could be done by women after they are put in the frames, but
considerable strength is required in the preparatory processes of
shaving and screwing up. The burnishing is done with agates. I doubt
whether it requires more strength than many other things women do.
Laying gold leaf on the edges could certainly be done by them. Men that
gild the edges of books receive from $7 to $9 a week. Men will not fold
or stitch, because it does not pay well enough. G. says gilding the
covers of books requires a longer apprenticeship than either folding or
sewing; and at H.'s, workers are paid at first eight cents an hour,
afterward ten cents an hour. It being piecework, the girls are not
strictly confined to hours. Book and card edge-gilding is done both in
England and France by women.
=381. Electrotypers.= Electrotyping is now more used than stereotyping
by those who expect to have many editions of a work published. It costs
but little more than stereotyping, and is either four or six times as
durable, I forget which. 2,000,000 impressions can be taken from an
electrotype plate, but only 800,000 from a stereotype plate. A boy
learning the business receives $4 a week the first year, and after that
more. A journeyman receives $2 a day, and some $2.50. A journeyman told
us he had spent seven years at it, and he felt that he had yet much to
learn; in fact, a person could be always learning. Electrotyping would
be a useful and profitable occupation for women. An apprenticeship of
three or four years is given to it.
=382. Envelope Makers.= At B. & G.'s, New York, girls work by the piece
all the year in busy times, and can earn from $3 to $6. Most of those
who get in factories, do so through the influence of friends or
acquaintances in or connected with the establishment. Their business is
increasing. They keep their girls all the year. They give lessons in the
busy months, August and September, February and March, and pay from the
first. A good hand can earn from $3 to $5. P. & Co. usually employ sixty
girls. They are paid by the piece, and earn from $4 to $4.50 a week. The
envelopes are made by machines, attended by women. They employ five or
six girls making envelopes by hand, as they have not machines of some
sizes. P. thinks the occupation is full. They have employed their girls
all the year. They used to take learners, and give the teachers their
profits. My companion, Mrs. F., inquired if envelopes could not be more
easily made where the paper is manufactured. He replied, they could not,
because paper (and, I believe, all other goods) are delivered free of
freight in New York, and he can make more by being here in the centre of
trade, than if he had to send his goods here to be sold, and employ some
one to sell them. He prefers the girls that can be obtained in the
villages and country, for he thinks them more honest and truthful. He
thinks the grade of morals altogether superior in the country to that of
the city. He spoke of the want of moral obligation in the lower classes,
arising from the want of proper instruction, and the lower you descend
the worse you find it. The makers of boxes for containing envelopes they
got were such a common set, that they instructed some nice American
girls how to make them, and now employ them. He says the box makers are
a common set. So I have heard bookbinders, umbrella makers, and
hoop-skirt workers spoken of. But I frequently hear one trade speak
disparagingly of another. W. told me their girls are paid so much a
thousand. The envelopes are cut by a machine attended by a man. They are
folded by a machine managed by two women, who of course stand. They are
pasted and enveloped by girls who sit. The girls earn from $3 to $5 a
week. It requires but two or three weeks to acquire the trade. A learner
is paid nothing. The envelopes are tipped or gummed by a girl, who
stands. This is the most difficult part of the work done by women, and
pays best. There are eight factories in New York, one in Philadelphia,
and one in Connecticut. Nine tenths of the business is done in New York.
There are probably between two hundred and three hundred girls employed
in the business in that city. W. requires references. Some employers are
particular in their selection of hands--others advertise, and take them
as they come. 2,700 envelopes have been made in an hour by machinery. A
manufacturer in Massachusetts writes: "The work is considered
particularly healthy. Girls from 12 years up are employed, and earn from
thirty-three to seventy-five cents a day of ten hours. Men are paid from
$1 to $2.75 per day. Two are machinists, two overseers, and two cutters
of envelopes. Women are not strong enough for this kind of work. Some
parts can be learned in a month, some in six months, and in others it
requires a year to excel. We give the same employment and pay through
the year, whether our profits are larger or smaller. I employ about
sixty, one sixth of whom are American. The work is light, and we have
constant applications from girls, who prefer this to any other
manufacturing business in town. Board, $1.50."
=383. Folders and Directors of Newspapers.= The lady at F. & W.'s who
directs the papers for them, says the business has been followed by
women in New York for fifteen years. I called at the office of the
_Independent_, and saw one of the editors, who, on learning my business,
kindly invited me into the room where the young ladies were employed in
directing strips of paper to envelop newspapers. It is a pretty
business, and well adapted to women. Some learn it easily, and some
never learn it. Dr. C. remarked: "A person may have a willing mind, but
not an obedient hand." They had one young lady who spent five months at
it, and then gave it up, because she could not succeed. It requires a
peculiar aptitude, aside from an expeditious movement of the pen. It was
followed more by women eight or nine years ago than now. Many ladies
would like to get employment of the kind, but cannot. I think all the
young ladies in the _Independent_ office were American, and were
certainly very pretty and lady-like. They have a separate room to write
in. They spend about eight hours directing envelopes for papers to send
away. One earns $6 a week, another $5, and another $4. The one that
first came is permitted to have as much work as she can do. The next has
what she leaves, and the third the remainder. The objections made by
some men to employing ladies are that they do not like to have women
work in the same room where they are. They feel under more restraint,
and not so free to say what they please. Such a restraint may be a
wholesome one. Many women make the same objection in regard to working
with men. Again, if a lady does not work as they wish, or is idle, they
do not like to correct her, because women are more quick to resent. The
last excuse is a poor one. They also waste much time by having their
beaux call on them. Some urge they find a boy more useful, because they
can put him to doing something else, when he is not busy writing. In the
_Tribune_ office, men are employed because they can do it more rapidly.
It is said some direct eight hundred envelopes in an hour. In some
offices the girls are expected to seal the papers, but not in all. At
the Cosmopolitan Art Association, I saw a lady that is employed in
directing the _Art Journals_ that are sent by mail. The covers are put
on by a boy. She receives $9 a week, and spends about eight hours
writing. At the rooms of the A. C. Association, we saw three ladies
directing envelopes for the report of the society. The Association
issues a monthly magazine, and at the time of its issue employs the same
ladies for the purpose of enveloping and directing them. At other times
they employ but one. She has been there ten years, and is very
efficient. She attends to the books containing the names of subscribers,
assists the treasurer sometimes, writes letters for the secretary, and
makes herself generally useful in that way. All the ladies complained of
women being so poorly paid. The one who has been there ten years says,
for the $350 a year she gets, they could not secure a young man's
services for less than $700 or $800. The others are paid 63 cents per
thousand for directing, and ten cents per hundred for sealing and
directing.
=384. Ink.= A large quantity of writing and printing ink is used in this
country. There are factories for making each kind. Making printing ink
is hard and dirty work, unsuitable for women. Some persons cut stencil
plates and make indelible ink, and employ agents to sell the ink and
plates. Indelible, and all writing inks, could be made and bottled by
women. Care should be taken that the acids used do not touch the flesh.
Common clothes should be worn while at work, as both the ingredients and
compound are of a kind to injure clothes. A maker of writing ink in New
York, employs three girls in summer for bottling and labelling, and pays
$3.50, working from seven till dark. He never employed any in winter,
but if his business extends, he will employ his girls all the year,
paying the same price in winter. He has found it difficult to get good
hands. The prospect for learners is poor. A manufacturer of ink writes:
"I have never yet employed female help, though I am satisfied that most
of the work in my laboratory might be as well done by women as men. The
employment is not unhealthy. My men work ten hours a day, and are paid
by the month."
=385. Label Cutters.= At P. Brothers', I was told some of their labels
are cut by hand, and some by machinery. The first are square or oblong,
the others are of different shapes. Those cut with shears are most
neatly done. For cutting by hand the price is one cent per hundred. They
take them home. A lady and her two daughters, who work for them, often
receive $50 a month. Those cut by machinery could not well be cut by
women. It requires practice to make one expert. B. pays a girl by the
hundred to cut labels at home. He would employ a girl to cut and attend
his store, paying $3 a week from the first, but she must not be absent a
day. If her health is such that she cannot always be there, he does not
want her. He had one three and a half years, who was absent only ten
days during that time. S. says cutting labels is always piecework, and a
good worker can earn from $4 to $6 a week. He gives them out, and they
are cut by hand. Common ones, for spices, mustard, &c., are cut by
machinery. It does not require long to become expert. The business is
always dull in December and January.
=386. Lead Pencils.= The young man at the agency for the sale of Faber's
pencils, says they are made at Steinway, Germany, and he thinks women
there are employed in varnishing the wood of the pencils and tying them
up. The pencils are either painted or the simple wood varnished. "A man
in New York is reported to have made $60,000 by selling lead pencils
about the streets at a penny a piece, and safely investing his profits."
Some large pencils, such as are used by carpenters, were some time back
made in Massachusetts. The writing part of lead pencils is made of lead
and clay, mixed, pressed, and burnt. The wooden part is in two pieces
that are united when the lead is put in. In Germany each man has his own
part to do. Children do some parts of it, such as joining the wood.
=387. Operatives in Paper Factories.= Paper is of various qualities and
colors, and is adapted to different purposes. At least one half of the
operatives in paper factories in the United States are females,
amounting to several thousand. Water power is used in some paper mills,
but in most large mills steam is used. Women are employed in paper mills
to sift, sort, and cut up rags. It is dusty, disagreeable work, and we
presume not particularly healthy, as much of the dust is no doubt
inhaled. In some factories, women attend the picking and cutting
machines and calenders. They are also employed for hanging, laying off,
reeling, folding, assorting, counting, enveloping, and labelling the
paper. The inability to meet fully the demand for rags in the
manufacture of paper has led to experimenting with a variety of
articles. One agent for the sale of paper made in New Jersey, and the
foreman of the same establishment, told me their girls get from $2.50 to
$3 a week. The majority receive $2.50. Part work six consecutive hours,
have a rest of one hour, then six consecutive hours more, that is from
six at night till seven in the MORNING, HAVING ONE HOUR AT MIDNIGHT; THE
OTHER HALF FROM 7 A. M. till 6 P. M., having an hour at noon. The day
and night workers take week about. They board for $1.50 a week. In Lee,
Mass., women get $3.50 and $4, and the men twice as much. Women are paid
best in the ruling department. In the paper factories in New York, women
receive from $3 to $5 per week. Paper maker's girls, $1.50 to $2.50 per
week. S. says, in some paper factories girls are able to earn $6 a week.
All the labor in paper mills, except attending to the fires and
machinery, could be done by women. All manufacturers report the
occupation as healthy, except one in South Adams, who states that small
pox is sometimes taken from the rags--_not often_. A paper manufacturer
in Lee, Mass., writes: "Women are employed in all countries where paper
is made. The time of learning depends upon their skill and developments
in certain directions in the business. They are usually paid by the
piece. Men are paid more because their labor is greater. Boys learn the
business in about five years, girls in about one year. In learning they
generally receive enough to pay their board. They work at all
seasons--sometimes have nothing to do in July. There is a demand for
hands in the loft, a surplus in the rag room." The New England Roofing
Co. manufacture a felt, which is similar to sheathing paper, but made of
a fine stock. They employ six females in sorting rags and other
materials for the felt, and pay from $3 to $5 per week, one half the
price of males. They work eleven hours, and pay $2 per week for board. A
manufacturer of wrapping and wall paper, in Connecticut, writes "he
employs a few females, and pays fifty cents per day of from eight to ten
hours. He prefers them because most economical. Those working by the
piece can earn from fifty to seventy-five cents per day. He pays men $1
per day for doing like work. They require less attention, and can
perform other work when wanted, that is not suitable for females to
perform. He usually pays beginners the same as others when they work by
the day. His most busy time is when there is most water for power. An
active person can usually earn as much in from six to eight hours as a
house girl is paid for a full day's work." A manufacturer at Niagara
Falls "employs between forty and fifty women, paying each from $2.50 to
$4 per week, without board. They are paid about one half less than men,
because boys would do. The prospect of employment is good. They are most
busy in summer, although they run the whole year, day and night (except
Sunday). They are twelve hours on, and twelve hours off. Board, $1.25 to
$1.75. A firm in South Adams, Mass., write me: "We pay by the piece and
the day. The prices for female labor, we think, compared with work done,
better than for male. It requires no time to learn to cut rags, but
experienced hands can earn more wages. For finishing, from four to six
months are given. Women are paid while learning. We employ women always,
when they can do the labor. Women are superior in the neatness with
which they do their work. New England, and such States as have abundance
of clear _spring water_, are the best. Board, from $1.25 to $2 per week.
We think, perhaps, that at present the business of paper making is
pretty fully supplied with laborers, male and female, in this section of
the country, yet _good_ help finds ready employment, at fair wages."
Manufacturers of bank-note paper, in Lee, Mass., inform me by mail, they
"pay by the piece, to women, from $3 to $4.50 per week. It would require
five years for a man to learn the business, so as to properly
superintend it. That portion done by women can be learned in one month."
A newspaper manufacturer in Taunton, Mass., writes: "Fifty or sixty
women are employed by me, in manufacturing cotton goods and newspaper. I
pay by the piece and the week, from $2.50 to $6 per week, depending on
the age. I give equal pay to both sexes for the same work. They are
employed the year round, and work eleven hours on the average. The
climate of New England is best adapted to indoor labor." Paper
manufacturers in Dalton write: "We pay women by the piece, from $12 to
$16 per month, and they have work all the year. No men are employed for
the same kind of work. For other branches of the business, men are paid
from $25 to $35 per month. Women are paid while learning for what they
accomplish. The prospect for work is good. We employ women because they
are cheaper. They pay for board $1.25." A firm in Russell, Mass., write:
"We employ from forty to fifty; one tenth are Americans. They can all
live comfortably and earn good wages. New England is the best part of
this country for fine paper mills, on account of the purity of the
water. Board, $1.50 to $1.75."
=388. Paper-Bag Makers.= At a paper-bag factory in Brooklyn, the man
pays from $1.50 to $2 a week to his girls. They work ten hours. The work
is all done by hand. The bags are considered better than those made by
machinery. He has twenty-six girls at work. Some he pays by the
quantity; for some kinds, twenty cents a hundred; for some, thirty-seven
cents. Those that work by the piece have a forewoman, with whom he makes
a contract. She cleared $14 one week. It takes but a week to learn. Work
is furnished all the year. Some have worked for him five years.
Paper-bag manufacturers in Watertown, Mass., write: "We employ six women
in tending bag machines, and pay seventy cents per day of ten and a half
hours. To males we pay one third more. It requires about one month to
learn, and all that is necessary are care and application. Summer and
fall are the best seasons, but they can have work the year round. We
will not have any but American girls. Women are more accustomed to
sitting, but cannot keep the machine in order. Their dress is
objectionable, particularly their hoops, which take up much room, and
are in danger of getting in the machinery."
=389. Paper-Box Makers.= Though this may seem a trivial business, it is
one very extensively carried on. Every size and shape is called for. The
most are made, we suppose, in New York and Philadelphia, as greater
demands exist there, owing to the variety and quantity of goods
manufactured and offered for sale. Boxes are almost entirely made by
women. I think most of the men in this trade in New York are Germans.
The occupation for women is pretty well filled. The bandbox manufacture
is a distinct branch. Some women, who make small match boxes, receive
but one cent for thirty boxes. At a place in New York where seventeen
girls are employed, I was told they are paid by the piece, and some can
earn as much as $5 a week. The calling can be learned in three or four
weeks. At one place, where they make bandboxes also, the girls earn from
$2 to $5. At another, they earn from $2.50 to $5. Some seasons of the
year are better than others. They have mostly American girls. It is
sometimes difficult to get good hands. They keep their hands all the
year. Spring and fall are the most busy seasons. Very little sewing is
ever done--mostly cutting and pasting. In some large factories,
machinery is used for much of the work. K. employs a number of hands all
the year. They work by the piece (customary plan), and earn from $1.50
to $6. They are paid $1.50 per week from the time they begin to learn.
He thinks there are not more than from five hundred to six hundred
females in New York employed in his branch. There were three hundred in
Philadelphia about fifteen months ago. One paper-box maker told me he
pays fifty cents a hundred, and a smart girl can make one hundred and
fifty in a day. He gives employment all the year; his brother, in the
spring and fall. The work is always, I think, cut out by a man. B.'s
girls are paid by the piece, and earn about $4 a week. While learning,
his girls are paid $2 a week. It requires but two or three months to
become skilful. I noticed the girls in some work rooms sat, and some
stood. I was told those making small boxes sit, but those making large
boxes stand, because of the time consumed in rising to reach the parts
needed to be joined. Learners work with F. fourteen days for nothing,
and then are paid by the hundred. Some can accomplish more than others
in the same time, because they are quicker with their fingers and apply
themselves more closely. In putting on labels, it is best to stand, as
it can be done more expeditiously. It is best for girls to learn where
the cheap kind of boxes are to be made. Those that make fine boxes are
seldom willing to take learners, because of the materials that are
wasted in learning. Good hands can get work all the year; indifferent
hands are likely to get out of employment for one or two months. The
girls in the trade are mostly Irish and German. For three months, the
past year, F. was out of hands. He deserved to be all the time, for his
factory was on the fifth floor, and the steps of the open wood kind. So
girls must have been very much exposed in going up and down stairs, as
every flight of stairs led to a floor on which men were at work. At
C.'s, I was told his best workers earn from $4 to $6 a week, and are
paid by the gross. They never work over ten hours, as his work is of a
large kind. In some factories, where the boxes made are small, the girls
are allowed to take work home with them to do in the evening. He keeps
his best hands all the year. He requires two weeks of learners, and then
pays them according to the amount of work done. Another box maker gives
his work to three or four families in an adjoining city. His workers
earn from $3 to $4 per week. A girl sewing small bandboxes told me she
is paid six cents a dozen, and can usually sew ten dozen a day. It takes
but a week to learn. They are most busy in spring and fall. In pasting,
girls can earn from $4 to $5 a week. The girls sewing, sat; those
pasting, stood. At another factory I was told April and September are
their most busy months, and then they take learners. Most box makers
have steady work. If they are not making boxes for one branch of trade,
they are for another--confectioners, candle makers, &c. The business is
increasing. Girls can earn from $3 to $7. There are openings in New
Orleans. It is difficult to get good hands in busy times. It takes some
time to become expert. A boy remarked to me that paper-box makers are a
hard set; but I find there is considerable jealousy and envy existing
between some members of the different trades, and consequently always
make some allowance for what I hear. A firm of paper-box manufacturers
in Connecticut write: "Women are employed by us to run machinery, making
paper boxes, &c. It is healthy, clean, neat work. Average wages are
seventy-eight cents per day, including board. Our male help are employed
at some laborious work, which females could not perform. Average price
paid men is $1.25 per day, of eleven hours. No time is required to learn
the paper-box business, but practice makes it more remunerative. There
are advantages in being in large cities; but, having no market near, we
prefer the country, on the ground of better advantages for our help, and
its being easier to procure trusty, intelligent girls to labor. Our
women have constant employment, and are superior to men in their work.
Most of them are well suited for making good wives, being from eighteen
to twenty-five years of age. Board, $1.75." B., of Philadelphia, writes:
"We pay women from $2.50 to $5 per week, working by the piece. Men's
wages are double, as they generally have families. Neatness and to be
good sewers are desirable. They generally have work the year round. The
demand is greatest in Philadelphia, New York, and the Eastern States. We
employ them because of their ability to use the needle. Women are
superior in their own branch." A manufacturer of hook-and-eye and button
boxes writes: "We employ twelve women, and pay by the piece, from $4 to
$6 a week. Women's wages are low, because of the competition in the
article manufactured. Time of learning depends upon the natural skill of
the learner--one can learn for years. The prospect for a continuance of
this work is good. The price, and fittedness for the work, recommend
women to us."