how did he survive? what is his attitude towardswelfare? Hard Times in a North Carolina Cotton Mill
Fantastic news! We've Found the answer you've been seeking!
Question:
how did he survive? what is his attitude towardswelfare?
Transcribed Image Text:
Hard Times in a North Carolina Cotton Mill (1938-1939) Sam T. Mayhew was a black North Carolinian who worked in a cotton mill. The cot- ton textile industry was among the economic sectors hardest bit by the Great Depres- sion, and Mayhew, along with thousands of other mill workers, lost his job. How did be survive? What is his attitude toward welfare? 1 "At present I belong to the ranks of the unemployed. I have regular employ- ment only four months of the annum, and sometimes that is just part-time." Sam T. Mayhew throws away the end of a fat cigar and settles back comfortably to be in- terviewed. The black expanse of face above hefty shoulders is interrupted by an im- pressive black mustache, which presents itself before the discontent in the big black eyes registers. "The past year it was just part-time. We worked at the gin [cotton mill] a few days the first of September and then were laid off till the middle, when the gin started running again. The gin shut down for the year on December 24, which gave me around 78 working days, 26 days to the month, for the year. I am paid $2 a day at the gin. So my income this year was 2 times 78-$156, I believe it is. I've got it all figured out and set down here in this little book. Now, to get an estimate of how much my family of seven has to live on, divide $156 by 12. I've figured it out; it's less than 50 cents a week, 7 and a fraction cents a day apiece for us, with everything we eat and wear coming out of the store. It's wrong)... to say folks can't live that cheap; they can and do when they have to, such living as it is. "Since February, I've been getting a little relief help from the government. Everything they've give since my first trip to Jackson I've set down in this little book; it starts out with 24 pounds of flour, 5 pounds of butter, 3 pounds of prunes and beans and ends up with 17 grapefruits and 3 pounds of butter, which is all they give me last week. I've figured up what the government has give me since Febru- ary-counting flour at 75 cents, butter at 30 and so forth-and it comes to exactly $14.60. I've estimated that is just one-fourth of what we ought to have to live on, to eat. Several times I've asked for clothes the women make at the sewing room, but each time those have been denied. "There's three grown folks and four children at my house, but what these chil- dren really ought to eat is more expensive than what we could manage on. I read considerably about the diet children ought to have-milk, butter, eggs, cereals, and fruits but I can't stretch my income to provide it. I'm particular concerned into diets and meals, because at my house I have to do practically all the cooking since my wife has been physically and mentally incapacitated. My mother always taught her boys as well as girls to do every kind of work that came to hand, from cooking to washing, and it's well she did. The way I start the day is this: first, I make a fire in the stove, heat some lard in my frying pan, cut up an onion in the hot grease, then sift some flour and pepper and salt in the pari, and when the mixture is brown add a little water. This is the main dish for breakfast. Sometimes I stir up some egg bread with a spoon to serve with this onion gravy, sometimes biscuits. "After breakfast the children get off to school and are gone till three-thirty in the afternoon. By time they get home, I try to have them a hot dish of dried peas or beans and some prunes or canned fruit if we have any. When there's meat, I season the beans with a little slice which I cut up into six pieces--I can't eat hog meat my- self on account of high blood pressure-but when meat's out, I put a spoonful of lard in the pot for seasoning. Lunch? We don't have any lunch; two meals a day is all we have winter and summer. The children don't get very hungry, because they're used to it; sometimes when they see other children at school with candy and cakes, it's right hard on them. But they know I don't have so much as a nickel extra to give them to buy an apple or orange, and they don't complain. Hard Times in a North Carolina Cotton Mill (1938-1939) Sam T. Mayhew was a black North Carolinian who worked in a cotton mill. The cot- ton textile industry was among the economic sectors hardest bit by the Great Depres- sion, and Mayhew, along with thousands of other mill workers, lost his job. How did be survive? What is his attitude toward welfare? 1 "At present I belong to the ranks of the unemployed. I have regular employ- ment only four months of the annum, and sometimes that is just part-time." Sam T. Mayhew throws away the end of a fat cigar and settles back comfortably to be in- terviewed. The black expanse of face above hefty shoulders is interrupted by an im- pressive black mustache, which presents itself before the discontent in the big black eyes registers. "The past year it was just part-time. We worked at the gin [cotton mill] a few days the first of September and then were laid off till the middle, when the gin started running again. The gin shut down for the year on December 24, which gave me around 78 working days, 26 days to the month, for the year. I am paid $2 a day at the gin. So my income this year was 2 times 78-$156, I believe it is. I've got it all figured out and set down here in this little book. Now, to get an estimate of how much my family of seven has to live on, divide $156 by 12. I've figured it out; it's less than 50 cents a week, 7 and a fraction cents a day apiece for us, with everything we eat and wear coming out of the store. It's wrong)... to say folks can't live that cheap; they can and do when they have to, such living as it is. "Since February, I've been getting a little relief help from the government. Everything they've give since my first trip to Jackson I've set down in this little book; it starts out with 24 pounds of flour, 5 pounds of butter, 3 pounds of prunes and beans and ends up with 17 grapefruits and 3 pounds of butter, which is all they give me last week. I've figured up what the government has give me since Febru- ary-counting flour at 75 cents, butter at 30 and so forth-and it comes to exactly $14.60. I've estimated that is just one-fourth of what we ought to have to live on, to eat. Several times I've asked for clothes the women make at the sewing room, but each time those have been denied. "There's three grown folks and four children at my house, but what these chil- dren really ought to eat is more expensive than what we could manage on. I read considerably about the diet children ought to have-milk, butter, eggs, cereals, and fruits but I can't stretch my income to provide it. I'm particular concerned into diets and meals, because at my house I have to do practically all the cooking since my wife has been physically and mentally incapacitated. My mother always taught her boys as well as girls to do every kind of work that came to hand, from cooking to washing, and it's well she did. The way I start the day is this: first, I make a fire in the stove, heat some lard in my frying pan, cut up an onion in the hot grease, then sift some flour and pepper and salt in the pari, and when the mixture is brown add a little water. This is the main dish for breakfast. Sometimes I stir up some egg bread with a spoon to serve with this onion gravy, sometimes biscuits. "After breakfast the children get off to school and are gone till three-thirty in the afternoon. By time they get home, I try to have them a hot dish of dried peas or beans and some prunes or canned fruit if we have any. When there's meat, I season the beans with a little slice which I cut up into six pieces--I can't eat hog meat my- self on account of high blood pressure-but when meat's out, I put a spoonful of lard in the pot for seasoning. Lunch? We don't have any lunch; two meals a day is all we have winter and summer. The children don't get very hungry, because they're used to it; sometimes when they see other children at school with candy and cakes, it's right hard on them. But they know I don't have so much as a nickel extra to give them to buy an apple or orange, and they don't complain.
Expert Answer:
Answer rating: 100% (QA)
Survival Strategies Sam T Mayhews survival strategies involve a combination of parttime employment government relief assistance and careful budgeting ... View the full answer
Related Book For
Smith and Roberson Business Law
ISBN: 978-0538473637
15th Edition
Authors: Richard A. Mann, Barry S. Roberts
Posted Date:
Students also viewed these economics questions
-
The Crazy Eddie fraud may appear smaller and gentler than the massive billion-dollar frauds exposed in recent times, such as Bernie Madoffs Ponzi scheme, frauds in the subprime mortgage market, the...
-
Planning is one of the most important management functions in any business. A front office managers first step in planning should involve determine the departments goals. Planning also includes...
-
Troy Engines, Ltd., manufactures a variety of engines for use in heavy equipment. The company has always produced all of the necessary parts for its engines, including all of the carburetors. An...
-
What are non negativity constraints in the linear programming model? Why is it not necessary that they be specified for every linear programming problem?
-
Between his freshman and sophomore years of college, Jack takes a job as ticket collector at a local movie theatre. Moviegoers purchase a ticket from a separate employee outside the theatre and then...
-
What action would you take with each salesperson?
-
ABC Company produces Product X, Product Y, and Product Z. All three products require processing on specialized finishing machines. The capacity of these machines is 3,600 hours per month. ABC Company...
-
Use the given information below to evaluate each definite integral. 10 [ f(x) dx = 3 and f(x) dx = 9 a. f(x) dx = b. *8f(x) dx = C. L f(x) dx = = 10 10 f(x) dx + 6 f(x) dx = d. f* 10 e. f(x) dx =
-
The illustration below show a process called LOCOS for Local Oxidation of Silicon. In this a thin film of Silicon Nitride is depostied and patterned into protective pads, in this case 20 microns...
-
A fruit company packages its fruit into two types of boxes: large and small. This morning, the company made two deliveries. The table below shows the number of boxes in each delivery and the total...
-
Question 5 Mickey is 17 years old, and is a beneficiary of two trusts: His father's discretionary family trust inter vivos His rich Uncle's (died 5 years ago) deceased estate trust The financial...
-
a) What is the expected return for Stock A? b) What is the standard deviation for Stock C? c) Which of the three stocks is a rational investor most likely to purchase? d) What is the expected return...
-
For a 0.66 specific gravity gas at 250 F, calculate and plot pseudopressures in a pressure range from 14.7 psia and 8,000 psia. Under what condition is the pseudopressure linearly proportional to...
-
Matthew Fortin is a Canadian resident who lives in London, Ontario. He has the following income for the 2022 taxation year: Employment income $121,300 Taxable capital gains $11,400 Eligible dividends...
-
Iceland Company sells freezer and refrigerator assemblies, providing equipment, accessories, and installation services for housing contractors. Respond to the requirements related to the following...
-
Discuss whether responsible human resources management should apply different standards for the home company and suppliers, for developed countries and developing countries, and for large companies...
-
Red Owl Stores told the Hoffman family that, upon the payment of approximately $518,000, a grocery store franchise would be built for them in a new location. Upon the advice of Red Owl, the Hoffmans...
-
Tovar applied for the position of resident physician in Paxton Community Memorial Hospital. The hospital examined his background and licensing and assured him that he was qualified for the position....
-
Discuss horizontal restraints of trade.
-
What are the resources of the organization? How are these used in management decision making?
-
Define management and indicate what its principal purposes are and why managers are essential to organizations.
-
Through the implementation of efficient and effective management, New Belgium Brewing (NBB) has grown from operating out of the founder's basement to having two state-of-the-art facilities and over...
Study smarter with the SolutionInn App