Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1916-10-22
RUSSIAN WOMEN
MAKING RIFLES AS
men Give BATTLE
Machines Manufactured in
the United States Are
Used in Imperial Arms
Factory at Sestroetzk.
BY WILLIAM PHILIP SiMMS.


Sestroeszk. Russia, Sept. 22.-(By
mail)-Women making army rifles on
machinery from Cincinnati, Cleveland,
ST. Louis and other American cities,
was the feature of the visit which the
government permitted me to make at
the Imperial Small Arms Works here
today. under the personal guidance of
General Giber, director of the plant.
1T is marvellous" said the general,
as we stood in IA long room filled with
women and girls busy at lathes turn
ing out the most delicate parts of rifle
mechanism. "how the women have
taken to this kind of work. Some of
them as you gee, have become master
mechanics and since the war at that.
For, of course, nobody thought of en-
ploying women in machine shops prior
to the war. In quality and in guam
tity their work is equal to that of the
men and certainly 1 have never seen
more conscientious workers. They are
given the same wages as the men,"
For second my thoughts jumped
back to Petrograd, to my hotel and the
poor service there. In explanation the
proprietor told me:
Seiii hNSP oiiy A0lP WOlI III Wlillt,
either male or female. Chambermaids
and porters can make twice as much
in the munitions factories as we can
pay them, so all the most intelligent
ones get jobs there" over at the
great Poutiloff Armament Works.
the Russian Krupps-I asked the sup
erintendent of department swhere
three-inch shells were being turned:
WILL YIELD PLACES.
AFTER the war, will the women stick
30 their lathes? Won't they cause re-
sentiment among the male machinists
who had to go away and fight?'
Il don't think So" he replied. You
see. the work is heavy-too heavy for
women as a steady thing and the
women will be glad to yield their places
to the men and resume their roles in
their homes"
This was at the big-gun factory.
There l saw women, big, strong peas
ant women, with gaudy- colored ban
danas tied about their heads working
in front of blazing furnaces, pulling
white-hot ingots from the fire or
guiding them into huge machines there
to be squeezed into rough she'll
shapes 1t was indeed hard work, even
for men.
But at the Imperial Small Arms
Works out here, the work is lighter.
Here they make machine tools for use
at the Poutiloff and other works in
making cannon, or howitzers or sub
marines. Also they make the rifles
used by the infantry and the revolvers
for officers and cavalrymen; and
lances, machine gun parts sighting ap-
paratuses for big guns. and all sorts of
small parts for man-killing devices
which require, when finished an ex-
actitude we'll night absolute. Many
women are employed and they have
proved excellent hands. Therefore l
put to a superintendent here the same
question l had asked of the Poutiloff
superintendent. His reply was:
WORK LIKE HEROINES.
| mo doubt women will continue do
ing certain work after the war which
before the war no one thought of en-
ploying them to do. But not many, not
enough to make the men Jealous. In
the first place, much of the work be-
ing done by them now won't exist after
the war. Again, women don't wear
we'll, they break down more quickly
than men. So while we employ them
now in large numbers, we do so be-
cause we know the work is largely
temporary. We would not employ
women permanently in jobs we know
are bad for them. They are working
| like heroines now; they consider they
are doing the work of soldiers here and
1 they are, too. And they make sacri-
fees of personal nature to help keep
the country going. But they'll be glad
enough, most of them, to go back to
their babies when the fighting Is over
His explanation was almost identi-
cal to that of the Poutiloff superin-
tendents. First there are the good
wages to attract women and, of
course, the increased cost of living
which must be met. Therefore, the
women are willing to work harder
while the need exists, but when peace
brings normal times with lower living
cost the women will not care to work
so hard. Such is the argument.
ELEMENT OF PATRIOTISM.
Then there is an element of patriot
ism In the new scheme of things. Here,
as in England and France, the wom-
en- are trying to do their bit" The
spirit of sacrifice is seen here high and
low. For instance: General Giber
asked me to tea. Walking through the
great wrought-iron gate with "1713"
above it to mark the founding year of
the Imperial Arms Works by Peter l,
The Great. we found ourselves in a
beautiful park. Here and there one
caught sight of slowly moving forms
in garments resembling white bath
robes These were explained as soon
as we entered the residence Of the
general. for the whole of the down.
stairs part of his home had been con-
verted into hospital. Going from bed
to bed. smoothing the pillow of this
patient. saying "a word of cheer to that
one, we discovered a sweet faced wom-
an. in nurses costume.
II want to present you to the head
nurse the general said MY wife,
So there You are. Down in the valley
| were the government rifle works WHARF