St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-06-03


difference to the boss about that If we
get tired of waiting we often go and cut
stock for ourselves, but we don't get
pay for it,"
My companion left me, so l saun-
tered around among the girls. They
seemed afraid to talk. saying that it
was not allowed in working hours.
"Why, / thought you worked by
the piece, so what difference does it
make ifyou stop to chat with visitor??"
"IhatS the way we work." said sew
cral; ''but talk about strict rules-you
ought to see the cards pasted on the
wall in the old shop. We couldn't talk,
eat, run around the factory or laugh
during working hours; and if we were
late half an hour we'd be discharged"
"But it never made any difference
that we had to hang around the steam
pipes in the winter till o'clock trying
to get warm. Often we would be Shiv-
ering the whole day, trying to handle
the paste with our benumbed hands. 1t
seemed so good when the sun Shone in
the windows for while at noon, for it
kept us warm while it laSted,' said one
girl.
Are all those rules in force now?"
said |.
"No, we had a forelady for awhile.
She made us
COME TO TINE,
but the rule about talking is the only
one that's strictly enforced now," said
several of the girls.
The girls were evidently afraid of be-
ing caught talking, but | was in no
hurry, and managed to talk to many of
them during the day.
Can you make fair wages at this
WOrk?' | asked of one who seemed an
expert.
'You ask that question of most of the
girls and they'll tell you big story about
their wages, because they're ashamed
to admit how little they do earn"
''As you work by the piece, of course
it depends somewhat on girls ability,
doesn't it?''
Yes, we're supposed to work by the
piece, and have time-boOkS, but for all
that we never know how much is COM
ing to u.s.
''Why?"
Because, as you see, we make many
kinds of boxes. We work almost every
day on different kind. Only the prices
of few kinds are told us. So we can
keep track of the number we make, but
not the prices.''
Twill you let me see your time-book?"
| said
~ haven't mine handy, but I'll get
some of the girls, and show you"
She brought me several. They were
as Greek to me. Sometimes the price
per piece was given and the total car
ried out. In most cases, however, there
was only the total wages for the month,
taken from the 1irm'S books. The high
est wages per month did not exceed SIS,
many being from IS to S12.
AS | returned the books | remarked
Il see you don't always get your full
wages every month, sometimes you only
get from 81 10 s. of what is due you.
How is that?'
The girls said that if Mr.. Haywood
had plenty of money he paid the wages
in full; if he didn't he only paid little
at a time.
MANY COMPLAINED
of this, saying that when work was slack
their earnings, being mere pittance,
were often sadly needed.
''lIow is it that all the experienced
help make the same wages, $l5 a month";"
| asked.
Because that's all they are paid. 1t
doesn't make any difference how hard
they work. The pay is seldom over SIS
month";" was the answer.
| found that even the best girls often
did not make that wages per month, be-
cause they did not work steady. Many
said they only earned 50 or s. per week.
The heat and smell of paste in the
gallery made an unhealthy combination,
although the day was cool. The girls
said it was unpleasant, but they had
worked in such an uncomfortable place
before that they hardly dare insinuate
that their present quarters fell short of
perfection.
The work seemed light: the girls said
they could work faster standing than
sitting, though they could provide seats
for themselves if they chose.
There was paste and glue everywhere,
so my dress caught its due proportion,
and | didn't wonder that the girls wore
old dresses at work.
Nearly all the girls in this factory
were quite young: some would have
been more in place at school rather
than the factory; but on being ques-
toned. many claimed that they had to
leave school and go to work in order to
help provide for themselves. One girl,
who had never worked before, was
speaking of the factory, and her words
nearly expressed my own conclusions,
when she said: ''Everything is so care
less here, nobody cares what becomes
of the girls so long as they do lot of
work. You find every class of girls
here, no references are required, many
who wish to be respectable won't work
here"
thought her
A LITTLE HARSH
in her remark about the character of
the girls, for as far as | could Judge
they were as good and honest a class of
employees as one would find in many
other places. Still it seemed true that
their surroundings were such as to
lower, rather than elevate their moral
perceptions.
"Why do they have that door locked
at the foot of the StairS?" | asked.
No one seemed to know any reason
why, except it was to keep out intruders
like myself.
By noontime was thoroughly weary
of boX-making, and longed for a breath
of fresh air, also chance to scrape off
the paste and glue that was literally
distributed from head to foot. l made
my way out through the PILES of rub
biSh. When | reach the office that man
asked me if | found what l wanted.
eyes. sir" replied. EVA GAY.