The Hot Springs star. (Hot Spings [Hot Springs], Dakota [Dakota Territory, i.e. S.D.]) 1886-189?, 1890-11-07
P~AsTE.BRUsH Adopts.
The Box<leakins Girls Of new
York and Their Work


dreds Of men and many thousands Of girls
are employed In tho paper box factories Of
New York. Working-women In this trade,
GAYS the New York Star, are not - well
paid ~ those engaged In the more delicate
work Of making artificial flowers, embroid-
cry and the like, nor - those In the moro
lsborious trades. The boxmaker's work
calls Tor less skill than the former, and less
OF both strength and skin than some Of the
latter. 4ost branches Of box-making can
be learned in Q few weeks. The materials
are light and the tools simple. The result
IL that wages are sometimes a. low Is q .
week, and seldom above g or 90. The
women ere employed ct piece work. The
men, whose wages are better, work by the
week. Men and boys run the machines and
prepare the material for the finishing
touches gwen by the girls.
On entering a box factory n is hewil-
dcrcd by q multitude Of shapes and colors.
There r boxes, big and little, In cylinders,
In fiat tray:like forms, in long, narrow
blocks, and in O dozen other shapes to bc
only indicated by learned gcometricaltcrms.
Gay colOrcd papers in rcams, in strips, in
ribbons and In confused clippings, lie about
everywhere. Great machines at one end Of
the room are cutting the ugly cheap straw
board into suitable shapes. The prepared
p~asteboard, with notched edges and long,
straight cuts, where 1t is to be turned up for
fitting, is laid in q great heap on q table be-
fore Q boy or man who stands on guerd be-
fore q great glue pot.
The heap is quickly arranged, go that one
edge Of each piece of p%asteboard is slightly
exposed, and with q broad thick brush the
workman literally beglues all the edges ut
. few strokes. Other pieces are deity fixed
to the glued edges, tho pile is brought to I'm
even edge. turned over and pounded with
the mallet at the newly glued joints. The
opposite edges are then glued, and finally,
piece by piece, the p%asteboard is stood on
edge and brought round SO as to form the
sides Of o box. A pinch where the glued
edges meet makes oil fast, and the box,
without bottom or lid, is passed to one Of
the girls.
The girl stands by her table and rapidly
smears . cardboard with glue. Upon this
glued space she lays half q dozen long mar.
row ribbons Of paper. Selling the box she
Chaps on tho pasteboard bottom and secures
1t by adeft aud Jul application of the paper
ribbon. She makes no pause for measure
ments, but tears OF her ribbon when it is
too long and pieces it out when it is too
short. Thumb and forcingcr fit the rib
bon with unerrfng accuracy. As each box
is bottomed it is laid aside to dry, and it is
interesting to see how rapidly the pile
grows under the girls flying fingers. Her
pay, however, is only q small fraction Of q
cent for each box.
Lids are fashioned much In the same way,
The lid reaches the worker with edges
turned up, and her work is to apply the rib
bons Of paper that add strength and orna-
ment. The lid Is rested upon q round
wooden post twelve Or fifteen inches in Ill.
nmetcr. This stands on the table. It is a
simple matter to turn the lid as it rests on
the post and apply the ribbon of paper to the
four sides. Hundreds of lids can be COM
pleted in . day. When lid and bottom are
finished the Dox must pc lape,ca, 80 as 70
indicate the article it is to contain. This
work il rapidly done by someo of the younger
girls.
Boxes o; this kind are turned out by the
million and arc sold at from one to five
dollars per hundred. Costlier boxes are
edged with gilt paper and covered with fig
urcd material. Costlier still are the bon
bon boxes. Gay photographic pictures are
imported by the thousand from Paris to or.
nament such boxes. They are lined with
delicate paper and edged with an imitation
OF lace. The foundation material OF these
pretty cabinets for sweets is plain brown
- oh AAoOA uCIlt0 lSSSOu IN
the 8 riking results Of simple devices to see
n of these bare, ugly p~astcboard trays
grow under a girls nimble fingers into the
dainty receptacle that shall make sweet
meets doubly valuable. Bon-bon boxes
sometimes wholesale at twenty-five dollars
q hundred, and wages for this work ara
somewhat higher than in other branches of
the trade.
One accustomed to the sight Of the work.
ing girls Of New York at their daily toll
will note the absence of gay apparel among
the workers Of the factories. Glue is an
enemy of pretty gowns. and the girls either
come to the factories in their Oldest garments
or exchange their street dress for soiled
working clothes on reaching the scene of
their labor. Glue, however, does not iniure
face or figure and in the box factories, a.
IN others. most Of tho girls are ruddy and
clear eyed. while q fair proportion can lay
good claim to beauty.