New-York tribune., 1900-09-17
LAUNDRY WoRKINLONDoN
WOMEN OF THE WORKING CLASSES
DESERVING TT-THosE OF HIGHER
RANK ADOPTING IT AS
PROFESSION
PROFESSION

Not many weeks since general rise in the
charges OF London laundresses drew considerab BILE
aIIenuon 10 the washerwoman's industry. and this
week report by Miss Gray. inspectress OF female
workshops and laundries in Islington gives prom
AHeIce 10 the TACT that several small washhouses
and factories in that district have been closed on
account OF the difficulty In finding capable women
70 90 the work" says The London Telegraph"
II Is averred that many Of the more intelligent
girls VINO might in time have attained 10 high
wages and forewornan's rank asDire m cIerkshiDs
as oelng more genteeL Unquestonably this seems 10
De the most popular feminine vocation at the pres
ent time, and industrious compiler of statistics
drawing conclusions from the mum Der of typewrit-
ing machines in London, estimates that there are
some fifteen thousand young people-by far the
majority g1rIs-whO seeking their living in
olnces' thelr chief claim to do so being that they
CAT copy circulars with machine The helfpenny
novelette, has perhaps made the typist a heroine
ana welded her to peers Of the realm working in
O1ssuise, at ledger entries this is an influence
not without considerable indirect weight in these
circles and to realize how largely the Board school
glrI Is leaning toward clerks life il is only neces-
saTy to observe the stream that pours out OF the
classes at any academy Of commercial educat
There she is TO be seen in the raw and before
she mas acquired the distinctive characteristics Of
ner new class. Then 70 that may be added the
army OF some five thousand or so Of mattresses
employed in the various tea shops of the metropolis
alone and the figures together are an Instructive
sidelight on the changes which. in the last ten or
l
occupations
For while women Of the working classes are de-
5erting laundry work those Of higher social grade
are looking to 1t one Of the most promising
openings for the sex IN and out Of season
the Central Bureau for Promoting the Employment
OF Women has been pointing out that there are
good opportunities for women as managers and su-
perlatenderts, well as laundry uaatrons in Poor
Law schools and industrial and charitable institu
! tons Great laundrtes ask high premiums from
! md al-f-,z
! trade, Including English, French and American
! systems, and the proper treatment Of white and
! coIored lace goods and 1anneIs while the trade
papers contain advertisements offerings salaries as
! sTh nsh as -" for competent managers male or fe-
The London School Board affords very excellent
-aLndry instruction in its domestic economy classes
though II would that the knowledge is usa Nv
C4lIeo Dy tle girls more with view utility
! 70 them at home in getting up the white skirts
and oefriled blouses for Sunday wear than for the
/ wages TO smart piece workers compare favorably
gepIa5 Pse TF- o. & HalE @ ca44ngs But 1t cannot be
80 -Is-eI Ia me WORK is hard and the hours long
| and eXactng. Many even of the pIuckiest Of wom-
that il was not going 70 be an easy or izy one
! "a naVe & LouHd Il TOO much for them, and have had
! nigh wages for those who can follow It.
| W nat Is not generally grasped yet is that the
tendency Of washing is toward the factory system.
au Ihe eLIrlnatlon OF the individual home worker
a glance al the list Of the registered laundry com
ganized one I9geniv ef ye han G Is aIs2y or OF
! me machinery 1or t. and ironers that VIII dress
put gloss upon shirt fronts with a single move
! ment motor driven washers and steam dryers
everywhere are supersedug the old fashioned wash
/ ING tub and haLron- Nor is the movement confined
10 me metropolis and great towns. is extending
| TO the provinces. and companies have sprung
! up al Newton Abbot, Southampton. MontrOse and
| helso, while several others in the course OF
! construction To many Of these dyeng and dry
cleaning departments are 70 be added, points which
] snow that the laUndress Of the future will
| have Z technical training for her work
/ No doubt the new order Of things VIII adjust
| Itself in time, and washing may well be done bet
Ter IN the future than in the past There is GER
Z ry-lI-Y1G 4n0 na s~1
| school gil going 10 the desk. and the educated
product Of the high school and the wOmen's college
directing the washing OF flannel vests and iron
ing OF collars that is not without significance The
I process Is very much The thatby which the
dairy industry revolutiouized. First il became
impossible 10 get dairy maids, then the centrfuga
! cream extractor appeared. and creaTreries have
| sprung up all over the country, until pound OF
! churned butter from fresh cream has become as
! rare as a hand washed garment bids fair be
But The butter factory IS employing women drawn
from very oineren- rank 10 Tess OF the D Crber-
vtlles' and her companions, and in Ireland here
| women with intelligence and technical training
are able 10 command comfortable salaries