The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1884-09-13
'THEHW0RKING W0lll|III.E]:,N,,,:
THEIR WAGES IN NEW y j. ENGLAND, 4, 3
-. |s. .' ~ " ha~ f-,iHIt ~
Tho Amount They Earn In tho Cotton NIiils.
Z The Scarcity Of Domestic Service In That /
Portion Of tho Coantry-Tl,eir Moral q
aud Physical Condition -statIstIcs,5
Spclal cathponlenee d be la,ellsae,,,.e,t,,

! IH" Vi 3. q
| and Physical COntlition-statIstlcs.l
Special Correspondence etAae Ia,elliaemtyr:
BURLINGTON, VI, September, Cit il
curious how people turn up in this ant
that place TINT you meet hero and tl,er,
throughout tho country. spoke in one
ofmy late letters Of meeting ut tho South
Mr.. JoilnP. Howard, Of New York city
who lsa nativo Of this place, and who has
recently bccn on n visit here to look aite,
some Of the good work TINT he is doing ior
this community with II portion OF his sur.
plus wealth. .i7 .l
When was returning East from Cali.
lornia last fall fell IN with another citi.
zen Of this place with whom | have rc.
ncwGd aplcasant acquaintance during M
stay here, and to whom am indebted for
courteous attentions-a Mr.. Il. G. Sever.
son, cotton manufacturer, who IN part
ncrship with Mr.. j. II. Gates, runs the
only cotton mill in this part OF New Eng
land. New England is the land OF cotton
mills. Lowell, Manchester, Full River
and Providence nre names familiar with MI
throughout the country. But Burlington
is not known as q manufacturing centre.
Still ,!it has two wOolenmills, and Il cotton
mill that runs $4,000 spindlcs and turns
out %, 900 yards OF cloth per day, and cm-
ploys $50 people, thrce-iourths of whom
are women md girls. When j met
Mr.. Severson :hc had'becn downin Texas
buying cotton and had taken turn round
through New Mexico on his way home.
During Il visit to his mill here, tho other
day | asked him his opinion in regard to
the relative advantages Of manufacturing
cotton goo,lsut the North and South. Ile
explained to me that tho only advantage
in close proximity to tho cotton fields was
in the large consumption OF cotton for the
manufacture OF coarse aud heavy cotton
cloth, such us negroes and many whites
wear at the South. For all other goods
the matter Of proximity WIS more ,l,un
offset by the disadvantages OF climate and
labor. The negroes are not Il success, rs
yet, said lie, i'll the Southern cotton mills,
and ! doubt If they ever will be rs com
pared with white labor. As to freight on
raw cotton, said he. you can estimate how
small m element Of cost it is in such goods
US ours, Which arc what is known rs OUx5U
print cloth, when | tell you that we get
our cotton delivered here from Central
Texas for 81 90 per hundred pounds, and
sometimes for 10 cents, and as n pound OF
cotton produces six and hall yards OF
cloth the cost Of freight is under one-six.h
OF cent per yard. We consider this
item rs more than Offset by our climate.
A hot climate is not Il good one for the
manufacture OF cotton. The cotton 'elec-
trities SHAT is, becomes fuzzy and
clammy, which is one reason why we do
not care to run here in the very hottest
weather. y 2
WAGES IN COTTON MILLS. q.
I 1interrosated Mr.. Scyerson in regard
to wages in the cotton mills, having seen
SO many conflicting statements in'regard
to them in the speeches in Congress and
in newspaper statements on tho subject.
Well, said he, here is our pay roll. 1t IS
$3.50 per week, as you see. Divide $50,
the number Of our employees, into it, and
it gives an average for every body, little
and big-boys and girls from 10 years old
and upwards OF S. per head per week.
AS n matter OF course our best "heln"
make more than this average-say So, 81
and IS per week. = .,f.
How about their savings? said 7. q ~
As to that, he replied, all depends on the
individual. am compelled TO say that
the most OF our girls are very improvident
Most OF them live at home, and their eS-
penses for board need not exceed 81 per
week. Those who board@pay 50 % fer
board and washing. But the trouble is
that there is great rivalry among them in
dress. They arc amongst the very best
dressed people in this town. You should
sec the parades OH Sunday OF fine wear,
not only fine but extravasant. Oicourse
these girls, no more than anybody else
can Shave their cake and eat it too.n We
give them about forty-fve weeks work
per year and they ought to show. respect
able savings at the end of that time, but
generally speaking they do not. .
Whut Kind OF people do you get in your
factory? 1 inquired. Largely Canadian
French, he answered, There are great
numbers OF them in this community. You
will find them iii all the cotton manufac:
turing towns OF New England. They
seem naturally to take to this kind OF
work--more SO than our old New England
stock OF girls, although, Of course, there
are n good many Of these cotton in the
mills. * ~. !. ..s e.
s33{ GIRLS IN TIE FACTORIES.
What is your observation, I inquired, as
to the effect on girls Of working in large
numbers in the mills? 45s3;i5 t;'i$ Il
AS to that, said he, have no very clear
idea. A great deal depends OIL the kind
OF home girl has. It is with them in
this respect, us with families generally, II
the father and mother arc what they ought
to be, the children arc not dcmoralizcd
here. II, on the other hand, they are LETT
to themselves, they arc not improved in
the mill. {8! Work in cotton mills is not
fhcalthy work.>LThereis stoo.much greasy
and chot exhalation, and there is q great
Ideal Of fine cotton mist always. tlyins.in
the nir. I do mot consider the occupation
4 desirable one in point oihcaltl.
$$&.""How is thequestion OF domestic service
in your homes affected by this drain oi
females 10 themills" II inquired. 5".Well,"' y
said he, .tsthc lack OF good girls for domes-
tic service is the crying evil OF this part OF
the country. The notion prevails here
that domestic service is menial. We pay
from s. to 81 for girls in our houses md
they arc always on the edge OF leaving us.
They are mistrcsses OF tho situation all the
time. Why, there is MI association in this
city-part, 1 believe, of q moro. extended
association-got up by the ladies', to get
domestic help from New York, or. even
to send abroad for it.. |; ami told that
they get good Swedish, girls, newly land.
cd, to whom s. and 81 is big pay as n
matter of course as compared b with
wages IN Europe. At NIL events they arc
glad 10 get it, and continue in TINT frame
OF minl until a bee is putin their ears by
the iactory; girls, and then, sure enough,
| thay, q re reaa3 To get Nn ON their ears nj