The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1892-12-15
THE FACTORY LAgSES
SKETCHES OF THEIR LIVES IN THE
GREAT LANCASHIRE MILLS.


J Owners for the Recreation of Their
+ Employees-How tho Girls Dress and
Conduct Themselves.
: For the recreation of their hands mills
have no provision whatever--as rule,
! that is. There are few exceptions,
r and only few, Unique certainly are
| the Oxford mills at Ashton under-Lyns
. in connection with which the late Mr..
) Hugh Mason founded little colony.
For outdoor sports there is large play
7 ground, with swings, ETC., and bowl
ing green attached. When the weather
is unfavorable the hands can go to the
4 recreation rooms. On the ground floor
OF these is reading room literally sup
piled with newspapers and periodicals,
and having a 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 IRE 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, Blight and Golden.
Newton and Watt, Franklin and Wash
, ington-an are there; and at intervals
there are also hung portraits of III
: ventors and improvers of cotton ma
chinery In connection with these rooms
there is a good brass band. Sewing and
other classes, too, are held, while during
the winter months concerts and lee
lures are of frequent occurrence. Of
all this it should be noted Mesgrs.
Thomas Mason & Son defray the ex-
} penses.
From other portions of the district we
take the following. The secretary of a
cotton operative spinners' asSac'stiSew
stated to hovoob. but sha location IS
o.! the town. ..GVe Said:
ANY girl 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
20 into the mills; they would rather
Wort, in the warehouses and shops"
There has been an improvement in
IL Ut Of the factory workers. asked
the interviewer.
"Yes." replied the secretary, Sin every |
way; wages are 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
tiuctive parts of the mill girls dress are
| clogs on the feet aud Il 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 mark
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.
1 In weaving shed the noise is deafen-
| ing You cannot hear your own voice.
So the weavers attract one another's at
tention by shrill "Whoo!" and con-
verse by means of signs and by watch
ing the movements Of tho lips. They
are so proficient in labiomancy that they
can follow a private conversation any
where if they can see the speakers faces
This circumstance explains common
observation that is otherwise enigmati-
cal Mind what tha'rt sayin'" one
gossip will remark to another, CHANGING
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 hus heard Of lass putting
rabbit in dish whole and making
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, tho lasses are in every
way respectable. When II factory lass
and her sweetheart go off on trip or
take a week Mt Blackpool or Southport or
, the Isle of Man, as often as not she pays
: the expenses. She II 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
has no difficulty i'll obtaining husband.
When otRsplings become old enough
they are sent to the mill rs their parents
were before them. The typical Lanca-
shire woman does not like the idea of
y their aiming higher. AS they soon re-
ceiYe good wages their parents are rap
idly placed in comfortable circumstances
more comfortable than they ever knew
Perhaps. This state is the factory oper-
atiyes' summum bonum- the position
. beyond which he or she very rarely goes.
-Cassells journal.
ue Was IA Founder.
|. The millionaire was DESTROYS of EN-
ploying a Singer to protect him FROM
" dangerous visitors, and big two fstet
fellow applied for the place.