The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1892-01-15
GIRLS WHO ARE BRUTES.
SOCIETY WOMEN AS MISSION
MORKFRS.
Miss Gregory Tells of the Efforts in Lon
don to Reclaim LOW-Class Wage
Farmers.

don to Reclaim LoW-Class Wage
Farmers.
The steamship Wisconsin, of the GuiOn
Line, carried among its passengers when
it sailed from New York on Tuesday
Miss Anna L. Gregory, wealthy young
Englishwomen who is greatly interested
in the work of elevating the lower-clasI
working girls of London, and who has
spent some time fin America investigating
the various lines of charitable work done
in the large cities from San Francisco to
Boston. While in this city she was the
guest of Miss Martha Kennedy. She
pursued her Investigations under the
guidance of Miss Grace III. Dodge.
Miss Gregory is an attractive, bright
faced young woman of high social posi-
ton and remarkable attainments. She,
together with a few Others from the
wealthy classes of London, have devoted
their talents to their less favored sisters
of that city. The story of her work is
an interesting one, and was given to
Tribune reporter ON board the ship. In
answer to the reporters questions, she
said:
Il first became interested in this work
about three years ago, by hearing a
young clergyman say that efforts were
being made fOrevery class in our London
population except the lower class work
ing-girls. Two OF three of us told him
that we would work for these girls. He
then brought us eleven girls to start
with, and we opened a room in school
house in one of the lowest parts of the
city. We were warned both by our
friends and by the police that it was a
dangerous place for ladies TO be in, but
we persevered. Our field of action is at
Whitechapel and Bethnal Green, Il por-
ton of the city which is marked black on
the latest statistical maps of London, be-
cause it is the home of the vagabond,
the criminal and the vicious. OF the
eleven we started with, only one has
gone hopelessly to the bad. We can ac-
count satisfactorily for the other ten.
The school of eleven has grown to over
100 now.
I'VE fitted our room so as to be COM
Portable and cosy as possible. We went
from our own homes every evening and
opened the room, and then invited the
girls in. And they came. They were
wild. rough. bad girls, mere brutes.
They are known as the white apron
girls in London, because their principal
article of wearing apparel is big apron,
supposed to be white. They wear no
gangs. When we first vent among them
we were cursed, Kissed and insulted gem
orally, but they soon saw we were not
afraid of them, and then they began to
admire us and wonder at us. They are
rougher and more ignorant than any
| classes that | have seen in America.
| When they get excited or are intoxicated
when they come into the rooms they fire.
quently knock our ladies about, and one
of our ladies was kicked SO badly by an
CRY girls one night that she left the work
altogether, but now, am glad to say,
she is better and will 60 to work again.
The girls think it is wonderful that she
| should be willing to return after the
treatment she has received.
AT first we said no word abont re-
| ligiOn or even instruction of any sort.
We simply invited the girls in to play the
rough games which they understood.
Then little we introduced games which
required a knowledge of reading, and
then the girls asked to be taught to read.
We got them to sing their low songs to
us, and then we would sing something to
them, and they saw that our songs were
prettier, so we 'baited the hook for our
fish all the way along, until now we have
classes in sewing, cooking, stitching,
gymnastics, reading and writing, wood
carving, painting and dressmaking. |
also have a Bible class of twenty, held in
the home of one of Ihe girls with her
fathers permission. He is vicious fell
low; there is no crime in the calendar
which he has not committed, and yet he
gladly lent us his room.
The girls who work are cigar rollers,
sweaters matchbox makers at 4! cents
a gross, paying for the paste, twiue and
firing; and cork cleaners. for which they
receive two cents gross They range in
earnings from 80 cents to 81. 30 week.
We always 90 among them looking as
nicely as we can. Our workers are sOci
ETY. girls from the fashionable life OF
wealthy London. The girls will come
around us and stroke our velvets and
handle our clothing curiously, as if we
We're creatures OF a different land. Curl
O,ity and wonder drew them at first, but
that has begun to change to love. They
do not try to initiate us, for they belong
to their gang and are tied by their hab-
its and customs. Their life is distinct.
They will continue to be 'whlte-aprOn
girls.
"The system of government is as sim
pie as possible. Each girl pays one cent
a week, and we do the same. There are
no rules. We did try u committee of the
girls, but they began a fight at once,
te ring each others hair out, throwing
chairs at each other, and banging heads
against the wall or floor. We have nine
ladies interested in the work, and we
take turns in being on the ground. am
there four nights in the week. 1t is all
volunteer work. / don't believe in paid
matrons. The work done is nowhere
near as effective. 1t is no easy task to
manage the girls. Frequently hear
when come in that the girls 'wuz hor-
full las night, and the lady sniggered'
meaning that they had fight and the
lady in charge cried. There is great
chivalry among the girls, and some very
kind hearts and willing hands, but awful
ignorance Of the laws of decency, purity
and society. At first we tried to prevent
early marriages among them, but now |
believe that it is by far the lesser evil.
There are eight other clubs of like
character in London, under the Recre-
alive Evening School Association, which
work IN conjunction with the London
School Boards. The managers meet for
conference regularly The Duchess of
Bedford is our chairman and | am secre-
tary. One of the most active on the
committee is the Countess Aberdeen. In
our Whitechapel club we reach the low
est class of those in the clubs, and, in
fact, the lowest class in London. Every
year we have competition between the