The morning call., 1892-11-19

ers, hot and steaming from the oven as they
are. get past the young women. So the lat
ter work and work like beavers. picking,
plllng, stacking. Strengthening and packing
those tempting morsels of crispness.
They are packing them into the parch-
ment paper lined boxes az their side, and
their hands. fingers, arms aud bodies are
moving so swiftly that you can scarcely see
now they are moving.
Perhaps you think it is simple enough 10
pack crackers. Well, il Is simple, but YOU
couldn't do il the first time, nor the TWEEN
tieth, unless somebody showed you how and
coached you up in IL. There's quite kneck
in the work, and it takes a whole lot of
practice to become expert.
Each cracker must be handled separately
and each laid against the other in a certain
way. They are packed in long rows, you
know. Now If you get two backs together
or Two faces together there's going to be
trouble In that row and some broken
crackers.
You must avoid all these little things and
give heed to score of other little details
before You can learn to pack crackers, and
you must be woman.
why do We employ girls and women to
pack crackeTSp repeated Richie L. Dunn,
because they are heater and quicker at
such work than men. Their fingers are
light and nimble. They handle tie wares
deiicately where man would treat them
roughly.
III isn't at all matter OF wages. for we
CAM get the women any cheaper than we
could the men for the same work. The fact
Is the women would be cheaper at little
more cost than the men, for they break less
and are quicker"
And all the time Mr.. Dunn was talking
the crackers were sliding down that chute,
being fed by steam-p0wer arrangement
that brought up the crackers right from the
oven.
And the table kept moving. How the
fingers did fly. There was no time to turn
around and look at strangers, no time for
talking, no time for anything but packing,
packing and packing.
Box after box was filed. carried away and
empty boxes brought in their places.
1--WE don't keep track of the number of
goods packed or baked" SAYS Mr., Dunn.
I'VE count only the barrels OF flour used.
We use abou. 500 barrels day. and keep
eight ovens going constantly"
Over in another room, before a very long
table, are half q hundred bright Young
women putting the sugar-coating on the
cakes. Icing" the operation is called.
At Que end OF the table is young woman
with a beautiful head OF black hair and an
olive complexion. She is icing little sugar
cakes. She twirls the cake once, at the
same time trimming and spreading the icing
with knife; then the cake is DONE The
other girls give each cake two or more twists
before Ii is done.
They are all experts. but the one with the
fine black hair is more expert than all the
others. She ices more cakes in a day than
any of the others.
And so ii Is all the way through. Here
aud there, If you are particular to notice
you find girl who packs crackers faster
than the others, because she has an expert
knsck the others have not, or a baker who
handles his paddle better or trims the dough
with more skill and speed IL is so every
where.
One hundred and fifty girls and women
are employed at the American BlscuitCom-
pany's factory on Battery street, and $50
men.
The men 90 to work at A. NJ. Two
gangs are employed and the last goes home
81 p. NJ.
The women and gils are not needed till
$50 A. NJ. and they get through by 3 or
o'clock In the afternoon.
They work hard, especially the packers
but not long at time. After each oven
they have rest for half an hour or so, ana
they have whole hour at noon.
It's healthy job and the women like it,
It's clean and wholesome and not especially
firing. You will search long to find
brighter, happier set Of girls In any work
shop.
And as to the pay. Well. you never hear
OF a cracker-packing girl retiring wealthy
on her savings.
But as wages 60 they're not as bad by
long odds as they might DO. From SO to
$40 a week won't eDable young girl to buy
many silk dresses In month, but there's
many harder-worked saleswoman " ho has
to dress better on much smaller income.
You can see that In their merry faces and
snark ling avea