SKILL.—The girls need arm strength. Artistic taste is also required. Some never make good stampers on account of deficiency in taste.
MACHINERY.—Machinery has not displaced women.
HOURS.—The hours worked are from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., with one hour for dinner, and half an hour for tea; on Saturdays, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
PROSPECTS.—Girls may rise to forewomen. "There is a little girl of fifteen now, who has only been here a year, and the other day Mr. I. (who does not say things when he does not mean them) told her that she would rise to be forewoman one day. She is very good at her work and knows how things should look."
GENERAL.—The girls are very comfortable here. They have a room to themselves upstairs, and a dining room and a stove to cook on.
20. F., Stationery Firm in London. Employee's Evidence.
WORK.—(1) Envelope folding, which includes creasing, gumming, and shuffling.
(2) Envelope cementing.
(3) Plain stamping.
(4) Relief stamping.