The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1914-11-05
Many Lose Their Jobs and
Are Dependent on Charity
For Their Living In Cities.
AMERICAN WOMEN COME
TO RESCUE OF THOUSANDS
Several Knitting Factories
Started Which Give EN-
ployment at Low Wages

London, Nov. 1.-The economic re-
suits of war have fallen heavily on
the woman wage earners of London,
of whom over $4,000 have been dis.
charged from employment since Aug.
l. In the single district of Islington,
800 were discharged the past week by
two bottling works, which were forced
to close down because their supply OF
bottles from Germany had been cut
off. While the ponderous machinery
of Queen Marys Fund to give work
to women is slowly making ready, the
Society of American women in London
has started a small knitting factory of
it's own in this populous district.
Mrs. Joseph Wilcox Jenkins started
the factory. She walked one day into
a labor exchange where 600 women
were registered and asked for those
who could knit. They were then put to
work knitting by hand socks and COM
forters, and paid on the union scale
of three pence an hour. This insures
a weekly wage Of $3.50 for forty hours
work.
Funds for running the factory are
obtained by the sale of socks, caps,
and belts, which are knitted expressly
for the soldiers and sailors. The pur-
chaser is expected to present the same
to the men at the front. Other funds
ire obtained by contributions.
One of the employees in the Ameri-
can factory is woman with hus.
band out Of work, paralyZed sister
to care for and seven children ranging
in age Of three to sixteen years. Her
eldest. girl, earns so cents week in
shop, and the war relief fund gives
seven shillings a week to the family.
Since getting place in the American
factory the bother has brought the
family income up to SASS a week.
A delicate girl of 70 years, a typist
ont Of work, is the sole support of her
mother and invalid sister In addition
to her earnings, she gets Ave shillings
a week from the war relief fund, which
helps defray her weekly rent of $1.s5.
A pathetic case is that Of one.
eyed girl, for whom arrangements
have been made to buy new glass
eye, as the enamel had worn OF the
old one. -
It has been brought to the notice
of Mrs. Jenkins that there is great suf-
fering among middle class women en-
gagged in the arts. A music teacher
said she had earned but $1.10 a week
As soon as permanent quarters are
found. the committee expects to
branch out Meals at two pence each
will be furnished and a nursery for
children. Already the homes of the
workers are visited and second hand
clothing given according to the needs.
The American women have won tho
gratitude of many families in Isling.
ton by their prompt methods. Queen
Mary's Fund is equipping factory
with machinery out of it's 10000
pounds, but it's members do not seem
to understand that what is needed is
aid right now, and not when the war Is
over. Recently the ladies' of Green
witch raised fund to equip factory,
and unable to obtain financial assist
ance from the Queens fund, turned to
the American Women War Relief So
ciety, which straightway agreed to ad-
vance SIS a week for wages. The fac
tory is now running.
The resident American women back
ing the Islington factory are Mesdames
Jenkins, E. Richard, Curtis Brown, G.
Mower, Arthur Fay, Robert Mcclellan.
G. Fl. Short, Reed Williams. Lorin
Woodruff, f. c. Darling, James Mitch
ell, G. A. Knight, II. I. Keene and F.
W. Wilcox.