REPORT.
A year has now passed since a company of about one hundred pesons assembled to organize a society for the purpose of giving employment in needwork to poor women. These persons had come together without any ublic notice, and the meeting was open to any who, having heard of the project, were interested in carrying it ito effect. The word had been passed from mouth to mouth, and many felt that it was a good and seasonable word; for they were often applied to for employment which they were unable to give, and hoped that something might be done by combined effort, to supply the demand.
[p. 3]
The essential question is, has the society during the year,
accomplished what was intended and might reasonably have been
expected?
The statement of a few facts may lead to a reply.
Fifteen hundred and inety dollars fifty-six cents have been paid
as the price of work. This money has been distributed in small
sums among two hundred and seventy-five women, alll of whom were
either partially known to the Manafgers, or were recommended by
some subscriber. Whether all these were equally worthy, or equally
necessitous, need not be a subject fo inquiry, for it should be
remembered that there is an important difference between persons
applying for alms, and those who only ask the modest reward of
industry. As few people work merely for the love of it, we believe
this mode of giving assistance less liable to imposition than
many others; and the remuneration we can give is not enough to
tempt any woman to seek it, who is capable of more profitable
labor.
Among those employed are aged women who in the days of their strength
earned a hard livelihood by washing, nursing, or other occupations
of which they are now incapable. To thse the weekly pittance
received for such work as they could do has been a great assistance.
For some it has paid the rent of their miserable rooms-for others
it has obtained little comforts, or kept them from the necessity
of asking charity. There are the infirm, to whom the use of their
hands only has been spared; and the disabled by lingering disease,
who still wish to do what little they can for themselves. Wives,
whose invalid husbands have become their care instead of their
helpers, have employed all the time they could redeem from other
duties in obtaining by their needle some added means of support.
Sick children have by the same means been supplied with what
even maternal love could not otherwise have provided. One woman,
asking for small garments to make, gave us as a reason for the
request that she could work on such, while her sick infant lay
on her lap. Then too are they who have seen better days, who gladly
avail themselves of an opportunity of supplying, by their own
industry,w ants which delicacy forbids them to make known to their
friends.
[pp. 6-7]
REPORT.
To elevate the condition of our sex, and to do it in the way
which shall best conduce to self-respect as well as physical comfrot,
was the object contemplated in the formation of the NEEDLEWOMAN'S
FRIEND SOCIETY;--and that employment with an adequate reward is
the best antidote against poverty, is the thought which we have
endeavored to embody in action. Some one has said that "bodily
exertion makes mental earnestness," and we believe that both
mental and oral strength are developed wherever industry is promoted.
Aid to the industrious has therefore been the motto which has
guided us through another year;--with what result, it is our duty
now to tell you.
The opportunities possessed by females for procuring a livelihood
are comapratively limited. One of the most numerous and needy
classes must obtain support by the needle; but, where an occupation
is crowded and competition great, many who would gladly depend
upon their own exertions are driven into extreme poverty, and
to the acceptance of aid from the wealthy. Between such persons
and those in affluence, our Society comes as a mediator; selecting
from the first those who most require help and sympathy, and soliciting
from the last, work with a suitable recompense. Our rooms are
a common ground, where "the rich and poor may meet together,"
and, by theutual aid given and received, confess their allegiance
to the same heavenly Father. The experinece of every day satisfies
us more entirely, that the principles we hve adopted are practical,
kindly in operation, and well fitted to attain the end we have
in view.
In the minds of some, however, objections have arisen which we
have regretted, because they seem plausible, without having foundation
in fact. "You cannot create work," says one, "and
the result of your efforts is simply to make it change hands."
As an abstract proposition, this may be true; but practically,
it is the reverse. We may not actually create work; but we can
induce those who would otherwise do it themselves, to send it
to our poor. Many ladies, who, previously to the formation of
our Society, rarely, if ever, went abraod for a seamstress, have
sewing done at our rooms, purchase articles there which please
their fancy, or, better still, send orders for clothing for the
poor in whom they are interested; instead of giving money, which
might not be judiciously expended. We certainly do make it change
hands, taking it from the homes of the wealthy to the homes of
the destitute. Persons, too, whose engagements do not permit
them to seek out objects of charity, will give liberally through
those in whom they have confidence. Siad a lady, not long since,
in our store,--"Have you among your applicants any very needy,
to whom a little assistance would be important?" and ore
tha once her hand was in her well-filled purse, as she listened
to the stories of the poverty which the unusually cold winter
had created. We are quite sure, that the indigent women who
received this timely aid owed it to the existence of our Society.
"But the amount requisite requisite to cary on your establishment,"
urgest another, "would relieve much want." It would
do so; but, if our Society were dissoled, would this amount reach
the poor? A large proportion of our funds is given, in one-dollar
subscriptions, by those whowould ot remit any charitable exertions
on that account. Besides, the very fact of association, by giving
a more extended knowledge of the poor, cannot fail to call into
action many benevolent sympathies which would otherwise remain
dormant. We think, too, that those who make these objectiosn
overlook // entirely the influence we exert I raising the standard
of female labor. The low prices, paid by clothing establishments
for work, are well known to those who have investigated the subject:
they are an evil which, as women, we are imperatively called
upon to remove, or at least to mitigate. The guardianship of
the needle may seem a small charge; but, humble as is the instrument,
it is of the deepest moment to the happiness of our sex. We have
now in mind the case of a respectable widow, recently come a stranger
among us, who has been making striped shirts at five cents each;
earning, with her utnost industry, but ninety cents a week,--a
remuneration which will challenge comparison with the pauper labor
of Europe. These instances could be indefinitely multiplied.
They tell a sad story of labor and destitution; but underneath
is a sadder story still, in the temptation to wrong-doing. We
may smile at the ingenuity which will make starch and an iron
do the work of the needle; while we ourn over the deception which,
we are convinced, a stern necessity alone dictates.
The visiting of our workwomen is a point deemed important by
some; but, after careful consideration, we have decided that it
would not increase our usefulness. In the bestowal of alms, watchfulness
would certainly be requisite: but for all the money we expend,
a fair equivalent is rendered; and, for the self-respect of our
needlewoen, we would ot treat them like those who prefer ideleness
of beggary to the independence of daily labor. We have a Visiting
Committee to investigate cases of suspicion or extreme want; but
otherwise we feel, that the sanctity of any home should be regarded,
the occcupants of which neither solicit nor receive charity.
"What measures do you take, then, to prevent imposition?"
we are asked. We answer: Every applicant is required to b ring
a written certificate from a subscriber, of her honesty and necessity.
Being satisfied upon these points, we ascertain what she can
do well, and then employ her to such an extent as her situationr
equires, and our ability permits. Most of our managers are, or
have been, connected // wih other benevolent societies in the
city, and have, from this cause, an individual acquaintance with
many who come to us. Thus the opinions elicited by conversation
among ourselves enable us to judge, with some degree of accuracy,
of the relative merits of each applicant. That we are occasionally
mistaken, we do not doubt; that the despatch required by our employers
may sometimes oblige us to select a skilful workwoman, in preference
to a more necessitous one, is sometimes the case. But, entrusted
as we have been with your bounty, we have brought to the work
the best of our judgment and experience, and hope that we have
secured your approbation.
[pp. 4-6]
During the year, we have supplied work to two hundred and
sixty persons; an average of eighty receiving it each week. Of
these, three-fourths do only the corser kinds of needlework.
It is a source of deep regret, that so many, whose strength will
admit of close application, are only qualified to do work which
requires but little skills. The want of training in early life
is the great cause of this incapacity. The interruptions of domestic
duty, and the uncleanly apartments of the very poor, also prevent
work from being nicely done. One woman, whose deformed person
and extreme poverty have long rendered her an object of sympathy,
lives in a cellar damp and dripping with moisture, and has the
care of three children. That the garments she makes should be
soiled is almost unavoidable. Another, while warmly expressingher
gratiftude for a little employement, stated, that during ten daays
of severely cold weather she had had no fire, and that she was
in debt for her rent; the little she earned barely supplying bread
for her children. She was found in a small attick up four flights
of stairs, with literally no means of kindling a fire. Was it
strange, that in that cold room, with hunger for an inmate, her
work should be hurriedly and badly done?
[p. 7]
Report
. . . We say aid, not charity; for the needlewoman is as justly
entitled to receive an equivalent for her labor as the trader
for his goods. It is as important to a community that there should
be skilfull and industrious laborers, as that there should be
money to pay them. How little gold can add to a man's comfort
when he must perform every office for himself, the stories which
reach us from that afar-off country, whose mountains and rives
are filled with the precious metal, sufficiently attest. We believe,
therefore, that they who by their efforts help to form among us
a skilful, faithful, diligent class of laborers in any department
of industry, do good service to the community. When it is remembered,
too, that very many of the individuals from whom such a class
must be formed, will fall into habits of vice and vagrancy, if
not usefully employed, or at the best become dependent upon the
bounty of the rich, it seems as if the advantages of a plan which
provides employemment for the poor who are able to work, instead
of bestowing charity upon them, could not for one moment be questioned.
In accepting the aid we give them, they do not forfeit their
self-respect, the importance of which, as a safeguard against
vice, or as an incentive to virtuous conduct, it is hardly possible
to over-estimate.
[p. 4]
But, valuable as these results seem to be, they are small in
comparison with the wants to be relieved. The influx of the ignorant,
starving, and, in many instances, depraved children of distracted
europe is truly appalling. So long as misery and destitution
are their portion in the old world, they will naturally seek an
asylum in the new; and, while our laws impose no effectual check
upon their coming, much as we may regret it, we cannot stay the
immigration. What is our duty to them? Surely not to leave them
to idleness and beggary; not to build alms-houses, hospitals,
and homes for them; but to endeavor to supply them with such education
and employment as shall make them good citizens and worthy members
of society. In looking at the subject in relation to our own
sex, it is obvious that it is because so many can do nothing else,
that so few can obtain a respectable living by needlework. The
best way, therefore, of // securing an adequate compensation for
sewing is to diminish the number of individuals who depend upon
it for support. The improvement of the condition of working women
is an object of great importance. One of the principal means
by which it is to be effected is a nearer equalization, in the
various departmets of female labor, of supply to th demand. While,
from a deficiency of skill among the poor in the use of the needle,
applications for coarse sewing exceed the demand, the scarcity
of persons capable of cutting and making nice articles of dress
is a common subject of complaint. Those who possess a high degree
of skill readily command for their work a compensation, which,
if not very liberal, is at least sufficient for their comfotable
support. Many women are usefully employed in school-teachiing;
but the supply of well-qualified female teachers in many parts
of the country is vastly less than the demand. Similar remarks
might be made with truth of many other occupations, which require
the exercise of judgment and skill. Another means of improving
the condition of working women would be to extend the existing
departments of female labor, and increase their number. For instance,
women miht with great advantage, it is believed, be more generally
emplloyued in the sale of dry goods: by their taste in relation
to shades, colors, and becomingness in matters of dress, they
are peculiarly qualified for this vocation. They are likewise,
if sufficiently educated, every way fitted to perform with dexgterity
a much larger share of the labor required in printing offices
than they have hitherto done. There are many other occupations,
wholly or in great part monopolzed by me, in which women, with
their nimble fingers and quick perceptions, might readiy qualify
themselves to perform the lighter parts of the work. This more
equal division of labor between the sexes could not fail to produce
a nearer approach to equality in the compensation they receive,
and thus remedy many of the evils to which no small proportion
of women, who are obliged to earn their living, are in the present
state of things subjected. We repeat, then, our former remark,
that, to make sewing an // adequate means of our suppport, we
must use our best efforts to diminish the number of those who
live by it.,
It may not be inappropriae to the present occasion to urge the
great importance of the establishment, through public or private
munificence, and on a more extended scale than exists at present,
of schools, in which females, whether minors or adults, may be
thoroughly instructed in all kinds of needlework in general demand.
We forbear to enumerate the considerations which recommend such
a measure; but we are confident that it would do much to meliiorate
the condition of thousands of individuals, and rescue not a few
of hem from many of the worst evils and vices of abject poverty.
[pp. 8-10]
It has been asked if such cannot always find employment without the intervention of a society. The answer is, They do not always nor often know us where to seek it. A very worthy woman, who some years since was gradually reduced from a state of comfort and competence to poverty, said to me, in speaking of this establishment: "If there had been such a place when we began to go behindhand, my daughter and I would never have been so poor." That is often the want, something to take hold of at the first step downwards,--something to keep up those whose resources ae beginning to fail, but who by a timely aid might be enabled to sustain themselves until some favorable turn of the tide might lead to better fortune. It is believed that much good has been done in the way alluded to. Instances cannot with propriety be poitneed out; but it may be said, that, through the facilities offered by our Society, many have by their skill and industry preserved their independence, to whom the necessity of seeking other assistance would have been felt as deep humiliation.
[pp. 4-5]
It is another opening for the exercise of female capability
and industry in a legitimate and useful sphere.
[p. 6]
Let us now take a specimen from those of greater respectablility.
She was once accustomed to the comforts of a respectable mechanic's
family. But her husband has been long an invalid, and taken from
the labor on which they depended. They grow poorer and poorer.
She must be at home to take care of him and her children. If
she were a pauper, she might go and ask for food of a kind to
which she had been used, and which she cannot afford to buy, although
her health suffers from the privation. She is capable ofdoing
well a particualr kind of work, which she can obtain only from
our room. She does obtain it here, with a fairr recompense which
enables her to earn from two to three dollars a week.
There are others, for whom we are neither to look in garrets
nor cellars, but in the decent dwelling and quiet parlor, now
perhaps left to them desolate. And it is respecting thes, who
do our finest and most elaborate needlework, that there has been
the most discussion and the most objection to our plan, by those
who are not its friends. They say that such can always command
employment. But how? Shall they apply to friends? Besides that
such a resource is soon exhausted, we all know // the elicay and
disadvatnage of pecuniary concerns of this nature among those
who have stood on equal grounds of companionship. It needs but
a glance at our community to see how often those, well educated
and accustomed at least to competency, may be compelled to depend
on themselvs for the supplies which had before been received from
a departed or suddenly impoverished parent. They may have other
qualifications, of which in time they may avail themselves; but
the want is immediate, and the needle is a ready resource. It
will answer unti some other is found. But a place like ours is
required where immediate need may meet with immediate supply.
Is it not something thus to encouragge the depressed, and open
to the industrious the means of sustaining their independent position?
There are more of such than the superficial observer sees. I
once knew a family, keeping up a decent appearance, but at the
same time burniing portions of household furniture to furnish
the fuel, for the want of which they were suffering, and which
thyey could not bring themselves to ask in charity. There was
then no "Needlwoman's Friend," to whom they might without
reluctance apply. Instances cannot with propriety be given .
. . .
[pp. 5-6]
Each year brings a larger number withiin the sphere of its influence, and makes more evident the value of such a resource as the Needlewoman's Friend Society offers, not to the very poor alone, but to those who, suddenly bereft of means by some unexpected calamity or by the death of a parent or kindred, find here a temporary relief, at least, from present embarrassment. Delicacy forbids that we should endeavor to add to the interest of a Report by bringing to your notice individual cases; neither is it thought necessary to institute a probing inquisition into private griefs and necessitiesm which often wounds more than it relieves . . . .
Report of the Managers.
This is our Golden Anniversary. Fifty years ago today, the
Needlewoman's Friend Society was formed at the house of Mrs. Thomas
B. Wales in winter street, about one hundred ladies being present.
Before the business of the meeting, the Rev. R.C. Waterston offered
prayer, and that prayer has blessed our work in all these years.
. . .
The object of this Society was to give good needlewomen a chance
to earn a livelihoood, and a place where the more fortunate in
the wworld's good coulsd have their garments made in the best
manner, without trouble to themselves, thus leaving time for the
more important duties of life. Many a gentlewoman, whose name
was never known, has earned a living by doing the fine sewing
ordered at our Rooms.
As the sewing machines and sweating houses filled our shops with
ready-made garments, the work of our Society fell off, and it
became less easy to find good fine sewers, who could do the beautiful
work for which our Society has always been so // celebrated,
but there ar some left, and we feel grateful that there are still
some ladies who prefer hand-sewing and are ready to give us their
support.
pp. 5-6