The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1894-01-17
ILLS OF SQUEEZING.
Don't Heed the Warn
ings of Dress Reform
Advocates.
INSIST ON TWO SIZES TOO SMALL.
A Reporters Visit to a Newark
Corset Factory-Girls Don't
Like Black Work.
ON TWO SIZES TOO SMALL.

OIcSS l. IL - oetA 49,
" warming the s'gentler sex" of the ills at
tending their attempt in squeezing the body
into a corset two or more sizes too small.
Even the wearing of such as are large
enough is opposed. A visit to any OF the
large corset factories in Newark, some en-
blowing over five hundred girls, clearly
demonstrates what little effect this .'preach-
ingn has upon the wearers of that article.
The general verdict Of the proprietors is, lit
beats everything how business keeps up, al
though it has been harder to please the
women than ever"
a corset is such a simple thing, and sells so
easily after it gets a reputation that it seems
curious in what respect the makers must
please the women. It is with corsets as it is
with all other articles OF feminine wear;
each season has new novelties, in color, in
make, in fit, in shortin everything.
Imported corsets are now very expensive
and are not within the reach OF those who
have been in the habit of buying them,
thus causing a greater sale of domestic
goods.
The greater cost of materials, which they
are compelled to import, not being able to
get them from this country, has enabled
them to bring the prices of home finer goods
up to prices formerly charged for imported
goods. They are compelled to import horn.
Il he e . " q 6lhAIo ~
this country. Several attempts have been
made which resulted disastrously. A pecu-
liar machine is required for the cutting and
splitting of horn strips. Until the Amerl-
cans obtain this machine all attempts will
end as nave the others. Then they are COM
PEELED to import all laces and trimmings, as
well as cloth. OF the latter more domestic
than imported is used except in the very line
goods. All goods bearing the foreign stamp
sell better than others.
The materials used in a corset are mostly
jean, sateen, Italian cloth, coutils and nets,
the latter being used for summer goods. The
sateen net and coutil can be had in domestic
as well as imported; the Italian cloth, not
w~ithstanding its foreign name, is domestic,
but in black alone, the other goods with the
exception of the net runs in other colors.
The net is in white alone.
Black does not soil the underwear, as sup
posed by many. 1t is the fad OF some
women, although it causes the manufacturer
an untold amount of trouble. Girls refuse
to work on black corsetS without a great
deal of grumhling and fault finding. To get
a clear idea of the corset industry it IS neces-
sary to go through the various departments
of a factory.
The cutting department is filed with cases
of cloth ready to be cut up. The room
generally contains about a dozen long pine
tables, of perhaps thirty feet in length.
The first process of manufacturing the cor
set is done upon these tables. The cloth is
folded in continuous folds, twenty-four folds
of cloth constituting a dozen. This cutting
differs in various factories, each having its
own way. Some cut forty-eight folds, or
| two dozen in one cut, some cut seventy-two
and others even more.
STYLE OF CUTTING.
Each has a different style of cutting. Each
style has its distinct pattern, one way being
- ~ chan4 1rapcr I RI
over the cloth. This guides the knife for the
cutter, who must make an entire line III one
cut. and cannot raise his knife from the
table without having his pieces in zlgzag.
Other manufacturers use pasteboard pat
terms. and nave the outlines of the pieces
marked on the top fold of the cleth, thus
compelling the cutter to cut freehand. ms
style is so difficult that but few employ it.
The number of pieces to a corset varies
| greatly; some four, some five, some SIX and
more, counting strips, Wristbands and al.
Strips are used in finer goods, and are
| lengths of cloth stitched on to hold the bones,
| some for one bone, some for two, others
| three and four bones. Wristbands are linen
tapes stitched on the wrong side to mark the
| waist line.
The noise in the stitching department is
| deafening. Hundreds of machines are con-
stantly running at the rate OF 1900 or
1900 stitches a minute, and girls are sitting
at each machine, SOME singing, some laugh
ing, some scolding because OF getting black
work..
EMPLOYEES DON'T LIKE BLACK.
The most vivacious of these scolding maid
ems will generally state her grievances as
| follows
"Well, I don't care; this work is enough to
set an Indian crazy"
"Oh, these old black corsets makes a per-
| son almost blind" D..
stJust to think of it, to sit here all day and
| stitch and stitch, and nothing but black,
| black to look att"
After this sally she generally s'founcesp off
into another part of the room. Suddenly
| there comes a terrible scream, followed by
| another and then another. A crowd of girls
surround one of their number who lies on
the floor writing in pain. stop the
power!n t'Get. the arnica!" "WaterW "A
d~octorr' are some of the cries.
It is then found that the girl, who a few
! moments e had been SO angry upon re-
| ceiyine another bundle of ''black work" in
| seolding at her neighbor and not watching
her work, got her finger caught under the
needle. It pierced her nail, flesh and came
| out on the under side of the finger. 1t is a
| painful accident that causes many girls to
| faint, but one that occurs nearly every Gay.
| The needle usually breaks, half remaining IN
| the machine, the other half in the finger.
| But arnica always cures the injured mem
Der.
IN THE sHAPERs' ROOM.
In the shapers' room the girls merely trim
off the uneven edges after a corset is stitched.
It is then ready for the boners. The
latter put bones or reeds, as the case
may be, in the spaces made by the
stitchers. A motley crowd OF children, Tor
one can call them nothing else, do this work;
small girls are employed, not on account OF
a saving of wages, as some of them earn
more than the stitchers. They sit at long
tables, with boxes of various sized horns be
fore them. They RIM the edge of the horn
through their hair, to ''make it slip in easy
and push it up far enough to make room foI
the binder. Binding is the best paying part
in the entire corset. as well as the hardest
! A good binder is always in demand After
the binder is through the corset goes to the
eyeletter, who eyelets the backs where the
corset is laced together. Thence it goes te
, the lace binder, who sews the trimmings or
the top of the corset. Thence it goes to the
embroiderer, who embroiders fancy crosses
to match the laces; it is then ready for the
~presser. After a few finishing touches 1t Il