Press enter after choosing selection

The Sewing Girls Of New York

The Sewing Girls Of New York image
Parent Issue
Day
24
Month
August
Year
1882
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

In a eonimunication to the New York Sun, William Lochead diacusscs a matter to which those who are enjoying prosperity and living in comfort will do well to give attention. He says : "There are no human beings on the face of God's earth who work harder for email wages than the sewing girls of New Vork city. Thousands of them inake calicó shirts for tbirty cents a dozen, and are compelled to do so to keep body and soul together. Some of these girl8 have to support their aged parents, and othera their infant brothers and sisters, all on these starvation wages. You ask, how they candoit? Many a poor sewing girl could teil you how it is done with an aching heart, and thi3 would be what they would teil you: 'We get up at the break of day and commence work, and ofüümes work till the clock strikeu midnight. Our food consists of bread and water, or bread and molasses.' Such a condition of things is an outrage and and an inhuman disgrace in aChristian country. It is of vital importance to every sewing girl in tbis city and Brooklyn that a sewing girl 's unión aid society shouid be organized to enable them to demand respectable wages. I ara satisüed that the public at large wouldassist them to holdout for living wages. I myself do not uphold strikes in many cases, but in their case it seema at present the only available way to obtain justice. What is wantcd is a woman of means to furnish money to hire a ball and advertise a sewing girls' meeting for the purpose of orgauizing such a unión as I have described. If I had the means, nothing on earth would give me more pleasure than to hire a hall and organize a sewtaig girls' union aid society."

Article

Subjects
Old News
Ann Arbor Democrat