The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1900-08-18

The women Of New Bedford will sup
ply chapter rather interesting t,
America when the time comes for writ
ing truthful history. "Once," the his
torian will write, 1--WE used in America
to whip black women in the south. The!
were employed to pick cotton. They re
celVed no wages, so the plan to ge
work out of them was to whip then
when they were careless. A severe
whipping was found efficacious, say:
the New York Journal.
| 1.-The negroes at first would show
sulkiness. When the time for whipping
came, she knelt and begged for mercy
During the whipping she screamed. At
ter the whipping she was a much more
valuable slave. She did her work care.
fully, and other negresses, observing her
punishment, avoided her bad eaxmple.
| Nothing apparently could have been
| more satisfactory. But the people OF
the north, though entirely ignorant OF
the needs of cotton growing, interfered
The screams of those negresses Sc
| worked on their nerves, particularly in
|
years to stop slavery. And they were
pleased with the result, although it cost
| millions of lives and thousands Of MIL
lions of dollars.
"The American nation talked a good
deal after that about American treat
| ment of women. and much of this talk
came from New England.
"Great surprise, therefore, when in
1898 an attempt was made to reduce to
starvation wages by 10 per cent re-
vealed a similar system of women treat
ment in New Bedford.
again the cotton industry was in
volved. White workers the women in
this case. Great competition among
cotton manufacturers, and mills paying
about ten per cent profits. A system
discovered far better and cheaper than
slavery.
>"Instead of owning the worker, feed
ing her, and taking care of her as VAL
liable chattel, she was hired. She fed
herself. Her sickness or death meant
no loss. Invariably she sacrificed her.
self to her children, supplying workers
to take her place at the loom when she
should take her. place in the grave
yard. The mill owners, by agreement,
paid as. little as would let the workers
EAxaand breed nel sssaI sts Is
ssIfs was i1eai me siaversys' ssSysstem
was costly extravaganza compared to
it,! '-. .'~'" ~.''
"And the getting Of the most work
was not difficult. The whip, Of course,
had been laid aside. After the grand
national howl about the screaming ne
gress the whip could not be thought Of.
In the first place the mill owners were
too refined to think of using it, and in
the second place they would have been
lynched if they had tried.
But something of course had to be
done. The tired women, watching eight
looms, working hard all day with an
aching back, with tired eyes and brain
and heart, would get careless. Her
| wages, 81 or IS a week, seemed to in
spire very little ambition in her. What
| should keep every particle of energy
| in that white woman centered in the
mill owners interest? That was the
great problem. A genius solved it very
simply, by the system of fines. It
| worked thus:
1.-THE white woman at the loom, aged
from Is to go, was watched by overseers
These made note Of her conduct. If she
looked up at the wrong moment, II
through fatigue or unskillfulness she
injured piece of the precious merchan-
disc passing through her. hands, there
was ready lash that cut deeper thar
the old fashioned blacksnake.
"Going for her pay she received in.
stead of 81, perhaps $3.42. 'Fifty-eigh,
cents deducted for fines the cleri
would tell her. NO explanation; please
pass along.
"The white woman, whipped in thi:
modern civilized manner, acted alto.
gether differently from the black wom
an of the south. She said nothing t.
anybody. She scraped up the pennie:
and the three dollars paid by the mil
for that week of her life and went home
When she got there she thought hare
about it. The thing had happened be.
fore, but it was problem how to live
for week on q little less than cost O,
living. The problem solved-a little les!
to eat or a little less to wear-she pu
her hand on her arms to think and weer
until the time came to go to bed an(
get strength to work at the mill again
mo screaming as the negresse.
screamed. But the lesson was wei
taught. 1t was rarely necessary for 6
good many weeks to fine that sam,
white woman again.
The above chapter Of history, as tn,
future will write it, Is not imaginary
Every man knows that The New Bed
ford strike has brought out the fich
of the mill women against the system
Of fines. r
What do you think Of the system?
What do you think Of the man who's
pocket holds the fines taken from tina
woman?
GETTING UP RAILWAY SPEED.
Ingenious Grade Expedient i'm Us,
! On q London Road.
4 A novel expedient is being tried +
shorten the running time OF trains OF
the Central London railway, the under
ground electric line that was opene
\ last month. This road has twelve 3
II thirteen stations and a length ~ a.,