Show YOUNG IN pittsburg MAKE IRON BOLTS AND NUTS work that seema hard for hands bat which la liked by the calru who are very kent and intelligent their pay there are probably a thousand women in pittsburg who work in iron mills making bolts nuts hinges and barbed wire it seems almost incredible that girls should be employed in an occupation which ia associated only with brawn and muscle but anch ia the case at the first eight of the bolt works one cannot believe that anything bright or interesting te coald live inside at the call of tho a m girls aro seen coming from all directions toward the factory they are generally dressed tidy and well and with their lunch baskets on their arms aro not unlike any working girl one may see the first thing they do after entering tho building ii to change their street dress for one to work in hair roll up their ele evos and putting on a coffe esack apron are ready to begin the daya labor at 7 the last whistle blows the wheels groan and screech as if they were weary to resume another days work but in a little ahila they begin to move with more rapidity and the noise amounts to something terrific A sulphur smoke arises and as it embraces everything in a dim color it needa but the dull red burning of the oil the horrible noises and the occasional sound of a human voice hallowing halloing hal loing a command to stamp the scene on ones memory as a study from the bolts and nuts as they are called are fashioned by the brawny men on the first floor in a crude state they are sent to other departments when the finishing touches are applied by feminine fingers very delicate ones the bolts are dumped into different bins according to eize and length and each girl has one special kind to work on the first work on tho bolt is to point it that ia to make a round end so that it will enter the machine which cuts the thread on it the pointing machine has an immovable socket at one eide and steam revolving anivea facing it the operator who is known as a pointer places the head of the bolt in the bocket presses her foot on a pedal and the sharp steel anivea are forced against the iron little bits 0 the iron fly and ia an instant she removes her foot and the pointed bolt falls down a slide into an iron deposit box on the floor lehe one band and foot has been accomplishing this the other foot supports the girl goose stylo and the band has got a bolt ready to be placed into the socket the moment it is empty thus for days weeks and years the pointer handles one bolt after another for a living being paid by tha thousand expert workers have pointed bolts in a day when the bolts are pointed they are taken to the cutting quarters these machines are large with deep elenka filled with a thick black oil the bolts aie placed in slides and pushed ly the worker up into sharp steel dies in at instant tha thread is cut on them th work is rather dangerous and can must be exercised to keep the fingers from going into tha open dies and having ir ends cut off instead of the iron the oil in which the girl is corn belled to work in order to keep the balti from getting hot and thereby breaking has a very offensive odor and gradually smears the worker from the root of hei bangs down to her heels birb of any age from sixteen to fifty work in this department their pay by the thousand averaged from fifty cent to one dollar a day little girls from six years up to twelve put the nuts on the bolts and pack them the nutting on is also accomplished by bachint power the worker puts a nut on a plate then after catching the head of a bolt ia the jaws above she presses her foot on the pedal when presto 1 the work is done at long tables built of substantial wood are rows of young girls interspersed with a scattering of women whom life cast forth in their old age they pile the bolts row after row alternate heads then wrap them iu strong paper the girls always come to the factory clad neatly and well dressing rooms are provided for them and cenap and towels at noon the girls are given three quarters of an hour they lay aside their aprons wash their hands and devour their wee lunches with energy worthy of a better cause formerly tha girls would hurry their dinners and devote the rest of their time to dancing the orchestra was not the largest nor did it rival the barican band in melody but it answered the purpose of furnishing time tor the shabby shoed girls it consisted of one girl and a mouth orann the men were not permitted to cocq into the girls side of the shop but they would stand at a respectful distance as though longing to join the merry dancers it seems rather strange but tha girls never mingle with the men in th earns factory they are good and honest and generally intelligent the girls were very happy and everything moved aa smoothly aa steel on ice until a forewoman was introduced to take the place of s foreman immediately she put a stop to all singing during the day and all dancing at noon there was a decided stir among the girls at these new rules but they were forced to submit since then they spend the noon hour reading and doing fancy work most of the girls arees perta with the needle and those who read would surprise a scholar with their quotations tat ions there are more handsome girls in this factory than could be found among the came number at a reception they are beautifully formed and the influence of the oil keeps the banda white and prevents them hardening from contact with the iron latew york |