Morning journal and courier., 1880-04-06
EIDE GEELTY.

Not long ago 8 narrowing recital of the suHerings of the women employed in the ad- justing room of the United States mint in Philadelphia appeared In the New York Her. aid. This room was described as Ca Black Hole" reeking with foul odors and totally de- void of ventilation. In it wan and sickiy women, to tho number of seventy or eighty, were said to sit from eight o'clock in the morning till nine at night before dsiicately balanced scales, adjusting, with the incest accuracy, the coin of the realm to the standard weight. Frequently, it was alleged, one of them falls fainting from her seat, or is car riad home more dead than alive, and in some cases they have been kept in the building over night because they were too i'll to be moved. It was also stated that the cruelties of the situation have recently been further aggravated by making tenure of position de- pend on the number of coins a woman Is ca pablo of adjusting. Men formerly did this work, but failing in their demands to have it made more wholesome thsy promptly struck, and woman, with fewer avenues of employ ment and sharper pressed by competition, were found only too willingly and uncom- plainirgly to take up the unhealthful toil And much more of the same painful sort was written, and doubtless paid for.
 The million or 50 readers of the Herald were efectually thrilled by this account of the cruelty practicsd by Christian nation upon some of it's especially weak employees. Per haps it occurred to some of them to wonder why there had not been some h. but the story was stsimple and distinct in it's details and plausible. The editor of the Philadelphia North American, who ought to and does know the true state of affairs in the adjusting room at the Mint, now comes for ward and deposes that the correspondent who told the story not only made it simple and distinct in its details, but something more false in it's details, and that the true reason why the correspondent wont abroad forssa publisher was because no editor in Philadel- phia could have been so haerantly imposed upon concerning the Mint as the New York editor was. The facts seem to be that the adjusting room has not proved death-trap to those who work in it, but that they enjoy as good health as any women who are obliged to work. In proof of this it is considered properto remark that the forewoman of the adjusting room, as well as several of the oth- CT operatives, have worked in that room from eighteen to thirty years respectively, and are now in robust health, as they have for the most part been during their long terms of service. Painting and falling, being carried home more dead than alive, and lying sick in the building over night ars not matters of common occurrence. Men were not forced to abandon the work because of it's effect on their health, and no male adjustsrs have been employed for about thirty years. The en- p1oyment of females was not con- strained by any considerations of that kind. So far is work in the adjusting room from being terror to any, that few can be found who having been discharged, have not applied for reinstatement at the first opportu- nifty. To the charge of Ca new appliance" for keeping record of the number of coins adjusted by each person, and which is charac- terized as oppressive" the reply is that it is necessary, and cannot be oppressive, because the minimum number of coins to be handled by any person as constitutinga fair days work is easily within the capacity of any operative, and imposes no breaking strain whatever. Similarly it is said of the hours of labor, that the days few in which any operative may not retire at four o'clock, or st six at latest. But if any choose to work over-hours, they are at present allowed to do go, and for every hour beyond eight each operative is paid extra in exact proportion to the daily wages for eight hours. But overtime work IS optional to such an extent that it may be said to be never compulsory. It is always paid for ex- tra, and many are very glad to inoreass their incomes in that way.
 It is pleasant to know that the Nation is not guilty of the cruelty charged upon it by the correspondent of the Herald. It's cruelty 10 the Indians is sufficient.