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The Attraction
to Steelton
What
attracted the immigrants to Steelton was the “high wages” the
steel industry paid. An unskilled worker was paid up to twelve
cents an hour. He could work for twelve hours a day and earn
$1.44! An added incentive when it came to families was a large
cigar factory that also employed 800 women at seven cents an
hour! Agricultural work back home could never match that. The
worker’s own expenses seemed minimal in comparison. The single
and married men living in boarding houses paid $2.50 a month for
their room that they usually shared with up to four other men.
Their meals were extra. They could provide their own or eat
with the family. Most chose the latter option.
Most of the
boarding houses were owned by the company and were row houses
with up to five bedrooms for a rental of $8.50 a month and were
located on the west side of town close to the river and were
often flooded and damaged as a result. It was a filthy and
unhealthy environment compounded by its proximity to the steel
works and the pollution it produced and with which they had to
deal in their workday world as well.
To give an
indication of the growth and expansion of the steel works and
its work force in the period from 1886 to 1906 it increased from
2,500 to over 9,000 men.
In addition
to the recruiters overseas the company also paid fees to
boarding house operators, saloon owners and store owners who
were immigrants themselves to write to friends, relatives and
countrymen back home to encourage them to come to Steelton and
offered their addresses as the place of their destination on
arriving at Ellis Island. They received a fee for everyone who
did. They also did the same with the patrons of their
businesses and became the major source of recruitment in the
years ahead. There was a steady stream of immigrants coming and
going. In many ways Steelton had a floating population. They
were always in search of jobs and jobs paying more money.
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