Condon globe. (Condon, Gilliam Co., Or.) 189?-1919, 1892-10-28
GIRLS AT MEMS WORK
YOUNG WOMEN IN PlTTsBuRe MAKE
IRON BOLTS AND NUTS.

work That Seems Hard for Feminine
Hands, but which Is Liked by the
Girls, Who Are Very Skillful-They Are
Neat and Intelitgent--Their Pay.
There are probably thousand women
h Pittsburg who work in iron mills
making bolts, nuts, hinges and barbed
wire. 1t seems almost incredible that
girls should be employed in an occupa-
ton which is associated only with Drawn
and muscle, but such is the case. At
the first sight of the bolt works one can
not believe that anything bright or in
teresting could live inside. At the call
of the $3.50 a. m. whistle girls are seen
coming from all directions toward the
factory. They are generally dressed
tidy and well, and with their lunch bas-
kets on their arms are 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 a coffeesack apron, are ready to be-
gin the days labor. At o'clock the
last whistle blows, the wheels groan and
screech as if they were weary to resume
another days work, but in little while
they begin to move with more rapidity
and the noise amounts to something ter
rife. A sulphur smoke arises, and as it
embraces everything in dim color, it
needs but the dull red burning of the
oil, the horrible noises and the occa-
sional sound of human voice halloing
command to stamp the scene on ones
memory as study from sheol.
The bolts and nuts, as they are called,
are fashioned by the brawny men on the
first floor. In crude state they are
sent to other departments, when the fin
ishing touches are applied by feminine
fingers, ofttimes 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 point
ing machine has an immovable socket
at one side and steam revolving knives
facing it.
The operator, who is known as a
pointer places the head of the bolt
in the socket, presses her foot on a
pedal, and the sharp steel knives are
forced against the iron. Little bits of
the iron fly, and in an instant she re-
moves her foot and the pointed bolt
falls down slide into an iron deposit
box on the floor.
While the one hand and foot has been
accomplishing this, the other foot sup
ports the girl, goose style, and the other
hand has got bolt ready to be placed
into the socket the raoment it is empty
Thus for days, weeks and years the
pointer" handles one bolt after an.
other for living, being paid by the
thousand. Expert workers have pointed
| $1,000 bolts in day.
When the bolts are pointed they are
taken to the cutting quarters. These
machines are large, with deep sinks
filed with thick black oil. The bolts
are placed in slides and pushed by the
worker up into sharp steel dies. In az
instant the thread is cut ON them. The
work is rather dangerous, and care
must be exercised to keep the operator
fingers from going into the open dies anG
having their ends cut off instead of the
iron The oil in which the girl is com
pelled to work in order to keep the boltl
from getting hot and thereby breaking
has very offensive odor and gradually
smears the worker from the root of hel
frizzly bangs down to her runover heels
Girls of any age, from sixteen to fifty
work in this department. Their pay by
the thousand averages from fifty cent
to one dollar day.
Little girls from six years up to twelve
put the nuts ON the bolts and pack them
The "nutting on" is also accomplished
by machine power. The worker puts /;
nut on plate; then, after catching thu
head of bolt in the jaws above, sh'
| presses her foot on the pedal, when
presto! the work is done. At long tables
built of substantial wood, are rows o
young girls. interspersed with scatter
ing of women whom life cast forth il
their old age. They pile the bolts, row
after row, alternate heads, then wral
them in strong paper.
The girls always come to the factor!
clad neatly and well. Dressing room
are provided for them, and soap ant
towels. At noon the girls are givei
three-quarters of an hour. They La,
aside their aprons, wash their hands anc
deyour their wee lunches with energ,
worthy of better cause Formerly tn
girls would hurry their dinners and de
vote the rest Of their time to dancing
The orchestra was not the largest, no
did it rival the Mexican band in melody
but it answered the purpose of furnish
ing time for the shabby shoed girls. /
consisted of one girl and mouth organ
The men were not permitted to com
into the girls side Of the shop, but the,
would stand at respectful distance, a
though longing to join the merry dan
GERS. 1t seems rather strange, but tn
girls never mingle with the men in tn