Evening star., 1902-08-02


OF 100 horses and then entered the yard
where men were unloading great bales Of
Texas cotton into the mills
We next followed the bales and saw the
various processes by which they are turned
into cloth. The work is done much as in
the United States. and a description of IL
would not be far different from that OF any
Of the great cotton mills OF Massachusetts
or the south. The cotton Is first broken up.
the fiber being rolled over and over through
blowing and cleaning machines until il
comes out at last in ropes OF white fieecy
yarn as soft as wool and as thick as a
broom handle. This yarn is twisted by ma
chinery until IL is as slender the finest
thread that ever went through the eye OF n
needle. Other threads similarly made are
twisted with it until the strength and thick
ness required for the thread of the cloth
is obtained. Then the threads are wound
on bobbins and by the mule spinner and
other wonderful machinery are made into
the most beautiful Of cloths. | saw cottons
of all patterns. shades and colors being pro-
duced. Some looked like the finest OF out
ing hannels and others had all the sheen
and softness Of silk. l shall not attempt
a description OF the process. only saying
that was impressed with the newneSs and
eNcellency Of machinery, part Of which
was American. Some Of the rooms seemed
a vast thicket Of white moving threads.
working their way in and out among the
iron wheels and bands. others were maze
of many colored cloths and others so noisy.
with the flying shuttles and the spinEing
reels that il was impossible to speak to
the guide and be heard.
Among the English Spinning Girls.
Most Of the hands OF the cotton mills are
women and II was a wonder 10 me how
hundreds Of girls could work together in
one room and not talk. ! mentioned this
thought to the guide later on. He replied:
why. bless you, man, Those girls are the
greatest takers on earth. They were talk
ing right along while We're in the MILL
but they listen with the lips and not with
the ears They have learned the lip Ian
qua Ee and they can tell perfectly what any
one SAYS by watching the movement Of his
lns."
The factory girls impressed me as by no
means bad looking. They make fairly good
wages for England. and when you see them
out for a holiday YOU would hardly know
that they belonged t. the mill. While at
work they wear a costume which has been
in use here for generations. IL consists Of
a calico dress with short sleeves and a very
short skirt and Of stockings and clogs. The
clogs are peculiar to this region. They have
leather uppers with soles Of wood on which
bands OF iron are tackled. This makes 4
great catter as they move about. and when
they ran out at meal time It made me think
Of the clatter which you hear in Japanese
railroad stations when the passengers in
their wooden shoes run over the platforms.
Most of the factory girls pay much at
tcntion to their personal appearance. They
are bareheaded while at work and | saw
hundreds who had their halr IN CrlmplDE
pins so tight that the skins of their fore
heads were stretched like so many drum
heads. They keep their hair in crimps all
the week and take 1t out only for Satur-
days and Sundays.
Wages and Work.
The Lancashire factory hands are better
off than the laboring people Of some OF the
other parts of England. They make fairly
good wages. and as all the members Of a
family work the result is that the aggre-
gate income of home often amounts to $50
and upwards. Mr.. Joynson of the Manches-
ter snip canal told me of family OF eight
of whom seven were wage earners. Said he:
The family consists of a man. his wife
and six children. The father is a skilled
workman, receiving about y week. The
mother stays at home and tends the house
The four girls go to the cotton factory, and
one makes her twenty-five shillings. while
the others each make from fifteen to twenty
shillings. Then there are two boys, who
each make twenty-five shlllings per week.
So that on the whole the total income Is
high
Saving for the Holidays.
The factory hands all save up for the
holidays, and every girl takes at least one
vacation year to spend her accumulation.
The saving is done in clubs, in the treasury
of which a part of each weeks wages is de-
posted. At the end Of the year, usually
ABOUT july. the savings are drawn OUT ana
a week or two is spent al the seashore or In
the country. In some families such savings
amount to several hundred dollars a year.
l have heard of one where they annually
foot up about $500, and this all goes at the
end of the year.
A Good Market for American Goods.
Indeed, the factory hands are good spend
ers. They want the best they can get. and
as a rule spend all they make outside the
c,,- Cor bei-
clothes. food and drink. l saw crowds Of
them ,on Market street in Manchester last
Saturday night. There is no work Satur-
day afternoon in any part Of England. and
on Saturday night the hands come out for
stroll. These | see here look superior to
the common people of the other large cities
L have visited and from the stories told L
can see there might be good demand here
for many things that we make.
Many of the shops advertise American
shoes. and some have the American flag
painted their windows. and below it the
statement that the shoes therein We're
actually made in America. This is prob
ably because the English are now making
shoes from American lasts and selling them
as American. They are importing our
machinery and trying to capture the new
taste of the public, which seems to be de-
cidedly in favor of our footwear. The
American shoe is far easier on the feet and
more stylish than the English shoe but L
hear it doubted whether it will
as the English boot does. The people here
will not wear rubbers, and they must have
a shoe that will keep out the water.
American Goods in Manchester.
L see about the same American goods
here that / have described as sold in the
stores of London, Liverpool and other
cities. There seems to be no antipathy to
goods made in America, although many Of
the British products are advertised made
by British workmen and backed by British
capital The English, however, will not
patronize their own goods If they are not
equal in quality and in price with any 9TH
erS on the market. What American manu-
ia cturers should do is to send nothing but
the best and TO keep the prices low
possible. They should send their own trav-
cling agents. but should advise them to
work quietly and leave the American eagle
at home, until they have established their
trade.
John Bull Getting Tender.
The British are not unfriendly to u.s. In
deed, they have changed their tone Of late
and now gladly call us their cousins. They
say that blood is thicker than water and