The Washington times., 1917-04-09
AGED WOMEN EARN
LIVING BY KNITTING
American Woman Starts Lon
don Factory" to Keep Her
Charges From Poorhouse.

LONDON, March 20 (by maiD.-
behalf of others, Mrs. Charlotte Jen-
kins, member OF a pioneer Minneap-
oils family, has managed to skewer
the lean specter OF want to the old re-
liable knitting needle.
The war relief knitting factory
which struggled into being as a result
OF her initiative has become self-sup-
porting. Hereafter IL will essay to
toddle along on its own financial sup
port, though random donations will
not be discouraged. Guaranteed aid
from the economic relief committee
has been withdrawn.
To appreciate what Mrs. Jenkins
has done IL is necessary first to un-
derstand Islington, the poorest of
London's boroughs, where an Amer
lean woman has created an institution
solely to keep out of the poor house
poor but respectable old women. Thus
the knitting factory can hardly be
called an infant industry.
Islington's directory used to'contain
liberal sprinkling of noble lords and
such. Their mansions are still there.
decayed and long since deprived of
their earlier grandeur. For many
years Islington has been the home OF
poor working people. Nearly all its
women worked in neighborhood fac
tories making nonessential wares.
These closed when war began.
Mrs. Jenkins knew these women in
cluded many inyalids and aged who
couldn't possibly "go in for muni-
tions." and who would wind up their
some one did something.
Knittins Factory Opened.
She asked for $3.50 from the Ameri-
can wofnen's War Relief Committee
and got It. Investigation showed a
vigorous demand for knit goods.
Within a week the knitting factory
began in one room, with a handful OF
feeble, underfed old women making
socks for soldiers.
Today the visitor finds the factory
occupying an old mansion in one OF
those gloomy little side streets.
The Minneapolis poverty strafer sits
at a desk with card indexes climbing
the wall behind her These records
she explains, are merely formality
because she knows the particular
grief OF every worker,
Upstairs in the workroom hve knit
ting machines hum and clatter on a
Belgian kiddies. But there are still
soldiers and refugees PAL tidl to the
handmade kind. so the
|. tile old women seated around In
corners manage to keen comfortably
busy.
EVERY workers gets 80 fo-
full weeks work." said Mrs. Jenkins
today. though some OF the hand
workers are very slow and ;:annOt pos
sibly earn that much. We ser''
good dinner for 4 cents and tea Tree,
so they're able to get along On their
pay. Naturally, their other expenses
are light.
American Friends Help.
Handmade goods always sell at
slight loss. but this is made up by
the large machine production. Il
american friends have shipped us
bales of clothing. some OF IL as Sood
as new, which / distribute as 1t Is
needed My mother even sent money |
and clothing from Honolulu. Our
friends are widely scattered.
THE factory just had to go on. once
started. One OF my knitters is a uni |
versity graduate, the daughter OF q
who was left alone when her
bT other went down on the Titanic. |
She is nearly blind and wears the
thickest glasses ! ever saw. or
course, she cannot do much work. but |
she is everlastingly trying, and that |
is all that counts. Could I let her |
go? She can't do anything else. There !
are others in the same Ak"
FROM the National Food Fund the |
factory receives meat. bread, sugar.
tea, and butter. This makes the 4cent |
dinner possible. The money pays for
and milk.
Over 1898 sweaters. pairs OF socks,
and children's suits went to |
Belgium and France last year from /
the withered. toil-worn hands that |
proved so willing to work when the
chance came. Not even scraps sf wool
were wasted. They made rugs for
hospitals.
The factory doesn't exactly throb
with industry. But thirty-old and for
gotten souls. thirty bodies tossed on
the indsutE.ial scrap heap, are kept out
of the dire misery OF an English poor
house.