Feeding Litho Machines.—He used to have boys, and a few years ago introduced girls. They were much better at it, cleaner, quieter, and more careful to place the paper exactly than boys.
He still had boys for feeding letter-press machines—why, he did not quite know, except that it was the custom; then, having thought about it, he said further, that it was because less care was needed. Girls were no cheaper than the boys were, and were introduced solely on account of being better workers.
He had no women compositors, and employed only 12 men, and he did not see how he could work the two together, though he did not see why women should not do all the setting-up and the display work, though they could not lift the formes. He did not think the Union objected. It never had been the custom though.
He never had women to work cutting machines. The men would object.
Women never rose to mind the printing litho machines; he did not think they could do it.
He had only one platen machine, worked and fed by a boy; but in some places, where cheap things were done by this machine, e.g., paper bags, girls attended to it.
Men used to do folding in his youth, and they still did stationers' folding, notepaper, etc., in some houses.
HOME WORK.—The firm gave out a certain amount of folding when there was a press of work. The forewoman knew of old hands and others who could do it at home. He considered that to be quite a convenient arrangement.
INFLUENCE ON FAMILY INCOME.—Many of the job hands were married women, who liked to come out occasionally for a few extra shillings. Others were single girls, who preferred to be paid by the piece, and go about from house to house, making as much as time workers for shorter hours.