PROSPECTS.—There are no prospects except for the girls in the binding room. The present forewoman ("a jewel") had been with the firm for thirty years; one or two others whom she had trained could take her place.
ORGANISATION.—He had no knowledge of any Women's Unions covering the women employed here. This is a Society house in every branch for the men, but the manager said, "Trades Unionism is all humbug," and he would like to do away with it altogether, if possible; but it is so strong in London that if you want to get good men you must be a Society house.
MARRIED AND UNMARRIED.—He employed 2 or 3 married women amongst litho feeders. The firm ask no questions, but he said he knew most of the workers.
A lot of the job hands were married, but none of the regular hands in binding room.
LEGISLATION.—In manager's opinion legislation had not in any way injured the position of women workers. It did not affect him at all. He never employed men to fold at night, because it would not pay. Occasionally, when the litho machines had to be kept working late, he had to draft in men from other departments to feed them, and he could understand that a small printer, without different departments, would find it awkward.
He would not himself have the place open at night with girls working in it. He would not take the responsibility of that; they would "lark about, etc." He thought it all to the women's advantage that they must not work at night.
The intentions of the Factory Acts are good, and he approved of them in principle, but there was a lot of humbug about them and the L.C.C. regulations,[95] e.g., making him have six basins for lavatory for his workers. They never used more than two, preferring to follow each other, and they broke the others, and then round came the inspector and said you must have six.
[95] This is allowed to stand as an indication of the frequent misunderstandings our investigators met with regarding the L.C.C. This body appeared to be charged with everything that caused irritation.
The L.C.C. put a premium on burglary by making it compulsory to have a way out on to the roof. The Factory Inspector was not a practical man, and ordered a great deal of unnecessary fencing of machinery. He told me how one night he kept the girls late without giving notice (the work came in unexpectedly), and sat by the telephone so as to send up notice to the forewoman if the inspector came. It was not the Factory Acts which kept women from being compositors.
MEN AND WOMEN.—Women did litho artists' work at home, and there was no reason why they should not be quite as good at it as men. It was paid by the merits of the sketch.