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    116 woman's supervision of women's indus...

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  • Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

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    Branche Zeal The Ploymen Of Stock S Thos...

    activity is now chiefly displayed in the making of all sorts of garments by the sewing-machinethat formidable rival which has

    , attacked the last citadel of isolated female labour , in which women inight reasonably have believed they were safely entrenched ,

    " armed with the thimble and needle . " Through the length and breadth of the land sewing factories are springing up , where the

    machines are driven mostly by young women , but in some cases by steam powerfrom the dearth of persons qualified to work them

    with rapidity , and success . These factories , not coming under the provisions of the Acts of Parliament , are conducted according to

    the ideas of the proprietors , some with proper regard to the health of the workerswhile many fall short of the necessary

    requisitespure air and extended , space . The objection to this class of workrooms are of even a graver nature than those I have mentioned .

    The hours of work are not longer , but they are later ; in many no time is allowed for dinner ; the women bring a piece of bread or

    some other food ; with young girls this plan , if suitable arrangements were made on the premises , would not be undesirable . The

    long walk to breakfast or dinner often adds to the toil and temptation of the worker . _*'

    The question of supervision again arises here : women generally cut out the garments , but the whole power over , and control of , the

    workers is exercised by men of the class one might expect to find in such an employment . I have seen more than one sewing factory

    where a man occupies a position in some degree analogous to that of a slave-driver : the expenses of machinery , oversight , & c ,

    requiring a certain amount of work to be executed in a given time , a task of no small difficulty to the overseer , from the idleness and

    indifference of the workers . The wages of the machinist and cutteroutranging from 85 . to 15 s . per weekare far better than can be

    obtained , in other branches of trade ; , but , the _preparation and finishing of the work for each machinist requiring * two , three or

    four hands , on these unskilled labourers presses most heavily the reduction of the few pence in the price of a garment , which

    competition demands . Some remedies for these evils are apparent . Education and

    training by means of evening schools , where household duties might be taughttheoretically at leastand instruction given in sewingboth

    by hand , and with the machine , ; the extension or providing , of trades capable of being carried on at home ; and , most important ,

    because most likely to bring other blessings in its train , the supervision of all women congregated as earners , by the thoughtful ,

    enlightened and respectable of their own sex , both as paid and unpaid labourers in this field , —white , indeed , unto the harvest .

    peop has and * beep about Since le in opened the their a third Dublin cotton of by the the Meeting factory operatives _G-reenmount , of where the avail N th S ational themselves ey pinning can Association ge C t of the this i r m y , advantage ea an for ls com eating the fortab . - work house ly - ,

    116 Woman's Supervision Of Women's Indus...

    116 woman's supervision of women's industry .

• Citation
  • English Woman’s Journal (1858-1864), Oct. 1, 1862, page 116, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ewj/issues/ewj_01101862/page/44/