"We pay mostly by the week, $3.50, working eleven hours a day. We pay
the same to women as men. It requires from two to twelve weeks to learn.
They are paid what they can earn while learning. There is no surplus of
workwomen in this branch of labor. Our girls board in families, and pay
$1.34 per week." A manufacturer in Vermont says: "Twenty women are
employed by me. They are all American or English. They are paid
according to the amount of work they do. Girls that weave make $3,
besides board. Some are paid by the yard, and some by the week. They are
paid as much as men for the same kind of work. It usually takes four
weeks to learn to weave. Learners give their time. Work is performed ten
hours a day all the year. Women prefer factory to housework. They pay
$1.50 per week for board." A manufacturer in New Hampshire writes: "We
pay from $2.50 to $4.50 per week. For the work that women can do in our
establishment, they are worth more than men, as they can work quicker.
Women soon learn to weave, but for the first six months they are not
worth more than half pay. The prospect for future employment is good.
The best seasons for work are spring, summer, and fall. They are usually
employed ten hours a day. We employ none but American women. Some parts
of our business are suitable for women, but we can get boys cheaper.
Board $1.25 per week." B. Brothers, of Proctorsville, Vermont, write:
"We employ from thirty to forty American women in preference to men,
because the work is more suitable for them. Prospects for increase of
employment in this line are very flattering. The women average $2.50 per
week with board. They work twelve hours a day, and can be employed all
the year. They are superior in all respects to men. If they were not, we
should employ men. Their facilities for mental and moral culture are
good. Women are paid less than men, on account of the work being light.
Board $1.50 per week." The Globe Woollen Company (Utica, New York)
write: "Our women, seventy-five in number, earn from $3 to $6 a week,
and are paid both by the piece and week. Men and women work together in
the weaving room. It requires but a few days to learn to weave, although
experience is valuable, both on account of wages and excellence of
production. Mental and physical ability ought to be combined to insure
success. The prospect for future employment is good. Continual
employment is given. Our hands work 12 hours each day, Saturdays 10½.
One fourth are Americans, and they live and dress well. The demand for
labor is good all through the country. There is no part of our business
where women could be advantageously introduced, where not now employed.
The women have all the facilities a city affords for mental and
aesthetic culture."
=184. Cloths.= A manufacturer of gray cloth in Vermont writes: "Women
are employed at spinning, carding, burling, and weaving. We have ten,
because they are more easily obtained than men. We pay women from $2 to
$3.50 per week, and board them. They work twelve hours per day. The work
done by men requires more than double the experience of that performed
by women. Women can learn in four weeks, men in sixteen. Women are paid
half wages while learning. They are busy except in the winter. All board
with me." C. & Sons, of T., N. Y., write: "Experienced hands receive
$3.75 per week--inexperienced $3--board included. Women are not employed
at the same work as men. It requires two years to learn our
business--six months for women. We adopt the ten-hour system. There is
no difference in seasons as to work, except in case of low water. Our
labor yields sufficient to keep them until they find an opportunity to
marry. They have a good library--ten periodicals every week. They pay
for board from $1.50 to $1.75 per week." A manufacturer in Derby, Conn.,
writes: "We employ about fifteen women, because they are cheaper and
more easily obtained; but many are now using male weavers. They earn
from $3 to $6 per week, and are paid both ways. They work eleven hours.
To work ten instead of eleven hours, we would lose that amount of the
product of those who work by the day. I think there is a demand for such
labor all through New England, and I do not know where there is a
surplus of such help. We have had but few whose parents were born in
America. Women might be employed on shearing machines. They are not,
because it is as easy getting boys. Women have less strength and
endurance, and are less constant at work, but quicker in motion and less
liable to bad habits. Board for females from $2.25 to $2.50 per week." A
manufacturing company of satinets and printing cloths, Troy, N. Y., give
the following information: "We pay from $2.50 to $6 per week, average
$4.50. Men and women get the same wages for the same work. Women learn
in from two to four weeks. At best it is but partially learned. Some are
paid while learning, and some are not. There is now, and always will be
full employment. We furnish steady work all the year. The hands work
twelve hours per day. The time could be shortened, but the workers would
lose by it. There is a demand for female labor of this kind in Cohoes,
N. Y. We have sixty-nine women, and one half are Americans. They are
well fed and dress better than any other class of working people. Women
are more steady and neater than men. They are all Protestant, and their
intelligence is about the average. They pay $1.50 per week for good
board." The Monsoon Woollen Co., Mass., say: "We pay fourteen mills per
yard for weaving. The women make just the same as the men, and perform
the same kind of work. They earn on an average eighty-three cents per
day of twelve hours. The work can be done without apprenticeship. The
prospect is that our business will be on the increase for years. Our
help are employed the year round: three quarters are Americans. They
have their evenings after seven o'clock. They pay $2 per week for
board." The agent of Shady Lee Mills, R. I., writes: "Women are employed
in woollen mills in England, Germany, France, and this country. They are
paid in our mill by the piece, and earn $5 per week on an average. Women
weavers earn as much as men. It takes a lifetime to learn; some learn
better than others. Learners are paid. The business is improving daily.
Women work all the year round, unless broken down. They work twelve
hours a day. The time could not be shortened. The supply of hands about
equals the demand in this manufacture. We employ seventy-five women,
because they are better for weavers. Nearly all our work people can read
and write. Board $1.75." Mr. H., a manufacturer in Massachusetts,
writes: He "pays from $14 to $18 a month, working by the piece. While
learning they are paid for what they do. They can earn fair wages after
two weeks' experience. They work thirteen hours a day, and are employed
through the year. There is no surplus of weavers. He employs
twenty-five, because they are better adapted to the work. Women are
superior in hand work. Board $6 a month." A satinet manufacturer in
Maine, writes: "Our women weave by the cut and earn about $6 per week. A
person can get an insight of the business in a few years; but to get a
thorough knowledge requires at least the English term of
apprenticeship--seven years. Women are paid half price while learning.
Summer is the best season, but our women are employed the year round.
They work twelve hours--which is the usual time here, and less would be
a loss. Women are handier than men, and can be boarded for less. We have
churches in the village and a good moral influence. Board $1.50 per
week; comforts quite equal to those of their homes." Manufacturers in
Pittsfield, Mass., inform us "they have a number of women employed in
weaving and sewing, mostly weaving. The employment is considered
healthy, and the condition of weavers is entirely comfortable, as this
is, of course, for the interest of the employers as well as the
employées. The average time of work is thirteen hours. The wages paid
them is from $4 per week to $6. They are paid by the yard, and their
earnings depend upon their attention, activity, and capability. They are
paid $3 a week while learning. Women weavers earn quite as much as men,
and can stand the confinement as well, if not better. We have no
difficulty in keeping our looms supplied, and frequently have
applications which we are obliged to reject. We employ sixty women,
nearly one half Americans. In this place they have every advantage for
moral and mental culture. Those who have parents or friends working in
the establishment usually live with them; and those who have not, live
at our boarding house, which is as comfortable and well regulated as any
house in the country. The price charged for board is from $1.25 to $1.50
per week." A company in North Berwick, Me., writes: "We pay both ways;
when by the week, from $2.50 to $4. Males and females do not perform the
same kind of work with us. The time of learning varies with the
capacities of the women. Some of our hands have been with us more than
ten years. Seasons alike. They work eleven hours. We employ twenty-five
women, because it is more economical. Not one of our women will do
housework. Our employées are Yankee girls--can all read and write; and,
so far as we know, converse intelligently on general subjects. They have
their evenings and a portion of each Saturday. Board $1.33 ¹/3 per
week." We would add that every cotton and woollen manufacturer from whom
we have heard, expresses the opinion that their occupation is healthy.
All, we believe, pay some hands by the week and some by the piece, and
most pay men and women at the same rate for the same kind of work. It
will be observed that the rates paid for labor decrease the farther you
go North, but that board is also something less.
=185. Coverlets.= A manufacturer of woollen coverlets in Allentown,
Penn., answers inquiries in regard to prices paid, &c., as follows: "I
employ eight American girls for spooling wool and cotton yarn in my
coverlet manufactory, and pay two cents per pound. They earn from $2 to
$2.50 per week. I pay girls the same as boys. The prospect for increase
of work is good. There is a surplus of hands here. I prefer girls, as
they have more patience than boys."
=186. Dry Goods Refinishers.= A. & Co. employ women when busy to put up
dress goods, cravats, ribbons, &c. They pay $3 a week. I was told by a
satinet printer and refinisher, that he employs one woman to sew the
ends of the cloth together. She does it with a machine, and earns $5 a
week, working ten hours a day. The coloring matter rubs off on the
hands. S. employs some women, and pays $3 a week. He gives them about
eight months' employment. During two months in summer and two in winter,
there is not enough doing to employ them. He says some women, like some
men, know nothing but how to eat. He finds it difficult to get women of
intelligence and judgment to do his work. (I should think he would, for
such wages.) The girls fold, label, and pack. There are but three large
houses of the kind in New York. At another place we saw a girl who gets
$3 a week for such work--ten hours a day.
=187. Flannels.= Flannels differ much in color and quality. Employers
are unanimous in pronouncing the work healthy. If the sum paid foreign
countries for flannels and blankets were invested in manufactories in
our country, it would give employment to many, and tend to encourage
home industry. A flannel manufacturer in Stockport, New York, writes:
"We employ women at weaving and spooling. Women and girls are paid
mostly by the piece, and earn from $3 to $5 per week. No males are
employed at the same work as females. It usually takes about a week to
learn to weave. We do not pay learners. We will increase the number of
women as we increase our product. All seasons are alike as respects
employment. Our hands work twelve hours per day. The time could not be
shortened without loss to both employer and employed. We have about
forty females, and prefer them, as it gives the whole family work. Eight
tenths are American. The work is as light and comfortable as any in the
mill. There is no other work suitable than that in which they are now
engaged. All our women can read and write, and are already quite
intelligent, particularly the Americans. We do not employ many under
sixteen years of age, and those younger are usually sent to school a
part of the year. Board is $6 per month in good, respectable families."
A manufacturer in Dover, Maine, replies to a circular asking
information: "I employ women as weavers, carders, spoolers, and one as a
warper-on to draw the web. Women earn from $2.75 to $5 per week, eleven
hours per day. Weavers are paid by the piece. I pay men from 83 cents to
$1.50 per day. Women do the lighter and easier work. Some parts are not
adapted to women, that is one reason why we pay less, and perhaps custom
has something to do with the prices of labor. Women learn their part in
from one to six weeks, but it requires some years of experience to be a
manufacturer. For some kinds of work we pay from the beginning; for
others, after one or two weeks. The prospect is fair; work, constant. In
large manufacturing places, there is a demand for labor of this kind.
Women are employed because they work cheaper. Women do their kind of
work better than men. Our women are Americans, and appear to enjoy life
well. They have the early morning and evening, and the Sabbath for
themselves. More than one half are church members. Those that have
relations living near the factory, board with them, and pay $1.50 per
week." A manufacturer in Conway, Massachusetts, writes: "We employ women
in weaving, burling, sewing, and numbering flannels. They receive from
50 cents to $1 per day of twelve hours. Women doing the same kind of
labor as men receive the same price. It requires from one to four weeks
to learn. If our business does not pay better in future than the past,
we had better stop. In the more difficult part of our work there is a
demand for hands. Men make better work than women. One fourth are
American. Board, $1.50, to $1.75." A manufacturer in Morgantown, New
York, writes: "The employment is as healthy as any indoor work. The
wages average about $5 per week, they being paid by the piece. It takes
about four years to learn the business, so as to conduct it in its
several branches. I pay their expenses while learning. The best season
is the fall. Work lasts ten hours--if obliged to run longer, we pay
extra. We think women more to be depended on than men. We have no
department suitable for women but what is filled by them. Board, $2 a
week--quite good. In the cities board is seldom over $2 per week for
workwomen. The rent and price of provisions are too high to keep a
boarding house as it should be on such terms. Our wages may be lower in
the country, but expenses are much lower also, and consequently the
laborer is able to save more money." Manufacturers in Keene, N. H.,
write: "We pay one half $3, the other, $3.80 per week, twelve hours a
day. We pay the same to both sexes when the quantity and quality are the
same. A carder will learn in one month, a weaver in three months. The
qualities wanted are industry, sobriety, perseverance, constructiveness,
and amiability. All seasons alike good. To shorten the time of thirteen
hours would be a loss to both parties. All branches are well supplied
with workers. Women have more patience, tact, neatness, and are more
reliable than men. All our women are well fed, well clothed, well
housed, and some possess the luxuries, and even elegancies of life. We
have six places of worship, a public library, book stores, and
newspapers in abundance. Board, $1.50."
=188. Gloves.= Kid, silk, cotton, and woollen are the kinds of gloves
most used. They differ much in quality. Kid and leather are most
numerous. The price of labor, the difficulty in obtaining the best kid,
and the want of experienced workmen, are such that the finest kid gloves
have not been made in the United States. An immense number of kid gloves
are annually imported. In Paris, women are paid from sixty cents to $1 a
dozen for sewing gloves. The French excel in the manufacture of kid
gloves. French workmen are very economical in cutting out the kid. In
France 375,000 dozens of skins are cut into gloves every year. Nearly
3,500 female glove sewers are employed in Vienna. Immense quantities of
buckskin gloves and mittens are made in Johnstown and Gloversville, New
York. "Most American manufactures have been introduced by sending the
goods into the country by peddlers, or the manufacturers themselves
selling them in that way. This trade was commenced so." The manufacture
of buckskin gloves and mittens is mostly confined to small towns and the
country. The cutting is done by men. The sewing is given out to those
who do the work at home, and receive for their labor from $1 to $6 per
week. It requires but a few weeks to learn. A manufacturer of kid and
buckskin gloves, in Philadelphia, has all his sewing done by hand. He
will not use machines for cutting out and sewing, as it would throw many
of his workwomen out of employment. Those who are neat and intelligent
obtain a very good livelihood by it. They take the work home, and earn
$6 a week or more; beginners only $1.50 or $2. The kid is imported from
South America, and not so fine as French kid. A glove manufacturer, New
York, who lived in Johnstown eighteen years, told me that "girls can
earn at glove sewing from $3 to $6 a week. Those who board in the
families of their employers receive less, because of their board. Many
gloves are made up by farmers' daughters at home, both by hand and
machine. A good sewer would not find it difficult to make gloves. Most
of the gloves made in factories are stitched by machines. Singer's and
Grover & Baker's are preferred. Handworkers do not receive quite so good
wages. Women used to cut out gloves with scissors, but now men cut them
by striking with a hammer a tool the shape of a glove. The plan is
preferred, because of being cheaper. The knowledge of dressing kid seems
to be lost to foreigners in coming over the ocean." A manufacturer in
Springfield, Mass., writes: "We employ some women in making buckskin
gloves and mittens. Some work by the piece, and some by the week, and
earn from $3 to $5. Those who work by the week spend ten hours, sewing.
It takes females from two hours to four weeks to learn. Patience,
perseverance, and taste are needed by learners. The best season for work
is from February to November. They are out of work about two months at
times. Most are Americans. They can use a needle better than a man." A
glover in Salem writes: "Our women sew by hand, and earn $3 per week.
Men spend three years in learning--women six months. The prospect for
work is poor, as importation is destroying the business." A manufacturer
at Gloversville writes: "Women earn from $3 to $5 a week, ten hours a
day. Males get as much again as women. A smart woman will learn in eight
months. Prospect of work in the future is good." Manufacturers in
Broadalbin, N. Y., write me they employ twelve American women at the
shop, and about one hundred out of the shop, finishing up. When paid by
the week, they receive from $2 to $4.50, and work ten hours a day. The
comparison in prices in male and female labor is about $2 to $1, for the
reason that it requires more strength, labor, and skill to perform the
man's part. Men spend two or three years in learning--women, six months.
Punctuality, sobriety, and a liberal education, together with a steady
nerve, will insure success in our business. (Some one else suggests,
mechanical talent.) As long as there are feet to wear moccasins, and
hands to wear gloves, our kind of business must thrive. Board in neat
and commodious houses, $2 for women." A glover in New Hampshire writes:
"Women sew by the piece for me; most have families, do their own work,
and sew when they can--so I cannot say how much they would earn, if they
sewed constantly. A man would have to spend from two to four years
qualifying himself to superintend; the part done by women can be learned
in from two to six weeks. Summer is the best season, but good workers
have constant employment. All are Americans. Any locality is good where
water power may be had. Ladies pay for board from $1.50 to $1.70 per
week." Another in Perth, N. Y., says: "Some of our workers use sewing
machines; others fit and prepare the goods for them. They earn from $3
to $4.75. The male and female labor is different in our establishment. I
think the business permanent. Best time for work is from 1st of March to
1st of November. They work all daylight, except at meal times. When a
certain amount of work is required in a given time, the women are apt to
overwork themselves and slight the work. The wives and daughters of
mechanics and farmers do the piecework at their homes. All Americans.
Board, from $1.75 to $2." "At Gloversville the men cut, and machines do
the sewing. Five pair of mits and two pair of gloves are a heavy days
work. Gloves are worth 75 cents per day to cut; and to make from 12½
cents for a light article, to 18 cents for heavy ones."--_Woollen
Gloves._ I was told by a man who employed eight girls to crochet woollen
gloves for him, that he pays fifty cents a dozen pairs. He makes over
five cents profit on a pair when selling to the wholesale stores; and in
retailing, nine cents a pair. He says a right expeditious girl can make
one dozen pairs a day. He employs his girls all the year. Most that
attempt to learn find their progress so slow that they get discouraged,
and give it up. It is best to learn early in life. The Germans excel.