vidence of the practicability of this plan.

TRADE-EXTENSION TRAINING

The only instruction offered by the public school system at the
present time which can be considered as trade-extension training for
the garment industries is that given in the sewing classes in the
technical night schools. The enrollment in these classes during the
second term of 1915-16 was 229. Only a small proportion of the girls
and women enrolled in the night sewing classes make their living by
sewing. The students employed by day in clothing factories or in any
of the sewing trades constitute somewhat less than 15 per cent of the
total number enrolled. Nearly half of the enrollment is made up of
workers in commercial, clerical or professional pursuits and
approximately one-third are not employed in any gainful occupation.

In both technical night schools the emphasis is laid on training for
home sewing rather than on training for wage earning. The courses now
given are not planned for workers in the garment trades, but to help
women and girls who want to learn how to make, alter, and repair their
own garments.

If a trade school of the kind described in the previous section were
established it would be possible to give at night short unit courses
in machine or hand sewing to those workers who wish to extend their
experience and prepare themselves for advancement, utilizing in the
night classes the equipment of the day school. It is probable also
that special day classes could be organized during the dull season to
give beginners the opportunity to learn new processes and extend their
knowledge of trade theory.

CHAPTER XV

SUMMARY OF REPORT ON DRESSMAKING AND MILLINERY

At the time of the last census the total number of women in Cleveland
employed as milliners or dressmakers was approximately 5,000, of whom
about seven-tenths were dressmakers and about three-tenths milliners.
For the most part they were of native birth. The proportion of young
girls engaged in these occupations was relatively small, the age
distribution showing that only about one-third of the milliners and
less than one-fifth of the dressmakers were under 21 years of age.

DRESSMAKING

Four distinctive lines of work are done by those who are classified by
the census as dressmakers and seamstresses: dressmaking proper,
usually carried on in shops; alteration work in stores; general sewing
done by seamstresses at home or in the homes of customers; and the