The sun., 1918-10-06
Thrills of a Woman
Working in Munitions
Few in Great Shell Factory Labor for
= Mere Pay, the Majority Being
Eager to Beat Kaiser

many theories spinning, and while it
might be acting lie to hire out when
meant to resign at the end Of the day the
good l hoped to do with my little type
writer would surely offset the sin against
truth. In vainl She was adamnnt Other
lady managers of other employment Off
ees were similarly proof against my
pleadings.
At noon, completely exhausted by my
search for work in country which folks
are telling US has ten jobs for every job
wanter, | decided to give up my eonscien-
tious sex and throw myself on the mercy
of a man. BY telephone got man at
Edgewater, where the American Can Com
pany is making shells, and where it wants
1000 more women right along quick now.
The man was satisfactory. He said cor
daily, Come on over and the place is
Yours"
Men Much Easier to Deal With.
With renewed spirits and wondering
why men, though they are sometimes so
annoying about some things, such as hold
ing up the suffrage bill in the Senate of
the United States, are frequently in mat
tiers like my present errand so much easier
TO deal with than women, took Fifth
avenue bus to Ninety fourth street, where
the pier was that led to Edgewater.
Here l was met by eourtly official
who guards the pier and soOthes the ruff
fled spirits of persons who want passes
over and can't get them. The man at
Edgewater had told this guard, Mr.. Grit
fifth, to entertain me till the boat came, and
nobly he fulfilled his task. He showed
me a clipping about prayer versus work
and engaged me in discussion about it. He
allowed me to listen while he interviewed
a feeble looking foreigner who wanted n
job and was willing to take anything, be
superintendent or anything, SOS he
didn't have to work much,
Presently the boat came in and another
polite and pleasant man in uniform well
coined me on board and in few minutes
| was being indicted into my job at Edge
water.
Everybody by now knows what NUM-
tons factory is like. It's noisy and it's
oily, but there's thrill about it, some
how, if yon look at it the right way. But
its certainly oily.
/ never realized the Oil there is about
serving your Uncle Sam that way until
Mr.. Fitzpatrick, my host, gave me those
overalls. Well, he didn't hand me the
overalls exactly, but Mrs. Murphy did.
She's the welfare lady over there and she
was very helpful about pinning up the
Overalls, because they were made for
bean pole, which Tn not.
staggered in Her overalIs.
First / thought I just couldn't put my
we'll, you know it didn't seem as if even
patriotism was potent enough TO make me
wear such oily overalls. But once i got
them on and staggered forth / felt fine
in my soul. Useful, You know, cog in
a wheel of the machine that is going to
down the Kaiser and bring peace to the
world. ...-.
And when went into q room where q
lots of girls and women were making
boosters 1 could face them as ! never
could while being taken through fac
tory as mere observer. There's some
thing in the fsees of workers in oily,
grimy clothes when they turn and look
at SNUG observers-well, may be mis-
taken, but going through a factory always
made me feel inferior and small. But
now I didn't. I was one Of them.
There were coolies Of women and girls
in that factory, young women, middle
aged women, almost old women. Some
were pretty-looked as if they'd left the
glove department in store to come there.
Some were homely of course.
Here was motherly woman who might
have been darning stockings at her fire.
side, so placid and kindly was her face as
she bent over the table where she with
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