The Industrial Condition of Women and Girls in Honolulu: A Social StudyBlascoer, Frances
General
The Industrial Condition of Women and Girls in Honolulu: A Social Study
Blascoer, Frances
Child labor -- Hawaii -- Honolulu; Honolulu (Hawaii) -- Social conditions; Women -- Employment -- Hawaii -- Honolulu
A factory for the manufacture of muslin underwear, sheets, pillow cases,
mosquito nets, starting with not more than ten employes.
A canvass of the five leading dry-goods shops showed that there is
undoubtedly a market for a sufficient amount of underwear alone to keep
a factory busy at least six months in the year. This is especially true
since the pake shops making these articles are finding it difficult to
obtain help, the Chinese boys preferring to go into the mercantile shops
and factories. A number of small Japanese shops for the manufacture of
shirts and shirt waists are finding their work profitable; but the
manufacture of underwear requires organizing and concentrating.
In addition to the dry-goods shops in the regular shopping district, a
cheaper grade of underwear could be sold to the shops in the Oriental
section of the city, which now carry a regular line of American
underwear at prices considerably above those asked on the mainland. For
instance, a nightgown selling at $1.00 in San Francisco brings $1.35 or
even $1.50 here.
Such an establishment should be managed by two trained people; one
combining the office detail and selling end with the help of a
stenographer and bookkeeper; the other designing and cutting, and in
charge of employing and directing the working force. For the latter
position it might be possible to secure a woman; but someone with
training and practical experience in the underwear business would be
indispensable.
Managers of the dry-goods establishments in Honolulu say that if the raw
materials were purchased direct from the factory, they believe the
enterprise would be successful. A few well-made, well-cut articles to
start with would be more desirable than a great variety, they say. A
display room to which the community might be invited, would be
desirable, and would tend to create a demand for the articles made.
It has also been suggested in connection with such a factory that
unfinished overalls in large quantities—10,000 dozen—could be had for
finishing from San Francisco, where there is difficulty under the new
eight-hour law in getting the work done. This class of work is, however,
usually the poorest paid of any of the home industries, and the matter
should be carefully looked into.
The present demand (yearly) in the five establishments canvassed is as
follows:
QUANTITY AND QUALITY OF MUSLIN UNDERWEAR AND LINGERIE PURCHASED PER
YEAR BY FIVE DRY-GOODS SHOPS.[1]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account