The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-06-06
How Collars Are Cut. Made and Prepared for
the Market-Dificulty of the Knights in
Maintaining Harmony Among the Girls.
Bruiser John L. Sullivan Rapidly Be-
coming Mere Physical Wreck.
Henry Ward Beecher Going to England, Where
lie Proposes to Take the Stump in Favor
of Mr.. Gladstone's Home Rule Measure.
THE GIRLS OF TROY.

THE GIRLS OF TROY.
How Gentlemen's Collars Are Made-Diff-
cnlties of the Strike Managers.
Special to the indianapolis Journal.
New York, June 5.-The most remarkable of
all strikes and lockouts is that which has lasted
twenty days in Troy, N Y Not only in Troy,
but all the country for many miles around is in
terested in the now paralyzed occupation which
ten days ago was busying $4,000 women.
Shopkeepers' wives and daughters, the women in
distant households the girls in the houses of
the molders and puddlers along the river be-
tween Troy and Albany. and, in short, most of the
working women within great radius have been
making either pin-mone or entire livelihood from
this industry Steady work brought from $40 to
$18 week, but of course the women who had
household work to attend to and the girls who
went to school were satisfied with just
enough for little fneries and extrava-
gances. dozen or more operations
are needed to make gentlemans
shirt collar and no person plays more than one
part The cutters, who never strike because
they are we'll paid, are the most important fac
tors in the trade. They are magical workers
Each man has his table upon which to spread
layer upon layer of linen. When the pile is as
thick as he wants he puts upon 1t his little pat
tern block Of wood, whirls sharp thin blade of
steel as fast as the eye can follow the movement,
and leaves beneath the block the dismembered
shapes of a score of collars. So skillful is he
that he can make the cuttings close enough to-
gether to leave only threads Of linen wasted.
The pieces that he cuts out are sent to the fac
tory hands, are called for by silk-clad ladies in
carriages, and are taken home by school girls.
One set of workers sew the pieces together,
another set simply turn the collars in
side out after the manner of skin
ming cells for these collars are sewed
the wrong way out). another sci make the but
tonholes and then there are the laundress,
washers. ironers sorters stampers and many
more besides. The button hole makers and the
stifches1tall use sewing g-mschines run by power,
and this power is often supplied in an interesting
way sort of a turbine is attached to an ordi-
nary kitchen faucet SO arraged as to emit thin
thread Of water, which, despite its slenderness,
furnishes power to run the machine. Some
women control half dozen, or even dozen,
machines at their homes. The machines are
run by larger turbines. and operated by girls, on
whose industry the speculative matrons make
small percentage of the profits. Every operator
at home. except these larger ones, owns her ma
chine and motor, and has spent $50 or perhaps
800 to set herself up in business. The factories
used to supply the thread as well as
the linen, but recently the en-
ployes took to making more than ordinary
and legitimate profits by selling the thread to
the women and>specnlating in the transaction.
They pretended that some women wasted the
thread, but the truth is they were diseased by
greed They sold small 'spools until one firm
laid in stock of large spools which they made
their hands buy at three dollars apiece. This
was too much to be taken from a girls wages in
a week without her feeling it severely, and so
those in that firms employ struck. The en-
ployers all organized to resist attack and the
great shutdown took place. The girls are in
telligent, and nearly all have laid up money
The skilled cutters are powerful, and are pro-
testing against their enforced idleness The
employers are afraid of the Jews who have got
into the business. and of the opposition thar is
springing out in other places, that threatens the
supremacy of Troy.
The committe of Knights of Labor who are
conducting the movements of the girls, find a
peculiarly feminine difficulty in maintaining per-
feet harmony. That obstacle is the caste that ex-
lists among the collarmakers. The most fash
ionable and costly collars in the world are made
at one factory, and the women who work on
these goods look down with contempt on the 9TH
ers They are the queens of the trade, and
every humble operator lives in a constant hope
OF one day being skillful enough to work for that
firm Next in rank is factory having crown
for its trademark. It's workmen are secured
in the social scale. Lowest of all are those who
work IN the majority of the factories, turning
out collars for country crossroads stores, for
the Texas and cowboy trade; collars without
style or quality, retailing at 10 or IL cents each
They are the hoi polloi of the kingdom of collars
The deprivation of income does not affect the
characteristic femininity of the collar girls. AS
your correspondent was walking along side
street in Troy, the other day, he saw multitude
of young women and girls, all exceedingly we'll,
though trifle loudly dressed. They blockaded
the streets. / supposed that they were strikers
from the collar factories and conceived the idea
that they were gathering to hold a meeting. l
feared that only one half of my supposition was
correct. They were strikers, bat their purpose
in assembling was simply to see the actors come
out OF thsater after play that had just been
performed by a travelling company. There must
have been hundred young women. waiting to
firt with dozen young male transformers
BRUISER SULLIVAN.
Dissipation Rapidly Reducing the Pugilist