Buxton: A Black Utopia in the Heartland, An Expanded Edition

4. The Consolidation Coal Company

4 THE CONSOLIDATION COAL COMPANY ~.~_:k~'. ~ OR residents of Buxton, life began and ended with the PJ\ Consolidation Coal Company. Because Consolidation D founded the community and because Buxton remained " a company town throughout its existence, Consolidation made the decisions that either directly or indirectly controlled all aspects of community life. In light of this pervasive authority, it is necessary to examine the company not only as an employer , but also as a community manager. Because of the period in which Buxton existed, it is also necessary to examine company policies and practices from another perspective, that of welfare capitalism. During the time that Consolidation operated in Iowa, from 1881 to 1925, a movement known as welfare capitalism existed in many parts of the country. This movement was one where leading industrial firms provided their workers with services and facilities designed to produce a more satisfied work force, a move that industrialists hoped would stave off industrial unrest and unionization . Because the period of welfare capitalism coincided with Consolidation 's activities in Iowa and because of the extensive nature of the movement, Consolidation's policies will be examined from that perspective. One aspect of Consolidation's experience is clear at the outset, however: former residents held the company in high regard, and as employees they followed company policies without question. By the fall of 1900, when construction began on the first homes in Buxton, Consolidation had done considerable planning as to the type of community they intended to create. In 1896, when Consolidation officials were beginning to look for new coalfields, numerous industrialists in the eastern United States were following a set of practices known as welfare capitalism, which Stuart D. Brandes has de88 The Consolidation Coal Company 89 fined as "any service provided for the comfort or improvement of employees which was neither a necessity of the industry nor required by law." These services took a variety of forms, including the construction of housing, parks, libraries, schools, churches, YMCAs, and medical facilities. Industrialists provided these services or facilities to produce a more contented work force; more specifically, the industrialists hoped to prevent union organizing and labor unrest, particularly strikes. Accordingly, Brandes notes, "the underlying theory [of welfare capitalism] was that well-housed, well-fed, clean, properly educated Christians do not strike, or at least were less likely to than those with different lifestyles."· Welfare capitalism first appeared in the railroad industry. As early as 1872, eastern railroads began to build YMCAs as a way of avoiding labor disruptions. The YMCAs contained bathing facilities, libraries, and athletic facilities; moreover, "Y" officials offered classes on railroad work and religion. In 1877 a series of strikes paralyzed many eastern railroads, and some railroad executives responded by upgrading workers' living conditions, believing that these improvements would prevent workers from striking again.2 As the philosophy of welfare capitalism spread, some industrialists constructed entire towns based on its principles. In 1880, for example·, George Pullman constructed his model community of Pullman, Illinois, on three hundred acres near Chicago. The town housed Pullman's labor force, which manufactured Pullman sleeping cars. In addition to fine houses, many of which were five-room row houses, Pullman built parks and a miniature lake for boating and swimming, complete with an island to be used for different types of athletics. Workmen paved Pullman's streets with macadam, built wooden sidewalks, and landscaped the entire area. By 1885, Pullman contained 1,400 dwelling units. Pullman's project is viewed as the first model town in industrial America.3 By improving the lives of workers and their families, welfare capitalists believed they could accomplish several goals. Beyond preventing their workers from joining unions and engaging in any type of industrial violence, welfare capitalists believed that through their upgrading of workers' lives, they could actually create an "improved American working man: thrifty, clean, temperate, intelligent, and, especially, industrious and loyal." By accomplishing this goal, they would not only fight the expansion of unionism, but perhaps create an environment where the idea of unionism would not breed at all. In 90 BUXTON their development of welfare capitalism, industrialists placed heavy emphasis on providing good homes. They believed that comfortable homes surrounded with trees and flowers kept families intact and in turn produced satisfied, productive workers. Moreover, some companies sponsored bands and baseball teams. They reasoned that if these teams were successful they might create pride and loyalty in all...