Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-08-09
WOMEN GLovEMAKERS.
An Industry In which Many Bright Girls
Earn Excellent Wages.

An Industry IN Nn1cn many 1rlKnt 0iTiB
Earn Excellent Wages.
Although glovemaking is not so univer-
sal an occupation as teaching or dress
making, nevertheless it supports thou
sands of women and is in most respects an
exceptionally pleasant employment.
The stronghold of the business in Amer
lea is in New York state, on the edge OF
the Adirondack wilderness, and it is to
woman that tradition gives the credit of
it's origin. The early settlers, some of
whom were tin peddlers, were puzzled to
find use for all the deerskins which they
took in exchange for their goods, until it
occurred to Aunt Hubby to transform them
into gloves and mittens. These proved
very durable and sold so readily that soon
the tin carts were converted into mitten
wagons.
At first the men did little beyond dress
ing the Leather and selling the finished
gloves, the laborious task of making be-
ing monopoliZed by the women. a wooden
pattern was laid on the leather, marked
with pencil, cut with shears and sewed
by hand. The seams were then pounded
and the gloves laid between two boards,
upon which the maker sat while construct
ing another pair. The invention of heavy
dies took the cutting away from the wom-
en- and gave it to the men, but that women
have never lacked employment is evident
from the fact that of the thousands of
gross of gloves and mittens manufactured
annually, every one bears woman's work
In some form or other.
The most noticeable popularity of the
glove industry today is the great number
of small shops in place of the two or three
immense factories seen in other manufac-
turing centers. 1t is perhaps largely on
this account that the girls and women en-
ployed are of so high a type. Pretty, re-
fined, ladylike are adjectives frequently
used to describe these workers, who suffer
little loss in social standing from their de-
votion to the sewing machine. Indeed, the
wives of several of the wealthy manufac-
turers are former shopgirls
Since the new laws have gore into effect
and woman is employed factory in
spector, girls are not admitted to the shops
under fourteen years of age. Their first
work is usually pulling ends" This
consists in drawing through from the
right to the wrong side of the glove the
ends of the silk or thread left by the ma
chine workers and tying them to prevent
raveling. Seventy-five cents a day is the
most that can be made at this work, and a
bright girl soon leaves it to run "a machine
The various styles of machines used are
placed close together in a large room, and,
except in the smallest shops, are all run
by steam power or electricity. Fifty cents
a week is paid by each worker for the
power, WHICH Is more imam nltue GOOO
by the greater amount of work done. The
machine workers all paid by the
dozen, the prices varying somewhat with
the quality of the work
The foreman always speaks of the great
difference in individual workers. Two
girls may sit side by side, doing exactly
the same kind of work, and yet one will
finish twice as many dozen the other.
The ordinary machine workers make 81. so
.lox- he v-xil Il
stitching on the wrists and backs of the
gloves, average two dollars a day. The
overstitch workers, those who the
parts together with an overstitch seam
on the outside can make three dollars a
day-the highest wages paid to women.
These seem great wages for shopgirls,
but their expenses reduce the amount
somewhat. Each newcomer must pur-
chase generally on the installment plan)
n machine at an average cost of sixty-five
dollars. Anxious to get through as many
dozen possible the girls run their ma
chimes at the top of their speed, and break
downs are frequent. Then they must pay
for repairs, which are always expensive
while needles are broken so often that
girls needle bill is often ten or twelve dol
lars n year.
A few women are kept busy in sorting,
FASTING and mending. When the gloves
come from til cutting room, the various
pieces which form a pair are laid together
in packages of a dozen or more, marked
with the stamp of the various cutters.
These must all be looked over and any
mista kes in cutting or defects il leather
discovered and corrected. A stiff lining is
pasted to the wrist piece of some Styles
while others need an entire lining of can
ton flannel. The finished gloves sometimes
show poor work. In some, rips must be
sewed up, or careless sewing done over; in
others, thumb pieces which have been put
in the wrong way must be changed. These
hand workers are paid by the day, and
though they cannot earn as much as those
who run the machines, the work is easier
and the room. quieter and more pleasant
Harper's Bazaar.
A Queer Occupation.