The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1896-01-22

clean work, work that realizes oil the
mistortuncs OF Hoods song OF the shint
and the eternal stitch. with bent backs.
weary fingers and aching brains, ana
choking dust to make the employment
all the more disagrcelble.
There ARE about one hundred and fifty
women OF all sizes and ages on the
fourth floor OF the building. They arc
divided into three principal classes: The
operators, who do their work on the
sewing machine the handscwcrs. who
work with the needle, and the dnrnerS.
There are now forty-six machine op-
erators: formerly they had but six, The
operators used to get S55 a month, Which
waS about 81 10 q day.
1t recently occurred to the depart
ment that these women were making
altogether too, much money. so they re-
duced their terms OF work to two cents
per bag or sack. This new rule means
that n woman must sew up and stitch
fiQty-seven sacks n day in order TO
make her former 81 Is.
Some Of these sncks.lt is stated on the
best OF authority. are so badly In need
OF repairs when turned over to the op-
orator thut " takes thrce-quarters OF
an hour to "fix" single one OF them.
Last Friday one OF the best women
III inc SnOp uiu lle lltl4 hH9A uAS WIN
she has done for long time and failed
10 make a dollar. The less expert
hands made less. And this Is the rcns
son for the vigorous kick against the
governments sweatsliop business by
these women. This is why they went to
see the second assistant postmaster
general, md the above Is the answer
they arc said to have received.
The hund-sewers, once upon n time,
used to make from 81 80 to 81 75 a day
by doing all the work that Is done on a
machine, and also by doing the work
that Is now done by darners. The e1ac-
lions as to hand work are great, and II
Is required that the bag be complete
when II leaves their hands. 4
The work is so hard and the rules 50
rigid that the women can mend only
from twenty to thirty sacks day, and
for this complete work they get three
and one fourth cents apiece. Surprising
that girl works steadily and without
fault, she can sew thirty bags at three
and one-fourth cents apiece. for which
she will get nlnety-Seven and one-halt
cents instead OF the 81 so or 81 70 She
used to get, or be able to make when
the work was less onerous. 1t is the
impression among them that on an av-
erage they do not make as much rs
seventy-flve cents day, the best max
ing only something less than 81. II the
work does not suit the inspectors, they
must do It again.
II Is also stated that they take of
one-fourth OF q cent from the price Of
each bag made by the sewers, the only
reason supposed for this being that It
is TO pay for the machines with which
the government has equipped the more
fortunate girls, who are fortunate only
in the respect that they do machine
work. which. as shown, is III paid.
The dnrners receive the work from
the machines and complete II. They
sometimes have to do as much work
again as the machine did putting In
whole strips across the bottom Of the
sacks and have usually 4 long Job"
and n wearisome one.
For this they used to get one and
three fourth cents per sack, and this
has now been reduced TO one cent per
theEr compensation. Before the re-
duction the darners could make prob
ably 81 rs n day. and now the amounts
made vary from fifty gents to seventy
five cents day.
The sweeping reductions all round
has caused q great deal Of complaint
among the women, but there Is perhaps
no department OF the government out
OF which It Is more difficult to get in
formation.
Notes and permits and all that kind
OF thing are required before an inspec-
tkon can be had, and a womnn's head Is
apt TO be chopped of II she talks about
her woes, which Is perhaps one Of the
keenest OF all female sufferings The
outrageous results OF the reductions
however, compelled them to lay their
grievances before the second assistant
postmaster general.