The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1878-05-03
Scenes and sigbts Abroad.


The women Of San Francisco who are
connected with the benevolent orier OF
Jauni-suries OF Light are soliciting sub
scriptinuS 90 enable them 10 start "a CO.
operative mauuisctory Of white goods
that they may take advantage of the
wholesale prices OF the raw material OF
goods aud provisions by uniting their
varied faculties 40 one great power. BY
actual statistics it'has been aSceTtaiuei
that there are thirty thousand men and
women iu san Francisco out of employ
meut, and this movement, we'll man
aged, will extend iis branches and lis
muuiticeuce 90 all the industrious poor
of the city, not Immediately, but IN the
no distant future, adding iu time all Of
the mechanical trades and traffic ia ar
ticies of everyday consumption. THIS
result Is no idle dreaming, but IL has
/ been over and over again practically
I demonstrated iu Great Britain, and
blessing %, Ieu- OF thousands of suffer
ling poor toy placing them beyond the
f possibility Of want. Ia the mauufac-
ture OF articles of everyday wear, from
Ia child's suubouuet 10 "a mans shirt, "A
dozen garments can be finished vii
fity per cent. more ueatuess and dis
/ patch bv corporation than by iudivId-
uals. The first advantage is ia the pur-
chasing Of the material at Wholesale;
then the cutting, scanning, hemming,
stitching, plating, ruiiiing, and so on
/ TO the finishing, each aud every minute
/ department being executed by separate
individuals who know every turn OF
the hand which 10 requires, on his or
her part, through the laundry work and
the sales-Toom, 10 the purchase of the
raw material again.
While Investigating this subject and
adding our little mile 10 its accomplish
meut, we had occasion 20 call on pro-
fe-siuuai lady shirt-maSer who was
pushing her vocation on the third floor
of a hotel in a central locality in san
Francisco. While there we learned the
novel plan on which this hotel was run
Mug, which could be no other than a
mutual benefit to the proprietor aud his
guests. Tie building, four-story
structure, il furnished complete by the
proprietor with all the couveniences of
"a private home, including kitchen aud
laundry, wherein the cooking range,
ike the ancient valley of Hiuuom, Is
kept constant burning fire. The rooms
are leased at moderate rent, some 10
small families aud Others to single men,
and others still 10 labOring women. The
rooms, the diuing-room Included, where
] its long table Is always set, are taken
{ care of and lighted with gas at the eX-
! peuse Of the proprietor. The store
room, or kitchen, has as many cup
boards with keys as there are rooms il
the house, which is sacred To- the eXciu
= .ive use of each tenant. The work o
r each roomer in preparing a meal, whei
q everything is ready, even To tabl'
spread and set, aud hot water slway
l on hand for tea and coffee, is mer
e nothing; some Of them taking thre
g meals and others only two, aud what ]
-. left Is consigned 90 each individual cup
, board for future use. Many of the ladie
G preferriug homemade bread bake thei
e own, the oven always being ready
/. Here is housekeeping without the car
of fire, lights, or dish-washiug, whic
every woman knows is the disagreeabl
j. part. This lady shirt-maker has an as
.. si-taut, and they both told me that the
lived well on one dollar aud twenty
Eve cents a week each, and rent ia
> cluded, cost less than fifty cents dag
5, Now, 10 he brief, putting this and tina
p together, cooperative mandatory an
., trade, aud house keeping on the abov
plan, with discreet management, whs
q could be accomplished IN the way {
g. .ameli0ratiug the condition Of the wOrE
II ing classes, or rather of the present ii
classes, because Of the impoSsibility
their finding employment This pla
.e commenced on an investment Of OF
il dollar each by one hundred women
= men, or both, judiciousiy manage
, would soon assume gigantic proportion
- -EiOise H. Ab5OH, ui San Jose Ne
/ cUy.