, 1885-09-12
CITY WORKING-GIRLS
THE WAGES THEY GET IN THE
VARIOUS FIELDS OF LABOR
Early Morning scenes on the Streets
carewom Expre-.ions on Young Faces
Hard Work and Poor Health
saieswomen -Typo-writer~

seemed to glare right Into the Q, es Of tho
city. for incinnati shook herself
stretched herself. stretched n moment
and thcn 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 ledes
TRANS of every description on tneir va
to work. There were old. stoop shouldered
men. and happy. merr, looking boys
There were aged. crippled women to beg
on the corners. mud care css. laughing
little girls, TO play in the streets fhero
were all kinds OF ~people-graye and gay.
sweet. faced, sour. faced. and dirty-faccl,
good. bad and indifferent There were
old hats and new hats. straw hats. felt
bats. and no hat, at Ill. Some carried
baske ,. some carried buckets and some
carried nothing hut light hearts and
empty purses The rich were thrre the
poor were there. The rich ioslled the
poor. and the poor jostled the rich. The
rich frowncd and were silent and the
ragged whisiled aud sang
If GU want to see life in q great city.
ob,crved the hoar headed philosopher.
you must get up at daybreak aud watch
the PEOPLE on the streets. You will see
all kinds OF characters then. and all man
ners of existence Now. here comes IA
interesting party pointing to a htils
group OF working girls walking, " "a
Fifth street. They were bsney ~
clearly dressed. and We . IA nnf, m u
~ oscer,ain Whit proportion working
women le.s TO the population Of Cincin-
natf from q o'clock in the morning I'M
al 80 the streets are thronged with
them. and they constitute a good share of
the pedestrians from now until . O'Clock
Then sgaiu at . in the afternoon they hl
the streets aud horse cara They are Of
all ages from the cash girl OF ~ or 13. in
short dresses. TO the gray. haired STOPPING
woman VI %. Among them are all de-
nrees of Intelligence. all nationalities.
a.! styles Of beauty. The me GRITTY
of them are bright. well behaved and
pretty; but they generally look weary.
and often i'll. eariy all Of them arc pale
and thin. and have expressions.
sadly out OF keeping on young faces. that
shou d be bright and cheerful Many work
ing girls begin daily labor before they are
fully In their teens In large families.
which are the rule among the poorer peo.
pie. The little daughter is often compelled
To lend her aid 10 the general support. aud
her small salary Of perhaps $l.50 per
week Is by no means TO BE desp sed Her
older sisters 81 is often as m CHI as the
father makes. -
"ln what kind of work are most of
them engagedS" asked the writer.
by far the greater proportion ate sew
Ing girls, p was the reply. nder this
class may be mentioned machine orera.
tors. shirtmakers. and those engaged in
various other branches of the trade.
-What do they makerT
-%Shirtmakers get 0 cents per dozen for
shirtA Two dozen Il a good da 3 WORK.
AT this fast worker could average about
- D "A n ara.l lr.1nsul. 49, ..4n
a liz le better, some of thom making as
mu Ii rs s a week. But the hardest work
o this character is that Of the tailoress.
who makes from 7 to 40 q week All
this kind Of work Is very combining. aud
the constant STOPPING renders the opera.
tor very susceptible TO lung disease. Fneu.
monla Is very fatal TO them.
In b.nderies girls are paid either by
the piece ,r so much a week. They never
average over : or 80 in these establish
ments. The girls who run folding. ma
chimes arc aid about the same salary.
/ emale cigar makers are generally very
well paid. &c they belong 10 the union and
are allowed union prices.
And then there are lundreds Of girls
employed In shoe factories. rag establish.
ments. peanut houses. n d printing ces
In all these places their york Is va ued
much less than that Of9ma es. and when
they work on salaries their wages are con.
sideraLly smaller. The pay for labor in
such places varies greatly. aud de, ends
a most entirely upon the libemlity Of the
employer. | know a shoe manufacturer
who pays bis girls or 81 a week apiece.
and another who pays less than half that
much. In tho houses where girls are cm
pluyed In asserting rags they generally
earn from ~ 10 ~ Il week. and In print.
ing OH ces If Paid according TO the type
they set they would earn nearly as much
rs mcn. They are much quicker workers.
their hands are mure nimble and dexter
Gus. n d they apply themselves closer 10
the work.
- ere comes a well-dressed party OF
young ladies. - said the reporter. indicat.
ing a little procession approaching.
yes. - said the other. they are sales.
women in the retail dry goods n ,d notion
stores They must always be we'll dressed
and refined in n and appearance,
l Their working women may wear rough
dresses suited TO the kind OF work In
W ich they are engaged. buta salesw man
must always be scrupulous and neat
personal attire. They generally begin "a
cash girls OF I per wees. and finally get
behind the couhter at s.. From this timc
on their wages depend entirely upon the
value they are to the firm by whom they
are employed. There are seldom TWO TO-
ma clerks In a store working for the
same wages. Some can command larger
salaries than others by their greater mum.
her OF acquainiances and the larger trade
they are able to bring to the house. Some
of the most valuable salesw, men OF in
cinnati get as high as SIS and 80 a week.
but perhaps the best paid working
women are the millinera Their salaries
depend upon their talent and adaptability.
and they frequently command incredible
wages.
"And then toiegraphing and sienog
nphy 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 mako q
business Of Il can always find EN-, loyment
and make excellent wages.
Type writing has opened q new neld
for young women. They arc almost uni
VERBALLY employed for this work Law
yers aud merchants aud all business men
like 10 have a pleasant young lady In the
ofAce. Her presencs improves the moral
tone OF the sanctum. and gives the place
an air Of culture and refinement Type
writers Avprnpe about kla ner Week v