The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1883-03-22
Total gross earnings Of
the family per week ais. a

Total gross earnings Of
the family per week.. 2ls 41Sd. S Is
But out Of this pittance must come Sd.
for carriage Of iron from the "fogger's" and
returning the nails, 1s. for the smithy fire
and Sd. for the wear OF tools. Net earning,
81 II per week-the united earnings OF
three industrious sober persons. / stood
in the "foggers'" +" shops Of these mailing
districts and saw the pale, emaciated
women drag their weary limbs up the mar
row black hills to the "gatfers.p and eagerly
watch the weighing OF heavy sacks Of nails.
The "foggers" do not "claim" that woman,
who has no family to attend to, and who
goes to the forge every morning and works
all day Us man, can make more than So. a
week-less than two dollars. But the truth
is they do not make anything like that
amount. = -s
LONG HOURS, LITTLE PAY AND LESS TO EAT.
"How many nails have you there" l
said to pale-iaced, half.slarved looking
woman, with tresh-looking lass Of sixteen
at her side. The nails had just been
turned into the "fogger's" scales.
"There should be iorty.six pounds
back" she replied. "They are a small
nail and It is bundle Of rods Of sixty
pounds made into nails" .Y.e.s
"How much do you get for them!"
"Ten shillings, sir"
"How many days steady,work," said I,
taking up one Of the well.shaped hob.
nails.
"six days, late and early, sir"
"Alone?"
"Oh, no." with sickly smile, "the lass
here has worked steady with mt"
"How far do you haye.to bring those
nails?"
about six miles" f.
"And walk it?"
"Yes." .t.uH .tn.. ....
"What does your fire and the carriage
and the ware Of tools cost you a week?"
"At least shilling"
"Then you and your daughter, working
all day, six days in the week, at the anvil
and the oliver, making about nine shil-
lings?" IS2 16 a week..
'That Is all we can make, SIR"
"How do you manage to live?"
We don't live; we hardly exist. We
rarely taste meat. don't know what the
poor folks in England are coming to. II
they as work at other trades be like us God
help them, sir, don't know what will be.
come OF US. And many Of have to go to
the workhouse. So lar have not taken
anything from them, but may have 10 do
It. Work Is very slow here sometimes, and
it's hard even to get what we do.
The most cruel part of tho business Is
that young women should be allowed TO
work at what Is called the toliyers," q
heavy iron machine worked by means OF
two wooden treadles. At Halesowen saw
numbers Of girls making large eight-inch
bolts on these machines, and indeed they
seem to work with masculine tirmness and
with far more vigor than the men. Mr.
Ball, one OF the largest nail makers OF the
district, told me that hundreds Of women
were employed In the little "smithys" al
the back Of the houses in making these
great bolts, and visited seven or eight es.
tablishments that might properly be classed
as factories, thus employing women. Their
earnings do not exceed 81 % perweek.
In this way mothers, daughters and mere
children toll and slave on from year to
year-indeed, one man told me nails had
been made here for over century in this
way. How they exist Is q mystery TO ne
They live Ia bowels, they are poorly fedand
poorly clad. They marry early, and sew.
eral girls not over seventeen were pointed
out 10 me as mothers Of children two and
three years OF age. The men have an un-
muscular look, most Of them are "very pale
and lean and leaden.eyed." The small
nailers are not protected by the Euglish
factory act, and they work in their fathers
shops sometimes until late at night The
time to see the nailers at work Is Friday
night. The sharp din Of the hammer on
the anvil, and the dull rapid thud Of the
solver" as It aastened the heads Of the
nails and spikes, still rings in my ear from
last night. / can see the bright sparks
from the forge, the red hot nails clattering
down to Join their cooler brethern, the
bending forms OF the men, the women and
the girls, little children creeping into the
clattering, scintilating nail.shop, for the
sake Of warmth, and every now and then
the red flames from the iorges illuminating
] the scene and making more distinct the