Morning journal and courier., 1884-09-13
The Need1ewomen of London.

Who knows and pltleS all.
 The NeedIewomen of London.
 From the Pan Mall Gazettel
 At High street, Shadwell, there re- gently witnessed the first beginning of an enterprise which, if supported as it deserves, will do much to tighten the lot in life of some of our workingwomen. At that address philanthropic lady, of unbounded energy, but, alasl of delicate health, has started what it is hoped will be the first of a multi tude of workingwomen's cooperative associa- tions, where the public will be able to enter into direct communication with the needle women, so as to obviate the intervention of ! the middlemen or sweaters. At the simple little shop in Shadwell High street Mrs. Rockford sells articles of dress made on the premises by needlewomen none of whom are required to work more than eight hours a day, ill a healthy work-room, at a decent wage The small capital of 9500 needed to set this modest establishment going has been supplied by some friends interested in the lot of workingwomen, and the success of the experiment will be watched with the keenest interest by all who are acquainted with the sad and often terrible condition of the East end needlewomen.
 
 end who live by the needle I do not know. Mrs. Rockford told me that from where we were standing you could go east, west, north, and south, and in almost every house you pass you would find at least one needlewoman. In all London, according to the last census, more than quarter of million women were returned as making their livelihood by that means-an army of workingwomen more nu- merous than any other class, excepting those engaged in domestic service. The more's the pity that their lot should be so hard. In face of a general and most indisputable i'm provemeAt in the condition of labor, it would seem incredible, if it were not only too horrl- bly, true, that the condition of the needle woman is even worse than it was when the ''Song of the Shirt stirred the nations heart. That song of woe might have been composed yesterday and every word of it might be applied to the needlewomen, thousands of whom are crowded together in that solid block of misery, the center of the East-end. If in Hoods time the needlewomen were chastised with whips, they are to-day chastised with scorpions. Should there be any who doubt that this is so, let them take l the train from Stepney to Bowroad, and plunge into the endless mass of low red roofed houses which spread to the right and l left far eye can reach, and miles further down the river banks. In most of these 1 miserable abodes the needlewomen are at work Any time, any season, will do; they
 
 one when there is no work to be had and when grim death itself is their guest-death of starvation. But it is perhaps to go on | gray wintry day, for when reflection of the sunlight falls into the dens they are almost ] too ghastly a picture to look at. And this is how they live and how their work is done. They begin early, as early as possible, for a | days work with them means IA or 15 hours stitching if they mean to earn shilling | day. The work is done for large London 1 firms, but before Mrs. Heckford's courageous | little experiment there was no direct com munication between employer and employed; l it is almost all done on the sweating" sys- 1 tenn. A sweater q call them middlemen, i it's more polite" said gentleman the other 1 evening at the meeting of the women's l Prevalent and Protective league; but 1 sweater" though less polite, is term more 1 to the point) receives a quantity of work l from the employer, which he has to deliver ] at certain time and for a certain price-a | moderately good price, hear; he gives the work out either to the women themselves or to another Sweater" It is often the case that the second sweater sublets the work 1 again, and the third once more each of course profting by the process. Can it be surpris- ing, then, that the wages of the poor women
 are low? They receive 18d. for a dozen
 shirts, 9d. for dozen petticoats, 3-4d for l a pair of trousers, which last sum is divided
 between machinist and ''fnisher," and Sd.
 for braided knickerbocker suit. How ] pretty they look in the show windows, the
 airy, lace-trimmed children's fancy frocks
 and aprons! A worker who with trembling
 fingers stitches them together can earn Is. a
 day by them, Is. Cd. if she works from $ a. m to midnight. No wonder her thin fingers 1 treInble with haste, with weakness, and with the constant fear that her work may get
 soiled or that some little part is not done ex-
 actly as prescribed. Woe be to her if the 1 latter be the easel For walk to the shop to I 1oliv ho1-x Ina nf ha1 a | it often means precious penny for the loan
 of pair of boots, and at times, when she IS
 too weak to walk, the of fourpence for
 riding and if there is the least fault in one
 of the articles, the whole dozen-they are | usually taken in doZens-comes back and has
 to be returned by the worker.
 | What has been said above applies only to
 the ''honest" needlewoman. There is way
 by which she can escape poverty and hunger,
 and it is alas! followed by 8 majority. Life
 in the streets" provided the girl has any per 1 sonal attractiveness, is more femuneratlve; It l pays so well that finery can be bought instead | of rags, and idleness and ease may take the
 place of toll and worry. No wonder they
 fall; the temptations are strong. Here, for
 instance, is a little low room. A sewing
 machine stands before the window. In front
 of it sits tall, pale girl with large, beautiful l eyes, full of brilliant light The girl is in 6 | decline. By her side sits an old woman, also ) busy with her needle. ''She cannot always ' do the machine-sewing now, she faints away | so often" the old woman says, looking at he1
 companion. ''She goes to the hospital, and 1 they say she must have nourishing food; but | l all last week we had nothing but bread How can we buy nourishing food9' she adds . with a humble smile. There is one way ot ! supplying that need, but the girl would
 rather die. It is no phrase but stern reaIi E ty. She is dying now, one among unnum
 bered examples of the silent heroism of the ! East-end, the unnoticed martyrdom of the abject poor.
 I have said before that their work never , ceases There is, however, one exception When the shops are ''taking stock"-which
 happens twice year-work is slack, and 1t
 fares hard with the workers; otherwise good
 needlewomen have not many difficulties III
 obtaining work. Of trade unions they know
 nothing, and even if they did they would not dare to join them, partly from fear ot exclt,
 ing the ill-will of the employers, or rather ol
 the Hsweaters'' and also because thereswou1d be plenty of people willing to take the Work for as low and even lower wages, should they
 attempt to strike. They are hungry and they ? cannot wait, but must take what they can oet. The introduction of sewing machines is Greatly lamented in the East-end. Before
 Their time pay was incomparably better; the 2 women could earn living by their wages : then, now they barely exist. Work which
 cannot be done by machine is by no means better paid because it is done by hand. In l one case-anybody willing to go to the East end is free to inquire about the correctness 3 of this statement-two women are sewing soldiers kits; it cannot be done by machine and by IS hours of labor the women are en
 abled to earn each Il 12d. day. Why, ask 5 in the name of wonder are there still so many t women engaged in this work while domestic g servants are always wanted2 Because, an
 told in reply, to become domestic servant ' a girl must at least have some idea of decency n and order; before she can lay table sh' | IL ! o,t4 ka1Nl lo r and before she can make bed she ought t' s have seen something else than ragged pail v lasse, or, worse still, bed filled with dirt, f rags. the only bed of many of the poorest