The Woman Who Toils: Being the Experiences of Two Gentlewomen as Factory GirlsVan Vorst, John, Mrs.
History
The Woman Who Toils: Being the Experiences of Two Gentlewomen as Factory Girls
Van Vorst, John, Mrs.
Child labor -- United States; Women -- Employment -- United States; Working class -- United States
I do not see my friend of the morning, the overseer, in the
"weave-room"; indeed, there is no one to direct me; but I discover,
after climbing the stairs, a room of flying spools and more subdued
machinery, and it appears that the spool-room is this man's especial
charge. He consigns to me a standing job. A set of revolving spools is
designated, and he secures a pretty young girl of about sixteen, who
comes cheerfully forward and consents to "learn" me.
Spooling is not disagreeable, and the room is the quietest part of the
mill--noisy enough, but calm compared to the others. In Excelsior this
room is, of course, enormous, light and well ventilated, although the
temperature, on account of some quality of the yarn, is kept at a point
of humidity far from wholesome.
"Spooling" is hard on the left arm and the side. Heart disease is a
frequent complaint amongst the older spoolers. It is not dirty compared
to shoe-making, and whereas one stands to "spool," when one is not
waiting for yarn it is constant movement up and down the line. The fact
that there are more children than young girls, more young girls than
women, proves the simplicity of this task. The cotton comes from the
spinning-room to the spool-room, and as the girl stands before her
"side," as it is called, she sees on a raised ledge, whirling in rapid
vibration, some one hundred huge spools full of yarn; whilst below her,
each in its little case, lies a second bobbin of yarn wound like a
distaff.
Her task controls machinery in constant motion, that never stops except
in case of accident.
With one finger of her right hand she detaches the yarn from the distaff
that lies inert in the little iron rut before her. With her left hand
she seizes the revolving circle of the large spool's top in front of
her, holding this spool steady, overcoming the machinery for the moment
not as strong as her grasp. This demands a certain effort. Still
controlling the agitated spool with her left hand, she detaches the end
of yarn with the same hand from the spool, and by means of a patent
knotter harnessed around her palm she joins together the two loosened
ends, one from the little distaff and one from this large spool, so that
the two objects are set whirling in unison and the spool receives all
the yarn from the distaff. Up and down this line the spooler must walk
all day long, replenishing the iron grooves with fresh yarn and
reknitting broken strands. This is all that there is of "spooling." It
demands alertness, quickness and a certain amount of strength from the
left arm, and that is all! To conceive of a woman of intelligence
pursuing this task from the age of eight years to twenty-two on down
through incredible hours is not salutary. You will say to me, that if
she demands nothing more she is fit for nothing more. I cannot think it.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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