We are planning to have this school in operation within the next month. The writer expects to be responsible for the results. We expect to take one good man from our own plant as an instructor, and we are also in communication with an instructor from a college in a Western State whom we may have in direct charge of this work should he prove to be the proper person.
At the present time we have in our factory about 75 female employees, on Lathes, Milling Machines, Grinders, Finishing Gauges, Lapping, etc., also inspectors, timekeepers and stock chasers.
Since your last visit we have employed a trained nurse who is in charge of the employment and welfare work of all women employed in the factory. This we have found has given us much better results and can truthfully say that with very few exceptions, every girl employed is certainly making good.
We have one instance where a man employed in the screw machine department, employed in that capacity for about a year, was having trouble in not producing on his machine. We had him exchange machines with a woman who had had a month’s experience and found that she practically doubled his output the first day.
(Signed) J. D. Sherman, Factory Manager.
August 5, 1918.
GLEASON WORKS
Rochester, N. Y.
When you came to Rochester we were very much impressed with the suggestions you made as to the introduction of women into industry. We sent two representatives together with others from Rochester to Dayton, as you advised, to investigate the conditions there and also in Cincinnati. The excellent arrangements made by the Cincinnati manufacturers to relieve the shortage of labor by placing women at work in machine shops and elsewhere were extremely interesting.
After learning what had been done we started using women in our machine shop in line with your idea and the results have been very satisfactory. * * * It is not a question of economy with us but of releasing men for other work in the foundry which women cannot perform. We believe that an intensive training of two weeks would enable women to turn out practically as much work as men are now doing.