Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1894-03-10
AN OPERATIVES LIFE
A VISIT TO THE HOME OF A FALL
RIVER MILL EMPLOYEE.

People Who Marry Young and Find Them
selves In Debt In n Few Ycars-IIow the
Wife Izclps Her Husband to Add to the
Family Income-The Children.
Being i'll FAN River the other day,
sought some facts concerning the opera
tives. Fortune brought me into the
home OF what proved to be a rather in
telligent one. It was Saturday after
noon. and as the mills close at noon the
whole family. including the father, was
at home. The home" was a tenement
in large double house. where three
other families besides the one l inter
viewed were living. 1t was in the rear
of populous street which is the home
OF a large number of the more thrifty
and sober operatives. This particular
tenement consisted of a large room in
the center. where the stove was placed
and where the cooking was done.
Around this room three bedrooms and a
sinkroom Were grouped. The furniture
was better than one might expect to see,
though it was by no means luxurious.
Entering into conversation with the
man, found that he had formerly at
tended the English church while in Eng
land and that for some time after COM
ing to this country he had been quite in
terested in church work In token of his
interest, learned, one of his children
bore the name of u clergyman of the
Episcopal church. At the time of nv
visit, however, he said that he was no.
attending church at al, partly because
he could not buy clothes with which to
make respectable appearanceat church
and partly because he felt that the clergy
We're inclined 10 side with the mill owner
as against the mill operative.
HIS wife, rs women usually are. was
more hopeful and content and explained
that she thought they could get along
very well. She WAS quite willing to
work and had done so, somewhat against
her husbands protest--a protest, how
ever, which was evidently hushed by the
necessity OF the case. In order to work
tins good woman was obliged to hire
some one 10 care for her baby and to let
the other three shift for themselves.
chiefly in the street.
The longer talked with these Deonle
the more interested l became, and the
more confidence was mutually manifest
ed. 1t seemed to me that three or four
things were 20 be noted:
Neither of them had saved I'D their
earnings is they might have done pre-
v!ous to their marriage. True. in this
respect they were Ike ninety-ninc hun
dredths of other young people, whatever
their work CT station in life.
This family Was 1T that stage where
there was but one old enough TO work
unless the wife did precisely as this wife
dld part of the time-i e.. hire some
one to care for her baby while she went
ont to work. 4 few years later and the
children, who may so into the mills at
IA, Will be able TO earn enough to make
the family entirely comfortable. In
deed many such families as this one
promises to be in the course of a few
years can save enough from their earn
lngs to bi,y home for themselves after
awhile.
1t seemed to me that it would be
quite 4 practical thing for this family to
combine with other families and start a
kind Of Kindergarten. where not only
the baby, but all the children under
public school age might be cared for at
far less expense than was now paid for
''minding the baby"
Such movement rs this would
doubtless not only meet with the hearty
and practical support of well Ynealli.g
people IN general, but it would be sup
ported by the officials OF the mills. |
was especially pleased to learn that
many of the corporations of these Fall
River mills support a bed in the local
hospital for the free use of their opera
tives. The kindergarten would be a
philanthropy along the same line.
1t viii be quite 4 practical thing to give
some statistics of the earnings of this
family for the week previous. Those of
the man had been S9.12 those of the wife
81. Deduct from this total g. so for
''ninding the baby" and &14.o2 is left
as the net income of the household. For
rent they pay $3.50 per month, and a
barrel of -four lasted seven weeks.
The wife explained that she was ONLY
working for spell to help them out of
debt" Ofcourse TO do this all the house
work must be done after returning tired
from the mil! at night, when both OF
them must work late and early in the
morning before going to the mill. AS
the mills start at about half past 6 in the
morning it will be seen that very early
rising is necessary.
Nor is this all. It makes life a tread
mill with 20 evenings for recreation.
Besides the wife has no time for her
needle, and the appearance of the chill
dren must greatly suffer. The great re-
lief is found in the fact that, by the most
frugal living and by the strictest econ
oIny, this wife was not compelled to
work in the mill all the time. Still it
seemed about impossible for the family,
with the strictest economy and sobriety,
to do better than was being done until
the ''boys get big enough to work"
That visit enlightened my understand
ing, broadened my view and deepened my
sympathies. While there are many of
the operatives who, like us all, live far
below their privileges, still if many of
US could study life from their view point
our sympathies for the broadcast brother
hood would be deepened. Com
monwealth.