Shows wages by occupation in Belfast, Cork, Glasgow, Dundee, Cardiff, London, Manchester and more. Covers Great Britain, France, Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Italy and Austria. Income statistics of full time professional women were published in study by the Association of Business and Professional Women. Source: BLS, Shows the average daily or monthly wages for various occupations in 5 different cities in Brazil. Prices are shown in Swiss francs. Wages are shown in both US and English currency. Coal mining wages - Illinois, 1920. $15 - $30. The workday ended at 5:30 in the evening when the sunlight had already faded over the mountains. For example, the 1920 volume gives rates in Ohio and Minnesota, Illinois and Indiana, and more. Expressed in dollars and also as a percentage of the property value. It was usually undertaken by women, and sometimes children. NOTE: Forhouseholdincome data for 1929, we recommend a1934 Brookings Institution report titled America's Capacity to Consume. Includes a table showing. 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. Coal mining is a dangerous job requiring skill and judgment. By 1850, approximately half of Kanawha Countys slaves worked in the salt industrymany mined coal to fuel the furnaces. Source: BLS Monthly labor review, Apr 1926, Shows the average retail prices of various foodstuffs throughout Switzerland. Shows wages and prices in kronen, along with the exchange rate to translate into U.S. dollars. ), carriages, cribs, high chairs, etc. . Infant's: In some cases, when word came around that a miner had been scolded or punished by a boss, workers would gather on a pile of slate to talk about the incident, and the bolder ones with a manly bearing toward the boss would speak up for their fellow worker. Wages are shown in Italian lire. Table 25 shows additional breakouts for skilled and white collar workers by region (. Source: the Historian of the U.S. In the words of the popular song Miners Lifeguard, written by a miner from Oak Hill, West Virginia: A miners life is like a sailors, Besides know-how, the miners depended upon instinct and luck. Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, No. The mine foreman was legally responsible for safety. Taking a mine car out of turnconstituted another grave offense. Source: Teachers' salaries and salary trends in 1923. Since money wage rates of foreign countries have little meaning for economists in America, only the real wage rates are given.", Shows the average hourly and weekly wages of various occupations for both skilled and unskilled laborers. 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. Source: BLS, Shows the retail prices of various foodstuffs in 10 large German cities. Union wages by occupation and city, 1922-1928, Women's median wages by state and industry, 1910s-1920s, Cigarette packs - Average retail price by brand, 1929, Average college expenses and tuition by institution, 1928, Family budgets by income group, 1918-1930, https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/pricesandwages, Common labor - Average entrance wage rates, 1926-1934, Union wages by occupation and city, 1920-1921, Steam fitters' and sprinkler fitters' helpers, Structural-iron workers: finishers' helpers, Union wages by occupation and city, 1929-1930, Captains, masters, mates, pilots, and engineers, Maintenance-of-way employees: Gang foremen, Maintenance-of-way employees: Assistant gang foremen, Maintenance-of-way employees: Iron workers, Maintenance-of-way employees: Masons, bricklayers, and plasterers, Maintenance-of-way employees: Section laborers, Maintenance-of-way employees: Crossing and bridge flagmen and gatemen, War and postwar wages, prices, and hours, 1914-23 and 1939-44, Urban Negro weekly earnings by sex and occupational class, 1925, Negro wages by occupation - Chicago, 1920, Teacher salaries by race - North Carolina, 1922, Teacher salaries by race - Texas, 1925-1926, Accountants, auditors, bookkeepers, etc. Wages are shown in Brazilian milreis and contemporary US dollars. Shows the average weekly earnings by industry and occupation. This booklet shows prices for hotels and amenities such astelephone, restaurant meals,haircuts, bath house, etc. Miners would lie on their backs and use a pick to undercut the coal. Source: U.S. Congressional Serial Set Vol. Data is broken out byoccupation, sex and district. He later recalled his terror at being lost in a maze of underground rooms when his lamp went out. In 1925, motor vehicles were scrapped at an average age of 6.5 years. Article compares the cost of renting versus buying a home in 1928. Wages are shown in contemporary U.S. dollars. Typically, workers could get an advance on pay, in company-issued paper currency, called scrip, or tokens to buy goods. Compares 1927 and 1913 earnings. Coffee cost an average 47 per pound in 1920. Shows expenditures by category with prices per article and amounts needed annually for a family of five. Shows the average daily wages of Japanese and Chinese workers in various occupations for the South Manchuria Railway Co. Wages are shown in both contemporary yen and US dollars. Click "more" for direct links to wages in each occupation. Shows wages and hours for union bricklayers, building laborers, carpenters, cement finishers,hod carriers, inside wiremen, painters, plasterers, plumbers, stonecutters and more. Includes breakouts by state, source of income, and more. for rural households in the U.S. and selected foreign countries. HEALTH CARE Shows compensation for individualjudgeson the U.S. Supreme Court, circuit courts and district courts. Police department personnel salaries and wages. Shows wage rates for engineers, conductors, passenger baggage men, coal passers, firemen, switch tenders, hostlers, signalmen, station agents, telegraphers, machinists, car cleaners, and more. Wages are shown in French francs. Beds and mattresses, bedroom furniture, pillows, bedding. All of these mines included a main entry, or portal, and a second tunnel, or monkey drift, which provided workers with ventilationa barely adequate suction through a surface grate created by a coal fire that burned all day. Bathroom: White familiesspent an average $103.71/yearon medical care around 1928-1931. Source: BLS Source: BLS, See fairly comprehensive coverage of this topic in Appendix 23, "Charges for various kinds of medical services" in, Fee schedules established by the Ohio State Medical Association for. Before the 1920s most miners were independent contractors. Source: BLS, Shows the average wages of Spanish agricultural workers in different cities. Montgomery Ward catalog shows prices of radios and radio supplies on 60+ pages. Read more Employment in coal mining industry in the United Kingdom (UK) 1920-2021 .