The New era. [volume] ([Portsmouth, Va.]) 1845-1847, 1845-07-10
From the Lowell Vox Populi.
A FALSE PICTURE OF FACTORY LIF,

T.
The Lowell Courier of a late date contained
the following -
&" I'm Operdtioe Last evening female about
40 years ot age, came into our office tn purchase
paper. She informed us that she had been an
operative in the Lowell mills, nineteen years
and that her health had been good al! tho time
She said my health is better now than il was
when first began to work in,the mill She had
during the time saved about $4,000 which she
had safely invested. we think. in the purchase of
farm and beside she had given her parents.
who poor Sll50 She had heen married
and had one son, who was now absent; her name
was Mrs. Clark. She has worked several wears
IN the Boot mills, and is about to commence
work on the Massachusetts Her industry.
economy and contentment deserve the biphest
eulogy."
Now we shall take it upon ourseIf to saw that.
this statement is in itself false and, being false.
must. of course, tend To the circulation and promo
ton of false data of factory Ii(e We happen 90
know something of Ibis particular case. and
while we contradict the statement, we challenre
the proof to sustain it. We do not charge false
hood upon our neighbour of the Courier, for we
have no doubt he told the tale as twas told TO
him." presnming it to be true.
The object IN publishing this extraordinary
statement Is clearly manifest. Such paragraphs
are being continually sent through the country
are continually being published and re-published
through the length and breadth of this land, and
often IN Europe. They are published for the
purpose OF bosterIng mp the factory system-of
presenting to the uninitiated glowing, tempt.
ing pcture-rePresenting factory enclosure As
=" Paradise gained'' and cotton loom as the
maglc key to wealth.
These highly coloured pictures generally ema
nate from sources directly or indirectly interested
in presenting only the bright side
Had the Editor of the Courier INDUCED the
slightest thought upon the probable correctness or
Inc0rrectness of this statement, his inIgment and
good sense would have at once condemned il =
lie must have readily seen that such results from
such facts were hardly possible We know, as
we said before, that this statement in all its mate
rial parts is untrue. The unirnporlant. state
ments that the woman alluded to has worked in
Lowell mills nineteen years, and that she has
hdd son are probably trUe-more is not true
For the sake OF showing how easily the falsity
of the statement might have been discovered, we
will go into brief estimate of earnings and ex-
penses.
According to Mrs. Clark's statement, she had
saved In nineteen years $3.50 00-of which she
had paid $1,000 for farm, and given S1l5O To
her poor parents Well, at the miserable price
allowed by the corporations to he paid for board,
VI 20 per week. this costs 500 a wear which
multiplied by 10, makes for the nineteen wears
Sl2o5. We will now make very low estimate
Tor clothing and erery other expense, and call 10
only $40 year--making for nineteen wears
$500. Now add these sums TO the amount said
to have been invested in the farm and given to
the parents, and we find the gross sum S5145.-
Divide this by 10 and we have 1924 az as the
earnings of year. This again divided by the
number Of weeks in the year, gives within frac-
ton of IS q per week---or more than 81 over
and above the board bill
Thus it is seen that. allowing Mrs Clark only
$40 year for clothing and every other expense
she must earn 1923 EVERY WEEK FOR
NINETEEN YEARS to make her statement
good. Working thirteen hours eUery day. eperu
'ceek, every year, for nineteen years, not one in
one hundred factory girls would realize this amount
As to the probability Of any female working everv
day in factory for nineteen years. we leave to
to the common sense judgment Of the reader
Those who are convcrsant with factory prices Of
labor will find no difficulty in arriving al correct
conclusions from these premises.
As to the statement Ga very material one too
oy way ct bostering up the factory system. ) that
her g health was better" at the end than the be-
ginning OF nineteen years Of such servitude it il
certainly very remarkable exception TO general
rules This is just true as The rest of the state
nent II is all humbug. The Courier shonld Ell
Their contradict or make good the statement.