Chapter 92: Factory
New York, Factory District.
Colin, led by Jack, arrived at the location of the idle color printing press factory.
"Be careful."
Walking on the muddy path of the factory, Jack reached out to stop Colin behind him, cautiously avoiding a small puddle in front.
Not far from the puddle, several ragged children were playing barefoot in the water.
Through their tattered coats, their almost skeletal bodies were vaguely visible.
These children were all children of the factory workers. Their parents toiled day and night in the factory, enduring harsh working conditions for meager wages, with no time to spare for them.
Under the impact of the Great Depression, exploitation by factory enterprises became increasingly severe.
In the early stages of the crisis, at the strong insistence of the then-reputable Hoover government, wage reductions in major industrial enterprises were minimal. However, as the Great Depression's impact gradually spread, factories that had initially held a wait-and-see attitude could no longer sustain themselves. They resorted to cutting workers' salaries by 40% of their original amount, devising methods such as reducing work hours and workdays.
At that time, many industrial enterprises and small businesses even refused to verbally support the government's pleas for them to maintain wage levels.
The growing tide of unemployment led some department stores to pay their employees as little as 5 to 8 dollars per week.
Additionally, garment workers, candy store employees, and cannery workers belonged to the most brutally exploited classes.
Someone conducted a survey in Chicago City, and it was said that most female workers toiled for less than 25 cents an hour, with a quarter earning under 10 cents.
In 1932, as the Great Depression continued, hourly wages in the logging industry dropped to 1 cent. Wages in general contracting were 7.5 cents; brick and tile manufacturing 6 cents; sawmills 5 cents. The salary of a first-rate stenographer in New York plummeted from 35-45 dollars per week to 16 dollars; household servants had to work for 10 dollars a month.
New York City was the place in New York State where workers were most severely exploited.
Time Magazine once conducted a survey on a garment enterprise in the city employing 50,000 female workers: hat makers earned 0.4 cents for crocheting a dozen hats and could only weave two dozen a week; apron makers earned 2.5 cents for one apron and could only make 0.2 cents a day.
But even facing such severe exploitation, the workers dared not utter a single complaint.
Because even for such work, there were plenty of people eyeing it from behind, whether they were unemployed men with families to support or elderly individuals, all vying for the same job positions.
After passing the overcrowded garment factories, Colin and Jack arrived at the location of the printing factory.
"Mr. Collin Roper, it's a pleasure to meet you."
At the entrance of the printing factory, the factory owner, who had been waiting for a long time, repeatedly wiped his hands on his work trousers before stepping forward to greet them.
"The pleasure's all mine, Mr. Doug."
Reaching out to shake the factory owner's hand, Colin replied with a smile.
Following that, led by Doug, the two arrived at the location of the color printing rotary press.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Reaching out to lift the waterproof tarp covering the machine, Doug covered his mouth and coughed several times in a row, suppressing his discomfort as he explained to Colin and Jack beside him.
"Apologies, gentlemen... cough, cough... This rotary press was bought before the Great Depression, primarily for printing commercial posters and promotional materials. But not long after the machine was purchased... the Great Depression hit, and many businesses that had partnered with the factory went bankrupt. The printing factory, for cost considerations, had no choice but to idle this color machine and revert to the original black and white printing process..."
The dust on the printing press had accumulated for who knew how long; as soon as the tarp was pulled off, dust filled almost half the factory.
Standing to the side, Jack covered his mouth and also couldn't help but start coughing.
He turned to look at Colin behind him, only to find that the other man seemed unaffected by the dust.
Even earlier, when the factory owner Doug had lifted the waterproof tarp, Colin had already used [Super Breath] to protect himself from the dust.
They waited for a good dozen seconds like this, until the dust in the air gradually settled. Only then did Doug cough, clear the thick phlegm from his mouth, and point to the machine before them, saying, "Gentlemen, this is the color rotary press you're looking for."
Following the direction the factory owner pointed, Colin's gaze fell upon the color rotary press before him. As an outsider, he wasn't very familiar with this type of machinery, but simply judging by the machine's appearance, it seemed to have seen very little use, just as the owner had said. It looked at least seventy to eighty percent new.
Although Colin wasn't familiar with the machine.
However, someone clearly did understand it. Hearing the factory owner's introduction, Jack immediately stepped forward, opened the machine's cover, tried pressing a button, and then turned to Doug, asking, "Can we try to print something to see the result?"
"This?"
Faced with Jack's request, a hint of hesitation appeared on Doug's face. After all, printing with color ink wasn't cheap.
But he eventually nodded in agreement: "Alright, but you'll have to wait a bit. I need to go to the warehouse and see if there's any color ink left."
Fortunately, Doug's printing factory still had some color ink left over from previous printing jobs.
Although it was unclear how much time had passed, it should be fine for a test run.
Starting the machine, as the gears inside the color rotary printing press began to turn, the factory owner Doug skillfully operated the machine, completing the printing of a color poster.
It was unclear whether it was due to aged ink or the ordinary quality of the paper used for printing, but the poster printed by Doug was not ideal.
Color bleeding was clearly visible on the poster's design, especially pronounced under the character outlines. Picking up the poster, which still carried a strong ink smell, Jack frowned and handed it to Colin.
Reaching out to take the poster, Colin glanced at it from left to right.
"Mr. Colin, there's nothing wrong with the machine; it's entirely my personal error."
"I can have a printing worker come over; he'll definitely be able to produce a satisfactory print for you!"
Looking at the crudely printed color printing poster in Colin's hand, the factory owner couldn't help but offer a defense.
He was deeply afraid that this hard-won client, who had finally arrived, would leave because of his poor operation.
In these times, not many people were willing to acquire such a large machine.
If he missed out on Colin, whether Doug's printing factory would even exist next time was a question.
(end of chapter)