Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1913-06-07
HARD Toll IN MILL
Life Of Women Employed in Har-
vester's Twine Factory.
New York investigation COMMITTEES
Report Says Night Workers Earn
Little Amidst Discouraolna,
Unsanitary Environments.

New York.--The Wagner factory in
vestigation committees report on CON
ditions in the International Harvester
Irvine mill at Auburn. N. Y. a docu-
ment which Is now in the hands OF the
printer. is expected to furnish val
liable leads for the state In the inves-
tigation that Governor sulzer declared
he would order into the circumstances
surrounding the strike at the Auburn
plant
These women reads the Wagner
report. were employed for ten hours
on Ave nights of each week. from
D. m. to $50 p, m. with break OF
half an hour at midnight The output
of this factory is Irvine made from
hemp and the work involves expos
ure to much dust. great noise and. IN
some rooms. great heat
THE married woman who worked
at night had on an average about four
and half hours OF sleep in the day
time: they prepared three meals each
day, including breakfast which had to
be made ready Immediately after the
nights work. They also did all tbs
washing for their families.
MANY of them returned to their
homes after hours of work at night IN
the dust and roar Of the Irvine factory
to nurse their babies in the morning
and during the daytime.
THE appearance of the women
workers is very disheartening," Is tn
Wagner committees comment They
are stolid, worn-looking and pale
Their clothes faces and hands are
covered with oil and hemp dust The
women as a whole were a dishearten
ing group, in their oily. dust-laden
clothes. with drawn. white faces and
STOPPING gait
The special investigators report
that OF the 100 women whose person y
histories were secured, 95 were Pol
ish There were so women between
twenty and thirty years OF age o.
these 100 wsmen 81 were anaemic 81
complained of backache and So Of
headache. All operatives worked
standing.
Dust is the predominating evil
continues the report: '-the clatter OF
machinery is so frightful that voice
can hardly be heard below shrek
"One-third of the women" finds the
committee. earned from 81 to $7oe
week another third earned from IS
to $40. % earned from IS to $3.50 arr
6 from 50 to SO. Only one woman
made s12 week; IL women made
as little as from Sc to 81 The re
naming 23 received varying wages
so that an average could not be accu
rately taken"
Paarore eor ar,pIoviuo woroan IN
the night shifts as tabulated by spe-
eial investigator for the committee
are:
1. Only women are able to proner'y
do the work of spinning and balling
q There Is no possibility of get
ting men 10 work during the night.
there being lack OF men workers
even during the daytime.
3. It would be impossible to en-
gage men at the same rates that are
paid women and get the same eff
cheney
The histories and living conditions
of the 40 odd women among the 200
night workers at the Irvine mills
were compiled by Miss Grace Potter
and Miss Gertrude e. Smith. They
found that only two of the women
workers were born in the United
States. There were ninety-seven ba.
bies whose mothers we're doing night
work. OF eighty-two women rs had
babies. One woman had IL children.
% had only one child; 10 were nurs-
ing babies The average weight for
90 per cent. of those questioned was
between 1875 and 135 pounds.
Questioned about their reasons for
working" read Miss Smiths report, In
part, "the usual reply was; To help
take care OF my family to save
money to buy a home and to dress
my children right"