The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1904-06-25
BY JUpSON GRENBLlA

Ure0teSI FOult.
BY JUpSON GRENELl~
Copyrighted 1904, by Judsen Grenell.
Birmingham, England June 2S,-Wo-
men chain makers! Fr2tl girls WELD
ing heavy hammers: Amidst the Crime
CT the forge, married and unmarried
women toiling all the day at work Il:
only for men! Are not these some OF
the thoughts Of the average newspaper
reader when hearing Of women making
chains? Indeed, 1t would seem as II
the women were forging links to chains
that bound them to the most degrading
conditions.
1t was with peculiar feelings. there
fore. that came within sound Of ham,
lners welded by women and cljnking
merrily on anvils at Cradley Heath.
1t was all true! There were the hum
bic homes Of humble toilers who d.
vided their time between their domes-
tic duties and their daily toll. The
shops We're not in the front rooms OF
the house, to be sure, as one person
had informed-or misinformed- me-;
but they were in the back yards, where
outhouses are usually placed, though
a front yard Yes, married and un-
married women were making chains.
while babies were playing in the dirt.
In one case man was at the bellows,
but in others young girls worked the
bellows and famed the forge, while
men made the chains.
Healthier Than Factory Girls.
And yet, after all, the sight was not
-E]1c11 hnrihla n
the women were better off than their
sisters working In the factories. Ger
tainly they had a healthier look, and
those who were working for themselves
could work fast or slow, as suited their
convenience.
Imagine, II you can, young girl,
arms bare to elbows and waist loosen
ed at the neck with one hand on the
bellows and the other holding an iron
rod in the forge. She works the han
die that presses the leaves of the bell
lows together, and the flames play
around the heating bar. Suddenly it
is withdrawn from the fire, and biff!
piece drops on tho anvil just the right
length. Then with twist and turn,
while the sparks are: tlying;i t thissmaid-
.! an Vulcan wtelds, her b miner as swift
wood sbsa1r
as hollow assff
hand have IN CON bil1a Il made IN
other link to seemingly endless chain.
Degrading? Rather it is something to
be proud Of!
These women chain-making shops
have much the outward look Of the
blacksmiths forge. A big handwork-
ed bellows supplys the draft for the fire
into which is thrust the bar of iron.
When tho end of the bar is sufficient
;ly heated-a mater Of experience-it is
withdrawn and piece is deftly cut the
required length Of a link. This is
thrust through the last link Of the COM
pleted chain, which hangs suspended
from a loop overhead, with a few taps
and a twist of the wrist the ends of the
new link are forged quicker than one
can read this paragraph. Attached to
the anvil is hammer which is so sus-
pended that it is worked with the foot.
This gives the finishing touches that
make each new link the exact counter
part of the others.
The women chainmakers Of Cradley
Heath, which is practically suburb
of Birmingham, work by the week in
some instances; in others they work
by the piece, geing paid for the number
of pounds of chain forged; and in still
others rent the shop by tho week, and
sell the chains made to dealers who
take all they can get. Some Of these
dealers provide the stock. These chains
made by the women are Of the lighter
sort, and as a matter OF fact the hard
! labor necessary is not as much as a
washer-woman exerts over an old
fashioned washboard.
Some Earn 30 Cepte n Day.
What do these Womcn chainmakers
earn? I asked a dozen people and re-
ceived all kinds Of answers. This il
certain: the girls who are hired by t1,s
hour or week will not consent to work
for less than the wages they would be
paid working in factories, while those
working for themselves cannot afford
to work for less. One young girl told
me she earned about 18 pence-36 eents
"a day. She was working for herself
and, I understood, her hours were a,
she made them, certainly not more
than so week. Many Of the women
chainmakers Of Cradley Heath simpiy
put in their spare time a. this: work
much as some women take half-oom:
pleted clothing stock home to be turn.
ed into ready-made garments.
The wages Of these workers-mer
and wonlen-must be low, FOR they
compete with machine-madn chains
but handmade chain has virtues al
it's own, and so, like hand-torged table
cutlery, which is still made in Sheffield
and finds Il ready market, bringing thu
highest price, finds purchasers where
mach;ne-made product will not bt
bought.
Is the work degrading? Are thu
women unsexed? l should an,ves nj
to both questions. Too hard toll. Of
airy kind is demo:alizing yet it looked
to me that these women chainmaksr
>c.f nn1lod n I,ox L.,