.

[243] Quoted Wells, _Contemporary Review_, 1887, p. 392.

[244] Marsden, _Cotton Spinning_, p. 296, etc. S. Andrew, _Fifty Years
Cotton Trade_, p. 7.

[245] This fourfold classification--(1) manual, (2) routine-mental,
(3) artistic, (4) intellectual--is a serviceable suggestion of Mr.
Sidney Webb in his paper upon woman's wages (_Economic Journal_, vol.
i., 1881).

[246] _Report to Commission of Labour on Employment of Women_, p. 141.

[247] Webb, _Economic Journal_, vol. i. p. 658.

[248] I am informed, however, in Lancashire, that the strongest and
ablest male workers will not undertake weaving, finding it tedious and
monotonous.

[249] Women sometimes abuse the superior competitive powers contained
in their lower standard of subsistence, and the smaller number of
those dependent on them, to undersell male labour. In Sheffield
file-making, where women are paid the same list of prices as men, it
is said that they practise sweating in their homes to the detriment of
male workers. So in carpet-weaving at Halifax; recently when the men
struck against a reduction upon their wage of 35s., women took the
work at 20s. (Lady Dilke, "Industrial Position of Women," _Nineteenth
Century_, Oct. 1893.) In watch-making, "the hand-work for which men
were paid about 18s. a-week is now done by women with machinery for
about 12s." (_Report to Labour Commission on Women's Employments_, p.
146.)

[250] Dr. Bertillon (_Journal de la Societe de Statistique de Paris_,
Oct.-Nov. 1892) shows that among the Lyons silkworkers (1872-89) and
in the Italian Societies (1881-85) the sickness of women is
considerably greater than of men. In Lyons 9.39 days as compared with
7.81 for men; in Italy 8.5 as compared with 6.6.

[251] This holds, for example, of many branches of the fur, trimmings,
stays, umbrella, match-box trades, and the "finishing" departments of
the trousers and shirt trades in East London. Cf. Miss Collet in
_Labour and Life of the People_, vol. i.

[252] In the United States the general standard of money wages for
working women in cities is considerably higher than in England. The
average wage throughout the country was recently estimated to amount
to $5.24 per week, or just under 21s. But the divergences from this
average are much wider than in England. The lowest wages fall almost
to the lowest English level, for some 3 per cent. of the number
averaged were earning less than 8s. a week. About 20 per cent. were
earnin