Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1892-08-25
IN WOMAN'S BEHALF.
MILL GIRLS OF LITTLE FALLS.
They Are Proud and Independent and
Manage to save Money.

They Are Proud and independent and
Manage to save Money.
There IS a marked degree Of independ-
ence in the way that the Little Falls
mill girls swings herself and carries her
head. She is earning wages which
many men might feel proud to COM
mand, and she IS above patronage. A
dollar day is not very good pay to her,
and She looks in pity at the poor male
unfortunate who has to be contented
with that sum. ''Only a mill girl is
not employed as a slurring term in Lit
tie Falls. for. If the truth must be told,
there are many of those who. by reason
Of their position are entitled to carry
themselves on a higher social plane than
ordinary folks who began life in the
''rocky city as one of these self-same
mill girls is doing. The girls know
this, and they are not to be snubbed by
any upstart from among them who, by
fortunate marriage or otherwise,
finds herself lifted beyond mill drudg-
cry.
Then, again, this is desire that rare
~ exhibits itself in any OF these lucky
ones Their sympathies are with their
working sisters, consequently there is
an equality social plane here that is
rarely found elsewhere. The girls en-
ployed in the mills are generally bright,
pretty and intelligent OF course there
are Washers and fly girls among
them, but they are not by any means
plentiful There are, perhaps, few
girls who think there is a grain more
responsibility behind a counter at a
wage rate of four dollars per week than
there would be in entering the mills,
where they would receive from two to
three times that amount for their labor.
1t might be added, however. that these
girls with the high and mighty feeling
are usually those not to the manor
born, and derive their lofty notions
from their places of emigration. "Char-
acter and Responsibility, " from girls
Interpretation of the terms, are past the
comprehension of the ordinary genus
homo.
Said a bright little miss to the writer,
with proud toss of her head Il am
earning two dollars a day, and l don't
have to ask father or the boys for any
expense or pocket money; can earn it
for myself. None of our boys are earn
ing near as much as ! am. am a loop
er in McKinnon's, and there are num-
Der Of girls in town who are earning
from So so to s2,75 a day That is pref
ty good for a girl, don't you think?"
she naively asked. Good for a girl!
How many workingmen are there in
I s4tln Halle 1,af 10
These girls live economically. OF course
they dress well and with taste, but the
most of them have nice little sum put
aside for the event thatnearly all maids
look hopefully forward to.
The married woman perhaps works
with her husband, but the husbands
pay envelope looks mighty mean and
insignificant when compared ON pay
nights with the bullying one of his wife.
The wife in many cases is the bread
winner, but she bears the independence
to which her labors entitle her with
graceful condescension most pleasing
to see, and in no way CALLING to the hus-
band. Indeed he looks with pride upon
his happy possession of wife who can
earn perhaps twice the sum with her
hands that he can bring forth with his
own. This will account to the inquiring
stranger for the apparent thrift that is
observable throughout the village.
Most of these working couples own
their own coy homes, and perhaps a
nice little bank account besides. An
other thing, these girls and women are
not in the least ashamed to be called
mill girls" There is no sting to them
in that application. They carry them
selves in a dignifed and respectable
manner, the social doors of the village
are open to them, and they are looked
upon with all the respect and Difference
that saleswomen, milliners, dressmak-
ers etc, seem to think are commanded
by their employment. Albany Journal