The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1909-12-04
STORY OF mUNTRYS SUPPLY OF SHRTWA6TS
IS TALE OF TRAGEDY OF MANY HUMAN LIVES

NEW YORK, Dec. EVERY
woman who wears a shirtwaist--+
one of the dainty ready-made kind
will find something to interest
her in this story about the secret
of the great shirtwaist strike in
New York.
There are 10000 girls striking
and few thousand men.
Sam Davis, one of the strikers,
climbing onto a chair in the strike
headquarters, surrounded by hum
dreds of factory girls with big hats
and cheap, but stylish clothes, told
them the truth about the strike.
Here is his story as 1 heard it:
cat last you girls see things as
they are, and no one can ever tell
you.what good thing you are do
ing by striking for higher wages.
Twice in the last two days the
landlord has called, and / have
had no money.
81 have my wife and two little
children, but we do not have much
to eat. Five years ago, in shirt
waist factory, was getting from
$25 to $40 a week, and l married
and took my wife to nice little
place in the suburbs.
-"Only a few girls worked in the |
factories then. There were 200 fac
tories, and they made most of the
shirtwaists worn in the United |
States.
But pretty soon, girls began to
get jobs in the factories. They
didn't have anybody but them
selves to support and they were
willing to work for small wages.
So wages began to go down. The
girls who worked in the factories
were able to buy pretty clothes
and to dress we'll.
when factory man liked a
girl and wanted to call ON her, she
didn't think he was good enough
for her. She looked pretty, and
to marry a doctor, or a
lawyer. or a professional man. |,
After while the men began to
lose their jobs, and the girls took :
their places. |,
Men who had married factory
girls didn't make enough to sup :
port them both and the children
Who came. Yet the factory girl II
lad aided in cutting the wages
hat he husband got. h
II had $4O0 saved up, but pref !
y soon / lost my place. 1 began I
o look around for work and wher- +
,ver / went the bosses told me h
hat they were not hiring men; IL
hey wanted girls.
II saw many men who were as
was, without job and with fam
lies to support. I saw you girls
in our places, and doingI
'ur jobs, for only money enough
o buy You pretty clothes.
you all wanted to marry good |
men, and can't blame you forl
wanting to be pretty, but 1t was
blood money. And IL you were |,
'poiling good men by putting them =
tut of work, how could you hope o.,
o find good men to marry?
To-day my $500 is gone. My
wife and I live, with the children.
n two little rooms in a tenement.
We haven't money to pay the rent.
We used to live in little house.
where the children could get fresh =
lir. Only the other day a rat died
n the wall, and we were afraid ;
o tell the landlord about it, be- :
'ause we owed him rent. /,
There are thousands of men in
New York today, in the shirtwaist
industry, who are in as bad place q
Is I am.
Il think this strike is the most I
strike that has ever Is
happened in this country. You
girls don't need a. lot of money; J.
hat isn't what you're striking for
10 much. You're striking to help
men with families and to help ID
and women who have
married factory men. Il
You can't stop working and /;
give up your jobs, because you
have to live. But you can strike I
'or just as much wages as men
would get. d
Then, maybe, the factory own
srs would be glad to get men back
again. Your husbands and your +.
'rothers and your sweethearts
would make more money, and
hey could take care of you. ID
Now you have to go ahead and
ny to get mems wages and do
mems work. that's what this strike
s for" |!
The girls cheered. Sam climbed I
Town. Il
That's a better speech than
sam Gompers made to u.s." said