St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-05-20

day after day, surely I could stand it
for half an hour. The floor was dirty
and little streams of soap Suds ran from
the washing machines. Picking my
way across the damp floor / found some
girls working on heavy machines called
gigs" others were "bushing," or pick
ing speckS off the blankets when fin
ished.
"Girls, why don't you open the win
doWS, it's so hot here?" | exclaimed.
"NOne of your business" was the
prompt reply. "If you don't like this
place keep away"
l assured them that l meant n
OffenSe, but was looking for work my
self.
They explained that the girls in the
other departments looked down on them
for working in such dirty place.
But why don't you open the win
dOwS?' l persisted.
1--WE get used to the heat, so we don't
mind it much, and we can stand that
better than the dust and dirt from the
street above,,' they said. go,
''How much are you paid?"
'Ninety cents day."
'sDo you think it's worth while to
ruin your health by working in this
place for such wages?"
Il don't know as it is" was the weary
reply; ''but when girls got her living
to earn
SHE CAN'T CHOOSE
where shell work."
BY this time | was glad to make my
way out. 1t seemed to me that the
health officer could find something to
amend in that basement.
went to the weaving rooms. There
were nearly eighty-three looms, but
about sixty were running.
''How long does it take to learn to
weave?'' | asked one.
about week if you're quick" she
said.
What pay would get at frst?"
''YOu don't get any pay until you
learn" she said.
AFTER learn how much can earn?'
"Oh, you work by the piece, and it de-
ponds on the kind of work and your
own quickness. P'raps you could make
S4 a week"
us all the work done by the piece?" L
asked.
''Oh, don't bother me with your ques-
tions," she said. We're all working
by the piece now and we can't tell what
We'll earn"
Another girl came along. She didn't
seem to be busy, so L asked some more
questions.
didn't you always work by the
piece?' | asked.
"Oh, yes; some worked by the piece,
but the best weaverS worked by the
day."
''How much were they paid by the
day?"
There's day weaver; she'll tell you
ahnnt If - said nv cOmnaD MON
"We got S1.35 a day."
"Isn't that pretty good pay?' [ asked.
ayes, pretty good, but you see it takes
four or five years to get so you can earn
that much"
as the work hard"
81 guess you'd think it was hard work
to stand ten hours day and run a
loom."
"How is it about piece work, can't
you make as much as by the day."
sWell, we don't know yet, we've just
begun on the new scale of wages, you'll
see it posted on the door, and the fore
perhaps more than by the day."
whats your objection to piece
work?''
ooh, there's lots Of things you
wouldn't understand if [ tell YOU" she
said, "but one thing is, that if m V loom
breaks or runs out of warp, have to
wait until it is fixed, and get no pay for
that time, though
IT'S NOT MY FAULT
that I'm idle"
Yes" said another, ''we lose lots of
time in working by the piece, often we
have no werk at all for day or So"
Last winter we used to come down
every morning, no matter how cold,
sometimes we wouldn't have work only
a few hours in the day."
Couldn't you find out the night be-
fore, if there would be any work next
day"
mot much, the foreman said it was
good exercise for us to walk down every
morning, and he never stopped to think
that some of US didn't have clothing to
keep US waIm."
"When do you get your pay?" was my
next question.
"Twice month"
"Do you always get your full pay?"
The girl looked rather doubtful and
finally said: Il suppose we do, but as
we have no time-bookS of our own we
have to depend Oh the foreman's esti-
mate of our wages"
s'Isn't that all right?" / said.
"Maybe tits; but often we work some
by the day, then awhile by the piece,
and our pay comes out much less than
we thought it would"
"Do you ever make any complaint
about it?''
mo; what's the use? the foreman
would tell us that the books were in the
office and we could see them if we
wanted to; of course there couldn't be a
mistake"
heard many complaints on this head
-, atalf
who worked by the piece; they said
they never could tell what their earn
ings would be, and they thought they
ought to have some means of keeping
track of their work. l saw that there
was quite difference in the size and
weight of looms. The girls told me that
the quality of work varied greatly, some
kinds being easily woven and paying
well, others being slow and paving less.
~ suppose the work is divided SO that