The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-06-05
THE REAL CIGARETTE GIRL.
BIER WORN, HER Wars, AND, ABOVE
All, TER LUNCHEON.


Somebody ought to get up q Dictionary of
Popular Fancies: Revise and Corrected" 1t
would have to DO a big book. all about mothers
in.law, red-haired girls. old maids, and other
familiar traditions. It would smash a good
many stock Jokes and bowl over a number OF
types which, by a certain coincidence, have
existed only in %type-the type Of the comic pa
pers. But maybe the mothers.in-law and the
red.halred girls and tho rest OF them wouldn't
object to that.
Tho cigarette girls want to bc consulted before
such n book ia prepared. They want to speak
for a large and prominent section therein. They
shy that they are misunderstood and maligned.
There are several thousands Of them In this
city. and they would like individual apologies,
" You please, and Justice.
That's what they would like, but they arc
quite we'll aware of the fact that they won't get
1t. Consequently, while they nre impRtiently
awaiting the dictionary above mentioned. they
are willing to speak q word or two in their own
behalf. A whole thousand Of them work in a
single west sido factory, where a Sun reporter
last week watched them with a good deal OF
interest. Tho phrase. "a cigarette girl" Is 80
familiar that the general public feels as II 1t
know all about the creature behind that phrase.
The popular conception Of the cigarette girl
is a cross between tho tough girl. rendered
familiar to uptown audiences by Ada Lewis. and
the Grand street belle. Tho cigarette girl is
supposed to possess the manners OF the Bowery
"lady" combined with the gorgeousness of
Grand street. She is supposed to dance every
night and all night, to do her Sunday summer.
ing at Coney Island. and to take particular joy
in n fight. be It with tongue or finger nails.
The popular idea doesn't bother itself with facts.
Or IL it does concern itself with anything 80
narrow and oma it takes isolated cases
which suit its desires. At least, this is what the
really truly cigarette girls say, and they are
probably almost rs trustworthy as the dickey
birds quoted by Mr.. Francis Wilson.
II the general public could see the cigarette
girls at work it would probably undergo a
change of heart. But the general public need
not hope for any such privilege; Mt any rate,
not Mt the west side factory referred to. The
superintendent goes on the theory that every
man is a thief until you have proved him an
honest man. Visitors are. therefore. advised to
take with them their passports. letters of credit,
references, and certificates of baptism. Thus
armed they may be allowed to pass the sacred
portals, but It Is by no means, certain.
building as busy as a hive Of bees and not much
noisier. The girls work from 1880 to ] o'clock
H fGrr t dIns,a a.; ~ = g i. Il o. M on 81 tSe giyIs the fq hy
tho wock. operating and feeding tho machines
which make and pack the cigarettes, Goods for
foreign shipment arc packed by hand and some
OF this is piece work, but the wages earned av-
eraRo about the same for the same class OF work.
al u u VIC BlIl NV oubpOSou W uC oNCI 10. IL o
required by law that they be over. IA. but a
good many of them look young for their age.
when they are G at WORK. u" While T" there is NO heavy heavy
labor 10 be done, it all requires dizziness and the
S Si%SHSs $t eSon Il it wasp was psr T1 t%an'' There rPr n is a
woman in charge of the girls. and she says she
would not ask for a more tractable lot; She her
self has worked in n cigarette factory for fifteen
yenrs and would be a good object lesson for
those who would like to establish a new type of
the cigarette girl.
The skill which some of the hands acquire is
little short OF phenomenal. 1t is a matter OF fact
that the machines make more mistakes than tho
RIrls do. For instance. there is a machine for
filling and folding the familiar paper boxes, each
One girl constantly watches the machine be,
cause 1t has an unpleasant trick of putting in
At a long table sits a row OF girls putting up
tho round ttnfoil.covered packages for shipment
abroad, These must contain exactly twenty
cigarettes each. In front of each girl is a great
heap of cigarettes. while at one side is n pile of
sheets OF tinfoil and the printed pa per covers.
a bunch of cigarettes with the left hand, while.
with her right; she adjusts the tinfoil and tho
an instant when she holds twenty cigarettes in
her hand. In fact, she picks them up so accu-
out OF the way at the very first grab. She taps
the bunch on the table, so as to get the ends
Another girl who has to be pretty deft with
her fingers Is the one who feeds the machine
ishod cigarettes. She has a great box OF loose
tobacco at her, elbow. and. picking up a big
bunch, drops it into a scale at her side. She can
hit nm exact pound almost every time. The
weighing, therefore. doesn't take more than
two seconds. and after that, she drops the loose
tobacco on a broad moving band, where she dis
tributes it until it is of even thickness Then
she picks up another pound. and SO 1t goes.
Another girl sorts the cigarettes as they come
down IN big boxes from the machines. She
picks up fifty or seventy.hve at a time, shifts
Them from hand to hand. sratches out one here
and one there, seeing at n glance some slight de-
feet which the onlookcr can scarcely find when
The work Is not hard. but it is steady. There
Is no let-up until the noon whistle blows. When
about fifty OF the younger girls. They don't
wait TO turn down their sleeves or to put on
and In half a minute they arc standing two
deep along the counter Of II little German shop
and has a counter running through the middle
OF il. Behind this counter there are a great
In The first place there is n roly-poly German
frau, who gets wild-eyed and excited under tho
onslaught. And there is a r%oly;poly German herr
are scverally and in concert demanding pie and
chow-chow and pickles. Tho counter has n high
iron screen along Its outer edge. and behind this
screen are rows of big white bowls containing
the following provisions: Big, fat cucumber
onions picked beets. cho%.chow rather thin,
chow-chow. very, thick. potato salad. picked
coffee. and tea.
Them heets il fur me-"
"HAin't youse got that tea yeti"
Two O. them pickles is what ! want"
Say, | bon here u year wRitIn' to git a pie"
Head cheese! It's head cheese ] WANT
Where's that pieman. anyhow 2"
And then tho pieman appeared with his arms
full OF six-inch pies. As he edged through the
crowd of girls they shifted hunRrily and began
calling their orders after him.
"Save me a mince pie!'
1.-TWO peach nm one strawberry fur me-"
"Oh. you're n peach ycrself.'
1t was fully a quarter OF an hour before tho
last little girl was loaded IN and or to the fac
tory again with her pail, Of, sloppy-looking cot
fee. her pic. and her pickles. The small girls
act as messengers for certain cooperative
luncheon parties. Three or four girls chip in
together. give the pool to one of the youngsters,
with Instructions what 10 get, and then they all
eat together.
The policeman VINO has the factory on his post
stood ut hnnd and beamed beneyolently on the
cigarette Hches. He was pleased when the re-
porter asked him about the girls.
"Oh they're n nice lot o. Eurrils, no said.
Have any trouble with emf Not u bit. not a
bit Flirtationsi Oh. go wan nowl They amt
a uuiotcr lot o. young lOidics on the west side,
and | guess ! must know as many as two or
three HUNDRED, OF en-. They lives 70 home an
don't GO to dances nor nuihin' o that sort.
Why" in an RwestruCk tone, " there's some OF