The Bridgeport times and evening farmer. (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1918-1924, 1918-07-01
EMPLOY WOMEN
DOCK WORKERS
Brooklyn Company Hires 10
TO Truck Bags and Boxes
9 Hours.

New York, July 7e-Ehe New York
Dock Co. at Montague street, Brook
Ign, one of the largest in the world
began hiring women as stevedores
Wednesday, and now has 16 American
women, including an author, former
vaudeville star, two negro women and
several. widows, dressed in overalls'
wrestling coffee bags from a. m. to
p m. five days a week. They are
getting AN cents an hour, the rate
| paid men, and are trucking their loads
with far more zeeal than the male of
the species.
This is the word of H. B. Whipple,
| general manager He predicts a
bright future for all women similarly
engaged, though he really had no no
ton the scheme would work as well
as it has in the last four days.
81 put an adj in the paper intend
ing to run it q week." said Mr.. Whip
PIE, land by noon the next day 1 had
to shut it off because my office was
damned with women eager to work. /
had no idea that I could get them tc
They didn't look particularly husky,
but they were mighty willing, so
showed them the plant"
Very considerably Mr.. Whipple lee
them to the warehouse, where
brawny, big listed and thorough!
muscular men were Juggling ana
sweating at 1872 pound bags of coffee
hundredweights of sugar and a grea
collection of bales and boxes.
do you think you can do tina
worg?" said he.
Most of the women said they coult
and were hired without further de
bate. They began work in the cot
fee warehouse and for four days hav
been carrying loads from 100 to 20
pounds lighter than the men, but b
; making more trips have made a goo
record.
This says a1ittle of the sturdy steve
dore, his undoubted gift for movin
bundles and his even more highly de
veloped gift of colored and pictur
esque speech. The women who wer
\ bird first including Maggy Carbon
the former short skirt twirler, had n
intention of fraternizing with the hus
kies of the docks, much less of al
tempting to acquire their colorfl
method of self expression. The
n could trund1e trucks with the best {
. the huskies, but they declined fiatl
e to cuss.
r Wherein the original Is were an ez
f cellent argument for female war 1e
d Dor. But on Thursday there appear
ed on the docks a gentle trio name
Susie, Alice and Neya, robust girl
powerful of forearm, and in their fir
few hours proved excellent stevedore
1 Nimbly they cast coffee bag aftt
coffee bag, 1872 pounds at heav
down the airshaft. Nimbly the
u trucked 1872 pound bags across Il
Sc floor Then they went down to tt
ID docks to snake the bags out to IL
-, loading ship.
Right then things began to happe
10 Susie lit out on a run with a cargo {
~ wheels totalling something under 81
- pounds, and trucked herself direct
into a waiting pile of iron shafting
- Susie dropped her truck with a screa1
Bill the Heavier, first boss of Il
- docks, came running to her rescue.
Susie looked up with streami1
eyes, rubbing her shins, elbows al
- knees.
IL Take that blankety blank of
Il. blank blank dashed DANCED rat of
~ bling bang zip truck outa my way
scremade Susie. ''Move it! Mo
that blankety truck-move-"
Here Bill the Heavier hoised a CO
loused hand to either ear shameless
~ looking at the lady's bruised distre
- without moving so much as f1ng'
:. much less the truck that had fall
II on her toe.
n Bill the HEAVIER had heard so1
on rough language, but none spok
he with quite Susie's vehemence or col
ks mand of the profane. Bill was dc
gasted. But he couldn't open
mt mouth to say so.