Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-08-25
Hardships Are Many
In Some Laundries.

In Some Laundries. der which the
supply is insufficient and cases of heat
prostratiOn are numerous. Miss Woer-
rishofer testified to her sense of pleasure
at the GOODNESS outside on leaving the
laundry on a summers day. Later she
found that the thermometer outside stood
96 degrees in the shade. OF comforts and
'conveniences the average laundry pos
sesses none. Women would eat their
lunches sitting on piles of soiled clothing
or upon the floor. The New York branch
of the Consumers League Is now compil-
ing q white list of those laundries which
assure standard working conditions.
These consist of limit OF fifty-fOur
hours work. per week, and no day over
twelve hours long: all overtime paid for;
all machinery guarded; floors drained and
guttered that no one shall work on
wet floors; seats adjusted to the ma
chimes and proper toilet accommodations
A number of New York laundries are
! now fulfilling these standards, although
1t Is claimed that there are fewer prop
erly equipped laundries in New York than
in any other city in the country in pro-
portion to population. Most of the work
is done in the so-called hand shops,
which are in reality only agencies which
collect the work for larger establish
ments. There are about 5000 Of these
small shops In New York, all of which
collect work at a price below that of the
regularly equipped laundry. They must
secure their rent and profit and provide
a profit to the wholesale establishment
doing the work. The large places where
such work is done have few of the mod
ern labor-saving appliances for the COM
fort of their employees. and the sanitary
conditions are often as bad as could be
imagined. The hours of work have been
practically unlimited, so that at the last
investigation made before the New York
state bureau of mediation and arbitra-
ton one starcher testified to having
worked ninety hours in five days to get
rush work out.
The abandonment of this rush work
calls for cooperation on the part of the
public. and it is something which the
women of the country can largely aid
In bringing about Different ,women's
organizations are now cooperating with
the laundrymen's associations in an eff
fort to SO plan the work that there may
not be a rush and a consequent strain
upon the workers the latter part Of the
week. The Housewives League of New
York has issued a recommendation to
its members to have a certain part OF
their washing ready Friday or Saturday,
in order that the laundry may be ready
to begin work early Monday morning. in
stead of gathering the wash Monday
morning and having the work begin in
the afternoon and continue until late at
UlRNI, as mas Decn the pEdCIiCt " HeU
there are two deliveries a week. the
drivers time should be saved by giving
him the second lot of clothes when the
first is delivered, instead of requiring an
extra call.
!: x
The organizations OF laundrymen are
generally in favor of a limited working
day, as
Laundrymen as Rule they wish
For Limited Work Day. their in
dustry upon the same standard as others,
but quite frequently the employees them
selves do not favor it. One laundry COM
pany. operating model steam laundries
in three cities. arranges with it's workers
to begin work at 7:3O O'Clock in the morn
ing and to continue working until up to
Friday, when the bulk of the work is
finished by or O'Clock in the after
noon. The workers are then dismissed
until Saturday noon, when they come
back to work for two or three hours to
get out the rush work of the hotels This
firm has found that it's employees prefer
working an hour or two longer for sew
eral days and then having part "a Fri
day afternoon and the whole of Saturday
morning. than to work the regular hours
inc WAoic SlA 1tHeT lduHuTy HAL
ayers C aim that this plan is impossible
because Of the irregularity with which
the work comes in.
The drivers Of the laundry wagons In
times past have been subjected to almost
as many hardshfps as the woman work
ers. but the laundry owners are awaken
ing to the fact that it is economy to
treat the man who collects and delivers
the goods as person of more Importance
than the mere driver of the wagon. With
the best laundries the driver now really
ranks as 4 salesman. He iS a man of in
telligence and good appearance, capable
OF soliciting additional trade and is there
fore entitled to the same consideration
given to statesmen in other lines. 1t is
the laundry driver who meets the women
who constitute the bulk of the patrons.
SO that the Importance of having n man
TO creditably represent the estab. ishment
has lessened the hardship Of the man
upon the wagon. !
Since the laundry business has recently
developed To the rank of fifth among the
great indus
Workers Unrecognized tries of the
Among Wage-Earners. has called
into action an army of workers which
have heretofore been unrecognized among
the wage earners of the nation. A few
years ago the census department included
laundry workers with personaI and do