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Preface

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2014

Benjamin Powell
Affiliation:
The Free Market Institute, Texas Tech University
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Summary

Preface

Christian Hansen oiled the machinery and fixed the belts at the Waterhead Mills in Lowell, Massachusetts, for a dozen years. The mill processed corduroy, velvet, and finished cotton goods. It ran on steam power until 5 PM, after which some of the machines changed over to electric power. Part of Christian’s job was to change over the motors at 5 PM. On March 16, 1920, Christian went about his usual work routine. Shortly after 5 PM, he threw one of the switches to turn on the electric power. The nearby compensator box had not been properly grounded and was leaking electricity. Christian was hit with 550 volts of electricity and died on the spot.

At about the same time, Leona Gagne began working at the Cardinal Shoe Factory in nearby Lawrence, Massachusetts. She worked up to ten hours a day, sometimes six days per week. The pay was modest, but as her son Paul recalls it, “It wasn’t bad for what she did. And the money helped put my brother and me through school.”

Type
Chapter
Information
Out of Poverty
Sweatshops in the Global Economy
, pp. xv - xvi
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2014

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References

Milton, and Friedman, Rose, Two Lucky People (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998), 20Google Scholar

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  • Preface
  • Benjamin Powell
  • Book: Out of Poverty
  • Online publication: 05 June 2014
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139342704.001
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  • Preface
  • Benjamin Powell
  • Book: Out of Poverty
  • Online publication: 05 June 2014
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139342704.001
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Preface
  • Benjamin Powell
  • Book: Out of Poverty
  • Online publication: 05 June 2014
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139342704.001
Available formats
×