New-York tribune., 1871-10-10
LOWELL MANUFACTURES

LOWELL, Oct. s.-Lowell Is q mass OF fae-
tories largo and small, clusteredtshsreve power
good location can be had. Tho waeer'powef ior So
soat establishments IN derived from the Aermack anu
Concord Rivera The canal around Pswtuoket Fai1. on
the Merrimaek, vas originally cut In l7W ior
purposes, and It was not used for manuiaoturins a
yssrs After when Phness whiting and Moses Halo oon
psneed spinnins cotton In ls72 the first ORGANIZED
company WA incorporated. Tho canal. - o. proson'
sxtstine. WA not completed until lS47' ~
now a work of great magnitude, the "s'cl
being taken from the Merrmsck and oonducseo
tie town to the various factories In channei luz .o
most part lined with granite blocks. The Wa'ef tu1
nishes altoRether about 12,ooo horsepower 1ne "o
ara owned by tho various corporations just
. tssv the power Il was not Of course thus In the
hastnnine norris the present perfect system the
ulsn alone The same source supplies the city WIN
for nre and domestic The Wamesit Powef Cess'
many of which Gen. B. =. Butler Ii Treasurer OWN -
pover on the Concord River, amounting 70 soous ~
horse-power There also individual enterprises On
tho sams, and or two other small streams IN ..o
yicinity Of tho city. In Winter bat Little treees
ia had from Toe, ~ there ere excellent q
rsnsemsns far preventing its sntsfins The 0ahAA'
and thsse arc tspt free by the dfnsssns
fsctortea In Summers such as the past, some neon
yenience Ia experienced from low wster but all tne
mills have to be provided with boilers for steamR sno
driving hence little additional expense gives an engine
with q certain power, though number on tho iarRo
canal are not thus provided and are never inoon
venienced The extreme fall Is about 80 feet ana
bly, tyothirds OF tho whole volume OF water used In
the dams on both of the rivers constructed hsh-way
ss ordered by statute but 1t only serves TO waste wae
rs the salmon and the sturgeon have long since aoan
doned this route Of busy, active e perhaps they may
not like the taste Of tho chemicals which mingie with
the waters from the dye-shops and bleacheries'
Lowell has II large factories, two, the SUFFOLK ana
,IoAnI hana IL. L.
Aver and consolidated These factories or corporations
represent capital OF 100000; they occupy 10 build
ings a mills run 2,lo spndles and 1890 looms en-
ploy 1883 females and 6o35 males make 2AooO0 yards
OF cotton goods per week. n6e7 OF wooen 5000 OF car
peng and shsws also 10 800 dozen OF cotton AND
woolen hosiery they consume o2ooo pounds OF cotton
and 900 pounds of clean wool each week. and print
81 SOL 200 yards per anhum They consume. further,
80 800 tons of anthracite COAL 1900 bushels Of charcoal
1s7b cords of wood, l02576 gallons Of oil, 1sooooo
pounds OF starch and 1,275 barrels OF -four per
annum; and in addition to the water-power,
they employ or keep In reserve steam engines OF
IIso horsepower In addition to the aforementioned,
the MddeseI Wooen Mills consume 1000 teazes, all
of which are grown in and brought from Western New
York and Also 1900 pounds Of gue and $4,000 worth
of dysstlfs while the Merrmack Company use 2ooo 900
pounds Of madder, $4,000 pounds Of copperas 1900
pounds Of alum pounds Of sumac, 10000 pounds
Of suphuric acid 10000 pounds Of bark 100000 pounds
Of soda ash and 900 pounds OF SOAP The Lowell Car
pet Company 100000 worth Of various dyes,
and the Hamilton t1s5 900 worth. The Lowell Machine
Shop uses 400 Of ron and 90 tns Of steel per an
num- also IS 900 pounds Of brass and 1t is stated that
they can completely furnish mill Of eooO spindles In
three months
Besides those already mentioned there are number
of smaller establishments manufacturing woolen goods
of various kinds, carpets, and slkcOvered WIRE which
run about $4,000 spndles and 400 LOOMS There fs also
I'm n which
manufactures dozen cotton hose per annum Then
there are fetng mills paper mills spool and bohbin
shops card and cardclohing manufactures the great
Bolt Company which annually turns 1000 tuns OF iron
into bolts; chemical and dye manufactures, and the
large pateut-medcine establishment Of DR.. j. c. Aver
Co. All these employ numbers Of operatives and create
population industry not at all indicated In the COM
mon method Of estimating LoweWs industry by the
mere number OF Its spindes.
The wages paid to females are stated TO average 3 90 TO
t3 rs per week clear board Feeling much interest IN
this branch Of the manufacturing interest," asked an
Alderman who politely time to show me through
the mills many questions as to tho financial and social
condition of the female operatives He simply pointed
to the different women a. we passed them and asked
"Do they look worked down, consumptive down.
trodden ~ and Friday Of the Fair when the factories
were closed pointed to the thousands Of gayy and
neatly dressed girls with happy faces and healthy forms
and asked the same question. Their appearance
was in every instance a direct lrefutStion Of the
silly rant Of demagoguea He said that most
Of them wosked by tho job piece, that
the amount they made depended in great
measure on their swiftness and diligence "Its all
nonsense about their being worked to death q great
many Of themet through by 6oclock and then quit for
the day. They save from q to ts per week Of their
ngs you tsavngs banks report an aggregate
amount Of deposits Of t7cooOoo. Occasonaly they get
tired Of working, and will rest while, living on their
savings. have known dozens Of them who saved up
enough 10 buy themselves little cottages whom they
married. thus being independent Of the corporation tax
An have heard many tales Of Lowell sirls Of their
"%e, a yon Know human nature is human the World
over and 1t s better here than elsewhere, but do
world where there are so many females where so little
immortality exists Thy Will laugh and joke, but 1t s
20 beyond the point OF good morals Then and there
ends their chance for marry Ing venture you viii not
nd 9s % U ee D e4e Of h
Common Council asked the same question He replied
s a ssafs Of
fathers brothers and they dare not gG asry for
selves think the standard OF morals is higher than
usual among such masses OF humanity. have been q
member Of the Common Council for over IA years, and
do not know Of single assgnation house in the city,
Talking with q bevy Of brgheyed. healthy looking
@ ae% ay %a o S 9f
doesn't i cos. ali You make :" mo, slr make
Ssra that you had HG time Gu S NO s
Man. there makes q day, and she works before
or after O'Clock, and not many Of us do then We
take our resting spells and visit around" But don't
you your places In the factory by that - "No, we
generally arrange for some girl TO take places and 1t
il very seldom they not willing to take back smart
quick girl whom they know." was surprised In various
euyersations with these girls TO And them we'll cdu-
Gated using the best Engsh, and frequently well yersed
in the best literature. One gentleman told me that the
Irish element was rapidly coming in, and In his opinion,
was NOT an Improvement He stated that in combating
the the Health Board found trouble In the
Amerfcan ouarters but In Irish neighbOrhoods II
discouragne The Increase of Catholic Churches is
other evidence of this Celtic invasion. The rsh not
90 neat or quick as the American ghls and much
The wages paid to males per day Is q 30 to a. exclusive
Of board have gone through nearly all the mills, and
have made the condition Of the workmen and the labor