from old newspapers; strawboard, made from straw; wood-pulp board, made from wood; and chipboard, made from the shavings and chips gathered in the paper-box factories and worked over into stock at the mills. These various kinds of boards are commonly termed "box board." Such stock is shipped in large sheets, or in the case of thin material, in large rolls, directly from the producing mills or from dealers. It may be purchased already "lined", that is, with one side covered with white or colored paper, or it may be lined at the factory. This lined surface forms the inside of the box and serves as a finish. 2. ENVELOPE MAKING. Following the introduction of cheap postage in Great Britain and in the United States, about 1840, the use of envelopes for the purpose of enclosing personal correspondence became quite general. Prior to 1844 comparatively few envelopes were used and those were all made by hand, the blank forms being cut, folded and gummed without the use of any machinery whatever. In 1844 a patent was granted in England for an envelope-making machine, and about five years later the machine was patented in the United States. Since that time the machinery has been so perfected that the making of envelopes has become almost wholly a mechanical operation, thereby greatly reducing the cost of manufacture. The demand for a great variety of envelopes has led to the use of many grades and colors of paper in their manufacture. The largest envelope factories in Massachusetts are located in Springfield and Worcester, the latter city being the acknowledged center of the industry in the United States. In manufacturing envelopes the forms or blanks are cut directly from the paper, generally a ream at a time, by a steel die driven by steam pressure. These blanks are fed automatically to the envelope machine where they are folded, the margins being gummed, the proper edges being pressed together, and the gum, known as the seal, on the loose or upper flap being dried. These operations are rapidly performed while the envelopes pass through the machine and, when thus completed, the envelopes pass on an endless belt to the front of the machine and are deposited in packages of twenty-five envelopes each. The operator then bands each package with a narrow strip of paper, and packs it in a box ready for shipment. From five to six thousand envelopes an hour can be made on each of these machines. When the envelopes are of unusual size or character, it is necessary to make them by hand, in which case the envelopes, after being blanked in the usual way, are folded and the flaps are gummed and sealed at the bench. For the purpose of enclosing second class mail matter, which is subject to examination or for office filing purposes, certain envelopes are made with the upper flap ungummed. Such envelopes are usually equipped with clasps of metal or with extension cords, which prevent the contents from falling out yet admit of ready examination. Frequently envelopes are addressed or printed during the process of manufacture, consequently the printing department is often an important department in an envelope factory. All printing is usually done on the blank before it is folded, and for this purpose very rapid automatic presses are generally used. As nearly all of the operations in the manufacture of envelopes are performed by automatic machines, the majority of the employees in an envelope factory are women and girls. Men operate the cutting machines on which the shapes or blanks are cut, adjust the delicate mechanism of the envelope machines, set them for the various sized blanks, and keep them in proper running order, but women do all the bench work on hand-made envelopes, tend the machines on which the envelopes are folded and sealed, and perform many of the operations in the printing. department. No great skill is required of a machine operator, and the work in an envelope factory is generally clean and free from danger. The female employees are not required to do heavy lifting, are not subject to severe eye strain as in some industries, and are not required to handle any dirty material other than gum or mucilage. Women known as "clasp attachers" or "claspers", who operate the machines by which are attached the different devices for fastening the unsealed envelopes, are required to use some care in operating their machines so as to avoid accidents to their hands and fingers, but, otherwise, no dangerous machinery is operated by women in the manufacture of envelopes. VI. DETAILED TABLES. TABLE A. Customary and Actual Working Time, with Reference to Full Time, Overtime, and Undertime. TABLE B. Customary and Actual Working Time, with Reference to Time and Piece-work. TABLE C. Earnings and Working Time, with Reference to Full Time, -- Overtime, and Undertime. TABLE D.-Earnings and Working Time, with Reference to Time and Piece-work. TABLE E. Actual Weekly Earnings: By Occupations. TABLE F. Actual Hourly Earnings: By Occupations. TABLE G. Customary and Actual Weekly Working Time: By Occu pations. [VI. 59] |