Richmond daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1876-1904, 1885-08-21
CITY WORKING-GIRLS.
THE WAGES THEY GET IN THE
VARIOUS FIELDS OF LABOR.
Early Morning Scenes the Streets
Careworn Expressions on Young Faces
Hard Work and Poor Health
Saieswomen-Type-w


AMI then woke up, every place at once.
The populations began to pour into the
streets from all directions. and the side
walks soon became crowded with pedes-
trians of every description on their way
TO work There were old. stoop' shouldered
men. and happy. merry looking boys
There We're aged, crippled women TO beg
on the corners. and careless. laughing
little girls. to play in the streets. There
were all kinds of people-grave and gay.
sweetfaced, sour faced and dirty faced,
good. bad and Indifferent There were
old hats and new hats. straw hats, felt
hats. and no hats at all Some carried
baskets. some carried buckets and some
carried nothing but light hearts and
empty purses The rich were there. the
poor were there. The rich iostled the
poor. and the poor jostled the rich The
rich frowned and wire silent and the
ragged whistled aud sang.
II you want to see life in great city,
observed the hoary headed philosopher
you must get up at daybreak and watch
the people on the streets. You will see
all kinds of characters then and all man
ners of existence. Now, here comes an
interesting party" pointing to q little
group OF working girls walking west on
Fifth street. They were lightly and
cleanly dressed, and were talking noisily
together. Ii would be difficult matter
To ascertain what proportion working
nati. From O O'Clock in the morning I'M
til 7:30 the streets are thronged with
them, and they constitute good share of
the pedestrians from now until . o'clock
Then again at q in the afternoon they fill
the streets and horse-cara They are of
all ages from the cash girl of IL or Ii. in
short dresses, to the gray haired STOPPING
woman of 20. Among them are ali de
grees of intelligence all nationalities,
all styles of beauty. The majority
of them are bright, well behaved and
pretty; but they generally look weary.
and often i'll Nearly all of them are pale
and thin, and have careworn expressions
sadly out OF keeping on young faces. that
should be bright and cheerful Many work
ing girls begin daily labor before they are
fully III their teens In large families
which are tie rule among the poorer peo-
pie, the little daughter is often compelled
to lend her aid to the general support. and
her small salary of perhaps 81. 30 per
week is by no means to be despised Her
older sisters ST is often as much as the
father makes.
"In what kind of work are most of
them engaged?" asked the writer.
BY far the greater proportion are sew
ing girls, y was the reply. - L nder this
class may be mentioned machine. opera
tors. shirtmakers. and those engaged in
various other branches of the trade
What do they maker"
"Shirtmakers get 30 cents per dozen for
shirts. Two dozen is a good days work.
At this fast worker could average about
So so week Cloakmakers will average
lii lie better. some of them making as
much as IS week. But the hardest work
of this character is that of the tailoress,
who makes from 81 to 50 week All
this kind of work is very combining. and
the constant STOPPING renders the opera
tor very susceptible 10 lung disease. Pnesl,.
M iS YER fat IA
in binderies girls are paid either by
the piece or so much a week. They never
average over 81 or So in these establish
ments. The girls who run folding ma
chimes are paid about the same salary.
Female cigar makers are generally very
well paid, as they belong to the union and
are allowed union prices.
And then there are hundreds of girls
employed in shoe factories, rag establish
ments, peanut houses and printing offices.
In all these places their work is valued
much less than that of males and when
they work on salaries their wages are con-
siderably smaller The pay for labor in
such places varies greatly. and derends
almost entirely upon the liberality of the
employer. | know a shoe manufacturer
who pays his girls IS or S10a week apiece,
and another who pays less than half that
much. In the houses where rirls are EN-
ployed in asserting rags they generally
ing offices If paid according to the vpe
they set they would earn nearly as much
as men. They are much quicker workers.
their hands are more nimble and dexter
Gus. and they apply themselves closer TO
the work
young ladies, said the reporter. indicat-
ing a little procession approaching.
"les. said the other, they are sales
women in the retail dry goods and notion
stores They must always be well dressed
and refined in manners and appearance.
Other working women may wear rough
dresses suited to the kind of work in
which they are engaged. but q saleswoman
must always be scrupulous and neat in
personal attire. They generally begin as
cash girls at 8 per week. and finally get
behind the counter at 50. From this time
on their wages depend entirely upon the
value they are TO the firm by whoI. they
are employed. There are seldom two fe-
male clerks in store working for the
same wages, Some can command larger
salaries than others by their greater num-
Der of acquaintance and the larger trade
they are able 10 bring to the house. Some
of the most valuable saleswomen of in
cinnati get as high as s25 and $50 week.
But perhaps the best paid working
women are the milliners. Their salaries
depend upon their talent and adaptability.
and they frequently command incredible
wages.
And then telegraphing and stenog-
raphy and type writing provide places for
scores of bright young girls As a rule,
female telegraph operators receive two
thirds the average of men. Stenography
is an requirement which any girl can
learn with profit Those who make
business of it can always find emf loyment
and make excellent wages.
TYPE writing has opened a new field
for young women They are almost uni
versally employed for this work Law
yers and merchants and all business men
like to have pleasant young lady in the
office Her presence improves the moral
tone of the sanctum and gives the place
an air of culture and refinement Type
writers average about Sl2 per week
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