Women in the Printing Trades Part 23

There was one man doing the illuminating required and working at a rather heavy press. There was also a good number of youths doing numbering. I tried vainly to find out what they were paid. The manager and the foreman said that they were not doing the same work; it was the same except that a name was stamped on as well as a number (it was on money orders). Two girls were also doing this, but I was a.s.sured that that was only "by accident." Two or three boys were perforating and stamping.

DEPARTMENT II.--LITHO PRINTING. Girls were feeding machines and washing rollers. About 12 girls were employed.

DEPARTMENT III.--MACHINE RULING. Little girls were feeding the ruling machines, and a few older ones were counting and folding the foolscap paper; 18 girls were employed.

DEPARTMENT IV.--BOOKBINDING AND SEWING. All sorts of folding, sewing and st.i.tching (by machine mostly), eyeletting, etc., etc., were being carried on, and about 45 girls were employed.

DEPARTMENT V.--VELLUM WORK. Sewing, folding, etc., for account books and ledgers was being done; 15 girls were employed, also one girl "laying-on" for cloth work, and two or three running errands.

DEPARTMENT VI.--In the WAREHOUSE were three girls folding notepaper.

REGULARITY.--Work here is constant all the year round. The forewoman in the book-folding department said they only had in job hands about twice a year.

HOURS.--The firm works about 54 hours per week, _i.e._, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., with one hour for dinner, half an hour for tea, and ten minutes for lunch. On Sat.u.r.days they work from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

OVERTIME.--It was very difficult to get anything definite about overtime pay. The manager first said that they all got 6_d._ an hour overtime.

Then he said that piece workers were simply paid at piece rates. The forewoman in the book-folding department said that time hands got 4_d._ an hour overtime. In the vellum work they never had any overtime. These extra payments seem to be irregularly made.

PROSPECTS.--The girls can rise to forewoman's position, here or elsewhere. Vellum work forewoman mentioned that two of her young ladies had become forewomen elsewhere.

ORGANISATION.--The manager knew that a Women's Union existed, but thought it was more of a Benefit Society than anything else. He a.s.sured me that the problem of the organisation of women's labour was the problem in trade, and seemed vaguely to regret that women were so helpless and ready to be cut down.

MARRIED AND UNMARRIED.--The manager estimated twelve years as the average period that a woman remained in the trade. He fancied that there were a good many married women here; but when we went round and asked the different heads of departments we found that the only married ones were 2 in the litho department, _i.e._, 2 out of 12 in that department, _i.e._, 2 out of about 128 employed altogether. In the other departments the forewomen or foremen did not care to have them because they were so irregular. "You can never count on them." Two widows were employed in the book-folding department. The head of the litho department had only lately found out that two of his employees were married--one had run away from her husband, the other's husband was a stone polisher and she had to come out to keep the house going. The manager was very decided that undoubtedly married women's work tended to lower wages. They only want a little to supplement their husbands' earnings. He explained afterwards that his remarks applied more to the provinces than to London. He thought that the thing to aim at in improving the industrial position of women was the abolition of the married woman worker. How this could be done he could not say. The forewoman of the book-folding and sewing department, who had had some experience of married jobbers, said that they would not do ordinary work at ordinary rates, as they did not consider it worth their while. They had not _got_ to earn any money, as they had husbands to fall back upon. The manager said that in the litho department the single girls thought it _infra dig._ to wash the rollers, but the married women "made no bones about it."

LEGISLATION.--In no case had women been turned away because of restrictive legislation. A certain amount of folding and st.i.tching has to be done by men at night, and he would say that about 2 or 3 men were employed at this for about one hour five nights in the week. Sometimes the folding was not ready till 11 p.m., and the men had to hang about before. The manager thought that the chief grievance of the Factory Acts was that if only one woman in a department was employed overtime, one of the thirty legal nights was thereby used up. The manager thought that it was forty-eight nights you might work overtime, and seemed surprised on looking up the notices to find that it was thirty only. He approved of Factory Legislation on the whole, and thought that women had benefited by it. Personally, he would like to see all overtime abolished by law for men and women. Men worked worse next day when they had had to sit up at night. Public bodies were the worst offenders in the matter, "They have no consciences." The forewoman of the folding and sewing, where overtime was worked, said that her girls disliked overtime very much; and she did not think it worth while working them, as they could do less work next day in consequence. She had much rather that the men did it at night. She and the manager agreed that in places where women did not make a decent wage by working ordinary hours they might want to work at night. As to the effect Factory Legislation had upon the diverting of work from the home to the workshop, or _vice versa_, the manager thought that the tendency had been for work to come in to the factory. There used to be much more home work.

MEN AND WOMEN.--According to the manager, there is a hard and fast line drawn by the various Societies in London as to what a woman may or may not do.

In _Bookbinding_ of all descriptions she is practically confined to folding and sewing. She may not touch a glue brush or do any putting of paper books or magazines into paper covers.

In the provinces, on the other hand, the rules of the Consolidated Societies are different. A woman may do flush binding (_i.e._, books whose covers are cut on a level with the leaves and which have no "turnings in") up and foolscap size, two quires. Hence women do diaries, etc. In certain works at Tonbridge women are set to do this.

_Litter-press Printing._--This firm had never tried female compositors.

They had 100 men. If they tried to introduce women, all the men would go out and "you'd have a hornet's nest." The idea of paying women at the same rate as men struck them as ridiculous. "They would never be worth as much because they stay such a little time." They might some day try women compositors in their country establishment.

_Feeding Printing Machines._--They might not employ women on platen machines because of the Union, but were going to try them on smallish letter-press machines. The Union had no objection to that.

_Machine Ruling._--The firm only had little girls for feeding. The foreman remarked that at R.'s, "over the water," they had women to do most of their ruling, but did not seem to think that it would be worth while to train a woman for it. At first he said that the Men's Union would object, then said that he thought they would not; only he would have to give the woman the same pay as a man, "and fancy giving a woman 32_s._ a week!" This was uttered in a tone of supreme contempt. The manager remarked that he supposed it would not matter paying the woman the same if she did as much work, but the foreman smiled superior to the idea.

WOMEN AND MACHINERY.--The manager thought that the output of printed matter had increased so enormously since the introduction of machinery that more hands than ever were employed.

The forewoman of the folding and sewing department said that it seemed as if there must be fewer employed, and yet she had never turned any off.

HOME WORK.--No home work is given out by the firm. Since so much was done by machinery it was not worth while to send work out.

INFLUENCE ON FAMILY INCOME.--The manager and forewoman and foreman said that none of the girls were working for pocket-money. Most lived at home and helped their parents; some who had no parents lived with relatives.

GENERAL.--The premises were rather nice and the people looked superior and friendly. There was a great gulf fixed between the litho girls and the others. The latter look down tremendously on these former and would not think of speaking to them. They are a much lower set to look at and their language is reported not to be choice. Many of them were arrayed in curlers, whilst none of the girls in other departments wore these decorations.

The vellum sewers were said by their forewoman to be "a nice family party."

9. _Lithographic Firm. General Information._

GENERAL.--I saw the manager; he was "very much on the spot," friendly and communicative, and took me all over the works and was quite interested in showing different processes. He said he had to look sharp after his workers, and so they often thought him a bully.

WORK.--Chief work done is lithography, but there is also a certain amount of letter-press work. Engraving and stationery orders are given out in sub-contract.

TRAINING.--In the binding room, _i.e._, where folding is done, there are no learners now, but they need to have one or two. These apprentices were taken on from fourteen years of age without premiums, and were kept two or three years according to ability. They were paid a few shillings to begin with, and, if good at their work, they rose gradually. If slow and stupid, they got nothing. The forewoman said she did not care to take learners now; "they are more trouble than they are worth."

In the litho room the firm never had apprentices. The new hands come in and begin "taking-off" for about 8_s._ By-and-by, according to their nimbleness, they are elevated to "layers-on."

In card mounting there is no training. It is picked up in a few months, and new hands start at about 8_s._ per week, time wages.

WAGES.--_Binding Room._--The staff (12 girls) are all on time work, the extra hands are paid piece work. Time wages range from 12_s._ to 14_s._ I was shown last week's wages, and they ranged from 7_s._ to 15_s._, the forewoman having 1 2_s._ 6_d._; 7_s._ to 8_s._ was the predominant figure. Job hands on piece "make as much as 15_s._ in a full week," I was informed, but the wage book that week showed they had only made about 7_s._ or 8_s._

For overtime, time and a quarter is paid to all time workers, ordinary rates to piece workers.

_Litho Work._--All wages in this department are time wages, and vary from 8_s._ to 12_s._ or 14_s._ In the wages book the predominant figure was 7_s._; there were two 5_s._ and some 8_s._, and up to 12_s._ When bronzing the workers appeared to get 1_s._ extra.

_Card Mounting._--All time wages paid here, and they were said to range from 8_s._ to 12_s._ In the wages book, however, 6_s._ and 7_s._ were the predominant figures. Some were as low as 5_s._, and there were a few girls who had drawn 8_s._

NO. EMPLOYED.--There were about 200 employees, of whom one-third were women. The number fluctuated, I was told.

_Litho Artists' Work._--8 or 9 men were employed on this, but no women on the premises. The firm often accepted sketches from lady artists living outside, some of whom could even work on stone.

_Litho Machine Work._--Girls are employed feeding litho machines, and they have about 30 when busy. When I was there only about 12 were engaged. When bronzing by hand is wanted these girls are set to it (13 were doing it last week). In the same room is

_Card Mounting._--There were only 3 girls at that, but sometimes there are as many as 12 or 13. This consists of pasting the advertis.e.m.e.nt, almanac, etc., on to a piece of cardboard, varnishing it, eyeletting it, tying the bits of cord through (the 3 girls were doing that), and sometimes putting gelatine over the surface--a minor trade, at which they get better paid.

The same girls do occasional work in the _cutting_ room; not at the big guillotines, but (_a_) at feeding a machine which cuts the strips down or blocks into bent shapes like a small almanac of ----'s mustard which I saw; (_b_) at putting shapes on to huge piles of sheets of advertis.e.m.e.nts and labels, which are then pressed into the sheets by a heavy top weight being brought down by steam. They were doing some big "flies," on to which a string was to be put, so that they could be whirled round and buzz.

_Binding Room._--There were only about 12 girls employed, but there was room for 100, and they have them in at a press of work. They do folding by hand in this firm for certain newspapers and all sorts of advertis.e.m.e.nts. Wire st.i.tching is also done. They were folding various things, packing up labels, and so on, when I was there.

REGULARITY.--The firm's trade fluctuates, but by no regular fixed seasons; they are always busy before Christmas.

HEALTH.--I was told that it was quite a mistake to think bronzing unhealthy. The manager stated he had known men at it for months at a time without any evil effects. They sometimes imagined themselves ill, but he had never known of a single case of real illness. They grumble at doing it, and pretend that they are afraid of it because then they get extra money (1_s._ extra a week). They really object to it because it is bad for clothes--as you get covered with dust--and uncomfortable to be all powdered with gold.

He had a machine below on which most work was done, except when there was a great press. Messrs. ---- gave him out so many thousand to do; he could not do them fast enough with only one machine, and it was not worth while having more than one as he had not work enough ordinarily.

No dust escaped from the machine. As a proof of the healthiness of bronzing he said that he stood for three or four hours in the middle of it all, "keeping them to their work" (which they want), and got all covered over with the dust himself. "You wouldn't get a manager doing that himself if it were unhealthy." He always gave his bronzers one pint of milk a day to drink, he stated with pride.

The other work, folding, card mounting, etc., was all quite healthy.

Indeed, work was unhealthy more on account of bad ventilation than of any circ.u.mstance belonging to itself; he always had the window open and a board put across the bottom, 6 ins. high, on the most approved plan.

The workpeople grumbled very much and tried to paste up every crevice with brown paper, but they could not shut it. They objected to the incandescent burners which he put in, for they liked the heat of the gas and missed it.

DANGERS.--Occasionally girls catch their skirts in wheels and so on, but there are never any "bad accidents." "With people of that cla.s.s it is 'funk' more than pain that they suffer; they will turn as white as anything from just a little flesh wound with a cog-wheel." The Factory Inspectors were very fussy about fencing machinery, he thought. He told me long stories about men's carelessness and how the boys would sit on the edge of the lift. He fined them 2_s._ 6_d._ for it.

HOURS.--The hours are about 54 a week, from 8 a.m. to 6.30 p.m., with one hour for dinner. The women are allowed by the forewomen to have lunch in the middle of the morning and tea in the afternoon, and when the men are industrious the manager has no objection to their taking "snacks." If it is an idler, he objects.