Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1893-03-11
THE FACTORY LASEES
SKETCHES or THEIR LIVES IN The
GREAT LANCASHIRE MILLS.

Owners for the Recreation Of Tnsir
Empioysss-How thu Giris Dress and
Conduct Themselves
For the recreation Of their hands mills |
have no provision whatever--as rule.
that is There are q few exceptions,
and only few. Unique certainly are |
the Oxford mills at acknowledges,
in connection with which the late Mr..
Hugh Mason founded q little colony.
For outdoor sports there is large play
ing green attached. When the weather
Is unfavorable the hands can go 70 the
recreation rooms. On the ground floor
OF these Is reading room literally sup
piled with newspapers and periodicals..
and having library Of 700 volumes.
A coffee room leads of 1t, and from
that again the baths are reached. Up
stairs Is u 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--all are there; and at intervals
| there are also hung portraits OF in
I ventors and improvers OF cotton ma
] chiuery. In connection with these rooms
there is good brass band. Sewing and
other classes. too, are held, while during
: the winter months concerts and lee
! lures are Of frequent occurrence. or
eli this IL should be noted Messrs,
' Thomas Mason & Son defray the ex-
a penses.
e From other portions of the district we
y take the following. The secretary Of q
J cotton operative spinners' association is
: stated to have said;
ANY girl who wants work can have
1 IT in the mills. That labor market Is
: never oyerstocked. At the present time,
y particularly in the spinning department,
+ some firms are shorthanded. Nowadays
d many girls in Manchester do not care TO
!. 20 into the mills; they would rather
work In the warehouses and shops"
There has been an improvement In
a. the lot Of the factory workers. asked
the interviewer.
m YES" replied the secretary, Gin every
Is way: wages are higher, hours shorter.
is But, mind you. hands have to work
re harder while they are at IL, because the
10 machinery runs faster and they have
p to look after more of 1t. Why, in my
!, !, young days a weaver tended only two
! looms. now she tends four"
a Throstle spinners, the writer adds
~ l.Al. II
W and generally in their bare feet, though
ut some wear slippers. Cardroom hand'
st wear straight pinafores, cut away at tn,
neck and with short sleeves. The dis
* tinctive parts Of the mill girls dress arr
~ ~ clogs on the feet and small shawl
CIV handkerchief. they are called-on thu
Is shoulders
"a Weavers, though there Is nothing pc
nd culiar about their dress, can general!
on oe distinguished from other factor,
girls They have a personal trade mari
their front teeth are often bad, an'
an besides many Of them have at times
a peculiar gesture Drawing in the breatl
by to suck welt through a shuttle cause
ny the teeth TO decay. The mannerism
ess similarly explained.
on In weaving shed the noise Is deafer
a a5 ing. You cannot hear your own yoics
ar SO the weavers attract one another's al
m tention by a shrill "Whoo." and cor
he verse by means Of signs and by watch
ess ing the movements of the lips. The
IL. are so proficient in labiomancy that the
we can follow private conversation any
IN where IL they can see the speakers face
- This circumstance explains a commo
~ observation that is otherwise enigmat
Il cal, Mind what tha'rt sayin'n on
the gossip will remark to another, glancin
ow suspiciously at the object Of their tall
sht oo's a wayver."
ire, Some mill girls never do any hous'
ore work; their ignorance in which branc
ed. - sa.,'aIa a5uoa,;o,, l. conssans,tl
colossal. Hundreds cannot make n put
ding or pie for the life Of them, an
,he the writer has heard of a lass putting
nlv rabbit in dish whole and making
EN- crust for II with suet. There are factor
the girls on the other hand-and these q
ion in the majority-who take their fu
ich share OF cleaning. cookery, needleworl
unit etc
e1a- AS rule, too, the lasses are in ever
-. - way respectable. When factory la
ab and her sweetheart go of on q trip ,
! in take week at Blaokpool or Southport I
rid the Isle of Man. as often as not she pa,
4 Of the expenses. She II Is who in due couri
Ish- buys the furniture-aye. and perhaI
va the ring and all the rest. Whether 81
ans will stand treat in this or not, the TO,
loom weaver need never remain singh
ON Among factory girls she corresponds
; a, the heiress Of ordinary life. and as sue
rec has no difficulty in obtaining husban
When offsprings become old enoug
they are sent TO the mill. as their paren
- were before them. The typical Lane
rsr shire woman does not like the idea
set their aiming higher. AS they soon I
,ns. ceiye good wages their parents are ra
ged idly placed in comfortable circumstanc
lib more comfortable than they ever kne
In perhaps. This state is the factory opt
atives' summum bonum-the positit
~. beyond which he or she very rarely gos
az. --Cassells Journal
ong