Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1883-09-08
The Song Of the Shirt

1--WE pay four cents per dozen for
cutting and hemming poclet-handker-
Chiefs" said the forewoman of a large
dry-goods store up town, ''and two
cents per dozen for folding and smooth
ing or ironing them. 1 don't think any
woman could do over twelve dozen per,
day-forty-eight cents. We pay forty
eight cents per dozen for shirts; six
dollars per dozen for ladies' cloaks. or
fifty cents a piece; fifty cents per dozen
for ladies' chmeises or gowns. Starva-i
ton wages, 1 should say so! But you.
see the work is mostly done by young
ladies who live at home and dress
themselves off the money they thus earn.
A woman would find it hard work to,
support herself, much less a family, do
ing this work" !
.Yet," interrupted . Journalier.
'tmany of them do sop" ,
Eyes, working sixteen hours a day,
Sunday as well as week days"
"But the profits on these goods;
certainly enable the employers to pay
better prices?" /;
eyes, but the competition is so great.
These young ladies who do the work do
not rely on this for q living, but live
home with parents who are able to give
them a home, but not to dress them.
See those two young ladies going out
over there; we'll, now, they ire nicely;
even sty1ishly, dressed jaunty straw
hat, new Jersey, and all that; we'll, you
think they are in here shopping? They
are not. That is not goods in the bum
die they carry, but twelve dozen hand
IorsohSofc for fhorn IN orr on1 horn AT
four cents per Dozen"
"What is the profit on those goods?"
"Oh, that depends on several clrcum-
stances, mainly how the store buys. In
the case Of the handkerchiefs the goods
do not cost fifty per cent of the sewing.
The profit ranges from 100 to $50 per
cent. But then you, see the high rents,
competition, etc., come in and take all
this profit away"
"But not to that extent?"
SWELL, chat is what they say" she
replied; 81 can't figure it out myself,
but that's what they claim. As 1 said.
the competition is so great that if one
will cut and hem handkerch1efs for four
cents per dozen another will. Think of
of it for a moment. wonder if the
fashionable ladies dawdling through a
store think of the labor that has pro-
duced the articles they admired Four
cents for a shirt! See the labor and
skill in a shirt! Fifty cents for a heavy
winter cloak! See the labor in it! The
goods are all cut out and assorted SO
that the piecing is little trouble. 1t is
sew, sew, sewr'
Zone can understand, then" re-
marked the Journalier, chow it is that
really first-class goods are sold so cheap
ly."
..Yes," responded the forewoman.
''Take, for instance, the matter of
shirts. Now you gentlemen can get
shirts at the dry goods stores for one
dollar that will cost you three dollars
at q gentlemen's furnishing store,
though the goods are identical and the
fit as satisfactory. The furnishing store
claims it is hand work, but this is no
better than machine work. Both make
to order, the dry-goods people charging
more for a shirt that opens in 'front.'
ten cents. Now the actual cost of this
shirt, sold for one dollar, or one dollar
and fifteen cents laundried, is not over
twenty-five cents, labor, material, and
cutting. A small trade would not
pay, however. IN. z. Morning '-urmal.