American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1879-07-19
FALL RIVER OPERATIVES.
How They Work, Live, and Amti3e Them
selves.

In view of the present great strike of
the spinners at Fall River, Mass, the
following facts CLEANED by the Cincin-
natl Commercial will be of especial in
terest:
The.life of the average Fall River OPP
erative and his family, even at times
when there is plenty of work, is not an
enviable one; what it must be during a
strike, when the entire income is with
drawn, 1t il difficult to understand.
Operatives earn from 90 cents to S1.75
day, in exceptional cases little more;
the average is about 81. Out of this
sum tie married men must pay from
$3.50 to So month for rent, and with
the balance feed, clothe and warm Tim
self and family. In order to increase
The ineome, as soon as any one OF the
children BECOMES old enough it is put
to work, receiving upon the average
about twenty-eight cents a day. The
wife, also, if there be not too many
young children to make it profitable to
put them out to nurse, mops the mill
floors at Indifferent wages, or does 9TH
er work to add little to the family in
come.
Frequently every member Of the fam
lily works in the mill, in which case the
house is eft:rty and closed all day long.
When the work day is over, the wife,
who has in her way been working as
hard as any, returns home, but not to
rest. The others may take their ease in
whatever way they please, while she
must at once set about preparing sup
per. The preparations are not usually
extensive, but to thoroughly tired wom-
an they are unpleasant and burden
some. Besides supper the breakfast
and dinner for the next day must be
cooked, bread baked, meat fried,
ETC., and likely before she can
get to bed washing must be done,
clothes mended, perhaps made, and
number of other things attended to that
are never thought of except when they
present themselves. Often some one or
more of the family are sick, and need
the attention that can properly and sat-
isfactorily be given only by the wife and
mother. The life of the average house.
wife, outside of factory towns, is one
of luxury compsred with her sister, the
operatives wife, whose hours of sleep
are always few, and who must be up be-
fore the sun, and early off to her work.
The mills stop at mid-afternoon on Sat-
urday, and as much as possible of the
weeks housekeeping is done then.
The regulations in some of the mills
do not tend to the maintenance of good
health The atmosphere is hot and full
of subtle influences. Such rigid appli-
cation is required in some places that it
is sometimes impossible for an opera
tive to leave his post for hours, for any
purpose whatever, no matter how per-
sonally important it may be, without
censure, and if the oncnse is repeated,
being discharged. The peculiar work is
very depressing, and it is not unusual
for an operative, upon reaching home,
to find himself without an appetite for
food. But he must eat, else he will not
be able to work, and in order to stimu
late his appetite he sends for a pot of
beer or ale. Herein is found great
draught upon the scant wages, and
which sum, small as it is, if laid by,
would be of great service when the strike
comes; or, if properly invested, might
enable him to secure little home.
The depressing influences of the mills
have very noticeable effect upon the
system of the young employees, tending
to mature them, and thereby inducing
early marriages, which is both burden
and blessing. Usually upon marriage
young people live with their parents un-
til the first baby arrives. The newly
welded couple take one room, both
work in the mills, and do their cooking
at the common stove of the two families.
As soon as possible after the baby comes
they get tenement house.
Near every mill are number of tene-
ment houses, built in blocks of six, eight
or more apartments. If an operative
rents one of these, before he takes pos
session he is, in many instances, required
to sign an agreement that he will vacate
the premises within twenty-four hours
in case of differences arising between
himself and the managers of the mill.
Even when such an agreement is not
signed it is understood that upon those
terms he occupies the house.
The better class of operatives, and
those who make the best wages, as far
as possible avoid renting the company
tenements. Enterprising citizens, and,
in few instances, operatives them
selves, have erected other blocks or
small collections of tenements in vari
Gus parts of the city, wherever eligible
locations have been found, or the wants
of the operatives can be met. These
latter are the tenements rented by the
better class of workmen, many of whose
homes are nicely furnished, having, in
not few instances, piano or an or
gan, a sewing machine, colored carpets,
fancy rugs, and numerous articles of
bric-a brac Some of the homes have
little front and back yards. Whenever
it is possible few fowls are kept, but
no pigs are allowed.
The tenement life of the present is
vast improvement upon what it was 10
wears ago. Mill men as well as others
not directly interested are beginning to
see that the comfort or discomfort of the
home life of the operative has much to
do with the performance of his or her
work. What is needed above all else is
comparatiye relief from the terrible