﻿OOLIITC LTMESTOISTE INDUSTRY 



101 



foremen try to prevent men from working when under the in- 

 fluence of liquor, for the danger of injury through carelessness 

 is great. 



The workmen quite generally display a fondness for j)etty 

 gambling. "Crap-shooting" is such a favorite sport with then) 

 that some employers have thought it necessary to prohibit its 

 practice on their property. The petty gambling device of ''raf- 

 fling" is very common, and there is a tendency to substitute it 

 for regular sale wherever i^ossible. One man has butchered a 

 beef and has more than he needs ; another has a wornout horse 

 or buggy that he wishes to get rid of ; still another has a gun or 

 a watch to sell, and all use the raffle by preference. The seller 

 of chances not infrequently becomes a real nuisance to the man- 

 agement on pay-day. Anything which offers a chance of win- 

 ning something for nothing seems to appeal with special force 

 to the quarrymen. In such an atmosphere there doubtless flour- 

 ish more serious forms of gambling, which are not so open and 

 well known. 



Despite all this the workmen are in the main honest and in- 

 dustrious, more so, perhaps, than some of the employers are in- 

 clined to represent. In the southern district especially, their 

 experiences with the union men seem to have caused employers to 

 look with suspicion upon their workmen, and to regard rather 

 too seriously such traits as have been mentioned. 



Church membership appears to be comparatively rare among 

 the quarrymen. Attendance also is small. This brings up the 

 question which has of late been so often asked: What is the 

 church doing to reach the working people? A prominent mem- 

 ber of one of the churches of Bloomington is authority for the 

 statement that the fault lies with the church and not so much 

 with the people, as was shovm him a few years ago when a young 

 pastor, who had built up his membership roll from among the 

 quarrymen, was forced to resign because he was bringing an 

 uncongenial and undesirable class of members into the church. 

 Yet many pastors are doing good mission work, assisted in occa- 

 sional instances by employers. Perhaps the workmen can hardly 

 be said to be averse to religious influences, yet they are not 

 easily interested in church work. 



To a considerable extent fraternal societies take the place of 

 the church in the life of the quarrymen. The membership of 

 .-some of these societies contains a large proportion of quarrymen. 



