The advocate., 1891-03-25

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Commenting upon this report Mr..
Riis continues:
Lt was only q Tow brief weeks before that voF'
dict was uttered that Che community was shocked
by tho story OF gontlo and refined woman who,
loft In dir0al poverty 10 earn hor own living alone
among strangers. threw herself from her attic
window, pr6iouing death 10 diahoner 81 would
have done any honest work, oven 10 scrubbing,"
she wrote, drenched and starving, after q vain
search FOR work In q driving storm. She had
tmmDod the streets for weeks on her weary er-
rand, and the only living wages thatWero offered
her we're tho wages OF dn. Tho ink was not dry
upon her letter before woman In On east side
tenement wrote down her reasons for self muir.
deri weakness, sleepleSgneaa, and yet obliged
10 work. MY strength fails me. Sing at myccf
an. where does tho soul hnd a home and
rost?'"
It ls estimated that AZ least 10000 women and
girls earn their own living In New YOTgi but
there s reason 10 believe that thls estimate falls
iar short OF the truth when suiiCiont account Is
taken OF the large number who are not wholly
dependent upon their own labor, while contrib
utng by 10 70 the family y'seArnlngs. These alone
constitute o largo class Of Che women wage earn
srS, and IL Is characteristic OF che situation that
the very fact that some need not starY0 on their
wages, condemns the rest 10 chat fate, The pay
they are willing 10 accept, all have TO take.
What the "eVerlaating law Of supply and do
demand, that serves az such convenient gag
for public indignation, has 10 do with II one
learns from observation an along the road OF In
quiTy into these real WOman'0 suherlngs. To
take the case Of the aalesWOmen for illustration;
'The investigation Of tho Working WOmen's So
ciety disclosed the fact that wages averaging
from s2 10 $3.50 a week were reduced by exces-
Iivo ilnes the employers placing q value upon
time lost that Ia not given TO services rendered"
A llttle girl who received 82B week made cash
sales amounting 70 Sl67 In o single day. while
the receipts OF q ei5 male clerk In the same de-
partment footed up only $685. yet for some
trivial mistake the girl was fined 90 cents out OF
her 70. The practice prevailed In some stores OF
dividing the nnes between the superintendent
and the timekeeper AZ the end Of the year. In
ono instance they amounted TO 5000, and the
superintendent was heard TO charge the time
keeper with not being strict enough In hisduties,
This tale Of distress could be con-
tinued 10 any length, and it is not
limited TO a single city. Every Clty
in all tho land can furnish a like his
tory. A correspondent Of the Chi
CsgO Times, Miss Nell Nelson,
dressed herself in the attire Of q fac
tory girl and visited each day one or
more factories whore women we're
employed, where she secured employ
ment or managed to stay long enough
TO learn the condition of the em-
ployes."
On July 10 she visited the Western Lane fac
tory, 2ls State street. There she found the most
wretChed conditions OF poverty and sertdOm. As
ahe entered the Oh1ce she was followed by q
young lady who had been CrOcheting mats, and
aS she had come 10 draw her pay and quit tho
COmpany's sevICelt gave the reporter an OppOr-
tunity TO make note Of her earningp, and when
the clerk opened the books II was found the poor
Girl had worked from January TO July 10 for the
pTlncely sum Of elB. Miss Nelson then
applied for work, and learned that for making
mats Of the size and style made by the poor girl
the company paid 90 cents per DOZEN that q
dozen was an ordinary weeks work, and that all
the other grades Of work given Out by that COM
pany were cOrespOndingly che same price.
Miss Nelson learned that ROsenthal Il Co.
paid 10 cents for making lady's cloak. AZ
9uddOn's, l2l Market street, she could get 70
cents per dozen for making coOttonade pants II
che would furnish her own thread. or CheviOt
shirts az the same price, AZ tho Never Rip
Jersey Factory, iSS Washington street, lhe could