ORGANISATION.—The head did not know if there was a Union or not. "They do not give us any trouble."
MARRIED AND UNMARRIED.—Only 1 or 2 married women were employed by the firm, and they were confined to the colouring department. One married woman had been there fourteen years.
LEGISLATION.—My informant did not consider that legislation had injured the woman worker at all, but had benefited her by lessening her hours of labour. Legislation was very hard on him, however, especially in the paper colouring and varnishing work. "A customer comes in with some work at 1 o'clock on a Saturday. You say you cannot do it till Monday. 'Well,' he says, 'I shall get it done elsewhere.' People working at home are found to do it, and as they have not got the machinery or appliances it means that they work at it all Sunday, and make their little children of nine or ten work too, whereas the grown women may not work an hour longer in factories." Mr. —— evidently feels bitterly about this. It would not pay to keep men on this kind of work. He would like more than thirty days a year exemption for overtime. Besides, the girls would often like to make a few shillings extra overtime. This was corroborated by the paper-staining girl.
MEN AND WOMEN.—In the head's youth men used to do all the card mounting; women were introduced for it about twenty-eight years ago. They were brought in because the men drank so and kept away from work. Men used to do paper colouring and varnishing, too, and were replaced by women for the same reason. The Unions gave no trouble about this.
No women were employed in book-edge gilding by this firm. Mr. —— and an old man employee said that some people got their wives to help lay-on the gold and so on, but it did not come to much.
MACHINERY.—Paper colouring and enamelling machinery has diminished women's work considerably. The head used to have 45 women at it—two whole floors—and now only has 11. It is done by machinery elsewhere. A certain amount is still done by hand, and must always be, as it is not worth while putting anything under five reams on a machine.
Varnishing.—The head invented the present machines because the women kept away so. There used to be many more women in the trade.
Card Mounting.—No machines are employed for this. Girls can feed the rotary cutting machine, but it is generally done by a man.
HOME WORK.—No work is sent out from here. A good deal of paper colouring and of varnishing is done by people in their own homes (see under "Legislation").
FAMILY INCOME.—Very little information on this subject could be had here. One girl in the varnishing room was pointed out to me, dressed in black, whose father had recently died. She was the eldest of eleven, and was "keen on picking up an extra shilling or two."