The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1885-04-29
struggling Day and Night Tor a
PaItry pirtance.

ST. .rt. r00! share e. tae pedestrians
fran. ta,nu nt. : IA. n. After Tat
hour they are .ew and LIT between an-
.Gf ge. m. when a-a.u tticE tarau- tie
streets AMI crowd the elevated trans
and street cars. They are ot II. 4Ee--
rom the clsa--ir. 1T thirteen. u short
dresses. t9 tile -ray-hairel stopping
woman ot SKY, who has TTobaa-y i
family at home dependent on her sNaaty
WAGES. Among them are represented
Ell nationalft.e., all sty.t. oi beauty,
MI degrees at intelligence. a.. varieties
as tie prevailing STYLE ~ dress. As z
rule tlex are bright, Nell behaved and
pretty at least the ugly faces are COM
parat.yely few. - 4 RUE, also, they
look weary; half 81 them look III; they
are all pale. nearly all tim, and Tar too
man have a careworn look -adly out
Of place on Young faces. Many oi them
besfn to work before they are fairy in
their teens. III the large families, which
are the rule rather than the exception
among the poorer citizens. the little cash
iris - a week is by Ut means despssed,
while her older sister. who on Saturday
night brings home Sc, probably earns
half as much as her father. In this way
the pot is kept boiling ii many taml-5eo
who would otherwise starvc.
By far the greater proportion are sew
iug-giTls, sub as machine operators,
dressmakers, workers on ladies' uuaer-
wear. cloakmakers, tallorcs,es, shirt
makers. suspendermakers and various
other similar trades. ShIrtmakcrs re-
ceive from 2s to rs cents per doz . Tor
white shirts. Two dozen IS day , work
So to 70 cents. Yachting shirts bring
IS cents per dozen; dozen a day )
work-52 cents. GA ladies' underwear
the prices ale a trihlc better, white skirts
bringing from 81 to Sl.50 pr dglen.
drawers, 80 to 80 cents, ~chcnlseS, -
cents to 81, night-dresscs, - cents 70 -.
calico wrappers, l. cents apiece, &c By
hard work an expert operator can earn
from 81 50 to s. per day. But where
one earns this a dozen earns from > cents
to 81. The general averages from - ~
to So per week, when work IS steady and
a girl is at her machine ten hours a day.
CIoakmakers average a little higher
from So to s. per week. Fur-sewers
about the same-also suspender makers,
who receive the enormous sun Of one
cent Der pair for Their labor. Taiioresses,
whose work is hardest and heaviest Of all
machine sewing, earn from 81 Il y per
week. The best paving part Of their
work-buttonholes-is now nearly mono-
p~olized By the button-hoIe machine. All
this work is very combining; the constant
stopping renders the operators very sus-
ceptible TO lung disease, and pneumonia
has carried off scores OF them this wlnter.
Their work rooms are too oftel IN draugh-
-. D T. ~ 49, l-z,1,,-r 1,,,, - -, ~ ,,4AT
makes the heated room almost unbcar
able, aud the search-winds Of winter
render 1t next to impossible to keep the
place comfortably warm.
A saleslady to retain her situation
must be we'll dressed and refined IN man
ner. Other working women may wear
rough dresses suitable to the work they
are engaged in and may be as silent or as
social as they please. But the saleslady
must always wear her company man
ners'' and a presentable dress. They
usually begin as cash-girls at s. a week.
As salesladies their wages vary from s.,
at which they begin, to So or SIS, which
an exceptionally good one, who Is OF value
to the firm employing her, may receive.
The average salary is from S. to s.. This
is, above all others, the branch OF women 5
houest work where personal beauty Is a
| strong recommendation. 4 pretty face
! or a fine figure, especially when set off to
advantage by a stylish dress, is often the
straw which weighs down the scale IN
favor of the applicant. Especially Is this
the case 10 the large cloak and suit
houses, where a customer who has not
been highly favored BY nature as to per
sonal beauty VIII imagine that the gar
ment she has under con Iteration viii set
off her pain face as well as it does the
handsome one OF the salcslady. Some
firms provide the dresses necessary to
show off the rich wraps to advantage
Most houses. however, do nothing of the
kind, leaving to the saleslady the %alterna-
tive of dressing as they wish or losing
her situation.
Sewing girls and salesladies constitute
over one half Of the working women Of
New York. Next come those who work
at trades requiring a greater or less de-
gree Of manual skill, but to which book
learning is not essential. Among these
are the folders, stitchers and gold layers
of bo0kbinders. the paper-boX makers,
mllliners, press@feeders, women uphols-
terers, cigarmakers and tobacco girls
generally, carpet weavers and many
others. Bindery girls average - to s.
per week. The folding machines now
~monopolize a great deal Of the work for
merly done by hand. Each machine does
the work Of six girls, and the operator
earns So. Paper-box makers do not aver
age more than St. Expert and expert
enced hands about one In twenty earn
from $40 to So MiIIiuers earn higher
wages than any Of the other trades Of
this class, averaging from 81, to SIS per
week. But 1t mus be remembered that
theirs IS what is known as a season
trade, and their work is good only for
three months each IN the spring and fall,
or SIX months ofthe year. Press feeders
average s.. This is net a large class, boys
being generally preferred by employers
because they can do the rough aud heavy
work so difficult and di9tasteful to women.
Cpholsterers average about S.. Women
cigar-mahers 10 all the various branches
are better off than most of their sisters.
Book keepers, copylsts, tyrewriters, copy
holders, c0mpOsltors, prOot~readcTs, en-
graYers, designers aud telegraph opera
tors, &c, average higher wages than the
others. Women bookkeepers are paid
from So to Sl0-average about IS where
nlen earn lFOin Sl0 70 80 per week Tor
the same work. The typewriters are fast
taking the place Of hand copyists, aua
average aboutS9 Copy holders are paid
from s. to s. compositoEs are usually
PAID by piece from ~ to ~ cents per
thousand ems-and average from 5 to
ST. a week, according to circumstances
There are comparatively few woman proof
readers, still lever engrayer. and tewe,t
Of all designers. But their pay is very
fair, the first named averaging So per
week and the Others a little higher.
Telegraph operators, as a rule, receive
two-thirds the salary OF the men. Their
average pay does not exceed $40 per
week.
By these figures the average pay Of
working women Is shown to be 81 per
NJ ~. L-IP T.l - H..