November 1, I9l3.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



73 



ping them over the last; the insole was wrong side out; the 

 stay was iilaced too much on the upper; the large heel stif- 

 fening was hopelessly wrinkled; I had used the wrong com- 

 bination on the gauge. Yet I was trying hard, very hard, 

 to do it right, and had used an appalling amount of time. 

 Every one of these processes, however, must grow into the 

 worker's being. With the experienced girl, from the time 

 the last is taken from the rack until the Una! scam is fin- 

 ished, there is no fumbling, no repeating, no wasted mate- 

 rials; every motion counts. 



There was nothing which bothered me more than the ex- 

 treme "stickiness" of the materials with which \ worked. The 

 "uppers," for instance, if allowed to roll up would stick to- 



roU the stiff, thick rubber sole so it joins nicely with the 

 upper. When this has been accomplished, the place where 

 upper and sole meet is run over by a "stitcher." 



1 had now learned the elements of making rubbers. But 

 I could as yet get up no speed, and it is speed that brings 

 money. The girls are paid according to the number of shoes 

 they make, i. c, by piece-work. Some girls are of such slow- 

 acting nervous organization that they never can develop 

 speed. For instance, one hard-working girl near me after 

 live years' experience could earn no more than $5 to $6 per 

 week. Near her worked another girl who was able to earn 

 $12 per week. As for myself, I feel that after a few months 

 I could have gotten into the $10 class, but might add, too, 



"M.\kinc-Up" Room in a Rubber Shoe F.\ct(irv. 



gether and consequently have to be "scrapped," i. c. sent 

 back to the rolling room as raw material. So I was watched 

 and directed when it came to putting on uppers. The pre- 

 pared sheet of rubber had to be lifted quickly, the front-top 

 grasped between the teeth, and one side held in each hand, 

 all without wrinkling. Then it had to be lowered over the 

 upright last, and had to be placed exactly in the right place 

 on the lining. Then it must be pressed down evenly and 

 smoothly. This sounds easy, but a curling piece of sticky 

 rubber is worse to manage than a schoolroom full of unruly 

 boys. 



The last process is putting on the outer soles and stitching. 

 After the uppers have been smoothed out on the last and 

 the whole "gassed," the outer sole is put on. This requires 

 more muscle than any other process, i*. being very hard to 



how glad 1 am that years of this struggle for speed in a 

 rubber shoe factory do not stretch ahead of me. 



I noticed a great deal of nervous tension among the work- 

 ers, and a tendency to "burn the candle at both ends" by 

 drinking tea as a stimulant. 



Some girls, those of so-called slow mental co-ordination, never 

 can do well at work requiring deftness of touch. Since such 

 girls will be a loss to the factory which employs them, some 

 simple psychological tests which can easily be given should be 

 a part of all employment managers' equipment. But at any 

 rate, my instructor had made twelve rubbers before I clumsily 

 completed one. The forelady looked it over; dear woman, she 

 pronounced it beautifully done. I was much encouraged, and 

 did better each time, because I wanted to please her. In this is 

 a point I think managers are inclined to overlook or minimize. 



