The Labor enquirer., 1884-02-23
A DOUBLE THREAD.

Exc Out a Miserable Existence,
Without Hope This Side
the Grave.
Thousands Of Sad Illustrations OF
Hoods Song of the
Shirt"
New York World.
"Please sit down and I will answer any
questions you wish to ask me, but you
will excuse me il 1 keep on with my
work. I must have these done by 3
O'Clock or 1 cannot get my paw this
week, and 1 can hardly afford to visit a
week for that" said pale, wan woman
in the top room of one of the largest
tenement houses in the city, and it
might be said, too, one of the poorest
ones. While resolving mentally the
most pertinent questions to ask, the re-
porter glanced about the room which
served as home TO this woman, who
evidently superior to such surroundings.
1t was about ten feet square and had one
window opening on a court, and though
in the top of the house the light was
scarcely sufficient to permit her to sew
on buttons she was placing with a sort
of mechanical swifness on pile of
shirts at her feet. A cot bed stood in
one corner, which looked clean, but
scanty as to clothes and devoid of a
pillow. Two chairs, board nailed
against the wall for shelf, small old
table and tiny, broken stove completed
the furniture. There was no carpet, and
the cold wind penetrated the room.
ooh, am finishing these shirts. l
don't make them entirely. There are
many womer. who take shirts this way
to finish, perhaps in all somewere near
200. For these l get cents dozen :;
for some l receive 9 and for others 10
cents dozen. On these put four stays
each, or gussets, as some call them, three
buttons and one ticket. On the 8 cent
ones put the same number of stays,
and five buttons and ticket. On the
10 cent ones l must sew eight buttons,
and the same number of stays and a
ticket"
$50 for cents you sew on forty-eight
stays, thirty-six buttons and twelve
cards for cents you put forty-eight
stays, sixty buttons and twelve cards,
and for 10 cents you sew forty eight
stays, ninety-six buttons and twelve
cards. Is this all you do ?"
"Oh, no; sometimes make women's
calico sacques, for which get so cents a
dozen. Those make on machine. l
have one which 1 hire ont for 25 cents a
when l have no machine work. l prefer
machine work, for somehow it does not
seem as if l were working so hard then,
and, besides, it isn't so injurious to my
eyes. which are growing quite feeble.
l shall have to get glasses, and it will
take. me sometime to spare enough
money to get pair"
about the sacques ? Each garment l
have to cut and make. receive an
amount of calico and must cut certain
number of sacques of it. 1t takes close
calculation, there are very few scraps
left. There are nine seams in sacque
and hem all round, besides the collar
and sleeves. Eight buttons and button
holes go on each. For these, as l said, l
receive 5 cents apiece, or so cents per
Dozen"
"Oh, yes, indeed, there are other
branches of female labor quite as ex-
trayagantlv remunerated. For instance,
the woman who rooms with me gets 45
cents dozen for mems drawers. She
sews three seams in each pair, puts on a
waistband double-stitched, hem at the
bottom and sews on tapes, puts in eyeiets
at the band, and ties tape in or puts on
buckle and straps, works two button
holes and sews on two buttons. They
find the material and thread. She
could hardly afford that, you see. She
can make about three dozen in two days
by working nights, Men,, when their
buttons fall off, would perhaps not feel
so impatientif if they knew that one stitch
more on each would cost the worker a
loaf of bread each week.
"One of the women on this floor works
at finishing mems trousers. She gets II
cents a pair. To finish them she puts In
buckram, hens them, fells waistband
on each pair and finishes off four pock-
cts and sews twelve buttons. This must
all be done by hand, and an experienced
person can finish from twelve to sixteen
pairs week.
Another one makes linen busters, for
which she gets s cents apiece. The
smartest worker with machine cannot
finish more than three day. Her
roommate gets 80 cents a dozen fol-
making wooden overshirts, with collars,
bands and bosoms. With all her
strength and industry she cannot finish
more than one dozen per day. A widow
who hires bed-space with them earns &c
to 35 cents day making button-holes