Omaha daily bee., 1902-11-09

/ - IT. ETIENNE, France, OCT. Z9.-
Especial Correspondence of The
Bee)-EIave you ever heard OF
I8I St. Etiennc? 1t is the ribbon
town OF the world. 1t makes
most OF the trimmings for the hats and
bonnets OF Chrstendom, and there is hardly
a well dressed woman who has not some of
its goods on her person. There are 200
factories here which do nothing else but
weave ribbons, and there are thousands OF
looms upon which these French men and
women are weaving the brilliant strips OF
silk in their homes. Four-fifths Of all the
ribbon and silk braids made in France, and
about half of all made in Europe, come
from here. We patronize st. Etienne to
the extent OF almost S2OO0OOO every year,
and its total output of ribbon annually sells
for almost $200O000O
This is the Birmingham Of France. 1t is
situated about three hours by rail south OF
Lyons on what might be called the roof OF
the country The land Is mountainous and
filled with beds Of manufacturing coal
rode through tunnel after tunnel in coming
here from the silken metropolis and | am
now in a country which is not unlike the
Black Country OF England. There are
smokestacks everywhere. The air is as dark
as that of Pittsburg, and the population
St. Etenne has 10000 people, mostly the
employees of the ribbon, gun and cutlery
works. Long lines OF coal carts are to be
seen moving this way and that along the
streets. Sooty-faced miners in caps ana
blouses go through them to and from their
work, and with them are pale-faced WeaV~
ers and jaunty factory girls who WORK only
on ribbons. At night the public squares are
filled with these working people; men and
women and boys and girls move about arm
in arm, the band plays, and the people sit
under the trees and chat
The street scenes here are different from
those of gay Paris. During the day all is
business. Men go along with great bas-
kets on their backs, and women are to be
seen pushing carts of vegetables through
the streets selling their wares from door
to door. Much of the retail business Is
done by peddling. Girls travel about with
packs on their backs and sell from house
to house as the itinerant Jew sometimes
does in America. Men push carts and some
pull, being harnessed up like beasts.
One of the queerest sights is the ribbon
porter, or the girl who carries boxes of rib
bons piled one on top OF the other until
they reach high above her head. She car
ries the boxes in her arms and can hardly
She is bareheaded and barearmed, and is
almost always good looking
Then there are school boys and school
girls going along with bags OF books on
their backs. The small children have their
legs BARI from the calves to the knees, and
the boys wear black gowns hiding their
trousers. There are old women in caps,
and a multitude of young women without
them.
like the looks of these ribbon girls.
They are gay and giddy and decidedly
French. From the style Of their clothes
you would not think they worked for only 0
few cents day and put in ten or eleven
hours according to the season. There are
80 900 Of them who do nothing but weave
ribbons. One of the chief factors tells me
that the best of his workers come from
the families which have been weaving fol
generations. He says that the girls mus
be deft rather than skillful, and that theI
must be coldblooded. II the maiden per
spires her hands are liable to stain the deli
cate ribbons, and warm girls are mo-
wanted.
This whole country is a beehive OF house
industry. Outside the great ribbon factor
les there are thousands of looms upoI
which the people weave ribbons in thei
homes Many are connected with the elec
trio power plants of the city, charge Of
cents per loom per day being made for tn
current There are thousands OF girls abou