THE MAKING OF A TRADE SCHOOL

 _By_ MARY SCHENCK WOOLMAN

 _Director of Manhattan Trade School for Girls Professor of Domestic Art, Teachers College, Columbia University_

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 WHITCOMB & BARROWS 1910 BOSTON

 Copyright 1909 By Teachers College

 Thomas Todd Co. , Printers 14 Beacon Street Boston

CONTENTS

 PART PAGE

 I. ORGANIZATION AND WORK 1

 II. REPRESENTATIVE PROBLEMS 38

 III. EQUIPMENT AND SUPPORT 53

 IV. OUTLINES AND DETAILED ACCOUNTS OF DEPARTMENT WORK 58

THE MAKING OF A TRADE SCHOOL

PART I

ORGANIZATION AND WORK

History

The Manhattan Trade School for Girls began its work in November, 1902. The building selected for the school was a large private house at 233West 14th Street, which was equipped like a factory and couldcomfortably accommodate 100 pupils. Training was offered in a variety ofsatisfactory trades which required the expert use of the needle, thepaste brush, and the foot and electric power sewing machines. 

Beginning with twenty pupils on its first day, it was but a few monthsbefore the full 100 were on roll and others were applying. Inendeavoring to help all who desired instruction the building was soonovercrowded. It thus became evident that, unless increased accommodationwas provided, the number already in attendance must be decreased andothers, anxious for the training, must be turned away. It was decidedthat even though the enterprise was young the need was urgent, demandingunusual exertion. It would therefore be wise to make every effort topurchase more commodious quarters. In June, 1906, the school moved to afine business building at 209-213 East 23d Street, which could offerdaily instruction to about 500 girls. 

The movement owes its existence to the earnest study that a group ofwomen and men, interested in philanthropic, sociological, economic, andeducational work, gave to the condition of the working girl in New YorkCity. They were all intimately acquainted with the difficulties of thesituation. Early in the winter of 1902 this committee made a specialinvestigation of the workrooms of New York. They were but the moreconvinced that (1) the wages of unskilled labor are declining; (2) whilethere is a good opportunity for highly skilled labor, the supply isinadequate; (3) the condition of the young, inexpert working girl mustbe ameliorated by the speedy opening of a trade school for those whohave reached the age to obtain working papers; (4) if public instructioncould not immediately undertake the organization of such a school, thenprivate initiative must do it, even though it must depend for itssupport upon voluntary contributions. The result was that an extremeeffort was put forth and the following November the first trade schoolin America, for girls of fourteen years of age, was begun. 

The first Board of Administrators, composed largely of members of theoriginal committee of investigators, was as follows:

President, Miss Virginia Potter; Vice-Presidents, Dr. Felix Adler, Mr. John Graham Brooks, Mrs. Theodore Hellman, Mrs. Anna Garlin Spencer, Mrs. Henry Ollesheimer; Treasurer, Mr. J. G. Phelps Stokes; Secretary, Mr. John L. Eliot; Assistant Secretary, Miss Louise B. Lockwood;Director, Professor Mary Schenck Woolman. 

Purpose and Scope

The immediate purpose of the school was to train the youngest andpoorest wage-earners to be self-supporting as quickly as possible. Itwas decided to help the industrial workers rather than the commercialand professional, as the last two are already to some extent providedfor in education. The function of the school was, therefore, that of theShort-Time Trade School, which would provide the girl who must go towork the moment she can obtain her working papers (about fourteen yearsof age) with an enlightened apprenticeship in some productiveoccupation. Such training cannot be obtained satisfactorily in themarket. The immature workers are present there in such large numbersthat they complicate the industrial problem by their poverty andinability, and thus tend to lower the wage. Jane Addams, of Hull House, Chicago, says these untrained girls "enter industry at its most painfulpoint, where the trades are already so overcrowded and subdivided thatthere remains in them very little education for the worker. " The schoolpurposed to give its help at this very point. 

Trade, on its side, is eager to have skilled women directly fitted forits workrooms, but finds them hard to obtain. The school's duty was todiscover the way to meet this wish of the employers of labor. It is truethat the utilitarian and industrial education offered by public andprivate instruction has benefited the home and society, but suchtraining has not met the problem of adequately fitting for specificemployments the young worker who has but a few months to spare. The lackin this instruction has been in specific trade application andflexibility as to method, artistic needs, and mechanical devices. Thesepoints are essential to place the girl in immediate touch with herworkroom. 

Therefore the Manhattan Trade School assumed the responsibility ofproviding an economic instruction in the practical work of varioustrades, thus supplying them with capable assistants. Hence its purposediffered not only from the more general instruction of the usualtechnical institution, but also from those schools which offeredspecific training in one trade (such as dressmaking), in that it (1)offered help to the youngest wage-earners, (2) gave the choice amongmany trades, and (3) held the firm conviction that the adequatepreparation of successful workers requires more factors of instructionthan the training for skill alone. The ideals of the school were thefollowing: (1) to train a girl that she may become self-supporting; (2)to furnish a training which shall enable the worker to shift from oneoccupation to another allied occupation, _i. E. _, elasticity; (3) totrain a girl to understand her relation to her employer, to herfellow-worker, and to her product; (4) to train a girl to value healthand to know how to keep and improve it; (5) to train a girl to utilizeher former education in such necessary business processes as belong toher workroom; (6) to develop a better woman while making a successfulworker; (7) to teach the community at large how best to accomplish suchtraining, _i. E. _, to serve as a model whose advice and help wouldfacilitate the founding of the best kind of schools for the lowest rankof women workers. 

In other words, the Manhattan Trade School aimed to find a way (1) toimprove the worker, physically, mentally, morally, and financially; (2)to better the conditions of labor in the workroom; (3) to raise thecharacter of the industries and the conditions of the homes, and (4) toshow that such education could be practically undertaken by publicinstruction. The four aims are really one, for the better workers shouldimprove the product, make higher wages, react advantageously on theindustrial situation and on the home, and the course of instructionformulated to accomplish this end would help in the further introductionof such training. 

It was not expected that immature girls of fourteen or fifteen years ofage would, immediately on entering the market, make large salaries or bebroad-minded citizens. The hope was to give them a foundation whichwould enable them to adapt themselves to situations best fitted to theirabilities and to make possible a steady advance toward betteroccupations, wages, and living. In order to do this, each girl onentering the school must be regarded as having capacity for some specialoccupation. This aptitude must be discovered that she may be placedwhere she can attain her highest efficiency as rapidly as possible. Shemust be treated individually, not as one of a class. Her own effortsmust be awakened, her handicaps, such as inadequate health andunadaptable education, must be removed, and her training proceed in away to give her possession of her powers. 

Conditions among the Workers

The conditions of life among many of the wage-earners of New York Cityare, briefly stated, as follows: Thousands of families are so poor thatthe children must go to work the moment the compulsory school years areover. In 1897, 14, 900 boys and girls dropped from the fifth schoolgrade, most of them going to work from necessity more or less pressing. To rise to important positions in factories, workrooms, or departmentstores will require a practical combination of any needed craft with theability to utilize their school education in rapid deductions, businessletters, accounts, and trade transactions. The public school offers suchchildren a general education which will be completed in the eighthgrade, but the majority leave before that time. For varying reasons, such as their foreign birth, irregular attendance, the impossibility ofmuch personal attention in the crowded classes of a great city, poorconditions of health, and the desire of the pupils to escape the routineof school as soon as the law will allow, the greater number of them, whogo early into trade, have not had a satisfactory education for helpingthem in their working life. Year after year are they found wanting, andyet young workers still come from the schools at fourteen with poorhealth, little available hand skill, unprepared to write businessletters or to express themselves clearly either by tongue or pen, uninterested in the daily news except in personal or tragic events, unaware of municipal conditions affecting them, ignorant of the simpleterms of business life, and with their arithmetic unavailable for use, even in the simple fundamental processes when complicated with detailsof trade. The mechanical processes, therefore, which they do know arenow useless unless they can first think out the problem. 

These boys and girls have no regret at leaving the schools, and are, asa rule, glad to get to work. The tragedy of life, however, begins whenthey become wage-earners, for they are only fitted for unskilled andpoorly paid positions. A little fourteen-year-old girl finds itdifficult to obtain a satisfactory occupation in the teeming workroomsof New York. She, or some member of her family, eagerly searches theadvertising sheet of one of the daily papers. Most of the "Wants" areentirely beyond her crude powers to supply. An unskilled worker isperhaps desired in some business house, but the applicant finds thathundreds of other girls are flocking to obtain the same position, andher chance is too remote for hope. Or perhaps, after weary days ofwandering about from place to place, she is recommended to the boss ofsome shop, and finds herself in the midst of machines which rush forwardat 4, 000 or more stitches a minute. She assists a busy worker on men'sshirts, her duty being to pin parts together, to finish off, or to runerrands. From early morning to late afternoon, with an interval forlunch, she must be ready to lend a hand. She can get at best but $2. 50or $3. 00 per week. No rise is possible in this shop unless she can workwell on a machine. Her fellow-workers are too busy to teach her, foreach moment's pause means reduction in their little wage. Perhaps shedoes persist and finally can control a machine. By learning to do onething rapidly she can obtain a better wage, but two or even more yearsin trade often pass before she can earn five dollars a week. Afterseveral seasons spent in doing the same process thousands of times, herdesire for new work becomes deadened, and she is afraid to attemptanything different from her one set task. She usually refuses to trymore advanced work, even if offered a good salary while she is learning, for she has lost her ability to push ahead. 

In general, it may be said that the untrained girl has to take the bestplace she can find, without reference to her ability, her physicalcondition, or her inclination. The most desirable trades are seldom opento her, for they require workers of experience, or, at least, those whohave had recognized instruction. Even if a green girl enters a skilledtrade, she cannot rise easily in it, and is apt to be dropped out at thefirst slack season. The sort of positions open to her have usuallylittle future, as they are isolated occupations that do not lead to moreadvanced work. Illustrations of these employments are wrapping braid, sorting silk, running errands, tying fringe, taking out and putting inbuttons in a laundry, dipping candy, assorting lamps, making cigarettes, tending a machine, and tying up packages. These young, unskilled girlswander from one of these occupations to another; their salaries, neverrunning high, rise and fall according to the need felt for the worker, and not because her increasing ability is a factor in her trade life. After several years spent in the market, she is little better off thanat her entrance. 

Some Difficulties of Organization

It was to relieve this serious situation that the Manhattan Trade Schoolwas founded. It began its work in the face of great discouragements. Employers were prejudiced against such instruction, for girls trained informer technical schools had not given satisfaction in the workrooms. The parents of the pupils felt that they could not sacrifice themselvesfurther than the end of the compulsory school years, but must then sendtheir children into wage-earning positions. It was impossible to obtainstate or municipal aid, and it was known that the experiment must becostly, for: (1) A trade school must be open all the year for dayclasses, and for night work when needed (schools usually are open fromeight to ten months). (2) The work must be done on correct materials, which are often expensive and perishable; but pupils are too poor toprovide them, therefore the school must plan to do so. (3) Thesupervisors must be well educated, with a broad-minded view of industry, capable of original thought, and having a practical knowledge of traderequirement (women of such caliber can always command the bestsalaries). The teachers and forewomen also must combine teaching abilitywith competence in their workrooms; but as the market wishes a similarclass of service and gives excellent wages to obtain it, the school mustoffer a like or even a larger amount. (4) Teachers of highly skilledindustries are expert, usually, in but the one occupation, such as strawhat making by electric machine or jewelry box making; consequently, evenif the student body is small, the teaching force can seldom be reducedwithout cutting off an entire department or a trade. A trade schooldiffers from the high school in this particular, for in the latter, whennecessary, two or more academic subjects can be taught by the sameinstructor. 

Another difficulty confronting the school at the beginning was, thatwhile numerous occupations in New York are open to women, there wasreason to think that some of these were not well adapted to them. Littlewas known at that time of the trades offering opportunities for goodwages, steady rise to better positions, satisfactory sanitaryconditions, and moderate hours of labor; of the physical effect of manyof the popular occupations; of the specific requirements of each kind ofemployment; of the effect of the working girls in their workrooms and intheir homes; of their health and how to improve it; of the needs andwishes of the employers; of the relation of the Trade Union to tradeinstruction, and of labor legislation already operative or which shouldbe furthered. Before deciding on courses of instruction in the ManhattanTrade School some accurate knowledge of these facts had to be obtained. 

Selection of Trades

The selection of definite trades was made after five months ofinvestigation in the factories, workrooms, and department stores of NewYork City. In general, it can be said of the occupations chosen thatthey employ large numbers of women; require expert workers; training forthem is difficult to obtain; there is chance within them for rise tobetter positions; the wages are good, and favorable conditions, bothphysical and moral, prevail in the workrooms. Some trades employingwomen were rejected, as they failed to meet necessary requirements, while others were not chosen, as there was little chance in them to riseon account of men's trades intervening. Slack seasons occurring in manyotherwise good employments were considered, and plans were made wherebythe worker could be enabled to shift to another allied trade when herown was slack. If a girl gains complete control of her tool she canadapt herself to other occupations in which it is used with lessdifficulty than she can change to a trade requiring another tool. Women's industries, to a great extent, center around the skilled use ofa few tools. These tools were selected as centers of the schoolactivities, and the connected trades were radiated from them. The mostskilled occupations were found to require the use of the sewing machine, foot and electric power, the paint brush, the paste brush, and theneedle. Statistics show that teaching the use of this last tool willaffect over one-half of the women wage-earners of New York, of whomthere are at least 370, 000. In addition to the general scheme of fittinga worker so that she may take up another allied occupation in slackseasons, specific training for this purpose is given to those studentswho choose trades where the busy season is short and of frequentrecurrence. 

Trade Courses

The curriculum includes instruction in the following trades; the coursesare short and the teaching is in trade lines:

 I. Use of electric power sewing machines. 

 1. General Operating--(cheaper variety of work--seasonal; fair wages. Better grade of work--year round, fair and good wages, piece or week work): Shirtwaists, children's dresses (cloth and cotton), boys' waists, infants' wear, children's clothing, women's underwear, fancy petticoats, kimonos and dressing sacques. 

 2. Special Machines--(seasonal to year round work, depending on kind and demand, wages good): Lace stitch, hemstitching, buttonhole, embroidery (hand and Bonnaz), and scalloping. 

 3. Dressmaking Operating--(year round, wages good): Lingerie, fancy waists and suits. 

 4. Straw Sewing--(excellent wages for a short season, but the worker can then return to good wages in general operating): Women's and men's hats. 

 II. Use of the needle and foot power sewing machines. 

 1. Dress and Garment Making--(seasons nine to eleven months, and fair to good wages): Uniforms and aprons, white work and simple white embroidery, gymnasium and swimming suits (wholesale and custom), lingerie, dress embroidery, dressmaking (plain and fancy). 

 2. Millinery--(short seasonal work, low wages, difficult for the average young worker to rise): Trimmings and frame making. 

 3. Lampshade and Candleshade Making--(seasonal work, fair pay). This trade supplements the Millinery. 

 III. Use of paste and glue: 1. Sample mounting (virtually year work, fair wages). 2. Sample book covers, labeling, tissue paper novelties and decorations (seasonal and year round work, good wages). 3. Novelty work (year round work, changed within workroom to meet demand, wages good). 4. Jewelry and silverware case making (year round work, wages good). 

 IV. Use of brush and pencil (year round work, good wages): Special elementary art trades, perforating and stamping, costume sketching, photograph and slide retouching. 

 _Note. _ Year round work, in general, includes a holiday of longer or shorter duration, usually without pay. 

Entrance Plans

The school is open throughout the year in order to train girls wheneverthey come--the summer months being slack in most trades are especiallydesirable for instruction. The tuition is free, and in cases of extremenecessity a committee gives Students' Aid, in proportion to the need. Entrance to day classes for girls who are from fourteen to seventeenyears of age and who can show their working papers or be able to producedocumentary evidence of age, if under sixteen, can occur any week. 

Each girl who enters, after selecting her trade, is given a typewrittenpaper showing the possible steps of advance in her chosen course. Shetakes this home in order that the family may know what is before her. She can by special effort or by outside study lessen the length of hertraining. The first month in the school is a test time. If the girlshows the needed qualities she is allowed to continue. 

During the month of trial her instructors decide what she needs and ifher chosen trade is the best for her. The right is reserved to make acomplete change if her health will not stand the one she desires, if shehas no ability for it, or if she gives evidence of special talent inanother direction. 

Industrial Intelligence

Every student has, as a part of her trade education, such academic work, art, and physical training as seems necessary; when she passes certainstandards she is then allowed to devote full time to her selectedoccupation. It is not possible for a worker who has skill with the handand no education to back it up to rise far in her trade. There is many atragedy in the market of the woman whose poor early education preventedher from getting ahead. Accurate expression, whether oral or written, the use of arithmetic in simple trade transactions or detailed accounts, the ability to grasp the important factors in any situation and then togo to work without waste of time or motion, are required for positionsof trust and for supervision in any workroom. It was soon discoveredthat the girls entering the school know arithmetic in an abstract way, but are at sea when asked to meet the ordinary trade problems. They areinaccurate in reading and copying; they cannot write a letter ofapplication, conduct correspondence, make out checks, or keep simpleaccounts. They are ignorant of the laws already made which concern themand of their own relation to future laws. They have no ideals in theirtrade life. They need to see the relation of their chosen trade to thecountry, of their work to their employer's success, the effect they mayhave in bringing about a better feeling between the employer and thewage-earner. A practical, immediately available business education isabsolutely essential to make workwomen of executive ability. Thereforespecific trade instruction in arithmetic, English, history, geography, and civics was planned to supplement and enrich the trade courses. 

Steady progress has been made in determining the kind of cultural tradeinstruction which will best assist such young wage-earners. A new fieldin practical education had to be opened, and subject matter which couldbe of service in the workrooms selected from it. The many trades of theschool had to be studied in order to know their needs. The work hasgrown more valuable each year and has proved itself to be a trulynecessary part of the curriculum. A concrete evidence of its worth isthe fact that many of the girls in slack seasons have taken clericalpositions and have been complimented on their grasp of the subject, their orderliness, their ability to think, and their reliability. Naturally all departments unite to develop character in the students, but the Academic Department feels this to be a special aim. Pleasure inthe subject of instruction, followed by mental and moral improvement, has indicated clearly that the academic dullness which is shown atentrance comes frequently from lack of motive in former studies. Theinterest is all the more encouraging as there are many handicaps in theteaching, for the students enter at any time, are graded by the tradesthey select, and are placed in the market as quickly as possible; hencethe work cannot be uniform in its advance. Nor is the academic work ahelp to the girls in their business life only, for such subjects as thekeeping of accounts, the consideration of the cost of living, and thevalue and price of materials are of direct use also in home life. 

Trade Art Instruction

Courses in Trade Art were also organized as a fundamental part of theinstruction. Each trade has its own art, and the school has tried toadapt the work in the studios to each different occupation. Itrecognizes that the art applied in dressmaking differs from that inmillinery, and this again from that required for decorating jewelryboxes and calendars. It consequently offers each student the kind ofelementary art training needed in her trade. The time is too short todevelop designers, but it does help a girl to be more exact, resourceful, and useful in her workroom, and often enables her to make ahigher wage. A worker who can place trimming, adapt designs to newpurposes, stamp patterns, draw copies of garments, and combine colorattractively is especially desirable in her chosen employment. 

Health

The young wage-earner of New York is much handicapped by her poorphysical condition; heredity, poor habits of life, and unsanitary homesshow their effects upon her. The girls who come to the school are youngenough to remedy many of their defects. In a few months they will be inpositions demanding eight or more hours a day, in which they muststrain every nerve and bend all of their energies to meet the standardbrought about by trade competition. The Physical Department of theschool studies the health of each girl and trains her to care adequatelyfor it. The specific treatment needed by some of the students takes themmany hours a week from their department work. While this has itsdisadvantages, it is felt to be more important to improve the physicalcondition than to develop skill alone when the health is too poor tostand the strain of exacting positions. It is often difficult at firstto persuade parents that such close attention to health is necessary. The results, however, in the majority of cases have proved the wisdom ofthis procedure. 

Immediately after entering the school and being assigned to a departmenteach girl must report to the school physician. Beginning with the familyhistory, a complete record of all the important events relating to herphysical life is taken. She is closely questioned as to all bodilyfunctions, and a careful record is kept of irregularities. Eyes, ears, teeth, nose, throat, and feet are likewise examined, and measurementsare taken of height, weight, and the principal expansions. After theexamination, instruction as to treatment is given, if any is needed. 

The work in the gymnasium has three purposes: invigorative, reactive, and corrective. Every girl who is not restricted on account of physicaldefects takes the prescribed gymnastic work. Nor has this a physicaleffect only, for through the active games such qualities as judgment andaccuracy, self-control, and the harmonious working with others aredeveloped. Slow, uncertain, vague movements denote lack of mentalquickness and strength. Motor activity, rightly directed, leads to poiseof mind as well as of body. These girls live mostly in crowdedlocalities of the city, where free exercise is unknown. The school aims, as far as possible, to supply the lack of wholesome outdoor life andgive joyous active exercise. Talks on hygiene are a regular part of thework and aim: (1) to give each girl a knowledge of her body and of itsfunctions which will enable her to care for her health in an intelligentmanner; (2) to show her the relation of food and its preparation to herphysical condition; (3) to establish in her mind ideals of correctliving which can be made practical in her surroundings; and (4), recognizing the right and desire of every girl for amusement, to createa love for wholesome and simple pleasures that will take the place ofthe too strenuous and often unwise recreations which tend to underminethe health of the girl who works. 

The Lunchroom and the Cooking Classes

From the opening of the school, hot soup, hot chocolate, or cold milkhad been served daily, at two cents a cup, to those wishing tosupplement the cold lunch which they had brought from their homes. Theteachers also had an opportunity of buying a simple, hot meal which wasprepared by one of their number, assisted by students who aided in thepreparation, serving, and clearing away. At first the average girl feltshe could not give much time to her trade training, consequently suchtime had to be devoted to making her able to command a living wage. Thehope, however, that in the future the opportunity would come foroffering increased domestic training was never forgotten. The opening atthe school of a temporary workroom for unemployed women during thefinancial stress of 1908 provided them with regular work and pay. It wasadvisable also to serve nourishing lunches daily to these underfedworkers. There was already a simple lunchroom in the basement of theschool, containing such bare necessities as plain tables on horses, longwooden benches, a gas stove with four burners, a few cooking utensils, and a closet filled with inexpensive china. The complete cost ofequipment had been $300. 

The school was now, however, face to face with the need to feed dailymore than 500 people--teachers, workers, and students--and yet noadditional money could be spent for equipment. The necessity was sogreat, however, that in addition to the usual lunches a hot, nourishingmeal was given daily to the hundred workers in the temporary workroom, for which they paid one-half of the price of materials. 

With this inauguration of regular cooking it seemed especially desirableto take the opportunity of training at least some of the students in theselection, care, and preparation of food. The majority of these girlswill be the mothers of the next generation, and yet they know nothing offood values or food preparation. This is evident from the daily lunchesthey bring and from their discussions in the class on hygiene. On theother hand, girls who can remain but a few months in the school have aserious need to face, that of self-support, for the wage for unskilledgirls ($3. 00) is not sufficient to live on with decency. The physical, mental, and moral future of these young girls demands that they shouldbe able to make more than this pittance. In the few months during whichthe majority are in attendance both a trade training and a knowledge ofcooking cannot be given, therefore the former must take the precedence. The school has been able to prove, however, that girls educated therecan command a fair wage in trade, but that a longer time given to thistraining will enable them to obtain better positions and salaries. Hencean increasing number have been willing to remain longer, giving even ayear or more to preparation. It was with this latter class that the timewas ripe to offer some training in lunchroom cookery which could teachthem what could be procured at low prices and yet be nourishing; how toprepare food at home, and how to use the hot table often found in anup-to-date factory. For this purpose, therefore, some simple additionalequipment was installed and a daily menu was offered, comprisinginexpensive, attractive, wholesome dishes, at the lowest possible cost. Many of the students care for so little variety in food that all of thenecessary elements for building strong, healthy bodies are not supplied, hence they are under-nourished. They require encouragement to even trythe food which is essential for improving their physical condition. Thegirls have taken great interest in their lunchroom cookery. Theyappreciate the inexpensive menus and admire the simple tabledecorations. Gradually they have given up spending their few penniesfor poor fruit, cake, or candy at some cheap shop, and now purchasenourishing dishes cooked by the students at the school. 

The cooking course connects directly with the talks on hygiene. The planof work is the following: (1) Twenty girls are chosen at one time. Thesework in two groups of ten each, and for six weeks have daily one-hourlessons. This gives them thirty lessons, which is almost equivalent towhat the public school offers in a year, but, being concentrated intodaily work and practical use in the lunchroom, is of equal, if notgreater, efficacy. (2) The students set the tables, cook a definite partof the lunch, dish the articles, prepare the counters, sell the variousdishes, keep and report sales, and clear the counters afterward. Thegroups alternate in order that preparing food, watching its progress, and taking it from the stove may be done by all with a minimum loss oftime from their trade instruction. (3) The selection of girls to takethe course is made from (_a_) those who can remain long enough in theschool to combine trade training with the simple cooking course, (_b_)those who have such poor health that a knowledge of what to eat and howto cook it is the first consideration, and (_c_) those who are alreadylittle housekeepers in their homes, as their mothers are incapacitatedor dead. 

After several months of experience it was felt that the six weeks ofconstant practice was well worth while. More elaborate courses ofcookery would demand a more thorough kitchen equipment, entailing muchexpense, and would require students to remain a longer time in school. With the present arrangement they learn the most important cookingprocesses in a very practical way, and discuss the relation of food tothemselves and to their families. 

Trade Orders

The handwork in the various departments falls into three grades: 1. Practice work, which not being up to the standard is ripped up and usedagain. 2. Seconds; fair work, not quite up to the school standard fortrade work. This is sold at cost to the students or to needyinstitutions. 3. Trade work; up to the standard. This is sold to thetrade or to private customers at regular market prices. This feature ofthe school work, entailing, as it does, the taking of many varieties oforders from the outside factories and workrooms, has proved itself to bean important educational factor. After six years of experience inutilizing orders from the outside workrooms, it can be said that thispart of the instruction serves the following purposes: (1) It providesthe students with adequate experience on classes of material used in thebest workrooms; these girls could not purchase such materials and theschool could not afford to buy them for practice. (2) The ordinaryconditions in both the wholesale and the custom trade are thus made afundamental part of the instruction. Reality of this kind helps thesupervisors to judge the product from its trade value (amateur work willthus be rejected), and the teaching from the kind of workers turned out. Through the business relation the students quickly feel the necessityof good finish, rapid work, and responsibility to deliver on time. (3)The orders bring in a money return and thus aid the school in theexpense for material. (4) The businesslike appearance of the shops atwork on the orders and the experience trade has had with the producthave increased the confidence of employers of labor in the ability ofthe school to train practical workers for the trades. The school isconstantly urged by trade to increase its order work, but itsunfaltering policy is to take only the amount needed for educationalpurposes. (5) The business organization and management required in theadequate conduct of a large order department can itself be utilized foreducational purposes, and has its value for training students who showpromise of becoming good stock clerks. 

Trade workers are employed in the business shops connected with thevarious departments. These assistants have proved their value in makingthe best utilization of the order work. They facilitate the completionof the work on time and help train the girls to feel responsible fortheir share of it. As the students work slowly at first, and as theirhours in the shops are interrupted by other studies, the trade workers, when necessary, continue with or complete the articles while the girlsare absent. They make possible the tradelike organization of the shops, for each one has around her her own little groups of assistants, and sheteaches them while she also works. Constant repetition of the sameprocess ceases, after a time, to be valuable to a student, hence hertime must not be wasted by too simple work or by unnecessary details. It often happens also that an article may require expert work in itscompletion which the students cannot yet do; the trade workers selectfor each girl the process which will be of value to her, and then do thework the students cannot do or should not do. 

The following lists will show the class of orders which have beendemanded by trade and turned out by the school:

 _Operating Department Orders_: 1. Trade Work: Ribbon run on webbing for suspenders, infants' dresses--eight different styles, children's aprons--two different styles, hemstitching and embroidery for yokes, ruffling--hem and hemstitched, faggoting. 

 2. Individual Custom Orders: Dressing sacques, aprons (kitchen, gingham, and work), gymnasium suits, waists, children's dresses, corset covers, drawers, skirts and chemise, sheets, pillowslips, curtains, straw hats, fancy petticoats, kimonos, handkerchiefs, fancy neckwear, infants' outfits, boys' waists, quilting, hemstitching by yard, silk waists and dresses hemstitched, tucking by yard, waists, collars, cuffs, and cloth embroidered, initials on linen and monograms on saddle cloths, ruffling by yard. 

 3. Order Work for Other Departments: Dressmaking: Machine work on nightgowns, corset covers, drawers, combination suits, petticoats, kimonos, gymnasium bloomers, swimming suits, buttonholes, hemstitching on silk skirts, dresses, waists; Bonnaz embroidery on dresses, waists. Millinery: Veils hemstitched. Art: Pencil and brush cases. Office: Coats and overalls for janitors employed in school. 

 _Dressmaking Department Orders_: Aprons, petticoats, maids' dresses; machine-made underwear; collars and neckwear; nurses' uniforms; swimming, bathing, and gymnasium suits; children's and baby clothes; fine handmade underwear; plain shirtwaists, fine waists, afternoon gowns, street suits, evening gowns, cloth suits tailored. 

 _Pasting and Novelty Orders_: Mounting suspender webbing, mounting corset samples, pasting suspender tabs and sockets, case making. Desk sets, lampshades, and candleshades. 

 _Art Department Orders_: 1. Trade Order Work: Stamping, perforating, coloring fashion plates, stencil cutting. 

 2. Custom Work: Stenciling curtains, scarfs, table covers, sofa pillows; designing patterns for embroidery for table covers, doilies, bags, buttons, shirtwaists, skirts, parasols, and chiffon scarfs. 

 3. Order Work for Other Departments: Decorating book covers, desk sets, boxes, dress trimmings--panels, lapels, vests; collars and cuffs, insertions for hand and machine; banding for hats, letters, monograms: designs for doilies, scarfs, curtains, work-bags. 

PLACEMENT BUREAU

From the first the school made some provision for placing its pupilssatisfactorily in the trades for which they are trained. Originally theheads of departments attended to it, each for her own students, but asthe school grew and the department work increased this method ceased tobe practical. An arrangement was made, therefore, with the AllianceEmployment Bureau to place the girls of the Manhattan Trade School whenthey were ready to leave the school or whenever they applied for helpthereafter. This was a most helpful connection when the work wasbeginning, but it was understood that when the school reached the pointin its development where the volume of business was great enough, andother conditions warranted it, a Placement Bureau should be opened inthe school itself. This long-cherished idea went into operation inOctober, 1908, when a Placement Secretary was engaged and the schoolbureau was opened. This plan has already proved advantageous. In thefirst place a bureau so situated can, by keeping in constant touch withthe departments, obtain intimate and detailed information about thecharacter, the work, the special aptitudes, and the physique of eachgirl. Such data are extremely valuable in making wise placements, butare difficult of access for an outside agency. In the second place sucha school bureau, open to graduates, tends to bring them occasionally toit, and thus strengthens their interest in and loyalty to the school bygiving a practical reality to their connection with it. 

Aims

The aims and working plans of the Placement Bureau are the following:(1) To secure suitable positions for girls leaving the school--thoseforced out by poverty as well as those who have really completed theircourses. The problem is to get the square peg into the square hole, andit is solved by having a very intimate knowledge of each peg, and byknowing of as large a variety of holes as possible from which to choose. (2) To be a means of connection and communication between the school andthe trades, on the one hand, and the school and its former pupils on theother. (3) To gather data about trade conditions that shall be helpfulto the several departments, or in deciding school policies. (4) To buildup a series of records that shall be of general sociological value aswell as of immediate use for school purposes. 

Kinds and Methods of Work

In connection with the placement itself there are four lines ofactivity:

1. _Interviews_ in the office, when girls come in to apply forpositions, and when employers ask for workers. Much valuable data as tothe experiences of the girls who have been some time in the trade havebeen gathered in this way. In the case of the employer, if he is notalready familiar with the school, an effort is made to induce him (orher) to go through it. 

2. _Trade Visits_ of investigation. It is the policy of the Bureau notto place a girl in any establishment until it has been visited, unlessit is one already well known to the school, in which case the visit mayfollow instead of preceding the placement. These visits are often madeupon the request of employers or in response to advertisements, if, assometimes happens, a girl wishes to be placed and the employers alreadyknown do not need additional help. 

3. "_Following up. _" After the girls are placed it is necessary to keeptrack of them. In order to do this satisfactorily, blanks have beenprinted in two different forms, one for the employer and the other forthe worker. The former asks about the quality of the girl's work(whether it is satisfactory, and if not, why not) and about her wages. The latter asks the girl to report on her work, wages, and shopconditions. By this system the Placement Secretary is able to keep inclose touch with the students who have been placed, and to hear and actupon complaints from either employer or girl with a promptness thatoften has the result of establishing the worker in a "good" place or, occasionally, rescuing her from a poor one. Employers are almostuniformly prompt and courteous in returning the reports, and all but avery small percentage of the students are equally responsive. In caseswhere a girl is not heard from, the Students' Aid Secretary makes apersonal visit to her home. 

4. _Keeping of Records. _ Card catalogues are kept, giving the full dataobtainable in each case: (1) for girls applying for positions; (2) forgirls placed; (3) for employers visited; (4) for employers applying orworth investigating, but not yet visited. All data from employers andgirls which have been obtained from the blanks before mentioned or fromother sources are recorded on the cards. 

The Placement Bureau, in addition to its specific work, performs certainservices for the general benefit of the school. Data are obtained as tothe conditions of work and wage in certain trades and the length oftraining advisable in others. Advice from the trade is often needed inone or another of the departments, and through the Bureau's acquaintancewith employers, managers, or foremen and forewomen, it is able toascertain and report their expert opinion. It is also possible to inducesome of these busy people to come and view the problem in the light ofconditions at the school as well as in their own business. 

General Results

Although the Placement Bureau is still in its infancy, some results maybe recorded. It is already in touch with some 700 employers, about 550having been personally visited. The table below gives the facts as toplacements in former years, and may be interesting for comparison. 

GIRLS PLACED AND REPORTED UPON

 --------------------+-------------+-------------+--------+ | By Self or | By Alliance | | | School. | Employment | Total. | | | Bureau. | | --------------------+-------------+-------------+--------+ | | | | 1902 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | 1903 | 39 | 7 | 46 | | | | | 1904 | 52 | 36 | 88 | | | | | 1905 | 29 | 61 | 90 | | | | | 1906 | 22 | 81 | 103 | | | | | 1907 | 10 | 77 | 87 | | | | | 1908 | 119 | 39 | 158 | | | | | 1909 By school | 157 | 1 | 158 | | | | | +-------------+-------------+--------+ | | | | | 428 | 302 | 730 | | | | | --------------------+-------------+-------------+--------+

This refers merely to the original or first placement of a girl. Thetotal of _re_-placements for 1909 was an additional 230, including thoseof many former pupils who had heretofore placed themselves or beenplaced by the Alliance Employment Bureau. 

The crucial question of wages is one that is extremely difficult to dealwith in brief. The accompanying table gives a very general statement asto the range of wages obtained by graduates and the future possibilitiesin their trades, and read in the light of the comment below it is asspecifically accurate as any "summary" can be. 

 ---------------+--------------------------+--------------+---------------- Trade. | Wages When | After Two to | Future | First Placed. | Five Years. | Possibilities. ---------------+------------+-------------+--------------+---------------- | 1903 | 1909 | | | | | | Dressmaking | $3 to $5 | $4 to $6 | $6 to $13 | $25 or own | | | | establishment | | | | Millinery | 2. 50 to 4 | 4 | 5 to 15 | 12 to 25 or own | | | | establishment | | | | Operating | 3 to 6 | 4 to 11 | 6 to 25 | 15 to 40 | | | | Novelty | 4 to 5 | 4 to 9[A] | 6 to 11 | 18 to 25 | | | | ---------------+------------+-------------+--------------+---------------- | | | | Art since 1907 | 5 to 8 | 4 to 7 | 7 to 15 | 20 to 30 | | | | ---------------+------------+-------------+--------------+----------------

The column for 1909 shows that at last a minimum wage of $4. 00 has beenestablished for all the trades named, even Millinery. There areexceptions, but they are almost always due to some special disability onthe part of the girl, and do not fairly affect a statement regarding thewage for girls of normal capacity, who have done satisfactory workduring their course. The small percentage of pupils who fall below $4. 00for their initial wage are those who either did not complete the schoolcourse, or who did poor work, or who are subnormal mentally orhandicapped physically, or can work only an eight-hour day because theyare under sixteen. It is true that when they are obliged to start onpiece-work instead of a week-wage their earnings may fall below ourminimum for a short time, but the first week or two is in that case notusually a fair test of the girl's training or ability. Some little timeis necessary for the readjustment involved in the change from school toworkroom, and especially for attaining the "speed" necessary to earn afair wage on trade piece-rates. The compensating advantage is that whenshe does begin to "make good" her improvement is usually registered inher earnings more quickly and accurately than it would be by the safebut slowly advancing "week-work. " If after two weeks, however, the girlis earning less than $4. 00, and thinks she "never can make out there, "she is given an opportunity to change her place. But very often there isa sudden jump in earnings after ten days or so, as the girl gainsconfidence and speed. (One pupil earned $3. 97 her first week onbuttonholes, and over $7. 00 the second. ) Another point to be consideredin connection with the wage is the length of the season and the durationof any one place. The comparatively steady work and regular, if small, advance in the dressmaking, for instance, will often counterbalance thelarger week-wage or piece-work earnings of the trades where the seasonis short or the positions of uncertain duration. 

On the "rate of advance" in wage the Bureau is as yet too young to makeany general statements. 

Students' Aid

On account of the extreme poverty in the families of many of thestudents, some system of aid has always been necessary. The manner ofgiving it has changed, however, that it may be free from all tendency topauperize or to deprive the recipient of self-respecting effort. Atfirst it took the form of a scholarship, paid at the school every week, in equal amounts, to each student. A few months' experience, however, showed that it would be better to require a month's apprenticeshipwithout pay. If after that the girl was allowed to continue her course, she was given a dollar a week during her second month. Each monththereafter the amount was increased according to the skill and goodspirit which were evident in her work. The maximum amount a studentcould receive in one year was $100. 

Early in the second year it became clear that a still more radicalchange was advisable, and a plan was adopted whereby the need of thegirl's family became the only basis upon which money was given. Acommittee was formed, whose membership was composed principally ofworkers from the leading social settlements. Each applicant for aid wasreferred to the member of the committee living nearest her home. Aninvestigation was made by the settlement worker, and aid was given inproportion to the necessity, varying in amount from car fare to theequivalent of a small wage. The girl went weekly to the settlement forthe money. In this way the aid was separated as far as possible from theschool atmosphere, and it was made clear to the girls and theirfamilies that the money was in no sense pay for work. As indicative ofthis change in viewpoint, the term "Scholarship" was replaced by that of"Students' Aid. " In addition to its other advantages, the new methodreduced the cost for aid to less than one-half of its originalproportion. 

Since this time the aim has been always the same--to aid the girlhandicapped by poverty so that she might prepare herself for efficientwage-earning. A member of the school staff is secretary of the Students'Aid Committee, and she knows personally every applicant wishing aid, andmakes the initial visits and investigations. This plan has provedadvantageous in making a closer connection between the school and thehome, and in securing a more uniform standard of relief. 

The Students' Aid Committee consists at present of representatives fromsixteen settlements, who meet twice a month to discuss and decide uponthe merit of each applicant. If aid is granted, the girl is assigned tothe settlement nearest her home and goes there weekly for her money. Anenvelope showing the amount due the girl is sent from the school to thesettlement worker, and on this is indicated any absence or tardiness. Itis one of the duties of the member of the committee to inquire thereasons for any irregularity in attendance, and, if necessary, to reportto the parent. In addition, each settlement worker renders valuableservice by giving friendly oversight to the girls and families in hergroup, by doing as much for their welfare as time will allow, and byreporting any unusual conditions to the Students' Aid Secretary. 

Students are at times sent to the school for instruction with a requestfor aid from some charitable institution, church, hospital, school, orsettlement which knows and is interested in the family; but, in general, a girl needing financial help comes without such recommendations, andconsequently a more thorough investigation of the case is necessary. Inquiry is always made at first of the Charity Organization Society, inorder to learn whether her family has received or is receiving otherrelief. The "trial month" without aid gives time for the gathering offacts about the family, and for a test of the girl's ability andcharacter. Aid is never promised to a girl before her admission. 

A useful method has been worked out for determining the amount of aidwhich may be given in any one case. The total amount of the familyincome is obtained, and from it are deducted the fixed expenses forrent, insurance, and car fare. From the remainder the per capita incomeis found which must provide for all other expenses, that is, for eachperson's share of food, clothing, light, fuel, medicine, and allincidentals. It was estimated that a family could not maintain a decentstandard of living on a per capita income of less than $1. 50 a week. Although each case is considered on its merits, aid is almost alwaysgiven when the per capita income is less than $1. 50; in some specialcases it is granted when the income exceeds this amount. The followingtable shows the income of the seventy-eight families that were beingaided by the school on June 3, 1909. 

 ------------------+-------------------- Weekly per Capita | Number of Families. Income. | ------------------+-------------------- | $ . 00 to $ . 49 | 16 | . 50 to . 99 | 26 | 1. 00 to 1. 49 | 20 | 1. 50 to 1. 99 | 10 | 2. 00 to 2. 49 | 3 | 2. 50 to 2. 99 | 1 | 3. 00 to 3. 49 | 2 | ------------------+--------------------

Relief given by charitable institutions has not been included in thisincome. 

Each girl receiving aid is told the reason for its bestowal in such away that she will neither look upon it as money earned nor feelhumiliated as a recipient of charity, but will understand that it shouldmean for her an opportunity to obtain a good education. It therefore isincumbent upon her to show a realization of its value by becoming aresponsible and earnest worker. Students receiving such assistance areexpected to attend regularly, unless for excellent reasons, and thereports from their departments must be satisfactory in regard to theirwork, attitude, and effort. If a girl varies from this standard and, after talking with her or with one of her parents, no improvementfollows, the aid may be suspended or withdrawn. Improving circumstancesin a family occasionally make it possible to decrease or even to give upthe aid. On the other hand, it is often found necessary to askadditional assistance from special philanthropic sources when the needis very great. 

Night Classes

Night continuation classes are a part of the aim of the school. Theyhave offered training in expert parts of the Operating, Dressmaking, Novelty, Millinery, and Art trades. The classes were well attended, thework successful, and continued application for the renewal of theinstruction has been received. This class of education requires the mostskilled teachers and is consequently expensive. Lack of money to conductboth the day and the night work adequately has made it necessary toclose the night classes temporarily. There is every reason to hope, however, that they will be reopened in the near future, with stillgreater facilities for teaching the advanced parts of the trades. 

Student Government

The Student Council concerns itself with the government of the school, the aim being to place it as far as possible in the hands of thestudents. It also assists in developing their sense of responsibility. The Council is composed of representatives elected from each class, whohave been chosen for their executive ability and good character. Theymeet once a week with one of the supervisors to discuss questions ofgeneral school discipline and regulations. Each member is responsiblefor maintaining order in her class when it is not under othersupervision, for settling disputes among the girls, and for reportingdisobedience to school laws. 

Graduate and Department Clubs

Some form of alumnæ association has been in existence since the end ofthe first school year. This important phase of the Trade School work isnow thoroughly organized, and gains for us the warm coöperation of thosewho have benefited by the instruction. The Graduate Association includesthose who have received the certificate of the school; the departmentclubs, however, are more democratic, and admit to membership any girlwho has been in attendance. These associations work together for thebenefit of the school. They hold frequent business as well as socialmeetings. They plan definite ways for getting in touch with ManhattanTrade School girls who are just entering trade, in order to help them toadjust themselves to their work and to increase in them loyalty andresponsibility to the school; for improving themselves and working girlsin general by discussing topics of interest concerning their trades, andby giving entertainments which are of real interest and value. They havecarried out schemes for adding to the general finances of the school orfor obtaining money for special objects, such as shower baths for thegymnasium. They have given several suppers to bring the faculty andformer students together, in order to discuss informally trade andschool matters. 

FOOTNOTES:

[A] This maximum is not in paste or glue work, but in the silk lampshadetrade. 

PART II

REPRESENTATIVE PROBLEMS[B]

The organizing of a girls' trade school in any given localitynecessitates the meeting of many problems of a serious nature. Some ofthese appear immediately and require consideration before a satisfactorycurriculum can be developed, but most of them are hydra-headed, and onephase is no sooner settled than another arises. Attention must be givento them whenever they come if any progress is to be made in solving thequestion of the broadest and yet most practical education for the girlwho must earn her living in trade. These problems are so connected withthe keenest yet most obscure social and industrial questions of the dayon one hand, and, on the other, with the future of the race, that theyare often very puzzling. Some of them can never be entirely settled, though they can be temporarily adjusted to immediate needs. Thefollowing are selected as representative. 

Direct Trade Training

Many schools of a domestic or technical nature have been opened in theUnited States, but the instruction in them is for the home or foreducational purposes rather than for business. The trades, if they arerepresented at all in these schools, are general in character, coveringoften many branches of an industry in a short series of lessons, andnot having the particular subdivisions and special equipment which arefound at present in the regular market. Employers of labor have not beenfavorably impressed with the practical usefulness of the graduates intheir workrooms. As the sole reason for the existence of the ManhattanTrade School is to meet this requirement of employers, and therefore todevelop a better class of wage-earners directly adapted to trade needs, the instruction must be in accord with methods in the shops andfactories of New York City. Such specific trade education forfourteen-year-old girls was new, and therefore the problem oforganization had to be faced for the first time in America. Carefulstudy of the workrooms and the industrial conditions of New York Citywas essential before the aims or the curriculum could be decided uponand the school could be opened for instruction. Furthermore, if thetraining is to be kept up to date this study of trade conditions mustnot cease, and readjustments of the curriculum must equal the changestaking place in the outside workrooms. Consequently these problems mustbe met repeatedly. 

Need of Preliminary Training

On beginning the trade courses at the school a difficulty was discoveredimmediately which brought home the truth of the complaint made by tradethat young workers are utterly incompetent. The students coming to theschool were allowed by law to enter trade, as they had met allrequirements for obtaining their working papers, but they were not foundto have sufficient foundation to begin the first simple steps at theschool without some preliminary training. The defects which wereespecially evident were: (1) lack of sufficient skill with the hand; (2)inability to utilize their public school academic work in practicaltrade problems; (3) dullness in taking orders and in thinking clearly ofthe needs which arise; (4) absence of ideals; and (5) need of knowledgeof the laws of health and how to apply them. Preliminary, elementaryinstruction in all of these subjects had, therefore, to be organized andgiven to the entering students before they could begin upon their truetrade work. Such instruction is and will continue to be necessary unlessthe public elementary school arranges to give, between the fifth andeighth grades, a more satisfactory preparation to those who must earntheir living. The Manhattan Trade School has been obliged to give fromtwo to eight months to elementary branches of instruction alone. Thekind of work needed varies constantly with the condition of thestudents. Every one requires some of it, but many must take months oftutoring. Public instruction could readily give the practical academicwork which the school has organized. Such instruction would not onlydirectly help the pupils who must leave early to work, but would lay agood foundation for the vocational education which is being planned forthe early years of the public secondary schools. 

Vocational Training

As the courses at the Manhattan Trade School developed, an intermediatephase between the preparatory work and the direct trade training tookdefinite shape. This middle ground partakes in many ways of tradeprocesses and lays a good foundation for shop work. It utilizes theearly education, gives point to it, awakens in the student enthusiasmfor her chosen trade, and shows her that it is worth her while to workhard if she would succeed. It takes from four to eight months, accordingto the student's ability to meet the requirements. Public instructioncould also develop this intermediate field to advantage for those who, not wishing to enter the regular high school course, would be glad toavail themselves of further practical education. Such occupations forwomen as cooking, sewing, garment and dressmaking, millinery, laundrywork, home nursing, household administration, care of children, noveltywork, electric power operating, salesmanship, and other interestingactivities can well be offered in Vocational Education. As the studentin her chosen field plans, considers expenses, and contrives to utilizeher material she gains skill, adaptability, judgment, and the true basisof criticism. The world's work interests her as its meaning becomesclear through her own experiences, and she begins to see ways to betterher condition and to be a factor in the improvement of her home. Sheappreciates the value of her early education, and finds it worth whileto think clearly and to act wisely; she listens to instructions, askssensible directions, and goes to work without waste of time. Theelementary and intermediate training just described, which the schoolfound it must give preparatory to its real trade instruction, has provedadvantageous as an introduction, for the student can now quickly adaptherself to the work in the school shops, as she possesses the foundationqualities needed to make the best worker. She has to begin at thesimplest trade work, to be sure, but can rise as rapidly as she showsability. She has been carefully watched by her instructors and turnedgradually in the direction best fitted to her. 

Trade Shops

Offering courses in many varieties of trade work exactly as they arefound in a city like New York has many recurring difficulties, as hasbeen before stated. The constant and rapid adaptations to fashion, thenew mechanical devices introduced, and the labor situations are factorsto be considered. The management must be ready at a moment's notice tochange, increase, or drop work according to the demands of a ficklemarket. It would seem, therefore, that at present the problems of theschool trade shops are of too serious and unsettled a character foradequate solution by public instruction as at present organized, for (1)it would be difficult to persuade the mass of taxpayers that added taxrates are advisable for beginning a continually altering form ofeducation which has not yet commended itself to all employers or to allwage-earners, and which must be more or less expensive; (2) the usualpublic school committee man knows little of trade conditions, and wouldprobably be averse to allowing a school the freedom to change at willits course of study and even the very trades it teaches; yet, on theother hand, if the trade school must wait for board action beforealtering its plans, it would prejudice the value of its instruction, which must be flexible if it would train its students directly for themarket; (3) the impossibility of obtaining its teachers from the usual"waiting list" and the difficulties attending the selection of asatisfactory teaching force. 

The possibilities for offering highly specialized, skilled work aregreat, but the poverty of the students limits their time at the dayschool. To help all girls who work, and who wish to get ahead, nightclasses have been organized from time to time, and during the day alsotemporary instruction is offered to any one who has a slack time in hertrade. As the school is organized into trade shops, with the samespecialization as in the market, a student can enter or be placed fromalmost any point. This increases its usefulness but complicates itsmanagement. 

Obtaining and Training Teachers

As trade instruction is new in education, the normal schools have notbegun training teachers regularly for these positions, nor, indeed, arethey yet prepared to do so. The organizer of a trade school faces, therefore, a serious difficulty in obtaining instructors who areadequate to the task before them. 

The following trade teaching staff is needed: supervisors of the varioustrades; forewomen to direct the school shops; trade instructors to teachthe various groups of students the specialized processes; assistants toattend to minor matters in the workrooms; art teachers, who have hadexperience in designing for the various trades represented; academicinstructors who know the working world practically and can give thestudents a training which, while helping them in their trades, willbroaden their knowledge of and sympathy in the world's work. All ofthese teachers must not only have had experience in trade, but mustcontinually keep in touch with the methods of the outside market. Unsuccessful trade workers, who often wish to teach, or teachers whoknow nothing of the needs of trade workrooms, cannot adequately preparestudents for specific trade positions. Trade knows what it wants, is asevere critic and an unsparing judge. The trade school, therefore, cannot afford to rely on instructors who would be themselvesunsuccessful in the market, for the result would be certain failure inthe students. Such specific training requires exceptional knowledge inits teaching force. The usual teacher of manual training knows toolittle of the ways of the workrooms and is too theoretical in herinstruction to be trusted to train workers who must satisfy tradedemands. On the other hand, the trade worker, good as she may be in herspecialty, seldom knows how to teach. She can drive her group ofworkers, but she cannot train the green hands to do more than workquickly at one thing. She can make them work, but she cannot make thembetter workers. When she has orders to turn out, her lifelong trainingmakes her think of the rapid completion of the articles rather than thecareful development of the students who are making them. If she is notwatched she will choose the girl to do a piece of work who can do itwell and quickly (but who does not need this experience), rather thanthe one who should do it in order to have practice in it. 

The problem is to find a way to unite the good teacher and thesuccessful worker. Such a combination appears at rare intervals. At thepresent time the teacher who can adequately prepare young workers fortrade has to be taught while she is herself teaching. She may be chosenfrom either the industrial or the educational field, if she has certainqualities of mind and spirit, but she must now make up the points shelacks, be it experience in trade or ability to teach. Supervisors needspecial insight and capability, as they are called upon to investigate anew and difficult field, to select from it the subjects needed, andafter that to organize education of a most practical kind. They combinethe duties of school principal, teacher, forewoman, factorysuperintendent, and business manager. They must be willing to givethemselves to the cause, as they are responsible for the conduct oftheir departments throughout the year, at night as well as during theday, at least until they can train some one to whom they can delegatesome of their responsibility. They need a broad, cultural education and, at the same time, interest and knowledge of the industrial problems ofthe time, as well as experience in their particular trade. They musthave sympathy with the working people and their lives. It is evidentthat such women are hard to find, and when found or when trained are indemand by other institutions or in business life, in which places theycan command high salaries. All efficient trade teachers also are equallyin demand in workrooms, hence the school must compete with good businesssalaries in place of the usual underpay of educational institutions. 

In addition to the trade teachers, practical instructors in healthfulliving and special secretaries needing social knowledge of various kindsare also essential in the modern trade school for girls. Their trainingadds to the director's responsibilities, for no one at present has theknowledge and experience necessary. 

The many problems connected with obtaining an adequate teaching staffseem at present to have but one solution, _i. E. _, the school has to beits own training school for its faculty to a greater or less extent. Onesource of assistant teachers has been found in students who have madegood in trade. Pupils of fair education who show skill and executiveability in their department work and who later succeed in their tradepositions have already proved helpful when brought back to the school. Such girls know the courses of instruction, their needs anddifficulties, and also the outside workroom demands. If they are givensome hints in methods of teaching, their success is greater. Europeantrade schools for girls have drawn many of the best teachers from thestudent body and have organized teachers' training classes for them. Acourse of regular training for trade pupil teachers should be givenlater in American training schools to meet this situation. 

Courses of Study

As the changes about to occur in the market must be recognized andinserted in the curriculum in time for the students to be prepared forthe new work when they are placed, set courses of study cannot befollowed without endangering the practical value of the teaching. Furthermore, the pupils must be advanced as they show ability, and theirdifferent characteristics should have consideration; hence the work mustbe sufficiently flexible and adaptable to allow for increasing one kindof training and decreasing another, in order to develop a girl's bestability. It is not the trade courses only which should be fitted to theneed, but the trade-art, trade-academic, and physical education mustalso shift and introduce needed material as quickly as would the marketgrasp at new plans for the workrooms. Nor is it sufficient that thecurriculum should adapt itself merely to training girls for tradepositions. It is never to be forgotten that these students are to bemade into higher grade workers and citizens, and that the greater numberof them will marry. In general, it can be said that woman's entranceinto industry is more or less temporary in that it is apt to precede orto follow marriage, and, as a rule, is not continuous. Good citizenshipfor these young wage-earners should mean the better home as well as thebroader views of industrial life. The inserting into an already toobrief training the important factors for making the better home-keeperrequires study of the ethics and economics of home and social life inaddition to the study of the industrial situation, and places continuousproblems before the faculty. 

Investigations

In order to be in vital touch with the practical needs and changes ofthe market, special investigations of trade have been and arecontinually conducted by the faculty of the school. Effort is made bythem also to keep in close contact with industrial and socialorganizations of workers in settlements, clubs, societies, and unions, that all phases of the wage-earner's life, pleasures, aims, and needs, may be appreciated. The pupils in attendance are studied to know theirconditions of health, their tendencies, their needs, their improvement. After their entry into trade they are kept in touch with the schoolthrough the Placement Bureau, clubs, graduate associations, and also byvisits from the school's investigator, in order to note the effect oftheir training on their self-support, their workrooms, and their homes. Groups of trained and untrained girls are compared, that differences andbenefits may be noted and the true situation may be clearly understood. 

That the essentials of this class of education might be grasped as faras possible, the director of the school made a six months' investigationof the professional schools for girls on the continent of Europe. Thisstudy was made after the Manhattan Trade School had been organized andwas running successfully. The problems were then well in hand, andadvantage could be taken the better of differing standpoints. In someEuropean countries such practical instruction has been established forhalf a century. Each country has organized the work according to its ownview of woman's position in industrial and domestic life. Many aspectsof the problem can therefore be studied and various courses ofinstruction consulted. This investigation covered three interestingfields. First, the organization of the schools, including the equipment;the teachers and their training; the budget; the order work; therelation of the school to employers; the placing of the girls inpositions; the wages; the schemes for financial aid, and the work of thealumnæ associations. Second, the trades taught and the courses ofinstruction; the general education required at entrance and that givenas an integral part of trade; the trade-art courses; the housekeepingand training of servants; the development of ideas of better living andthe training for responsibility in home and trade life. Third, thevisiting of workrooms employing women; the obtaining information on theeffect of trade schools; the students' usefulness and ability toadvance, and a survey of the crafts conducted in the homes of thepeople. 

Trade Order Administration

A trade school must do its skilled handwork in the fashion of the dayand on correct materials, yet the students are too poor to work forthemselves. A school budget cannot supply such large quantities ofvaluable materials unless it can get some return for them. The schoolshop in each department, where orders both private and custom are taken, has proved advantageous, but involves great problems of administration:(1) the actual business methods and management connected with theinvoices, sales, and delivery of goods; (2) the obtaining of ordersneeded and of the quantity desirable; (3) the taking of custom orders, fitting the customer, and delivery of orders on time; (4) a satisfactoryapportionment of the order work so that the students may profit by itand not be expected to continue it after they have had sufficientexperience of one kind, or if they are not yet able to do the elaboratework involved; (5) the finding of operatives who will do what thestudents cannot or should not do; (6) the expense involved in employingworkers at trade prices and for shorter hours; (7) the cost of articles, and other details which are involved in entering into competition withtrade. It may be stated that no trade school should underbid the market, but should charge the full prices and expect to give equivalent returns. A trade school cannot afford to be an amateur supported by aphilanthropic public, but must have a recognized business standard. 

Placement

Problems of varied kinds meet the school in placing its students. Eachnew enactment of child labor or industrial laws has its influence. Evena good law will sometimes have a temporary serious effect in loweringwages or turning capable girls out of satisfactory positions. Care mustbe exercised that students are not placed where there is a possibilityof running counter to the best interests of labor. The desire to placeeach pupil where she can develop to her highest condition requirescontinual knowledge of the market needs and of the characteristics ofthe many girls. Records of students entering, studying, and placed, thekinds of positions open, and industrial and labor information must bekept up to date, yet such data are often hard to secure. 

Trade Union Attitude

An important question that is always before a trade school is the effectthe instruction may have on the working people. It is difficult for onenot continually in the midst of the pressure of the actual trade toknow the many ways that thoughtless advance in trade teaching may reactto the disadvantage of the very ones that the school wishes to help. Injury may be done by preparing too many for certain occupations, filling places where a strike is on, replacing well-paid positions withtrade school girls at a less price, placing the girls at too small awage for their skill, doing order work at too low a price or when astrike is on, considering too closely the fitting of a worker for theemployer's benefit rather than for the broadening of her own life, andlike thoughtless actions. The difficulties of the situation are greatand the solution frequently obscure, but a fair-minded school must be intouch with the effort the working woman herself has inaugurated tobetter her condition. The apparently unnecessary suspicion with whichthe laboring class regards the organization of trade instruction wouldhave foundation if no thought were given to the trade conditions as theworking girl sees them. A trade school for fourteen-year-old girls neednot make a point of their immediate entrance into unions, but it shouldconsider the subject simply and wisely in all its bearings, that thestudents may know the full aims and advantages of coöperation as well asthe point of view and many difficulties of the employers. 

Contact with Trade

The faculty of a trade school needs the coöperation and assistance ofthe working people and the employers of labor. Only through intimateinterrelation with them can the best and most practical results beobtained. Auxiliaries and committees of employers and of wage-earners;visits of the staff of the school to trade, and of employers, forewomen, and workers to the school; the carrying out of orders for workrooms andassisting them at busy seasons, are some of the ways by which theManhattan Trade School has tried to gain the help of the busy industrialworld. 

Problems of Financial Aid

The aid given to enable the poorest students to attend the school hasbrought its own questions, such as: the danger of pauperizing therecipients; the methods of selecting the beneficiaries; the best way togive the weekly aid; the development of a spirit of earnest work andregular attendance in the girls thus aided; the stimulation of a desireto return some equivalent in special helpfulness to the Manhattan TradeSchool or to its students, and the eliminating of this philanthropiceffort from any apparent relation to school work. 

FOOTNOTES:

[B] In order to explain these problems, it will be necessary to repeatsome of the data in Part I. 

PART III

EQUIPMENT AND SUPPORT

Housing and Equipment

The first home of the Manhattan Trade School was a large four-story andbasement dwelling house, for which a rental of $2, 100 per annum waspaid. The initial permanent equipment and first temporary stock providedfor one hundred students, and cost $9, 500. This amount was utilizedprincipally for the furnishing of special rooms for electric poweroperating; for sewing; for dressmaking; for millinery; for pasting; andfor the more general equipment of offices, academic and art rooms, akitchen, and a lunch room. The following lists show the range ofexpenses for furnishing the main workrooms with necessary equipment:

GARMENT OR DRESSMAKING WORKROOM

 Sewing machines, each $18. 00 to $70. 00 Work, cutting, and ironing tables, each 6. 00 to 20. 00 upward Electric irons, each 7. 75 Gas stove (necessary when electric irons are not used), each 2. 00 upward Cheval glass, each 20. 00 to 100. 00 upward Chairs, each . 50 to 3. 00 upward Exhibition, stock closets, cabinets, and chests of drawers, each 10. 00 to 100. 00 upward Fitting stands, each 2. 00 to 30. 00 upward Fitting room (a curtained alcove), each 10. 00 upward Fitting room (a furnished room), each 100. 00 upward Dress forms, per dozen 30. 00 upward Waist forms, per dozen 6. 00 upward Sleeve forms, pair 1. 00 to 1. 50 upward Lockers, per running foot 3. 00 to 8. 00 upward

A room for twenty workers may be plainly furnished at a cost of $300 to$500. If a large number of expensive sewing machines are desired, theestimates must be increased by several hundred dollars. The ManhattanTrade School has forty foot-power machines of the kinds most in use inthe workrooms of New York. 

The equipping of a workroom for electric power operating, includinggeneral and special machines, motor, cutting and work tables, cabinetsand chairs, will be considerably more expensive than the one for garmentmaking. In the latter, one sewing machine can be used by severalworkers, but in electric operating each worker must have her ownmachine. The electric motor adds also to the expense. The minimum costof equipping a shop for twenty workers would be $1, 000 to $1, 500. Thenecessary equipment would be as follows:

ELECTRIC OPERATING WORKROOM

 Plain sewing machines in rows, per head $22. 50 upward Troughs for work between the rows and tables for the machines (per every two machines) 10. 00 Special machines (two needle, embroidery, lace stitch, buttonhole, straw sewing, and the like), each according to kind 35. 00 to 125. 00 Motor, each 140. 00 upward Electric cutter, each 25. 00 upward Cabinets, tables, chairs, and irons, see above

The Manhattan Trade School has fifty-five plain electric sewing machinesand thirty-two special machines, as follows: three buttonhole, onetwo-needle, one binding, one zigzag, five hemstitching, five tucker, four Bonnaz, one braider, one hand embroidery, one scalloping, ninestraw sewing. 

In workrooms conducting trades which use paste, gum, and glue, thefollowing special equipment is required:

 Glue pots, gas, each $7. 50 upward Glue pots, electric, each 21. 75 upward Hand cutter, each 50. 00 upward Cabinets, tables, chairs, see above

The cost of equipping a shop would be from $200 to $400. 

Special machines for perforating designs or for pleating materials areoften needed in teaching the garment trades. Wholesale prices canusually be obtained when the order is large. Dealers have also shownthemselves willing to sell their machines at low prices, to loan them, and even to give them to a school which has proved its ability to traingood workers. 

When it was appreciated that the original quarters of the school weretoo limited, the Board of Administrators went to work with greatenthusiasm and in a few months collected the requisite money and boughta large business loft building at 209-213 East 23d Street, at an expenseof $175, 000. To put it in order for work cost $5, 000 in addition. Theformer equipment was used and $5, 000 more was spent for such neededitems as: machines, $3, 200; motor, $352; perforating machine, $38;additional master clocks, $233; chairs and tables, $850. The school isfurnished in a simple, businesslike manner, the equipment merelyreproducing good workroom requirements, _i. E. _, essentials only. 

The budget for the first year, 1902-1903, was $22, 094. 16, of which thesalaries for teachers took about one-half and the rent and maintenancecovered the other half. During this year there were 113 studentsadmitted. In 1908-1909, after six years of rapid growth, the educationalbudget is $49, 000, or more than double the original, of which thesalaries are $38, 806; the supplies, $1, 710; printing and publishing, $600; maintenance, $9, 900. At the beginning of 1908 there were 254students in the school; 689 were registered during the year, making atotal of 943 girls, being almost nine times the number in attendanceduring the first year. 

The Support

The Manhattan Trade School has depended for its support entirely uponvoluntary contributions. There have been few large donations and thedonors represent all classes of the community--patrons of and workers insociological, economic, philanthropic, and educational fields, employersof labor, and auxiliaries of many kinds of workers organized for specialpurposes. The most significant help, perhaps, and the largest inproportion to its income, has been that of the wage-earnersthemselves--not only the girl who has benefited by the instruction, butthe general mass of women workers. These women, knowing the difficultiesin their own struggle to rise, have shown themselves willing to setapart weekly a small sum to help young girls to attain quicklyefficiency through systematic training. The auxiliaries of wage-earnersare a mainstay of the school on account of their helpful enthusiasm, their practical suggestions, their interest in girls trained there, andtheir regular subscriptions on which the Board of Administrators candepend. 

PART IV

OUTLINES AND DETAILED ACCOUNTS OF DEPARTMENT WORK

The Faculty and Staff

The original staff of the Manhattan Trade School, 1902-1903, consistedof a Director, an Executive Secretary, 4 supervisors (Operating, Dressmaking, Pasting, and Art), 5 instructors and forewomen, 4 or 5assistants and occasional workers, a janitor, and 2 cleaners. Thepresent staff, 1909-1910, consists of (1) _Office Administration_, 11:Director, Executive Secretary, Assistant Secretary, 2 Stenographers(office and placement), Placement Secretary, Investigator, BusinessClerk, Buyer, and 2 Assistants (records, telephone, etc. ). (2) _TeachingForce, Supervisors, and Assistant Supervisors_, 7: Dressmaking, Dressmaking workroom, Electric Operating, Millinery, Novelty, PhysicalEducation, Art. _Instructors, Teachers, and Forewomen_, 11: Academic, 2;Dressmaking, 3; Operating, 5; Art, 1. _Assistants_, 14: Dressmaking, 7;Novelty, 3; Operating, 1; Physical Education, 2; Art, 1. (3) _Doctor. _(4) _Care of Building_, 7: Engineer, Janitor, Machinist, Cleaners 2, Elevator boy, and Night watchman. 

ADMINISTRATION

Admission Requirements

I. Age: fourteen to seventeen years. The law requires a child to remainin public school until fourteen. The Manhattan Trade School has foundthat under fourteen a girl is too immature to specialize in trade work, and that over seventeen most girls are too mature to fit into the workplanned for the majority of the class. 

II. Public School Grade: 5-A or above. The subject matter of 5-A gradeor its equivalent is required by the state before a child can leave towork. If for illness or other good cause a girl has not made this grade, she is admitted to the Trade School with special permission of principalof last school attended, and, while studying her trade, the necessaryamount of schooling is made up to her by special classes and coaching. The Board of Health recognizes this substitute. 

Grade of girls admitted since beginning is shown in following table:

GRADE UPON LEAVING SCHOOL

 -----+-------+-------+-------+---------+--------+----------+------- | Below | Fifth | Sixth | Seventh | Eighth | Graduate | High | Fifth | Grade | Grade | Grade | Grade | Per | School | Grade | Per | Per | Per | Per | cent. | Per | Per | cent. | cent. | cent. | cent. | | cent. | cent. | | | | | | -----+-------+-------+-------+---------+--------+----------+------- | | | | | | | 1902 | 8 | 19 | 35 | 26 | 2 | 10 | 0 | | | | | | | 1903 | 11 | 18 | 19 | 29 | 6 | 15 | 2 | | | | | | | 1904 | 6 | 11 | 15 | 25 | 16 | 25 | 2 | | | | | | | 1905 | 7 | 15 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 19 | 4 | | | | | | | 1906 | 8 | 16 | 20 | 23 | 17 | 13 | 3 | | | | | | | 1907 | 7 | 10 | 25 | 23 | 15 | 18 | 2 | | | | | | | 1908 | 4 | 15 | 26 | 20 | 13 | 16 | 6 | | | | | | | -----+-------+-------+-------+---------+--------+----------+-------

During 1908, 143 older women were admitted to a special workroom openedfor the "unemployed. "

III. Filing of working papers is required of girls under sixteen. 

1. No girl under sixteen can work in New York unless she has anEmployment Certificate issued by the Board of Health, and then only from8 A. M. To 5 P. M. , or for eight hours daily. 

2. The public school last attended by the girl is responsible for heruntil she is sixteen, or has her working papers, or is dismissed toanother school. If dismissed to Manhattan Trade School her attendancethere cannot be made compulsory, and she may attend a few days and thenleave and work illegally. Our facilities for following up such cases arelimited. With her working papers on file we know she is not evading thelaw, and can dismiss her to work if she is not a success in trade linesof training. 

3. Exceptions: Lack of proper birth record, on account of foreign birthor failure to make record of it by officials, may prevent the obtainingof an Employment Certificate. A special provision is made by the Boardof Health in such cases, and, pending adjustment, the girl is admittedupon notice of date of future issuance. 

IV. Reference: Some reliable person's name is required of each applyingstudent, in order to have some one to communicate with in case ofdifficulty of any kind. 

V. Application in person: Each girl fills out an application blankgiving name, address, and birthplace of self, father, and mother, publicschool attendance, previous trade experience, if any, trade desired, reference. This must be written at the school, for the manner in whichit is done is a large part of test for admission. 

Times of Admission

The school year begins in July, but a girl is admitted any Monday whenthere is a vacancy in the department she wishes to enter. The followingtable gives record of yearly admission:

 -------------------------+-------- | Nov. 2, 1902 (first day) | 20 | Rest of 1902 | 93 | 1903 | 139 | 1904 | 193 | 1905 | 239 | 1906 | 328 | 1907 | 433 | 1908 | 689 | 1909 | 517 | |-------- | Total | 2, 651 | -------------------------+--------

Some of these students did not remain long enough to take a thoroughtraining, for home demands made even a small wage imperative, and thegirl had to join the ranks of earners ill prepared. Some were notadapted to trade conditions, and soon fell out by the way. Manypersisted until they took more than the average twelve months' course, and went into business at a proportionately higher wage. 

Records

I. Attendance: 1. Daily, Monday to Friday inclusive. The factory methodof time cards punched by a clock upon entrance and leaving has beenadopted as being most exact, businesslike, and time saving. It registersthe exact time when rung, and so indicates tardiness as well as absence. 

2. Weekly. A small filing card ruled for fifty-two weeks summarizes thedaily record of time cards and requires the marking attendance only oncea week. This file is subdivided into departments and again into classes, so that the statistics of enrollment are easily gathered. 

II. Individual records: 1. Upon admission a record card is started foreach girl, no matter how long she may attend. This contains (1) the datagiven upon the application blank copied in detail; (2) Student Aid, ifgiven, amount, date, and remarks. 

2. Upon leaving, entries are made on the same card of (1) date and causeof leaving; (2) record in different departments--Art, Academic, Trade, and Health; (3) certificate--kind, record, date. This is not granteduntil the pupil has proved satisfactory in her trade both in the schooland in business; (4) Trade Record--upon the reverse side of the card isthe "record in trade after leaving school, " with columns for date, employer, kind of work, wages, remarks. This is kept up by the PlacementSecretary by frequent visits and letters, and gives the basis for manyvaluable deductions as to the practical results of the training. 

III. Other records kept in departments are (1) Student Aid: applicationand information; (2) Health: examinations upon entrance and futurereëxaminations; (3) Department: records of each girl as she passes fromclass to class, such as "attitude, " speed, and skill. 

Length of Year

The school is in session forty-eight weeks each year, four weeks beinggiven up to one-week vacations at Christmas, Easter, Fourth of July, andLabor Day. The summer session is the beginning of the regular work, andnot a unit for summer training. No one is admitted for the summer only, as the time is too short for real trade standards to be approached. 

Tuition

The tuition is absolutely free. The Manhattan Trade School aims to reachthe poorest girl who has little chance to advance rapidly unless someone gives her a lift. In order to do this most effectively it issometimes necessary to assist her. (See the report of the Student AidWork. )

Choice of Trade

A girl upon application can select the trade into which she wishes togo. If after a month's trial she proves competent, she is allowed tocontinue; if not, she is advised to change to another department or toseek employment in work not taught at the Trade School. If a girl has nochoice of trade because of ignorance of possibilities, she is shown thekinds taught and given a chance to make a selection. If then she isundecided, she is advised to take what seems best adapted to the timeshe can spend and the type of girl she appears to be. 

Business Management

However simple a school is, some bookkeeping is necessary, and when withthe running of the school is combined the management of trade ordersupplies and receipts the problem becomes very complicated. (See TradeOrder Work. )

I. General: A system of up-to-date bookkeeping of General Ledger, Invoice Book, and Daily Exhibit, with details worked out in Petty Cashand Maintenance Books, has been adopted. These few simple books sodistribute accounts of expense and receipts that one can soon see thestanding of the whole school or of a single department. All bookkeepingis centralized in one office, except the taking of orders and thedetails of filling them, which must be in the hands of the departmentconcerned. 

II. Departmental: 1. Requisition blanks for purchases made. 2. Orderblank and duplicate for order given by customer. 3. Time slips, whereverpossible, to get exact record of time value of work done. 4. Materialslips, to keep account of what has gone into any orders. 5. Finalbilling, to give data for bills sent out from main office and duplicatefiled there for final records. 

THE POWER MACHINE OPERATING DEPARTMENT

Aim

To train girls to work on sewing machines run by electric power and toput a thinker behind every machine as its operator. The department hopesby awakening intelligent interest in the tool, _i. E. _, the machine, tokindle ambition in the workers. It is only through the intelligent useof the tool and consequent love of work which follows that we can lookforward to supplying the skilled machine workers of the future. Thistraining must be given while the girls are in the formative period, todevelop habits of thought and action which will counteract the badeffects upon the worker that follow division and subdivision of work, with consequent subdivision of ability, which takes place in allfactories today. When a pupil has been thoroughly trained in theintelligent use of her tool, when she has learned to construct completegarments, if she is then, through force of circumstances such as modernproduction entails, compelled to carry out one process on the machineindefinitely, or to make one part of a garment, she still holds thebalance of power in being prepared to do something else when opportunityor necessity demands. 

General Steps in Training

I. A pupil must be given a short time to adjust herself to the workshopenvironment, consequently she is put first at some simple work, such asripping or cutting up old garments. This gives her freedom while usingher hands to look about the workroom and to get accustomed to the sightas well as to the sound of machines in action. 

II. The pupil is taught to control the power by which the machine isrun, and is then given an intelligent understanding of the mechanism ofthe machine or machines she is to operate. 

III. The pupil then begins her regular course of work, and her feelingof responsibility of the value of _time_ is awakened--that is, herseconds, minutes, and hours, days, weeks, and months are now importantfactors in her life, and they may be used for good or evil. In thelanguage of the department, time may be spent wisely or foolishly, and, while studying at the Manhattan Trade School, seven hours out of everyday of the girl's life is given over to productive work and should beaccounted for. The department has developed its own plan of timepayments, which is much like the piece-work system employed in trade. Through its rewards for time well spent it makes the fact real to thepupils, as no form of punishment could do, that wasted time is goneforever. 

The department is divided into five classes, three of which must betaken to make an all-round operator, namely: Elementary, two months'course; Intermediate, four months' course; Advanced, six months' course. In trade, salaries for such positions range from $5 to $15. The othertwo classes train specialists on the electric machines, special machinesof various kinds, straw-sewing machines. Special machine work requiresfrom three months to one year in addition to the full course ofall-round operating. Salaries range from $6 to $30. An expert tradeworker is in charge of each class. 

 _Course of Work_

 Regular Operating Course:

 1. Control of power--learning names and uses of parts of machines. Making bags, clothes, and operator's equipment. 

 2. Straight and bias stitching, equal distance apart. 

 3. Spaced bias stitching from given measurements. 

 4. Making and turning square corners, stitching heavy edge for tension practice. 

 5. Machine table apron, using former principles. This is used to protect operator from shafting and oil. 

 6. Seams: Plain seam, plain and band seam; French seam; bag seam on warp; bag seam, one warp and one bias; bag seam, two biases. 

 7. Hemming: Different sized hems turned by hand for correct measurements; hems run through hemmer to learn use of attachment and give speed; seams through hemmer--bag seam, flat fell. 

 8. Quilting: Following designs made by pupils in Art Department. Practice for control of power, starting and stopping machine at given point. 

 9. Banding: Straight and bias bands placed by measurement from design made in Art Department. Practice for edge stitching, turning corners, accuracy of measurement. 

 10. Advanced seams on cloth and silk: Flannel seam, slot seam, umbrella seam. 

 11. Yokes made and put on: Round yokes--petticoats; round front and straight back--drawers and petticoats; bias yokes--waists; shaped yokes--aprons; round yokes--children's dresses; miter corner yoke--dresses. 

 12. Tucking: Free hand tucking for accuracy in measuring and use of rule; special tucking on length and widths of different materials to give speed and skill in handling different fabrics. 

 General Construction: Trade Stock and Order Work (See Order Work): Infants' slips, children's underwear; children's rompers; children's dresses; women's underwear; shirtwaists; aprons; house dresses; fancy negligees. 

 Special Machine Work:

 Buttonholes; tucking; two-needle work; hemstitching; Bonnaz (Corneli) embroidery; machine hand embroidery, scalloping. Students of special ability only are fitted to take this course. One girl in fifteen has usually the requisite application and self-control to operate a special machine successfully. Each machine is specialized, _i. E. _, does its own particular work and no other. Patient attention to little things is required on the part of the operator in order that good results may be produced. Such machines are supposed to need only a hand behind them to guide the work. Our experience has proved to us that good results are produced only when intelligence and patience are factors. In the factories, machinists keep the special machines in order, but the school aims to train the operator to keep her own machine in good condition, thus saving her valuable time. 

Bonnaz (Corneli) embroidery work offers excellent opportunities forcorrelation with the Art Department. Both Bonnaz (Corneli) and machinehand embroidery must be felt in the muscles before they can be carriedout on the material, therefore the work with the pencil in makingdesigns which are to be carried out on the machine is of firstimportance. Free-hand designs must be made first in large, freemovements on the machine until the arm muscles are thoroughly familiarwith the curve, sweep, and feeling to be executed. After mastery ofmovement and sweep are acquired, the same designs may be reduced in sizeten or twenty times and the pupil will still work them out in perfectrhythm. After the mastery of movement is acquired, the cording, braiding, and three-thread attachment work are easily learned by a pupilwho has the necessary mechanical sense. The course of Bonnaz (Corneli)work covers: chain stitch, lettering, appliqué work, cording, braiding, three-thread work. 

Machine hand embroidery should be given as a supplementary course toBonnaz (Corneli) embroidery. It gives excellent training in design andcolor work. 

Special trade machine straw sewing should also be taken up after theregular course in operating. It gives splendid exercise for quickhandling of material, but makes a poor foundation of itself on which tobuild a painstaking, expert, all-round operator. Speed is the firstrequisite in getting a hat properly shaped, as the straw braid is flyingthrough the machine at the rate of four thousand stitches a minute;hence the general operating is given first to the pupil to train her inthe requisite neatness. As straw-sewing has long slack seasons, theoperator can during such times return to the regular operating. 

DRESSMAKING DEPARTMENT

Aim

The aim of the Dressmaking Department is to train girls in the elementsof the dressmaking trade, in order to enable them to immediately secureemployment as improvers and finishers or as assistants on skirts, waists, and sleeves, and to give them a preparation which will help themeventually to rise to positions of skill and responsibility. Thetraining eliminates the errand girl and apprenticeship stages, and makespossible a living wage at the start. The result is accomplished in fromnine to seventeen months, the time depending entirely upon thecapability of the girl, her physical condition, her application to herwork, her regularity of attendance, and her previous training. 

Classes

The department is divided into three sections: (1) The Elementary, whichconsists of two classes for the teaching of simple sewing and machinework. This section is rendered necessary by the poor preparation of thestudents at the entrance. It would be not only practical but desirablefor elementary public and industrial schools so to train their studentsthat they could omit this part of the Manhattan Trade School course. (2)The Vocational. This section also includes two classes. The work istradelike in character, but much time has to be given to developingright habits of work as well as to learning specific kinds of handwork. The public secondary schools could offer this section to advantage, andthrough it train pupils for a better knowledge of the home or for futurelivelihood. (3) The Trade Section. This is a business shop, whichreproduces trade conditions as nearly as possible and is subdivided intothe same progressive divisions. Although the object is to work as tradedoes, the educational aim is also prominent, and the course of traininghas been planned with both ends in view. Order work plays an importantpart in this section, for it makes possible the quantity and variety ofmaterial necessary to supply the many repetitions of important phases ofdressmaking, the new views of old principles, and the elaborate costumemanufacturing which are needed in the training. It would be impossiblefor a school to adequately deal with the many varieties of garments inthis trade without some equivalent for the order work. The use of modelsor of practice material is not satisfactory on account of the greatdifference between theoretical and practical knowledge in handlingvaluable materials. A girl may learn to run fine tucks on cheesecloth, but this will not enable her to do satisfactory hand-tucking on chiffon. Neither is it a correct educational or economic principle to cut upquantities of good material, which the students will look upon as"rags, " and then, after working on them, to throw them into a receptaclefor waste or sell them simply to get rid of them. To secure the bestresults in any line of instruction there must be interest andenthusiasm. The aim, therefore, must be definite and the results vital. The work is planned to foster these higher qualities. The studentsproduce articles for a definite use; they are given a required time inwhich the work should be completed; trade itself sets the standard ofjudgment, and a definite relation exists between the work of all theclasses, so that old principles may be recognized when presented in newforms. 

Courses of Work

I. Elementary Section. (1) Beginners' Class. First, a test is given eachgirl when she enters which enables her instructor to judge of herability in sewing. It has been found necessary, in the majority ofcases, to teach all or the greater part of the following principles: theuse of sewing utensils, the making of the stitches, their application inarticles, and the running of the sewing machine. Hence the second stephas been a course of work covering the use of these needed principles, each girl beginning at the point where she needs training. Third, thefinal test. On the satisfactory completion of this very elementarytraining a test is given to show a girl's ability to work, to think, andto utilize ideas. If she is not yet fully prepared, further time isspent in emphasizing the points she still requires. 

The work in the Beginners' Class is done upon articles which have atrade value and which are sold to customers or to the students for aboutthe cost of the materials. The school furnishes the materials for allelementary work, but the students must provide their own tools and keepthem in good condition. These include a thimble, needles, scissors, atape measure, an emery, and a white apron. 

Class instruction followed by individual criticism is the method ofteaching in the Elementary Section. Emphasis is placed upon the properuse of the utensils, the position of the body, and the handling of thework. Individual records are kept of the grade of work and of the timetaken to finish a problem. The course takes from two to three months tocomplete, and the students are at work four and one-half hours per day. 

 OUTLINE OF WORK IN BEGINNERS' CLASS

 1. Stitches and special forms of sewing: Basting, running, overhanding, overcasting, hemming, blind stitching, sewing on buttons (two hole, four hole), buttonholes, featherstitching. 

 2. Seams: Plain; selvage and raw edges; French; felled; straight and bias edges; overhanded. 

 3. Machine stitching: Straight seams and rows; hems; facings--points; use of tucker. 

 4. Principles: Measuring, seams, hems, tucks, cutting by a thread; matching stripes; turning and basting hems; making casing for drawstrings; putting on band--by hand, by machine--one and two pieces; setting strings into bands; finishing ends of hems; putting on pockets--straight and shaped; plain placket; cutting bias strips; piecing bias strips; facing curved and straight edges (armholes, neck, waist, points); joining waist and skirt with bias facing; making straight tucked ruffle; inserting ruffle under tuck on skirt; ripping. 

 5. Articles used in the work (this list is changed at will and is merely representative): Handwork--Pin cushion, bag, towel, white apron with ruffle. Machine work--Belt, gingham apron oversleeves, child's dress with waist, uniform apron. 

 6. Supplementary work: Shoe bags, silver cases, holders, bibs, silk bags, darning bags, needle books, traveling cases, baby caps and work of a similar character. 

 7. Materials used: Cotton, linen, silk. 

(2) Intermediate Class. The Beginners' Class gives most of its time tohand sewing, the Intermediate Class emphasizes machine sewing. The workis a repetition of the principles taught in the Beginners' Class, but ispresented in a different manner, with new applications. Orders are takenfrom individuals or business houses for the garments which are made inthis course. The price is that of the trade. These orders furnish amarket for the entire output of the class. A certain amount of classinstruction is given, but the girls are expected to do independent workunder supervision. 

 OUTLINE OF WORK IN INTERMEDIATE CLASS

 1. Review of former principles on new garments: (1) French seam--straight edges, baby slips and nightgowns. (2) Hems, (_a_) straight, (_b_) turned by hand, on princess aprons, bloomers, sleeves, etc. , (_c_) turned by machine--hemmer on ruffles, for drawers and petticoats. (3) Overcasting--seams of skirts. (4) Buttonholes--all garments. (5) Plackets--plain hemmed, on skirts, baby slips. (6) Bias bands--joining and applying to straight and curved edges, on princess aprons, drawers, top of petticoat. (7) Ruffle--joining, measuring, and applying under tuck, on skirt and drawers. (8) Machine instruction--threading, setting needles, winding bobbin, scale of thread, needle, and stitch. 

 2. New principles: (1) Flat fell--shaped and bias edges on princess aprons and drawers. (2) French seam--shaped edges in petticoat seams. (3) Loops--on petticoats and dressing sacques. (4) Hems--shaped edges in gored skirts, princess aprons and nightgowns, baby slips and children's dresses. (5) Overhanding--pieces on nightgowns, piecing ruffles and lace on underwear. (6) Plackets--faced in drawers, petticoats, bloomers, and dress skirts. (7) Bias band--applying to top of ruffle in petticoats and drawers. (8) Bias binding--corset cover and nightgown. (9) Ruffle--finishing with bias bands on petticoat and drawers. (10) Cuffs--making and applying to nightgowns, baby slips, rompers, and house dresses. (11) Sleeves--gathering on wrong side and putting into baby slips, nightgowns, dressing sacques, etc. (12) Pressing. (13) Sewing hooks and eyes on petticoats. (14) Machine instruction in cleaning, oiling, and attachments. 

 3. List of articles made for stock and order: Aprons--princess, maids', fancy. Women's clothes--dressing sacques, nightgowns, kimonos, lounging robes, house dresses, chemises, drawers, skirts (washable, mohair, silk), collars, and corset covers. Children's clothes--nightdresses, night drawers, drawers, skirts, rompers, dresses, and aprons. 

 4. Materials used: Cotton, silk, woolen, and worsted. 

II. Vocational Section. The increasing demand for ready-made clothinghas opened a new field for girls obliged to enter the business world assoon as the law will permit them to leave school. This requires handfinishing on fancy waists and plain and fancy gowns, which are made bythe dozens on machines run by electric power. It is not necessary tohave a knowledge of actual dressmaking to be able to do this work. Theability to do good handwork rapidly is the prerequisite. In someestablishments there are opportunities for girls of ability to rise fromfinisher to draper, which latter position commands a high wage. 

The producing of fine, handmade underwear, waists, and dresses isanother opportunity for girls who can take but a short time in which toprepare to earn their living. Work of this character is of a much highergrade than that of the wholesale finishing, and demands the ability todo extremely good hand and machine work. The worker must be able tohandle the finest kind of materials and to do the most intricate work, such as hand tucking, setting in lace, and trimmings. 

Although the course in the Vocational Section trains for specificbranches, it is very necessary that all dressmaking students should haveexperience in these lines in order to be better prepared for the actualdressmaking. If, however, a girl has the ability to do the work of theseclasses, she is allowed to skip either one or both of them. 

Course of work in the Shop for Gymnasium and Swimming Suits: Thestudents are drilled for one or two months in putting garments together, stitching, and finishing. As but two kinds of garments are made, speedis acquired and a certain amount of accuracy is gained through muchrepetition. Definite arrangements have been made through wholesalehouses for the disposition of the product. The materials are furnishedby the school. The price is that of trade. 

(1) Articles: Swimming suits (patented), bathing suits, and gymnasiumsuits. (2) Materials used: Cotton, wool, worsted. 

Course of work in White Work Class: The previous training having been ageneral one for accuracy, speed, and the mastery over mind and hand, attention is now given for two and one-half or three months to finedetail work and the handling and keeping fresh and clean of thedaintiest of cotton goods. The materials are furnished by the school andthe work is sold to customers at trade prices. 

(1) Principles: Hand-tucking, rolling and whipping, mitering corners, overhanding trimming, inserting lace and embroidery by hand and machine, fine featherstitching, and white hand embroidery. (2) Garments for stockand order; fine underwear, waists, and baby clothes. (3) Material used:cotton. 

III. Trade Section--The Business Shop. Trade demands skilled workers, and preference is given to those who have had practical training. Thetrade section aims to add experience to skill by offering the studentsthe actual work and conditions demanded in the outside market. Thegeneral scheme is the one in use in moderate-sized dressmakingestablishments. 

The workroom has its tables devoted to separate kinds of work, thestudents obtain a definite amount of knowledge from each experience, andpass from one to the other as rapidly as their ability to grasp theprinciples will permit. Each division is in charge of an instructor withpractical trade experience, who prepares and supervises the work andalso does the skilled parts which the students, on account of their lackof experience, are unable to do. 

The girls are not taught cutting, fitting, and draping, as trade wouldnot permit a sixteen-year-old girl to attempt this work on account ofher lack of judgment and experience; but they have the opportunity tosee and assist in the preparation of work. No girl in the trade shopwill make a complete garment, but she will have worked upon all partsmany times. 

Custom orders supply the shop with work. The customers are interviewed, measurements are taken, estimates are given, and dates for fittings areplanned. The information obtained is recorded upon blanks prepared forthe purpose. The materials are purchased, the garments cut, and thedifferent parts (skirts, waists, sleeves) are delivered to the tableswhere such work is done. Blanks are provided for the recording of allmaterials used for customers' work, and from these the bills are madeout in the main office. Stock is obtained from the storerooms on signedrequisitions only. The stock clerk measures and delivers the materialsand notes the amount withdrawn on each package. 

 Course in Dressmaking Shop:

 1. Linings: Waist (practice materials): basting, stitching, pressing, binding, boning (whalebone, featherbone); hooks and eyes; facing; overcasting. 

 2. Shirtwaists and nurses' uniforms: Covering rings; making shirtwaist cuff; making shirtwaist placket; putting on neckbands. 

 3. Skirts: Petticoats or drop skirts for; basting, stitching, pressing; seams, bands, plackets; trimming, pinning, putting on band. 

 4. Trimmed skirts: Slip stitching; milliner's and flat folds; covering buttonholes; binding, shirring, cording, tucking, piping, facing, braiding. 

 5. Trimmed waists: Application of principles; experience in making and applying trimming and handling delicate or perishable materials. 

 6. Trimmed sleeves: Application in general knowledge and experience in applying trimmings. 

 7. Garments made in the shop: Shirtwaists, fancy dressing sacques and wrappers; nurses' and maids' uniforms; dancing dresses; elaborate waists; street, afternoon, and evening gowns; tailored suits. 

 8. Materials used: All varieties of cotton, linen, silk, woolen, and worsted dress fabrics; chiffon, mousseline, and trimmings of all kinds. 

IV. Results of training. A change in the general appearance of the girlsis soon apparent, for which ability to make their own clothes and therefining influence of the doing of good work on good materials isprobably responsible. The elements of good order, obedience, thoughtfulness, judgment, self-control, industry, and thrift arefostered, and every effort is put forth to make intelligent workers. 

The fact that on entering trade the girls from the Trade School receivenearly double the salary given untrained girls indicates that they arefitted for the outside workrooms. 

V. Departmental relations. The emphasis which the Academic and ArtDepartments have laid upon accuracy, careful work, appreciation ofmeasurements, distances, color, and form has been of great value to thestudents in the Dressmaking Department. The Operating Department hasalso been of service in training some of the students to work on specialmachines, thus enabling them to make dress decoration. The use of theelectric power machine in custom dressmaking establishments is on theincrease. 

VI. Trade relation. The department is kept in close touch with tradeconditions through personal visits, through the houses which purchaseits output, and through those from whom the stock is bought. Manyopportunities to purchase materials at reduced rates have been securedthrough the kindly interest of the trade. 

An advisory board, composed of business men and women, has beenappointed to pass judgment upon the scheme of work, the standard andquality of work, and the cost and market value of the products. 

MILLINERY DEPARTMENT

Aim

The aim of the Millinery Department is to train assistants, improvers, frame makers, and preparers for wholesale and custom workrooms. 

Short Course

When this department was first opened the scope of the work for the dayclasses was much more extended and included training for copyists, designers, and milliners. The curtailing of the course to moreelementary preparation was brought about by a feeling of dissatisfactionwith this trade for the young, untrained, or partly skilled workers. Close and continued contact with millinery shops showed that for youngwage-earners a small, initial wage and a not very rapid rise are usual;that a short, irregular, seasonal engagement is almost inevitable; thata long experience is needed before even the trained girl can rise to thehigher positions; that young workers become discouraged and are apt todrop the trade altogether, even for lower wages, if they can obtainsteady work in another occupation. As it was the fourteen orfifteen-year-old girl who came for the instruction, it was better forher to be well trained as an assistant than to detain her at the schoolfor a more advanced position which she would probably not be allowed totake on account of her youth and inexperience. Students in thisdepartment need to be watched with especial care to determine whetherthey are well adapted for their occupation, and the mediocre workerwould better enter some other field where the opportunities for her aremore encouraging. As the advance is slow the girl also whose poverty ishurrying her into wage-earning would better not elect this work. 

The night classes which have been offered at the school gave training inthe more advanced lines of millinery. The day classes are also preparedto do so whenever older workers feel they can give time for theinstruction. 

 COURSE OF INSTRUCTION

 Length of course: Six months. 

 1. Practice: Shirring, tucking, cording, rolled hem, plain fold, milliner's fold, and cutting and joining bias pieces. 

 2. Making and covering buckles and buttons; wiring ribbons and laces; making hat linings and wiring hats. 

 3. Bandeaux: Wire, capenet, and buckram. 

 4. Wire frame construction from dimensions and models; making frames of buckram, capenet, and stiff willow. 

 5. Covering frames with crinoline, capenet, mull, maline, and soft willow. 

 6. Facings: Plain, shirred, and in folds. 

 7. Bindings: Stretch, puff, and rolled. 

 8. Plateaux: Plain and fancy. 

 9. Making hats of straw, silk, chiffon, maline, and velvet. 

 10. Sewing trimmings on hats and sewing linings in hats. 

 11. Renovating: Ribbon, velvet, lace, feathers, flowers. 

 12. Machine work: Plain stitching, tucking, shirring, bias strips stitched on material. 

Orders are taken for a limited amount of trimmed hats in order toprovide the students with experience in preparing, sewing on thetrimming, and in finishing the hat. 

As millinery is a seasonal trade, students are advised to take, inaddition, lamp and candle shade making in the Novelty Department, orstraw sewing in the Operating Department. They are thus provided withgood trades during the months when their own trade is dull. 

NOVELTY DEPARTMENT

Aim

(1) To teach the use of paste and glue in several good trades. (2) Ashort course in lampshade and candleshade making for girls who have adull season in their regular trade during November, December, andJanuary. 

Lines of Work

Sample mounting, novelty work, jewelry and silverware case making, lampshade and candleshade making. 

Trades and Wages

Sample mounting is pasting or gluing samples of all kinds of material oncards or in books to be used by salesmen in selling goods. New York is acenter for this class of work. It gives year-round employment to manygirls, and offers wages from $5 to $15 a week. The simpler lines ofsample mounting can be learned by almost any girl. A bright student canlearn this trade in six months. 

Novelty work is the covering and lining of cases and boxes withdifferent materials. Girls can earn from $5 to $18 a week, and can learnthe trade in from eight months to a year. 

In jewelry and silverware case making the girls are taught both to coverand line up the cases; they earn from $5 to $15 a week. It takes fromeight months to a year to learn this trade. 

Lampshade and candleshade making: A short course is offered to goodsewers who wish to learn a line of work that will give them employmentduring November, December, and January, which is the busy season in thisoccupation. Girls can earn from $1 to $2 a day. It is a very good coursefor millinery workers, as the work is similar and therefore easilylearned, and the slack time in millinery is the busy time in this trade. 

Course of Work

All pupils entering the Novelty Department take a short course in samplemounting to learn the use of paste and glue. Some are advanced soon tothe novelty work, while others continue in sample mounting, taking up agreater variety of work along that line. Those entering for lamp andcandle shade making do not take the sample mounting, but come from themillinery or sewing classes, where they have had some training with theneedle. 

Interrelation with Academic and Art Work

In the academic classes the girls are drilled in measurements and haveproblems estimating the cost of materials and labor. Their discussionspertain to actual processes and materials used in the classes of theNovelty Department. 

In the art classes the girls are trained to draw straight lines andsquare corners, to miter corners, to fold on a line, to make goodletters and figures, and to appreciate good proportions and balance. This work enables the student to arrange her samples in straight lineson the card, with proper margins, and to print neatly on the card thename of the materials and stock numbers. The discussion of materialshelps her to cut and place her materials on the cases so that the designwill appear to the best advantage. The color work aids her in choosingthe best hues of ribbons or linings to use with the figured coverings. 

Orders

Where trade orders can be used without keeping the girls too long on theone problem, they prove a great incentive and also help them to acquirespeed. Private orders give more variety in the work, and thus enable thegirls to adjust themselves more easily to each season's new styles. Theprivate orders, however, being smaller in number, do not help thestudents to acquire the speed that the repetition does in the largetrade orders. Each kind of order work is used, as it can be of advantageto the development of the student. 

ART DEPARTMENT

The courses of work in the Art Department are shaped according to theneeds of each trade department. Various phases of work in dressmaking, electric power operating, novelty, and millinery are made "centers ofinterest. " Each girl thus finds her art aiding her to be more valuablein her trade. Her enthusiasm is awakened and she is stimulated toself-expression directly along the line of her chosen work. The enteringstudents lack in the technical skill which can be used in their trades. The first step, therefore, is to give the elementary exercises needed intheir departments. This is followed by more difficult and more artisticwork as the student shows ability. 

Aims

To help the work of the trade departments, to improve the trade selectedby each student, to give ideals. 

Conditions

Time of average student in art, seven months, three hours per week. Previous art training little or none. 

Difficulties

The students do not see or estimate correctly; they are not exact, andthey lack ideals. 

Organization of Art Work

I. _General_ course for _all_ students, connecting Art Department withTrade Courses. Approximate time, three months, three times a week. 

 1. Principles of Proportion: Measurements by ruler and free-hand. Related lines and sizes, as in hems and margins. 

 2. General Use of Principles: (1) Horizontal, vertical, oblique lines for machine practice. (2) Related margins and spots as used in the writing of letters, the orderly placing of subject on a page. 

 3. Specific Department Work: Departments express their needs to Art Department. (1) Machine operating: (_a_) Lines--horizontal, vertical, oblique, for machine practice. (_b_) Quilting, banding, practice for curves and square corners. 

 (2) Sewing: (_a_) Lines--horizontal, vertical, oblique, for machine and hand practice and tailor basting. (_b_) Hems, tucks as prescribed by department and proportioned to garment. (_c_) Constructive drawing--giving different angles and figures with a view toward an intelligent use of patterns for waists and skirts. (_d_) Piecing bias and mitering corners. 

 (3) Novelty: (_a_) Lines--horizontal, vertical, oblique, for sample mounting. (_b_) Spacings for sample mounting. (_c_) Letterings and figures for sample mounting. (_d_) Margins for pasting different shaped labels and samples. (_e_) Paper folding, mitering corners. 

 (4) Millinery: (_a_) Lines--horizontal, vertical, oblique, for hand sewing practice. (_b_) Problems for proportions for the wire frames. (_c_) Bias facings and mitered and square corners. (_d_) Color. 

Students unable to benefit further by the Art Work are dropped fromcourse and devote this time to their trade. 

II. _Supplementary_ course for students showing ability who havefinished the prescribed departmental course. Approximate time, seven tonine months. 

 1. Machine Operating: (1) First step in designs, arrangement of straight lines in borders, and orderly arrangement of spots in borders. (2) Squared-off designs, stenciling same, for coördination. (3) Sample curved line designs, continuous (limitation of machine and for speed). (4) Patterns for practice work for the special machine. (5) Special workers to practice the exercises for the Bonnaz machine. (6) Color--three charts. (7) Exercises for perforating. 

 2. Sewing: (1) Simple designs for shirtwaists and for braiding. (2) Designs for revers, cuffs, vests, and yokes. (3) Proportions of figure. (4) Copying from magazines for trade technicalities. (5) Discussions on dress for trade workers. (6) Color harmony in dresses and application. 

 3. Millinery: (1) Sketching different views of the hats. (2) Sketching models. (3) Color harmonies and application. (4) Discussions on how art principles can be applied to hats of the present day. 

 4. Novelty: (1) Simple, squared-off designs stenciled for coördination for hand and head, not gained in the trade work. (2) Simple illumination of words and phrases. (3) The materials and decoration to be used for pads, desk sets, and boxes discussed and carried out. 

In this supplementary course emphasis is put on the thought, invention, and appreciation of the student. 

III. _Special_ course for students who show unusual ability in art andcan utilize it in trade. 

 1. Costume sketching for making records in dressmaking workrooms. 

 2. Stamping and perforating: (_a_) Machine practice--pedaling, guiding needle, threading machine, and learning to adjust the different parts. (_b_) Stamping on different materials with the different mediums; composition of the different mediums, liquid and dry. (_c_) Copying patterns for perforating; nature study for motifs; conventionalizing those to apply them to materials. 

(All designs are such as can be used in trade and are made according totrade methods. )

ACADEMIC DEPARTMENT

Aim

I. Elementary: To supplement previous schooling. Girls who have left thepublic school from low grades need special tutoring in the commonbranches. Special instruction is also needed for newly arrivedforeigners. 

II. Trade: To quicken and enrich the mind, that the girl may become amore efficient, intelligent, and enthusiastic trade worker. 

The work falls under the following subjects: Civics, Industries, Arithmetic, English. 

Civics

This course is given as a means of enabling the pupil to recognize herplace in the family, the school, the community, and in the world's work. For lack of a better term it is called Civics. It is dealt with undertwo heads: (1) Community Life in General, (2) Community Life in New YorkCity. 

1. Under the first head the discussion of life in a given community isfollowed by the simple facts that lie at the foundation of civic life. These are approached through the interests or desires which the pupilfeels in common with all other people. Building still further on thepupil's own experience, she is led to apply the ideas received to herown community, which ever widening its scope is carried from theneighborhood or the school to the city, the state, and on to the nation. 

Civics also gives to the pupils a knowledge of the existing laws underwhich they will work, by whom these laws are made, and the possiblemeans for improving them. In the discussion of such subjects as TenementHouse Laws, Child Labor Laws, and Trade-Unions, there is opportunity forthe introduction of home and business economics which have been found tobe valuable. Economics is further taught by the detailed discussion ofthe apportionment of an income of $6 a week for fifty working weeks, considering car fare, lunches, savings, a portion toward family support, and an allowance for clothes. The literature for this course is obtainedfrom the United States Department of Commerce and Labor, the StateDepartment of Factory Legislation, the Consumers' League, the Nationaland State Labor Committees, and current magazines. Mr. Arthur M. Dunn's, "The Community and the Citizen, " especially such chapters as those onthe "Making of Americans, " "How the Government Aids the Citizen in HisBusiness Life, " "Waste and Saving, " "What the Community Does for ThoseWho Cannot or Will Not Contribute to Its Progress, " has given valuableassistance in leading to discussions which have direct bearing upondaily life and work. 

2. The following outline shows the treatment of the second division ofCivics:

 New York City: (1) City Government, (_a_) Officials, Mayor, Commissioner, Borough President, Aldermen; (_b_) City Departments. (2) Citizenship, (_a_) Who are citizens, (_b_) How to become a citizen, (_c_) Duties and privileges of citizens, (_d_) Aliens. (3) Child Labor Laws, (_a_) School attendance, (_b_) Working papers, how obtained, (_c_) Hours for work. (4) Factory Laws for girls over sixteen years old. (5) Sweatshop labor. (6) Tenement House Laws. (7) Trade-Unions. (8) Commerce and Industries of New York. (9) Philanthropies. 

Industries

Aim: To furnish the worker with a background for her trade and to helpher to see her place in the working world of today. 1. A generalizedview is taken of the main steps in the early progress of the race. 2. Textile materials are discussed as to their values, their uses, theircost, the processes of their manufacture, the comparison of foreign anddomestic goods, with reasons for the differences, and the connectedproblems of arithmetic which the students will meet. These subjects helpthe girl to "get next" to what she is working with every day and toarouse interest in her personal connection with the subject. The Englishgirl whose father was once employed in a lace house in London bringsmounted specimens of that sort of handwork to the class; the Hungarianbrings hand-spun articles from her mother's bridal outfit; the Italianpresents a skein of raw silk taken from the family's treasure box, andthe girl from Roumania brings an embroidered bed cover. The studentwhose mother does not believe cotton ever grew on bushes asks that shemay verify her own statement by taking home a real cotton ball. A LaborMuseum is being collected to give reality to the instruction, andexhibits from it, which show the steps in the manufacturing of thefabrics and of other familiar articles, are put up in the classroom whenneeded. A bulletin board provides for the numerous clippings brought bythe students or teachers. 

Arithmetic

Aim: The fundamental aim of arithmetic is to give the pupils workingmethods for the problems that occur in trade practice. To make thecorrelation clear to the girls, workroom methods of presentation andphraseology and the customary materials are used. Sewing and operatingstudents make hems, tucks, and ruffles to actual measurements; noveltygirls cut and arrange cards for samples in accordance with theirworkroom demands; and millinery students work out the measurements forhat frames as closely as varying styles permit. 

With the fundamentals of trade problems established, arithmetic isfurther developed along special lines of trade to meet the demands ofthe business world. The trained worker should not only be skilled in themanipulation of tools and materials, but she should be able to computeher own problems, such as estimates for garments, how to cut materialseconomically, the cost of one garment or article as related to the costof many of the same kind, the prices, and similar trade questions. Theability to deal with these subjects adds materially to the value of askilled worker. 

The central scheme of the course is to lead the pupil to prompt andaccurate mental calculation. This is stimulated by frequent oral drillsin trade problems and business problems involving short methods ofcomputation. The extent and progress of this work are regulated by theability of the class. 

The following outlines show the adaptation of arithmetic to thedifferent trades:

 _Operating_: (1) Cutting of gauges, (_a_) For hems, (_b_) For tucks. (2) Tucking problems, (_a_) With gauges, (_b_) As formal arithmetic problems. (3) Ruffling problems. (4) Time problems, Department time schedules as basis for the work. (5) Factory problems. (6) Income, expenditure, savings. (7) Bills and receipts. (8) Computation of quantity of material required for garments, (_a_) By measuring garments, (_b_) By use of patterns on cloth, (_c_) Economy of material. (9) Problems based on above work. (10) Civic problems. 

 _Sewing_: (1) Cutting of gauges, (_a_) For hems, (_b_) For tucks. (2) Tucking problems. (3) Ruffling problems. (4) Computation of quantity of material required for garments, (_a_) By measuring garments, (_b_) By use of patterns on cloth, (_c_) Economy of material. (5) Problems based on above work. (6) Store problems. (7) Bills and receipts. (8) Income, expenditures, savings. (9) Textile problems. (10) Civic problems. 

 _Novelty_: (1) Sample mounting, (_a_) Cards are cut a given size and are divided with the ruler into spaces for samples, with proper margins, etc. , according to trade demands, (_b_) Problems involving the various sizes and shapes of cards and samples, using cards and rulers for the work. (2) Sample cutting. (3) Cutting materials for boxes, (_a_) Pulp board, (_b_) Covering plain, flowered, (_c_) Economy of materials. (4) Problems based on above work. (5) Trade problems, (_a_) In sample mounting, accuracy, speed, (_b_) Cost of materials. (6) Bills and receipts. (7) Income, expenditure, savings. (8) Civic problems. 

 _Millinery_: (1) Measurement of frames. (2) Trade problems, (_a_) Quantity of material, (_b_) Price of materials, (_c_) Economy of material. (3) Orders, (_a_) By letter, (_b_) By order blanks. (4) Bills and receipts. (5) Income, expenditure, savings. (6) Problems on manufacture of silk. (7) Civic problems. 

English

Aim: 1. To facilitate oral and written expression. 2. To give practicein business forms: _Spelling_: (1) Technical terms of each tradedepartment; (2) Textiles and other trade materials; (3) Ordinarybusiness terms. _Descriptions_: (1) Written work on materials used andarticles made in each department; (2) Outlining and defining ofdepartment work. _Business Forms_: (1) Letters of application; (2)Letters ordering goods; (3) Telegrams, postal cards, etc. ; (4) Writingof advertisements. 

In addition to practice in spelling and in the writing of businessforms, the work in English aims to be in close correlation with theother subjects taught. As a rule, the latter part of each recitationperiod is spent by the pupils in writing upon the subject in hand. Thepurpose is to obtain from them freedom of expression after arousinginterest in a subject, rather than to get long compositionsnecessitating home study and probably generating a dislike for writtenwork. Attention is called to paragraphing and emphasis is laid upon boththe form and the manner of writing, but form is made subservient tothought. The interrelation of Art Department helps the student toappreciate the need of good form in the appearance of a written page. 

PHYSICAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

The young wage-earner who goes into trade untrained at fourteen years ofage is greatly handicapped by her physical condition. Either throughignorance or neglect early symptoms of disease are disregarded, and itis not until she finds herself out of employment as a result of physicalweakness that she realizes that good health is the capital of theworking girl. 

Many of the girls who enter the school are found to be suffering frompoor vision; enlarged glands caused by decayed teeth; poor nasalbreathing as a result of adenoid growths or enlarged tonsils; anæmia;skin eruptions; slight asymmetries and poor posture. These defectsproduce exaggerated nerve signs and poor nutrition. 

Aim

The work of the Physical Department is to correct as many of theseirregularities as possible and also to train the student to a knowledgeof her body and how to care for it, that she may be able to stand thelong hours of confining work and be able to show efficient results inher trade. 

The following examination is required of each entering student:

_Physical Examination_: Beginning with the family history, a completerecord of all important events relating to a student's physical life istaken. She is carefully examined for asymmetry; curvature, incipient orwell defined; traces of tuberculosis; weakness of heart and lungs;enlarged glands; skin diseases, or signs of nervous disorders. She isclosely questioned as to all bodily functions and a careful record iskept of irregularities. Eyes, ears, teeth, nose, and throat are likewiseexamined. Impressions of the feet are made in order to detect weaknessof the arch or flatfoot. Measurements of height, weight, and theprincipal expansions are taken for comparison with later records and forthe purpose of comparing with normal standard. 

Prescribed Treatment

After the examination the girl is instructed as to treatment, if any isneeded. If perfectly normal she will report for gymnastics three times aweek. If any asymmetry, curvature of the spine, heart disease, ornervous disorders are discovered, she must report for special correctiveexercises at the school. In some cases individual instruction is givenfor supplementing the work at home. Cases demanding special apparatusand individual attention have been treated in the Physical EducationDepartment of Teachers College, through the kindness of the director, Dr. Thomas Denison Wood. The girls so affected have thus the advantageof the latest methods known to science. If any of the numerous skindiseases are present which demand frequent and regular attention, thestudent is assigned to a group who go twice a week to a dispensary toreceive electrical or X-ray treatment. In cases of enlarged tonsils oradenoids, the necessity for immediate operation is explained and everyeffort made to gain the consent of the parents. When permission isobtained the girl goes to a neighboring hospital on Sunday evening, isoperated upon on Monday, and returns home Tuesday. Each student musthave her eyes thoroughly examined by a doctor selected at the OphthalmicDispensary. If glasses are needed they are procured at the expense ofthe parent or donated by an optician who is interested in the school. Dispensary treatment is also necessary in cases of catarrh of nose andthroat. Teeth are carefully examined and the girls directed to their owndentists, or to the Dental Dispensary adjoining the school, where we arefortunate enough to have a limited amount of work done free of charge. Cases of asymmetry demanding braces, plaster jackets, and operationshave been treated at the Post-Graduate Hospital. Tuberculosis cases inadvanced stages have been placed on the special boats in New York Harboror are sent to Tubercular Camps in the country. 

In sending girls to the hospitals and dispensaries the aim is to placethem in touch with institutions to which they will have independentaccess after they leave the Manhattan Trade School. 

Statistics

The statistics below show the condition of 278 girls when theyregistered at the school. The charts are divided according to thedepartments entered. From them can be seen the need of special care forthe health of the working girl. 

 |Dressmaking. | |Art. | | |Millinery. | | | |Novelty. | | | | |Operating. | | | | | |Total. --------------------+-------------------+-----+---+----+----+----+------ | | | | | | | Nutrition | Good | 101 | 7 | 15 | 26 | 35 | 184 | Fair | 39 | | 2 | 6 | 18 | 65 | Poor | 7 | | 4 | 10 | 8 | 29 | | | | | | | Mentality | Good | 122 | 7 | 19 | 33 | 40 | 221 | Fair | 21 | | 2 | 6 | 17 | 46 | Poor | 4 | | | 3 | 4 | 11 | | | | | | | Nerve signs | Present | 39 | 3 | 6 | 13 | 16 | 77 | Absent | 108 | 4 | 15 | 29 | 45 | 201 | | | | | | | Asymmetry, slight | Present | 53 | 4 | 12 | 23 | 29 | 121 curvatures, high | Absent | 94 | 3 | 9 | 19 | 32 | 157 hips or shoulders, | | | | | | | etc. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Posture | Good | 93 | 4 | 8 | 29 | 31 | 165 | Fair | 54 | 3 | 13 | 13 | 30 | 113 | | | | | | | Skin | Good condition | 95 | 5 | 13 | 32 | 44 | 189 | Acne, comedones, | 52 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 17 | 89 | etc. | | | | | | | | | | | | | Glands | Good condition | 66 | 3 | 10 | 19 | 20 | 118 | Enlarged | 81 | 4 | 11 | 23 | 41 | 160 | | | | | | | Vision | Need glasses | 44 | 3 | 8 | 12 | 19 | 86 | Good condition | 103 | 4 | 13 | 30 | 42 | 192 | | | | | | | Hearing | Defective | 6 | 1 | | 4 | 1 | 12 | Good | 141 | 6 | 21 | 38 | 60 | 266 | | | | | | | Speech | Good | 170 | 7 | 20 | 37 | 56 | 260 | Defective | 7 | | 1 | 5 | 5 | 8 | | | | | | | Nasal breathing | Good | 32 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 13 | 60 | Fair | 58 | 4 | 11 | 13 | 28 | 114 | Poor | 57 | 2 | 6 | 19 | 20 | 104 | | | | | | | Tonsils | Good | 44 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 21 | 79 | Slightly enlarged | 75 | 2 | 11 | 25 | 24 | 137 | Much enlarged | 28 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 16 | 62 | | | | | | | Teeth | Good | 103 | 5 | 16 | 30 | 40 | 194 | Poor | 44 | 2 | 5 | 12 | 21 | 84 | Need attention | 108 | 4 | 12 | 31 | 40 | 195 | | | | | | | Hearts | Good | 122 | 4 | 21 | 23 | 44 | 214 | Weak, irritable, | 24 | 2 | | 17 | 13 | 56 | or with anæmic | | | | | | | murmurs | | | | | | | Organic trouble | 1 | 1 | | 2 | 4 | 8 | | | | | | | Lungs | Good | 138 | 5 | 20 | 36 | 58 | 257 | Tuberculosis | 3 | | | 2 | | 5 | Suspected | 6 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 16 | tuberculosis | | | | | | | | | | | | | Feet | Good | 125 | 7 | 16 | 38 | 53 | 239 | Weak arches | 10 | | 1 | | 4 | 15 | Broken arches or | 12 | | 4 | 4 | 4 | 24 | flatfoot | | | | | | | | | | | | | Enlarged thyroid | | 12 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 23 glands | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Exophthalmic goiter | | 2 | | | | 2 | 4 | | | | | | | Chorea | | 2 | | | 2 | 1 | 5 | | | | | | | Needing corrective | | 5 | | 3 | 4 | 7 | 19 exercises | | | | | | | | | | | | | | --------------------+-------------------+-----+---+----+----+----+-------

A second examination of the same girls six months later shows gain inweight, height, and general health; 125 had their teeth put in order;six were treated for defective hearing; twenty had attended the SkinClinic; all had their eyes examined; eighty-six were fitted withglasses. In twenty-five cases where the adenoids and tonsils wereremoved the result was increase in weight, better breathing and heartaction, alertness of mind, and a noticeable improvement in trade work. Where the obstructions of nose and throat still remain there is loss inweight and diminished chest expansion and a generally weakenedcondition. The extraction of decayed teeth and the providing ofwell-fitting glasses have diminished nervous irritability and thefrequency of headaches. Three cases of tuberculosis were sent to camps. Seven cases of organic heart trouble were treated by specialists;nineteen girls were given corrective exercises at Teachers College; twowere fitted with shoes and braces; two were put into plaster jackets, one for lateral rotary curvature and one for neuritis; and one advancedcase of chorea has been placed in the hospital. Of the girls whoserecords are given in the list it can be said that, with the exception ofthe cripples and a few others needing simple operations, a year's careshows that very few of them are in any way handicapped by the effects ofdisease. 

PHYSICAL EDUCATION COURSE

I. Gymnastics:

 1. Elementary: 3 thirty-minute periods a week. (1) Swedish floor work for general posture; (2) Work in control of breathing; (3) Marching tactics for form and accuracy; (4) Light apparatus work: (_a_) Wands, (_b_) Dumb-bells, (_c_) Indian clubs; (5) Heavy apparatus for coördination; (6) Simple dances and rhythm work for grace and poise; (7) Simple plays and games. 

 2. Advanced: 2 forty-five-minute periods a week. (1) Gymnastic dances containing more than three figures; (2) Swedish and Danish weaving dances in correlation with study of textiles (Academic Department); (3) Folk dances of Sweden and Russia for form; (4) Modern athletic dances for grace and poise; (5) Athletic Competition: (_a_) Running and jumping, (_b_) Relay and obstacle races, (_c_) Hockey and basket ball. 

 3. Special corrective work for spinal trouble or poor position: (1) General floor work for mobility; (2) Free-hand work: (_a_) Single assistive and resistive exercises, (_b_) Hanging exercises with and without assistance, (_c_) Work with iron dumb-bells. 

II. Hygiene: Talks on hygiene are a regular part of the work, and aim togive each girl a knowledge of her body and of its functions that willenable her to care for her health in an intelligent manner and toestablish in her mind ideals of correct living which can be madepractical in her surroundings. 

 1. _Personal Hygiene_: (1) Brief survey of the body as a whole; (2) The use of the mouth, nose, larynx, trachea, and lungs in breathing; (3) Care of nose and throat: (_a_) The nose as a source of infection, (_b_) Dangers of enlarged tonsils and adenoids, (_c_) Treatment of colds; (4) Structure and care of the teeth. (5) The Digestive System: (_a_) Organs directly concerned, and (_b_) Their care, (_c_) Disorders of the Digestive System; (6) The Nervous System, Brain, and Spinal Cord; (7) The Skin, (_a_) Structure and Use, (_b_) Hygiene of Skin; (8) Heart and Blood Vessels; (9) The Hair; (10) The Ears; (11) The Eyes; (12) The Feet; (13) The Hygiene of Clothes. 

 2. _Domestic Hygiene_: Construction and furnishing of Home: (_a_) Internal arrangement, walls, and coverings, (_b_) Ventilation, (_c_) Heating, (_d_) Lighting, (_e_) Water Supply, (_f_) Plumbing and Drainage, (_g_) Toilet rooms, (_h_) Disposal of Garbage and Ashes, (_i_) House Cleaning, sweeping, dusting, cleaning, and use of disinfectants. 

 3. _Foods_: (1) Nutritive value of foods; (2) Purity of food materials; (3) Cooking--Cooking utensils; (4) Planning of meals. 

 4. _Diseases_: (1) Causes and Transmission; (2) Contagious diseases, care, prevention; (3) Hygiene of sick room; (4) Insects and vermin; (5) Infectious diseases. 

Transcriber's Note:

 Minor typographical errors have been corrected without note.