The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-10-18
TRADES THAT WOMEN
 ARE ENGAGED IN Facts to Be Brought Out at the Industrial Con-
 vention.
DESIRABLE INDUSTRIES
Work, Wages and Chances of Advancement
 Outlined.

Outlined.
 When a womanW must go to work in mill or factory, to what occupa- ton had she better turn? Which lines are the cleanest, which the most sani- tary, which offer the besc chances of advancement? Few workingwomen are influenced by these considerations. They go to work in this or that fac tory because they have a friend work Ing there, or because they live near by, or because it gives them better pay than they could get elsewhere at the start. If there were a more gen eral knowledge of the conditions in various industries, many working woman would be engaged in an occu- patton better suited to her physique than the one she now follows. And an important step toward diffusing that knowledge has just been taken by the National Society for the Pro- motion of Industrial Education which Is to hold a convention in Chicago the first week in December By way of forerunner the society has sent out an exhaustive report prepared by a spe- cial committee, upon the best fields for women wage-earners.
 The report undertakes to deal only with industrial occupations in the nar- row sense. The great groups of agri- cultural and professional service, of which the first employs 15.9 per cent and the second S.9 per cent. of the A. 83S,630 women of sixteen years of age and over engaged Tn gainful oc- equations in the United States, are omitted Domestic service is omitted, too, and so are all occupations in trade and transportation businesses except that of the saleswoman. Sten- ography and typewritihg and book keeping are considered commercial occupations, and so not within the lines of this report.
 In the first place the report defines a desirable industry It is one which pays living wage, which does not deaden the natural powers or reduce the individual to the position of mere machine, which develops the sort of efficiencq which will be of value to the woman as homemaker, and which is not detrimental either physically or morally. The industries which measured by these, tests, arc considered least desirable for women are paper mills, cotton mills, cordage and twine mills, confectionery and paper box plants and packing of all kinds. Aud these industries swallow up 1s per cent. of the wage earning women in manufactories in the United States. Occupations which are brack- eted as of doubtful desirabllity are work in hosiery and knitting mills, woollen and worsted mills and silk mills. About per cent. of the wage earning women in manufacture are in these occupations.
 It is encouraging to note that the proportion of women in occupations which promise opportunities is large. GA per cent. of the entire number in factories. Such occupations are the making of clothing rom cotton. woollen and silk goods-when carried on in factories or strictly high grade workrooms-and the manufacture of boots and shoes, gloves, straw hats, jewelry and printing and publishing. A few industries not included in these three groups employ women in certain parts of the work, but only in the lowest paid and most unskill- ed parts. The report gives long list of industries in which no women are employed. In the manufacture of arms and ammunition, for instance; in building, light and neat, electricity, carriage making, glass, leather, lum- Der, machinery, metals, patterns, musl- cal instruments, print and dye works, shipbuilding, stone tools and wooden goods-in none of these need men fear the competition of women at present, though there Is no telling what may happen In the future.
 It is a discouraging tale the report tells of conditions In the occupations included in the first group. Cotton and cordage and twine claim large numbers of women and young girls, the latter especially, and they fail to meet any of the designated require- ments for @ desirable industry. The wages in cotton mills never reach $10 and at least three-quarters of the em- ployes earn less than SZ50 Tn cord age and twine work the wages are even further below the living point. Packing has one virtue, 1t Is clean; but in regard to the rather important considerations of wages and of op- | portunities for development there is nothing to say for it. It is as bad as mill work. Candy dipping general ly allows a woman from s5 to S7 a week. If she becomes very expert she may rise to the dizzy height of $1O for six days hard work
 Then comes the next great group of industries for women-manufac ture of woollens and silks. In these the pay Is a little better, as a rule, but they do not stand the wage test for desirable occupations. But they are by no means to be condemned. The character of the work is not so dis agreeable as are the occupations in the group just mentioned, and the quality of labor is superior Also, it l is hoped that with the Improvements in the manufacture of woollens and silks in this country a quality of l goods may be produced which will offer, better wages to employees in