"The patch village was laid out according to the class of worker." One cannot read this book without confronting the issue of class and the working poor. Like their modern counterparts, the turn-of-the-century American upper classes perceived the poor as lazy or unwilling to improve their lot in life. Unlike poor Americans today, however, the working poor of that era had little federal support and were taken care of by the company instead—with substandard housing, limited schooling, and company credit. The captains of industry built their empires in part on coal profits. This book is not about the comfortable life of mine owners or managers. The coal empire was made possible by the willingness of laborers to work long hours for low pay. Only when labor was able and willing to organize, acquire political clout, and.....
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