The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-10-16
A MITTEN CAPITALIST.
What q New England Woman
Achieved With a Capital of $40.

Achieved with a Capital of $40.
Up at South Penobscot Me-, lives the
mitten capitalists of the United States.
Mrs. A. c. Condor is the name of this
wealthy individual, and she distributes
every year from 1900 to 1900 dozen pairs
of mttens. She is living Illustration that
it pays to knit mittens, modern, up-to-
date proof of the fact that our grand
mothers knew what they were doing.
The story of womans struggle to make
a living in New England in the days when
work was scarce and money so rare as to
be almost a curiosity, is always interesting.
Mrs. Condon's story is particularly worthy
because it shows what a brave, plucky
New England woman can do when she sets
her mind to ii. Mrs. Condor has written
this statement of her mitten industry from
its beginning up to the present time She
tells it simply, and in it's simplicity lies
the lesson of what perseverance, integrity
and attention to business will ac-
complish for woman as well as a man.
This is what she says:
81 commenced business In 1864 with a
capital of $40 in a little room about Is by
Il feet in size. first made over wornout
felt hats thrown away by the men, clean
ed, shaped and turned them and then made
them over into hats for women and girls.
Then, as l lived in the country where there
was no industry, but very many willing
hands, resolved to procure, if possible,
Il went to Boston and saw some yarn
manufacturers, and from them got Is
pounds of yarn on credit, this yarn to be
made into mittens. The manufacturers fur
nished the yarn and 1 put it out at the
homes of the people near where / lived.
l had difficulty in starting the work. and
was obliged to return part Of the yarn
10 the manufacturers at the end of the
year, because found it impossible to have
it all knit up into mittens.
This was not very encouraging for a
years work, but 1 persevered, and at the
beginning of the second year one family
insisted on having some yarn to knit INTO
mittens So l tried il over again, and
after it once got well started could not
supply the demand for yarn. Tons of yarn
were sent to me, and my business grew
until I paid the steamboat company the
largest freight bills of any one VINO did
business on the Boston and Bangor route.
From 10000 to 5000 dozen mittens were
manufactured yearly, and besides making
mittens we made ladies and misses
hoods and caps, toquee, etc.
Il had 1900 names on my books of peo-
pie who were at work for me, and many
more than that We're really working, as
on my books there would be only one
name from each house. although perhaps
two, tree or four members of the house
hold were knitting, oftentimes as many
as there were members in the family In
the long winter evenings men and boys
wound the yarn and in some cases even
the men knit.
after 1873 the knitting of mittens by
hand gradually decreased, and machines
came in to take the place of the knittsrs
In 1882 I commenced TO buy machines, end
kept adding to my stock, until now 1 have
eighty-two machines. We make from
twelve to fifteen thousand dozen in enc
yeer on the machines. One of my girls
-. l..
small single mittens, and eighty-five pairs
of boys double-lined mittens. Nearly all
the machines are run at the homes of the
knitters, for in that way they make more
money.
Girls on an average make about four
dozen of cheap mittens or two dozen OF
lined mittens in day We make a great
many fine fancy-backed mittens of all
sizes, and of these the girls make from one
to two dozen a day. The price of knitting
used to be % cents pair. Then it dropped
to 6, and it Is about that now"