The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1903-08-10


,+ioh the average seamstress clears VINO
works NV the dav at home or in many OF
a.. nretentfols dress making shops OF the
city.
or the three hundred women employer
here the average pay Is 81 per week.
with nine hours a day work and nan
holiday Saturday.
The appearance Of the women is not
such as to indicate overwork, and with
the execution Of a few elderly women
who have reached the age when the care
worn expression would naturally sno"
itself the female employees where there
" this demand for sevcnty-tVe more
are healthy wholesome-look'ng
| semblage.
They are all members OF the CARNEY
workers Union, Of which Miss LIZZIE
Humphries. one Of the employees ~
| president. whether or not general m
| tarest is taken in this organiza ton, or
what its influence may be- IS SUBJECT
! matter for another story. but during
| tha luncheon hour. when discussion may
| no e,ivau TO such matters. there Is
recreation room. where the women re-
nair m partake Of their lunch or n rest
| II Is q long. councillors apartment nav
| fno among other articles Of furniture
niano desks. and 8 large table upon
which were the latest magazines ana
periodicals There were individual COAX
racks and hat boxes. and the Ventiauon
here az in the work room was eQ0s'
| to that of the average office III Atl8hta
| business centers. and many of the ooas'-
| ed of office buildings.
| In reference to the class OF people en-
ploved it was evident at q glance that-
+o3 4Eas.
higher plane industrlally and socially
/ than that class of people coming under
the head Of the generally accepted term
of factory operatives.
The latter" he explained are
many of them. operatives by inheritance
| l. e., they come Of a family OF opera
| tives. and starting out in the FACTORY
as children. grow up in the work and
know nothing else. -, J..
IF they lose their Jobs in one Mill II
seldom occurs to them TO do other WORK
but they go 10 another mill and seek
cmpIovment there From this class come
the most unsatisfactory leboT-men ana
women who are Inadequate 10 the puF-
poses of the work IN this FORM of indus
try. where something more fhah '.7
hand operating the machine is required.
and where there must be an tnteInsth'
eye applied az well as some Rno"ieuee
OF sewing"
Then from what element Of people
do you find Your most satisfactory "o"l-
en- workers?" was here asked.
In reply Mr. Nunnally related the in
cident Of how three or four wears ago
there came into his establishment three
young girls In checked dresses, oonnets
and the costumes that one sees on INC
still primitive mountain people OF tho
state They were sisters and asked fd@
work. acknowledging on being ques-
toned their absolute inexperience but
declaring they wanted to learn
AS an experiment they were employed
and In two months were no longer on
the list of novices.
Now they are my most competent
women workers" he stated, with six
room house of their own and the com
forts of home. Their average incorse is
$50 per week, and they are models of
thrftiuess
What are you going to do about
this scarcity of labor" was asked.
We'll think III advertise in the
newspapers of the rural districts was
the reply
Then you think that this scarcity OF
labor will have to be supplied from the
rural districts"
II looks as II lHHL hVNAN
tried. for, as / said before, we need the
labor to that extent when the progress
of our industries is being retarded Tor
lack of it,
But what about this army of unem-
ployed women we hear OF every day in
Atlanta q
Mr. Nunnally did not know. but the
facts remain the same-there are the
unemployed women; there is plenty or
work for them to do and yet here is
proof of a great scarcity of labor