St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-03-21
AMONG WHITE SLAVES
The Sweater Rakad Over the
Goals by Rev. Thomas
MoClary.
How the Life Is Ground Out
OF Women and
Children.
An Evil Which Is Eating at
the Vitals Of the
Nation.
Instances Of How Disease Is
Communicated by This
System.

"The Sweater was discussed by
Rev. Thomas McClary in the prelude to
his sermon last evening in the Bates
Avenue Nj. e. church. He said: The
sweater describes character who OPP
presses the poor. Once he stood be-
tween the owner OF the goods and the
persons who manufactured them. and
having taken q contract TO furnish so
much clothing, he let out the work at
ruinously low prices and made his prof
its out or the poor. He was kind of
mlddleman. He occupies that position
yet; but has enlarged himself also, and
is often the owner OF the goods and pro.
pretor OF the firm for which they are
manufactured. 1t applies 10 all who
Cypress the hireling in his wages. and
is al appropriate term.
The sweaters are numerous, and III
most kinds Of business they make
money; not by giving the equivalent in
labor, pleasure, Improvement of any
kind, but by r0bblng others of that
which belongs to them. The highway
rODber holds his pistol to the vletim'S
head and demands his money, which, If
he gives up, he can go free into an in
Wiling life. The sweater holds his pis-
tot loaded with starvation, the hardest
of all bullets, and tells his victim to
surrender money, health, enjoyments,
morals, heaven itself, or he W Ill fir
These sweaters should be brought I'M
der condemnation byall respectable peo-
pie Hear what God says of him: And
| will come near to you to Judgment,
and | will be
a Swift Witness
against those that Cypress the hireling
i'll his ways, the widow and fatherlesS,
and that turn aside the stranger from
the right, and fear not me, saith the
Lord of hosts" ST. James shows Gods
attention to this question: Behold the
hire of the laborers, VINO reaped down
yoir fields, which Is OF you kept back
by fl ,ud, crieth, and the cries of them
when have reaped have entered into
the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth."
| desire especially to call attention to
the operations Of these persons i'll the
centerS of population. the great cities;
and in the particular line OF manufact
ing clothing shipped from New York.
Chicago, Boston, to our West, bought
and worn here with little knowledge of
the place where it has been, and the
weary fingers by wniclrit was made.
First-Let us see the wages paid to
the worthy workers. Nell Nelson, a.
reporter. went out disguised through
the workshops of Chicago seeking en-
ployment. She published an account of
her Investigations, and 1T is a startling
revelation of the continuous tragedy
enacted in the world OF industry. 1t has
been published in little pamphlet
called The White Slave Girls OF Chi
cago" She gives one instance where
mats were made for CD cents q dozen of
thirteen, and before a person could get
the privilege OF labOrlng at that she
must deposit So; one for the goods and
two f0r. instruction, even il the instr"e-a
ton was not needed. The SfaWas le-
turned when SIS worth of work Was
done, and il 49,
Tile Woman Failed
to complete the work she lost what she
had deposited. Nell found no woman
who had been able to make SIS in less
than six months. Those mats sold for
81 80 per dozen, profit of $l.2O.
At another place she was offered Is
cents dozen for making overalls; they
were cut out. but she must Go every
thing else herself and furnish her own
thread. | give an instance from the
canvas, made by Mr.. Banks, of Boston. !
He found a widow with one child, a
little boy about three years old. This
woman was making white aprons for
large and prosperous firm on Washing
ton street, Boston, one of the best
known firms in New England. The
aprons were long, the strings were
hemmed on both sides and sewed on the
apron. For this she received Is cents
dozen. The firm charged this poor
woman eXpreSsage of 10 cents OH a
package of ten dozen aprons; she could
only make three dozen day with the
care of her child; and for this she
received, after the eXpresSage was taken
out, 40 cents. She paid 81 week for
her room. Those aprons sold for 25
cents apiece. The members of that
firm roll in wealth and luxury. No
wonder these oppressed ones are be-
coming vicious.
Mr.. Banks gives another instance
where a woman made pants for BoS-
ton firm well known as large ard pros
porous. There was in the room pack
age of six pairs of pants, three of them
TO be custom made: they were fashion
able trousers. The pants were
Cut and Rasted,
bat she must do the rest: she received
10 cents pair; they must be done by
certain time: to get them off she must
begin work at in the morning, con-
tinue until II or IL at night, and for
this she received 90 cents; her rent was
Sl.50 a week; she had one bed for her.
self and five children. The only way
she could live was by charity from the
Christian church to supplement her
small earnings.
What do you think, too, of the sweat
ers controlling the manufactures of the
postal uniforms of the Boston carriers,