Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1845-12-05


rt'iuieS-- -.-..--.--.---....--.o a-O -.
ri, Wales. ........-....-......--... 2,9io--9<S1
Chnr h's.....
Mills...... 10
Houses belonging TO the Corporations. $50
Capital Stock invested. SIP 100000
Week make of cloth l59 100 >ds.
Wnch IS per annum. 10 ,9nNuUU vas.
This is nearly enough to belt the globe twice round
Yearly consumption of cotton. ....... 6l 100 bales.
Printed calico annually mate........ llUU0t09 yds
Consumption annually
Coal. IL so tons
az cores
VII. WV G"'is
Charcoal. 5tU 600 BUSH
Starch. cUJ uUJ lbs
PAID out for labor per annnln ........$ 81 100000
BY arrangements now making and made, which !
will probably be sron completed, the business OF
Lowell wi be extended 10 the amount OF 20 per cent.
A great amount and variety of other business Is |
done in Lowell, besides that of the iporated com
panes. Mechanical skill and ingenuity here natural
~ concentrated and the best of artisans and of work
manship in almost all bran hes of mechanical IN
dusty may he here found. The extensive wor' OF
Oliver NJ. Whnulc. are still in Successful operation
making S3j 900 lbs. of powder per anIum. The
Lowell bleach ry, " til capital OF $4,000, carries
large business for esa lishmtnt OF that lind
Besides these Lowell has n flannel mill, paper mill
planning machine card factory reed machines
foundry, 2rist and saw mills, snsh md door manulac
tory, lock man 70 tories, carnage mnnuaCtorv and
loom harness s,ops--all these together emplovil &
abb ut five hundred hands and capital Of 36l0. 000
\ LOWELL wooLLEN MILL.
But one establishment in this cry is nnrropria'cd
to the man iactnre OF wnoIen cloth. This Is the
Md.iescx Company Their wool from the
States of Vermont New Hampshire, New York,
OHIO, Pennsylvania, lnol Missouri, aud some,
Gently from HE Territory of Wisconsin. The quan.
tliy which Is here annually mauula r'ured equals the
produce OF tour hundred Thousand sheep Received
into the comp'ny's store room, il is first assorted in
TO eleven diiicrcni inds, according 10 degrees OF
fineness The wool is then dyed; after which it
thrpu he f';fr he riif is
taken successfully To the cardng spinning dressing
and weaving rooms. The cloth Is then bured,' as
it is called, by which is meant careful removal OF
all imperfect threads; and the next processes are
those of securing and uIIlng At this stage Of the
manufacture, the cloth is applied To the gig or
mapping machine, by which the nap is raj ed ; after
which II is shorn, passing through HE shrarlng
chine from ten TO slXteen--tlnes. The fine gloss of
the cloth is then put upon il by steam; and after
other careful examination by the lin'rr, il is mark
ell pressed, measured done up N papers, boxed and
sent 10 Boston.
The large mill Of this company is seven stories
hinh, one hundred and GtyClgh feet long, and flrlv
six feet wide Another. Of nearly tie same size, is
soon to be erected. The quantity If bfoldcl1'h and
clsslmCrts annually ma e. i about one hn0tiCd and
fourteen thousand yards Of the former, and SIX hun
dred and twenty thousand OF the later. Some Of the
yearly expenses attcndnglug this IRE as tu'ows :
orwood six thousand dollars; INDIGO twenty-five
thousand dollars clue five ihou-1n dollars; soap,
eight thousand dollars; pac, my boScs, one thousand
SIX hundred dollars; wrapping paper ono thousand
dollars. Sales Of cloth have amounted to eight han
dred thousand dollars per year. The whole impora-
ton OF cassmerts from England 10 he United Staes
in 1874 wa, seven thousand pieces; while this
pany alone manufactured in that year, more than
twenty thousand pcc's.
MORAL POLICE OF THE CORPORATION.
1t has been seen what n lnrge anonnt of capital is
here invested, and what manifold and extensive ope-
rations this capital sc's in motion. The productive
mes Of these works DEFENDS upon one primary and IN
sspensable condiiionhe existence of an indusirru!
sober. orderly and moral class of operatives With
Profits would be absorbed nv of mresuarity
caret ssness and neglect; while the ex,iance OF
great moral exposure IN Lowell would cut of IN
supply of help from the virrous homesleads Of tn
country Public morals and private interests, iden
teal in all places, are here seen TO be linked 9goht
in an ndlssoubIe conneyon. Accordingly the sa
gacitv of self-ln,erest, well as more disnerestet
considerations. has led us to the adoption OF src
system of moral police.
Before we Proceed 10 notice the details OF this sys
tenn there is one consideration caring upon TN
character of our operatives Yhlch mu, all the whil
be borne in mind Ne hare no permanent fac'or
population. This is the wide gulf winch separate
the English manufacturing towns from Lowell
Only very few of our operatives have Their home
in this cit Y. The most o them come from the dis
tant ir terror of the country will be proved b
statistical facts, which will be presented in subse
quent chapter
TO the general fact here noticed, should be notice
another of scarcely less importance to Just comPrl
hen,ion of this subject the female operatives in Lou
ell do not trork, on an drerdpe more than four and
hair Years in the fdctOrieS Ihey then return TO the
homes and their places taken by 'her sisters,
bv other female friends from their neighborhood. r.
turns will hereafter be given which will establish Il
fact of the average above named.
Here, them we have two important elements of d
ference between English and American operatives
The former are resident operatives, and are operaiiv
for life AM constitute permanent, dependent factor
caste. The latter come from distant home, to who
in few wears they return to be the wives OF h farm
ers and mechanics of the country towns and VILLAGE
The English vi-rer TO Lowell when he finds it so hn
TO understand why American operatives are 50 sup
ror to those of Leeds and Man hester Viii ~ well
remember what different class Of enlncs we hay
here to beoin wlth-rnls well educated in vlrino
rural homes nor must the Lowell manufacturer 10
get that we forfeit the distinction, from that mnmei
when cease TO obtain such girls as the operalv
Of the CITY.
To obtain their constant importation Of female han,
from The country, il is necressarv to secure the mar
protection of Her characters oiHe they reside
il LoireH This therefore, is the chief ohiocl of III
moral police referred TO, some details OF which W
now be given.
|, should be stated in the outset. that persons a
employed on the Cnrp1ra'ons who are addicted
intemr erance, or who are known 10 be guilty Of NJ
in moraries Of conduct. As the parent of all 9th
vices in,emperance IL most carefully excluded. 4
soue freedom from intoxicating liquors Is uHterstn
throughout the city, to be n prerequisite 10 ohtanIl
employment in the mills, and any person known TO
addicted to Their use is at once dismissed. This poi
has not received the attention from writers up7n 4
moral condition of Lowell, which is deserved; NJ
we are surprised that the English traveller and dlvir
DR.. ScOresbv, in his recent book upon Lowell II
given no more notice TO this subject. A more stric
anl universally temperate class Of persons cannot
'tl1au h~ niue onssnd oDern;iyos Of this ci,
and the fact is well known to all others living here,
II is of some honest pride among themselves In
lation to other immorallies It may be stated. that
suspicion Of criminal Conduct orlniion with $
peeled persons, and general and hahiual lght bph
Jour and conversation, regarded n sufficient r
sons for dismissnns, aud for which delinquent ope
tIves discharged
In respect 10 DISCHARGED operatives there is n syst
observed of such an efficient and stlutary operatl
that il deserves to he nilurelv described.
Any person wishing to leave MILL is Mt liberty
do SO nj Hnv time after giving foriniahis motto,
The operator leaving If of good character. and
ing worked a wear, is entitled as matter of right
on honorable discharge made out alter printed t
with which every counllng.room is supplied. l
form is as follows:
Mr. or Miss has been employed
,he = Manufacturing Conpanv, in -
Room - years months, ana Is hohoraoiy
CHARGE, Superintendent,
LOWELL ---------'
This discharge is letter oil recommendation !"
o,her mill in the cv, and not without ~ n.Ineh
nrocurno enploy meni in nnv other mil IN New
Ind A record Of all such dischnrgesi is mad IN
conn,;nr.ro IN in n book kent for that nnirosr
So much f,r hororahie distances. i dlS
or,hie have another treatment. The names OF nll
s,ns dismissed for bad con l1ct, or who leave The
;,reaulorlv are also entered in a hook kept for
nn,nose and these names are sent to all the conn
roo,ns of The city, and are there entered on
l,ols Si,ch nersOns obtain no mare emp'oV