Читать книгу The Industrial Condition of Women and Girls in Honolulu: A Social Study - Frances Blascoer - Страница 7

CONSTRUCTIVE SUGGESTIONS

Table of Contents

It is only five years ago since the Pittsburgh Survey commenced the investigation which was the first exhaustive attempt to interpret an industrial community to employers of labor, as well as to the community at large; and since the publication of Miss Butler’s Women and the Trades in 1909—the first of the six volumes of the Survey to appear—more than one city has made inquiry into the conditions under which the women and girls of the community were earning their livelihood. Notable among these inquirers have been those made by the Women’s City Club of Chicago, under the auspices of the Russell Sage Foundation; by the Kansas City Board of Public Welfare, which began in February, 1911, and is still in process; and by the Russell Sage Foundation for Birmingham, Ala., the latter being a reportorial survey rather than the intensive investigation made in Pittsburgh.

Five years before any of these surveys were undertaken, however, a committee composed of sociologists, economists, philanthropists and educators not only made a special investigation of the workrooms of New York City, but reached conclusions which concretely express at any rate the salient points brought out by every survey which has since been made: (1) that wages of unskilled labor were declining and in most cases insufficient to maintain the worker according to the minimum community standard of living; (2) that while there were in many directions good opportunities for skilled labor, the supply was inadequate; (3) that the condition of the young, inexpert working girls must be ameliorated by the opening of training classes for those who have reached the age to obtain working papers; and later experience has shown, (4) that a vocational bureau established in connection with the public schools tends to help girls make the most of their equipment and guides them away from the occupations which do not offer the right sort of opportunity.

The survey in Honolulu confirms the conclusions reached in other communities only partially. Here the wages of unskilled labor are advancing, although they are still insufficient to maintain the worker according to the minimum community standard of living, for the reason that the only occupation in which any number of unskilled girls and women are at present employed, i. e. the canneries, affords them employment during only four months of the year. The second finding, that while there are in many directions good opportunity for skilled labor the supply is inadequate, is true here only partially. There are only two occupations, that of seamstress and that of stenographer which offer opportunity to any number, and in each there is every indication that at least fifty more experienced workers could be used without crowding the present workers. The third finding, that the condition of young, inexpert working girls must be ameliorated by the opening of training classes for those who have reached the age to obtain working papers, applies unqualifiedly in Honolulu; but their condition must be ameliorated in a number of other ways as well. Honolulu is faced, in fact, with the unique problem of evolving new enterprises to take care of its women and girl workers, in addition to creating the machinery for dealing with those now in existence according to the most progressive methods in operation elsewhere.

Fortunately the survey has uncovered community needs unfilled, as well as suggested avenues of employment which there is every reason to believe could be made profitable with intelligent management; and with this in mind, together with the possibilities of creating other preventive and educational social machinery, the following suggestions are made:

MUSLIN UNDERWEAR FACTORY.

Table of Contents

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]
ARTICLES.	Price per dozen, (Wholesale).	No. dozen used per year.	Sizes most used.	REMARKS.
Aprons	$6.00, 9.00, 15.00, 18.00.	14	Medium.	Reported by three firms.
Chemises	$6.00, 7.50, 9.00, 12.00, 28.00, 36.00, 48.00.	242	32-44, inclusive	One firm reports majority sold handmade.
Combinations: corset covers and drawers	$7.50, 9.00, 12.00, 24.00, 36.00, 60.00	80	32-44, inclusive
Corset covers and skirts	$7.50, 9.00, 12.00, 36.00, 60.00.	130	32-44, inclusive
Corset covers	$2.25, 4.00, 4.50, 5.00, 6.00, 15.00, 24.00.	91	34-40, inclusive	One firm reports few sold.
Drawers	$2.25, 4.50, 5.75, 11.50, 24.00.	126	23-27	One firm reports little demand.
Muslin or Nainsook princess slips	$9.00, 12.00, 24.00, 36.00, 48.00, 50.00.	310	36-40, inclusive	One firm reports little demand.
Skirts	$4.50, 6.00, 12.00, 24.00, 60.00, 108.00.	208	all sizes, 36-42
Kimonos	$6.00, 12.00, 36.00, 48.00, 60.00, 96.00.	25	32-44
Dressing sacques	$4.50, 9.00, 12.00, 18.00, 30.00, 48.00.	97	32-44

1. At present these articles are purchased in New York City.