New-York daily tribune., 1844-01-17
st.,,st,cs of Manufacture.

nals,' or water-p,ivilege Company, Wflch was iii-
corporated in 1892, but did not commence oPe-
rations till 1922, which may be regarded as The
wear of the foundation Of Lowell Before that
time. il was a rugged, rocky, barren spot, H.
hab;ted bv two or three families OF boat1nen and
fishermen, and not worth ten dollars per acre, IN
cludng every thing upon It. The Mernmac
Company commenced business the next year,
and no other until the Tariff of lS24 was passed.
In 1925, the Hamilton Company started IN lS::36,
the Appleton and Lowell IN 1880, the Middle
sex ; in 1882 the Suffolk and fremont; III 1888,
the Lawrence; IN 1886, the Boot; and IN lo40
the Massachusetts,, being the last. These eleven
companies employ aggregate capital OF Slo,-
| 100000, employing 6,295 Females and 2,3lo
Males. Beside these, there are IN Lowell exten-
siye Powder Mills, I. Flannel Mil, Blanket Mil,
Boiling Mil, Foundry, Paper Mill Bleachcry,
Cord and Whip Factory, Planning Machine, Reed
Machine, Grist and Saw Mills, employing cap
tal of S5O0,OO0 and 800 workmen, making the
whole Manufacturing capital OF Lowell 81 ,2O0,-
600, employing over 5000 men and women
The ten principal Manufactures already deslg-
mated have 33 Mills beside print-worlSs, run 6l94
Looms and 20l ,076 Spndlos, producing ,425,oo0
wards of Cloth per week, or 74,l4l,60O within
the year lS43. The Cotton fabricated by them
during the year was %. $50, 600 lbs. "a pound of
Cotton will average 3 l-5 yards Of Cloth 100
pounds of Cotton will make SO lbs. of Cloth. \
loom will average on No. IA yarn Al yards of
Cloth per day on No. 80, 30yards) OF Print
ed Cloths, 273,O00 yards per week arc made by
the Merrimac and Hamilton Companies. The
Middesex makes 5000 yards Of Cassimcrcs,
| 800 Of Broadcloths per week, using l,OOOO00
| pounds of Wool and 100000 lbs of Teascs
per annum. The Lowell makes $500 yards of
Carpets, and l50of Rugs per week, beside o5,000
| of Cottons Fiannes are made at the Hamilton,
Sheetings and Shrtings at nearly all, with Drill
ings, Printing Cloths, &c. at several
The average wages paid to the Females, young
and DID, experienced and inexperienced, IS Sl,15
per week beyond the cost Of board; to Males,
81 30 per week, or about SIS per month beyond
the cost of their board The payments arc all
made in cash. amounting to $780, 900 per month.
We challenge the wide world to produce, out
of the Manufacturing Districts Of our own Coun-
try, region wherein Female Labor is SO bounte-
ously employed and is paid an average Of $3.50
per month beyond the cost of board. And VIC
challenge this or any other country to produce d
section in which Women who work for their liv-
ing arc more intelligent, better educated, more
truly virtuous, religious and independent than
those employed in the Lowell Manufactures
There have been most shameful SANDERS circu-
lated with regard to them which ought to be put
down. In the infancy of these establishments,
some Females of bad character obtained employ
mcnt there through deception but these were
speedily detected and expelled; and now, il one
of bad character is discovered there, she is
required to leave directly, as the others will not
endure the association Of vice. No whore is
there more correct and vigorous moral scnti-
ment than among these industrious and indcpend-
ent Women.
AS to the alleged hardship of Factory labor, we
have no doubt that its conditions might be nm
proved. We believe the average hours Of labor
are l21 per day, which is too much for an en-
poyment which is pursued the year round. 1t
attending lectures, and other means of moral and
intellectual Improvement. But, the other
hand, it must be considered that the labor is very
light; that many pursue 1t for hours together
with an open book before them, reading half the
time; and that oil greatly prefer 1t to any other
field Of Industry You hardly induce an
American girl at the Eastward to do housework
20 bor 4, for +b.. s,l-. "a
large majority would prefer working in factory
for 81 so per week to doing housework for s..
And the establishment of Manufactures has, to
our certain knowledge, more than doubted the
acreage recOmpense accorded TO Female iabor
throughout the Manufacturing region, while
greatly redacing the price OF almost every thing
a woman buys. Beside this, the treatment of
Females who do housework has greatly improved
since the factories were started. No woman of
sense or spirit will now submit to the humiations
which were common there twenty years ago.
and which are common here ao,c} because she
knows where she may at any time 60 to avoid
them.
1t is common enough for our Free Traders to
talk hippantly of our Females engaged in facto
riesa If they were Of like character and condition
with those of England But this is very unlike
the truth The American factory girl is gener-
ally the daughter of a farmer, has had common
education at the district school, and has gone in
to the factory for a few seasons to acquire l,,lc
something for a start in hc. She spends some
weeks or months of every year under her fathers
roof, and generally marries and settles in It's vi
clnlty Many attend Lectures and evening
| schools after the DAYS work is nrnr aud &c L.