Iuka reporter. (Iuka, Miss.) 1888-1894, 1888-07-26
QUEER WORK FOR GIRLS.
ONLY IRON MILLS IN THE CoUN-
TRY WHERE WOMEN LABOR.
A Glance at the Bolt Factories and
Barbed Wire Mills of Pittsburg
Work the Girls Do.

A Glance at the Bolt Factories and
Barbed Wire Mills of Pittsburg
Work the Girls Do.
There are probably a thousand women
in the city of Pittsburg who work in
iron mills making bolts, nuts, hinges
and barbed wire Over three years ago |
the men who had been working in the
bolt works gave such dissatisfaction that
the proprietors decided to try girls at
the same work. The venture was such
a success that nothing would induce
them to go back to the boys and men,
Just about the same time the wire mill
was removed from Illinois to Pittsburg,
and as the girls were such a success in
the bolt works it was decided to give
them trial in the wire mill. Once again
they made success, and the doors OF the
hinge factory were thrown open to them.
or just this purpose the factories were
visited to see what kind of people worked
three, what prospects they had in life and
what they aimed at. At the first sight
of the bolt works one cannot believe that
anything bright or interesting could live
inside At the call of the 4. 80 A. NJ.
whistle girls are seen coming from all
directions toward the factory. They are
generally dressed tidy and well, and with
heir lunch baskets on their arms ar not
unlike any working girl one may see.
The first thing they do after entering the
building is to change their street dress
for one to work in, tie up their hair, roll
up their sleeves, and, putting on COT
l fee sack apron, are, ready to begin the
\ LII 1 -, ~ L l.,nA a..
blows, the wheels groan and screech as if
they were weary to resume another day s
work, but in little while they begin to
move with more rapidity and the noise
amounts to something terrific.
, The bolts and nuts, as they are called
!, are fashioned by the brawny men on the
; first floor. In a crude state they are sent
to other departments, where the finish
! ing touches are applied by feminine
fingers, ofttimes by very delicate ones.
The bolts are dumped into different bins,
according to size and length, and each
girl has one special kind to work on.
The first work on the bolt is to point
it; that is, to make round end so that
it will enter the machine which cuts the
thread on it. The pointing machine ha
an immovable socket at one side ant
\ steam revolving knives facing it. Thu
y operator, who is known as 'pointer,
places the head of the bolt in the socket
presses her foot On a pedal, and the
sharp steel knives are forced against tn,
iron. Little bits of the iron fly, and il
an instant she removes her foot and tn,
pointed bolts falls down slide into al
iron deposit box on the floor. Will,
the one hand and foot has been accom-
plishing this the other foot supports the
girl, goose style, and the other hand ha.
got a bolt ready to be placed into tn,
socket the moment it is empty Thu
for days, weeks and years, the ''pointer'
handles one bolt after another for lv
ing, being paid by the thousand. Elk
pert workers have pointed 10, 600 bolt
:. day.
When the bolts are pointed they ar,
taken to the cutting quarters. Thes
machines are large, with deep sinks filled
with thick black OIL The bolts ar
placed in slides and pushed by tn
worker up into sharp steel dies. In al
instant the thread is cut on them. Tn
work is rather dangerous and care mus
be exercised to keep the operators fin
gers from going into the open dies anC
having their ends cut off instead of tn,
iron. The oil in which the girl is com
PEELED to work in order to keep the bolt
from getting hot and thereby breakin.
has very offensive odor and gradual,
smears the worker from the root of he
frizzly bangs down to her run over heels
Girls of any age, sixteen to fifty, worl
In this department. Their pay by tn,
thousand averages from fifty cents to S
day.
l. Little girls from six years up to lively,
put the nuts on the bolts and pacl
them. The "nutting ON is also accom-
plished by machine power. The worke
puts nut on the plate, then, afle
Catching the head of a bolt in the Jaw
above, she presses her foot on the pedal
when, presto! the work is done. A
long tables, built of substantial wood
are rows of young girls, intersperseC
with a scattering of women whom lif
cast forth in their old age. They pill
the bolts, row after row, alternate heads
then wrap them up in strong paper
The wire works in South Pittsburs
are the only ones of the kind in the worlt
where female operators are employed
The building covers about two acres
i and, being three stories high, gives 81,
acres of floor space. This is packed will
girls of all sizes, kinds and descriptions
making barbed wire. The wire prope
is made by men in another mill ant
brought to this one in large coils O
about two feet in diameter, weighin.
from one to zoo pounds. The first worl
the girls do is to fill the spools. The col
is thrown over wooden drum which
resembles bucket, bottom upward, on
round table. The girl then puts in tn,
jaws of piece of machinery larg,
spool which exactly resembles the bob
bin used in some sewing machines excep
that it is of mammoth size. She ther
loosens the end of the COIL fastens it t.
the spool and starts the machinery. L
I being automatic, she has nothing to d,
t but watch that things keep in order
4 One spooler can attend two machine.
, and will supply all the wire they can us,
s in day. The filled spools, or bobbins
9 are distributed among the barbins
machines. These machines are lonss
| structures, holding the spools OF wire a
, one end, table filed with barbs at tn,
? centre and n wooden reel M +ho ,4h