On my second day I was put at a table with some new girls and I tried to get them to talk. I was surprised to find that they are very timid about telling their names, where they live or how. I endeavored by every means a woman knows, to get an invitation to visit their homes, but did not succeed.
“How much can girls earn here?” I asked the forewoman.
“I do not know,” she said; “they never tell each other, and the bosses keep their time.”
“Have you worked here long?” I asked.
“Yes; I have been here eight years, and in that time I have taught my three sisters.”
“Is the work profitable?”
“Well, it is steady; but a girl must have many years’ experience before she can work fast enough to earn much.”
The girls all seem happy. During the day they would make the little building resound with their singing. A song would be begun on the second floor, probably, and each floor would take it up in succession, until all were singing. They were nearly always kind to one another. Their little quarrels did not last long, nor were they very fierce. They were all extremely kind to me, and did all they could to make my work easy and pleasant. I felt quite proud when able to make an entire box.
There were two girls at one table on piecework who had been in a great many box factories and had had a varied experience.
“Girls do not get paid half enough at any work. Box factories are no worse than other places. I do not know anything a girl can do where by hard work she can earn more than $6 a week. A girl cannot dress and pay her boarding on that.”