The Labor enquirer., 1884-03-01
rE[AIE AND GH1LD LABoR,

.I4s1s FS = <, 2
How Il Has Ben ussd ii Chicago 70
Reduce Wages md cufss
Humanity.
s.The influence of child and female
labor in this city upon the labor market
generally is hurtfnl," said : man who
has made the local labor question his
special study. Leaving entirely aside
considerations Of health, morals and
education, and looking At it purely from
: material point Of view, it is doubtless
that the providing in Of females and
children means the crowding out Of
adult male labor. Investigate the sub
iect and you'll find it So" The Daily
News man followed the advice.
In round numbers there are employed
during aaushn times 5000 women, girls,
and children in this city at manual labor
or in some other capacity requiring no
great amount of skill. previous training,
or bodily strength. In almost every
instance this work is poorly paid-not
nearly 30 well asit would be if performed
by men. In fact, it may be said that the
average wages earned by women is but
half and for children but one-third OF
that which is paid to men for the same
grade and amount of work. What makes
this all the more deplorable is that 9
large number of these females and
children have taken the places Of men
who formerly earned good wages at the
same WORK; enough to support them and
their families. Where girls and women
receive now from s. to IS a week men
used to get $6 to $40. This state of
things, i. e., the low rate of these wages,
is mainly due to the workingwomen
themselves. They take work and do it
for such small pay because they hope all
the time to get married and then make
the husband support them. In the
meanwhile they are not so particular
about the amount of wages, most of them
using them not as means of livelihood
but to provide themselves with clothes
and many, other things which will make
them more attractive in the eyes of the
men, viewed by them in the light of
prospective or possible husbands. Of
course, there are numerous exceptions to
this, many girls and women who have
become very proficient In certain trades
and who look upon their work as their
legitimate employment, but with the
vast majority it is not SO. : The conse-
quence is that the women do not combine
for the purpose of mutual protection by
forming trades unions or similar organi-
zations, the way their male co-workers
do, and the natural result of this lack of
unity and common interest on their part
again shows itself in the smallness of
their earnings-the employer, as a mat
ter of course, taking advantage of their
mistake. Some figures will prove this:
Chicago is the great center for the
manufacture of garments of every de-
scrlption for the whole country west and
southwest of here. It is, therefore, not
astonishing that there are forty-fve
wholesale clothing houses IN this city,
500 clothing stores and smaller factories,
besides 300 custom tailors. They employ
in all 25,O 900 girls and women and 5000
men. Ofthe latter, the cutters earn from
$3.50 to $3 day, the pressers So, while
the girls in stitching and sewing get but
ST. day or less. And this despite the
fact that the women do machine work,
with 1000 stitches minute, while the
latter do but hand work. Gloves and
mittens are made in seventeen factories,
and the male cutters in these earn $l2
a week. the women but S.. In the forty
book binderies in this city the men earn
wages between $3.50 and S. day, the
1000 women 81 to $1.5O, the girls IS to 81
a week. This includes the mailing of
newspapers and periodicals. In the
thirteen paper-box factories there are
S5U women and girls and $50 men. The
latter receives 81 to SIS per week, the
women 81 day, the girls So to 81 week.
In the thirty large and 500 small cigar
factories there are altogether about $500
men and $50 women. The latter begin
to be employed in this branch Of work
on larger scale now, and eventually
will probably crowd the men out, just as
in England, France, Austria, Italy and
Spain they are almost entirely employed
On Kinzie street there is cigar factory
which employs altogether women, sew.
enty in all, who earn 81 day, while
men are paid at the rate of $3 at this
work. In the manufacture of smoking
and chewing tobacco some 800 are en-
ployed, 600 women and 200 men and
boys. The men get So day, the women
so cents to 81. In the twenty large con.
fectioneries 1000 are employed, of whom
two-thirds are women. The proportion
here is 81 to $40 week for men, S. to Sc
a week for women. In the five cord and
tassel factories 200 are working, the men
making $40 week, the women from S.
to Sc week. The $50 women employed
| in making feather busters earn about s.