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 don't care what trouble I was in, I wouldn't call in that Irish
woman. I don't have anything to do with her. I'd rather get the Dago
next door." And hereafter follows a mild tirade against the
Italians--the same sentiments I have heard expressed before in the
labouring centres.
[Illustration: CHICAGO TYPES]
"They're kind folks and good neighbours," Mrs. Brown explains, "but
they're different from us. They eat what the rest of us throw away, and
there's no work they won't do. They're putting money aside fast; most of
'em owns their own houses; but since they've moved into this
neighbourhood the price of property's gone down. I don't have nothing to
do with 'em. We don't any of us. They're not like us; they're
different."
Without letting a day elapse I started early the following morning in
search of a new job. The paper was full of advertisements, but there was
some stipulation in each which narrowed my possibilities of getting a
place, as I was an unskilled hand. There was, however, one simple "Girls
wanted!" which I answered, prepared for anything but an electric sewing
machine.
The address took me to a more fashionable side of the city, near the
lake; a wide expanse of pale, shimmering water, it lay a refreshing
horizon for eyes long used to poverty's quarters. Like a sea, it rolled
white-capped waves toward the shore from its far-away emerald surface
where sail-freighted barks traveled at the wind's will. Free from man's
disfiguring touch, pure, immaculate, it appeared bridelike through a
veil of morning mist. And at its very brink are the turmoil and
confusion of America's giant industries. In less than an hour I am
receiving wages from a large picture frame company in East Lake Street.
Once more I have made the observation that men are more agreeable bosses
than women. The woman, when she is not exceptionally disagreeable, like
Frances, is always annoying. She bothers and nags; things must be done
her way; she enjoys the legitimate minding of other people's business.
Aiming at results only, the masculine mind is more tranquil. Provided
you get your work done, the man boss doesn't care what methods you take
in doing it. For the woman boss, whether you get your work done or not,
you must do it her way. The overseer at J.'s picture frame manufactory
is courteous, friendly, considerate. I have a feeling that he wishes me
to cooeperate with him, not to be terrorized and driven to death by him.
My spirits rise at once, my ambition is stimulated, and I desire his
approval. The work is all done by the piece, he explains to me, telling
me the different prices. The girls work generally in teams of three,
dividing profits. Nothing could be more modern, more middle-class, more
popular, more philistine than the production of J.'s workrooms. They are
the cheap imitations fed to a public hungry for luxury or the semblance
of it. Nothing is genuine in the entire shop. Water colours are imitated
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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