The Portland daily press., 1883-08-09

A writer in the Bazaar gives an account of
the experience of Messrs Tiffany & Co. in
the employment of women in their silver
ware factory.
In the first place, the young women who
have secured positions in the factory are, as
rule, loath to make haste slowly. Their
brothers enter at sixteen, and obtain mems
wages only after an apprenticeship of five
years, meanwhile receiving four dollars a
week aud upward. They understand per-
fectly that any real advance in acquiring a
knowledge of the silversmith's art, and pro-
iiciency in the use of it. must be made step
by step, gradually, without leaping or flying.
lhey nave been taught so by their parents,
by their associates, by their own obserya-
tlon, aud they are convinced of the truth of
what they have been taught. In other words
they believe it, and live up to the belief But
the girl who goes there to work for the same
purpose has an extra purpose of her own.
one wishes TO get over the preparatory ground
as rapidly as possible, and to earn full men {
wages III half the time that her brothers do.
She has not been taught, and has not vet
taught herself that in such business she
must make haste slowly If she is to make
speed at all. Consequently, in the next place
she becomes FESTIVE under authority--not in
all cases, but in some cases-and occasional
ly refuses to do the work laid out for her.
"This piece Of silver" said girl to the fore
man, lis toe thick for me to saw; it is mems
work." and the foreman will be sure to tell
you that when he is pleasant to girl in his
employ she is apt to try to ride over HIM.
ANY boy or young man in a similar position
would expect to be discharged at once if he
hesitated to obey his boss, or even il he ven
tured to suggest that somebody else could
do better what had been asked of him.
A young woman, on the contrary, is found
TO be more or less disputatious in tendency
Ito argue matter where every law
and precedent of business life requires
immediate submission to the foreman's or
ders. Nor is it easy for her, when the fore
man persists in having his orders obeyed, to
Delleve that IN doing SO he is strictly Impair
tiai; You don't like women, Mr.. Blank, =
replied young woman, in answer to the
repetition of request from the foreman to
something distasteful. If, on the other
hand, the foreman seems unusually benevo-
lent, his demeanor is attributed to his GEN
erosity or general good feeling, without ref
erence, on the recipients part, to business
methods or means, to policy or tact s'Mr
Blank said young woman silyer-worker
of her foreman the other day-stMr. Blank
has noble heart Better not trust him, -
replied an associate of the sterner sex; she
Wall uioShai &c yud III Il HtQul6 II ne LllnkS
you deserve it, The inability 10 appreciate
the significance of such phrase as ''Busi-
ness is business lies at the root of these
shortcomings. The young woman who is
learning the silversmith's art has been found
to lack confidence. sHNell, if you think /
can do it, she is apt to reply when asked to
do something new to her "Don't be tim
i'd" rejoins the CHEEKY foreman; ssif you get
1t wrong, try it again." The prospect of
learning new branch of the trade usually
disheartens her. She will go certain dis
lance very well, but she won't learn the one
thing extra the knowledge of which would
give her the rank and the pay of skilled
workman. If etching on silver, which to-
day is more fashionable than engraving on
silver, were to become less fashionable. and
engraving again come to the front, the fore
man would expect the average girl to be un-
willing to learn engraving ii she had already
learned etching. zone trade is enough for
me- he would expect to hear her say.