The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1892-11-19
b IA C'T'O B y I. ASSES

THE i "a {. 4 | 0 !: r / \ |. ASSES s
SKETCHES or THEIR LIVES IN THE
GREAT LANCASHIRE MILLS. 81
/ Provisions Made by the Oxford Factory
Owners for the Recreation Of Their
Employess-How the Girls Dress and
Conduct Themselves.
For the recreation of their hands mills
have no provision whatever as a rule,
that is. There are few exceptions,
and only few. Unique certainly are
+ the Oxford mills at Ashton under- LYME.
/, in connection with which the late Mr..
Hugh Mason founded little colony.
For outdoor sports there is q large play
ground. with swings, etc, and = bowl
ing green attached. When the weather
is unfavorable the hands can go to the
recreation rooms On the ground floor
of these is reading room literally sup
piled with newspapers and periodicals,
and having q library OF 700 volumes.
A coffee room leads off it, and from
that again the baths are reached. Up
stairs is large lecture room fitted with
desks and with platform at the end.
Busts Of great men are on pedestals
round the walls. Scott and Burns are
in niche together, as is fitting, and
near them are Homer, Shakespeare,
Dante and Milton. Michael Angelo
looks at Raphael, Bright and Golden.
Newton and Watt. Franklin and Wash
ington--an are there: and at intervals
there are also hung portraits OF in
ventors and improvers Of cotton ma
chine1y. In connection with these rooms
there is u good brass band. Sewing and
other classes, too. are held. while during
the winter months concerts and leo
lures arc Ut frequent occurrence. OF
all this it should be noted Messrs.
Thomas Mason & Son defray the ex
penses
From other portions Of the district we
take the following. The secretary Of a
cotton operative spinners' association Is
stated to have said:
Amy giri who wants work can have
it in the mills. That labor market is
never overstocked. AT the present time,
particularly in the spinning department,
some firms are shorthanded. Nowadays
many girls in Manchester do not care to
70 into the mills; they would rather
work in the warehouses and shops"
There has been an improvement in
the lot of the factory workers. asked
the interviewer.
Eyes" replied the secretary, lin every
way: wages gre higher, hours shorter,
But, mind you, hands have to work
harder while they are at it. because the
machinery runs faster and they have
to look after more OF it. Why, in my
young days weaver tended only two
looms. now she tends four"
Throstle spinners, the writer adds,
work with as little clothing as possible
and generally in their bare feet, though
some wear slippers. Cardroom hands
wear straight pinafores. cut away at the
neck and with short sleeves. The dis
tinctive parts Of the mill girls dress are
clogs on the feet and q small shawl
handkerchief. they are called-on the
shoulders.
Weavers, though there is nothing pc
culiar about their dress, can generally
be distinguished from other factory
girls. They have personal trade MARI
their front teeth are often bad, and
besides many Of them have at times a
peculiar gesture. Drawing in the breath
to suck weft through shuttle causes
the teeth to decay. The mannerism is
similarly explained.
In weaving shed the noise is deafen~
ing. You cannot hear your own voice.
Sc the weayers attract one anothers at
tention by a shrill "Whool" and con-
verse by means Of signs and by watch
ing the movements ofthe lips. They
are so proficient I'M labiomancy that they
can follow private conversation any
where if they can see the speakers faces.
This circumstance explains common
observation that is otherwise erigmati-
cal. Mind what tha'rt sayin'" one
gossip will remark to another, glancing
suspiciously at the object of their talk,
zoos wayver."
Some mill girls never do any house
work: their ignorance in which! branch
of female education is consequently
colossal. Hundreds cannot make a pud
ding or pie for the life of them, and
the writer has heard of a lass putting a
rabbit in dish whole and making q
crust for it with suet. There are factory
girls on the other hand-and these are
in the majority-who take their full
share of cleaning. cookery, needlework.
etc.
AS rule, too. the lasses are in every
way respectable. When g. factory lass
and her sweetheart go off on trip Or
take week at Blackpool or Southport or
the Isle of Man, as often as not she pays
the expenses. She it is who in due course
buys the furniture-aye and perhaps
the ring and all the rest. Whether she
will stand treat in this or not, the four
loom weaver need never remain single.
Among factory girls she corresponds to
the heiress of ordinary life, and as such