Talk:Lowell system

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[edit] German vs. Irish immigrants?

At the very end of the article, it says, "mill owners began to seek cheaper labor in German immigrants. By the 1850s, the Lowell system had been abandoned." However, I have a textbook that says it was Irish immigrants. So I'll change this until someone finds a more reliable/specific statement. Sp3z1aL 02:51, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] NPOV? Contradictory info?

To maximize profits, it was in the best interest of Lowell's financiers to keep Lowell free of the filth, poverty, and social disorder prevalent in English factory towns.

This seems a bit POV (or at least inconsistent); I don't see how keeping the workers out of poverty has anything to do with profitability for the company. If anything, elevating the workers from poverty would interfere with company profits. If Faragher explains, maybe go into more detail or even provide a quote.

The bit about the newsletter (started in 1840, after the "trouble" cited in ¶4) seems out of place in the third paragraph; what has it to do with international acclaim?

For that matter, the fourth paragraph seems to contradict ¶s 2 and 3. If the workers were so happy and their conditions so great, why did they strike and form associations? (Especially women, who at the time were taking a unique risk in so doing.) — Scartol • Talk 13:49, 27 August 2007 (UTC)

It seems I need to amend my statements. I see from some sources, including this page from Harriet Robinson, that the wages were in fact decent for the time and that the strike resulted from a proposed cut. Still, the hours were very long (fourteen/day) and the rosy picture presented earlier in the article could use more documentation. — Scartol · Talk 14:13, 27 August 2007 (UTC)