Omaha daily bee., 1883-02-27
A GREAT INDUS TRY
The Manufacture OF Collars and Cuff
in Troy-Interestiny Details-h,
merces OF the Works hops

"How many collars atd cuff ar,
manufactured yearly in this city2'
This question was propounded By tn,
Tribune correspondent to the proprle
ter of the largest collar house In Troy
His ahswer was: "That would be ,
difficult matter to even estimate, bu,
you a state with close accuracy tina
nine.tenths of all the collars and cuff,
sold la this country are made In Troy
1t will thus be seen--and the fact 4,
productive Of much pride to the Tro.
%jans-that Troy not only "cuffs" bu,
collars" this and, In q comparative
degree, other countries.
The growth of tho collar and cuff
industry In this city has been amazing.
Thirty years ago there were two OF
these manufactures, employing about
twenty.fi five hands. To-day there are
100 different collar shops, furnishing
employment to 1000 females and
1000 males. Thousands upon thou.
sands Of dozens of collars and cuffs
are manufactured daily, and no less
than 38, 1000 yards of thread are Jon.
sumed weekly. It Is computed that
to female operatives alone atleast $50,
600 Is paid every week.
The girls-no matter how ancient
the feminines, If they are collar and
cuff operatives, they are invariably
called gtrls-earn all the way from "a
to e35 per week. The $35 class con.
tains but one representative, and she
is known throughout the different
shops as ''the boss collar girl of Troy"
This fortunate person Is q Jolly,
bright. eyed Irish woman about thirty.
six years of age Her name IL Mrs.
Haggerty, and she tips the scale at 24O
pounds. She has followed the busi.
ness for years, and q month ago, upon
her marriage to a cigar merchant of
this city, paid $1,000 In cash for n
residence In a central part of town.
This and other money stored away she
earned by hard work upon the pieces
of linen that encircle the necks and
wrists of civilized humanity. The
second day after her marriage she. was
In her accustomed place at the shop,
and matrimonial cares do not prevent
her from still crediting to her account
S35 every six days. This woman
alone disposes of weekly 10000 yards
of thread.
Female members of some of the most
aristocratic families of Troy are "col.
lar girls" OF course they are not
numbered among the inmates of the
factories, but behind closed blinds and
in rear oom of their sumptuously
furnished houses their slender fingers
sra busy upon the same class of work
performed In the crowded shops.
The question will naturally be asked,
~whyshould these ladies of leisure invite
self. enforced toll of this nature? S'h!
Listen! There Is Q skeleton In some
of those mansions. Your correspond
emit knows of q gentleman that society
favors largely. He is o stock specula.
tor. His ventures have been disas
trous, and have slowly but surely re.
duced what three years ago was q re.
spectacle fortune. In a little apart.
ment removed from the elegant par.
lors of his home, his wife, an estim.
able lady sits hour after hour working
upon collars. She earns large wages
and hopes by her humble mite to save
her husband from being obliged to for.
felt his stock, which she trusts some
day will be In the ascendency. Then
other ladies are enabled by their col.
lor -orL IN d~oss ~oro lnuI.hIu lL.z
the portion allotted for this purpose
by their husbands would permit. II
was only last Saturday that q lady
turning to her companion and point.
Ing to q fur lined dolman envelopins
the form of a bankers wife In advance
observed: "She earned that In two
months turning collars" The wife Of
a proprietor of one of the factories
doing a prinoely business works or
cuffs five hours out of every twenty
four. All she receives for her labol
abe gives to the poor. These hom,
operatives obtain and return theil
work through messengers, or, rather
boys of the neighborhood, who's,
pocket money Is considerably increased
thereby.
The other side of the picture Is hard
ly SO bright. The majority OF tn
thousands of girls who report at tn
shops at seven O'Clock In the mornin,
and often labor till eight at night or,
of the proper class. Many of then
are the sole support of families-o
widowed mothers, drunken fathers, O
feeble children. In the infirmary o
this city iS a man who seven years ag,
was the proprietor Of a collar.shop
giving employment to 800 persons
Drink and dissipation ruined him an,
brought his family to want. His onl,
daughter, who In her fathers prosper
GUS days was receiving an education a
the Willard Female Seminary, Is no,
a Woodworking collar girl, supporting
with the aid of an elder brother, he
invalid mother and two small children
The minority of "the girls" ar,
really not obliged to spend their day
in oollar.shops, but a common desir
"to earn something" being stronge
than q false pride they willingly con
sent to alt the weeks out at sewing
machines. They are members Of GOO
society, and to them fall the lot O
creating most of those romances tina
have distinguished the lives of oolla
girls, and the best part Of It is ths
their romanoes are usually realities
They frequently leave the busy sho
and humming machines TO marry int
wealthy families.
At the Rensselaer, Polytechnic Inst
tute In this city q young gentleman
the SOC of q retired merchant llvin
then In Chicago, graduated four O
five years ago with high honors. FL