Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 47, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 February 1914 — A LITTLE STORY of a Great Industry That Turns Washday Into a Holiday and Frees All Womankind From the Tyranny of the Tub ------ [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

A LITTLE STORY of a Great Industry That Turns Washday Into a Holiday and Frees All Womankind From the Tyranny of the Tub ------

work, machines that do everything but think. In plain English, the business of handling the “week’s wash” has advanced to a point where it takes its proper place as one of. the greatest lndustries of the age, and I doubt if any other industry has taken such enormous strides in trying to merit the trust and confidence of the public it serves. But to go back to the-organization of the laundry interests. Sound thinkers in the councils of the Association said: “Let us throw open the doors of our laundries. We have no secrets. There

is nothing mysterious about the simple process of washing. Let us arouse the interest of our customers in our work.” This policy of “getting chummy” with your customers is a wise one, the proof being that more of our great institutions are doing it every year, and profiting by it. You will find your laundry, if it is the right sort, will meet you more than half-way In order to know you, and have you know it better. It is becoming quite the thing, in certain cities, for women to get up parties to visit laundering establishments. They always enjoy these trips, and I' have heard many of them say that “they had no idea that a laundry was anything like what it is. and that they could have spent a whole day most enjoyably In watching the different processes.” They were surprised to see how many times a collar must be handled, and how carefully each operation must be performed. Then they wondered how all these different attentions could be given it for the modest price of from two and one-half to three cents.

The up-to-the-minute laundry presents one of the most interesting of present-day economic problems. As a bulletin in a laundry 1 know so concisely states It, laundries are “selling cleanliness.” Cleanliness means contented labor. Jtestless. drifting, dissatisfied workers are not fitted temperamentally to insure that condition which tradition teaches is next to godliness. I visited a prosperous laundry during the preparation of this article, and found the proprietor feeding collars into a dampening machine. “I like to help out when the rush is on,” he explained; and I found this same spirit of helpfulness and teamwork in every laundry 1 visited. In one of them a system of promo-

tton prevails that operates as rigidly as the National Civil Service laws. A standing rule requires foreman and superintendents to reprimand theii subordinates only in private. No work er can be “called down” before bis companions. The result is obvious. Loyalty is written nil over the establishment, on every package that leaves its doors. The organization responsible for the readjustment of the laundry industry Is known as the Laundr.Vmen’s National Association, of America. More than two thousand laundries are represented In its membership. You will tie

ouot Bnff In your locality one of tDos* hi undries. They are generally known by the efficiency of their service, the quality if their output, and their interest in all matters pertaining to the general welfare of the- community in which they Jive. These men are modest; few of them advertise the fact that they are memt>ers of the L. N but prefer to let their work speak for them. Seek out one of these plants, and you will usually upon inquiry, that it is a member of the National Association, and it is proud of it. Now let us see what actually happens to the clothes we entrust to the laundry. - ’* From the time*they are placed in the collection-bag to their arrival back home, they are not subjected to a single process that would tend to injure the most delicate fabric. On their arrival at the lafindry, the packages are sorted into bins, according tq the nature of the work in them. The next step in the process is performed by several clean-looking, hap-py-faced young women. One of them opens the bag or package and assorts Its contents; another counts the pieces and records them on a printed list, with blank spaces to be filled in with the number of pieces of the different articles. The cleaner pieces do not require so much washing as those which are badly soiled, and are handled separately. Silks and wools, as well as delicate colors, are washed by hand in the softest of water and With the finest of soap. Nothing but white goods is ever boiled. The best work, whether in laundering or in any other line of industry, cannot come from the dark cellar or the underground refuge. The kind of men and women who ought to care for your linen cannot be prevailed upon to work under such conditions. The improvement in laundry methods has meant a vast improvement in the standard ot the employee. Many large laundries have their “welfare departments,” devoted to the help and advancement of the workers We will find this department in charge of a big-hearted, motherly woman who has a large sympathy in the problems of the young women under her care. The writer knows one prominent launderer whose own daughter took a special training to fit her for this humane work. Principles of absolute cleanliness must be Instilled. A high standard of sanitation must be set up and adhered to. All these things you should know. Women who have taken their stand upon questions of great public policies have wrought important reforms. They have won their fight for healthful milk In clean bottles; they have closed up unsanitary bakeries; they have battled successfully against the short-weight grocers. Why should they not look to their laundry, and see that their linen is handled in a clean, light, well-ventilat-ed establishment by men and women

whose very appearance bespeaks the pride they feel in their work? I have tried to show you that the laundries are doing their part to improve conditions. The creed of the laundry business today may be summed up in three paragraphs: “That every piece of poor work that goes out of the laundry brings back its own penalty; “That inefficient underpaid, discontented employees are a ruinous extravagance, and not an economy; “That the dirty, ill-lighted, ill-ven-tilated, slovenly laundry should be shunned, and the clean, bright, progressive laundry patronized.” Now, gentle reader, are you doing your part? Have you made it your business to find out tt your laundry is the high-grade institution 1 have described? The next time your laundry comes home, open your bundle yourself and examine each piece. You .will be Impressed with a freshness, a snow-white cleanliness, seldom found in the “home wash.” Another thing thut may im- : press you is the fact that here is an organization equipped to handle all of your wash. You may be sending it only part of your work; but when you find the right kind of a laundry, you will have located au establishment that can handle everything washable better, more carefnily, more cleanly than tt can be done anywhere else. If you remember the old-fashioned Mow day, the houseful of steatii, the luncheon of left-overs flavored with the heavy aroma of boiling clothes, you will be quick to appreciate the part the laundry has played in the pursuit of comfort. You can get s great deal more Information by addressing the Secretary of the LaundrymenV National Associafe tton of America, 425- First Stress, L* Salle, 111. ’

Well Dressed Man Recognizes Importance of His Laundry.

Most Expensive Curtains Safe In Moderm Laundry.

Safe For the Woman Who Treasures Her Dainty Waists.