The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1941-02-27
MdnY Difficulties
Confront Milliners
Women's Hats Being Taken
Seriously At Least In
Making

Women's hats are not to be taken
too seriously except in the making
Though the feminine headgear de-
veloped in recent years does not faze
the wearers, it has been knocking the
interests of millinery manufacturers
and workers into the proverbial cock
ed hat. 1t is difficult for employers
to make a go of their business and
employees to make a living. Something
needs to be done.
Such is the story CLEANED from the
most recent publication of the Womens
Bureau, U. S. Department Of Labor.
Entitled primer of Problems in the
Millinery Industry" this new bulletin
outlines the basic problems in the in
dustry, and then presents details as
to their effects and possible solutions,
in simple question and answer form,
SO that all who make hats, sell hats,
wear hats, or wonder at them, may
read and understand.
Also stressed in the study is the
responsibility of each of these groups
for hel ping to iron out the difficulties.
Millinery manufacturers and work
ers, realizing that the industry was
sick and growing worse and that the
death rate" among millinery firms
was high, petitioned Secretary Of La
Dor Perkins in 1898 to investigate the
causes and effects of the industry's
disorders.
Since almost two in every three
employees in these hat factories are
women, the Women's Bureau charged
with promoting the welfare of women
wage earners, was the specialist call
ed on to diagnose the troubles and
thus to aid in finding the necessary
remedies.
The problems found to be under
mining the industry in all the IL ma
jor millinery manufacturing centers
covered by the study are:
First, those beyond the control of
individual firms, due to general social
and economic conditions, such as
Dame Fashions whims, seasonal ups
and downs, and the ever vital ques-
tion of prices of hats. Cooperation
of women consumers could aid the in
dustry in steadying style caprice, in
learning production seasons, and in
planning for better hat values, it is
pointed out.
Second, are such problems as the
poor business methods found in many
millinery factories, the excessive COM
petition among firms, and the over
supply of workers. Cures as we'll as
causes of such are an "inside job"
Since force within the industry are
responsible for the troubles, these can
be corrected only by individual and
joint action of employers and work
ers' groups.
Millinery manufacture, though not
in the big business class, comprised,
in 1889, 1850 firms, which employed
an average Of $4,000 wage earners.
New York City is the skyscraper
center in the making of women's hats,
towering far above the other import
ant areas included in the study. at
is the style center in this type of
manufacture, employees about half of
the millinery workers in the country
accounts for we'll over half the total
net sales, and determines the fate
of the industry" Illinois Chiefly Chi
cago), with IA per cent of the work
ers and II per cent of the sales, is
the next important center, followed
in order of Importance by Massachu-
sets, Northern New Jersey, Missouri
Then of about equal rank come Los
Angeles, the South Atlantic area
Connecticut, and New York State
(apart from New York City,; follow
ed by Texas and Philadelphia, each
doing the same proportion of business
Finally, trailing the list are San
Francisco and the Cleveland Detroit
Milwaukee area.
A marked decrease in the volume
of sales and number of both manu-
facturers and workers in the decad,
prior to 1887, is disclosed by the re-
PoiI. llllo IIclll SflOTIe1lcu lHc DuSS
seasons, reduced incomes and earn
ings for those in the industry, and
caused a serious oversupply of work
ers. In general, there are roughly
twice as many workers as are needed
In each of the II areas were found
many more workers than were re-
quired in the busy season Philadel-
phia was better than average in this
respect, while the most overcrowded
labor market was in the CeYeland-
Detroit Milwaukee, the Massachusetts,
and the Texas areas.
Statistics prove the havoc wrought
by the seasonal factor on both the
workers and the employers. In 1887
there were only "a busy weeks, ID
definitely slack ones, and IA transition
weeks just before and after the busy
seasons when production was below
average.
Of all workers whose weeks of en-
ployment with firm during the year
were reported, considerably less than