3. Jobbing day-workers, or those who work single-handed for the public (without the intervention of an “employer”) and are paid by the day. These mostly go out to work at persons’ houses and frequently have their food found them. Among the tailors and carpenters this practice is called “whipping the cat.”
4. “Co-operative men,” or those who work in “association” for their own profit, obtaining their work directly from the public, without the intervention of an “employer.”
Lastly, Operatives admit of being arranged into two distinct classes, viz., the superior, or higher-priced, and the inferior, or lower-priced.
The superior, or higher-priced, operatives consist of—
1. The skilful.
2. The trustworthy.
3. The well-conditioned.
The inferior, or lower-priced operatives, on the other hand, are composed of—
1. The unskilful; as the old or superannuated, the young (including apprentices and “improvers”), the slow, and the awkward.
2. The untrustworthy; as the drunken, the idle, and the dishonest. Some of the cheap workers, whose wages are minimized almost to starvation point, so that honesty becomes morally impossible, have to deposit a certain sum of money, or to procure two householders to act as security for the faithful return of the work given out to them.
3. The inexpensive, consisting of—