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The third floor is where the thread is weaved into cloth. There are ninety-seven looms, and on them the cloth is weaved, pressed, and brushed. The whole factory revolves around the weavers. If they work fast one day, the men unloading the cotton and those of us doing the spinning have got to hurry to keep up because, if the looms sit idle, the factory does not make any money. In contrast, if several of the operators get sick
(cholera is a constant problem here) or weather forbids them to walk to work, the managers close the whole factory, arguing that the loom operators are the ones that actually make the factory money. If there are not enough of them to pay everyone’s salary, it is cheaper to wait until they return.
The fourth floor is not interesting. Up there the finished cotton bundles are banded, covered for shipping, and tagged for their destinations. I guess I find it uninteresting because the process of creation has ended; the fourth floor is just names and addresses and invoices. The banding machine and the bagger are also powered by the river, however, and require a great deal of energy to handle those huge bundles of tightly woven fabric. I just do not know how the river does it! There was a big celebration last week with an article in the paper, because the factory shipped 300,000 pounds of cotton the month before, a new record.
Please write when you get a chance; I can not wait to hear how you all are adjusting to life without me. With Love,Catherine Previous Page 3
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My friends and I were hoping for bonuses or some recognition, but all of the speeches were reserved for the investors and managers. Oh well, I should not feel too badly – the river did not get any recognition either. I did use the occasion as an excuse to buy a new bonnet, which I wore to both the ceremony and a party afterward. In my next