TII2 CHECCrJ SUIvDAY JOUTJJAL, .TO3TLAHIV SUNDAY HORNING; HARQI ; 17, f907
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Tho Matinee. Hour
WING found himself ,
on the main . business .
street of Troy, t '
- York, at the. noon
- Aor o rfajr recently t
a stranger hunted itfc
policeman lA-T
"flrtf t policemen in
. Troy, for a reason
which xvill presently
appear i asked: .
"IFhat convention is meeting heret Is it the
.' -National Association ' of CoEds?l A "
.,; fWo no convention at all, that I know
of.', fVhyt". v '. -v - V
- . , r An' excited sweep of the visitor's arm
'up and down the street. Then: -.p. -
v v '"J'But the girls t JF here did they come
: , fromt , ' Why, it must have rained girls here
T last night -There seem ta be thousands ofi
, them in sight! - Gracious, man Have you
I nothing but women in this city?"
r. "Oh, yes, a few others'-and the blue
coat smiled i broadly-ubut the minority of ,
males in our population don't keep us police- -
.men very busy, for, you see, this is' a woman's .
,lown' and the men have to behave. . t
-:-it -rr Troy might well be termed the woman's -.
: city :.pf its 76,000 inhabitants,, by fa the
majori(y are females. Not only that, but its .
lr,- industrial life is composed of women, for they '
form over 6.0 percent, of the wage earners.
U The wages paid to the women workers- ex V
' ceed. those paid to men; Troy's payroll for '
J regularly employed women workers shows
disbursement of over $4,000,000 a year r
j - i Balls, inter'tamments and public functions :
K are supported by the women; theatre audi- :
: ences are composed, principally of women; - T
women predominate everywhere. It is, per
haps the only city in the world where the or
der of man's rule is revirsed in nearly all ex ,-.
'; cept political suffrage 'and office-holding. . v
TnvenDaj 6treef -Scene, the HcnVery Tcv '
1 ... .- i
IN N
r
N NO othr city In th woria, m far m known, a
wool an mth higher fM than men. That tnr o
Troy ' brought out iotii time ago whan a
comDarlson wa made. " -f ' . . "
It wii found that a great proportion of Troy'a work
Ing glrU were makln U to 138 a week. whUa the aver.
'age wages paM to trwa they are employed for only
V hary labor nd tanning machinery about the factories
" and laundrlea war but H to US a'week, -""v '
; But Troy la a woman' elty In ether ware In erery t
t way. Not the city of the matron, either, but of the ln . .
j dependent bachelor woman. .'' .'. '"...':'- .''' ''' i
. v Noonday In Troy la a good time to obeerre the exUnt '
ot feminine predominance. Iok which way you 4rlU, '
. It l girls, glrla, girls, - Shops, offloee and stores eon-
tribuu to the throng., but most of them coma from the
; collar factories and the laundries which every week do '
up the boiled shins and cuffs and collars for the halt
' of New York State.1' : ' --V ;. V
h ' Tes, and . some of them . coma : from the rawlng- ;
-rooms and parlors of the elite. But you'd never know '
the difference In dress, persona beauty or deportment.
: A woman's elty, but mora especially a working worn'
- en's city, Is Troy.- The number of women- actually em- v'
' ployed at gainful occupations la the city Is estimated at ;
J".wt. '::--';. ;
a An, estlmata of the number of men employed la tTOo, .
or MM leaa thaft women. '.
Men Hot Heccssary for Znjoyment , Qutinq Partly at Suburban -Hotel
prlety which obtain at a young woman's seminary may
.not be applied hero.'.., ;j :. ,: v.-..t j. 1
Theee girls are penned np m factories well TenO
lated and .comfortable factories, to be sure; but stin
offering no opportunity for exercise in the open air for'
ulna to ten hours eaoh day; and their only chance to get
that outdoor exercise so essential to health la at night .
. They walk by pairs or In groups, chatting, laughing,
reonperattng for the morrow' work. They frequent the
well-lighted business streets, principally. . ' :,
. The police 'and clergyman of Troy will, almost to
emriably, tell you that 'these sight strolls are entirely
' free from objectlonabl features. Refined ' in manner,
these girls give scant attention to - "rnaahere." - -'
Fairly well educated Is the average "collar girt."
Borne are high school graduates, but . the typical one
has finished only a srammarT school education, before
" starting to earn a livelihood. T
But a tmall percenUgs of them are natives of the
city where they work. Most ot them are drawn from a
radius of about fifty miles from Troy usually from the
smaller towna. They are girls whose. parent could not
afford to give them the advantage of higher education; .
they did not eara to go to work In any one's kitchen, and
chose this means of working- for a living, offering, a it
did, better than" living wages, and Independence.
. This lead to the question of marriage. Oh. yes, they
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Of the male waae earners probably not more than half
km employed In the
about the hotels. In the restaurant lt le a strange thing '
regular Industries; the other work
' tn ee o mnv msle welters serving food to the sir!.
- who occupy practically all. the table), about the livery
; stables, the railroad station, or in building and common '
laboring operations, . . ' v ..: " .:
fy ;r PRETTY AND CLEAN
In other words, if the Industries which are operated
' almost exclusively by female labor were to be eliminated
,.. v . I ,...- ,
. These glrla know that their moral tenor and their
social standing are Improved by neat appearance on the
rtreeta, whether going to work or out for a promenade!
and, as to the aspensrreness of their dress, they consider . -It
false economy to buy anything cheep. Besides, they
pay promptly tor what they boy, so why shouldn't they
suit themsslveaT t ; '. ; ; .i . ' .'.
The obvious result la that 'at : no time does the work
big girl feel that she la off duty as to etiquette. Bha ,
carries her confldenoe and self-respect with her to her
machine. She need not be ashamed to meet her most
exclusive friend on tha street.. And even while at work ,
aha 1 made cheerful by tha air of refinement aboot her- .
self and her fellow-workers. . .: t-1 -': "
t . Fashionably attired, displaying oostty Jewelry, work ,
Ing girls by the thousands may be seen on tha streets
any fine night. At first thought this might eem lm- '
proper, but it must bo considered that the rules of
' '' Stitchinq Podm ! '
O X -"ar con 'lrii'
(i'i' lK i.l j
do marry at times, for they are woman. But they do. not
marry indiscriminately, aa da many women elsewhere. ,
: Thera la hardly one ot them who has not rejected
several . proposals of marriage. The collar girt makes
it a practice to look well over the man who seeka her
hand, to study his prospects, his family, his past record,
his propensity for work. It la common enought hear a .
Troy girl say: "I Jilted htm because I prefer to keep on
supporting myself rather than undertake to support two. .
Those who say they have no Intention of marrying are
by far In the majority. f . 'V;" .'
And those Who do marry T Usually they do very well,
much better than tha average working girl elsewhere. . v
Several factory girls have become mistresses of man
alona la Troy. A former laundry girl is ths wife of one
of the principal laundry owners, a very wealthy man.
Bis society friends tn Troy say that he displayed com
mendable Judgment and Independence in marrying the
girl of his choloe, and they associate with her on perfect
equality. ,
. Another girl who was what Is commonly known as)
a "hello girl" tn a Troy telephone exchange la tha wlfi.
of a local millionaire. . . . : - .
. ... .......... ' C
A young woman who was employed as a atltoher 14
. a oollar factory married one of the partner In the bust
' ness. and la now a leader la local society.
. Remarkable as these Incidents are, they are almost
, equaled by many others la whleh lawyers, physicians
dentists and successful business men have married otr
Jlweirla.V.'Cvr' ' 1
'. Assuredly, these women ,;hav aharma, , OtbrwI
marrlageahla men of Troy could easily find Ufa partnac-4
by going to tha surrounding towns. Aa a matter of feat
It Is remarked by all visitors to Troy that the eollM
girls are exceptionally attractive as a class. '.'
They have their own social Ufa, differing from that ha
other cities mainly In that men are a negligible ualttM
"and all tha arrangements are mad and tha bills peXj
. by the women.' .. y'1 " :-,!. :. i
Bom time ago the women of soma factories and hum
,' dries arranged an entertainment and dance, wnlch w4
attended by soma 4000 girts and only 100 men. finch gut
contributed $1, " which entitled her to bring a frteruS,
Some men received as high aa forty Invitations, aotj
. . perhaps, so much on account of their great popularity
' as of the dearth of men In tha city. .. f s i
CAN HAVE BRIDESMAIDS GALORE 1
Bo strong are friendship's ties among tha Troy work '
" Ing girls that when "one weds she tisually haa thirty-o
; forty brldesmaida; tha number has reached one hundred,
This might appear like Imposing oh the bridegroom,
but In Troy the custom of giving presents tebrldesmaldg
la reversed, and they usually gtvo present to the bride.
... . While the general tenor of the coy girl' life Is one
of brightness, there Is many a little life tragedy being
slowly, dismally acted out tooths whirring musio
. dirge for them ot the sewjtig machines,' or tha chug ,
' chug ot. the washing machinery. - v
Soma of the worker are old women. Seated at a
machine tha otherday waa a woman of almost 70, pa
tteiitlr."liortouty eewing -bande en -collars etitciilTi. -
atltcbing. wltjs the thread of her life which, from ap
. pemranoe.jthe Fates might soon cut forever.
Aaojther woman said she had begun as a collar girl .
t years ago, had married, had been deprived by death
Ofone after another ot her relatives, and had finally
drifted hack to the occupation of her girlhood for a
living.;- .. A . tj....j. ,
- talented man, had a home, children, money, tha comforts
ot life; her three children died, her husband waa killed
la a railroad accident, and she, Inexperienced In businesa
matters, lost her money through deal with, land pro
moters; thsnn return to the oollar machine, where nowj
every vibration of tha treadle la paving her way down
th path of swiftly passing years. . .
, - Besides thoee regularly employed tn tha factories,
there are thousands who do oollar work at homo. A
. oommon sight In Troy Is a girl mayhap a married wo
man eea ted near the window ot her home, with nlmhla)
fingers stitching collar and cuffs. A hast? glance re
' veals mounds of white unflniahed work near at hand, and
one may note quick flashee ot whit aa eaoh collar I
deftly turned, creased, point picked out with a brad-awl
and bunched for pressing. This work Is called for bj
, men and boys who cart It to th factories in wagons.
Another minor as to which 'mare man Is put la Troy.
v.,V'V MANY WORK SECRETLY ' ' ' .
There are others-how many hundreds It would
. dimoult to say who work daily at collars and cuff toj
their homes, but behind drawn curtains, (or their aen
altlrenesa rather balks at th term "working woman."
. At the theatre, whether at matinee or evening per
t formanoe, th audience Is mainly female. Handsomely.
' gowned, th factory glrla occupy th best seats the
price , to them make no difference. They are ehronler
theatregoers, and patronise tha hjgh-prlced stars fully;
i as well as the vaudeville. . 4 -
Besides supplying their personal comforts arid neces
sities, they have money for the church and for charity
When on becomes 111. It 1 customary for th others ta
maks a collection and pay her the sam wages as It
she were .working. Another custom Is for a group ot
girls to divide among them th work of th absent one
and do It In addition to their own. '
When death occur, there Is a provision for tnsur
aac to be paid to surviving relative. There Is a vacew
tlon fund to' which a girl contribute what ah can
throughout th year, and tn th summer enjoys a rest at
seashor or mountain resort oa this fund. .
Tha Troy savings banks show a large gross sum to
. th credit of th working girl. One bank stars epea "
certain evening to- accommodate them. They are tha
principal depositors at all tha savings banks. '
:. So th Troy working glrl-th queen Of her kind
goe aeremly along her course, demonstrating her Inde
pendence, and asking no odda ot any one. .
there would be no Troy, at least not ths Troy which ha
been' famed tha country over ae the Collar City,' but
which might more aptly be termed the woman city.
"Jr
P.rh,na ona etaiement that has been made-iwthnt In ,
regard to the personal appearance ot the Troy working :
women should be elaborated at this point, lest th .
charrs of exaggeration be made.
To repeat, then, thee women are so well dreesed
and bear themselves with such grace and evidence of
good breeding that On the streets they could not be '
.einrfled out from the daughter ot wealth and fashion. ,
PIMUrai-jr, UU WII, UC.UUna.1. Wl, xvu ty, UW
can a woman go to work In her fineries, bedecked With
ee 11 on ner wr 10 enurco r
rny it -is possible ceoauae tn work don by the
women le eminently clean.- What is there to soil the -hxwla
ae cloth fa In the collar factorv. where tha
V material handled la nothing but clean white .men and '
thrend ut ae epotlessT And, as to th machinery wall,
that's the men's work. (They don't go to work clad in
their Sunday be.)
In the Imimliic, of eouree, the work Isn't quit so
cleanly; but this doen't prevent the girl from arrang
ing their toilet carefully before leaving work, and deft,
triurhee In the donning of street oostume obliterate th -evidence
ot toll. ,
The dree of the girls a they go to or from the fae
tori amaie the visitor. It Is rather the rule than th
exception to see them clad In silks, satins, expensive furs,
Perl hate and the oeateet and beet glove end ehoea.
Ho noticeable le thl that the unthinking sometime
refr to It aa e-ttravere.no. It I not. It Is Imply an
fvld i cf a high graue of Intelligence, .
I
N SOME part of Africa tha umbrella it -aned,
sot to protect tho tribal chiefs from th glara
of the tun or a heavy rainstorm, 1ut as an in
. a. - .' a. TuTu 1 TTT . . 1 . 1 , ,
eiBiiia vi uign ran. yoe reuae mm amonff
the blacks of Africa -who carries tHt mark of
nobility -f he' does not have royal blood in hit '
Yeint, or represent a dusky-hued t0Terirn. ,
t By thoir nmbrellas are kings and chiefs known;
by tha fabric, the fringes and tassels is th- degree
of Yenerntion accorded them determined. This use
of the umbrella s a mark of distinction it ancient,
otitfinating with tha EoyBtiant.' It was only dur
ing the course of centuries that it wag adopted for
practical use. ." Vv y , . ,
1 1
V
pew yo have get a shadow, aa nmbreUe,
To keep the acorehlng world's epielea
rrem yeur fair eriiti . . , , i.
rrom "Rale a Wife sad Bave a Wife..
. NJ5 choose aa umbrella et silk and cotton In this
country by the price en can .pay, and by Judg
ing th durability of th article. In Africa only
a king use silk; lesser chiefs us gingham or cotton.
My lady choose her sunnhade, moot likely, to match,
her dre, paueing over the many shades and picking
an arUstio creation according to th content et her
, puree. .
In Afrto women are not allowed such a luxury ss a
parasols even the native tjueeno pine In vain. The king
alone may ueo umbrellas et gay color, ana bv il
mount of fancy woik le his power and wealth unfolded
; to neighboring sovereigns.
Recently a number of Setlk chWe went ? ' '
to celebrate the birthday of the King of I t
f the wlhls they came, pursuing their i - -
Uganda Railway. They had paver seen its
01
m saj-inl i
, amneea. jne enter were dreesed In potl white. au4
although tt dy Was olear, carried hug gingham
. umbrellas. . .
k Jt wan learned theae were marks of power.
The Sotik chiefs rule over tribe tn southern Nlrerta,
nd are appointed by tha- paramount ruler. Of coiii-a.
they felt their exalted poeltlon and wished to diepUy it
to the world. . .
' By accident these chief got possesstoa of then- pri
timhrellaa. The king generally uw to It that un
tnlgnia of power muet te kept out ot reach of !ar
ruler, but en dav a lot of gin ham umbralUa wr
discovered In a store kept by a European, in a' StiorS
time eech chief bad one.
lss brilliant In color, d lees On In texture trie
thoee of the eoveretgnn, th umbrella of th chivi-i,
neverthels, served to Impress upoa ths awed bU k
their high peeition
l'jich envage king r.oeee aa umbrella d-vor-M In
a distinct style. On solemn Ofcaaloria, where vrlo.,
klnge meet, they are dietliigulabed from each clhwr Ir
the umbrella trimming.
Moat picture show nstlve klnr inakrar treitlt s ' '.
Europeans while squatting en the ground, wuti
holding an umbrella above thorn.
Jit the Jaye of the I'haraoha umlrlla were rrxm i t
s the hltiot iml'ltuM of ovcr-;nty. Th r r
rted abov th king et upper and lower t jrypt "i .
State ocraW.n.
The Greek, pre'-t'al a well ee notl-I. b.'rr -the
alsn of power of 1 tvpt and i.-t It i' ! i
solve from the sun. 'I"" koman r i -,
In Tretrvln a cl"r rompl-tn n a ! l.ty.
1 rum them the
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