UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES STATE OF NEW YORK PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE FACTORY INVESTIGATING COMMISSION 1 912 VOLUME I TRANSMITTED TO THE LEGISLATURE MARCH 1. 1912 ALBANY THE ARGUS COMPANY. PRINTERS 1912 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION. PAGE. I. Creation of Commission 13 II. Organization of Commission. 14 III. Scope of the Investigation 15 IV. Importance of the Investigation. 16 V. Limitation of the Commission's Work 20 VI. Summary of Work Done by the Commission 22 1 . Public Hearings 22 2. Executive Sessions 23 3. Inspections and Special Investigations Made by the Commission . 23 a. General Sanitary Investigations 23 b. Fire Hazard Investigations 24 c. Bakery Investigations 24 d. Women's Trades Investigations 25 e. Volunteer Investigations 25 (1) On Sanitary Conditions in Factories and Manufacturing Establishments in a Selected Area in New York City 25 (2) Lead Poisoning in New York City 25 (3) Child Labor in the Tenements 25 4. Questionnaire Issued by the Commission and Digest of the Re- plies 26 5. Briefs and Memoranda Submitted to the Commission 26 THE FIRE HAZARD IN FACTORY BUILDINGS. I. The Existing Fire Problem in New York City 29 1. The Converted Dwelling or Tenement 30 2. The Loft Building , 30 a. The Non-fireproof Loft 31 6. The Fireproof Loft Less than 150 feet in Height 32 c. The Fireproof Loft More than 150 feet in Height 32 3. Danger to Life in Fireproof Buildings 33 II. The Existing Fire Problem in Other Cities of the State 35 III. Enforcement of Laws Relative to Fire 36 1. In New York City 36 2. In Other Cities of the State 37 IV. Recommendations of the Commission 38 Prevention of Fire 38 Notification of Authorities in Case of Fire . . 40 8 TABLE OF CONTENTS. APPENDICES GENERAL REPORTS PAGE. I. GENERAL SANITARY INVESTIGATION OF EXISTING CONDITIONS IN FACTORIES AND WORKSHOPS IN NEW YORK STATE. Report Submitted by DR. George M. Price 117 II. THE FIRE HAZARD. Report by H. F. J. Porter, Esq., Industrial Engineer 153 SPECIAL REPORTS III. BAKERIES IN NEW YORK CITY Report on the Inspection of 497 Bakeries and the Physical examination of 800 Bakers in New York City, by George M. Price, M. D " 203 IV. WOMEN WORKERS IN FACTORIES IN NEW YORK STATE Notes on some trades in New York State employing a large proportion of women workers, by Violet Pike 271 V. NOTES ON AN INDUSTRIAL SURVEY OF A SELECTED AREA IN- NEW YORK CITY WITH RESPECT TO SANITARY CONDITIONS IN FACTORIES. By Pauline Goldmark, Associate Director, New York School of Philanthropy '. 303 VI. OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES A preliminary report on Lead Poisoning in the City of New York, with an Appendix on Arsenical Poisoning, by E. E. Pratt, Ph. D., Associate Professor of Economics and Statistics in the New York School of Philanthropy 367 VII. HOME WORK IN THE TENEMENT HOUSES OF NEW YORK CITY. Memorandum submitted by Owen R. Lovejoy, General Secre- tary National Child Labor Committee 573 Memorandum submitted by Elizabeth C. Watson of the National Child Labor Committee 581 Photographs submitted by the National Child Labor Com- mittee, the Consumers' League of New York and Miss Lillian D. Wald of the Nurses Settlement VIII. QUESTIONNAIKK ISSUED BY COMMISSION AND DIGEST OF REPLIES RECEIVED 587 TABLE OF CONTENTS. IX, BRIEFS AND MEMORANDA SUBMITTED TO THE COMMISSION: (/) Fire Prevention, Fire-Excape Facilities and Building Con- struction: Brief on Fire Prevention and Public Safety, by Rudolph P Miller, Superintendent of Buildings, Borough of Man- hattan, New York City 699 Memorandum of Committee of New York Chapter Amer- ican Institute of Architects on Construction of Factory Buildings and the Fire Problem 728 Memorandum on the necessity for a State Building Code, submitted by Robert D. Kohn, Esq., architect, New York City 740 Comments on the scope and provisions of the Sullivan- Hoey Fire-Prevention Law, by Walter Lindner, Esq., of the New York Bar 744 Statement of Thomas J. Ahearn, State Fire Marshal, New York 750 () Factoiy Inspection, Accident Prevention and Sanitation: Memorandum submitted by Prof. Henry R. Seager, Presi- dent of the American Association for Labor Legislation. . 754 Brief submitted by John Calder, General Manager Rem- ington Typewriter Works, on Accident Prevention 758 Brief submitted by Prof. W. Oilman Thompson, Cornell Medical School, on Classification of Occupational Diseases and Poisoning 765 (3) Seven Day Labor Legislation by John A. Fitch Esq., of " The Survey" 776 (4) Communications 803 X. BILLS SUBMITTED TO LEGISLATURE 815 VOLUME II MINUTES OF PUBLIC HEARINGS: WITNESSESS EXAMINED. TESTIMONY. ACT CREATING COMMISSION CHAP. 561. LAWS OF 1911. AN ACT to create a commission to investigate the conditions under which manufacturing is carried on in cities of the first and second class in this state, and making an appropriation therefor. Became a law June 30, 1911, with the approval of the Governor. Passed, three-fifths being present. The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: Section 1. A commission of nine members is hereby created consisting of two senators to be appointed by the president of tha senate, three members of the assembly, and four other mem- bers to be appointed by the Governor. Such commission shall investigate as speedily as possible the existing conditions under which manufacture is carried on in so-ci?lled loft buildings and otherwise in the cities of the first and second class in the state, including in such investigation, matters affecting the health and safety of operatives as well as the security and best interests of the public, the character of the buildings and structures in which such manufacture or other business takes place and the laws and ordinances now regulating their erection, main- tenance and supervision, to the end, among other things, that such remedial legislation may be enacted as will eliminate existing peril to the life and health of operatives and other occupants in existing or new structures, and to promote the best interests of the community. Such commission shall also have the power to inquire into the conditions under which manufacture takes place in other cities of this state and country if it shall so determine. Sec. 2. The commission shall have power to elect its chairman and other officers, to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of books and papers ; to employ counsel, a secretary, stenographers and all necessary clerical assistants ; and shall other- wise have all the powers of a legislative committee as provided 12 REPORT OF COMMISSION. by the legislative law, including the adoption of rules for the conduct of its proceedings. The members of such commission shall receive no compensation for their services, but shall be entitled to their actual and necessary expenses incurred in tli-j performance of their duties. Sec. 3. Such commission shall make a report of its proceedings, together with its recommendations, to the legislature on or before the fifteenth day of February, nineteen hundred and twelve. Sec. 4. The sum of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or so much thereof as may be needed, is hereby appropriated for the actual and necessary expenses of the commission in carrying out the pro- visions of this act, payable by the treasurer on the warrant of the comptroller, on the order of the chairman of such commis- sion. The commission may also receive and expend for the pur- poses of this act any money contributed by voluntary subscription. Sec. 5. This act shall take effect immediately. REPORT to the LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK by the NEW YORK STATE FACTORY INVESTIGATING COflMISSlON (Chapter 561, Laws of 1911) To THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK: The Commission appointed under Chapter 561 of the Laws of 1911, to inquire into the conditions under which manufacturing is carried on in the cities of the first and second class of the State, hereby submits the following PRELIMINARY REPORT : CREATION OF COMMISSION. On Saturday afternoon, March 25, 1911, a fire took place in the business establishment of the Triangle Waist Company, at No. 23-29 Washington Place, in the Borough of Manhattan, City of New York, in which 145 employees, mainly women and girls, lost their lives. This shocking loss of life aroused the community to a full sense of its responsibility. A superficial examination revealed conditions in factories and manufacturing establishments that constituted a daily menace to the lives of the thousands of working men. women and children. Lack of precautions to prevent fire, inadequate fire-escape facilities, insanitary conditions that were insidiously undermining the health of the workers were found existing every- where. The need of a thorough and extensive investigation into the general conditions of factory life was clearly recognized. Public-spirited citizens and representatives from the Fifth Avenue Association of the City of New York, the Committee on Safety of the City of New York and other organizations laid these facts before the Governor and Legislature of the State and asked for the appointment of a legislative commission to inquire into the conditions under which manufacturing was carried on in the cities of the first and second class of the State. As a result, the Act creating this Commission (Chapter 561 of the Laws of 1911) was passed and became a law on June 30, 1911. 14 KK.POKT OK ( 'OM.MISSION. Pursuant to the provisions of that Act, the following Commis- sion was appointed: SENATOR KOBEBT F. WAGNER, SENATOR CHARLES M. HAMILTON. By the President of the Senate. ASSEMBLYMAN ALFRED E. SMITH, ASSEMBLYMAN EDWARD D. JACKSON, ASSEMBLYMAN CYRUS W. PHILLIPS. By the Speaker of the Assembly. MR. SIMON BRENTANO, MR. ROBERT E. DOWLING, MR. SAMUEL GOMPERS, Miss MARY E. DREIER. By the Governor. The Commission was authorized by the Legislature to inquiie into the existing conditions under which manufacturing was car- ried on in so-called loft buildings and otherwise, including matters affecting the health and safety of the operatives as well as the security and best interests of the public, the character of the buildings and structures in which such manufacturing and busi- ness takes place, and the laws and ordinances regulating their erection, maintenance and supervision so that, among other things, remedial legislation might be enacted to eliminate existing peril to life and health of operatives and occupants in existing or n re- structures and to promote the best interests of the community. The Commission was required to report to the Legislature on or before the 15th day of February, 1912. The Commission was authorized to compel the attendance of witnesses, the production of books and papers, and to appoint counsel, a secretary, stenographers and necessary clerical assistants. and was otherwise to have all the power? of a legislative committee. The members of the Commission were to receive no compensa- tion for their services but were to be reimbursed for their actual and necessary expenses. The sum of $10.000 was appropriated t'>r the expenses of the Commission. ORGANIZATION OF COMMISSION. The Commission organized on the 17th day of August, 10 II. by electing Hon Robert F. Wagner, Chairman, and Hon. Alfred REPORT OF COMMISSION. 15 E. Smith, Vice-Chairman, and by selecting Mr. Frank A Tierney, as Secretary. The Commission appointed Mr. Abram I. Elkus, Chief Counsel, and Mr. Ik-nuinl L. Shientag as his assistant. Through the generosity of the Committee on Safety of the Citv of New York and Mr. Robert E. Bowling, a member of this Com- mission, offices were furnished to the Commission without charge. for which kindness the Commission expresses its thanks and appreciation. The Commission retained as its expert in general charge of the work of inspection and sanitation, Dr. George M. Price, a physician of standing, practising in the City of New York, who had made investigations of a similar nature, and who is the author of several well-known text-books on sanitation. Dr. Price, immediately upon being retained, on September 15, 1911, organized a corps of inspectors for field work in the cities of the first and second class of the State The Commission selected as its advisory expert on the fire problem, Mr. H. F. J. Porter, a mechanical engineer of the City of New York, who had made a study of fire problems, had written many articles on the subject and was known to be conversant with the situation. Under his supervision, inspections were made of numerous manufacturing establishments with reference to the fire hazard. For the inspection work and fees of the advisory experts, tho sum of $5,500 was expended by the Commission. Both Mr. Porter and Dr. Price agreed to give their own services for prac- tically nominal sums, and both devoted themselves zealously to the work of the Commission. SCOPE OF THE INVESTIGATION The Commission was charged with the duty of inquiring into tlie following matters : 1. Hazard to life because of fire: covering fire prevention, arrangement of machinery, fire drills, inadequate fire-scapes and exits, number of pereons employed in factories and lofts, etc. 2. Danger to life and health because of insanitary conditions: fontilation, lighting and heating arrangement, hours of labor, etc. 16 REPORT OF COMMISSION. 3. Occupational diseases: industrial consumption, lead poison- ing, bone disease, etc. 4. Proper and adequate inspection of factories and manufac- turing establishments. 5. Manufacturing in tenement houses. 6. The present statutes and ordinances that deal with or relate to the foregoing matters, and the extent to which the present laws are enforced. The Commission was to recommend such new legislation as might be found necessary to remedy defects in existing legislation, ami to provide for conditions at present unregulated. The Act creating this Commission limited the scope of its inquiry to cities of the first and second class, although the Com- mission was authorized to inquire into the conditions surrounding manufacturing in other cities of the State and country if it should so determine. IMPORTANCE OF INVESTIGATION. New York is the first State in the Union to authorize a general investigation of the conditions in manufacturing estab- lishments within its borders. Several other States have appointed commissions which were limited in the scope of their investiga- tions, such as the Illinois Commission on the subject of occupa- tional diseases, the Massachusetts Commission on Factory Inspec- tion and the various Commissions on accident prevention and employers' liability. It remained for the State of New York to lead the way with an investigation of factory conditions general in its scope and character. According to the preliminary report of the Census of 1910 there were 1,003,981 men, women and children employed in the factories and manufacturing establishments of New York State. This is the average of the number employed during the year. The Commissioner of Labor gives the number of such employees as "\-er 1,250,000. The following schedule from the United States Census Report of 1910 shows the number of establishments, the capital employed, cost of materials used, salaries paid, value of products and number of wage earners and clerks in the cities of the first and second cla^s in the State, together with their totals: REPORT OF COMMISSION. 17 := i ?S I s = 2 =. z c S = 5 5 S 5 1 I O J CO :-; 8 8 8 i<5 CX SO CO p r.' 2 2 " o ,4 2 'S < n s - s s S 2 5 o 5 o o ic 2 S 2 S 5 | I f: 8 _" c o ~ H CO s ^ 1 i -< SO X z 3Q ^: a 3 H O -; fe P x. < a* - - -X. 30 i4 M " d ^ o -2 -i cj co -2 tC O on st valuable of all things, has received but little attention. The appointment of this Commission was the first comprehensive attempt to investigate the waste of human life in our modern industrial sy-fem, and to endeavor to devise means to prevent such a sacrifice, >nrely a matter of equal importance to the preservation of forests am! >t reams. Fires and industrial accidents are fortunately only occasional ami extraordinary events. Their effects are visible and immediate so they are impressed forcibly upon our minds. But the common, everyday incidents of industrial life, the Lack of ventilation, the lonir hours of labor amid insanitary surroundings, the failure to liivc notice to employees of the dangers of their occupations and how to avoid them, these work unnoticed, but the toll of human life they exact is very great. The illness and diseases caused by these conditions can in large men-lire he prevented, and prevention is always better than cure and less co.-tly. In his report on National Vitality, Professor Irving Fisher shows that the economic gain to the nation that would result from proper precaution to prevent sickness and dis- ea-e, would amount to at least $500,000,000 per annum. A New York State manufacturer testified before the Commis- sion that he had installed a great many sanitary improvements and labor-saving devices tending to the comfort of his employees. He expressly disclaimed any philanthropical motives in so doing, but said it was a decided benefit to him in his business from a purely doHars-and'-cents standpoint. During the past few decades methods of protecting machinery in use have been vastly improved. Labor-saving de\ices have been introduced everywhere, but much remains to be done by the manufacturer to conserve the most valuable of all assets the working man and the working woman. It cannot be said that this waste is the result of intentional wrongdoing. It has simply been nobody's business, and therefore has been neglected and unheeded. 20 REPORT OF COMMISSION. The investigation has already produced results. In many cases the manufacturers themselves were unaware of the conditions under which they required their employees to work, or if indeed thev were aware of these conditions, did not realize their evil / ' effects. Many did not know what could be done to improve them. They took these conditions as a matter of course. The authorities in many cities, because of the publicity of the Commission's inquiry, began special investigations, which resulted in many cases in improved conditions. The educational value of the Commission, therefore, has been very great. The manufac- turers who had not only complied with the provisions of the law, but had gone beyond ite requirements, should feel rewarded by the contrast which was shown. A general awakening has taken place throughout the State. A far larger number of inspections by authorities have been made than ever before. No great reliance, however, can be placed upon such a momentary or spasmodic awakening. When its cause is no longer present, conditions relapse into their former state, and there is little real improvement. To improve the industrial situation permanently, clear, concise and comprehensive legislation is needed. LIMITATIONS OF THE COMMISSION'S WORK. At the outset it became clear that to carry out the mandate of the Legislature would require far more time than was at the disposal of the Commission. Tt would have been impossible, even if the Commission had devoted every hour of time since the passage of the Act, to touch more than a portion of its work. Of the 248 industries in the State only 20 could be partially covered in its investigations. Governor Dix in his last annual message to the Legislature, said: " It is clear that it has been impossible for the Commis- sion, in the short time at its disposal, to complete its labors, although its members have worked most diligently and REPORT OF COMMISSION. 21 energetically, and I therefore suggest to the Legislature that the time of the Commission be extended at least one year, and that sufficient appropriation be made to meet its necessary expenditures. It appears that conditions in manufacturing similar to those which have been shown in the cities of the first and second class exist in other cities and localities of the State, and that in the interest of the citizens the scope of the inves- tigation should be broadened so as to cover the entire State, and all establishments where workingmen and working- women are employed." There is always a temp cation where conditions are disclosed which seem to need remedying to make recommendations for legislation, but the Commission has felt that hasty and ill- considered legislation is worse than none, and in many cases con- siders the remedy to be the proper and efficient enforcement of existing laws. The testimony given shows conclusively that the these laws are not adequately enforced. The authority responsi- ble for conditions should be given sufficient power to compel a speedy compliance with its orders, and that power should be exer- cised promptly and effectively. In the enactment of new laws, proper means should be provided for their complete enforcement. Mindful, however, of the obligation upon it to recommend remedial legislation, the Commission has made such recommenda- tions wherever it has felt itself competent to do so. The Commission considered it its duty to devote the larger part of its time to ascertaining all the facts with reference to the fire hazard problem so that it could make recommendations as com- prehensive as was permissible on that subject for existing factory buildings. With reference to buildings to 'be hereafter erected, the Commission limits itself to a few general recommendations. If its continuance in office is extended, the Commission hopes, among other things, to prepare and submit to the Legislature a Building Code for industrial establishments within the State of New York. The necessity for such a Building Code has been recognized by all who have considered the subject. There should be no great discrimination between the requirements for manu- 2 '2 REPORT OF COMMISSION. facturiug establishments ill the different cities and towns. Certain basic rules as to construction can readily be made which should govern throughout the entire State. The Commission devoted much of its time to an investiga- tion of cellar bakeries, in view of the conditions disclosed in the City of Xe\v York. The Commission has therefore been able to make recommendations for the improvement of existing bakeries,' and for the proper maintenance of those to be opened in the future. As to sanitation in factories, the Commission recognizes that it has only begun its labors, and therefore makes only a few recommendations under this heading. Likewise the Commission has made only a very general investigation of the adequacy of the present system of factory inspection. Because of lack of time, it has been able to give the Commissioner of Labor only a brief hearing, but it has examined a number of the inspectors employed in the department. The Commission has likewise been able to make but a brief in- vestigation into the subjects of child labor, manufacturing in tene- ment houses, and the employment of women. Far more time is needed for a thorough study of these subjects, and practically all of the witnesses who testified before the Commission recommended its continuance for tihat purpose. SUMMARY OF WORK DONE BY THE COMMISSION. 1. PUBLIC HEARINGS. Owing to the fact that the sessions of the Legislature continued until the month of October, 1911, and that most of the Commis- sioners were members of the Legislature, it was not until October 14, 1911, that, the first public hearing of the Commission could be held. There were fourteen public hearing in thr city of ~K&w York and eight public hearings in the cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Utica, Schenectady and Troy. The sessions in these cities began at 9 :30 in the morning and lasted until late &t night. 222 witnesses testified, and 3,489 pages of testimony were taken. REPORT OF COMMISSION. 23 The Commission endeavored to have before it as witnesses persons from all walks of life, including city and State officials, exports upon the different problems under consideration, manu- fa<-turers and working-men, women and children, able to testify concerning the conditions in the factories and manufacturing f-t;il>lis'lnnents of the State; officers of labor organizations and memlxTs of other associations, interested in the matters under investigation. A transcript of the testimony taken is submitted vvith this report. 2. EXECUTIVE SESSIONS OF COMMISSION. The Commission as a whole held fifteen executive sessions, and its sub-committees appointed to consider various matters also held several meetings. The Commission in executive session discussed with Prof. John R. Commons, a member of the Wisconsin Indus- trial Commission, the formation, scope, and operation of the Wisconsin Commission, and to what extent the system of factory inspection and supervision now obtaining in that State could be applied here. Prof. Commons came to New York at the Com- mission's request, and the Commission desires to express its gratitude to him for his courtesy. 3. INSPECTIONS AND SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS MADE BY THE COMMISSION. a. GENERAL SANITARY INVESTIGATIONS. One thousand eight hundred and thirty-six industrial establish- ments in the various cities of the State were inspected by a staff of from eight to ten inspectors engaged in field work for a period of five weeks. Twenty industries were covered. Of the total number of factories, 1,636 were located in the < iiy of New York and employed in all 41,891 men, women and children. One hundred and nine manufacturing establishments were investigated in the cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Utica, Schenectaidy and Troy, employing 12,977 persons. The fol- lowing industries were among those investigated: printing, tobacco, 24 RKPORT OK COMMISSION. chemicals, bread, candy, ice cream, pickles, spices and drugs, sugar refineries, mineral waters, meat packing, artificial flowers, paper boxes, clothing, corks, rags, textiles, human hair, cleaning and dyeing. The investigations were made with reference to the ii'en- cral sanitary conditions in those manufacturing establishments; covering cleanliness, sanitary conveniences, ventilation, light, etc. The preliminary report of Dr. Price, setting forth in detail the work which was done under his supervision, and the results and statistics obtained, is annexed to and form- a part of this report, and is marked Appendix 1. 6. FIRE HAZARD INVESTIGATIONS. A general inspection of factories and manufacturing establish- ments was made to ascertain existing conditions with reference to the fire hazard and the remedies to be suggested to improve the same. Several hundred inspections were made under the supervision of Mr. Porter, with the a--i-taiice of a corps of inspectors, in the cities of the first and second class. Mr. Porter's report is annexed to and forms a part of this report, and is marked Appendix 2. c. BAKERY INVESTIGATIONS. An investigation of 500 bakeries in the City of New York and elsewhere was made under the supervision of Dr. Price. A special feature of the investigation was the physical examination made by a medical staff in the employ of the Commission of 800 bakers in the bake-shops during working hours. This examination occupied four weeks, and was made with the assistance of officials of the Bakers' Union of New York City. A special report on the sanitary conditions in bakeries and the physical condition of those employed therein was submitted to tln> Commission by Dr. Price, is annexed hereto and forms a part of this report, and is marked Appendix 3. REPORT OF COMMISSION. 25 d. WOMEN'S TRADES INVESTIGATIONS. It was found that in six of the trades inspected under Dr. Price's >npervision over sixty per cent, of those employed were AVI mien and girls. A report entitled " Notes on trades employing a large proportion of women workers in New York State " is annexed to and form? a part of this report, and is marked Appendix 4. e. VOLUNTEER INVESTIGATIONS. (1) ON SANITARY CONDITIONS IN FACTORJKS AND MANTKAC- TfRiXG ESTABLISH MI: NTS IN A SELECTED AREA IN NEW YORK. This report was prepared by Miss Pauline Goldmark. Associate Director of the School of Philanthropy of the City of New York. Investigations were conducted in the district between 34th and 53rd street, extending from 8th avenue to the Hudson River, in the Borough of Manhattan, New York city. Three hundred and twenty-three factories were investigated, giving employment to 10,750 men, women and children. Fifteen separate industries were carefully investigated. Miss Gold- mark's report entitled "Notes on an Industrial Suvrey in a Selected Area in New York City with respect to Sanitary Conditions in Factories " is annexed to and made a part of this report, and marked Appendix 5. (2) LEAD POISONING. A preliminary investigation of lead and arsenical poisoning was conducted by Dr. E. E. Pratt, Associate Professor of Economics in the School of Philanthropy, with the assistance of fellows and students of the school; 275 cases of lead poisoning were traced. Dr. Pratt's report, illus- trating the different processes which may result in lead poisoning and detailing the histories of 78 cases, is annexed to and form? a part of this report, and is marked Appendix 6. ( '. } , ) PRELIMINARY REPORT ON CHILD LABOR IN THE TENEMENTS. I'nder the auspices of the Commission, Mr. Owen R. Lovejoy and Miss Elizabeth C. Watson, of the National Child Labor Com- mittee, conducted an investigation into the employment of children 26 REPORT OF COMMISSION. in home work in tenement houses in Xew York city. The report and photographs made, showing actual conditions under which children are employed in tenement houses, are annexed to and form a part of this report, and are marked Appendix 7. The Commission takes this opportunity to express its gratitude for the care and thoroughness with which these volunteer investi- gations were conducted. The results of the investigations are most valuable contributions to the work of the Commission. 4. QUESTIONS AIKE ISSUED BY THE COMMISSION. The Commission issued a Questionnaire asking for suggestions for the improvement of the conditions under which manufactur- ing is carried on. A copy of the Questionnaire, together with a digest of the many replies received, is annexed to and form? a part of this report, and is marked Appendix 8. 5. BBIEFS AND MEMORANDA SUBMITTED TO THE COMMIS- SION. The thanks of the Commission are due to public-spirited citizens and organizations who submitted important briefs and memoranda on the subjects under consideration. Copies of these briefs and memoranda are annexed to and form a part of this report, and are marked Appendix 9. REPORT OF COMMISSION. 27 GENERAL OUTLINE OF THE REPORT 1. The Fire Hazard. 2. Factory Inspection. 3. Sanitation of Factories and Manufacturing Establishments. 4. Occupational Diseases. 5. Bakeries. 6. Manufacturing in Tenements. 7. Employment of Women. 8. Child Labor. 9. Foundries. 28 REPORT OF COMMISSION. THE FIRE HAZARD IN FACTORY BUILDINGS It has long been known that there are many more fires in the cities of the United States than in the cities of the same size in Europe. There the fires are not only lees frequent, but are also far less destructive. In this country fires occur almost hourly in which large amounts of property are destroyed and lives are lost. Testimony presented to the Commission shows that in the city of New York alone, there is an average lose of one life a day. by fire. Our public machinery for extinguishing fires, especially in the larger cities, is remarkably efficient, yet this loss of life und property continues to grow. According to Geological Survey Bulletin No. 418: " The actual fire losses due to the destruction of buildings and their contents amounted (in 1907, the latest year for which statistics are available) to $215,084,709, a per capita loss for the United States of $2.51. The per capita losses in the cities of the six leading European countries amounted to but 33 cents, or about one-eighth of the per capita loss sustained in the United States." The Hon. Walter L. Fisher, Secretary of the Interior, in an address before the Fifteenth Annual Meeting of the National Fire Protection Association, states the situation admirably: " If the Government should suddenly lay an annual tax of $2.51 on every man, woman and child in the United States on a promise of spending the money for some useful pur- pose, that promise would not avail against the storm of protest which would be aroused. Nevertheless, a tax which in the aggregate amounts to that is being paid by the people of this country. It is the annual fire loss of the nation upon buildings and their contents alone. It is expended not in productive enterprise, but in death and destruction, and an even larger sum is annually expended upon fire protection and insurance premiums. Xot only is this property loss paid by our people, but, in addition, annually 1,500 persons give up their lives, and nearly 6,000 are injured in fires. REPORT OF COMMISSION. 29 Possibly in no other direction is the national habit of waste more clearly exemplified than in the comparative indiffer- ence with which we permit such a sacrifice. In no other civilized countrv are conditions so bad as they are here. It seems ridiculous that a people so apt and so eager to seek out and destroy the mysterious and hidden enemies of mankind should be so slow and sluggish in fighting a foe so plainly in sight and so readily vanquished. We have led the world in seeking out the causes of pestilence and remov- ing them. We are in the very vanguard of the battle against tuberculosis, typhoid and yellow fever, and still we stand apart and let the older nations lead the fight against an enemy much more easily conquered." The consideration of the fire hazard problem is divided into two parts: 1st. Investigation of conditions in existing factory buildings, and recommendations to render those premises safe. 2nd. Requirements for future construction of factory buildings which will reduce the fire hazard. Factory buildings may be classified as special factories or build- ings especially constructed for manufacturing purposes, generally occupied by one or two establishments, loft buildings, which may b" fireproof or non-fireproof, and dwellings or tenements orig- inally erected for living purposes', 'but which have l>een converted into factories. I. THE EXISTING FIRE PROBLEM IN NEW YORK CITY. Five kinds of buildings are used for factory purposes in the Ciry of Xew York. I. The converted tenement or dwelling. II. The non-fireproof loft building. III. The fireproof loft building less than 150 feet in height. IV. The fireproof loft building over 150 feet in height. 30 REPORT OF COMMISSION. V. The factory building proper, constructed for factory pur- poses and occupied by one establishment, which may be fireproof or non-fireproof. Three of the above types are especially dangerous when used as factory buildings. These are (1st) the converted dwelling or tene- ment house which was never intended to be used for business pur- poses above the ground floor; (2nd) the non-fireproof loft building-, usually six or seven stories high; and (3rd) the fireproof loft building less than 150 feet in height. 1. THE CONVERTED DWELLING OR TENEMENT. Owing to the increase in land values and change in the resi- dence localities, a number of buildings formerly used for living purposes have been made over into factories. The buildings are from four to six stories in height, usually 25 feet wide by about 60 to 85 feet deep. The exterior walls are brick or stone, the floors, interior trim, stairways, beams and doors are of wood. The stair- ways are usually from two to three feet in width, the doors often open inward; there are no automatic sprinkler systems, no fire prevention or extinguishing appliances except fire pails, which are not always preserved for fire purposes; the workrooms are divided by wooden partitions and crowded with employees, while the ma- chines are placed as close together as space will permit, without regard to means of exit. There are exterior fire-escapes with bal- conies on each floor, connected by vertical ladders (those of later construction by inclined stairways), which usually lead to a yard in the rear of the premises, or to some blind alley from which there is no means of escape. There is ordinarily a ladder from the lowest balcony to the ground, but it is generally not in place, or very difficult to use in case of fire because of its weight. There is usually but one door leading from the street. Here we have a type of building constructed for dwelling pur- poses only, in which the number of occupants is multiplied any number of times without any change in the exit facilities provided, 2. THE LOFT BUILDING. The lofr luiililing marks an evolution in the construction of fac- tory buildings in the City of NC\v York. The first lofts were built REPORT OF COMMISSION. 31 about twenty-rive \\-ars ago, for the storing and sale of merchan- dise, but the manufacturer soon found it desirable to have his goods manufactured in workrooms adjacent to his salesroom and directly under his supervision. Increase in land values, moreover, forced the manufacturer to extend upwards instead of spreading out horizontally. The avail- ability of the loft for manufacturing purposes was soon appre- ciated, and to-day this type of building i= generally used for fac- tory purposes. (a) The Non-Fireproof Loft Building. The non-fireproof loft building is usually six or seven stories in height, 25 feet wide by 80 feet in depth, with brick, stone or iron fronts and rears, brick side walls, wooden floors and wooden trim. There is usually one unenclosed wooden stairway, varying in width from two to three and one-half feet, and often winding around the elevator shaft. Wooden doors lead to the stairways; very often the doors open inwardly. These buildings, as a rule, possess exerior fire-escapes similar to those found on the converted tenement de- scribed above. Usually every floor in these buildings is occupied by a different tenant, in some cases tihere being two or more tenants on each floor. The tenant uses the floor, or his portion of it, as salesroom, office and factory, dividing one from the other by wooden partitions. In the manufacturing part there are usually a number of machines placed as close together as possible with little aisle space between. These buildings are to be found in numbers on the lower east and west side. The number of people permitted to work on a floor is restricted only by a provision of the Labor Law which provides a minimum of 250 cubic feet of air space per person and entirely disregards the floor area. As the distance between floor and ceiling is at least ten feet, and often more, this cubic air space is easily obtained without any appreciable prevention of overcrowding and congestion. The present law does not require the posting of the number of people allowed even by this standard, and so prosecutions for violations of this law are practically unknown. These buildings usually do not contain any automatic sprinklers. They have fire pails, which are rarely kept for the proper purpose. A few of them have stand- pipes, with hose which is often useless. 32 REPORT OK COMMISSION. (b) The Fireproof Loft linilding Less than 150 Feet High. The fireproof loft building less than 150 feet in height, that is, about 12 stories or under, has brick, stone or metal exterior walk, wooden floors and trim, stairways of metal or stone and. elevators. Stairways are generally about three feet wide, enclosed by fireproof walls. These buildings are either 25, 50, 75 or 100 feet wide by 85 to 200 feet in depth, the usual size being 50 by 80 or 90 feet. The conditions of occupancy as to tenants are similar to those in the non-fireproof loft buildings just described. The Triangle Waist Company occupied a building of this type at 23-29 Wash- ington place. That building, in its construction and interior, is typical of the so-called fireproof loft buildings, and indeed much better than hundreds of buildings used for similar pur- poses in New York city to-day. Some of these buildings have automatic sprinkler systems. They are usually provided with stand pipes, connected with the city water supply, and have on each floor a hose of required length, and some are provided with exterior fire-escapes. It is to 'be noted that in these buildings the elevators are used to go from the street to the upper floors not only by the employers but 'by the employees. In most cases the latter are absolutely unaware of the location of the stair- ways. Auxiliary fire appliances are present in most cases, but their existence is unknown to the workers and no care is given to their preservation. The interior arrangements are similar to those existing in the non-fireproof loft building, the same wooden partitions, the same congestion and doors opening inwardly. Testimony shows that the danger in these so-called fireproof buildings results from the uso of wood for floors, doors and trim. The buildings are usually of such a height that the Fire De- partment ladders and extensions, and even the water towers, do not reach the upper stories. Fire occurring in these places under conditions of manufacture which are hereafter described usually results in the destruction of the entire contents of the building, while walls and floors remain substantially intact. (c) The Fireproof Loft Building More than 150 Feet in Height. This building is more than twelve stories in height. The walls are of brick, stone or metal, the floors are of cement or stone, the REPORT OF COMMISSION. 33 trim and doors are of metal or fire-resisting material, the stairways are of stone or metal, and enclosed by fireproof walls. There are usually several stairways and elevators. The buildings are some- times supplied with automatic sprinkler systems and have stand- pipes to which hose is connected on each floor, and other appli- ances for extinguishing fires. In addition, these buildings some- times have exterior stairways leading either to the street or to the ground in the rear. The buildings are usually 50, 75 or 100 feet or more in width and are from 75 to 200 feet deep. They are occupied for manufacturing and other purposes, and sometimes one tenant is found to occupy more than one floor. In these buildings, if a fire occurs, it is usually confined to the floor on which it starts, since it cannot burn up or down except through the windows. Above the sixth floor these buildings are open to the same objec- tions as are fireproof buildings less than 150 feet high, namely the upper floors cannot be reached by the firemen. The exit facilities are usually well constructed, but the number of people who occupy these buildings is not determined by either exits, width of stairways, or floor space. The only restriction is, as in all other buildings, the 250 cubic feet of air space provision. The distance between the floors is usually 10 to 15 feet, so the cubic air space may fulfil the legal requirement while the floor presents a congested condition. Particular reference is made to the fireproof building which is believed on account of its construction to be safer for the occu- pants than the non-fireproof building and to require few if any precautions, either to prevent fire or to preserve the safety of the occupants in case of fire. The testimony discloses the weakness of these suppositions. While the fireproof building itself will not burn, the merchandise, wooden partitions and other imflammable material burn as readily in a fireproof building as in any other. It is assumed by all fire insurance experts that when a fire occurs on any one floor, the contents of that entire floor will be destroyed. It is like placing paper in a fireproof box it confines the fire to that locality, but the fire is just as hot and just as 34 REPORT OF COMMISSION. destructive within its bounds. Therefore, unless means are pro- vided for automatically extinguishing fires and for the rapid escape of the occupants, loss of life may occur even in fireproof buildings. The Triangle Waist Company fire is illustrative of this fact. There the building was practically left intact, yet the fire was severe enough to cause the death of a large number of the occu- pants. In a fireproof building the fire is confined to a limited area and is therefore more easily controlled. The occupants of floors over eighty feet from the ground cannot, however, be reached by the Fire Department's ladders, and must trust for escape to the stairways or exterior fire-escapes. In many of these buildings the occupants manufacture gar- ments and other inflammable articles. The floors are littered with a quantity of cuttings, waste material and rubbish, and are often soaked with oil or grease. No regular effort is made to clear the floors. No fireproof receptacles are provided for the accumulated waste, which in some cases is not removed from the floors for many days. Many of the workmen, foremen and employers smoke dur- ing business hours and at meal times. Lighted gas jets are un- protected by globes or wire netting, and are placed near to the inflammable material. Very often quantities of made-up garments and inflammable raw material are stored in those lofts. Fire drills are not held, save in rare instances, exits are unmarked, and the location of the stairways and exterior fire-escapes is often unknown. Access to the stairway and outside fire-escapes is ob- structed by machinery, wooden partitions and piled-up merchan- dise, while in some cases the fire-escape balcony is at such a dis- tance from the floor as to make it almost impossible for women employees to reach it without assistance. Wired glass is not used in the windows facing the balconies of the fire-escapes except in fireproof buildings over 150 feet high. In some cases the windows leading to fire-escapes are not large enough to permit the passage of grown persons readily. Automatic or manual fire-alarms are hardly ever provided, except in the larger fireproof buildings. REPORT OF COMMISSION. 35 II. THE EXISTING FIRE PROBLEM IN OTHER CITIES OF THE STATE. In the cities of Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse, there are some loft buildings in which manufacturing is carried on, but com- paratively few are of great height, so that this problem is not nearly so complicated or extensive there as in New York city. In these cities manufacturing is usually conducted in special factory buildings which vary from three to six stories in height. Such buildings, save those recently constructed, are almost always non- fireproof. The walls are of brick, stone or metal, the floors, trim, doors and stairways are wooden, the latter are in an open well or surrounded by wooden partitions. Sometimes there are exterior fire-escapes. These buildings do not have, as a rule, any auto- matic sprinklers, or appliances for extinguishing fire, except fire pails, which are frequently in a useless condition. A feature of some of these buildings is the " gas pipe " fire- escape. These fire-escapes consist of vertical iron or metal ladders affixed to the wall of the building, adjacent to the windows. The rungs of these ladders are circular probably one inch in diameter, and placed at a distance of a few inches from the wall. They usually run from the top floor of the buildings to the first floor, with no means of reaching the ground. Only an acrobat could safely descend them. The Chief of the Fire Department of one of these cities testified that he could not use these ladders, but that if it came to a question of being burned alive or using the fire-escape, he supposed he would try it. These so-called fire- escapes are a delusion and a snare and are useless in an emergency. The lack of precautions to prevent fire exists all through the State as well as in New York city. Smoking goes on in just the same way, rubbish is piled upon fire-escapes, over-crowding and congestion prevail, and no attempt is made to keep a clear and unobstructed passageway to exits. Access to exterior fire-escapes in many cases is impossible because of obstructions in front of doors and windows. Wooden partitions exist in most of the build- ings, doors open inward, inflammable material used in manu- facturing is kept on hand in quantities, gas jets are unprotected, and there is no means provided in the building of giving an alarm of fire either to the occupants or to Fire Headquarters. Little attempt is made at regular cleaning-up. Fire drills are practically unknown. 36 REPORT OF COMMISSION. III. ENFORCEMENT OF LAWS RELATIVE TO FIRE. 1. IN NEW YORK CITY. Up to the date of the appointment of the Commission and for some months thereafter, responsibility for the safety of the occupants of factory buildings in case of fire was divided among six city Departments and the State Depart- ment of Labor. The Department of Buildings had jurisdiction over the con- struction of factory buildings and the fire-escape facilities in them. The Building Department, after the factory was con- structed, however, inspected only after specific complaint. The Fire Department had jurisdiction over the fire extinguish- ing apparatus in the building. The Police Department had jurisdiction over obstructions on the fire-escapes. The Department of Water Supply had jurisdiction over the proper installation of electric wiring and apparatus. The Tenement House Department had jurisdiction over exits and fire-escape facilities in all tenement houses, including those in which manufacturing is carried on. The Board of Health had summary jurisdiction over any con- dition that constituted a menace to public health and safety. The Board of Health, however, acts only on specific information and complaint and in most instances refers such complaints to the Building or Labor Departments. The State Department of Labor had jurisdiction after the build- ing was erected, as to doors opening outward, and over the en- forcement of the provision requiring 250 cubic feet of air space per person, and the maintaining of free access to fire-escapes and unobstructed exits. If a man had an obstruction on the fire-escape, the Police Department alone could compel him to remove it. He could then move it into the passageway leading to the fire- escape and then it would come under the jurisdiction of the Labor Department. It was possible in one factory to have a condition of affairs which called for the intervention of all six Departments in one day, and for which no one Department was responsible. Such a condition, of course, was intolerable. The Sullivan-Hoey Fire Prevention Law, enacted shortly after the appointment of this Commission, attempts to change this state of affairs for New York city. REPORT OF COMMISSION. 37 The purpose of that law is to center the responsibility for the enforcement of all laws and ordinances relating to the safety of the occupants of factory buildings in case of fire in one Depart- ment, tihe Fire Department of the city which would have full jurisdiction and full responsibility. In addition, the Fire Com- missioner was given the power to require any building to be vacated in which conditions were such as, in his opinion, would imperil the lives of the occupants. The law has been in operation but a short time, and its success cannot at this time l>e determined. Undoubtedly, the principle upon which it is baeed is a sound one. Several defects in the law have been called to the attention of the Commission, but before the operation of the law has been tested the Commission does not desire to suggest any changes. 2. Tx OTHER CITIES OF THE STATE. To an extent, the same confusion and duplication of responsibility existed in other cities of the State. Each of the cities has a local Fire Department which has more or less jurisdiction over the erection of fire-escapes on buildings. Some cities have a Fire Marshal who passes upon the plans for projected buildings, the title in other cities being changed to that of Superintendent of Buildings. There is in some of the cities a health officer who has power to deal with a number of the conditions arising in manufacturing establishments. The State Department of Labor, under the Labor Law, has complete jurisdiction over fire-escape facilities, and over matters relating to the safety of occupants of the factory buildings in case of fire. Its jurisdiction in this regard is not limited as it is in the city of New York. However, a confusion as to the respective duties of the different city officials and the State Department of Labor was found to exist on all sides. Except in a few notable in-tnn<*se affected thereby. 3rd. The Fire Department at present has no control over the systems of automatic fire alarms, and their efficiency does not always prove equal to the test. The Commission emphatically states, however, its belief in noti- fication of Fire Headquarters by some automatic or manual means REPORT OF COMMISSION. 41 on the premises, in case of fire in a factory building where more than 250 persons are employed. The Commission expects to take lip this matter again during its continuance, and believes by that time there will be such changes in conditions that it will be able to mate some recommendations upon this subject. NOTICE TO OCCUPANTS IN CASE OF FIRE. The Commission gave much thought and attention, to meana of notifying the occupants of a building in case of fire. After consideration of the facts before it, the Commission is of the opinion that the dangers from panic and excitement caused by any alarm, such as the ringing of a bell indicating on which floor the fire had occurred, when the alarm might be false or the fire slight and readily controlled, outweighed the advantage to be gained. Therefore the Commission does not at this time recom- mend any automatic fire-alarm system, save as may become neces- sary in connection with the operation of a fire drill hereinafter provided for. FIRE DRILLS. The Commission personally witnessed fire drills in factory build- ings, and some testimony was taken upon this subject. The Com- mission believes that in factory buildings where more than twenty- five persons are regulaily employed above the second story, a fire drill should be conducted. One of the purposes of the fire drill should be to indicate to the occupants where the stair- ways are, and the means of reaching them. It has been found in many of the larger buildings where the occupants use the elevators to go to and from their work, that the location of the stairs or exterior fire-escapes is unknown. A fire drill at any drill should be to indicate to the occupants, where the stair- vision, and the Commission is therefore of the opinion that the drill should be supervised by the local Fire Departments. A fire drill is also extremely useful in preventing panic. While of course not so effective in the case of occupants of a loft or factory building as in the case of school children, it undoubtedly would go far in preventing a mad rush towards the exits. If the fire drilJ 42 REPORT or COMMISSION. accomplishes nothing more than to acquaint the occupants of a building with the different exits, to compel them to use those exits at stated intervals, and to keep them clear and unobstructed, it will have served its purpose. The periodical fire drill will constantly bring to the minds of employee and employer alike the possibility of fire and the necessity for using every proper means to prevent the same. The Commission makes the following recommendation : Fire Drills. In every factory building or manufactur- ing establishment in which more than 25 persons are regularly employed above the ground or first floor, a fire drill of the occupants of such building shall be conducted at least once in every three months under the supervision of the local Fire Department or one of its officers. Every em- ployer and employee shall aid and assist such Fire Depart- ment and its officials in conducting such fire drill. In the City of New York the Fire Commissioner, and elsewhere the State Fire Marshal, is authorized and directed to prepare appropriate rules and regulations to make effective this pro- vision; said rules and regulations to be posted on each floor of every such factory building or establishment. PREVENTION OF SPREAD OF FIRE. Reference has already been made to the size of windows leading to balconies connected with exterior fire-escapes. In some cases these windows are too small in size to admit the free passage of a grown person. The windows are usually of ordinary glass, which does not resist fire at all. The flames break through these windows, and the result is that no protection whatever is afforded to those going down the fire-escapes. The use of wired glass instead of ordinary glass would serve as some means to check the flames and would give the employees on the upper stories who are compelled to resort to the exterior fire-escapes a much wider margin of safety. Fire Departments are unable to reach with their ladders any point above the seventh story of a building or more than ninety feet above the ground. Therefore ordinary precautions are in- sufficient to safeguard properly the workers above the seventh floor. Much testimony was taken upon the use and efficacy REPORT OF COMMISSION. 43 of automatic sprinkler systems. The Chiefs of various Fire Departments testified that one of the greatest means of preserving life, especially in high buildings and in those where wooden trim is used, is an automatic sprinkler system. This system, briefly, consists of a tank, usually upon the roof of the building, containing a large supply of water, communicating with pipes which run along the ceilings on the various floors. At regular intervals in these pipes are placed what is known a? " sprinkler heads," fastened with fusible nuts which automatically break and discharge a flow of water when exposed to a certain degree of heat. The automatic sprinkler confines the fire to a limited area and checks it in its incipiency. Testimony as to the efficacy of sprinkler systems varies, but the lowest estimate of their proper working is 75 per cent and the highest 95 per cent. Proof was given that in the New England mills where sprinkler systems have been in use for many years, there was only one loss of life where a sprinkler system was in- stalled, and in that case the water supply for the system was cut off just before the fire occurred. The installation of an automatic sprinkler eventually pays for itself in the form of a reduction of fire insurance premiums granted where the system is installed. Such reduction of premiums is allowed, however, only if the system is one approved by the National Board of Fire Under- writers, consisting of representatives of all the fire insurance companies in the United States. This Board has approved of only a few systems, and the manufacturer who desires to obtain the benefit of a reduction of insurance must install one of these approved systems. Testimony was given indicating that there was some arrangement or understanding by which high prices were charged for these sprinkler systems. It was also testified that any competent plumber could install a sprinkler system which would be effective in case of fire. The installation of the automatic sprinkler system has been recommended by Fire Chiefs throughout the State, and by nearly all of the experts on the fire problem. The Commission does not desire to make any drastic recommendation on this subject, but it is convinced that in buildings over seven stories or 90 feet in height, in which wooden floors or wooden trim are used, and more 44 REPORT OF COMMISSION. than 200 people are employed above the seventh floor, the only safe means to prevent the spread of fire and the loss of life in- cidental thereto would be the installation of an automatic sprinkler system. Chief Kenlon of the New York Fire Department testified that had an automatic sprinkler system been installed in the Triangle Waist Company building, he believed that not a single life would have been lost. If manufacturing is carried on above the seventh story of a building, or 90 feet above the ground, the manufacturer should be required to furnish every possible device to safeguard the lives of his employees in case of fire. The Commission therefore makes the following recommenda- tions : Windows of Wired Glass. All windows and doors leading to outside fire-escapes shall be not less than nvo feet in width by five feet in height, and shall be constructed of wired glass. Automatic Sprinklers. In all factory buildings over seven stories or 90 feet in height in which wooden floors or wooden, trim are used, and more than 200 people are regularly employed above the seventh floor, the owner of the building shall install an automatic sprinkler system in the form and manner approved by the Bureau of Fire Prevention in the Oity of New York and in all other parts of the State by the State Fire Marshal. Such installation shall be made within one year of the passage of the law carrying this recommen- dation into effect, the Fire Commissioner of the City of New York, and the State Fire Marshal elsewhere, to have the dis- cretion to extend such time for good cause shown, for an additional year. ESCAPE FROM WORKROOMS. The Commission ascertained by investigation and testimony, that exits to outside fire-escapes and to interior stairways, especially when they lead through other portions of the loft, were often unknown to many of the operatives. It certainly is neces- sary to indicate clearly the location of these exits. A contributing cause to the loss of life in the Triangle Waist Company fire was the lack of clear passageways leading to the REPORT OF COMMISSION. 45 fire-escapes and stairways. The employees were so crowded to- gether, seated at tables containing machines, with chairs back to back, that when a great number of them attempted to leave at the same time there was panic and confusion. The following is a diagram showing the arrangement of the sewing machines, and the congestion prevailing on the ninth floor of this building, where most of the deaths occurred. REPORT OF COMMISSION. NINTH FLOOR PLAN OF ASCH BUILDING Showing Arrangement of Stairs, Elevators, Fire Escape and Sewing Machine Tables TREAD 33*WIDE ,VENT. A PIPE SHAFT ' 1^1 Tl /f kt*jEu*yj[ : D i / /~ /\ CLOAK RO O M| i L NU MfeER L _ _T\ ? O O O O O L CI o o o o o (A ' L_ _ .. _, j (f) UJ U z - ESCAPE _J * M STE PS i? '-" 1 1 i -< " y WIDE o z o .. VTABLES CONTAINING i_ A ROW OF SEWING MACHINES ON EACH SIDE ' \M SSo o DOUBLE ROW OF CHAIRS BETWEEN TABLES B U L_ j u. m O \_ r~ ' " ' " i 1 1 Tj ,WiR SHAFT MI P> TR E A o W. 33" 1 mm J i' i K 5e7 u)-/ _UJ 1 ELEV. 1 | . j) ot "Sc >< $r Inspector Inspector Inspector. Inspector. . . . Inspector Inspector Inspector Inspector Harvey B. Matthews Elisabeth Wettingfeld. . . . David Cummings D. E. Roelkey Max Halpern Dr. I. Rovinsky Clara Lemlich Marie Kasten Inspector Inspector Inspector .1. Ball J Davis .... Dr. Michael Barsky Dr. A. Riezer Dr. I. Workman Dr. H. Langworthy Clara Salem Physician Physician Physician Physician Stenographer. . . Secretary Asst. Sec'y Typist Oct. 30th. Oct. 30th. Oct. 30th. Oct. 30th. Sept. 25th. Sept. 26th. Oct. 30th. Jan. 16th. Jan. 15th. Jan. 5th. Oct. 31st. Nov. 1st. Nov. 1st. Nov. 1st. Nov. 8th. Nov. 25th. Jan. 20th. Jan. 20th. Jan. 27th. Jan. 27th. Jan. 6tb. Violet Pike Estelle Barsky Beatrice Rose Rebecca Kasovitch . Clerical Asst . . . Clerical Asst . . . Interpreter .... Interpreter .... Interpreter .... Interpreter .... Physician Mary Carnela . . . Arthui Caroti S Levin J . Rosenbach . . . Anton Luts. . . Dr. J. Radda Total salaries $4.675,38 KEPORT OF DIRECTOR OF INVESTIGATION. 127 TABLE No. 5. NEW YORK STATE FACTORY COMMISSION. FINANCIAL REPORT JANUARY 27, 1912 APPROPRIATION .... . . . $5,500 00 DISBURSEMENTS Salaries: (For detailed statement see Table 4). . . $4,675 38 Expenses of inspectors: Traveling expenses of Director and Mr. Porter $149 22 Expenses of four inspectors up State 160.55 Expenses of fourteen inspectors in N. Y. City 130.41 Total expenses of inspectors 440.18 Equipment: Badges 44.00 Thermometers 27.25 Photographs 55.75 Rulers, Portfolio, lamps, book 16.24 Rent typewriter 2.50 Total expenses equipment 145.74 Office expenses: 43 27 Stamps 10.79 Express charges 5.00 Notary's fees 2.36 Extra typewriting 35.21 Total office expenses 96.63 Printing 142.07 Total disbursements $5,500 00 128 REPORT OF DIRECTOR OF INVESTIGATION. RESULTS OF THE DATA OBTAINED BY THE INVESTIGATION 1. NEGLECT OF THE HUMAN FACTOR. Brief as was the period devoted to the investigation, limited as was the number of industries and establishments inspected, and incomplete as was necessarily all our data, the conclusion that for- cibly impressed itself, after the completion of the preliminary investigation, was that the human factor is practically neglected in our industrial system. Many of our industries were found housed in palatial loft buildings, and employing the most improved machinery and mechanical processes, but at the same time greatly neglecting the care, health and safety of their employees. Our system of indus- trial production has taken gigantic strides in the progressive utilization of natural resources and the exploitation of the inven- tive genius of the human mind, but has at the same time shown terrible waste of human resources, of human health and life. It is because of this neglect of the human factor that we have found so many preventable defects in industrial establishments; such a large number of workshops with inadequate light and illumination, with no provision for ventilation, without proper care for cleanliness, and without ordinary indispensable comforts, such as washing facilities, water supply, toilet accommodations, dressing-rooms, etc. It is because of utter neglect on the part of many employers that so many dangerous elements are found in certain trades. These elements are not always necessary for the successful pursuit of the trade, and their elimination would mean a great improvement in the health of the workers, and would stop much of the misery caused by the occupational diseases incident to certain industries. It is true that many enlightened employers, especially those who control large establishments, show a commendable zeal for the health of their operatives, but such care not being supervised or organized under scientific direction, leaves much to be desired. In the matter of industrial production, we are still under the sway of the old " laissez faire " policy, and there is still very REPORT OF DIRECTOR OF INVESTIGATION. 129 inadequate supervision of industries with a view to lessening dangers to the health and life of the working class. There is still no regulation whatever of factory construction, outside of the rules adopted by municipal building codes which regulate only the width of walls, the strength of foundations, etc. All matters of sanitation are without control during the times when such control could best serve the purpose of the buildings and the interests of those destined to inhabit them. The construction of tenement houses in New York City is under the strict supervision of the Tenement House Department. There is no reason why the interests of the greater number of per- sons inhabiting factory buildings should not 'be conserved as much as the interests of the tenement house dwellers. 2. IGNORANCE OF THE NUMBER AND OF THE LOCATION OF INDUSTRIAL ESTABLISHMENTS. In the course of the investigation, much difficulty was found in locating all the establishments in an industry or a district. At present there is no method by which every manufacturing estab- lishment may be located, and its existence brought to the atten- tion of the authorities. At present, any person who has the neces- sary capital or credit may build, lease, or hire any ramshackle building, engage as many workers as he can crowd into his prem- ises, and work them under any conditions. The very existence of this establishment may not be known to the Labor Department, until it is discovered by accident. In the investigation of the Cloak and Suit Industry, made dur- ing the last year, by the Joint Board of Sanitary Control, about 30 per cent of the shops were found unrecorded, and in our own investigation, our inspectors found the utmost difficulty in tracing many establishments which were never recorded by the Labor Department in the list sent by them to us. 5 130 REPORT OF DIRECTOR OF INVESTIGATION. TABLE No. 6 TABLE SHOWING TTPES OF BUILDINGS OCCUPIED BY ESTABLISHMENTS INVESTIGATED. CLASS- IFIED ACCORDING TO INDUSTRIES. NOTE In this table the unit is the establishment, in other tables the floor or shop. TOTAL ESTAB- LISH- MENTS SPECIAL FACTORY LOFT TENE- MENT CON- VERTED TENE- MENT DWELL- ING MISCEL- LANEOUS 1 42 1 d fc 1 2 * -w 1 1 4> a S 2 6 fc a S 1 t Printing 293 100 93 18 8 78 6 8 84 181 61 11 62 61 12 19 20 6 20 34 1 12 1 41 10 4 14 10 4 Tobacco Chemicals Foodttuflt. 131 41 31 23 18 39 30 9 7 18 13 1 1 Candy 54 6 8 51 7 26 3 6 5 1 48 50 75 10 14 11 3 2 3 2 20 50 25 6 29 3 36 6 71 9 9 16 4 7 4 8 13 57 1 2 2 8 pickles Spices and drugs Meat packing Women's Trade* Artificial flowers and feathers 457 46 10 306 67 40 11 26 3 18 2 1 15 4 38 8 9 94 110 200 53 3 34 9 3 31 17 49 34 41 182 52 31 77 91 12 24 1 2 2 8 29 7 2 31 6 4 9 Laundries Clothing (waists) 131 41 31 32 24 6 5 44 34 7 5 1 1 Corks 14 24 7 67 19 8 14 6 13 60 58 87 69 4 6 1 20 1 30 25 13 30 5 1 5 1 26 2 42 10 63 3 4 13 6 1 4 Textiles Dyeing and cleaning. . Total 1,205 232 19 614 51 124 10 106 9 118 10 11 1 495 bake shops are not included in this table. The miscellaneous trades inspected by the Bureau of Social Research are also not included. 3. LACK OF STANDARDS : The worker spends the greater part of his waking hours in the workshop and factory. The proper sanitation of the work- place is therefore of paramount importance to the worker, both to his health and to the security of his life. It is only lately that intelligent employers have awakened to the fact that factory sanitation is very closely related to indus- trial efficiency, and that neglect of this subject by factory owners is detrimental to their own interests as well as extremely injuri- ous to their workers. REPORT OF DIRECTOR OF INVESTIGATION. 131 It is also but lately that the workers themselves have realized the value of proper sanitation of factories, and have added this to the economic demands of their labor organizations. Unfortunately, there is hardly a field of science where there is such a complete lack of standards as in industrial hygiene. It is on account of this deplorable lack of standardization that many provisions of the labor laws are so vague and indefinite, and that large employers, willing to introduce modern safety devices and sanitary conveniences in their factories, are unable to do so with complete success. It is also this lack of standards that makes the enforcement of the sanitary clauses of the labor laws so unsatisfactory, for it is a most difficult matter for the inspector to exactly determine what is meant by " sufficient " fire protection, " proper " light, " adequate " ventilation, " fit " toilet accommo- dations, etc. The standardization of factory sanitation is one of the most important matters which the Commission has considered during its brief preliminary investigation, and we intend to devote much attention to it if our activities are continued. 4. LIGHT AND ILLUMINATION : The lack of standards is nowhere more acutely felt than in the lighting and illumination of workshops. According to the unanimous testimony of experts, defective light and illumination are most injurious to the eyes of the workers. Insufficient light causes eye-strain and the chain of- symptoms following it, and thus gradually undermines the health. Much of the work in factories needs close application ; the colors necessitating abundant light, and the work so minute that great strain is placed upon the eyes. Therefore abundant light is the first necessity in a factory. The investigation has shown that a large number of factories inspected are defective in light; that fifty-two per cent use arti- ficial light during the day time; that the light, even where suffi- cient, is not properly placed with relation to the operatives; that very often the illuminants are too near the workers ; that no pro- tection whatever from glare of artificial illuminants is given in a large proportion of the shops. 132 REPORT OF DIRECTOR OF INVESTIGATION. The installation of artificial illumination is usually made with- out due regard to the location of the workroom, its size, the distance from the workers, the color of the materials, and the care of the eyes of the workers. It is, therefore, not at all strange that so many of the workers, especially the women, suffer from the effects of eye-strain and from other eye diseases due to defective light. It is not only the small shops on the East Side that suffer in this respect. Many of the large industrial establishments made a depressing effect on the writer with their sombre, semi-dark, prison-like aspect. TABLE No. 7. SHOPS IN SELECTED INDUSTRIES, CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO LIGHT AND VENTILATION TOTAL No. SHOPS SHOPS USING ARTIFICIAL LIGHTS DURING DAT SHOPS HAVING LIGHTS WITHOUT PROTECTION FROM LARE SHOPS USING MECHANICAL VENTILATION SHOPS USING SPBCIAL DEVICES No. Per cent. No. Per cent. No. Per cent. No. Per cent. Printing 426 157 217 156 5 27 34 63 19 120 244 135 228 22 38 28 131 69 244 22 214 91 4 22 18 42 15 20 102 34 141 5 3 10 25 11 57 14 98 60 80 81 53 66 79 16 42 25 62 23 8 36 19 16 234 8 108 140 5 18 3 42 16 116 113 117 132 18 20 14 119 8 57 5 50 90 100 66 9 66 84 96 46 87 60 22 53 50 90 12 26 16 28 4 5 4 3 7 109 20 2 2 13 6 10 13 3 19 12 16 6 44 15 9 7 19 58 38 71 7 4 3 4 3 96 5 7 1 13 24 32 4 15 5 21 3 40 4 .. j 25 2 Tobacco Chemicals Foodstuffs. Candv . . Ice cream Pickles Spices and drugs M ineral waters Women's Trades. Artificial Sowers and feathers Paper boxes Clothing (waist) Miscellaneous. Corks Rag sorting Textiles Hurpftn hf\ir Dyeing and cleaning .... Total 2,119 1,023 48 1,231 58 239 12 297 14 5. AIE AND VENTILATION : Adequate ventilation of factories is perhaps even more import- ant than adequate light and illumination, but we find here the same lack of standards. REPORT or DIRECTOR OF INVESTIGATION. 133 The removal of foul air from our houses and its replace- ment by fresh and pure air from the outside is most neces- sary to the health of the dwellers. It is of still greater importance in factories, where the number of persons employed is so large, and where many activities are commonly carried on causing a larger consumption of air, and where the materials aud processes are often such that much dust and many different noxious gases and fumes are constantly evolved. And yet only fourteen per cent of all the establishments inves- tigated have attempted, with more or less success, the introduction of proper ventilation by installing mechanical devices for the removal of bad air or the introduction of fresh air. The remain- ing eighty-six per cent rely solely upon the windows, which, being closed in the cold weather, fail to serve as ventilating media, while in summer they are practically useless, since the tempera- ture of the inside and outside is nearly equal and very little change of air takes place. Professor C. E. A. Winslow, an acknowledged expert on ven- tilation, testified that a temperature above 75 degrees Fahr. and a wet bulb temperature above 70 degrees Fahr. are extremely in- jurious to health, and yet, in our investigation, many places were found where this temperature was greatly exceeded, while in some, which were inspected by myself, a dry bulb temperature of 98 degrees Fahr. and a wet bulb of 90 degrees were found recorded upon the thermometer. A superintendent of one of the sugar refineries testified that the temperature sometimes reached 110 degrees Fahr. It has been accepted by most sanitarians that the greater incidence of tuberculosis and other respiratory diseases among workers, especially among those working in dusty trades, is due to the lack of ventilation, and a definite and compulsory minimum standard of ventilation for every establishment is most necessary for the proper enforcement of the labor laws. Closely allied to the question of ventilation is the subject of overcrowding in factories. The present law requiring 250 cu. feet air space for each oper- ative is very inadequate. In an ordinary loft, with a ceiling of the average height of ten feet, this provides a floor space for each 134 REPORT OF DIRECTOR OF INVESTIGATION. worker approximately 5x5 feet. In calculating the cubic space, no deductions are made for bulky machinery, boxes, tables, etc. A cubic space of 400 feet for each adult worker, clear of all bulky machinery, goods, and tables, should be insisted upon in all factories, with the additional standard of a floor space of 40 square feet per person, and a passageway of three feet between working benches and machine-stands. A standard of ventilation based upon the amount of C O 2 should also be required. A bill creating such a standard was introduced in the last Legislature upon the recommendation of the New York Association for Labor Legislation. The fact that there are many industries and many industrial establishments where the temperatures are so high as to be dan- gerous to the health of the operatives, shows that there should also be some standard as to degree of temperature permitted in the workrooms. " The securing and maintaining of a reasonable temperature in workrooms " is one of the basic principles of factory sanitation, and power should be given to the Labor Department to make special rules regulating the temperatures of industries where extremes of temperatures are likely to occur, and also to compel the owner to install self-recording thermometers to be maintained and kept in working order. The subject of mechanical ventilation in the industries where excessive dust is produced, or where poisons, gases, and fumes are evolved, is covered in Section No. 86 of the Labor Law, and is very vague, indefinite, and unsatisfactory, as has been shown during the course of our investigation; only fourteen per cent, of the workshops kaving any ventilation plants. These plants were very seldom in good working order. In many industries where the danger of dust, poison, gases and fumes are obvious, there was a lamentable lack of ventilation. The installation of a good working ventilating plant with proper hoods to remove the dusts, gases and fumes from the working places should be insisted upon and made part of the Factory Law, as such plants are absolutely necessary for the prevention of many of the diseases to which the operatives in certain trades are subject. REPORT OF DIRECTOR OF INVESTIGATION. 135 6. SANITARY CARE AND COMFORTS: Nothing so well illustrates the habitual neglect of the sanitary care of workshop as the need of making laws to enforce ordinary cleanliness. Our investigations have shown that in the great majority of cases even these laws are disobeyed. It is of the utmost importance to the health of the workers to provide ample washing facilities in the shops, especially in estab- lishments where dust is evolved, or where various poisons are produced, and there is danger of their absorption through the hands and mouth. Our inspectors found very little attention paid to this most important matter. In fifty-four per cent of all establishments inspected, there were no, or insufficient, washing facilities. In some industries the percentage of places with inadequate facilities is much larger. For instance in the ice-cream, textile, dyeing and cleaning establishments not one shop had any washing-rooms or wash basins. In the chemical manufacturing establishments where washing facilities are of such importance and where their absence is fraught with actual danger to health, there were only forty-one establishments out of a total of ninety-three which did have some kind of wash-basins. Even the establishments where the washing facilities were otherwise adequate very seldom provided any hot water, which is absolutely necessary where considerable dust or special poisons are to be found. Lunch Rooms: The number of industrial establishments providing separate lunch rooms is very small. The percentage of such establish- ments ranges from zero to fourteen in the different industries. In almost all of the shops, therefore, lunch was eaten within the shop or at a bench-table, a procedure which is very dangerous to health in the shops where there is much dust or where dan- gerous chemicals or poisons are handled. 136 REPORT OF DIRECTOR OF INVESTIGATION. TABLE No. 8. MANUFACTURING ESTABLISHMENTS IN SELECTED INDUSTRIES CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO SPECIAL CONVENIENCES. TOTAL No. ESTAB- LISHED. ADEQUATE WASHING FACILITIES SEPARATE LUNCHROOMS. No. No. Per cent. No. Per cent. Printing 293 100 93 54 5 6 8 7 51 94 110 53 200 14 24 7 67 19 239 79 41 27 4 3 1 13 8 13 19 126 14 10 58 82 79 44 50 66 38 14 25 8 12 36 63 14 42 86 2 9 6 7 1 6 3 5 1 3 1 9 6 13 12 5 6 3 14 5 Tobacco Chemicals Foodstuffs. Candy Ice cream Pickles Spices and drugs Meat packing Mineral waters Women's Trades. Artificial flowers and feathers . . T^viinHrie* . , , , , , ..... Paper boxes Clothing (waists) Miscellaneous. Corks Rags > Textiles It Human hair _ Dyeing and cleaning Total 1.205 555 46 43 3 Cleanliness: Ordinary cleanliness of walls, ceilings and floors was absent in a very large number of shops. We have classified the cleanli- ness of shops according to four grades : Grade "A," referring to perfectly clean shops ; Grade " B," to shops in a fair condition ; while Grades " O " and " D " refer respectively to dirty and very dirty shops. According to these grades we found 592 shops in Grade " C," and 364 in Grade " D," a total number of 45 per cent of all the establishments being in the two lower grades. This grading of cleanliness of industrial establishments excludes the 500 bakeries inspected, which are reported upon separately. It is strange to note that establishments where food-stuffs are manufactured were found the dirtiest of all. Thirty-three per cent of the candy factories were in Grade " C," and twenty-four per cent in Grade " D ;" thirty-three per cent of the pickle fac- tories were in Grade " C," and twenty-three per cent in Grade " D ;" twenty-one per cent of all the meat packing shops in Grade " C," and fifty-eight per cent in Grade " D ;" and eighty per cent of the ice cream factories in Grade " D." REPORT OF DIEECTOK OF INVESTIGATION. 137 TABLE No. 9. MANUFACTURING ESTABLISHMENTS IN SELECTED INDUSTRIES ACCORDING TO GRADES or CLEANLINESS. TOTAL No. SHOPS GRADE A GRADE B GRADE C GRADE D No. Per cent. No. Per cent. No. Per cent. No. Per cent. Printing 426 157 217 156 5 27 34 63 19 120 244 135 228 22 38 28 131 69 72 4 28 11 6 5 1 3 2 34 25 69 7 8 2 6 17 16 3 13 7 22 15 2 16 1 14 19 31 32 22 7 5 24 227 75 123 57 1 5 23 15 1 26 81 56 46 15 3 15 52 42 53 47 57 36 20 19 67 24 5 22 33 41 20 68 8 53 39 61 102 56 62 51 9 1 21 4 42 74 42 49 17 11 42 9 24 36 28 33 33 3 33 21 35 30 31 21 45 40 32 13 27 22 4 37 4 7 5 26 11 50 55 12 64 10 31 1 7 14 2 24 80 26 15 41 68 42 28 26 24 2 Tobacco Chemicals Foodstuffs. Candy Ice cream Pickles Spices and drugs Mineral waters Meat packing Women's Trades. Artificial flowers and feathers Laundries Paper boxes Clothing (waists) Miscellaneous. Corks Rag sorting Textiles Human hair Dyeing and cleaning .... Total 2,119 300 14 863 41 592 28 364 17 Toilet Accommodations: The investigation has shown a general neglect in making proper provision for toilet accommodations. There were none whatever in sixty-two shops, or three per cent of all the shops inspected. In ninety-five shops, or five per cent, the toilets were located in the yard, which is the worst place for them. In 146 shops, or twenty-one per cent, they were located in the halls, where they can- not be well taken care of. An insufficient number of toilets was supplied for the employees in a large number of cases. In regard to light and ventilation of toilet apartments there were three hundred and forty-two in Grade " D " and three hundred and fifty-eight in Grade " C," or thirty^two per cent.* In regard to cleanliness of toilets twenty-four per cent were in Grade " C " and sixteen per cent in Grade " D," showing that very little attention is paid to this very important feature. 'Table TI, p. 139. 138 REPORT OF DIRECTOR OF INVESTIGATION. These deplorable conditions are by no means a special feature of the small establishments; some of the largest industrial estab- lishments are, at times, the greatest sinners in this respect. For instance, in the two largest sugar refineries in the city, belonging to the largest manufacturers in the country, I found the toilets not only inadequate in number, and obsolete in type, but kept in a shockingly filthy condition. In spite of the fact that many accidents occur in factories, there are very few in which emergency rooms or first aid facilities were found. The investigation has clearly shown not only the need of defi- nite sanitary provisions in the labor code, but also the necessity of constant enforcement and supervision, without which such laws become dead letters. TABLE No. 10. SHOPS or MANUFACTURING ESTABLISHMENTS IN SELECTED INDUSTRIES ACCORDING TO LOCA- TION or TOILETS. TOTAL No. SHOPS YARD HALL SHOP ELSE- WHERE No. W. C. No REPORT d 55 4 1 d *> I c X *i b 6 55 1 I 6 Z 1 d X 4 1 t Printing 446 157 217 156 e 2; 34 63 19 120 244 135 228 22 38 28 131 69 11 4 43 3 3 2 ( ( ( i; 2 3 20 2 =: 11 1 2 8 11 94 28 22 93 27 9 19 31 28 16 3 1 6 1 56 12 23 18 10 60 100 27 30 25 12 12 1 5 3 42 17 308 101 112 49 2 25 26 7 83 182 114 223 21 21 25 62 38 72 64 52 31 40 41 37 69 75 84 98 95 90 48 55 8 22 37 5 73 1 9 6 2 1 4 2 14 17 3 2 47 2 3 5 5 2 3 3 3 14 1 4 4 5 2 7 2 8 1 1 1 2 60 22 5 4 2 4 1 2 11 3 18 1 2 27 3 1 Tobacco Chemicals Foodstuff*. Pickles Spices and drugs Mineral waters Women's Trades. Artificial flowers and Paper boxes Clothing (waists) Miscellaneous. Corks Rag sorting Textiles Cleaning and dyeing. Total 2.119 95 5 446 21 U'J'J 65 95 5 62 3 22 REPORT OF DIRECTOR OF INVESTIGATION. 139 TABLE No. 11. SHOPS or MANUFACTURING ESTABLISHMENTS IN SELECTED INDUSTRIES ACCORDING TO GRADES OF LIGHT AND VENTILATION or TOILET APARTMENTS. TOTAL No. SHOPS GRADE A GRADE B GRADE C GRADE D No TOILETS No REPORT 6 fe Per cent. 6 2 Per cent. 6 fc Per cent. c Z *> k m o z Per cent. d S5 Per cent. Pi in ting 426 157 217 156 E 27 34 63 19 120 244 135 228 22 38 28 131 69 106 24 45 24 5 13 2 5 34 76 35 20 11 16 25 15 21 15 19 38 3 4 14 56 15 91 30 56 185 46 59 81 1 12 10 7 13 56 33 25 84 2 8 8 43 30 27 52 44 30 11 69 47 13 19 36 9 21 30 90 37 24 29 20 8 9 16 4 28 35 19 41 3 21 23 11 19 30 26 26 21 23 14 14 18 11 33 33 10 16 1 2 2 21 1 27 112 10 66 7 8 21 5 10 20 7 6 33 5 22 46 7 30 18 5 2 3 3 14 1 4 4 5 2 7 1 1 1 22 5 3 2 4 1 IS 7 15 76 6 60 3 26 5 1 2 10 35 4 5 11 O 13 3 Tobacco Foodtlvffs. Candy Ice cream Pickles Spices and drugs Mineral wateis Meat packing Women's Trade*. Artificial flowers and feathers Laundries Paper boxes Clothiog (waists) Miscellaneout. Corks Rftg sorting . Textiles Human hair. Dyeing and cleaning. . Total. . 14 16 15 1 8 15 12 2,119 430 | 20 646 34 358 16 342 16 58 2 285 140 REPORT OF DIRECTOR OF INVESTIGATION. TABLE No. 12. SHOPS OF MANUFACTURING ESTABLISHMENTS IN SELECTED INDUSTRIES ACCORDING TO GRADES OF CLEANLINESS or TOILETS TOTAL No. SHOPS GRADE A GRADE B GRADE C GRADE D No TOILETS No REPORT 6 25 *i 1 1 j * 1 d K 1 6 25 *> & A 1 d 25 JL i 12 19 '6 Printing , , , . , , 426 157 217 156 5 27 34 63 19 120 244 135 228 22 38 28 131 69 94 17 42 15 5 10 2 7 45 59 30 5 1 - 9 20 23 11 19 10 10 30 10 6 18 44 14 23 3 7 29 212 50 86 52 14 13 9 1 58 53 20 69 10 9 13 58 15 50 31 40 33 50 38 15 5 48 22 15 30 45 24 46 44 22 83 47 31 61 7 2 19 9 28 24 29 59 7 5 11 45 7 19 30 14 40 26 6 30 49 23 10 22 25 32 13 40 34 11 25 23 12 24 2 1 9 19 2 23 96 22 68 6 15 6 15 40 4 26 30 10 20 40 16 30 5 2 3 3 3 1 1 2 60 7 18 43 1 Tobacco Chemicals Foodstuffs. Candy Ice cream Pickles Spices and drugs Mineral waters 14 1 4 4 5 2 22 5 3 1 3 1 2 4 22 3 21 9 Meat packing Women's Trades. Artificial flowers and feathers T*ftUn<1rV*, , . Paper boxes Clothing (waists). . Miscellaneous. Corks Rag sorting 11 3 17 4 M 11 13 5 7 2 8 19 2 11 5 1 13 3 Textiles Hu"fu hair. ........ Dyeing and cleaning. . Total 15 22 2.119 361 16 742 35 474 24 361 16 83 3 118 5 7. BAKERIES: The manufacture of food-stuffs is of the greatest importance to the health not only of the workers in the establishments where such manufacture is carried on, but also to the general consuming public. For some reason or other, there seems to be much less care taken in the sanitation of places where food is manufactured than in any other branch of industry. In New York City our investigation has shown that many food manufacturing trades such as candy, ice cream, smoked meats, and sausages, and especially bread, are almost exclusively carried on in low cellars of tenement houses under working conditions which defy all description. The full report of the bakery inspection presented to the Com- mission (with photographs and detailed descriptions) shows the horrible conditions under which the " staff of life " is manufac- tured in this city, and the necessity of seriously considering an effective remedy for this great eviL REPORT OF DIRECTOR OF INVESTIGATION. 141 This thorough inspection of nearly 500 cellar bakeries and. the testimony which was given at the hearing by many disinterested and competent persons, have shown beyond a doubt that something radical must be done if we are to prevent " our daily bread " from becoming a menace to the health of the workers, a peril to the safety of the buildings, and a disgusting product to the consum- ing public. The time is ripe for a total abolition of cellar bakeries. There is no valid reason for, and all sanitary reasons against, such a loca- tion for the manufacture of this most important article of food. Wihile there may be some objections to a sudden total abo- lition of all existing cellar bakeries, there can be little objection to their control and strict supervision by the State and Muni- cipal authorities. Such a supervision and control are possible only with a system of certification or licensing, similar to that in the milk and dairy industry. 8. THE HEALTH OF THE WORKERS : The normal pursuit of ordinary occupations under normal con- ditions is not fraught with danger to the health or the life of the workers ; indeed, it is rather conducive to better health and longer life. It is only when work is carried on under abnormal condi- tions with relation to duration, speed, tension, character of work- place, degree of light and illumination, purity of air, and ordi- nary sanitary care, that work begins to be harmful to the worker, and may seriously affect his health and shorten his life. A great many of our industries are at present carried on under such abnormal conditions that they unduly increase the morbidity and mortality rate of the workers. The unsanitary conditions under which the bakers are employed in the cellar bakeries in New York City has led us to make a physical examination of 800 bakers, to determine, if possible, the effect of the unsanitary conditions and occupation upon their health. This examination has been made by a staff of competent physicians during the bakers' working hours and at their place of work. The examination has been greatly assisted by the Bak- ers' Union, which sent representatives to each shop, advising their 142 REPORT OF DIRECTOR OF INVESTIGATION. members to submit to such au examination. The result of this examination is described in full in the special report on bakers and bakeries. Here, it is sufficient to note the fact that we have found an abnormally large percentage of diseases among this class of workers, diseases which endanger the health and well-being of the workers themselves, and are also dangerous because of the pos- sible infection of the manufactured food-stuffs. At the request of the Furriers' Union, a preliminary physical examination of eighty-five furriers has also been made. There is undoubtedly a great desire among the members of organized Labor Unions to undergo such physical examinations, and the evidence given in the public hearings has also shown that many of the large employers favor such a physical examination. 9. DANGEROUS TRADES: A large number of industries deal with harmful or poisonous materials, which are liable to endanger the health and lives of their workers. These dangerous elements may be roughly classi- fied into five groups, as follows : Dangerous Elements: 1. Dusts: Mineral, Metal, Vegetable, Animal. 2. Poisons: Lead, Arsenic, Phosphorous, Mercury, Brass, Zinc, etc. 3. Gases and Fumes. 4. Infected Materials ; Rags, Skins, etc. 5. Dangerous and Unguarded Machinery. The number of trades in which one or more of the above-named dangerous elements are found is very large; lead poisoning alone being incident to about 138 distinct trades. The effect of these elements upon the health of the workers are sometimes immediate and more often insidious, but nearly always harmful, and at times deadly. There is as yet no sufficient data as to the exact number of per- sons suffering from diseases directly caused by each of these ele- REPORT OF DIEECTOE OF INVESTIGATION. 143 merits, nor is there in this country sufficient proof of the exis- tence of the specific occupational diseases incident to certain trades. The only legislative commission that has ever studied this subject in this country is the Illinois Occupational Disease Com- mission of 1907-8, and there are some additional studies just com- pleted and printed by the United States Department of Commerce and Labor in Bulletin No. 95. Dangerous as are many of these industries, many of the risks are undoubtedly preventable and much of the misery caused by them is entirely avoidable. In many industries a non-toxic ingredient may be substituted for a poison as in the match and mirror industries. In others an efficient system of mechanical ventilation would eliminate most of the dangers ; while in others a proper education of the workers in the dangers of their trade is needed. The extent of mercury poisoning in New York City has been lately studied by Mrs. Lindon W. Bates of the National Civic Federation, who reported on over a hundred cases of mercurial poison occurring among hatters and felt-makers. In the United States Department of Labor and Commerce Bul- letin No. 95, just issued, Dr. John B. Andrews gives a short account of a study of lead poisoning cases in New York State. During 1909 and 1910 there were found sixty cases of death from lead poison. A beginning has been made under the auspices of this Commis- sion in investigating a number of cases of lead poisoning and inspecting a number of lead manufacturing establishments in this city. This investigation has been voluntarily conducted by Dr. E. E. Pratt of the New York School of Philanthropy, who with a staff of pupils has made a thorough inspection of fifty factories, and has traced from hospital records, etc., a large number of cases of lead poisoning. A special report on 100 cases of lead poison- ing by Dr. E. E. Pratt is herewith presented to the Commission. 10. INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE : The existence of many specific poisons and dangers to the health of workers in various industries, the incidence of occupational dis- 144 REPOET OF DIBECTOB OF INVESTIGATION. eases in many trades, the effect of certain processes upon the physique of the workers, render it necessary to continue and pur- sue special investigations into industrial conditions. This must be done in order to study the effects of the occupation upon the health of the workers, to establish standards for each industry, to prepare rules and. regulations, and to recommend preventive meas- ures for their elimination. Such a continued and intensive study can best be carried on by a special bureau, attached to the Labor Department, with trained specialists on industrial hygiene, and with power to rec- ommend special rules for each particular trade and establishment. All these functions with the addition of the supervision of the technical details of industrial hygiene, such as the matter of proper safeguarding of dangerous machinery, the installation of special mechanical ventilation plants, the supervision of light and illumination, the chemical analysis of air, chemicals, dyes, etc., should be concentrated in a separate bureau in the Labor Depart- ment with a staff of specialists in' each branch and with ample provisions for laboratories, clinics, and research, as well as for educational activities among employers and workers alike. 11. WOMEN'S WOBK: In the course of our investigation, certain trades where many women workers are employed have been investigated as to their sanitary conditions, and a special report on these trades is here- with presented to the Commission. The evidence presented in this report, as well as the testimony given in the public hearings, undoubtedly created a strong impression that there is not sufficient protection in our industries for women workers, and that they unquestionaibly suffer more from certain bad sanitary conditions than the male workers. The number of industries which are especially dangerous to women is large, and the subject of further restriction of the trades in which women may be employed deserves serious study and attention. There is also need of a further study for the purpose of further limiting the hours of labor of women in ati trades, and with a REPOKT OF DIKECTOE OF INVESTIGATION. 145 possible establishment of a minimum wage for women workers, as the only means to preserve their health and prevent them from sinking down under the burdens of industrial life. 12. CHILD LABOR: During our investigation, we have found many instances of the employment of extremely young children in factories. Our impression is that the extent of the employment of children under fourteen years of age is larger than it is thought to be, and that the present system of certification of child workers fourteen and sixteen years of age is inadequate and unsatisfac- tory. Many abuses have distinctly been observed in the methods of granting certificates, and the lack of a thorough medical physical examination of minor workers has been shown to be dangerous in fostering the employment of children too young to be given up to the risks and dangers of factory work. The absolute need of a system of physical examination of chil- dren, and indeed, of all workers, before and after entering employ- ment has been fully shown. 13. HOME WORK: A special investigation has been made under the auspices of this Commission, by a volunteer staff under the direction of the National Child Labor Committee, upon the extent of child and home work, especially in the tenement houses. A special report on this subject is herewith presented to the Commission. Here it is sufficient to give a summary of their report : 1. The present system of licensing tenement houses leads to many abuses and does not fulfill the expectations of the framers of the law. 2. The extent of the work carried on in unlicensed tenement houses is very great. 3. The number of industries which are carried on in homes and by small children is very large. 4. It is hardly possible to entirely eliminate child labor without complete abolition of tenement house work. 146 REPORT OF DIRECTOR OF INVESTIGATION. 14. EDUCATION : Many of the evils discovered in our investigation may directly be traced to the lack of knowledge on the part of employers of the proper construction and arrangement of factories and workshops, and to their ignorance of the first principles of sanitation and proper care for the health and well-being of their workers. The government appropriates yearly vast sums for the instruc- tion of the farmers and other producing classes of the nation for the purpose of teaching them how disease of cattle can be cured and how the health of valuable animals can be preserved, and cholera among chickens prevented. There is, however, absolutely no provision made by the government for the similar instruction of employers to whose care hundreds of thousands of human beings are entrusted, nor for any supervision of the conditions which the employing classes impose upon their workmen. The ignorance which is so frequently found among the work- ing class itself is even more dangerous to their health. There is at present among the workers dense ignorance of the risks of their trades and the dangers of their occupations. Many of the diseases from which workmen suffer in certain trades are directly due to their lack of knowledge of means of preserving their health, and of their neglect in taking ordinary precautions to guard against certain dangers which are easily preventable, once they are known. The younger element among the workers is composed of chil- dren who leave school at the age of fourteen, who are entirely unprepared for the struggle for existence, who are entirely igno- rant of the first principles of self-preservation, and who, therefore, readily fall victims to the dangers lurking in so many industries. This lack of education in employers and employees is a serious menace in industrial life, and is one of the principal causes of suffering in almost all occupations. The preliminary report touches upon subjects which will be discussed more fully in the final report. REPORT OF DIRECTOR OF INVESTIGATION. 147 III. RECOMMENDATIONS : (1) Registration: The owner of every factory shall be required to register at the Labor Department within a specified time, giving such data as the Labor Commissioner may require. (2) Licensing: Every place where food products are manufactured for public consumption (except restaurants and hotels) shall be required to apply for a license from the Health Department of the city where such place is located; said license shall be issued only when all the requirements of said Health Department are fully complied with; said license shall be revocable for cause and be annually renewed upon inspection. (3) Standards to be established: The Department of Labor shall be empowered to establish from time to time standards of light, heat, and ventilation to be enforced in factories for the protection of the workers; every factory in which dusts, gases, poisons, or fumes are produced in excess of the minimum allowed, or where materials likely to convey infec- tion are used, shall be required to secure a permit from the Department of Labor, and shall be under the continuous super- vision of said Department; compliance with the standards estab- lished by the Department shall be required before a permit is issued to such factory. (4) Physical Examination of Workers: The owner of every place where food products are manu- factured for public consumption (except restaurants and hotels) shall demand and receive from each applicant for work before employing same, a certificate of good health signed by a regularly licensed physician, to the effect that said person is free from infec- tious disease and that he is in physical condition to do the work in said establishment. 148 REPORT OF DIRECTOR OF INVESTIGATION. (5) Medical Supervision in Dangerous Trades: The owner of every factory in which certain specified poisons, gases, fumes or dusts are produced, or in which materials likely to carry infection are used, shall be required to employ a physician or physicians to examine all workers before entering their employment, and to make a periodical examination at least once a month of all employees, in order to determine whether their health is affected by the dangerous elements in the trade. Such physicians shall keep an individual record of every employee in said estab- lishment. Such physicians shall be under the general supervision of the Labor Department and under the rules and regulations set by said Department for the medical supervision of the trade. (6) Ventilation: (a) Four hundred cubic feet of space, exclusive of furniture, machinery, or goods, shall be required in every factory for each adult worker. (b) Forty square feet of floor space, exclusive of bulky furni- ture, machinery, or goods, shall be required for every worker in every factory. (c) Nine parts of carbon dioxide, in ten thousand volumes of air, in excess of the number of parts of carbon dioxide in ten thousand volumes of the exterior air shall be the maximum per- missible amount in each and every workshop or factory, and fif- teen parts of CO 2 in ten thousand volumes of air, in excess of the exterior air shall be the maximum permissible in every workroom where artificial light is needed. (d) The lowest temperature allowed in a workroom of a factory shall be 55 degrees Fahr. and the maximum shall not exceed 72 degrees Fahr. as determined by the wet bulb thermometer, unless the temperature of the exterior air exceeds 70 degrees Fahr. as determined by the same process, in which case the wet bulb temperature of the workroom shall not exceed that of the ex- terior air by more than 5 degrees. REPORT OF DIRECTOR OF INVESTIGATION. 149 (e) Several dry and wet bulb recording thermometers shall be installed and properly maintained in all factories, as may be required by the Department of Labor. (7) Dressing Rooms: (a) In all factories where more than 10 women are em- ployed, a separate dressing room, having a floor space of at least 60 square feet, shall be provided on each floor where such women are employed. Said dressing room shall have at least one win- dow, at least 15 square feet in area, to the outer air, and shall be adequately lighted and ventilated, and shall be provided with suitable hangers for clothes, and shall be separate from any water-closet apartment. (b) In all establishments where food products are manu- factured for public consumption, and in all establishments where dusts, gases, poisons, fumes or material likely to convey infection are produced, special clothes, consisting of overalls, caps and gloves, shall be provided free for every employee; such clothes shall be washed at the expense of the owner at least twice every week; and every employee compelled to wear same at all times during such work. (8) Washing Facilities: (a) General. Section No. 88 of Labor Code prevails. (b) In all establishments where food products are manu- factured for public consumption, and in all establishments where dust, gases, poisons, fumes, or material likely to convey infection are produced, there shall be provided ample washing facilities, including hot water and individual towels. (9) Lunch: In all establishments where food products 1 are manufac- tured for public consumption, and in all establishments where diist, gases, poisons, fumes, or material likely to convey infection exist, separate places for eating lunch shall be provided, as may be required by the Labor Department. APPENDIX II THE FIRE HAZARD H. F. J. PORTER, M. E. THE FIRE HAZARD HON. ROBERT F. WAGNER, Chairman N. Y. State Factory Inves- tigating Commission, New York, N. Y.: DEAR SIR: The Origin of the Commission: Your Commission came into existence last summer, primarily owing to representations made to the Governor and the Legislature by a delegation of the Fifth Avenue Association, to the effect that the factory buildings of New York City are so defective in design with regard to exit facilities, that their occupants are continuously exposed to the danger of a repetition of the Asch building disaster. In fact it was stated at the hearing before the Governor that in case of fire these people would have only the alternatives of jump- ing or burning to death. It was also stated that they would not even have to wait for a fire to expose them to danger, due to the defects mentioned, for a panic, which might be brought about by other sources than fire, could also cause serious injury and even death, as was made evident in the loft building at 548 Broadway on May 5th last, when the occupants of one of the floors, becoming frightened by a cry of alarm, rushed to the narrow wooden stair- way and crowded it until it burst, and precipitated its contents upon the landing below, killing two girls and injuring many others so seriously as to necessitate their removal to the hospital. My Association with Its Origin: I have been engaged in work in the factory buildings of New York and other cities for many years, and at the time of the Asch building fire had been employed by the Fifth Avenue Association to solve certain problems in which the loft buildings in its sec- tion were involved. It was in connection with my efforts after the above-mentioned disaster, to institute fire drills in these loft buildings in order to facilitate the escape of their occupants in case of fire, that I discovered that it was impossible to develop a fire drill that would empty such buildings under emergency con- 154 THE FIRE HAZARD. ditions, and that this was due, not to incapacity on my part, nor to weakness in the fire drill per se, but to inherent defects in the design of the buildings, due to the failure of architects and build- ers generally to realize that the capacity of a stairway is limited, and that a multi-storied building, intended to be occupied by large numbers of people on each floor, must be supplied with special means of meeting the exigencies of a rapid egress from it. Its Special Work: The Commission was appointed to investigate and recommend relief for the very serious and pressing situation which, as I have shown, was thus brought to light. This is its work, as I under- stand it, and if it will accomplish this result alone it will have performed a vitally effective service. In the working out of a recommendation in this direction, to the Legislature, you have asked me to act in an advisory capacity. Its Allied Work-- in establishing the Commission and endowing it with its func- tions, the Legislature thought it wise to authorize it, in addition to the above requirement, to investigate the sanitary conditions as they exist in the factory buildings of the State. There are many individuals, as well as the State and municipal organizations, at work in this latter field, and although it is thus fairly well covered, undoubtedly the Commission will find that it and they can be mutually helpful in recommending legislation which will alleviate the wretchedness that exists in factories of a certain type in every industry. This latter line of investigation you have assigned to Dr. Geo. M. Price, and although he and I have conferred and worked together in a mutual endeavor to facilitate the work of the Commission in every way possible, we shall keep our assignments distinct and separate in our respective reports, I confining myself to the building problems, Dr. Price to working conditions. Preliminary Experiences: In order that the Commission may have all the facts bearing upon the fire situation, it may be well to lay before it my experi- THE FIRE HAZARD. 155 ences in the field, which enabled rne to interest the delegation above referred to sufficiently to cause it to go to Albany to ask for an investigation. These experiences, beginning several years ago and maintained up to the time of this investigation, are as import- ant as those which I have had since I have been connected with the Commission, for the latter have simply been in continuity with the former. A Typical Factory: When, in 1904, I took charge as Vice-President of the Nernst Lamp Company, a Westinghouse interest in Pittsburgh, Pa., I found its factory to be an old building of brick, with so-called interior mill construction. It possessed only one stairway and housed on its five floors somewhere between 200 and 300 people, mostly women. As the building in itself was full of inflam- mable material, and as it was surrounded by rolling mills and fur- niture storage warehouses, it was considered a very hazardous fire risk, and insurance rates upon it were proportionately high. Keal- izing my responsibility for the safety of the employees, T set about studying how they could escape from the building in case of fire. My Efforts to Effect Escape from Fire: Not being able to determine to my own satisfaction how escape under certain circumstances could be effected, 1 appealed to the Chief of the Fire Department, who, after studying the conditions, agreed with me that the building was a fire trap, that he could offer no recommendations except more and better fire-escapes, tke introduction of precautionary measures against fire, methods of prompt extinguishment in case of its occurrencce, and means of retarding its spread until the arrival of the Fire Department, in case it should get beyond the control of those in the building who were designated to fight it. The Province of the Fire Department is Primarily to Fight Fire, Not to Save Life: Not being satisfied, however, that even with the preventive measures introduced, the occupants of the building would be safe from the possibility of a fire gaining headway bevond the fighting 156 THE FIRE HAZARD. ability of those assigned to its extinguishment, and realizing that there still existed the possibility of accident from panics, which often cause more injury than the fire itself, I appealed to the man- agers of the most representative and progressive manufacturing establishments about the country, to learn what methods they had adopted to meet the dangerous conditions which I realized existed in every factory where large numbers of people were housed on each floor. Much to my surprise and disappointment, I could not find a single concern which had developed a scheme of rapid dis- missal of its people from its building, similar to the fire drills of the public schools. I then sought the assistance of a drill master from the local Board of Education. The School Fire Drill Inapplicable: This man, although an old hand in the work of installing fire drills in school buildings, after several attempts to introduce a similar drill in our factory, was forced to concede that the build- ing was so different from those to which he was accustomed, and the people so much older and less subservient to discipline, that he was unable to develop a fire drill which he felt would operate in an emergency. The Crux of the Problem a Defective Building: Driven back upon my own resources, I proceeded to work out a solution of the problem myself. I then found that in order to effect a safe, rapid egress of the occupants from the building, what amounted to practically a separate stairway from each floor had to be developed. When this was accomplished, we installed a fire drill without difficulty, which emptied the building in three minutes. The First Factory Fire Drill: This fire drill, actually taking the employees out of the building, was the first, as far as I know, that had been introduced into a factory. Naturally it created considerable comment. News- paper and magazine articles described it, and many factory man- agers from all over the country wrote to me about it and visited me to see it. I A COUNTER-BALANCED DROP LADDER. There are thousands of fire escapes which depend upon a " drop ladder " for the connection between the lowest balcony of the fire escape and the ground. Many of these ladders are hung out of reach or are taken away altogether. Almost all are too heavy to be handled in an emergency. By counter-balancing them, using a chain, over a pulley on a brass shaft, to prevent rusting, the ladder can be kef)t in place and a child can lower it. A COMPARISON OF THE CAPACITY or '. A A straight ladder fire escape, capacity 2 per floor. C Straight i B Inclined ladder fire escape, capacity 4 per floor. D Mezzanii When more than these numbers try to crowd in they f 'BRENT TYPES OF FIRE ESCAPES. w&y, 22 in. wide, capacity 12 per floor. atfonn stairs, 44 inches wide, with cantilever steps to ground, capacity 24 per floor. a jam and stop the flow downward altogether. a THE FIRE HAZARD. 157 All Factories Deficient in Stairway Facilities: As all the people who tried to introduce similar fire drills into their factories experienced the same difficulties as I had, many of them invited me to assist tfoem in the installations. It was in this work that I began to realize that buildings occupied by many people on each floor are universally deficient in stairways. This condition has come about by the gradual growth of industry. Small factories had increased the number of their employees and added extensions to their buildings to accommodate tnem, but pro- vided no additional stairways. Architects and builders had blindly followed precedent, without taking cognizance of ample and frequent demonstrations of the weakness of their designs. Where fires had occurred and people had been burned up or had jumped from windows, the exit facili- ties had been augmented by the addition of outside fire-escapes, often merely ropes or ladders of the most elementary nature. The latter were simply crude make-shifts to supply a remedy for the deficiency in exit facilities which was felt to exist. Architects and Builders, Instead of Eliminating the Cause, Worked at the Effect: Architects and builders, however, instead of recognizing this defect in their building design, continued to blindly follow the lines which they saw developing. They still designed their build- ings with inadequate interior stairways and exit facilities, and then proceeded to develop this outside fire escape into a perma- nent feature. The contracted space in which many of these fire- escapes had to be installed, and the tendency to cut the latter off some distance from the ground to prevent their being used for entrance by burglars, made their value as an exit facility ex- tremely low ; and yet these things were done in the face of repeated instances of fires burning up the people on these so-called " fire escapes," as well as the fire escapes themselves. (See Sketch I.) So that it was evident that the name of the latter was a misnomer, and that they were, on the contrary, veritable fire traps. (See Sketch II.) Since these early experiences I have been engaged in the work of my profession of industrial engineering, developing the effi- 158 THE FIRE HAZARD. ciency of working organizations, and in this work I have rarely found a factory building so designed as to provide for its occu- pants a safe means of escape in case of fire. An Actual Test is Necessary to Prove Efficacy: This condition of affairs has come about from the failure of architects to test out their designs to see if they actually will serve the purpose for which they were intended. Never having been required to design buildings which would be emptiable in a speci- fied time, their buildings are unemptiable under emergency demands. Had they tested their buildings to see if they would rapidly empty themselves in an emergency, they would have dis- covered, as I did when I applied such a test, that a stair-well has a definite and very limited capacity. It is simply a tube to which each floor is connected, and when these floors try to empty their contents simultaneously into it, it will accommodate only a definite number of people from each. Should any more try to crowd in, they jam it and the flow downward is arrested. (See Sketch III.) The reason for this jam is that the irregular shaped bodies of the people interlock and the friction of their clothing aids the wedging action so that there is an actual arch formed across the stairs, and the greater the pressure behind it the tighter it holds. ( See Sketch IV.) This jamming is preventable to some extent by having no influx of people to a stairwell except at its top. I have been able to make emptiable many factory buildings by using this principle, and giving each floor its own individual stair-well. To make such a building safe, however, each floor should have two stair- wells, and they should be as far apart as possible, and smokeproof , so that in case one should be cut off by a fire, the other would be available. The Limited Capacity of a Stair-Well: I have found, for instance, in the investigation which I have just made for your Commission, that the average loft building, with a height of story between floor and ceiling of from 10 to 12 feet, has a stair-well which if it has the minimum width of 3 feet allowed by the Building Code, will accommodate one person per foot of height per floor, and if it is 4 feet wide, just double. A stairway '. to 44 inches the If there are downward move: SKETCH E STAIRWAY CONGESTION A stairway 12 feet high between floor and ceiling, 3 feet wide, will accommodate to 44 inches the capacity is doubled, viz: 24 people per floor. If there are more people per floor than these numbers they will collide on the downward movement practically ceases. All the occupants of each floor beyond th dowu or bum up. The fire wall offers a middle road to safety by a horizontal esca >eople per floor. If the width is increased ings and congestion will occur so that the >acity of the stairways in case of fire, jump ch and the less the tendency to jan o great as to burst the rail , as in th< IV SKETCH F The wider the stairs the flatter the arch and the less the tendency to jam tightly. Frequently the pressure of the jam becomes so great as to burst the rail, as in the case referred to on page 153. THE FIRE HAZAED. 159 that number. It will not be safe, then, to house more than 10 to 12 persons per floor in one case, and 20 to 24 in the other, unless more stair-wells are installed, or unless a separate stair-well is installed for each floor. Fire Drills Improperly Operated Are Conducive to Inefficiency: In the prosecution of my professional work I have had occa- sion to introduce fire drills in a large number of factories, when- ever I found it necessary to safeguard the employees, and have naturally gained considerable experience in the best way to make such installations, so as not to cause waste of time and energy, both of which are expensive to employer and employee, and I have found that a fire drill which required the taking of people downstairs should be performed only at noon and quitting time at night, and that the factory should always be dismissed that way. In this way no time is wasted and the employees are not compelled to climb stairways to return to their work afterwards, which is very exhausting and tends to reduce their efficiency for a very appreciable time. Thus the people get to know the various exits and the avenues leading to them. But the essential value of the introduction of a fire drill lies in its function as a test of the adequacy of the exit facilities, and pointing out the obstruc- tions in the way of reaching the exits that do exist. First Attempt at Legislation: So impressed did I become with the necessity for such a test to be applied to all buildings, that I set about making the fire drill compulsory by legislation. The first attempt in this direc- tion was in 1905, through Mr. Jacob Erlich, a ladies' gown manu- facturer who became imbued with the idea, and introduced a bill in the Legislature at Albany, through Assemblyman James C. Sheldon. The necessity for an appropriation for additional fac- tory inspectors to secure its enforcement hampered its passage, and it never emerged from the committee to which it had been referred. The factory fire drill was not at that time recognized as a necessity, and the request for such legislation was not taken seriously. 160 THE FIRE HAZARD. Second Attempt: As a result of an address which I gave on the subject before the annual convention of the New York City Federation of Women's Clubs, at the Hotel Astor, in 1908, an ordinance was introduced in the Board of Aldermen, by Alderman Mitchell, calling for a compulsory fire drill. This was referred to the Committee on Laws and Legislation and never was heard from afterwards. Third Attempt: After the Asch building fire a resolution to the same effect was made by Alderman Drescher, which was referred to the same com- mittee, and died there. Fourth Attempt: The Federation of Women's Clubs, discouraged by their failure to interest the Aldermen in the subject, proceeded shortly after the Newark fire in 1910 to introduce in the State Legislature, through Senator Thomas Cullen and Assemblyman Franklin Brooks, a bill which subsequently passed the Assembly, but after being re- ferred to the Committee on Labor in the Senate, and being re- ported favorably, it was not acted upon. Fifth Attempt: This lack of action was perhaps due in part to the introduction of the so-called Herrick-McManus bill, drafted after the Asch building fire in 1910, by a number of civic organizations, of some of which I am a member, which also called for fire drills. This bill was the result of the aroused sentiment of the community in favor of factory fire drills, due in part to the publication in the press the day after this fire of my letter, sent some time before to the Triangle Waist Company, urging that I be allowed to install a fire drill in their factory. Under the public sentiment, and pushed by the civic organizations referred to, the bill passed both houses of the Legislature. Although it was the only relief in sight, the Mayor vetoed it. SKETCH G A BISECTIONAL BUILDING. Floor plan of typical loft building showing fire wall with doorways. The fire wall restricts the fire to one-half the building, allowing the occupants to escape horizontally from the fire as if they were on the ground floor. THE FIRE HAZARD. 161 Sixth and Seventh Attempts Successful in Other States: Meanwhile compulsory fire drill bills were passed in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the former through the initiative of the Commissioner of Labor, with whom I collaborated, and the second through the Pennsylvania Consumers' League, aided by the New York State branch, of which I am the adviser in such matters. A Fire Drill is a Rapid Egress Test of a Building: As I developed proficiency in installing fire drills in factories, however, I became more and more impressed with the fact that stair-wells, from the fact that they have only a limited capacity, making them liable to become congested and jammed, and thus in themselves a source of injury to their users, should not be con- sidered as a means of rapid egress such as would be necessary in case of a fire. We have evidence frequently presented from which this conclusion has been drawn, as for instance, the panic in the loft building, 548 Broadway, previously referred to, and another in a second story moving picture theatre at Cannonsburg, Pa., on May 5th last, where a flash in the film box started a rush for the short stairs, which, although they afforded a perfectly clear run to the street, became jammed, and 26 were killed, 25 seriously injured, and 30 suffered from minor hurts. The Fire Wall a Safe Fire Escape: In casting about for some other method of escape from fire I have pressed into service the most natural and available means at my disposal, viz: a wall of substantial and fireproof construc- tion, extending from cellar to roof, with doorways in it on each floor. In case of a fire on one side of this wall, the people on that side simply pass through the doorways, close the fireproof doors and are perfectly safe from the flames whose progress in that di- rection would be thus arrested. The principle involved here is similar to that of the cyclone cellar of the western home, or the collision bulkhead of the ocean steamer. It develops a "bisec- tional building " offering a horizontal instead of a vertical escape, making the fire drill unnecessary. (See Sketch V.) 6 162 THE FIRE HAZARD. It is Not a New Device: There is nothing new about this device. It already exists in buildings everywhere, in one form or another, and its value as a fire stop to protect property has long been known. Its availabil- ity as a fire-escape has not, however, been recognized, and it is this feature which I have advanced as affording the only means of safe escape from fire to the occupants of crowded floors. This is a new feature in architecture, as applicable to department stores, schools, theatres and residences as to factories. A Campaign of Education Started: Since my discovery of the inadequacy of the stairwell as a safe means of emergency exit from a crowded building, and my ad- vocacy of the fire wall as a substitute, I have written and lectured much upon the subject in order to bring the situation to the at- tention of the public. This agitation resulted, among other things, in the appointment of your Commission as I have previ- ously stated, and you were specifically instructed to investigate the situation and report upon it promptly in order to effect relief from a very serious situation. Witnesses at the Hearings Have Already Become Educated to Its Necessity: There has been overwhelming evidence presented at the hear- ings in condemnation of the so-called " fire-escape," and in favor of the fire wall. I offered in evidence when I was on the stand, letters from such authorities as Mr. P. Tecumseh Sherman and Hon. John Williams, former and present Commissioners of Labor, respectively, and Mr. A. D. F. Hamlin, Professor of Architec- ture at Columbia University, stating that the fire wall is the only safe type of fire-escape for buildings of the type and occupancy under consideration. Your Commission has been shown fire drills carried out in buildings without fire walls, and with them, and is therefore able from actual observation to itself determine their relative merits. (See Sketch VI.) FIRE IN A TTPICAL NEW YORK LOFT BUILDING. Hundreds of people on each floor jam the narrow stairs and fire escapes in panic. The elevators become jammed and on account of the smoke and flames are quickly put out of commission. Those who are not caught on the stairs either jump from windows or from the fire escapes when the fire reaches them. Loft building with fire wall which confines the fire to one-half of the building. The occupants of that half merely pass through the doorways of the fire wall, close the doors after them, and are out of the reach of the fire. They do not have to go down stairs at all, but if they wish to do so the stairs and elevators will be found in normal condition without flames or smoke in them. The doors are fire proof and aelf-closing from the heat of the fire. "' .fiiuo'>id co tula h^imBa THE FIRE HAZARD. 163 The Three Alternative Fire-Escapes: Now that the limited capacity of the stairwell is recognized, there are three alternative methods presented to make buildings safe of occupancy as regards emergency exit. 1. Limit the number of people per floor to the capacity of ex- isting stairwells, and make the latter smoke proof. 2. Increase the number of stairwells (making all smoke proof), to furnish exit facilities for the necessary or existing number of people per floor. 3. Install a fire wall continuous from cellar to roof so arranged as to practically bisect the building, having ample stair- wells on each side. In the latter case only may elevators be considered as exit facilities. A Proper Fire Drill Bill: I have statements from real estate men, builders and manufac- turers that the fire wall is the best and cheapest of these alterna- tives. A proper fire drill bill should require that all buildings should be designed with one or other of the above alternative means of emptying them within a reasonable time. I have asked a great many people what they would consider a length of time beyond which they would consider it unreasonable to hold people inside of a burning building, and from their replies I have de- cided that the consensus of opinion would place 3 minutes as the limit. Strong Recommendations to the Legislature Should be Urged: Since the establishment of your Commission time has not stood still. The people of New York City have been restless for some action in the direction of improvement in fire-hazard conditions. The Fifth Avenue Association which asked for your appoint- ment naturally awaits the result of your investigation with much interest. The only legislation so far enacted for the purpose of reliev- 164 THE FIRE HAZARD. ing the situation has been the Sullivan-Hoey Law developing a Fire Prevention Bureau in the Fire Department, and the evi- dences of its work as so far presented are not at all encouraging. Their efforts have so far been directed toward fire escape rather than fire prevention, and they show a decided disregard of modern methods by ordering what I have referred to in this report as " fire traps " on the fronts and backs of buildings all over the city. They have not been introducing fire-alarm signal systems in buildings, and yet these are absolutely necessary to advise their occupants of the existence of a fire in them. It is recommended that the Board of Survey provided for in the Sullivan-Hoey Law be changed, and that its personnel con- sist of one member from the American Society of Civil Engi- neers and one member of the American Institute of Architects, each of these to be selected by the Chief of the Bureau of Fire Prevention from a list of ten names to be furnished by each of the organizations referred to. The third member of the Board of Survey to be either an architect, an engineer, or an attorney, to be selected by the owner of the premises to be surveyed. Various organizations, civic and other, have been moving ahead doing this, that, and the other thing pending the recommenda- tions of your Commission. Some of these actions are commend- able, others not. There is a lamentable amount of ignorance on this subject which needs enlightenment It will behoove the Commission to make its recommendations known promptly, to meet the expectation of the public and to serve the purpose for which it was appointed. Meanwhile, the dissemination of knowledge has gone on con- cerning my discovery of the limited capacity of a stairwell, as well as the remedy of the fire wall. The principle involved in the latter has been adopted in architecture. Building Codes, not only in this, but other cities, are now in- troducing it without waiting for the recommendations of your Commission. For the time and thought which they generously gave to the subject, I desire to express my obligations to the following gentlemen who were assigned by their respective organizations to act as a group of advisers in the formulating of this report : THE FIRE HAZARD. 165 Mr. Edward F. Croker, Ex-Chief Fire Department, Edward F. Croker Fire Prevention Bureau. Mr. George B. Ford, McAneny Committee on Building Code. Mr. A. D. F. Hamlin, Professor of Architecture, Columbia Uni- versity. Mr. Henry W. Hodge, Consulting Engineer. Mr. C. L. Holden, N. Y. Chapter Amer. Inst. of Architects. Mr. George T. Mortimer, V. P. United States Realty Co., Fifth Ave. Association. Mr. Theophilus Parsons, Attorney-at-Law, New York Associ- ation for Labor Legislation. Mr. C. B. J. Snyder, Sup't of Buildings, Board of Education. Mr. F. J. T. Stewart, Sup't of the Xew York Board of Fire Underwriters. I desire also to express my appreciation of the aid which has been given to me by my associate, Mr. A. L. A. Himmel- wright, and my inspectors, Mr. E. B. Gowin and Mr. D. Ludins, for their faithful and painstaking work in securing and compil- ing data for my report, which I herewith respectfully .-submit. Very truly yours, (Signed) H. F. J. PORTEB, Adviser on Fire Matters to the Commission. 166 THE FIRE HAZARD. HON. ROBERT F. WAGNER, Chairman N. Y. State Factory Investi- gating Commission, New York City, N. Y.: MY DEAR SIR : I should like to supplement my report by a note which will be interesting as showing how recent experience has repeated that which I realized when I first became interested in the subject of the safe occupancy of buildings, some eight years ago. I stated that in 1904, in an effort to develop a rapid egress of its occupants from a factory building in Pittsburg, I solicited the assistance of the Ohief of the Fire Department, as well as of a public school principal, who was considered an expert in installing fire drills in that locality, and that both of these men acknowledged that they were utterly unable to devise a fire drill which would tako the employees out of the building by the facilities then existing in it. In the group of men which I recently invited to meet with me to consider means of effecting a rapid egress of their occupants from existing factory buildings here, were the ex-Chief of the Fire De- partment of this city, who has gone into the business of trying to introduce fire drills into these buildings to make them safe to their occupants, and the Superintendent of Buildings of the Board of Education, who designs the school buildings for fire drills, and both of these men stated at the meetings which they attended that they were totally unable to devise a fire drill which would empty the factory buildings which we had under consideration, as they are now designed. Just as at Pittsburgh, changes had to be made in the stairways and exit facilities to make the factory building there emptiable under emergency conditions, in the same way must changes be made in the factory buildings of this and other cities of this State, to accomplish the same result. It is squarely upon the shoulders of architects and builders that this situation has been allowed to develop, and they should be made to realize, by your recommendations for legislation calling for a rapid egress test with a three-minute limit, that their build- ings should hereafter be built emergency emptiable, and then we THE FIRE HAZARD. 167 will not have to worry over the installation of either outside stairs of the fire-trap type, or of fire drills on stairs which are bound to he a source of accident from congestion in an emergency exit. Buildings from which people can be extracted only by guides and cork-screw evolutions on inadequate stairs, whether on the inside or on the outside, should eventually become obsolete. School buildings should be no exception to the rule. School arch- itects have been given carte blanche to design safe buildings and should be able to do so, and children, some of whom are cripples, others with heart and lung troubles, and many insufficiently nourished and clothed, should not be compelled to walk down sev- eral flights of stairs and go out into inclement weather and low temperatures without an opportunity to secure their wraps, and then have to climb the stairs again in these useless fire drills. The efficiency of these children at their studies may be impaired for the day, and their health may be permanently affected. The public money is appropriated for teaching, not to operate fire drills, and the present waste of time and money in this direc- tion alone, should be eliminated by the introduction of modern methods and the more efficient horizontal escape to safety through fire walls in case of fire. I have referred to school buildings to point out how the tendency has been to work in the direction of fire escape instead of fire pre- vention, and to go into extreme elaboration in attacking the effect instead of working at the cause. This shows the inertia of large bodies towards divesting themselves of precedent and custom. It seems almost incomprehensible that an intelligent body of men such as composes the Board of Education of New York City should complacently continue to accept designs of emergency- unemptiable buildings, and then authorize the promulgation of such an elaborate series of fire drill directions, explaining what is necessary to do in order to get out of these buildings in an emergency, as the Superintendent of the Public Schools, Dr. Max- well, has sent to you. These buildings should be constructed like the new parts of the Singer and Metropolitan and the Wool worth buildings, so that, should a fire occur in any room, its occupants need merely be moved into the next room, the door closed, and then either put the fire 168 THE FIRE HAZARD. out or let it burn out. If a fire should occur in an adjoining building, all that should be necessary would be to pull down the asbestos curtains of the windows overlooking the blaze, to prevent the pupils' attention being distracted from their studies, and no attempt should be made to empty the whole building. I hope your Commission will seize the opportunity to brush away traditions, such as the necessity for fire drills in all public schools, and the necessity for fire-escapes on the outside of all buildings. These are both relics of the past, and buildings should be built hereafter which do not require them. If you can get the public to see this situation in its right light, perhaps the archi- tects may be made eventually to design their structures so that their occupants do not have to be dragged out of them by com- pulsory fire drills at unreasonable and inconvenient times. Respectfully yours, H. F. J. PORTER. NEW YORK, Jan. 31, 1912. KEPORT ON FIRE INSPECTION WORK, NEW YORK STATE FACTORY INVESTIGATION COMMISSION. In making a careful examination and study of the factory build- ings of this city, by actual inspection, a number of dangerous and undesirable features and conditions were found. Two Dangerous Types of Buildings: The investigations have resulted in the discovery of two types of buildings in which the conditions are particularly dangerous, and which constitute a most serious menace to the lives of the em- ployees and other occupants of these buildings in case of fire. Under the present building law, two classes of fireproof buildings are provided for: (1) When they exceed 150 feet in height, in which the law requires that the interior finish, such as the floor surfaces, trim, doors, and window frames and sash shall be of fire- proof material; that is, hollow metal, metal-covered wood, or wood treated by some process to render it fireproof. (2) When less than 150 feet in height, in which the interior finish, trim, doors, window frames and sash, etc., may be of ordinary wood. It is the fireproof loft building less than 150 feet (or approxi- mately 12 stories) in height which is one of the two dangerous types of buildings above referred to. In all these so-called loft buildings light manufacturing is permitted, and in the case of a number of industries coming under this classification, great num- bers of employees are crowded into these buildings irrespective of the exit facilities. In the loft buildings less than 150 feet in height there is, therefore, in addition to the danger from inadequate exits sufficient inflammable material in the floor finish, partitions, trim, etc., to cause fire of great intensity and of sufficient duration to destroy not only the lives of the occupants but also the entire contents of the building above the story in which the fire originates. The extension ladders of the Fire Department are approximately 85 to 90 feet in length, and can reach only to about the 7th story of the average building. In case of fire or panic there is, therefore, a zone of great danger to life in these buildings less than 150 feet in height and comprising the 8th to the 12th stories, inclusive. 170 THE FIRE HAZARD. The Asch Building at Washington and Green streets was an example of this class of buildings, and that fire occurred in the danger zone herein indicated. Persons occupying these buildings above the seventh floor are in imminent danger, and prompt action for the immediate protection of persons in this danger zone is most urgent and necessary. It is strongly recommended that combustible trim, floor finish, window frames and sash, etc., be prohibited in new fire proof buildings over 85 feet in height. The other dangerous type of building referred to is the old style non-fireproof, converted residence or tenement house, usually five or six stories in height, and provided with a single wooden stairway for the exit of its occupants. A fire occurring in the stairway in any of the lower stories of these buildings would eeriously endanger the lives of many of the occupants, depending upon, the promptness of the Fire Department in reaching the build- ing in time to save their lives. Nearly all of these buildings have fire-escapes in the front or rear, but experience has shown that fire-escapes without the assistance of firemen have very little value as means of exit from buildings in case of fire, especially where the occupants consist largely of women and girls. (See Sketch II.) This type of building is exceedingly dangerous in case of fire, and material changes will be necessary to mako them safe and satis- factory from the standpoint of fire danger. It is suggested that another stairway be required or that these buildings be provided with fireproof stairways and fireproof stair halls enclosed by sub- stantial fireproof walls or partitions, or a fire tower be constructed in an adjacent court or the rear yard of these buildings, if their use for factory purposes is to be continued. Other Dangerous Features of Loft Buildings'- In addition to the two particularly dangerous types of buildings referred to above, a number of undesirable conditions were found to exist in the great majority of loft and factory buildings inspected, as follows: (1) Insufficient Exit Facilities. In nearly every building inspected, including the most recent and modern lofts, the exit facilities were found inadequate. Experience has shown that an average stairway, for each 22 inches in width, has a capacity limited THE FIEE HAZARD- 171 to about 12 persons per story. The number of persons or occupants in the factory buildings in every case exceeded the capacity of the stairways in some of the stories, and in case of fire the lives of the excess number in these stories would be in jeopardy, as it would be impossible for them to make their escape in time to save their lives. Of 159 buildings inspected the exit facilities in 02 were found to be faulty, in 2 obstructed and in 23 dangerous. (2) Exits Obstructed by Temporary Partitions. In nearly all the loft buildings temporary partitions 6 to 7 ft. high have generally been erected around the stairway and elevator doors on each floor, forming a passage or vestibule in front of the exits. In some cases the space between the stairway and elevator doors was as small as three feet, but in most cases the space was 4 ft. to 6 ft. in width. Sliding doors in these temporary partitions admit the occupants to the vestibule and thence to the stairways and elevators. Very frequently cases and piles of stock and supplies are massed about these partitions, often restricting the size of the openings and impeding and preventing the sliding doors from operating easily. In many cases the total width of the openings of the sliding doors was very much less than the total width of the exit doors. It was claimed by the tenants that these partitions were necessary for business or economical reasons, as a barrier to sueak thieves, and in order to enable the inspectors to properly watch the employes as they came in and passed out from work each day. Temporary board partitions, or " shop partitions," as they are sometimes known, are put up indiscriminately by tenants to enclose stock and supply rooms, designing rooms, etc., and without any con- sideration as to the restriction of light and ventilation, etc. These partitions are often located in disadvantageous positions by inex- perienced foremen and superintendents, so that they not only hinder the business of the tenants but make conditions dangerous for the employees in case of fire. It is recommended that some regulations be enacted prohibiting the use of combustible materials for shop partitions in fireproof buildings, and that the location and the arrangement of the partition? be subject to th-r- approval of the Building Department or some bureau having jurisdiction before 172 THE FIRE HAZARD. permission is given to erect them. Out of 109 buildings in which shop partitions were found, only in 42 were the partitions fairly well arranged, while in 48 the arrangement of the partitions was faulty, resulting in the obstruction of light or ventilation, or both, and in 19 the arrangement of the partitions was such as to delay employees in reaching the exits, favoring panic and thus endanger- ing life. (3) Congested Conditions. In numerous buildings the work tables, merchandise, stock, and even the workers were crowded to- gether so as to make it impossible for the employees to move about with freedom. Large piles of merchandise and stock also interfered with the light and air so that there is generally improper light and ventilation where these congested conditions exist. (4) Bad Arrangement. The arrangement of tables, merchan- dise, etc., was often such that the aisles between the tables had a direction at right angles to the exits, with no intermediate aisles. These aisles in most cases were too small or narrow to admit of easy passage. In time of fire or panic such conditions would prevent the occupants from reaching the exits promptly. (5) Neglected Fire Appliances. Only in a few cases, even in the most modern loft buildings, have chemical fire ex- tinguishers been installed. In most cases, jfire buckets or tanks were found, but these were generally in a bad con- dition. Instead of the fire buckets being in their regular racks and kept filled with water, they were usually found hanging underneath the cutting or pressing tables with varying quan- tities of water, but generally less than half full and being used by the workmen in connection with their regular work. Fire tanks of more than 15 gallons capacity are generally to be preferred in manufacturing establishments for the reason that they cannot so readily be adapted for other purposes. Of 159 buildings inspected, fire appliances were found in 149 buildings, and in 34 of these they were neglected and not in suitable condition for use. (6) Rubbish, Cuttings, etc. In many industries, notably in the manufacturing of clothing, there are large quantities of cut- tings, scraps, etc., which result from the routine work, and these THE FIRE HAZARD. 173 are generally brushed off of the tables and scattered over the floors. In some of the larger establishments one or two persons are espe- cially detailed to gather such cuttings and rubbish and keep the shop clean. In smaller places the work of collecting the rubbish is performed in the morning and in the late afternoon. During the middle of the day such rubbish is, therefore, liable to accumulate in considerable quantities, and become a menace to safety. It is believed that much of the danger from this source could be elimin- ated by requiring metal fireproof receptacles for such rubbish, and that it be collected constantly during working hours by a sufficient number of persons to keep the premises clean, the waste, scrap, rubbish, etc., to be required to be removed from the building at the end of each working day. (7) Smoking. One of the most frequent causes of fire is smoking. In some places signs are posted prohibiting smoking, and in nearly all cases smoking is prohibited by verbal instructions. Nevertheless, the inspectors found considerable smoking going on in nearly all the buildings visited. Frequently the proprietor or superintendent, would be smoking while making the rounds of the establishment with the inspectors, and the smoking employees see- ing them approach, would sometimes throw a lighted cigarette un- derneath the tables and in corners where rubbish and scraps might easily have started a blaze. (8) Inflammable Materials and Supplies. The establishments manufacturing inflammable goods such as celluloid, etc., should be controlled by special regulations and should be prohibited from con- tinuing within the city limits unless special safeguards and regula- tions are provided. Such concerns should be required to provide fireproof supply rooms, and fireproof receptacles for rubbish, and should be permitted to take from the supply rooms only sufficient raw material to last for certain safe periods of time in the work- rooms. Such concerns should be permitted only in detached or separate buildings with incombustible floor finish and trim, metal work tables, furniture, etc. (9) Fire Drills. Of 159 buildings inspected, fire drills have been attempted in only 18, and in 4 of these the drills were ineffi- 174 THE FIRE HAZARD. cient and unsatisfactory. Fire drills when installed by inexperi- enced persons frequently have little or no value. In some cases the occupants of a story are drilled simply to march to the exits, and no provision is made in case fire should occur at or near one of the exits, which would require an immediate modification of the drill. Such fire drills in buildings with inadequate exits are useless and a waste of time, as it would be impossible to get the occupants out of the building or to safety in case of a fire. On the other hand, when the drills are installed by competent persons and suitable exit facilities are provided, proper fire alarm signals introduced, fire-fighting brigades organized, and fire-extin- guishing appliances available, the fire drills have real value and will prove successful and satisfactory in case of an actual fire. In buildings with fire walls as defined in the recommendations submitted herewith, fire drills would become so simple that any intelligent person could install and supervise them, while the time required for their execution would be limited to only a few minutes. (10) Fire Escapes. In 159 buildings inspected all had fire- escapes but seven. Ninety were of the stairway type, 52 of the sloping ladder type, and 10 of the vertical ladder type. Of these, 138 were faulty either in design or construction, and 49 had danger- ous and unsatisfactory ground connections or exits. In nearly every case the fire-escape was located in a position where it would be exposed to flames in case of fire. Experience has shown that the ordinary fire-escape furnishes a most unreliable and unsatisfactory means of escape. They have proved to be much more useful to the firemen in fighting fires than to persons seeking escape from fire. When the flames burst through windows underneath the fire-escape, as is often the case, escape is cut off and the fire-escape itself is destroyed and rendered useless by the heat. It is now generally conceded by experts and others who have studied the fire problem, that the outside fire-escape as now furnished has very little value for the purpose intended ; that a more reliable means of escape should be provided; and that the requirement and use of fire-escapes in the future should be discouraged. (11) Stand Pipes. These were found installed in 58 build- ings of those inspected. Stand pipes with proper water supply and THE FIRE HAZARD. 1Y5 street connections for fire engines are a valuable adjunct of the fire-fighting equipment, and should be required in all factory build- ings over seven stories or 85 feet in height. (12) Automatic Sprinklers. Automatic sprinkler systems \vere installed in 45 buildings of those inspected. It is believed that the sprinkler -v-nm where properly installed will in many cases extinguish fire in its incipiency, and in most cases will retard its spread, affording more time for the escape of persons to safety ami preventing the fire from gaining material headway until the arrival of the firemen. They should be required in all non-fire- proof factory buildings occupied by more than 200 persons above the first story, and exceeding three stories or 40 feet in height. In fireproof buildings with window openings protected with ap- proved fireproof frames, sash and glass, sprinkler systems are more useful and valuable as a protection to property than to life. ( 1 '! ) Fire Walls. The principle of the fire wall is rapidly being recognized by the fire experts and the insurance and under- writing interests as the most general and satisfactory solution of the danger to life in the factory buildings. It is applicable to all factory buildings, and can be adapted to department stores, thea- tres, and all other buildings where large numbers of persons as- semble. Besides being a safe and effective means of protecting life, it is equally desirable from the standpoint of preventing large property losses, and for the latter reason is advocated by the insur- ance and underwriting interests. In 159 buildings, fire walls were found in 35 and where used and understood, caused a feeling of security and safety to the em- ployees not found in other buildings. It is recommended that fire walls should be required in every future factory building over ?even stories or 85 feet in height, and which is occupied by more than 50 persons above the first story. Violations of the Lair: While engaged in the work of inspection which extended over a period of two months, the inspectors found the following violations of law: 176 THE FIRE HAZARD. 13 violations in respect to stairways. 1 violation in respect to stairway enclosures. 105 violations in respect to doors opening in. 88 violations in respect to fire-escape?. 34 violations in respect to fire appliances. 1 violation in respect to passenger elevators. IN GENERAL,. The foregoing are but a few of the most important facts and conditions which should receive prompt consideration at the hands of the Commission. Numerous other undesirable conditions were also found, but the short time and the insufficient appropriation for this work has necessarily limited the amount, and scope of the in- spection work. From the standpoint of the fire problem, it is believed that the work of the Commission naturally divides itself into two parts : (1) Recommendations for the immediate correction of the danger- ous and undesirable conditions in existing buildings; (2) Recom- mendations with reference to the construction of new buildings which will eliminate the undesirable and dangerous conditions found in present buildings. It is believed that the most practical way in which the Commission can obtain the desired results with the least delay is (1) to secure legislation forthwith incorporating the recommendations of the Commission in respect to existing buildings and including the recommendations herewith submitted; and (2) that the Commis- sion recommend the appointment of a board of competent experts to draft a State Building Code, in which shall be incorporated the recommendations of the Commission, including the recommenda- tions herewith submitted with respect to new buildings, said code to govern the construction of all new buildings erected in the State of New York in the future. Treating the fire problem in the manner already referred to, herewith are submitted two sets of detailed recommendations, one referring to existing buildings, and the other to new buildings. RECOMMENDATIONS TO ELIMINATE THE DANGER TO LIFE FROM FIRE IN FACTORY AND OTHER BUILDINGS. SYNOPSIS OF THE PROPOSED PLAN TO CORRECT THE DANGEROUS AND UNDESIRABLE CONDITIONS IN EXISTING BUILDINGS. Assuming that immediate relief is sought from existing condi- tions, it is necessary that any proposed remedy or plan will not conflict with the administration and jurisdiction of the different municipal bureaus as now constituted, and in order that the pro- posed plan may be practical and feasible in its fulfillment, the various steps and actions necessary must be in conformance with the regular routine methods of the bureaus and departments hav- ing jurisdiction; A careful study has been made from the practical side of this problem as well as from the engineering and structural stand- points, while the owner's interest has also been kept constantly in mind. It is fully realized that the owners in many cases will be obliged to incur considerable expense in correcting the unsafe conditions, and in order that no unnecessary hardship may be imposed upon them, every proper and practicable alternative has been made optional, and in all these cases the expense has been kept at a minimum consistent with efficiency and good construction. In general, the proposed remedy for existing buildings is as follows : All buildings in which a large number of persons are employed, except theatres, tenement houses, hotels and office buildings, to be posted under the direction of the Municipal or State Bureaus, or officers having jurisdiction, the notices to specify the number of persons that may safely occupy each floor in every building. To guide the inspectors of the Municipal or State Bureaus, or other 178 THE FIRE HAZARD. officers having jurisdiction, carefully prepared definite rules, applicable to both fireproof and non-fireproof buildings, have been developed and submitted. If any building is occupied on any story by more persons than is specified in the notice posted in said story, the owner and tho tenants are both notified by the Municipal or State Bureaus, or other officers having jurisdiction, and ninety days time is given to either change the number of occupants in the said story or provide the following optional alternatives: Additional stair- ways, fire towers, fire walls (or fire-wall principle; cutting through openings in party walls between adjoining buildings, pro- viding bridges to other buildings), or providing such other exits or making such other alterations, or introducing such safety devices as will enable all the occupants of any building to reach places of safety within three minutes after the fire-alarm signal sounds. Except in the very highest type and completely equipped fire- proof building, it is made compulsory that fire alarms and fire drills shall be installed. Fire drills to be installed as soon as the necessary exit facilities have been provided in each case. Now, as to the practical side of the plan: When an owner receives a notice that his building is occupied in any story by more than the number of persons specified, his first move will be to call in his architect or an engineer to devise a remedy. In most cases there would be only a few stories in which there are more than the permitted number of persons. In order that the owner may retain his tenants, some provision will have to be made to take care of the excess number of occupants in these stories. As soon as a plan is decided upon, drawings are made and submitted to Municipal or State Bureaus or other officers having jurisdic- tion. If the proposed remedy meets with the approval of that bureau, the plans are then filed in the Building Department, and, if approved, a building permit obtained and the work carried on to completion in the regular manner. In the case of the type of buildings occupied by more than fifty persons above the first story, with a single wooden stairway for the exit of its occupants, the proposed remedy requires a sec- ond stairway remote from the first, a fireproof stairway, or a fire THE FntE HAZABJX 179 tower in a court or a rear yard of the building plot. Where this type of building is old and dilapidated, as is fraquently the case, the owner will hesitate to expend the amount necessary to install a fireproof stairway. By providing the alternate of a fire tower, the latter could be constructed without interfering with the normal and ordinary use of the building and could In utilized subse- quently as part of a plan for a new building, which it could serve as efficiently as the present building. The construction work would in all cases be under the jurisdiction of the Building De- partment, as already stated. By this proposed plan the regularly practicing architects, engi- neers and contractors will perform the work in the usual manner, without requiring any special appropriation for the work by the State or the city, and thus bring about the desired results in a natural, effective and expeditious manner. By the time that legislation embracing this subject can be real- ized, there will probably be sufficient inspectors available in the Municipal or State Bureaus' jurisdiction to inspect all the factory buildings in six weeks to two months time, and with three months time in which to make the alterations and comply with the provi- sions of the law, it is believed that four months approximately will be all the time necessary after the passage of the necessary law, to correct the existing conditions in factories and accomplish the work that the Commission was specially delegated to perform. The proposed plan in regard to all existing factory buildings contemplates the following requirements in the treatment of the buildings, summarizing and recapitulating: (1) All factory buildings to be posted, the notice giving the number of persons that may occupy each story. The number of persons to be determined according to the rules submitted. (2) Buildings in which the occupants of each story do not exceed the number specified in the notice posted will require no changes or alterations (except 3). (3) Non-fireproof buildings with a single stairway occupied by more than fifty persons above the first story will be required, after 180 THE FIRE HAZARD. ninety days from the date of the notice posted, to have another stairway remote from the existing one, or a fireproof stairway, or fire tower, or the total number of occupants reduced to less than fifty. (4) In non-fireproof buildings with more than one stairway, and in all fireproof buildings which are occupied by more than fifty persons above the first floor, the following features will be required within ninety days from the date of the notice : (a) That the number of persons in each story be reduced to the number specified in the notice posted. (b) If more persons are to remain in any story than specified in the notice posted, additional stairways, fire walls, fireproof con- nections to adjacent or nearby structures or other exit facilities or safety appliances shall be provided, subject to the approval of the Municipal or State Bureau or officers having jurisdiction. (5) In all factory buildings occupied by more than fifty per- sons above the first story (excepting the very highest type of fire- proof buildings, with incombustible floor surfaces, trim, doors, window frames and sash with wire glass, closing automatically, and with fire walls and automatic sprinklers), there will be required : (a) A manual fire-alarm system. (b) A compulsory fire drill within ninety days, and after the occupancy has been reduced to the number of persons posted or suitable exits have been provided to enable all the occupants to make their exit to places of safety within three minutes. EXISTING BUILDINGS. Posting: In every existing building in the State of New York used as a factory, workshop, store, school, college, institution, etc., which is regularly occupied by more than fifty persons above the first floor, except public schools, office buildings, hotels, and tenement houses, the Fire Commissioner or the Bureau of Fire Prevention in New York city, or the THE FIRE HAZARD. 181 Commissioner of Safety or other officer or bureau in other cities, or the proper state official outside of municipal limits having proper jurisdiction and hereinafter designated, the municipal or state bureaus or officers having jurisdiction shall cause to be posted, notices or placards specifying the number of persons that may occupy each floor in said building. One such notice is to be posted in a conspicuous place near the entrance door to each floor on the stairway side of each stairway enclosure, and at least two such notices in conspicuous places in each story in said building.' If any story is occupied by more than one tenant, two such notices shall be posted in the space occupied by each tenant. All such notices to bear the date of the day when posted. Notification: In case more persons occupy any floor or floors than is specified in the said notices, the municipal or state bureaus or officers having jurisdiction, shall notify the tenant or tenants of said floor and the owner of the said build- ing on a regular printed form for this purpose. The form shall include a further notice to the tenants and the owner that the number of occupants on said floor must be reduced to the number specified in the said notice posted ; or such changes, alterations or additions made in the building; or such additional stairways, preferably a separate stairway for each floor, fire walls or fire towers introduced; or such openings into, or fireproof con- nections made with, adjoining or nearby structures; or such other exit facilities or safety devices provided as may be necessary, subject to the approval of the municipal or state bureaus or officers having jurisdiction, to insure the reasonable safety of the persons occupying the premises by providing "ways and means of exit in the manner and within the time as hereinafter specified ; said notice to be complied with, or said additional exit facilities, etc., to be provided within 90 days after the date of the said notice. Buildings with a Single Stairway: In every existing building occupied by more than fifty persons above the first floor and in which only one stairway is 182 THE FIRE HAZARD. provided for the exit of all its occupants, another stairway shall be provided remote from the existing one, or said stairway shall be made fireproof and shall be enclosed by fireproof walls or partitions; stair halls with fireproof floors, finish, doors, trim, etc., shall be also provided, all as elsewhere herein specified. Said stairway and enclosure shall extend to the roof, and in non- fireproof buildings, the enclosing walls of the stair halls shall extend at least three feet above the roof and be coped. Or a tower fire-escape or fire tower as herein recommended may be erected within the building or adjoining the building and ex- tending into a rear or side court or yard, provided the space occupied by said fire tower does not exceed 25% of the yard or court area of the building lot. Fire Alarm System. Fire Drills: In every building which is occupied regularly by more than fifty persons above the first floor (except fireproof build- ings, with approved fireproof window frames and sash (closing automatically) with wire glazing and equipped with fire walls and approved automatic sprinklers), there shall be installed, sub- ject to the approval of the municipal or state bureaus or officers having jurisdiction, a manual fire-alarm system by which all the occupants of a building or all the occupants between fire walls and exterior walls of a building shall be instantly notified in case of fire. Said fire-alarm on each floor shall indicate the floor on which the fire exists. In every such building there shall be installed a compulsory fire drill of all persons occupying the said building, to be operutc-1 at least once in every month. The fire drill shall conduct all the occupants of the building to safety either into fire towers, stairwells or stair halls with fireproof enclosure walls as herein provided, or through fire walls, or to the outside of the building. Xo building shall be deemed safe or as furnishing adequate exit facilities that requires more than three minutes for the exit to safety of all its occupants, as herein prescribed. The fire drill* shall be installed as soon as the necessary exit facilities have been provided, and the said drill shall constitute the decisive test of the adequacy of the exit facilities of each buildinar. The fire drill shall be subject to tho approval Tenement (cellar) Loft Dwelling (cellar) Special Factory Total Number 431 4 39 11 485 Per cent 87 1 9 3 100 As is seen from the table, most of the bakeries inspected were located in cellars of tenement and dwelling houses. That these cellars are unfit for such purposes is of course not considered, as long as rent is low. Any cellar in a tenement can be converted into a bakery with the simple addition of a brick oven, which is sometimes built in the vault, very often near or at the privy vaults, school sinks or house drain. The depth of the cellar below the sidewalk or adjoining ground depends of course upon the situation of the house. Most of the cellars occupied for bakeries are quite low underground, the ceil- ings of such cellars rarely being more than a foot or two above the sidewalk, and in the majority of cases at or below the adjacent ground. The height of the cellar ceiling from its floor depends also upon the original construction of the house, the average height being about 7^ feet? although a large number may be much lower. In the investigation carried on by the Commissioner of Labor in 1895, there were 1,049 cellar bakeries inspected, of which 713 were 8 feet high; 258, 7 feet high; 172, 7y 2 feet; 181, G 1 /^ feet; 69, 6 feet; and a number still lower; and there were three cellars five and a half feet high. (18). Our inspectors did not take exact measurements, although they give the approximate height, and their report shows that most of the cellars are about 7 to 8 feet high, showing considerable improve- ment since 1895. A cellar is defined in the Tenement House Law as a story more than one-half of which is below the curb, while a base- ment is a story partly but not more than half below the level of the curb. BAKETCTES AND BAKERS. 211 Comparatively few basements are used for bakery purposes. This is partly because the rent of the basement is com- paratively high, and partly because of the difficulty of building an oven in a basement floor. Wherever basements are used by baker- ies, there is invariably a cellar below, which is used for the sale of the product and for living purposes by the master baker and his family. What are the results of this location of bakeries in cellars? They are many and serious. The following is an enumeration of the evils due to location in cellars : Peril from Fire. Dressing-rooms. Defective Drainage. Toilet Accommodations. Inadequate Light. Cleanliness of Utensils. Defective Ventilation. Handling of Product. High Temperatures. Cleanliness of Product. Excessive Humidity. Sleeping on Premises. Proximity of Plumbing. Presence of Domestic Animals. Condition of Surfaces. Presence of Vermin and Insects. Washing Facilities. Safety of Product. Peril from. Fire : It is well known that fires in tenement houses and other dwellings frequently start in the cellar. A bakery in a cellar is very often the source of such fires. Attention was directed to this danger in 1894 by Fire Chief Bonner in his reports to the Gilder Commission. (19). A great many of the cellars have ceilings consisting either of beams, or beams covered with boards. The flimsy cellar stairs which connect most of the cellars with the ground floor hallway- are also an aid in rapidly spreading a fire; added to this, there is commonly much rubbish, paper, etc., strewn all over the cellar. There is also a large element of danger to the employees of bakeries in case a fire starts in any part of the cellar near the entrance trap door or stairway. The ordinary cellar is provided with only one door, which serves as a means of entrance and exit. 212 BAKERIES AND BAKEBS. This door is usually located either in front of the house, or at its extreme rear, so that there is a distance of from 50 to 70 feet between the exit and the place where the work is carried on. Defective Drainage: It is only within the last ten years that tenement houses have been built with compulsory damp-proof courses in the foundation and sides of the house. All houses previously constructed were built without any protection against dampness, so that many cel- lars are not only damp, but actually partly filled with water. Especially is this the case in the cellars of houses situated upon marshy ground, or upon filled-in ground, as in streets neariug the river front, where most of the cellars and bakeries therein are flooded during storms and high tide. The cellar floors are usually very damp. Although lately this has been lessened by the concreting of floors, our inspectors found 132 cellars where floors were damp. TABLE II FLOORS AND DRAINS or 497 BAKE^SHOPS* FLOORS MATERIAL Wood and con- crete Con- crete No re- port Dry CONDITION Earth Wood Stone Damp No re- port Number 1 168 34 2 172 34 146 30 8 2 340 68 132 27 25 5 LOCATION 2ONDITION Above Below floor No report Good Bad No report 167 279 51 235 108 154 33 57 10 47 22 31 *NoTE In this and following tables the unit is the Jtare at present not many workers under 16 or 18 years of age. In our investigation sve found only three below 16 years in the 500 shops. The number of persons over 45 years is not very large in the baking trade. This is partly explained by the fact that many of those who have been fifteen or twenty years in the trade become master bakers, a comparatively easy advance, as little capital is needed to start a small cellar bakery. The other reason for the scarcity of men over 45 years of age is that the mortality of the trade is very high. Twenty or thirty years after their entrance into the trade, many get into such a debilitated condition physi- cally that they are unfit for the trade and drift into some easier occupation. 5 o a> a a .c o3 U Ol O o ffi BAKERY ON HENRY STREET, NEW YORK CITY. The dirty pants and coats of the bakers were hanging on top of, and resting upon, the new baked bread. BAKERIES AND BAKERS. 221 II. CONDITIONS AFFECTING THE HEALTH OF THE WORKERS. What are the conditions unfavorably affecting the health of the bakery workers ? Among the conditions which have been mentioned but not suffi- ciently emphasized is the high temperature to which the bakers are subjected, while other conditions, not yet discussed, are low wages, long hours of work, and night work. Temperature : That bakers are compelled to work in places where the tempera- ture is very high has already been noted. The high tempera- tures, in connection with the lack of clothes worn while at work, and the strenuous efforts required in kneading the dough, and the draughts in the cellar bakeries due to the doors and gratings, are bound to affect unfavorably the health of the workers and to cause various pulmonary disorders. Corlieu (21) ascribed to these causes the frequent respiratory diseases from which the bakers suffer, as well as the rheumatic troubles due to the high temperatures under which they work. '/:: 90 37 57 46 < 3 Diseases of the nervous system and organs of special sense : Diseases of the eye: Chronic conjunctivitis 34 7 3 3 30 1 13 1 .... Keratitis Blepharitis Nyastagmus 1 1 1 Other nervous diseases Total nervous and special sense diseases . . Disease of the circulatory system: JCardiae diseases 98 11.9 6.8 5.1 44 4 16 32 15 2 1 1 54 41 17 17 11 13 7 8 1 1 Phlebitis Total diseases of circulatory system 95 177 2 21 6 11.9 22.1 .3 2.6 .8 34 58 "5 3 16 24 15 2 2 7 Diseases of the respiratory system: Bronchitis 49 1 5 30 1 5 21 4 5 Pleurisy Asthma and emphysema 1 3 3 Rhinitis Total diseases respiratory system 206 21 14 15 26 25.8 \ 4 ' 4 1.9 3.3 66 55 36 25 7 5 7 Diseases of the digestive system: Tonsilitis M '! 2 2 1 s 11 Pharyngitis 2 4 8 1 Gastritis 1 3 1 Hernia Total diseases digestive system Diseases of the genito-urinary system: Nephritis 76 2 23 16 6 4 9.5 29 13 14 15 1 1 .3 1 1 Diseases of the skin: 6 6 7 7 2 6 1 5 6 3 6 2 Ecsema Uloeration 1 1 1 Scabies Other skin diseases 10 ) Total skin diseases 59 54 842 7.4 6.8 19 15 6 14 5 3 4 1 1 3 --_ ? -_^ 17 Disease* of the organs of locomotion: FUt foot 25 3 13 Total number of cases 308 144 182 135 19 16 Includes tuberculosis suspects. t Facial evidence only. t Includes 5 cases palpitation, enlargement, 2 muffled action, 1 pericarditis. 1 atheroma of aorta. f Includes 104 bakers BAKERIES AND BAKERS. 229 VII EXAMINATION OF 800 BAKERS IN NEW YORK CITY AGES NUMBER OFTEAR8 IN TRADE AGE ON ENTERING TRADE MARITAL CONDITION American Other Nationalities Under 16 years 16-44 years 45 years and over Under 1 year 8 s ? 10 I O Under 16 years 16-20 years Over 20 years S o 1 10 30 3 684 113 24 53 723 H466 195 139 612 188 4 6 18 12 292 392 55 58 19 5 22 31 306 417 220 246 70 125 48 91 263 349 84 104 3 '3 1 3 2 16 29 163 3 3 18 18 1 3 15 47 163 2 7 28 106 1 4 7 41 1 8 12 36 1 16 39 140 2 3 8 43 1 2 5 15 1 3 6 1 2 211 77 9 5 39 6 6 19 227 142 53 57 15 3 3 197 46 8 4 55 37 1 2 3 1 1 80 8 5 49 4 1 19 2 2 1 1 91 7 5 93 54 23 21 58 40 10 3 1 47 34 7 7 1 2 1 51 40 30 29 15 7 9 5 44 38 1 1 2 1 81 14 1 3 91 59 32 4 82 13 1 2 148 2 12 6 27 3 10 164 2 21 6 100 1 14 3 36 1 2 1 41 139 2 20 4 38 1 1 9 5 2 1 2 3 2 1 2 168 36 3 10 193 118 40 48 165 41 19 13 14 19 2 1 1 7 1 3 17 14 14 25 14 8 9 15 4 4 4 2 3 2 2 y 15 10 13 24 6 4 2 2 1 2 1 ^ 3 65 1 23 16 16 11 1 2 4 70 2 46 14 1 9 2 7 16 62 2 14 1 1 1 4 1 4 18 15 14 13 11 9 1 3 4 9 14 12 14 2 8 2 2 2 1 2 55 2 9 3 9 47 33 39 18 8 35 24 45 1 53 10 5 48 6 193 8 13 6 717 119 15 51 776 49S 191 160 649 15 rapid action, 15 murmur, 5 endocardita, 4 arteriosclerosis, 4 regurgitation, 2 cardiac who have been over 30 years in the trade. 5 In detail. 230 BAKERIES AND BAKERS. bakers dying from all causes is not the true criterion of the gen- eral mortality rate of all the bakers. Leclerc de Pulligny notes u that the special death rate of bakers in the cities is affected by the fact that among these are also in- cluded the master bakers, who, as a rule, succeed in preserving their health in spite of the dangers of their trade." (29.) According to Tatham (27), the general mortality figure of bak- ers in England was 177, while that of agriculturists was 100. !I< re, too, as in many of the other statistics, bakers are grouped with confectioners, who ; as a rule, work under better conditions and are not so affected by their trade. The general mortality rate of bakers and confectioners, as well as the mortality rate from special causes has been discussed in detail in Frederick Hoffman's article, Bulletin No. 82, Depart- ment of Labor. (24.) The following are Hoffman's comments on the subject : " In 1900 the number of bakers and confectioners reported in the registration States was 39,181, among whom there occurred 483 deaths from all causes, or 12.3 per 1,000. The death rates by divisional periods of life were slightly higher for bakers at all ages except 25 to 34. The differences were not marked, or, to be specific, at ages 25 to 44, the rates were 7.9 for bakers, against 8.4 for males in the manufacturing and chemical industries. At ages 45 to 64 the rates were 23.4 and 20.2, respectively; and at ages 65 and over, 105.8 for bakers and confectioners, and 105.4 for males in the manufacturing and mechanical industries. The mor- tality from consumption among bakers was 2.5 per 1,000; from pneumonia, 1.2, and from other diseases of the respiratory sys- tem, 0.4. In commenting upon the mortality, it is stated in the census report that: " The highest death rates (per 100,000) of bakers and confec- tioners were due to consumption (250.1), diseases of the urinary organs (145.5), diseases of the nervous system (160.8), and pneu- monia (117.4), but the rates due to all of these diseases except dis- eases of the urinary organs were lower than the average rate? in this class. The rates from diseases of the liver (45.9) and other diseases of the digestive system (58.7) were much higher than the average rates from these diseases in this class." BAKERIES AND BAKEES. 231 The Rhode Island vital statistics for bakers for the period 1852 to 1900 include 221 deaths from all causes, and of this number 44, or 19.9 per cent, were from consumption. During the decade ending with 1906 there occurred 86 deaths from all causes, of which 15, or 17.4 per cent, were from consumption. Of the mor- tality from other respiratory diseases, 2.3 per cent were deaths from asthma, and 9.3 per cent deaths from penumonia, a total of 29 per cent of deaths from diseases of the lungs and air passages. The recorded industrial insurance mortality statistics of bakers include 1,357 deaths from all causes, of which 277, or 20.4 per cent, were from consumption. Of the mortality of bakers from respiratory diseases other than consumption, 124 were from pneu- monia, 23 from bronchitis, 17 from asthma, and 21 from less frequent respiratory diseases. If the deaths from consumption and from other respiratory diseases are combined, it is found that 34 per cent of the mortality of bakers are from the diseases of the lungs and air passages. The number of deaths of bakers under con- sideration is exceptionally large and strictly representative of this important occupation. The excess in the consumption mortality of bakers is clearly brought out in the tabular presentation of the proportionate mortality from this disease by individual periods of life, it being excessive at all ages below 65, but most so at ages 25 to 34, when, out of every 100 deaths from all causes, 42.8 were from consumption, against a normal expected proportion of 31.3. The preceding observations and mortality statistics, included in the insurance experience, are much at variance with each other, and do not entirely warrant definite conclusions. It is somewhat open to question how the general official statistics are impaired in value by the inclusion of confectioners, who are, probably, less exposed to flour and other organic dust than bakers. The most convincing (statistics are those for Switzerland, and the industrial insurance experience data, both of which indicate an excess in the degree of consumption frequency, although not at identical periods of life. Taking all the facts, however, into careful consideration, they would seem to warrant the conclusion that consumption is of more frequent occurrence among bakers than among occupied males gen- erally, and that the degree of excess in consumption frequency is partly the result of continuous and considerable inhalation of flour 232 BAKERIES AND BAKERS. dust. The mortality rate is also affected by the general conditions under which the work of a baker is carried on, including excessive hours, unsanitary conditions of bake-shops, night work, etc. The occupation is exceedingly important, both as regards the baker him- self and the public at large, and a further and more thorough inves- tigation into the mortality of this occupation would be a most valu- able contribution to industrial hygiene." General Morbidity, and Morbidity Rate from Special Diseases: As already noted in Hoffman's statistics, the number of bakers dying from tuberculosis, respiratory and other diseases, is quite high. This is in conformity with the well-known prevalence of certain diseases among bakers. Our medical inspection of 800 bakers seems to confirm the fact that bakers are specially liable to some diseases more than to others. Respiratory Diseases-' Of the 800 bakers examined, 177 were suffering from acute or chronic bronchitis; 2 from sub-acute pleurisy, 21 from asthma and emphysema, and 6 from chronic rhinitis, in all 206, or 25 per cent of all the bakers suffered from some form of respiratory disease, 22.1 per cent from bronchitis alone. This rate is very much higher than in any other trade, and is probably due to bad ven- tilation in bakeries, to the draughts, to the high temperatures and relatively high humidity in bakeries. The prevalence of bronchitis among bakers was commented upon over 200 years ago by Rammazzini. (15.) Of the 1,000 members of the Bakers' Union in Vienna in 1890-3, there was an average sickness from respiratory diseases yearly, 102, of which 58 suf- fered from acute and chronic bronchitis, with a general morbidity rate from respiratory diseases of 38.8 per cent. (28.) Epstein also remarks upon the occurrence of chronic rhinitis among bakers, and he also ascribes chronic bronchitis among bakers to the con- stant inhalation of bad air, flour, dust, etc. The mortality rate of bakers from consumption has already been referred to in the extract from Hoffman's article. In our exami- nation only a little less than 2.4 per cent were found to suffer from tuberculosis. This rate is probably not greater than among BAKERIES AND BAKERS. 233 workers of other trades, although it is possible and highly probable that a number of those wo were stated by the physicians to be suf- fering from chronic bronchitis had either incipient or marked tuberculosis infection, a fact that could not be determined in a cursory examination. On the other hand, statistics from Italy, Rome, Berlin, Leipzig, do not show a high percentage of bakers suffering from tuber- culosis. Epstein, however, examined 98 bakers and found among them 32 suffering from tuberculosis. (28.) The general morbidity rate of bakers is very high according to the results of our examination. Of the 800 bakers examined, 206 were suffering from respiratory diseases, 50 from digestive dis- eases, 59 from skin diseases. In all there were only 347, or 43 per cent, of the men who were free from any pathological condition. Bakers are notoriously pale. 183 were strikingly anaemic, ac- cording to our physicians. This prevalence of anaemia among bakers confirm statements made by other observers. According to investigations made by Epstein of 183 bakers, one-sixth had a lower hemoglobin count than usual. Epstein thinks that the pale- ness of bakers does not depend so much upon the decreased per- centage of hemoglobin, as upon their infection with tuberculosis. (28.) Of the circulatory diseases found among the 800 examined, there were 54 or 6.8 per cent with distinct cardiac lesions. This is also in conformity with the finding of others. There are a comparatively large number of eye diseases (11.5 per cent), which are chiefly due to work done in cellars, in front of ovens, with artificial light, and in dusty atmosphere. The large percentage of hernia, 9.5, is also noted in all other examinations of bakers, as well as the prevalence of flat feet. (6.8 per cent.) Of diseases of the skin, there were 59, or 7.4 per cent, suf- fering from scabies. A distinctly occupational disease is " baker's itch." Eczema is also very frequent among workers in bakeries. The prevalence of infectious skin diseases is an additional reason that workers who handle the bread products should be periodi- cally examined, and that workers suffering from these diseases should be isolated. 234 BAKERIES AND BAKERS. Our physical examination of 800 bakers, incomplete as it was, and incomplete as is our tabulation, seems to confirm all pre- vious investigations made abroad and in this country, and also confirms the general statement as to the evil effects of unsanitary conditions of the bakeries upon the health of the workers in the trade, and the need of remedial measures to remove these evils. PART THIRD REMEDIES The sanitary inspection of bakeries and the physical examina- tion of bakers, as well as the opinions of the authorities and com- missions, all prove that very serious evils exist in this important industry, evils which are a menace to the lives of the workers as well as to the health of the great consuming public. What, then, are the remedies ? Are remedies possible ? Can bakeries be made sanitary? Can the industry be conducted under hygienic con- ditions? If remedies are imperative, shall they be applied from within by a reform of the industry' itself, or from without by con- certed public and 'legislative action? There cannot be any doubt that conditions are too grave to leave things alone until such a time as the industry reforms from witihin. Consideration of the health of the workers and of the community demands speedy and immediate action to at least ameliorate the worst evils existing in the trade. It is, therefore; imperative to apply legislative remedial measures in the interests of the public health. What direction should legislative action take? What restric- tions are needed, and what regulation is necessary to begin with ? A study of the subject will lead us to the deduction that remedial legislation in regard to bakeries must be in the following four directions. (1) Abolition of Cellar Bakeries. (2) Licensing of Industry. (3) Strict Supervision by the State. (4) Medical and Physical Examination. BAKERIES AND BAKERS. 235 Abolition of Cellar Bakeries: .Xo remedial legislation will be of any avail which does not prevent the location of this trade in underground cellars. This is the first principle upon which all efforts to lessen the evils of un- sanitary bakeries must be based. It may be put down without fear of contradiction, and this opinion is shared by all the health and factory officials interviewed, that no bakery can ever be sanitary as long as it is located in a cellar. A cellar is an unfit place for the manufacture of food stuffs, or for the habitation of workers. There cannot be any natural light in a cellar under the most favorable conditions, and no place can be sanitary that lacks sunlight. Cellars are the most difficult places to ventilate unless mechanical ventilation is installed, which is out of the question in the ordinary small bakery. Cellars in which bakeries are located cannot have a temperature which is healthy for workers ; they are too near the ground and the emanation from the ground, and the ovens and the heated atmosphere needed for dough raising, make it almost impossible for cellar bakeries to have ft moderate and equable temperature in the absence of proper venti- lation. Cellars cannot be kept clean as other parts of the house, for they are semi-dark, contain most of the plumbing pipes and fix- tures, and are, as a rule, the dumping ground of the whole house. Cellars are also the natural habitation of insects, rodents, etc., and are also in proximity to breeding places of flies, which are attracted to the food stuffs. The abolition of cellar bakeries is, therefore, the first remedial legislation which suggests itself in any scheme of bakery reform. Of course, there are rare exceptions, as already noted, where a celler may not be absolutely unsanitary, but they are so rare as to be negligible. The question which naturally comes up next is whether the use of cellars should be prohibited at once, or whether this reform should be carried out gradually ? In all propositions to abolish serious evils, the argument is brought up that a large class of persons will suffer great hardship if conditions are changed. But this hardship is inevitable, and has been urged against all progressive steps in civilization from the in- troduction of machinery and railroads to the introduction of motor cars. 236 BAKERIES AND BAKERS. There is, however, the possibility of gradually abolishing cellar bakeries without inflicting too great hardships upon those engaged in the work, by prohibiting any further bakeries from locating in cellars and by raising the standards for existing bakeries so that the extensive alterations required will gradually drive the trade out of its subterranean habitations. Licensing of Industry: There are a number of industries to which the principle of state or municipal licensing has been already applied. These indus- tries have one or more features which make their control needed in the interest of public health. They are either dangerous to life because of the intrinsic perils of the materials and processes (ex- plosive fireworks), or they may become a nuisance to the neighbors (offensive trades, stables, keeping of animals, rendering of animal matters), or they are trades that bear an iatimate relation to the public health (plumbing, dairy industry, slaughter houses, etc.). The bread-making industry is surely one that is closely related to public health, and is one of the principal food industries to which the licensing principle should be applied. The licensing of the bakeries, as well as all other places where food products are manufactured, is a public health measure, as has practically been agreed by all employers and workers appearing before the Commission. The licensing of bakeries, etc., would imply a previous thorough sanitary inspection of the place before granting the license, and also the revocation of the license for infringement of the rules and regulations laid down as a minimum standard for this industry. The licensing of all bakeries in all cities is the immediate step in all remedial legislation, and the trade, the workers, and the whole public are not only ready for it, but are anxious to have it an accomplished fact. The question of the Department under whose jurisdiction this licensing of the bakeries should fall is a more difficult one. The subject, in view of the relation of the product to tho consumer's health, lies naturally within the scope of the work of the Health Department, but it also belongs to the Labor Department because of the necessity for regulation of the labor conditions. Some divi- BAKERIES AND BAKERS. 237 siou of functions may be possible, such as putting of the licensing in the hands of the Labor Department, with the requirement of a sanitary certificate from the local health officials before the Depart- ment can issue the license. Regulation of Conditions: A licensing system is of no value unless definite standards are set for the trade, and a provision made for the revocation of the license. While the detail of such standards may be left to the dis- cretion of the Labor Commissioner, there are certain definite mini- mum sanitary standards which should be defined by law. Some tentative standards are suggested below. There is only one neces- sary comment to make in respect to night work. While the senti- ment of the public and of the workers is not as yet strong enough to abolish night work in this country, the question of night work and its effects upon the health of the > workers is very important from a hygienic standpoint, since healtfay products cannot very well be prepared by unhealthy workers. The regulation of the hours of labor is a most necessary function of the State, and I believe there has been accumulated during the last few years sufficient evidence to show that a regulation of the hours of bakers to sixty per week, or even less, will be no infringe- ment of the most sacred right, '' freedom of contract," for it will be in the interest of public health, and is, therefore, a just ex- ercise of the police power of the State. Simultaneously with a legal maximum of weekly and daily hours of labor, a law is needed to regulate night work, by making a shorter (eight hour) period for all night work. Such a legal regu- lation seems to be most desirable in the interests of the industry, the workers and the public health. Physical Examination-' A system of medical examination of employees entering the trade has already been introduced into many industries, and all civil service positions require a more or less rigid medical ex- amination. Many private corporations, such as railroads, tele- graph companies, stores and certain other industrial establish- ments require a previous physical examination. 238 BAKERIES AND BAKERS. BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES. ( 1 ) R. B. FOSDICK. A Report on the Sanitary Conditions of Bakeries in New York, April 18, 1911. (2) KABL MABX. Das Kapital. ( 3 ) W. A. GUY. The Case of the Journeymen Bakers ; being a Lecture on the Evik of Night Work and Long Hours of Labor. 1848. (4) LANCET. Report of the Lancet Special Commission on Bakeries and Bread Making. London, 1889-1890, Lancet. (6) F. J. WALDO and D. WALSH. Bread, Bakehouses and Bacteria. Lon- don, 1895. (6) S. MUBPHY. Report of the Medical Officer on the Sanitary Conditions of Bakehouses, Feb. 1, 1894. (7) BEBEL. Zur Lage der Arbeiter in den Backereien, 1890. (8) BEBEL. Ein Nothschrei der Backerarbeiter Deutschlands. Ergebniss der vom Verbrand der Backer . s. w. aufgennomenen Erhebungen, 1898. (9) REBEL. La Misfire des Garcons Boulaugers de la Ville et Faubourgs dc l';iri;s ('I roves, 1715). (10) BONABD. Noveau Jour Pour La Cuisson du Pain. Annal d'hygiene, 1834. (11) RIGAU. Sur la Boulangerie au Point de Vue de 1'Hygiene Publique, (12) RIGAU. Bakehouse Sanitation. An Inquiry into the Conditions Sur- rounding Bakeries and Journeymen Bakers in Relation to Public Health, 96. Brooklyn. (13) "Inquirer," 1895. Philadelphia, Pa. Bakers and Bakehouses, Their Conditions, etc. (14) Dr. C. MOLLEB Gesundheitsbuch fiir das Backergewerbe, Berlin, 1898. (15) RAMMAZZINI. Treatise on Diseases of Tradesmen, 1705. (16) M. BOUTELOUP. Le Travail de Nuit dans les Boulangeries, Paris, 1909. (17) CHAS. B. BALL. Sanitation of Bakeries and Restaurant Kitchens. J. Am. Pub. H. '11. (18) .N. Y. STATE COMMISSIONER OF LABOR REPORTS, 1893-1896. (19) REPORT OF TIIK TEXKMENT HOUSE COMMISSION, 1894. (20) THACKBAH. Effects of Arts, Trades and Profession on Health and Longevity, 1832. (21) A. OOBLIEU. Le Sant6 de 1'Ouvrier Boulanger. BAKERIES AND BAKERS. 239 (22) ZADEK. Hygiene der Miiller. Backer und Conditoren. Veyl's Hand- buch der Hygiene, 189C. (23) EMMERICH. The Baking Industry from the Hygienic Standpoint. Deutsche Wierteljahrshrift fur Gesundheitspflege, 1903. (24) F. HOFFMAN. Mortality from Consumption in Certain Occupations. Bulletin 82, Dept. of Commerce and Labor. (25) ARLIDGE. The Diseases of Occupation. (26) HIBT Die Krankheiten der Arbeiter. (27) OLIVES. Dangerous Trades. (28) EPSTEIN. Die Krankheiten der Backer. Handbuch der Arbeiter- Krankheiten, 1908. ( 29 ) LE CLERC DE PULLIGNY. Hygiene Industrielle. SUGGESTED MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR BAKERIES. (1) After a certain date no new bakeries shall be located in any cellar, nor shall any cellar, once vacated, be again occupied as a bakery. (-2) The owners of all existing bakeries shall be required to obtain a license from the State Labor Department. No bakery shall be conducted within the State without a proper license from the Labor Department. (3) The Commissioner of Labor shall upon application of an owner of a bakery for a license, cause an inspection to be made of the premises, to determine the compliance with all the rules of rlif 1 Department and of the Labor Law, and shall issue such license under additional certificate of tihe Local Department of Health or Health Officers, certifying that all sanitary conditions as to the manufacturing of food products have been complied with. (4) Said license shall be good for one year after date of issue, ?nd shall be renewal annually only upon an inspection, and shall be revocable for cause at any time. (5) The hours of labor in all bakeries for all workers therein shall be limited to a maximum of ten hours in every 24 hours, and to 60 hours per week of seven days. (6) No female worker under 21 and no minor under 18 shall be permitted to work more than 8 hours per day, 48 hours per 240 BAKERIES AND BAKERS. week, nor shall they be permitted to work between the hours of 7 P. M. and 6 A. M. (7) Every employee in a bakery shall be required by the owner thereof to present a certificate from a reputable physician, said certificate to state that a physical examination has been made, and that he is free from any disease that would endanger the pub- lic health while working at his trade. Work falling wholly or in part between the hours of 8 P. M. and 6 A. M. shall be considered night work, and shall be limited to 8 hours in every 24 hours. (8) No room can be used as a bakery or work room in a bakery in which artificial light is needed during the whole day. One window shall be required, said window to be at least 15 square feet in area. (9) A window space in a bake or work room shall not be less than one-fifth of the floor space of such rooms. (10) At least 450 cubic feet of area space, and 50 square feet of floor space shall be allowed for every person employed therein. (11) Every bakery shall be provided with ventilating fans, or in lieu of such fans, chimneys may be arranged so as to venti- late bakery properly. (12) All windows shall be so arranged that they can be easily opened for the purpose of ventilation. (13) In every bakery the space where the bake oven is located shall be partitioned off by a fire-proof partition dividing it from the rest of the work rooms. (14) The walls and ceilings of all rooms- in the bakery shall be plastered and cemented, and shall be painted in a light color or calsomined with lime, such surface to be cleaned as often as ordered by Commissioner of Labor. (15) No wooden floors shall be permitted in any part of the bakery. All floors must be level and smooth and be made of non-absorbent material and be cleaned daily and kept clean at all times. BAKERIES AND BAKERS. 241 (16) All posts, columns, beams, etc., exposed within any part of the bakery shall be covered with sheet metal and painted over with light-colored paint. (17) All windows and doors opening in any part of the bakery shall be screened with copper wire screens with meshes sufficiently close to prevent flies and other insects from entering through same. (18) Every bakery shall be equipped with a sufficient sup- ply of pure running water and shall be provided with at least one sink or wash-basin for every ten employees, and provision shall be made for a supply of hot water. (19) No sink or wash-basin or any fixture within the bakery shall be enclosed with wood work, said sink or wash-basin to be kept in a sanitary condition at all times. (20) Suitable dressing rooms, or places where workmen can change their clothes shall be provided in every bakery, and every employee in a bakery while at work shall be provided by the owners, free of cost, suitable caps, slippers, overalls or aprons, which shall be laundered at least twice a week, or oftener if necessary, free of cost to the employee. (21) No chewing tobacco or spitting on floors in bakeries shall be permitted, nor shall smoking be permitted to the employees while at work. (22) No person shall be permitted to sleep in any part of a bakery, or in rooms where flour or meal used in connection there- with, or where any food products are handled or stored. (23) Cuspidors of impervious material shall be provided, and cleansed daily. (24) No water-closets or urinals shall be permitted in any bake shop or bake rooms. All such fixtures shall be placed in separate departments provided with a window to the outer air, and pro- vided with artificial illumination wherever it is necessary. (25) All utensils used in a bakery, and all places upon which the unfinished or finished materials are placed or stored shall be 242 BAKERIES AND BAKERS. made of such material as may readily be cleaned and shall be kept clean at all times. (26) All flour, starch, sugar and all other products used in the process of baking shall be stored either on platforms or shelves or shall be kept in covered metal barrels or receptacles so as to be clean and free from all dust and dirt. (27) No domestic animals shall be permitted in any part of a bakery. All rooms of the bakery shall be free of insects, ver- min, etc. (28) All persons working in a bakery who handle or touch the products therein shall wash their hands and arms in clean water before beginning work, and every time they change from one kind of work to another. (29) They shall have their finger nails cleaned, and shall be free from skin disease, or any infectious diseases. DEPAETMENT OF HEALTH BAKERY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF CHICAGO, 1910 Be it ordained by the City Council of the City of Chicago: SECTION 1. Any place used for any process of mixing, com- pounding, or baking, for sale or for purposes of a restaurant, bakery or hotel, any bread, biscuits, pretzels, crackers, buns, rolls, macaroni, cake, pies, or any food product of which flour or meal is a principal ingredient, shall be deemed a bakery for the purpose of this ordinance; provided that licensed restaurants in which any of the foregoing food products are mixed and baked for con- sumption in such restaurant only, on or in ordinary restaurant kitchen stoves or ranges, and kitchens or rooms in dwellings where any of the said food products are mixed and baked in an ordinary kitchen stove or range, shall not be considered bakeries. SEC. 2. No person, firm or corporation shall establish, main- tain or operate any bakery without first having been licensed so to do by the city. Every person or corporation establishing, main- taining or operating any such bakery shall annually, on the first BAKERIES AND BAKERS. 243 day of May of each year, pay a license fee of five ($5.00) dollars for a license for each bakery so maintained, which license shall be issued for a period ending with the first day of May following; provided, however, that upon furnishing proof to the City Col- lector that the applicant was not liable for a license fee and did not maintain a bakery without a license prior to the date of his application and after the taking effect of this ordinance, a license may be issued for the unexpired license period, and in such case the license fee shall be five ($5.00) dollars for any such unex- pired period which is greater than six months, and two dollars and fifty cents ($2.50) for any such unexpired period which is equal to or less than six months. Provided, further, that no person, firm, or corporation now holding a license which by its terms will expire on May 1, 1910, shall be required to take out any other bakery license or pay any additional bakery license fee under this ordinance prior to May 1, 1910. SEC. 3 Any person or corporation desiring to establish, main- tain or operate a bakery, as defined in this ordinance, shall make application in writing to the Commissioner of Health for a license so to do. Such application shall set forth the name and residence of the applicant if an individual, and the names and residences of the principal officers of the applicant, if a corporation, together with the location of the place for which such license is desired. SEC. 4. Within ten days after the receipt of such application, it shall be the duty of the Commissioner of Health to make or cause to be made an examination of the place described in such application, for the purpose of ascertaining whether the location, lighting, ventilation, sanitary arrangements and equipment of such bakery conform to the provisions of this ordinance. If the porposed bakery conforms to the provisions of this ordinance, the Commissioner of Health shall transmit uch application to the Mayor with his approval thereof, whereupon the Mayor shall issue or cause to be issued to such applicant, upon payment to the City Collector of the license fee hereinbefore provided, a license authorizing such applicant to keep, conduct or maintain a bakery at the place described in such application for and during the period of such license. 244 BAKEBIES AND BAKERS. SEC. 5. If at any time during the term of such license the Commissioner of Health shall certify to the Mayor that the pro- visions of the ordinance have not been or are not being complied with, or that the public health or the health of the persons em- ployed in any such bakery is endangered by its maintenance, the Mayor may revoke the license thereof. SEC. G. Every such license granted under the provisions of this ordinance shall be posted in a conspicuous place in the bakery for which such license is issued. SEC. 7. Every place used as a bakery shall be kept in a clean and sanitary condition as to its floors, side walls, ceilings, wood- work, fixtures, furniture, tools, machinery and utensils. All parts of 'the bakery shall be adequately lighted at all times, and shall be ventilated by means of windows or skylights or air shafts or air ducts or mechanical apparatus, if necessary, so as to insure a free circulation of fresh air at all times. Such ventilating con- truction and equipment shall be of such character that a com- plete change of air in all parts of the bakery may be made at least four times each hour. Provided, however, that it sha'll not be necessary to ventilate at such time or in such manner that the process of mixing or rising of dough shall of necessity be interfered with or prevented. SEC. 8. The floor of every place used as a bakery, if below the street level, shall be constructed of concrete, cement, asphalt or other impervious material, or of tile laid in cement, which floor may, if desired, be covered with a hardwood floor having tight joints; if above the street level the floor may be of hardwood with tight joints or may be of any impervious material, as above provided. The angles where the floor and walls join shall be made and main- tained so as to be rat-proof. SEC. 9. Every bakery shall be kept reasonably free from flies, and the doors, windows, and other openings of every such bakery shall, from April 1 to December 1, be fitted with self-closing wire screens doors and wire window screens. The side walls and ceil- BAKERIES AND BAKERS. 245 ings shall be well and smoothly plastered, tiled or sheathed with metal or wood sheathing, and shall be kept in good repair. If made of mill construction with smooth surfaces such walls and' ceilings need not be sheathed or plastered. All walls and ceilings shall be kept well painted with oil paint, or lime washed or calcimined, and all woodwork shall be kept well painted with oil paint. SEC. 10. Every such bakery shall be provided with adequate plumbing and drainage facilities, including well ventilated water closets and impermeable wash sinks on iron supports. No wator closet compartment shall be in direct communication with a bakery. SEC. 11. No person shall sleep in any bakery or in the rooms where flour or meal used in conection therewith, or the food pro- ducts made therein, are handled or stored. If any sleeping places are located on the same floor as the bakery, they Shall be well ventilated, dry and sanitary. No domestic animals except cats shall be permitted in a bakery or place where flour or meal ia stored in connection therewith, and suitable provision shall be made to prevent nuisances from the presence of cats. SEC. 12. All workmen and employees while engaged in the manufacture or handling of bakery products in a bakery shall pro- vide themselves with slippers or shoes and a suit of washable material which shall be used for that purpose only. These gar- ments shall at all times be kept clean. SEC. 13. Cuspidors of impervious material shall be provided and shall be cleansed daily. No employe or other person shall spit on the floor or side walls of any bakery or place where food products of such bakery are stored. SEC. 14. The smoking, snuffing or chewing of tobacco in any bakery is prohibited. Plain notices shall be posted in every bakery forbidding any person to use tobacco therein or to spit on the floor of such bakery. SEC. 15. No person who has consumption, scrofula or venereal diseases or any communicable or loathsome skin disease shall work 246 BAKERIES AND BAKERS. in any bakery, and no owner, manager or person in charge of any bakery shall knowingly require, permit or suffer such a person to be employed in such bakery. SEC. 16. All rooms for the storage of flour or meal for use in connection with any bakery shatt be dry and well ventilated, and every bakery and room used for the storage of materials and food products in connection therewith shall be so arranged that the shelves, cupboards, trays, troughs, bins, cases and all other appliances for handling and storing- the same can be easily removed and cleaned. If the floor of any such bakery or room is below the adjacent street level, no such materials or products shall be stored nearer to such floor than one foot. SEC 17. Every bakery shall be kept clean at all times and free from rats, mice and vermin and from all matter of an infec- tious or contagious nature. SEC. 18. No new bakery shall be established after the passage of this ordinance in any room, basement or cellar in which the clear height between the finished floor and ceiling is less than 8 feet 6 inches or in any room or place the floor of which is more than 5 feet below the street, sidewalk or alley level adjacent to the building, or in any room or place which is not so naturally lighted by means of windows, doors or skylights that on clear days a book or paper printed with double long primer type can be read be- tween the hours of 10 a. m. and 2 p. m. in all parts of the bakery which are used in mixing or handling bakery products. If any new bakery hereafter established has its floor above, at, or not more than 3 feet below the adjacent street or alley level, no window opening by which it is ventilated shall be less than 3 feet above such street or alley level; if the floor of any such bakery is more than 3 feet below the adjacent street or alley level, no such window opening shall be less than 18 inches above such street or alley level. In new bakeries hereafter established, no water closet compart- ment shall be connected with the bakery by a vestibule connection. BAKERIES AND BAKERS. 247 SEC. 19. If any bakery which is now being maintained an-1 operated shall be vacated, discontinued or unused for a period of more than six consecutive months and shall thereafter be reopened and re-established as a bakery, such bakery shall be considered a new bakery for purposes of this ordinance. SEC 20. The Commissioner of Health and the authorized in- spectors and employees of the Department of Health shall have the right at all times to enter to make such inspection and such record of the condition of any bakery as they may deem necessary, and if such inspection shall disclose a lack of conformity with this ordinance, the Commissioner of Health may require such changes, alterations or renovations as may be necessary to make such bakery comply with the provisions of this ordinance. SEC. 21. Any person, firm or corporation who shall establish, maintain or operate any bakery after this ordinance shall take effect, without first procuring a license so to do, shall be fined not I* 98 than twenty-five ($25.00) dollars nor more than two hundred ($200.00) dollars for each offense, and a separate offense shall be regarded as committed each day on which such person, firm or corporation shall maintain or operate any bakery without a license as aforesaid. Any person, firm or corporation who violates or fails to comply with any other provision of this ordinance shall be fined not less than five ($5.00) dollars nor more than one hundred ($100.00) dollars for each offense, and a separate offense shall be regarded as committed each day on which such person, firm or corporation shall continue any such violation or failure. SEC. 22. An ordinance entitled " Bakery Ordinance of the city of Chicago," passed by the City Council on the llth day of November, A. D. 1907, as amended June 22, A. D., 1908, is hereby repealed. SEC. 23. This ordinance shall take effect from and after its passage and due publication. Passed February 28, 1910. 248 BAKERIES AND BAKERS. STATE OF EHODE ISLAND AND PKOVIDENCE PLANTATIONS JANUAKY SESSION, A. D. 1910 AN ACT IN AMENDMENT OF AND IN ADDITION TO CHAPTER 78 OF THE GENERAL LAWS, 1909, ENTITLED " OF FACTORY IN- SPECTION." It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: SECTION 1. Section 3 of Chapter 78 of the General Laws 1909, entitled " Of Factory Inspection," is hereby amended so as to read as follows: " SEC. 3. The governor shall, upon the passage of this act, and in the month of January of every third year hereafter, ap- point, with the advice and consent of the senate, one chief and three assistant factory inspectors, one of whom shall be a woman, whose term of office shall be three years or until their successors shall be so appointed and qualified: Provided, that the term of office of the present factory inspectors shall not be changed, and that the term of office of the additional factory inspector provided in this act shall expire in January, A. D. nineteen hundred and eleven, or upon the appointment and qualification of his successor. Any vacancy which may occur in said offices when the senate is not in session shall be filled by the governor until the next session thereof, when he shall, with the advice and consent of the senate, appoint some person to fill such vacancy for the remainder of the term. Said inspectors shall be empowered to visit and inspect, at all reasonable hours and as often as practicable, the factories, work-shops, and other establishments in this state subject to the provisions of this chapter, and shall report to the General Assem- bly of this state at its January session in each year, including in said reports the name of the factories, the number of such hands employed, and the number of hours of work performed in each week. It shall also be the duty of said inspectors to enforce the BAKERIES AND BAKERS. 249 provisions of this chapter and prosecute all violations of the same before any court of competent jurisdiction in the state. " The name and residence of any child found working without the certificate provided for in section one of this chapter shall be reported by the chief inspector to the school committee in the city or town where such child resides. Said inspectors shall devote their whole time and attention to the duties of their respective of- fices, under the direction of the chief inspector. The annual sal- ary of the chief inspector shall be two thousand dollars ; and each of the assistant inspectors, fifteen hundred dollars." SEC. 2. Section 4 of said Chapter 78 of the General Laws is hereby amended so as to read as follows: " SEC. 4. All necessary expenses incurred by such inspectors in the discharge of their duty shall be paid from the funds of the state, upon the presentation of proper vouchers for the same ap- proved by the governor: Provided, tiiat not more than twenty- three hundred dollars in the aggregate shall be expended by the said inspectors in any one year." SEC. 3. Said Chapter 78 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following sections : " SEC. 18. Said chief inspector, or any assistant factory in- spector required by him, shall have charge of the inspection of bakeries, confectioneries, and ice cream manufactories, and any premises upon which bread or other products of flour or meal are baked or mixed or prepared for baking or for sale as food, in this state; and any such inspector so acting, whether one or more of such inspectors, or whether acting at the same or different tunes, shall for such purposes be designated as a state inspector of bak- eries, confectioneries, and ice cream manufactories. Such ins- spector shall not be pecuniarily interested, directly or indirectly, in the manufacture or sale of any article or commodity used in any business included in the provisions of this act, and shall not give certificates or written opinions to a maker or vendor of any such article or commodity. 250 BAKERIES AND BAKERS. " SEC. 19. No person, copartnership, or corporation shall carry on the business of a public bakery, confectionery, or ice cream manufactory, or place where bread or other products of flour or meal are baked or mixed or prepared for baking or for sale as food, until such premises are inspected by said state in- spector. If such premises be found to conform to the provisions of this act, said inspector shall issue a certificate to the owner or operator of such bakery, confectionery, or ice cream manufactory, or place where flour or meal food products are baked or mixed or prepared for baking or for sale as food. Every person, co- partnership, or corporation carrying on such business shall, upon the granting of such license, and annually on the first day of Jan- uary thereafter, pay to the general treasurer a license fee of ten dollars if conducting such a wholesale business, and a license fee of three dollars if conducting only such a retail business. " SEC. 20. All buildings or rooms used or occupied as biscuit, bread, macaroni, spaghetti, pie or cake bakeries, ice cream or con- fectionery manufactories, or where flour or meal food products are baked or mixed or prepared for baking or for sale as food, shall be drained and plumbed in a manner conducive to the proper and healthful sanitary condition thereof, and shall be constructed with air shafts, windows, or ventilating pipes sufficient to insure ade- quate and proper ventilation. No cellar, basement, or place which is below the street level shall hereafter be used or occupied for the purposes mentioned in this section: Provided, that the same may be so used or occupied by the present occupant only. " SEC. 21. Every room used for the purposes included in this act shall have, if deemed necessary by such inspector, an imperme- able floor constructed of cement, or of tiles laid in cement, or of wood or other suitable non-absorbent material which can be flushed and washed clean with water. The side walls and ceilings of such rooms shall be plastered or wainscoted ; such inspector shall re- quire said premises to be kept at all times in a sanitary condi- tion; he may also require the woodwork of such walls to be well oiled, varnished, or painted. The furniture and utensils shall be so arranged as to be readily cleansed and not prevent the proper cleaning of any part of the room. BAKERIES AND BAKERS. 251 " The manufactured flour or meal food products shall be kept in dry and airy rooms, so arranged that the floors, shelves, and all other facilities for storing the same can be properly cleaned. " Xo domestic animals except cats shall be allowed to remain in a room used as a biscuit, bread, pie, or cake bakery or any room in such bakery where flour or meal products are stored or kept. " SEC. 22. Every such bakery, confectionery, or ice cream manu- factory, or place where flour or meal food products are baked or mixed or prepared for baking or for sale as food, shall be pro- vided with a proper wash-room and water-closet, or water-closets, apart from the bake-rooms or rooms where the manufacture of such food products is conducted, and they shall be maintained in a sanitary condition ; no water-closet, earth-closet, privy, or recep- tacle for garbage shall be within or connect directly with the bake- room of any bakery or room where ice cream or confectionery is manufactured. Operatives, employees, clerks, and all persons who handle the material from which food is prepared, or the fin- ished product, before beginning work, or after visiting toilet or toilets, shall wash their hands and arms thoroughly in clean water. " No person shall sleep in a room occupied as a bake-room. Sleeping places for the persons employed in the bakery shall be separate from the rooms where flour or meal food products are manufactured or stored. If the sleeping places are on the same floor where such products are manufactured, stored, or sold, such inspector may inspect and order them put in a proper sanitary condition. " SEC. 23. No bakery, confectionery, or ice cream manufac- tory, or place where flour or meal food products are baked or mixed or prepared for baking or for sale as food, shall be con- ducted in a room adjoining a stable, unless separated from such stable by a wall or partition without any door or other opening between such stable and such bakery, confectionery, or manufac- tory, or place where flour or meal food products are baked or mixed or prepared for baking or for sale as food ; and no material used therein shall be kept in a stable. 252 BAKERIES AND BAKERS. " SEC. 24. Packages or receptacles containing butter, lard, cooking oils, molasses, sugar, spices, dried fruits, tartars, and sim- ilar articles, in such bakery, confectionery, or manufactory, or place where flour or meal food products are baked or mixed or prepared for baking or for sale as food, must be kept covered when not necessarily uncovered for use. " SEC. 25. Smoking, snuffing, or chewing of tobacco, or spit- ting on floor in working rooms in such bakery, confectionery, or manufactory, or place where flour or meal food products are baked or mixed or prepared for baking or for sale as food, is strictly forbidden. " SEC. 26. No employer in any bakery, confectionery, or ice cream manufactory, or place where flour or meal food products are baked or mixed or prepared for baking or for sale as food, shall require, permit, or suffer any 'person to work, nor shall any person work, in a building, room, basement, cellar, or vehicle oc- cupied or used for the production, preparation, manufacture, packing, storage, sale, distribution, and transportation of food, who is affected with any venereal disease, smallpox, diphtheria, scarlet fever, yellow fever, tuberculosis or consumption, bubonic plague, Asiatic cholera, leprosy, trachoma, typhoid fever, epidemic dysentery, measles, mumps, German measles, whooping-cough, chicken pox, or any other infectious or contagious disease. " SEC. 27. Bread or pastry must not be laid on the floor in such bakery, confectionery, or manufactory, or place where flour or meal food products are baked or mixed or prepared for baking or for sale as food. No label shall be stuck on bread or other bakery goods by means of gum, saliva, or any material other than the article baked. No baker shall use or cause to be used news- papers or other second-hand paper for the purpose of lining tins or wrapping up bread or other bakery goods. All bakers' wagons must be kept clean, both inside and out, and so arranged that no dust can blow on bread or pastry while in transit. " SEC. 28. Bakeries, confectioneries, and ice cream manufac- tories, or places where flour or meal food products are baked or BAKEBIES AND BAKERS. 253 mixed or prepared for baking or for sale as food, shall be kept at all times in a clean and sanitary condition, and shall be inspected by said inspector at least twice each year. If on inspection said inspector finds any bakery, confectionery, or ice cream manufac- tory, or place where flour or meal food products are baked or mixed or prepared for baking or for sale as food, to be so unclean, ill-drained, or ill-ventilated as to be unsanitary, he may, after such reasonable time, to be fixed by said inspector, not less than five days, by notice in writing, to be served by affixing the notice on the inside of the main entrance door of said bakery, confection- ery, or ice cream manufactory, or place where flour or meal food products are baked or mixed or prepared for baking or for sale as food, order the person found in charge thereof immediately to cease operating it until it be properly cleaned drained, or ventilated. " SEC. 29. Any person who is aggrieved by any order or re- quirement of ?aid state inspector may appeal therefrom in the same manner in all respects, and with the same rights and liabilities, as provided in section 10 of said Chapter 78 of the General Laws. " SEC. 30. Any person who violates any of the provisions of said sections nineteen to twenty-eight, both inclusive, of said Chapter 78 of the General Laws, as herein amended, or refuses to comply with any lawful requirement of the authority vested with the enforcement of such sections, .as provided therein, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction shall be punished by a fine of not less than twenty or more than fifty dollars for a first offense, and for a second offense by a fine of not less than fifty or more than one hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than ten days, and for a third offense by a fine of not less than one hundred or more than two hundred and fifty dollars or by imprisonment for not more than thirty days, or by both such fine and imprisonment. " SEC. 31. Such inspector shall be empowered to visit and inspect all parts of stores,, bakeries, confectioneries, and store-rooms and places where ice cream, flour and meal food products are 254 BAKERIES AND BAKERS. manufactured, at any and all reasonable times. Such inspector shall promptly enforce the provisions of this act, and shall prose- cute all violations of the same before any court of competent juris- diction in the state. The attorney-general shall act as his legal adviser in all matters pertaining to his official duties. He shall cause copies of this act to be printed and kept posted in all bak- ries, confectioneries, and manufactories of ice cream, flour and meal food products, and all places where such business is carried on. Any mutilation of such printed matter shall be punished as provided in the preceding section. Such inspector shall not be required to give surety, nor furnish recognizance for costs, in any prosecution or proceeding under this act." SEC. 4. This act shall take effect upon its passage: Provided, that any business included in the provisions of this act and now carried on may be carried on without the license required by the provisions of this act until August first, A. D. nineteen hundred and ten, and, in case application for such license be made prior to June first, A. D. nineteen hundred and ten and be not acted upon by such inspector prior to August first, A. D. nineteen hundred and ten, such business may be carried on without such license until said application is acted upon by such inspector. INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION OF WISCONSIN (Successor to Bureau of Labor and Industrial Statistics.) RULES RELATIVE TO BAKERIES AND CONFEC TIONERIES. The following is a list of tentative rules for the regulation of bakeries. These rules are proposed for adoption by the Indus- trial Commission. They may be modified by the Commission when- ever, in its judgment, general or special conditions make such action desirable in order to attain the sanitary standard sought to be established by their adoption. In submitting these rules to the bakers and confectioners of the state, the Industrial Commission invites criticisms and sug- BAKERIES AND BAKERS. 255 gestions. At the meeting of the Wisconsin Association of Master Bakers in Milwaukee Oct. 11, 1911, it is proposed to review this compilation and to make such changes as are considered desirable. All rules or regulations adopted formally by the Industrial Commission have the full force of law, and violations are subject to the penalty provided. DRAINAGE AND PLUMBING. 1. If there is a public drain in the village or city extending along any street or alley in which a bakery is located, the bakery must be connected with such drain. 2. If there is no public sewer or drain, then a drain must be provided to a cesspool or other receptacle, located at least thirty feet away from the bakery; provided that if siida drain empties into a running stream or lake, the limitation as to distance shall not apply. 3. All plumbing must meet the legal requirements of the city or village where the bakery is located; but in all cases water fixtures shall be back-vented or equipped with anti-syphon trap. 4. Waste water shall not be drained directly on the ground below the floor nor on the surface of the ground adjacent to the bakery. 5. If there is any public or other sewer running through any bakery, the same shall be so securely and completely bedded as to prevent the escape of water, sewage, or gas, and must be sub- ject to a test of at least two feet of water head or twenty-five pounds of air pressure. 6. No drain is permitted nearer than eighteen inches to any water service pipe. WATER SUPPLY. 7. No water from a fixture located in any water closet shall be used for baking purposes. 266 BAKERIES AND BAXERS. 8. Only clean, pure water shall be used, a sufficient supply of which shall be available at all times. CONSTRUCTION OF ROOMS. 9. Side walls must be free from holes, ragged edges, cracks or crevices, and all joints must be tight and flush. 10. Floors must be level and smooth, and free from cracks or openings. All new wooden floors must be made of hard wood and treated with oil varnish. 11. Ceilings may be plastered or ceiled with metal or wood. In case ceilings are open [joists, the exposed surfaces shall be planed; in concrete construction, the ceiling shall be smooth and shall be painted or whitewashed. CARE OF ROOMS. 12. All plastered surfaces may be whitewashed. Others should be painted. Whitewash must be renewed at least once in six months; paint at least once in two years. 13. All floors in work and bakerooms must be swept clean every day and any adhering materials scraped off; sweepings must be deposited in an impermeable receptacle and removed or destroyed within twenty-four hours. All such floors must be scrubbed with soap and water at least once a week. 14. Floors and side walls in storage rooms must be cleaned whenever they become empty, before new stock is put in. 15. No cleanings, waste nor offal shall be deposited upon the floor of any bakery, but should be placed in proper receptacle which must be provided for that purpose. 16. If it is necessary to remove live coal or ashes out of ovens, the same shall be placed at once in iron receptacles and tightly covered. This work shall always be done in such manner that no ashes or gases shall escape into bakery. 17. Windows and window ledges must be washed and wiped whenever they become dirty. BAKERIES AND BAKERS. 257 17 b. Xo domestic animals shall be allowed in any room. 18. All inside painted surfaces in bakeries must be scrubbed with soap and water at least once in six months. CONSTRUCTION OF UTENSILS. 19. Bread boxes and roll and bread boards shall be made of sound lumber, planed on all sides, smoothly joined, and free from cracks and crevices. 20. All work tables shall be made of sound, well-seasoned lum- ber, smoothly joined and free from indentations, cracks and crevices. Stone or metal-work tables may be used if desired. 21. All dough-troughs and pan or bread-racks must be mounted on casters or rollers so that same may be easily moved. CARE OF UTENSILS. 22. Doughnut kettles must be kept covered when not in use. 23. Only clean, pure water shall be used, a sufficient supply of which shall be available at all times. 24. Dough-mixing machines must be cleaned daily and the inside thereof greased. All flour should be brushed off carefully. Bearings and grease cups should be wiped, stuffing boxes well packed so as to prevent leakage, and machine should be kept screened or covered when not in use in such a way as to permit circulation of air therein. 25. Metal dough-troughs must be well cleaned every time they are used and the inside thereof greased. 26. Wooden dough-troughs must be scraped clean every time they are used. They must be washed with soap and water at least once a month and aired frequently. 27. Trough covers must be scraped on both sides daily and washed with soap and water at least once a week. 28. Wooden dough-troughs must be made of sound lumber, well joined and smoothly finished. Troughs and covers must be free from holes, cracks and crevices. 9 258 BAKERIES AND BAKERS. 29. Bread boxes and roll and bread boards shall be brushed every time they have been used and scrubbed with soap and water at least once a month. 30. All work tables must be cleaned daily and scrubbed at least once a week. 31. All dbugh-dividing machines, beating, mixing or deposit- ing machines, brakes, rollers, cracker and cake machines, crumb- ing and grinding machines, must be cleaned daily when in use, and; no dust, sugar, grease, dough or paste shall be permitted to accumulate in or about such machines. 32. Conveyers, driers and wires for icing machines must bs kept clean, and can be operated only in a room that is free from dust. 33. Pie-making machines must be cleaned daily and all flour, fruit, filling and paste removed therefrom, 34. Cake-filling machines must be emptied and cleaned after each day's work. 35. All flour sieves and sifting machines shall be cleaned at least once a week. No moths or other insects shall be permitted to breed therein. 36. All flour bins, hoppers, chutes and conveyers shall be exam- ined at least once a week and must be kept free from larvae, chrysalides and insects. 37. Iron pans must be cleaned each time they are used, and wiped with fat. 38. All racks and shelves must be cleaned once a month and scrubbed every six months. 39. Tin pans should be cleaned each time they are used and wiped with fat. Any adhering material, grease, flour or sugar that cannot be removed by wiping, must be washed off. 40. Cloths used for lining bread boxes, covering roll boards or cake pans, or for the purpose of covering dough or baked goods, BAKERIES AND BAKERS. 259 shall be used for no other purpose, and shall be washed at least once in two weeks. 41. Bake ovens must be well cleaned so no soot, ashes, or coal will adhere to baked goods. 42. Swab pails must be cleaned daily and fresh water must be used every time an oven is cleaned. 43. Steam or proofing boxes must be cleaned at least once a month and scrubbed at least once in six months. 44. The holding of bakery utensils in the mouth is prohibited. 45. All dishes, measures, strainers, dippers, cans, mugs, tubes, kettles, ornamenting and pastry bags, stamps, syringes, dough- nut machines, bowls, spoons, scoops, mortar knives, scrapers, paddles, rolling pins, chopping, cutting, slicing or grating machines, egg whips and brushes, shall be washed with soap and water or some material equally efficient, and wiped dry with a clean cloth every day such utensils have been used. 46. All ice boxes and all places where food may be placed for cooling purposes, shall be kept clean and well ventilated. 47. All baskets, boxes and other containers that are used for carting, storing or delivering bakery goods, shall be cleaned daily and scrubbed once a month. 48. All wagons used for the delivery of baked goods shall be cleaned every day before loading and shall be scrubbed once a week. 49. All show cases, shelves, boxes and cans in which bakery goods are kept, must be washed at least once a week. Crackers, cakes and similar goods need not be removed out of original pack- age or box for the purpose of cleaning such boxes or packages. 50. ~No tool or utensil used in bakery shall be used for any other purpose. CARE OF RAW MATERIAL. 51. All flour, starch, meal, sugar, salt, corn or rice flakes, nuts, and nut meats, dried fruit and other material contained in bags, 260 BAKERIES AND BAKERS. must be stored on platforms or shelves at least eight inches from the floor and at least 2 inches from any side wall and be so stored that there is a free circulation of air on all sides. 52. All barrels or kegs containing oil, molasses, syrup or any other fluid food product, shall be tapped whenever feasible with a pump or faucet; whenever such tapping is not feasible, heads may be removed and good metal covers provided with rims extend- ing downward over ends of barrels or kegs. 53. All barrels that contain lard, sugar, starch, cocoanut, mince meat, salt or other dry food product, shall, when the same are opened, be provided with metal covers that extend downward over top edge of barrels. 54. Metal covers shall be provided for all tubs, pails, drums, or other containers of jelly, jam or similar substances whenever they are opened and not entirely used at once. 55. All dried and desiccated fruits in boxes shall be kept well covered and protected against dust and vermin. 56. All prepared fruits, pie fillings and similar substances shall be kept in earthenware or wooden containers properly covered. Metal containers may only be used when the same are enameled or properly coated with block tin. 57. All spices, nutmeats, seeds, and other similar goods shall be kept in suitable containers of tin, pasteboard, or other material and well covered. 58. All prepared dough, other than dough containing yeast, shall be kept in earthenware or wooden containers properly cov- ered. Such containers must be thoroughly washed every time they have been used. 59. All crumbs, struesel and other such goods must be covered in suitable containers so as to be protected against dust. 60. Chocolate, nut-paste, citron, lemon, and orange peel must be kept in suitable boxes or cans well covered and protected against dust. BAKERIES AND BAKERS. 201 61. Acids, alum, baking powder, drugs and chemicals, as also all compounds and preparations that are to be mixed and eaten with bakery products, shall be kept in suitable containers, covered and clean. 62. Dried egg and dried milk shall be stored in tight barrels, drums or cans, and not more shall be prepared in water than will be used within twenty-four hours. 63. Goods that are being dried for future use shall be kept clean and free from dust. 64. Fresh icings shall be prepared every day, and at no time shall icing be allowed to remain on sides or rims of vessels, but all vessels that contain icing must be kept clean and covered when not in actual use. 65. All flour used in bakeries shall be passed through a close- meshed sieve shortly before it is used. CARE OF FINISHED PRODUCT. 66. All bakered goods, whether in pans or other containers, must be kept at least twelve inches from the floor. 67. Xo person is allowed to handle bakery goods in any store or other place where such goods may be exposed for sale, unless such person has actually purchased such bakery goods or is in charge of the sale of such goods. PERSONAL CLEANLINESS AND CONDUCT. 68. All persons working in bakeries, who handle or touch goods that are to be eaten, shall wash their hands and arms in clean water before beginning work and every time they have made use of water closet, urinal or privy, and every time they change from one kind of work to another, and every time their work is inter- rupted for any cause, before again touching or handling bakery products. 69. The outer garments to be worn by bakery workmen while at work shall consist of caps, shoes or slippers, and overalls or 262 BAKERIES AND BAKERS. aprons, to which bibs must be attached. In no case shall bakery products come in contact with shirts or other garments that lie next the bare skin of workmen. 70. External garments described in rule No. 69 must be washed at least once a week and under garments must also be kept clean. 71. The outer garments of female employees shall consist of shoes or slippers and large aprons with bibs; hair must be com- pactly and neatly done up in caps or nets. Aprons and bibs must be washed at least once a week. 72. All persons working in bakeries must keep their finger- nails clean. 73. No person afflected with any skin disease or with any com- municable disease shall work in any bakery. 74. No person delivering bakery goods shall handle the same with dirty hands, or piled against his body or clothes, but all deliv- eries must be made in clean baskets, boxes, trays, or other containers. 75. No person shall spit or expectorate or deposit any sputum, mucus, tobacco juice, cigar or cigarette stumps or quids of to- bacco on the floor, walls or furnishings of any bakery. 76. No person shall smoke or snuff tobacco while at work in any bakery. WATER CLOSETS AND PRIVIES. 77. No pan, hopper or plunger water closet shall be put into any bakery hereafter established; and all such closets now in use must be replaced when worn out or filthy, with tank flushed syphon closets, properly trapped and ventilated. 78. All water closets and urinals in bakeries must be fully en- closed and provided with self closing doors. All closets and urinals shall be provided with a window to the outer air if pos- sible; if such window cannot be constructed, closets and urinals must be connected with a ventilating flue providing a continuous current out of closet into the open air. Bowls and other fixtures BAKERIES AND BAKERS. 263 in sanitary conveniences must be scrubbed and cleaned at least once a week and care must be taken that no offensive odor emanates from such conveniences. 79. In places where it is not possible to have sanitary conve- niences in bakeries on account of local conditions, privies with vaults may be maintained. Such privies must be located at least thirty feet from bakery and kept clean at all times. Such privies must be kept screened. 80. Privy vaults must be treated with lime or some equally good disinfectant once a week from April 15th to October 15th and once a month from October 15th to April 15th. 81. Sanitary conveniences must be provided conveniently ac- cessible to all persons employed in bakeries. DRESSING ROOMS AND TOILET FACILITIES. 82. Places where workmen change their clothing must be light and partitioned off by a wall or other substantial partition at least six feet high, and must be warmed during cold weather. 83. Rubbish must be removed from dressing rooms daily, and the rooms well cleaned at least once a week. They must be kept free from vermin at all times, and must be disinfected at once after becoming contaminated or infected. 84. Every bakery shall be equipped with running water, or in lieu thereof, sufficient wash basins, plenty of clean water and good soap shall be provided to enable persons working therein to keep clean. 85. Every person employed in mixing or preparing ingredients, and every person engaged in handling, moulding, scaling, shap- ing or baking bakery products shall be provided with at least one clean towel each day. 86. Where persons of both sexes are employed, separate dress- ing rooms shall be provided for each sex. 87. In bakeries where it is necessary to maintain separate sani- tary conveniences for females, at least one such convenience shall be provided for every twenty-five females or fraction thereof. 264 BAKERIES AND BAKERS. 88. If persons of both sexes to the number of eight or more are employed or in attendance at any bakery, separate sanitary conveniences shall be provided for each sex. 89. In bakeries where it is necessary to maintain separate sani- tary conveniences for males, there shall be one such convenience for every twenty-five males; provided that in bakeries where the number of males employed or in attendance exceeds one hundred, and sufficient urinal accommodation is also provided, it shall be sufficient if there is one sanitary convenience for every twenty-five males up to the first hundred, and one for every forty after. SCREENS. 90. Window and door openings in basement or on first floor must be screened with copper wire screens with meshes sufficiently fine to filter out any dust which may be carried by air entering bakery. 91. All other doors, windows or openings in bakeries must be screened from the 1st day of May to the 1st day of October in each year to prevent flies or other insects entering the bakery. LIGHT. 92. Window space in bake or workrooms should not be less than one-fifth of the floor space of such rooms. 93. Prism lights must be provided whenever necessary in order to light every part of rooms. 94. No room can be used as bakeroom or workroom in which artificial light is needed all the time. VENTILATION. 95. Rooms to be used as bakerooms or workrooms must be of sufficient size to allow each person employed therein at least 350 cubic feet of air space. 96. Each open fish-tail gas flame shall be considered to use air equal to six persons unless means are provided to carry off the waste products of such gas flames. BAKERIES AND BAKERS. 265 97. Each Bunsen burner shall be considered to consume as much air as two persons. 98. Provisions must be made to change air in bake and work rooms completely at least four times each hour. 99. At no time shall air in bakerooms or workrooms contain more than seven parts of carbon dioxide in ten thousand parts of air by volume. 100. Every bakery shall be provided with ventilating flues or in lieu of such flues, chimneys may be arranged so as to ventilate the bakery properly. 101. All outside windows shall be so arranged that they can be opened easily for the purpose of ventilation. MISCELLANEOUS. 102. All drugs, compounds and preparations used for the pur- poses of exterminating rats, mice, roaches or other vermin, shall be kept covered, and in a place not used for the storing of any food products. 103. Cleanings from any machine or utensil, dustings from, flour sacks, sweepings from the floor, or articles of food which have come in direct contact with the floor, shall not be used as food for public consumption. 104. All goods that have become spoiled or unfit for use must be removed from the bakery at once. 105. The use of live coal in steam boxes is prohibited. 106. Each workroom must be supplied with one or more cus- pidors which must be cleaned daily. 107. No flour is to be received in any bakery unless it is in clean barrels or bags. All bags containing flour stored in bakery must be kept covered to prevent dust settling thereon and no empty flour sacks shall be used for the purpose of lining bread or roll boards, boxes, pans, or to place any dough upon, or to place baked goods thereon, or for a covering for bakery goods in process of preparation. 266 BAKERIES AND BAKERS. 108. All standards, rules and regulations adopted by the In- dustrial Commission referring to the proper safeguarding of machinery, shall apply to all machines used in bakeries. THE LAW ON BAKEKIES IN ENGLAND. BAKEHOUSES. BAKEHOUSES are defined as " places in which are baked bread, biscuits, or confectionery, from the baking of which a profit is derived." They rank as non-textile factories or as workshops, according as mechanical power is or is not used for the purpose of baking. Bakehouses, therefore, fall under the general law re- lating to factories and workshops, but they are not subject to cer- tain special regulations which are set out in this chapter. A place underground may not be used as a bakehouse unless it was so used before the end of 1901. Since the first of Jan- uary, 1904, it has not been legal to use an underground place as a bakehouse unless it is certified by the District Council to be suit- able as regards construction, light, ventilation, and in all other respects. If the District Council is not satisfied that the place is suitable in all these respects they may refuse a certificate. The occupier may, within 21 days of the refusal, appeal from the Dis- trict Council to a Court of Summary Jurisdiction, and if the court is satisfied of the suitability of the place it may grant a certificate. An underground bakehouse is a bakehouse in which the floor surface of any baking room is more than three feet below the sur- face of the footway of the adjoining street, or of the ground ad- joining or nearest to the room. Where a place has been let as a bakehouse for which the occu- pier cannot obtain a certificate of suitability unless structural alterations are made, he may apply to a court of Summary Juris- diction for relief, which may be given in one of two ways. The court may either make an order requiring the owner* to bear the whole or part of the expenses of the alterations, or it may, at the occupier's request, determine the lease. 'An owner within the meaning of sec. 4 of the Public Health Act, 1875. BAKERIES AND BAKERS. 267 A person may not occupy any room or place as a bakehouse, and may not let it or suffer it to be occupied as a bakehouse, unless the following regulations are complied with : (1) No water closet, earth closet, privy, or ash pit may be within the bakehouse or communicate directly with it. (2) Any cistern for supplying water to the bakehouse must be separate and distinct from any cistern for supplying a water closet. (3) No drain or pipe for carrying off foecal or sewage matter may have an opening within the bakehouse. In underground bakehouses 500 cubic feet of space must be al- lowed to every person; in other bakehouses where work is carried on at night by artificial light other than electric light, 400 cubic feet of space must be allowed to every person in respect of the period between 9 P. M. and 6 A. M.* In every bakehouse the inside walls and ceiling or top of every room, and the passages and staircases, must either be painted with oil, varnished or limewashed, or be partly painted or varnished and partly limewashed. Where there is paint or varnish, there most be three coats, renewed every seven years, and washed with hot water and soap every six months. Limewashing must be re- newed every six months. A place in the same building with a bakehouse, and on the same floor, must not be as a sleeping place, unless : (1) it is effectually separated from the bakehouse by a parti- tion from floor to ceiling; and (2) there is in the sleeping place an external window of not less than nine superficial feet in extent, of which four and a half superficial feet are made to open. There is also a general provision that, where a Court of Sum- mary Jurisdiction is satisfied that a place used as a bakehouse is unfit on sanitary grounds to be so used, the court, in addition to 'These requirements are embodied in an order of the Secretary of State, dated December 30, 1903 (gazetted January 1, 1904: F. and W. O., 1908, p. 9). 268 BAKERIES AND BAKERS. or instead of imposing a fine on the occupier, may order him to remove the ground of complaint within a given time, under pen- alty of a fine not exceeding 1 pound ($5) per day during non- compliance. All bakehouses which are factories (i. e., those in which me- chanical power is used in aid of the process of baking) are in all respects subject to the control of factory inspectors in the same manner as other factories. But as far as concerns a " retail bake- house " (that is a bakehouse or place, not being a factory, the bread, biscuits, or confectionery baked in which are not sold whole- sale but by retail in some shop or place occupied together with such bakehouse), the special sanitary provisions mentioned in this chapter are administered by the District Council and their officers, and not by the factory inspector, but the regulations as to educa- tion, hours of work, and meal times are administered by the fac- tory inspector. The provisions of the principal Act which apply to men's work- shops, and the special sanitary provisions for bakehouses, apply to a bakehouse which is a workshop in which no child, young per- son or woman is employed. Three of the special exceptions, by virtue of which exceptional employment is allowed in factories and workshops, apply to bake- houses. These exceptions relate to : (1) special employment of male young persons over 16; (2) overtime of women in biscuit making; and (3) overtime of children, young persons, and women for half an hour at the end of the day. (Incomplete process.) The provisions of the principal Act which require (1) that the meals of all children, young persons, and women shall be simul- taneous, and (2) that no child, young person, or woman shall, dur- ing meal times, be employed, or allowed to remain, in a room in which work is being done, do not apply to bakehouses which are factories, and in which bread and biscuits are made by means of traveling ovens. APPENDIX IV WOMEN WORKERS IN FACTORIES IN NEW YORK STATE NOTES ON SOME TRADES IN NEW YORK STATE EMPLOYING A LARGE PROPORTION OF WOMEN WORKERS BY VIOLET PIKE WOMEN WORKERS IN FACTORIES IN NEW YORK STATE I Extent and Importance of Women's Work in Factories in New York State. II Sources of Information. Ill Extent of Investigation. IV Notes on Some Trades in Which Women are Employed. 1. Artificial Flower and Feather Industry in New York. 2. Women's Waist Trade in New York. 3. Steam Laundries in New York. 4. Paper Box Factories. 5. Textile Mills at Utica. 6. Men's Clothing Trade in Rochester. V Character of the Work Done by Women in Factories. VI Hours of Labor of Women in Factories. I. IMPORTANCE OF WOMEN'S WORK IN FACTORIES IN NEW YORK STATE. Trades in which large numbers of women are employed are sometimes called women's trades. This is only true in a com- parative sense. Women workers in New York State are found in all the trades in varying proportions. Even electrical works, iron foundries and automobile shops have their quota of women work- ers. The only industries in this State (except for some very 272 WOMEN WORKERS IN FACTORIES. minor industries employing less than one thousand workers) which do not employ women, are the manufacture of bricks, tiles, fertilizers and ice. According to the preliminary report of the United States census, 1910, 293,637 women are at work in fac- tories in New York State, 30 per cent of the total number of wage-earners employed. The following table shows the number and proportion of women workers in the industries investigated by the Commission, and the numbers and proportion of women in the same industries in the State. TABLE No. 1. NUMBERS AND PHOPOHTION OF WOMEN WAGE EARNERS IN MANUFACTURING ESTABLISHMENTS IN SELECTED INDUSTRIES, COMPARED WITH NUMBERS AND PROPORTION OF WOMEN WORKERS IN THE STATE AT LARGE. WAGE EARNERS IN ESTAB- LISHMENTS INVESTIGATED WAGE EARNERS IN ESTABIJSH- MENTS IN NEW YORK STATE All workers Women Per cent Women All workers Women Per cent Women Artificial flowers and feathers. . Clothing (waiste) 1,891 11,896 3,491 5,523 557 1,513 2,911 611 929 341 331 547 2,677 1,739 6,657 987 3,021 50 443 11,957 1,493 9.186 2,596 4,148 406 976 1,722 364 514 188 178 256 919 536 872 87 1 79 77 74 75 72 64 60 60 55 55 53 47 34 31 13 9 8,301 97,656 11,203 * 7,152 56,185 7.253 86 57 65 Paper boxes Laundries Pickles 7,003 9,268 8,399 890 5,224 1,517 3,901 4,010 4,967 394 1,551 465 56 43 59 45 29 31 Textiles Candy Corks Dyeing and cleaning Spices and drugs Rags Human hair 2,303 29,757 5,733 62,505 6,104 21,250 * 1,305 15,191 166 13,997 168 2,837 56 54 3 22 2 13 Tobacco Chemicals Printing Meat packing Bread Ice cream Mineral waters * Other trades 989 9 776,868 173,983 22 Total 58,072 25.431 44 1,003,981 293,525 30 *Not listed in preliminary report U. S. Census, 1910. The importance of the women workers' part in manufacture is evident from this table. They have become a permanent fac- tor in the industrial life of the State. Yet the individual work- ers are constantly shifting and changing. It has been said that seven years is the average length of time a woman remains at factory work, for the mass of women workers after a term of years leave the factory to become wives and mothers. The con- cern of the State in its women workers is therefore two-fold. It WOMEN WORKERS IN FACTORIES. -!7o is interested in their welfare as workers, but it is far more deeply concerned that they do not, while adding to its economic wealth, work under such conditions as to impair their health and vitality as mothers of the next generation. II. SOURCES OF INFORMATION. Owing to limitation of time and resources, no investigation was made into special conditions affecting women workers, al- though six of the twenty industries considered by the Commission employed large numbers of women. This report, therefore, deals chiefly with results obtained through the general sanitary in- vestigation, which was limited for the most part to observation of actual conditions prevailing in the work-places. In general (these conditions do not differ materially in shops employing men or women, or both), establishments in standardized indus- tries, conducted in districts where rents are normal, are not so apt to offend in regard to general sanitary conditions as are estab- lishments in unstandardized trades, in localities where there is much speculation in land values. Dirt, dust and disorder, overcrowding, bad lighting and ventilation are no respecters of sex. They are found in all industries, in shops employing both men and women. Their prevention is not so much a matter for legislation, as for rigid enforcement of simple and well-defined sanitary standards. Information in regard to these factors which most affect the health of women workers, namely, duration, inten- sity and character of employment, sweating, seasonal work and .wages, was gained only incidentally. Except for the question of duration this report does not attempt to deal with them. The following table gives the number of inspections made, establishments inspected and numbers and proportion of women workers in the six trades employing the largest number of women workers, and their ratio to the total number of women workers in these industries. 274 WOMEN WORKERS IN FACTORIES. TABLE Xo. 2. ESTABLISHMENTS AND WORKERS IN SELECTED INDUSTRIES EMPLOYING OVER SITTT PER CENT or WOMEN WORKERS. INDUSTRY No. Estab- lish- meats No. inspec- tions WORKERS Per cent of workers in State covered by investigation Men Women Minors Artificial flowers and feathers 94 200 110 53 7 120 228 244 135 28 341 2,016 1.339 832 492 1.493 9,425 4,148 2,595 976 57 141 36 203 32 19 10 *43 20 15 Clothing (waists) Laundries Paper boxes Textiles Total 518 911 6.004 20.359 534 16 Percentage based on figures given by State Dept. Labor. in. EXTENT OF THE INVESTIGATION. The 94 artificial flower and feather firms, and the 200 estab- lishments in the women's waist trade were located in New York city. Inspections of the textile mills were made at Utica, and the report on the men's clothing trade was the result of a brief investi- gation at Rochester. Laundries were visited in New York, Buffalo and Troy; paper-box factories in New York and Buffalo. The reports on laundries and the knitting mills at Utica and the men's clothing trade in Rochester were prepared by Miss Louise Carey. IV. NOTES ON SOME TRADES IN WHICH WOMEN ARE EMPLOYED. 1. ARTIFICIAL FLOWERS AND FEATHERS. New York city is the great center of this trade. Three-fourths of the artificial flowers manufactured in the United States are made in New York city, and particularly on Manhattan Island. This, too, is a trade that employs a very large proportion of women. In the shops investigated by the Commission, 1,493, or 79 per cent of the workers employed, were women. The propor- tion of women workers in the trade in New York State is as much as 86 per cent. Processes in the Trade: Flower and feather making, though quite different processes, are frequently carried on in the same factory and by the same WOMEN WORKERS IN FACTORIES. 275 workers. This is due to the shortness of the flower season. When the flower season is over, the workers begin making up feathers for the winter trade. A number of establishments make only feathers, as the demand for these is steadier. Of the 94 estab- lishments investigated, 22 made only flowers, 47 only feathers, and 25 both flowers and feathers. The processes in flower and feather-making are nearly all car- ried on by hand, with the aid of simple tools. A few men are usually employed in each shop for dyeing the materials and cutting and stamping the leaves and petals, but all the rest of the work that goes to make the finished flower is done by the women. They crimp the petals with heated irons, wrap the stems and " slip up " the petals of the cheaper flowers. In the better grades of roses, each petal has its place and is attached separately, the operation requiring not a little skill. After the flowers are made they are " branched " and arranged in wreaths and in combina- tions with foliage. In making artificial flowers a possible danger in the trade comes from the use of aniline dyes. The workers complain of irritation to the skin and to the membranes of the nose and throat. The colors rub off on the hands and are apt to be transferred to ,the face and mouth of the worker in the course of the day's work. In the artificial feather trade there is some danger to the work- ers from the constant inhaling of tiny bits of feather fluff that are detached during the processes. Sore throat, asthma, bronchitis and diseases of the eyes often occur among feather workers. For this reason it is considered a rather unwholesome trade. Condition of Work Places: Of the 94 establishments inspected, 45 per cent were situated in tenements, converted tenements, or dwellings. This is very char- acteristic of the trade, as it needs no machinery ; the tools are sim- ple, the materials cheap and not bulky. Tenements and private houses were never intended for manufacture; their light and ven- tilation are bound to be deficient. Seventeen per cent of the establishments inspected used artificial light in the daytime. A basement shop on Broadway employing 30 workers had no win- dows at all and only one small electric fan. 276 WOMEX WORKERS IN FACTORIES. About one-quarter of the shops inspected were really clean; while almost half were in a really filthy condition, a larger propor- tion than that found in any other of the six trades. Xo lunch rooms for the workers were found in any of the establishments, and only Jn eight were the washing arrangements ample. Home Work: The artificial flower and feather trade is one of the largest home-work trades in the city. The trade is concentrated in dis- tricts near the congested tenement sections, such as lower Broad- way from Spring to Eighth streets. In a detailed and careful study of the artificial flower trade made by the Committee on Women's Work of the Russell Sage Foundation, in the spring of 1910, out of 114 firms investigated, 76 firms gave out home work to between 2,227 and 2,385 families. Two was the smallest number of workers found in any one family. The evils of tene- ment work have been fully explained and described year after year, so that it is hard to believe that anyone can still be ignorant of its danger to the purchasing public and to the workers themselves. Considered by its effect on the trade, home work is even more disastrous. These thousands of workers outside the factory are not only a temptation to progressive exploitation themselves, but unconsciously assist in reducing the wages of the workers inside the factory, and in shortening the already too short season. These effects are clearly shown in the study mentioned above. By home-work or tenement-work is meant any kind of manu- facturing done for a manufacturer, contractor or agent by persons not working on the premises or under the supervision of such a manufacturer, contractor or agent, the wages and rates of pay- ment for these workers being fixed by the persons giving out the work. In its essence home-work, as thus defined, is unlawful, or at least beyond control by law. In New York State we have a Labor Code, certain sections of which exist for the express purpose of regulating conditions under which manufacturing may be car- ried on in the State, but by giving out home-work a manufacturer is literally able to break every law on the statute books. His WOMEN WORKERS IN FACTORIES. 277 work may be done in unclean, unsanitary surroundings, it may be performed by little children or minors working long hours after 5 p. m., when the law frees the girl and boy workers in the fac- tories, or by young girls working far into the night. Home- work means unregulated manufacturing, carried on beyond the possibility of control as to hours of women's work, child labor, night-work of minors, or cleanliness and sanitation of work-places. In its efforts to inspect the 13,000 licensed tenements in New York city, the Department of Labor is attempting the impossible. From the point of view of the community, the greatest objection to home-work is its lawlessness. 2. CLOTHING (WOMEN'S WAISTS). Location of Buildings: New York city is the greatest center of the women's waist trace in the United States. The 228 shops inspected were on Manhat- tan Island, south of 35th street, in the most congested portion of the city. Ninety-one per cent of the establishments irspected were located in loft buildings, and of the 11,000 odd workers in these shops, one-half were employed above the sixth floor. This over- whelming proportion of loft shops is characteristic of all branches of the clothing trade in New York city. The Asch fire disaster of last March threw a lurid light on the fearful risks to tha workers involved in such a situation. Condition of Work Places: It is remarkable that a very large percentage (62 per cent) of the waist shops inspected used artificial light in the daytime, while 60 per cent had no protection from glare this, too, in a trade where proper lighting would seem to be a prime necessity for effi- cient, accurate work, to say nothing of the effect of such inade- quate illumination on the eyes and health of the workers. A larger percentage (28 per cent) of extremely dirty shops were found than in any other trade employing over 50 per cent of women workers, with the exception of the artificial flower and feather industry. Thirty per cent of the water closets were in a filthy condition and had no light or ventilation whatever. 278 WOMEN WOKKEKS ix FACTORIES. Processes of Manufacture: The waist trade has had many vicissitudes of late years, owing Jo changes in the market, and many shops that formerly made only .waists now make waists and dresses, either together or as supple- mentary trades. The processes do not differ greatly from the other branches of the clothing trade. Men are always employed to do the cutting of the materials, and a small proportion of men oper- ators is found in some of the shops, particularly those making the cheaper grades of waists and dresses. Women are employed at the different branches of operating ; such as lace running, tucking, and machine button-holing, and also as finishers and hand button- hole makers. In making the cheaper grades of waists, the subdi- vision of processes is carried very far, and a waist may pass through the hands of a dozen workers before it is finished. This " section work " is nearly always piece-work and requires very little skill, speed being the prime necessity. The better grade of waists and dresses, however, cannot be made in this way ; and one girl will make the whole garment, or a large part of it. Such workers are usually paid by the week, since greater skill and care- fulness are required. Dangerous and Unhealthy Elements in the Trade: In common with the other branches of the clothing trade, the dangers to the women workers are not inherent in the industry itself, but are due to the conditions under which manufacture is conducted. The hazards of death or injury from fire that must be daily assumed by the women worker in loft factories on Man- hattan Island are terrific. But the overcrowding of work rooms, long periods of overtime, with irregular daily schedules, running from ten to fourteen hours, with consequent over-fatigue and exhaustion, the speeding up of both workers and machines, which .keeps nerves and muscles in continued tension, are factors that from day to day seriously impair the health and vitality of the women workers. No amount of cleanliness and convenience in .the work rooms can offset the injurious effects resulting from long, irregular working hours and nervous strain. WOMEN WORKERS IN FACTORIES. 27D 3. STEAM LAUNDRIES IN NEW YORK CITY.* Character of the Work: The character of work done in New York laundries varies with the type of laundry. There are, roughly speaking, seven types: hand, custom, manufacturers', wholesale, flat work, hotel and weft- wash laundries. Hand laundries do hand ironing only; custom laundries do general family work, dealing directly with the cus- tomer ; manufacturers' laundries, which are generally run in con- junction with a factory, do up new work only, the process depend- ing on the character of the goods. Wholesale laundries are institutions peculiar to New York city. These laundries receive their work from the four or five thousand so-called hand laundries in large nets about a yard square and return it to them rough dried, with the exception of collars and cuffs, which are ironed by machine. In some cases they do flat work, sheets, towels, napkins and pillow-cases; but more often flat work is sent to factories that make a specialty of mangling and are patronized by hand-laundries, hotels, restaur- ants, steamships and railroad companies. Hotel laundries as a general rule do flat work only, but some of them have a custom laundry department run in conjunction with the hotel. Wet wash laundries constitute still another class. These do washing for families at fifty cents a basket, returning the clothes rough dried to their customers. Description of Process: The several processes in the laundry trade are washing, extract- ing, starching, drying and ironing. The principal operations are listing, marking, assorting, washing by hand and by machine, tending extractors, shaking, feeding and folding, starching by hand and by machine, collar finishing, mending and tying up. The same girls are generally employed as checkers, markers and assorters. The checkers or listers and the markers have the unpleasant and dangerous task of examining and marking the soiled clothes as they come in, and while their work is mainly Thia report is based on an examination of 110 laundries in the State, 84 of which were in New York city. 280 WOMEN WORKERS IN FACTORIES. clerical, both they and the assorters, who go over the clean clothes, are obliged to stand all day. The operating of washing machines is in New York almost invariably done by men. These machines are large, cylindrical receptacles, approximately 5x2^ feet in size, in which, by a reversing motion, the dirty clothes are shaken up with hot water, soap and chemicals. In the same room with the washing machines are the extractors. The dripping clothes are packed into a per- forated metal basket, which is enclosed in a heavy iron shell con- necting with a drain; the basket is then whirled round at an extraordinary speed, and the water is forced out at the perfora- tions by centrifugal force. The proper guard for an extractor is a metal covering, but laundrymen find that heavy canvas is more efficient protection for the clothes. The objection to the canvas covering is that in case of a light load it is impossible to adjust, and the machine is allowed to run unguarded. The mangle room is generally situated above the wash room, but is also frequently a part of it. The shakers, generally young girls, take the twisted clothes as they come out of the extractors and slap or shake them violently, an operation which must be performed standing, and is fatiguing in the extreme. The feed- ers or manglers also have to stand at their work. They take the sheets, pillow-cases, napkins, etc., from the shakers, and so place them on the apron of the mangle that they are carried under and over revolving padded rolls which receive their heat from a large steam-heated cylinder. The folders on the other side receive the freshly ironed work, fold it and place it aside. When the articles are small, the latter are sometimes allowed to sit at their work. After the process of mangling, flat work is finished, and as soon as it has passed through the hand of the assorters, is ready for delivering. All other work as it comes from the shakers goes through a starching process, the starching room being generally situated above the mangle room. Collar and cuff starching machines, built somewhat like small mangles, are in use in most of the laundries in New York, but the greater part of the starching is still done by hand. It is one of the duties of the starchers to attend to the drying of the clothes. Making part of the starch room, or con- WOMEN WORKERS ix FACTORIES. 281 necting with it, is the dry room, a wooden chamber in which the air is heated up to 300 degrees F. The clothes are generally hung on sliding racks, but a system of endless chains is coming into use. The collar and shirt dampening machines are also found in the dry rooms. These machines are built like mangles and are partially enclosed by wooden shields. The operators feed between the rolls. The ironing department is generally found on the top floor. The process of hand ironing is the same in the steam laundry as in the home, except that the work is done at a much greater speed, and the irons are gas-heated. Owing to the great amount of strength required, a large percentage of the hand ironers are men. On the other hand, women are employed almost exclusivly to oper- ate the ironing machines, of which there are many types. Collars and cuffs are ironed by means of what is known as the collar iron- ing machine, but, properly speaking, it should be called a collar mangle. The collars and cuffs are fed over a wooden board between a series of gas or steam-heated rolls, and received on the other side. Both operators and receivers may sometimes be seated, though more usually they stand. Another type is the body ironer, which consists of two large rolls, the lower generally padded and the upper heated by a row of gas jets. The article is slipped over the lower roll and the operator, by foot pressure, releases a spring, which lifts this into contact with the heated surface. The pressure must be continu- ous and steady, and in most cases a reversing motion requires double treadle action. Machines of this type vary greatly. Some require almost the whole weight of the operator, others only a slight pressure, but the lower part of the operator's body is in a constant state of contortion. Shirt, bosom, cuff, collar and neck band presses are also operated by means of treadles, but with this difference the motion of only one foot is required and that motion is not continuous but spasmodic. As in the case of the body ironers, the more recent makes of machine demand far less actual physical effort. Five or six types of collar-finishing machines are in use seam dampeners, collar tipping machines, collar shapers, etc. The operation in each case involves merely the feeding of the machine, 282 WOMEN WORKERS IN FACTORIES. except for the wing point tipper, which requires a very violent double treadle action. The girls at the collar-finishing machines usually sit at their work, with the exception of the operators on the wing-point tipper. Workers: There seem to be more German women than of any other nationality in the laundry trade; Italians come next, then Poles, and, lastly, Americans. A number of Jewish men are em- ployed as shirt ironers, but very few Jewish women. There are not many very young girls. The majority of women look over thirty, many of them over fifty; and the men look, for the most part, over thirty-five. About 80 per cent of the workers are women, men being employed only as washers and shirt ironers. Women are employed in all departments with the exception of the wash room. The great fatigue of both men and ^omen laundry work is very evident. Condition of the Work Places: Most of the New York laundries were found to be dirty, only three of them being in really good condition in regard to cleanli- ness of walls, floors and ceilings. The floors of the starch rooms are particularly neglected. The washing facilities consist in almost every case of a sink, generally dirty, and a cold water spigot. The toilet rooms are rarely clean, and there is generally no ventilation except from the shop. Special lunch rooms are not provided, and employees eat their lunch in the shop. Artificial light is needed and used in the majority of the laun- dries. Welsbach burners are most frequently found. The problem of ventilation is partially met by fans and exhaust pipes; but the air of almost every steam laundry is oppres- sive. One reason for poor ventilation in the winter is that the laundries have, as a rule, no special system of heating, and so turn off the exhaust fans and shut all windows as soon as the cold weather sets in. Dangerous Elements in the Trade: There are dangerous elements connected with every operation in laundry work. They may be classed as dangers from over- WOMEJST WORKERS IN FACTORIES. 283 heating, from steam, from gas, from water, from unguarded machinery and from undue physical strain. It is a significant fact that so much heat is generated by the processes of the trade that it is rare to find in a steam laundry any other system of heating. The air is most oppressive in the starching department, owing to the proximity of the drying room, but the ironing room and the wash room are almost equally uncom- fortable. Laundresses frequently complain of the floors being hot, and it is quite usual to see them standing with their swollen feet tied up in rags. It is a well known fact that excessive heat has a debilitating effect on the whole system. Steam is visibly present in every department of the laundry except in the ironing room, which thereby escapes having an exhaust fan. The washing machines and mangles generate the greater part of the steam, but the starching machines and the dry rooms are responsible to some extent for the humidity of the air. Laundresses complain of pains in the chest as the result of in- haling steam, and they are particularly liable to colds, coughs and bronchitis. The mortality from consumption among laundry workers, noted by Sir Thomas Oliver and Professor Landouzy, is said to be due to the inhalation of steam. Mention has been made of the use of gas in laundry work. It is generally admitted that the use of gas vitiates the atmosphere and so affects the workers. In the case of laundry machinery, the leakage is so noticeable that workers frequently suffer from car- bon monoxide poison. Laundresses complain of headaches, sore eyes, nausea and dizziness, caused by escaping gas, as well as of a general run-down condition. The problem of water on the floor relates only to the washing room. Many of the washers suffer from rheumatism from this cause. With regard to dangerous machinery, mention has been made of devices for covering extractors. It has frequently happened that men have had their arms torn off for lack of proper guards. In this connection, the case of Beckstein vs. the Central Star Laundry Company (140 App. Division 8), is interesting. Plain- tiff had his arm torn off and could not recover on the ground that it was not customary to provide covers for such machines, and that, 284 WOMEN WORKERS ix FACTORIES. when provided, their purpose was the protection of the clothes from dirt rather than of the men from injury. Another case brought by the Bureau of Factory Inspection against a laundry for not providing covers for extractors, was dismissed on the ground that extractors are not dangerous machines. It is also usual to find unguarded or insufficiently guarded belting and pul- leys in steam laundries. This constitutes considerable danger to women, on account of the possibility of their skirts and hair catch- ing in these pulleys. Cases are known of girls being scalped in this way. There has been so much discussion of the dangers of mangle work that it is impossible now to find a totally unguarded mangle, but while improvements are constantly being made in the ma- chines, no guard in use seems to cover the case. The older types of guard are stationary rolls and upright bars, the former being more generally used in New York city. It has, however, been the experience of many laundry workers that the small roll acts as a warning rather than as a guard. If it is placed near the large roll there is danger of the hand being drawn in, and if at some distance, a space is left unguarded. With regard to the upright bar, there is a chance of the hand being injured and burnt, though it is improbable that it could be absolutely crushed. The rolls and upright guards on the latest makes are so constructed that they move forward and the machinery stops as soon as there is any pressure on them, but in case of the roll, it would still be possible for the operator to get a hand on the further side, and an em- ployer told tihe investigator that he had found girls trying to straighten material between a movable upright guard and the large roll. While the operation of feeding the mangle is obviously more dangerous than that of folding, the feeder has been compar- atively so well protected that it is now the folder who is in great danger. It is, of course, unlikely that a girl would reach forward and so get her hands between the rolls at the back of the mangle, but such cases do occur, and in a very recent one, a girl lost both her hands. Starching machines, roll-ironing machines, steam presses and shirt and collar dampeners are all open to the same objection, that the hand is likely to be caught and crushed, although there is not WORKERS IN FACTORIES. 285 the danger of very serious accidents, such as occur in mangling. With the exception of the shirt and collar dampeners, all the ma- chines mentioned have unprotected hot surfaces, and daily injuries from burns occur in all steam laundries. It has already been noted that the majority of the operations .are performed standing, and the specific effects from long stand- ing upon women are well known. Women who stand all day are subject to numerous pelvic disorders, and this is particularly the case among workers in the laundry trade. The women also suffer from varicose veins, swollen feet and flat foot and a large propor- tion wear rubber stockings and bind their feet with plaster. Diseases resulting from undue physical exertion appear to be confined to hand starchers, hand ironers and operators of treadle machines. The effects on the workers of starching and ironing are much the same, although ironing is the more difficult opera- tion pains in the back and side and paraesthesia of the finger tips. Hand ironers in addition suffer from synovitis of the exten- sor muscles of the forearm, and diseases of the stomach. Body ironers suffer from displacement of the left kidney, in addition to the pelvic disorders to which workers on all treadle machines are subject. This information is corroborated by evidence in the United States Government Report on Condition of Woman and Child Wage Earners in the United States. (Volume XII.) What is Being Done in the Best Establishments to Remedy the Evils: Hoods over mangles connecting with exhaust pipes are occasion- ally found, but there are no provisions for the removal of steam, other than fans in the windows. An effort is made in most establishments so to mix the gas with air that no leakage will be possible, but employers and employees agree that perfect combustion cannot be attained in the case of roll-ironing machines. In one laundry the body ironer was pro- vided with a hood and vent pipe, a device required by the English law, which seemed very effective. The newer makes of collar-ironing machines are heated by steam. Gas heated machines should be prohibited unless provided witlh hoods and vents. Irons should be heated by electricity. All machinery should be guarded, as indicated in the paragraph on WOMEN WORKERS ix FACTORIES. dangerous elements in the trade. Hours of labor should be lim- ited to eight No women should be allowed to stand more than six hours. Seats should be adjusted to machines wherever possible. 4. PAPER Box TRADE. New York and Buffalo are the two centers for the paper box trade in the State. The largest establishments investigated were in Buffalo, where one firm has three different factories, employ- ing over 2,000 workers. Most of the boxes of well-known brands of cigarettes, such as the Schinasi, Mogul, Pall Mall, etc., are made in these factories. Condition of Work Places: Seventeen per cent of the establishments inspected were located in special factories. A few of the up-State factories were model establishments, with efficient ventilating systems, ample washing and dressing rooms, and special lunch and rest rooms. Nineteen per cent of the shops, a comparatively large proportion, were extremely clean, and only nine per cent very dirty. Processes of Manufacture: The principle operations in the trade are cutting (grinding or scoring), folding, pasting, corner-cutting and corner staying, " filling in " and " collaring." Not all these operations are necessary for making every kind of box in making cartons, for example, cutting, scoring and folding are the only needful oper- ations, and in making pill-boxes, the paper, cardboard and glue go into an automatic machine which turns out boxes and covers complete. While there is a good deal of hand work in the trade, and while the finest grades of fancy candy and flower boxes are made by hand, machine work is increasing. There are a great many different types of machines in use now; die-presses for printing cartons, cutting, scoring and grinding machines; the Knowlton- Beach corner-stayers and corner-cutters ; " collaring machines " for lining cigarette boxes, automatic machines and many other types some of foreign and some of domestic manufacture. Men WOME.N WORKERS IK FACTORIES. 287 are employed sometimes to do the corner-staying and cutting, out women and igirls frequently operate these, as well as the collaring and automatic machines. Dangerous Elements in the Trade: A real danger to the workers comes from the use of these machines. The Knowlton-Beach corner-stayer is responsible for many crushed and broken fingers, and no really safe guard seems yet to have been devised. The workers complain that the present type of guard is apt to catch the fingers when working quickly. .Some firms provide iron thimbles, but these are clumsy and do not always prevent accidents. , The corner-cutting, filling-in and collaring machines also have their quota of accidents. In one shop employing about 800 work- ers, the inspector counted seven girls with bandaged hands; one girl had lost three weeks' work through crushed fingers caught jn a corner-staying machine. In another smaller shop the foreman .showed his own hand, with the two joints of his two first fingers .missing, saying, " You aren't a boxmaker until you get that trade mark." The collaring machines are similar in operation to the familiar punch-press, but are not so heavy, and consequently the accidents are not so serious. They are set in motion by a lever controlled by the foot, and as the work is paid by the piece, the operators, usually the youngest girls, ofter attaan a high rate of speed. Every now and then the machine sticks, the worker quickly slips in her hand, forgets that her foot is on the lever and down comes the press. One Buffalo manufacturer said that he had had so many accidents that he had installed clutches on a level with the press instead of the foot lever, so that the workers' hands were perforce occupied while the press was in motion. He said that the output per day was not quite so great, but that the clutch completely did away with the possibility of accident. The die- presses used in some large factories are also dangerous. The girl operators stand at their \vork, removing and inserting the cartons every two seconds as the presses automatically open and shut. An instant's hesitation may result in a serious accident. No guards were found on any of the presses inspected. In one shop girls 288 WU.MKN WORKERS ix FACTORIES. were at work feeding glued cartons between high-speed rollers; three of these machines were " guarded " with bars so high above the rollers that they were practically useless. The fourth machine had not even this " guard ; " the superintendent said he intended to provide one, but had been too busy since the firm had moved. This moving proved to have taken place several months previous, during which time the machine had been running completely unguarded. In very few shops was the belting sufficiently guarded. In a trade employing such a large number of women and young girls this ought to be mandatory. A factory may be " lucky," but the possibility of an apron string, the edge of a skirt or a hair ribbon catching in the pulleys is always present. It is significant that in the two factories where the guarding was most thorough, there had been bad accidents. But why wait for the accident? 5. TEXTILE MILLS IN UTICA. Utica is the knit goods center of the United States. According to a statement issued by the Utica Chamber of Commerce, twenty- one mills, employing a total of six thousand people, do a business of over $20,000,000 a year. Underwear, sweaters, caps, hosiery and infants' furnishings are produced. Seven establishments were visited, employing nearly 1,500 workers altogether. Description of Process: The several processes are winding, knitting, napping, washing and dyeing, cutting and making-up. Both men and women are employed in the process of winding. The winder stands all day watching from sixteen to twenty-five bobbins, ready to tie up a broken thread, and on the lookout for any hitch in the mechanism. Men are more generally employed as knitters, although women seem able to do the work as well. The duty of a knitter is to watch an allotted number of cylinders, as the knitting machines are called, and like the winder, be continually on the lookout for broken threads. In one factory the cylinders extend from the first to the third floor, while in another the cylinders, about four feet in height, are placed on long tables. Each knitter tends six cyl- WOMEJN WORKERS IN FACTORIES. 289 inders, and connected with each cylinder are six bobbins which makes a total of thirty-six threads to be accounted for. In this factory seats are provided for the knitters, but it is rarely possible for them to sit down. The operation of napping is invariably performed by men. The material is put through a machine built somewhat like a laundry mangle which has the effect of raising the nap on the right side. It is usual to send the goods out to be washed and dyed, but one of the fac- tories visited has a special department for washing and dyeing. The operation of cutting, for which men are employed, is per- formed by means of a cutting machine similar to that used in the garment trades. For making-up, women are almost invariably employed, the processes being practically the same as in the gar- ment trades except that less skill is required and the machines are consequently geared up to make from thirty to forty thou- sand stitches a minute. A foreman told the investigator that the average is thirty-five thousand stitches a minute. Women are also employed as folders and inspectors, and at this work they stand all day. Dangerous Elements in the Trade: The specific danger in knitting mills is the presence of cotton and woolen dust in the air, which is particularly objectionable in the napping room. Knitting is classed among the dusty trades, and consumption is common among employees of knitting mills. (Bulletin No. 79, United States Bureau of Labor.) The fact that the women and child operators, all on piece-work, are compelled to work eight and ten hours a day, according to age, on machines geared up to make as many as forty thousand stitches a minute would seem to constitute an even greater danger. Moreover, the continuous standing necessary for women winders, knitters, in- spectors and folders is in the highest degree destructive of health. Workers : The majority of the workers in the knitting mills are Ameri- can-born. There are, however, a number of Poles, Italians and Syrians. The sex of workers employed in the various depart- 10 290 WOMEN WORKERS IN FACTORIES. ments has been noted in the previous paragraph. About seventy- five per cent of the workers are women and young girls, and the extreme youth of a number of the operators is very evident. Conditions of the Work-Places: The establishments visited were light, clean and well-ventilated. Other factories presented the same modern appearance, and were obviously so built as to make for good natural light and ventilation. As usual a sink and a cold-water spigot constitute the washing facilities. The toilets are far above the average in cleanliness, and nearly all of them have windows to the outer air. The em- ployees generally eat their lunch in the shop, and no special lunch rooms are provided. Electricity is used in all establishments. In two finishing rooms mercury light is used in addition to electricity. In the latter case there seems to be no necessity for protection from glare, but the operators in two factories work by unshaded electric lights. The proportion of workers wearing glasses is very large. As already stated, the natural ventilation is good, though only one work-room was provided with an exhaust fan or any form of forced ventilation. Hours and Wages: The hours throughout the trade are from seven to six, making a total of sixty hours a week. When the factories close at five on Saturday, they make up the lost hour by taking ten minutes from the lunch hour. As to the extent of overtime, in one factory, the foreman said that the workers sometimes stayed until eight o'clock. As work is paid almost entirely by the piece, it is fair to assume that the full fifty minutes for lunch is not taken. What is Being Done in the Best Establishments to Remedy the Evils: In one of the establishments inspected suction pipes are placed underneath the napping machines. In another exhaust fans are WOMEN WORKERS IN FACTORIES. 291 provided in the main knitting room, and humidifiers in the knit- ting and winding room. With regard to the other evils, nothing is being done to remedy them. If the factories inspected are typical, the workers do not suffer greatly on the whole from bad sanitary conditions. They do suffer from the difficult and exacting character of the work, from speeding up, from the length of the working week, and from the lowness of the wages paid. 6. MEN'S CLOTHING TRADE IN ROCHESTER. General Character of Trade: Rochester is one of the four great centers for men's ready-made clothing, approximately 3,504 men and 2,528 women being em- ployed in the industry, according to the census of 1905. The goods manufactured are all of a high grade, i. e., no suits are made which sell at retail for less than $15.00. The " inside " shop system is more highly developed than in other clothing centers, although it is generally estimated that two-thirds of the work is done in contract shops. The relation of the " inside shop " to the " outside shop," or contract shop, is peculiar to Rochester, the contractor doing work for one firm only year-in and year-out. As is usual in this industry, there is a great deal of home work done, principally felling and finishing. Most of the " outside " shops give out their finishing and some of the " inside " shops, as well. The Workers: The majority of the workers are American-born and of for- eign extraction. Of the foreign-born women, 41.6 per cent are Italians, 28.5 per cent are Germans. (Vol. 2, Report on Con- dition of Women and Child Wage Earners in the U. S.) Of the men, the cutters are for the most part of German extraction. Women constitute nearly two-fifths of the workers. The average age of both men and women would be between thirty and thirty- five. With regard to the general appearance, their paleness and 292 WOMEN WORKERS IN FACTORIES. nervousness is very noticeable. A large portion of them wear glasses. Condition of the Workers: The floors were very dirty in twenty of the thirty factories inspected, although the cutting room was generally in good condi- tion. The toilets in general were neglected, nine establishments having very dirty water closet apartments, and 1 fourteen or more no windows to outer air. With ten exceptions, all the factories were using artificial light generally electricity when inspected. The inspection, how- ever, was made on very dark days. All operators worked by completely shaded electric lights, except in outside shops, where unshaded gas burners were in use. The natural lighting is so good in these shops that the workmen do not need artificial light except in the early morning and at night. The bad lighting in the case of " fellers " has already been noted. The air is not noticceably bad except in the outside shops, but in only two cases was there forced ventilation, in one factory a system of forcing in hot air. Processes in the Trade: The principal processes are cutting, machine operating, fell- ing and pressing. The cutters arc invariably men, and the opera- tion is performed by means of a heavy knife, which is worked by power, a number of thicknesses of material being cut at once. The sewing machines are also worked by power, which the operator regulates by foot pressure. The machine most generally in use, No. 31-15, makes twenty-two hundred stitches a minute; another machine in general use, No. 31-35, makes eighteen hundred stitches a minute, and No. 122-W.-1, a double-needle machine and the most difficult of operation, makes seventeen hundred stitches a minute. These figures are of course approximations. Many factors affect the number of stitches averaged by an operator, such as the size of tlhe stitch, the length of the seam, the grade of work, etc., so that it is impossible to lay down any hard and fast rule. Foremen and employees invariably say that absolute WOMEJST WORKERS IN FACTORIES. 293 concentration of the eyes on the point of the needle is necessary on the part of the operator. The fellers and finishers sew by hand and at a very great speed. These perform whatever hand work may be required on the gar- ments. The pressers do their work by means of a gas-heated iron. Their equipment differs in the various shops. It is usual for the garment to be forced against the hot surface by the iron from below, the presser bearing down on a treadle with all the weight of his body. The gas used to heat the irons of the pressers is liable to escape by leakage or noncombustion, and to vitiate the air of the room. Carbon monoxide poisoning causes head- ache, sore eyes, dizziness and nausea, as well as a general con- dition of anaemia. Fellers or finishers appear to suffer from eyestrain, judging from the great number who wear eyeglasses. Almost all of them were placed away from the windows and had to depend for light on unshaded, or partially shaded electric lights. A great deal of felling is done in the homes. (See Vol. IT, Report on Condition of Woman and Child Wage Earners in the United States.) Dangerous Elements: Operators suffer from the system of speeding up. The rate at which machines are run has already been noted, as well as the concentration required. Headache, eyestrain and neurasthenia are the results of these conditions. Garment workers are, as a rule, anaemic. In all the factories visited with two or three exceptions fuzzy dust was found on the floors in all operating rooms, and in most cases piled up under the machines. The hours are from seven to six, with an hour for lunch, and four to five hours on Saturday, and it is probable that at certain times of the yoar the majority of the factories work overtime. Vol. 2 of the United States government investigation of conditions of women and child wage-earners in the United States shows that sixteen out of twenty-five Rochester clothing factories were found work- ing overtime. v. THE WORK DONE BY WOMEN IN FACTORIES. A great deal of hard, laborious and physically exhausting work is still done by women. The work done by women in laundries is typical of such trades. In trades where women work more or 294 WOMEN WORKERS IN FACTORIES. less in competition with men, their work is apt to be heavy and hard, and to be performed under the most difficult conditions. Two foundries where women coremakers are employed were in- spected. The work is dirty and disagreeable, and is done standing in excessively hot atmosphere. The traya of cores, which must be lifted by the women, weigh sometimes as much as 80 pounds. These two foundries work a ten-hour day. No provision is made for the comfort or convenience of the women. In a large meat-packing plant employing at times over one hundred women, the women in the trimming and sausage rooms work side by side with the men who set the pace for the work. They stand at their work all day on floors covered with water and slime. Most of them wear heavy rubber boots, which they had to provide themseves to keep their feet dry. Only Polish and German girls were employed, as American women could not stand the hard work and long hours on their feet. This continual standing is one of the worst features of a large part of the work done by women in factories. Much of it is quite unnecessary and may be due to the fact that both the manage- ment and inspection of factories are usually in the hands of men who are apt to be ignorant or careless of the effect on women of prolonged standing. Many processes which now require the worker to stand could be easily adapted to a sitting posture. The practice varies in different establishments in the same industry. One man- ufacturer will state emphatically that such and such a process cannot be carried on if the workers sit, and perhaps in a shop a few blocks away the workers will be found comfortably seated at the same process. Even in branches of industry where constant sitting is not possible, such as loom-tending, carding and winding in textile mills, seats can be provided near at hand where the woman worker can take occasional moments' rest while work is running smoothly. The law requires the provision of seats for women in factories, but compliance with the law is unusual. Most of the work done by women in factories, however, is in- jurious to health, not so much on its physical side, but on account of the nervous strain involved in the extreme monotony of the processes and the speed with which they are carried on. Modern WOMELN WORKERS IN FACTORIES. 295 industry has been developed chiefly by men for men. Newer and faster machines are continually being introduced. In the clothing industry women operate machines that take from 1,500 to 2,000 stitches a minute. In the paper box trade girls will " stay " or '* fill-in " upwards of 2,000 boxes a day, involving over 4,000 pressures with the foot. Automatic die-presses open and close every two seconds, and within this time the woman worker must remove the printed sheet and insert a fresh one. In the knitting mills of Utica, machines take 3,500 stitches a minute. Unlimited ,-pred and unlimited production is the manufacturer's dream, but modern machine production is taking no account of the strain upon women workers of long hours at such monotonous and nerve- wracking work in destroying their health, and thus lowering the efficiency of future generations of workers. VI. HOURS OF LABOE. Although for the reasons noted above a detailed study was not made of the most important of all factors affecting the health of women workers, the daily and weekly hours of labor the in- vest igators were able to gain much incidental information from both workers and employers in factories in Xew York city and elsewhere. The regular hours of labor of women in factories up-State are undoubtedly longer than in factories in New York city. The sixty-hour week and ten-hour day are the rule. Only two fac- tories were noted where the regular working hours were as low as fifty-four per week. The working-day usually begins at seven or seven-thirty, and ends at five-thirty or six, with from half an hour to an hour for luncheon. In one large textile mill the work- ing day began at 6 :30 A. M. and continued until 6 :15 P. M. with forty-five minutes for lunch. This meant for the worker almost twelve hours inside the factory, daily, and a working time of eleven hours. The owners of this establishment kept within the eixty hours legal limit by stopping work at noon on Saturdays. In this mill the inspector found a pale young girl leaning against the wall for a moment's rest, and inquired whether she did not find it a rather long day. "It's an awful long day," she sighed, and when told that many legislators in the State were trying to 296 WOMEN WORKERS IN FACTORIES. shorten the daily hours of work, she said, emphatically, " Well, they just can't do it quick enough for me." In the districts where the workers live, the streets are empty and the houses dark by nine at nigjht; " help wash the dishes and go to bed ;" " go to bed right after supper, too tired to go out ;" ." tried going to night school, but was too tired to study ;" u sometimes go out Saturday nights, but would rather go to bed; these are some of the answers given by the girls when asked what they did in the evenings. On Sundays a working woman must wash and mend her clothes and frequently those of the men folk of the family. To keep her health that she may continue just to labor sixty hours a week, at unremitting monotonous toil, the girl worker must ,give up that social life and recreation so eagerly desired and so necessary for youth, must put aside the yearning to read and know, which is often just as keen as a desire for pleasure. If by these means the woman worker keeps her health, what preparation is such a life for the varied duties of wifehood or motherhood, and what wonder that most workers re- fuse to make this choice. Ten hours a day is of course exclusive of time for meals. Where one hour for lunch is allowed, 'the worker spends eleven hours- a day inside the factory. Many women workers are unable to live near their work, and must allow from half an hour to an hour to go to and from the factory. A ten-hour day means for most women workers 12 or 13 hours away from home. In New York city, while the regular hours of labor are ap- parently shorter, long periods of overtime eat up the seeming gain. Shops that have posted 58, 56, 54, or 51 hours a week may have overtime which brings them up to and beyond the sixty- hour mark from four to six months a year. In shops in which overtime is permitted, too, it is extremely easy for employers to violate the law, and, as inspectors of the Department of Labor have testified, almost impossible to get convictions. Girls who have kept account of their hours in the busy season at rush time in the laundry, clothing, artificial flower and printing trades find that they have frequently worked sixty-two to eighty-one hours per week, and ten to fifteen hours a day. In the artificial flower in- dustry, according to the study made by the Committee on Women's WOMEN WORKERS IN FACTORIES. 297 Work of the Russell Sage Foundation, while only 7 per cent of the 74 firms investigated had regular working hours of more than fifty-four, 63 per cent had overtime, ranging from 55 to 72 hours per week. Women who work in trades where there is much over- time agree that no amount of slack time later on makes up for the exhaustion consequent to the long day of 12 to 14 hours. Miss Josephine Goldmark, who has made a splendid study of the effect of long hours on women's physique, testified before the Commission on December 20, 1911, " Overtime work is in- jurious to health because it means work after the physical organ- ism is overtired. No money can repair the wasted energy that the organism suffers from overtime." Many employers seriously object to overtime and state that it does not pay in the end. If a girl works till nine or ten one night her output the next day falls off correspondingly. These employ- ers would welcome a limitation of the daily hours of work which would bear upon all manufacturers alike. The New York State law, permitting overtime regularly and irregularly, is the only law of its kind in the United States without a flat limit to the daily hours of work. Most serious of all, it is practically impos- sible to prove violations or. the sixty-hour law, which for this reason is not enforced in the very trades where women most need its protection. The limitation of daily hours of work is the only logical corollary of the limitation of the hours of the working week. That regular working hours of ten per day, six days in the week, and the irregular working hours ranging from nine to four- teen per day, are bound under the best condtions to injure the health, lower the vitality, and eventually shorten the life of the average woman worker, even though her weekly hours do not ex- ceed sixty, does not require elaborate proof. At every hearing of the Commission physicians, health officers, trade-union members and others testified from practical experience to the injuries to women's physique and nervous system of long hours and overtime. Dr. Delancey Rochester, a physician with twenty-seven years' experience both in private practice and in connection with the Buffalo General Hospital and County Hospital, stated at the hearing of the Commission held in Buffalo: " I am firmly in favor of the eight-hour labor law myself 298 WOMEN WORKERS IN FACTORIES. (for the working women). I think it ought to be enforced very firmly. The eight-hour law is proper and ought to be compulsory." Dr. George Goler, a practising physician for twenty-two years, and health officer of the city of Buffalo, testified be- fore the Commission : " Speeding up is very detrimental to the health of the worker. The faster you speed 1 up the organ- ism the sooner you wear it out. No woman should be em- ployed more than six hours in any one day." Dr. Wood Hutchinson, of New York, testified that " One of the most important measures to prevent tuberculosis among factory workers would be the reduction of hours of labor. If the worker only worked eight hours a day, he or she would be able to keep in good, vigorous condition to resist the attack of the disease. The weekly hours of labor of women in factories should not be in excess of forty-eight." Louise Stritt, Secretary of the Garment-Makers' Union of Utica, and a garment worker herself, testified at the Utica hearing of the Commission : "We are in favor of forty eight hours a week, eight hours a day, for women workers." Dr. Angeline M'artine, practicing physician of Utica, with a large practice among the working women, stated before the Commission that " Many diseases of working women are attributable to long hours. I would favor forty-eight hours a week for women." Mrs. Florence Kelley, Secretary of the National Con- sumers' League, said, in her testimony before the Commis- sion : " The present New York law for women is not en- forcible and is illusory, and therefore demoralizing to all concerned. The working-day for women and minors should not exceed ten hours in any case; the working week should be limited to fifty-four hours with the option of nine hours on six days, or ten hours on five days and four hours on Saturday. This, however, is an immediate step merely, on the way towards a working week of forty-eight hours and a working-day of eight hours for women and minors." MisaMelinda Scott, President of the United Hat Trimmers of New York and Newark, representing the Legislative Com- mittee of the Women's Trade Union League, said : " We recommend a bill limiting the working hours of women to forty-eight per week. The bill should also shorten the period WOMEN WORKERS IN FACTORIES. 299 during which the factory may remain open, otherwise the law is a dead letter and cannot be enforced." From these statements, taken in connection with the facts, it is evident that the reduction of the hours of labor of working women is a very practical and immediate necessity, and one that becomes more urgent every day, with the continued introduction of new and speedier machines, increasing intensity of modern pro- duction, and the correspondingly greater strain which is put upon the worker. It will be useless to investigate the effect of special processes or unsanitary shops on the health of women workers as long as such hours prevail in all industries alike. With long hours and overtime, work can be injurious though carried on in an industrial palace, provided with special wash rooms and lunch rooms and adorned with Perry prints. With shorter weekly hours and a normal working-day, the present unhealthfulness of many trades will diminish. We shall then be in a better way to deter- mine, apart from questions of duration, what trades or processes are specially injurious to the woman worker, and to act accord- ingly with intelligence and promptitude. APPENDIX V NOTES ON AN INDUSTRIAL SURVEY OF A SELECTED AREA IN NEW YORK CITY WITH RESPECT TO SANITARY CONDITIONS IN THE FACTORIES By PAULINE GOL.DMARK, Associate Director, New York School of Philanthropy. INDUSTRIES INVESTIGATED PAGE Pianos 314 Printing, Binding and Paper Goods 322 Metals 325 Furs, etc 331 Wood Manufactures 337 Laundries 338 ( 'andy and Food Products 345 Bakeries 349 Garments and Textiles 355 Stone, Clay and Glass 355 Mineral and Soda Water 356 Dyeing and Cleaning 358 Toilet Preparations and Chemicals 361 Breweries 361 Rags 362 NOTES ON AN INDUSTRIAL SURVEY OF A SELECTED AREA IN NEW YORK CITY WITH RESPECT TO SANITARY CONDITIONS IN THE FACTORIES Prepared by PAULINE GOLDMARK, Associate Director of of the School of Philanthropy, in charge of the Bureau of Social Research, with the co-operation of KATHARINE S. ANTHONY, MARIE S. ORENSTEIN, DOR- OTHY B. KIECHWEY, CLINTON S. GUILDS and W. SCOTT BOYCE, Fellows of the Bureau of Social Re- search; two volunteers, LAWRENCE K. FRANK, a stu- dent in Columbia College, and HARRY M. BREMER, a student in the New York School of Philanthropy, gave substantial assistance. This report deals with conditions affecting 10,000 factory work- ers in a selected area. Such a comprehensive district study has this advantage over an examination of selected industries that it includes all the factories whatever the trade or processes. The conditions found may be considered fairly representative of those prevailing throughout the city, since neither good nor bad points have been especially sought out. The inspections for this survey were made with a view of de- termining the sanitary conditions as they exist in the factories. In making such a study it is important to bear in mind that all the factors must be noted which affect the health and working capacity of the individual employee. In other words, the cleanli- ness, sanitary conveniences and comforts, heat, light, and venti- lation of the premises are first to be examined ; and further the effect of this environment upon the workers that is, the factory hygiene, must be considered. For this purpose such factors as exposure to heat and cold, sudden changes in temperatures, hu- midity of the atmosphere, eye strain, speeding, standing and all special muscular exertion should be carefully estimated. In this DISTRIBUTION OF IO&3S WORKERS I riFIFTEETI lfHXJ5TRIE5 irtTHE WE5T5IDE DISTRICT ACCORDinGTOAGCAPIDSEX. 93 INDUSTRIAL SUKVEY OF A SELECTED AREA. 305 particular survey, however, it has not been possible to give ade- quate consideration to all these subjects. Only in regard to clean- liness and sanitary conveniences and comforts has it been possible to make a full statistical statement. The inquiry covers the district in the Middle West Side of New York city which lies between Thirty-fourth and Fifty-third streets and extends from. Eighth avenue to the Hudson River. All in- dustrial establishments employing five or more persons were in- spected, block by block, excepting packing houses, coal yards and gas houses. In some cases smaller shops were visited in order to study more completely the processes of the industry. Fifteen industries were found located in 323 establishments, employing 10,698 workers, roughly divided as follows: 78 per cent men, 21 per cent women, .9 per cent children. The following table gives the figures for each industry: TABLE I. TOTAL NUMBER AND PER CENT or MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO iNDTJSTRIEa INDUSTRY Number of Establish- ments Number of Men Number of Women Number of Children Total Per cent 24 2,727 146 49 2 922 27 3 '2 Printing 25 1,355 858 32 2 245 21 3 Metals 82 1,845 104 1 1 950 18 2 9 479 147 626 5 9 42 594 16 o 610 5 7 14 133 465 3 601 5 6 7 Candies and food products . . . 8 Bakeries 9 (iarments and textiles 12 60 11 256 264 92 258 2 154 3 8 517 266 254 4.8 2.5 2 4 7 212 1 213 2 11 Mineral and soda waters 12 10 157 100 1 39 1 158 140 1.5 1 3 13 Toilet preparations and chem- icals 10 47 46 1 94 .9 4 86 86 8 15 Rags 1 8 8 o 16 1 Totals 323 8,355 2,244 99 10 698 100 Per cent 78 09 20 98 93 100 Classifying these 10,000 workers according to the chief occu- pations of the two sexes, it will be seen that piano factories, print- ing shops and metal works giving employment to 71 per cent of the men, while printing shops, laundries and candy makers are the largest employers of women, engaging 70 per cent of the total number. 306 NOTES ON SANITARY CONDITIONS IN FACTORIES. Bearing in mind that this inquiry is to determine the physical welfare of the individual workers, we have sought to ascertain in each case the number of employees subjected to given condi- tions, distinguishing by sex whenever practicable. It was found that the grade of facilities often varied greatly in different parts of the same establishment. A consistent effort was therefore made to determine in each case the respective number of persons af- fected. This detailed method of recording takes more time and effort than a general grading for the entire factory, but it gives a far more accurate picture of actual conditions. CLEANLINESS. Conditions were graded according to rough working tests, which will be explained under separate heads. Thus degrees of cleanli- ness are indicated by four grades: "A," meaning "clean and well-kept;" "B," "fairly clean;" " C," "dirty;" and " D," " very dirty." The extremes could be determined without diffi- culty, but the distinction between " fairly clean " and " dirty " had to be carefully weighed. Between these two grades lies the line dividing the legal from the illegal condition, judged by the re- quirements of the labor law. In estimating the grade of cleanliness of shop rooms, the state of floors, walls and ceilings has been considered in relation to the apparent amount of cleaning done and the efforts to remove ac- cumulated dirt. This grading has not been determined by the presence of waste and other products of special processes unless it appeared that the efforts to remove them were entirely inade- quate. In general the work shops are dingy and mean and sadly in need of thorough scrubbing, new paint or whitewash. Of the 10,000 workers, 7% work in clean and well-kept workrooms. 58 % work in fairly clean workrooms. 31% work in dirty workrooms. 4% work in very dirty workrooms. The full table follows: INDUSTRIAL, SURVEY OF A SELECTED AREA. 307 TABLE II. TOTAL NUMBER AND PER CENT OF MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO GRADE OF CLEANLINESS IN WORKROOM. CLEANLINESS Number of Men Number of. Women Number'ofi Children Total Number Per Cent A. . * >.246~ 445 31 722 6.8 B. . 4 751 1 359 63 6,173 67.7 C.... 2 892 423 5 3,320 31.0 D 466 17 483 4.5 Total ... . 8 355 2 244 99 10,698 100.0 1 SANITAKY CONVENIENCES AND COMFORTS. The condition of the toilets is less satisfactory. In grading them for cleanliness, the condition of floor, seat and bowl was noted ; also the adequacy of the flush. The light and ventilation of the compartment could not be determined by any strictly scien- tific tests. k * Well ventilated " indicates that the air is odorless and that the compartment is supplied with air from some other source than the workroom proper. " Well lighted " means that the illumination is sufficient to enable one to see all parts of the toilet and determine its cleanliness. In a great many cases the inspector had to strike a match or use an electric flash-light. Summarizing conditions that affect the men, it appears that 4.5% use A grade toilets. 37.6% use B grade toilets. 48.1% use grade toilets. 9.8% use D grade toilets. 100. % Total. In other words, 58 per cent have accommodations that are dirty or very dirty. In addition 34 per cent have toilets that are dark or semi-dark. The women fare better: 18.7% use A grade toilets. 63.8% use B grade toilets. 15.8% use C grade toilets. 1.7% use D grade toilets. 100. % Total. 308 NOTES ON SANITARY CONDITIONS IN FACTORIES. Only 17 per cent of the women have accommodations that are dirty or very dirty and 16 per cent have toilets that are dark or semi-dark. The plumbing on the whole is in good condition. The flush is insufficient in only a few cases. It was found that 76 per cent of the toilets have outside windows. This in itself is no indication of sufficient ventila- tion, as the windows are sometimes nailed up and are often mere slits opening on a shaft. Careful inspection of actual conditions shows that 65 per cent of the men and 85 per cent of the women use toilets that are well ventilated. As to the location of the toilets, 3.5% are in back yards. 9.0% are in halls. 87.5% are in compartments or rooms connected with the workrooms. 100.0% total. The yard toilets belong principally to the bakeries. Five per cent of the toilets are separated from the workrooms by dwarf petitions, that is to say, the partitions do not reach to the ceiling. In all these cases, only men are employed. As to the separation of toilets for the two sexes, decency is pre- served to some extent by placing the apartments for men and women on different sides of the workroom, or, perhaps, on separate floors of the establishment. Ninety per cent of the toilets are thus separated. The arrangement is far less satisfactory if the closets for the two sexes adjoin, for the partitions are not always complete and suffi- cient. Even if such toilets are separated by solid partitions, their entrances are so close together that they can not be effectively screened. The number of toilets is not always adequate. According to a standard accepted in many States, one toilet should be provided for 25 workers. Yet 15 per cent of the women and 3.9 per cent of the men are working under conditions that fall below this stand- ard. In 4 establishments, employing 17 men and 9 women, both sexes use the same toilet. INDUSTRIAL SURVEY OF A SELECTED AREA. . 309 Shops are counted as having inadequate washing facilities when no water at all is supplied or only a faucet with odd pails or tubs, when more than 20 workers use one basin, or when there is no towel supply. Judged by this standard, washing facilities are inadequate for 67 per cent of all employees (bakeries are not in- cluded). Hot water is supplied for only 24 per cent of the work- ers. These figures will be more significant when considered under the separate trades which vary in respect to the dirtiness of the work. The provision of some private room for the women is one of the essentials of decency in all occupations where the women change their clothes, beside being a real necessity in case of sudden illness. Separate dressing rooms are rarely supplied. Including in the number all rooms however small and insufficient for the purpose, we find that 36 per cent of the women do not have this accommoda- tion. But even if a dressing room is supplied, we can not be sure that all the workers are allowed to use the room. When immi- grants are employed it is not unusual to reserve the room for the use of the American girls and prohibit the others from entering it. A separate lunch room is set apart in only one factory. HEAT, LIGHT AND VENTILATION. Methods of heating were noted in all establishments. Bakeries and breweries, however, are not included in the following table, because the temperatures in bakeries will later be treated in detail, and because in breweries refrigeration is essential to the process and calls for special comment. 91.1% of the employees work in rooms heated by central heating plant (steam or hot air). 3.3% of the employees work in rooms heated by stoves. 4.4% of the employees work in rooms heated by process of manufacture. 1.2% of the employees work in unheated rooms. 100. % total. Heating by means of the process of manufacture occurs chiefly in the metal trades, and in the laundries. It is obviously unsatis- 310 NOTES ON SANITARY CONDITIONS IN FACTORIES. factory, inasmuch as it creates an uneven temperature excessive in some parts of the room and deficient in others. Near the drying chambers of the laundries, for instance, it may be so extreme as to require special ventilation to reduce it. Figures on the illumination of workrooms are lacking because of the difficulty of applying tests. In the absence of exact and practical standards, we have considered lighting inadequate only when artificial light is used in the daytime. We have thus con- fined ourselves to the most elementary tests of eye strain, and applied it only in the allied trades of printing and binding that require the use of the eyes for close work. Fresh air is not considered a requisite in factory workrooms; systems of ventilation are almost entirely wanting, and even de- vices for admitting fresh air are seldom used. The following figures show the relatively small proportion of workers benefited either by complete ventilating systems or by even such simple devices as fans, wheels in windows, etc. Of the total number of employees, 3.9% work in rooms with ventilating systems. 11.5% work in rooms with ventilating devices. 84.6% work in rooms without ventilating systems or devices. 100. % total. Ventilation is incapable of exact measurement without chemical analysis of air samples. As we were not equipped for such work, we were unable to test the adequacy of such ventilation as was pro- vided. We shall discuss the lack of ventilation only when it is grossly deficient, as, for instance, when dust and harmful vapors imperil the health of the workers. We are, however, not primarily concerned with the dangerous occupations which may subject the workers to contact with poisons, inhalation of noxious gases, etc. The defects as to sanitation and lack of physical care which we point out are found in such trades as candy making, book binding and laundries none of which can be regarded as dangerous in themselves. INDUSTRIAL SURVEY OF A SELECTED AREA. 311 The separate industries, following in the main the classification of the Labor Department, will be treated in detail. We shall de- scribe the processes of manufacture only in so far as they are immediately connected with questions of sanitation and health. We shall explain, as far as possible, whether there is anything inherent in the trade which may account for the varying conditions found. GENERAL SUMMARY. It will be seen that, both as to cleanliness and sanitary con- veniences and comforts, many changes are to be desired before the work places will be fit habitations wherein 10,000 wage-earners must spend the longest span of their waking hours. The law as to cleanliness and sanitary conveniences is defined in sections 84 and 88 of the Labor Law, namely: Sec. 84. " The walls and ceilings of each workroom in a factory shall be lime washed or painted, when in the opinion of the Com- missioner of Labor, it will be conducive to the health or cleanliness of the persons working therein. Floors shall be maintained in a safe condition and shall be kept clean and sanitary at all times." Sec. 88. " In every factory there shall be provided suitable and convenient water-closets for each sex, in such number as the Com- missioner of Labor may determine. Such water-closets shall be properly screened, lighted, ventilated and kept clean and sanitary." The facts revealed in our investigations show clearly that many premises workrooms, hallways and toilets are neglected to a scandalous degree. They need repairs, repainting, scouring and scrubbing. Many employers apparently do not realize that they aro violating the law when their premises are filthy. Many make no sufficient provision in their running expenses. It is customary in most factories to have the work people sweep up every evening, but this cleaning is hurried and superficial, and should not be allowed to take the place of thorough housecleaning at regular intervals. There is the greatest diversity in practice. For instance, one excel- lent laundry employs a cleaning woman, who is a regular member of the force and works full hours. And the best candy factory keeps two men steadily on the job. Such ample provision is rare. 312 NOTES OTX SANITARY CONDITIONS IN FACTORIES. Another instance is probably more characteristic. The shop occu- pies two floors, the processes create dust, and yet the entire clean- ing for 150 workers is done by one woman, who comes in for one day a week, and is paid $1.25. She cleans the work rooms, but says that, as far as she knows, no one ever washes the toilets. Needless to add, these workrooms and toilets were found to be graded C. Many of the toilets, especially, are indescribably dirty, dark and unventilated. If new fixtures are not installed, the seats and bowls need to be thoroughly scoured, disinfected and repaired. If the floors were built of concrete or some non-absorbent material, they could be kept clean and dry. Moreover, lighting of the toilets is essential if cleanliness and decency are to be habitually main- tained. For that purpose, they must be painted a light color, and if daylight does not suffice, artificial illumination must be ample. Employers are wont to shift the blame on their employees, as- serting that the latter will not keep the accommodations clean. There is no doubt that both sides are to blame. But all the work- ers are not indifferent. Many women complain about the lack of cleanliness and regard it as a distinct grievance. Moreover, if the employees are so untaught as to leave these places unfit for human use, they must be compelled, in the interest of their fellow workers, at least, to observe elementary decencies. Inasmuch as the workers are on the employer's premises, the obligation is clearly laid upon him to keep his factory in proper condition and to provide reason- able comforts for all of his employees. Neglect, dilapidation and filth should not be suffered in any factory. In the matter of ventilation our inquiry brings out a deplorable failure to provide for the workers. For lack of data, as already indicated, we omit discussion of general room ventilation. We have examined, however, with some care the means of local or forced ventilation used to remove dust, poisons and vapors created in the processes of manufacture. Of the factories using such venti- lation there is scarcely a single one which has installed satisfactory apparatus at every point where it is needed. Even when the equip- ment is supplied, it is not always in use. Moreover, the forced draft often is not strong enough to draw off the waste products thoroughly. INDUSTRIAL, SURVEY OF A SELECTED AREA. 313 The provisions of the Labor Law, such as they are, are stated in sections 81 and 86 : Sec. 81. "All machinery creating dust or impurities shall be equipped with proper hoods and pipes and such pipes shall be con- nected to an exhaust fan of sufficient capacity and power to remove such dust or impurities ; such fan shall be kept running constantly while such machinery is in use; except where, in case of wood- working machinery, the Commissioner of Labor, after first making and filing in the public records of his office a written statement of the reasons therefor, shall decide that it is unnecessary for the health and welfare of the operatives. . . ." Sec. 86. " The owner, agent or lessee of a factory shall provide in each workroom thereof, proper and sufficient means of ventila- tion, and shall maintain proper and sufficient ventilation ; if exces- sive heat be created or if steam, gases, vapors, dust or other im- purities that may be injurious to health be generated in the course of the manufacturing process carried on therein the room must be ventilated in such a manner as to render them harmless, so far as is practicable. . . ." These general requirements, obviously, give no workable tests by which, for instance, one can determine the point at which' impurity, temperature or humidity of the air becomes excessive and needs to be corrected by ventilation. Furthermore, the provisions of these sections for ventilation in special processes are apparently nullified to a large extent by the phrase " as far as is practicable," in section 86. This modification makes it well-nigh impossible to enforce the law, as is gives the employer an easy loop-hole of escape from the orders of the Depart- ment. In consequence the workers are very imperfectly or not at all protected from one of the greatest perils of industrial life. Section 17 in the Labor Law regulates the use of seats for women : " Every person employing females in a factory or as waitresses in a hotel or restaurant shall provide and maintain suitable seats for the use of such female employees, and permit the use thereof 314 NOTES ON SANITARY CONDITIONS IN FACTORIES. by such employees to such an extent as may be reasonable for the preservation of their health." This provision of the law is vague and, in practice, is of little value in securing relief. As we shall note in the following reports, women are required to stand in candy factories, laundries and printing shops for hours at a time, often for the whole day. There can be no doubt that long hours of standing are injurious, and prin- cipally so to young girls. Medical testimony bears out this point. It is important that a further intensive study should be made of all the occupations in which women stand all day, in order that some system of reliefs or alternation of work may be instituted at least in occupations in which it has been conclusively proved that seats are impracticable. It is abundantly evident from the following reports that manu- facturers provide most inadequately for the daily comfort of their employees. Since human efficiency depends upon physical wel- fare, it is strange that it should not be more seriously considered and provided for. There can be no doubt that the health of the workers suffers from the hardships and discomforts which they en- counter in their daily work. Women are particularly affected by this lack of care. It adds materially to the strain and fatigue caused by long hours of work. Many of these evils are not inher- ent in the processes of manufacture and are caused almost entirely by the ignorance or indifference of the employer. PIANOS. Piano-making is the largest and most characteristic industry of the district. It employs 2,922 persons, or more than one-third of all the workers considered in this survey. Ninety-three per cent are men, while only 5 per cent are women. This trade leads in the employment of boys. The total number of employees repre- sents something less than one-half of all piano-workers in the city. The various branches of the highly specialized piano industry are represented by factories manufacturing and " assembling " or putting together the parts of (1) upright and grand pianos, (2) player pianos, (3) ordinary actions, and (4) pneumatic actions. There are altogether about 115 piano and action factories in INDUSTRIAL SURVEY OF A SELECTED AREA. 315 New York City, and 24 are located in the district; these include some of the largest factories in the city, viz., the largest player piano factory, the largest ordinary action, and largest pneumatic action factory. The distribution of the factories according to size may be seen from the following listing: Less 6 16 25 50 100 150 200 250 300 Number of Workers than to to to to to to to to and Total 5 15 24 49 99 149 199 249 299 over Number of Factories . . 1 7 1 7 2 2 1 3 24 The factories manufacture for the most part middle-grade pianos, although two turn out instruments of superior quality. The factories are mostly housed in old buildings, some of them dating back 40 or 50 year?. A few have been constructed within the last seven to ten years, but even these can hardly be spoken of as modern factories. Some of the buildings originally had no lighting system installed and some are still without lighting equipment of any kind or have had the gas pipes or wires put in across the ceiling of the room. Seventeen are housed in special factory buildings; five are in loft buildings; two are in converted tenements. In spite of the age of most of the buildings, the general state of the work rooms is better than might be expected. The floors, walls, and ceilings are fairly clean, because, as a rule, there is no material used in the work which accumulates as waste on the floor. Exceptional is the condition of things around the benches of the men who prepare the wood for the varnish where the filling and staining materials collect on the floor, and, when left for years (in some cases for ten or fifteen years), form a mound around the bench. There is nothing injurious in this, however, as if becomgfl hard and can be swept clean, presenting a surface like asphalt. Varnish and oils also adhere to the floors and walls, but neither can these be said to be insanitary. Of the total num- ber of employees, 67 per cent work in clean or fairly clean work- rooms; 33 per cent in dirty or very dirty rooms. 316 NOTES ON SANITARY CONDITIONS IN FACTORIES. Conditions in regard to toilets are much more open to criticism. In some cases where there has been no original provision for them, toilets have been built into the shop room. The partitioning which separates them from the shop is only a partial protection for the air of the room. The following table shows the number of males subject to cer- tain specific conditions. It shows, for instance, that out of the total of 2,776 males, 114 are using toilets of D grade which are also semi-dark; that 757 males are using toilets of C grade in which ventilation is inadequate. TABLE in. NUMBEB OF MALES AFFECTED BY CONDITIONS or WATER CLOSETS. GRADE OF CLEANLINESS ILLUMINATION VENTILATION TOTAL PER CENT Light Semi- dark Dark Good Poor A.. 208 777 934 30 24 80 462 114 196 723 729 24 36 174 757 137 232 897 1,486 161 8.3 32.3 53.6 5.8 B.. 40 90 17 C... D.. Total 1,949 680 147 1.672 1,104 2.776 100.0 Per cent 70.2 24.5 5.3 60.2 39.8 100.0 Out of a total of 255 toilets, 248 were within the shop, 4 were in halls, and 3 were in yards. Of those inside the shop, 247 were separated from the room by full partitions; 58 had no out- side windows. The relatively small number of women in the trade are sup- plied with fairly clean toilets, which are well lighted and well ventilated. But |in one factory employing eight women their toilet is alongside that for men, the doors are separated by only a few inches, no screening is provided for the approach, and the doors open to the full view of the shop. Adequate washing facilities are practically unknown in this trade. Hot water is supplied for only 8 per cent of the workers, a gross deficiency in a trade where turpentine, varnish, and stains are constantly handled. Towels are supplied to .3 per cent of the workers. In only one factory is a special wash room pro- vided for men. In four factories, employing 144 women, a dressing room is provided, but in no case are lockers supplied. INDUSTRIAL SURVEY OF A SELECTED AREA. 317 Only a very small percentage of the women are subject to the worst conditions cited,, "because most of them, about 120, in fact, are employed by two large factories which have paid par- ticular attention to their needs. Their work rooms are separated from those of the men ; dressing rooms and toilets of the two sexes are divided not only by partitions, but by location in sepa- rate parts of the factory. The women are employed at light glue work connected with the making of pneumatic actions, such as gluing together and slipping into place little leather washers, and gluing rubberized cloth into the bellows parts. They also glue on felt and cut apart and trim the various little parts of the action which have been glued in common to a piece of felt or leather. Stools are sup- plied everywhere, but in no place have they been provided with backs. Because of the nature of this investigation, we shall give no description of any processes except those which involve discom- fort or danger to the health of the workers. The varnishing department prepares the wood for the varnish, puts on the color- ing matter suited to the various kinds of wood, and applies the varnish. The preparation of the wood is known as "filling" and " staining." Coloring is known as " coloring." There are gen- erally two groups of varnishers: the men who apply the first coats and those who apply the last or " flow " coat. This must be exceedingly smooth and even, and present a good lustre. Its application naturally demands more skill and knowledge than the first varnishing. To determine the number of persons affected by irritating dust and vapors is important. The following table presents the facts in this connection: 318 NOTES ON SANITARY CONDITIONS IN FACTORIES. TABLE IV. NUMBER OF FACTORIES AND ROOMS IN WHICH VENTILATION is NEEDED AND NUMBER or PERSOVS AFFECTED. ODORS OR PARTICLES PRESENT IN THE AIR Number of factories affected Number of rooms affected Number of persona affected Male Female 18 3 1 2 45 7 1 2 2 324 28 5 27 68 Glue . . 61 Potash Saw dust .... None 80 Total 19(a) 57 452 141 (a) Shows total number of factories affected. Some factories are entered in more that on classification. Nearly all the piano factories are poorly or not at all ventilated. The larger number receive fresh air only through the cracks of the building and occasionally through an open door. This is due to the fact that the varnish work as well as the delicate actions must be protected from dust and weather. Usually the varnish rooms are not ventilated at all, and the windows are kept tightly shut so that as little dust as possible will get into the varnish while it is being applied. The danger to the varnishers arises from the fumes of the turpentine, which when confined in an ill-ventilated room cause discomfort or sickness. The men as a rule do not seem to bo impressed with the dangers of disease from turpentine fumes, .su- ing that they are sick for a little while when they first start in, but they get used to the odors, and that is the end of it. According to the investigation of the Illinois Commission on Occupational Diseases, the effects are especially serious from long continued inhalation of the vapors; nausea, faintness and often diseases of the kidneys, such as Bright's disease, may result. Better ventilation is the remedy. Bad air conditions are found especially where the last, or "flow," coat of varnish is put on. " Flowing " is always done in a small room, either partitioned off or built for the purpose, where the temperature is kept up to about 80 or 85 degrees in winter time and runs much higher in summer. In one factory where thermometer readings were taken, the following results were obtained : in the " flow " coat room the temperature was found to be 88 degrees, and the fore- man stated that it was frequently 90 degrees; there was no ven- o INDUSTRIAL SURVEY OF A SELECTED AREA. 319 tilation except through cracks. In the varnishing room the first dry bulb reading was 77 degrees, and the wet bulb was 73 degrees; at the second reading the dry bulb showed 78 degrees, and the Nvt-t bulb 6D degrees. These were taken at 15-minute periods. The rooms are kept particularly hot so that the varnish will work more easily. For the reasons just given, practically no efforts are made to secure better ventilation. It would probably be possible to im- prove the air of the rooms and at the same time keep the dust out by tacking cheese cloth over the window openings. . If enough heat were provided, the air could then be kept at the right temperature for the varnish work. In the tone-regulating department, where the hammers are filed, a fine woolen dust is created. The hammers are made of felt and the process of filing them down to a satisfactory size releases a quantity of woolen dust into the air to be inhaled by the workmen. This danger is not very serious except in very large factories where one person may devote all his time to the work. Sometimes boys are put at this job. Special elements of danger are found also in the milling depart- ment. In a great many cases no blower system is provided to carry off the sawdust from the machines and the workmen in con- sequence are covered with it and must inhale some of the dust into their lungs. The men who operate the sand-papering machines are particularly liable to be injured, as this dust is especially fine and insidious. In some places blower systems are provided, but those seen are not adequate. Practically no protection from dangerous machines exists. The saws, either circular or band saws, jointers, planers, and f razing machines are as a rule without guards. The gearing and belting are almost always left exposed and in many cases, because of their location, they are even dangerous to passers-by. In one instance foot-holds, in the shape of rubber pads, had been placed before the jointers, planers, and saws to prevent the men from slipping on the floor and falling into the machines. In one or two instances it was found that guards had been provided for saws, but according to the foreman's statements, they were never used by the men, as the factory inspectors agreed that they were not practical and did not enforce their use. 320 NOTES ON SANITARY CONDITIONS IN FACTORIES. There are approximately 145 men and boys who are liable to accidents from dangerous and unprotected machinery. About 50 of them are subject to the more serious dangers of unprotected saws, jointers, planers, and other mill work machinery. In all these cases, obviously, there is absolute disregard of the safety of employees. In the pneumatic action factories the danger arises from three distinct sources: from unprotected machinery, from varnish fumes, and from acids which are used for cleaning metal work, and in the nickel-plating process. An acid sometimes employed for cleaning off the metal is cyanide of potassium. This is an exceedingly dangerous poison. A year ago a small boy was killed by falling into a vat of it. He absorbed so much of the poison through his skin that he died within a few hours. There are especial risks in the pneumatic action factories in connection with the metal-working machinery, namely, the stamp- ing machines, the screw machines, and the lathes. As in the case of the wood-working machines, the gearing and belting are com- monly exposed and unprotected. In this department also there is metallic dust in the air from improperly hooded buffing machine?. Both gas and electricity are used in the West Side factories. In all cases, except at some of the mill machines, there has been no effort to protect the eyes of the workmen from either glare or reflection. Unprotected flickering gas flames, almost level with the head, are used, or the ordinary unshaded electric bulb. The light is not diffused throughout the workroom, but single lights are suspended above the individual workers. It is true that not much night work is done, and except for the late afternoon work in winter, artificial light is not needed. Nevertheless, there is enough of such work to make the question of proper illumination an important one. In the large number of instances where artificial light has to be used all day there is also no protection from glare. The constant use of artificial light during the day is necessary for 362 men and 18 women. Every one of these persons was found to be using individual concentrated lights, and, there- fore, was subjected to considerable eye-strain. The piano industry has long been regarded as one of the strong- holds of the old German mechanic. But we find that although INDUSTRIAL SURVEY OF A SELECTED AREA. 321 the Germans originally were the largest racial element in the trade, they constitute at present probably the second race and possibly the third in number. This is true even if we group together both Germans and Germ an- Americans. The Italians greatly outnumber all other races. From the following Table (V), it will be seen that out of 818 males who gave information as to their nativity, by far the largest group were Italians, or of Italian parentage, while the next in order were of Germans, or of German parentage. These figures include both native-born persons and foreign- born who reported as to their nativity. TABLE v DISTRIBUTION OF EMPLOYEES REPORTING AS TO NATIVITY, NATIVITY OF^PARENTS AND NATIONALITY NATIVITY AND NATIONALITY Number of employees Native born: Native-born parents American 64 Foreign-born parents Italian- American 29 German -American . . . . . 149 Rnhfimian- American ...... , . . . ....... 18 Irish-American 31 Scandinavian -American 2 Hebrew- American Others 10 Not known 23 . Total. 333 Foreign born: Foreign-born parents Italian 334 German 49 Bohemian 32 Irish 5 Scandinavian 23 Austrian 5 Hebrew 14 Others 22 Not known f Total 485 Grand'total 818 The figures in the following Table (VI) also do not include all the workers in the industry. They represent only those who reported the number of years they have been in the piano indus- try and the number of years they have lived in the United States. Among these, 429 are foreign born, 318 are Italians, 36 are Germans. The full racial distribution of these workers can be seen from the table: 11 322 KOTES ON SANITARY CONDITIONS IN FACTORIES. TABLE VI. NUMBER or MALE EMPLOYEES REPORTING THE NUMBER or YEARS THEY HAVE BEEN IN THE UNITED STATES, DISTRIBUTED ACCORDING TO NATIONALITY NATIONALITY N UMBER OF EMPLOYEES WHO HAVE BEEN IN THE UNITED STATES SPECIFIED NUMBER or YEARS Less than 1 yr. 1 yr. 2 yrs. 3 yrs. 4 yrs. 5 yrs. 6-9 yjs. 10-14 yrs. 15-19 yrs. 20-29 yrs. 30-39 yrs. 40 yrs and over Total Italian 17 15 22 1 15 2 3 18 2 3 39 94 4 50 6 19 29 12 "8 ' '5 318 36 4 31 4 1 6 7 22 429 fl^rmnn .... Hungarian Bohemian 1 2 3 5 5 5 3 1 1 1 "2 Scandinavian . . . Polish 1 Hebrew 2 1 1 4 2 1 4 1 3 "3 5 "i 1 ' 'i 1 Irish Others 1 1 2 Total 21 17 26 21 23 47 109 68 27 51 12 7 Of the foreign born, 114, or approximately one-quarter of the workers, have been in the industry less than half the time that they have been in the United States; another quarter has been in the industry ever since they arrived here. It is, therefore, appar- ent that the newer immigrants are more and more finding employ- ment in the piano factories. The manufacurers on the West Side have a particularly large proportion of Italians, because these fac- tories, as a rule, turn out an inferior grade of pianos and can therefore employ cheaper and less skilled labor. . The race and nationality of the women we have not treated here, because the number employed is so small. They are employed only in the pneumatic action factories. Practically all the women employed are Irish or Irish-American, and live close to the factory. PRINTING, BINDING AND PAPER GOODS. The second largest group of workers in the district are those engaged in printing, binding, and the manufacture of paper goods. In the 25 establishments inspected, 2,245 workers are employed. Of these, 60 per cent are men; 39 per cent women, and 1 per cent children under 16. It leads as an employment for women, with 858, or 38 per cent of the total number of women workers. Poor sanitary conditions in this industry cannot be charged to the existence of small, mean shops or to primitive buildings. The INDUSTRIAL SURVEY OF A SELECTED AREA. 323 number of small establishments is relatively few. There are only 10 places with a force under 25. They represent 106 workers, or but 4.7 per cent of the working force. Eight establishments employ more than 100 persons. Also, some of the most modern buildings in the district are those in which the printing establish- ments are found. Of the 25 firms, 17 are located in lofts, 6 in special factories, 1 in a converted tenement, and 1 in a dwelling. The cleanliness of the work-rooms is rather above the local average. None of them fall into the "D" grade. Only 14 per cent of the employees work in dirty shops, and 86 per cent work in fairly clean or clean quarters. Conditions in the water closets are reported as clean or fairly clean for 67 per cent of the men and 90 per cent of the women; as dirty for 33 per cent of the men and 10 per cent of the women, Of the men, 21 per cent have semi-dark water-closet apartments, and of the women, 6 per cent. Three per cent of the women have totally dark apartments. The provision of washing facilities is inadequate for 38 per cent of the workers. Cold water only for washing is supplied for 1,407 workers, or 63 per cent of them; hot water for 37 per cent; towels for 56 per cent. The inadequacy of the washing facilities is serious on account of the handling of types and colors, and contact with poisonous lead oxides. While folding,, binding, and collating are compara- tively clean jobs, the putting on of gold leaf and handling of ink is at best a dirty job, covering the hands and smutting the faces of the workers. Only 59 women have lockers for their clothes, and but 316, or 36 per cent, have any sort of dressing room or washroom. Of the 25 shops visited, 18 do printing, or printing and binding; 1 does binding only ; 6 are miscellaneous. The most important in the miscellaneous group is a pattern-making company, the second largest establishment of the district. This place employs 407 per- sons, of whom 246 are women. Although linotype and monotype machines have largely taken the place of hand composition, type-setting by hand is still used for the best grades of printing. We found 31 men operating machines and 188 hand compositors. Printers have improved in health and have suffered less from lead poisoning since the handling of type 324 NOTES ON SANITARY CONDITIONS IN FACTORIES. and inhaling of dust from the cases have so largely been super- seded by the newer processes. But there are still evils to remedy. Each linotype machine has a lead pot, which is heated by a Bunsen burner. The air of the room is vitiated by this burning gas and is very unwholesome to breathe all day long. The monotype machines, which give work to 11 men, are usually located in sepa- rate rooms, in order to keep the white vapors which rise from the melting pot from poisoning the air of the entire loft. The fumes are merely carried up a few feet towards the ceiling by a short exhaust pipe, instead of being completely drawn away into the outer air by means of continuous piping, hoods or exhausts. The danger in the monotype machines comes from the oxide of lead which forms on molten metal and is easily scattered about the workroom by currents of air. Seven shops where gas or lead fumes are found need better ventilation. There are difficulties in the press room, as well. A large number of pressmen and paper handlers are subjected to a high degree of heat and humidity, owing to the need for quick drying and smooth flow of the ink. Proper daylight illumination is scarcely to be found in the print- ing trades. The extra strain on eyesight is particularly serious in an industry which in itself fatigues the eyes. Typographical work, in fact almost every process connected with the making of books, is a continual tax on the eyes. Typesetting, proof reading, engraving plates and several of the binding operations such as sew- ing, requires the workman to gaze intently at his work. For this reason the best system of illumination is none too good. In 16 establishments an actual count of employees working by artificial light in the daytime was made, as follows : 662 men, or 65 per cent of the men employed. 241 women, or 49 per cent of the women employed. The best printing establishments have adapted the diffused sys- tem of lighting, which commends itself as most closely approxi- mating daylight. Only about half of our workers use diffused or ceiling light, and the other half use the more trying individual or concentrated light approximately at eye-level. On press work the electric light bulbs are located below eye-level. The workers' eyes INDUSTRIAL, SURVEY OF A. SELECTED ABBA. 325 are exposed to the unshaded light whenever the presses are being fed. The employment of so large a number of women in the binderies makes it important to know to what extent their work requires standing. Of the women who are seated, scarcely any have chairs with backs, which would give relief by permitting relaxation when lulls occur in the work. The women at the binding machines or sewing machines, and those who fold would not find chair backs an interference with their work. Most of the women, however, are employed as collators or gatherers. They walk to and fro in the aisle between a double row of stacked " signatures " or sections of a book, usually 16, which they gather together in sequence, ready for binding. We find by actual count that of tho 858 women em- ployed in 25 establishments, 215 stand all day, that is, 25 per cent of all the women employees. In most places no stools are pro- vided, and there is no alternation of occupation to relieve fatigue. Stools should be provided in all such occupations for occasional use. Our investigators noticed that the women sat on the corners of tables or on the window-ledges whenever an opportunity offered. Xo study has been made of these occupations to ascertain whether some modification of processes might not be devised to allow women to be seated. In this trade, as in all others later to be mentioned, in which women are required to stand, there is urgent need of better supervision. METALS. The metal trades have long been characteristic of the district. There are 82 establishments engaged in some branch of this indus- try. They employ 1,950 workers, or 4 A per cent of the whole number of workers in corresponding branches of the industry in the city. Among the district industries, the combined metal trades rank third in importance, employing 18.2 per cent of the total num- ber of factory workers. Of the 1,950 workers, 104 are women. Only one child undei sixteen was reported as employed. A single establishment a sheet metal factory gives work to 84 of the women. The re- 326 NOTES ON SANITARY CONDITIONS IN FACTORIES. maining 20 are distributed among several small establishments, no one shop having more than three. The metal trad is represented by the following groups : 9 No. Estab. No. Workers 28 781 6 406 5 140 15 168 28 455 O' Total 82 1,950 The metal workers are distributed among a great number of small shops. Half of the establishments employ not more than 10 men. Three-fourths employ not more than 25. Thirty per cent are employed in shops where the force is less than 25. Many of the smaller places are remnants of thriving businesses which have fallen off greatly during recent years. Shops which formerly built wagons now only do repair work; the majority engage in the as- sembling, grinding and polishing of metal parts ; there is, on the whole, less foundry work than formerly, when building styles in the city made greater use of ornamental and architectural iron than is done at present. The firms are housed in all sorts and conditions of buildings. Some of the trades are by nature partly out-door occupations. In a number of cases the establishments make use of a rear yard or court or an open driveway for storage of material, and part of the work is done in the open air. One scrap iron place occupies an open lot with surrounding sheds. This establishment was formerly a rolling mill, which discontinued as such a few years ago, and has since been occupied only in baling scrap iron for shipment to mills outside the city. This rolling mill was one of the last to give up business in Manhattan. Many of the establishments inspected represent a similar stage of industrial decline, a fact which INDUSTRIAL. SURVEY OF A SELECTED AREA. 327 largely accounts for their primitive quarters and poor sanitary con- ditions. Some of the buildings survive from a period when the West Side was but a village and door-yard space was plentiful. One manufactory of electrical goods occupies a two-story wooden structure which was formerly a dwelling. The front porch has been closed in with windows to make office space, and the walls which once separated the living rooms have been knocked out to form a loft. As to kind of building occupied, the establishments are divided as follows: 50^c in lofts, 42% in special factories, 3% in tene- ments, 3% in converted tenements, and 2% in dwellings. The illumination of the metal shops is usually deficient. Arti- ficial light is generally needed and used during daytime in some part of the shop. Much of the poor lighting is due to the fact that the same loft serves as both warehouse and workshop. Stores of raw material and finished goods are often disposed in such a way as to obstruct the light. Windows on three or four sides, or, at least, on opposite sides, are the rule. The small pocket-shop, with windows on one side, is unusual in the district. Defective light- ing is seldom due to actual lack of window space, but a neighbor- ing wall may render a row of windows ineffective, or the mere depth or breadth of the workroom, combined with a low ceiling, may result in a general dimness throughout. In the wagon shops and iron works the lighting is especially bad. As a rule they occupy the ground floor ; several are in cellars. The windows of the metal shops are often so dirty as to transmit very little light; forge dust and smoke hang in the air, making the atmosphere dingy as well as unhealthful. The men are so used to their dark, grimy quarters that they expect nothing better. A German wagon-maker even insisted that he preferred to work in the dark, saying he could " see " his work better. Ventilation and temperature are both uneven in the metal works. Frequently open doors and windows are depended on for the former and the heat of the forge or furnace for the latter. There is little even distribution of fresh air, and workers moving about the shop are subject to sudden changes in temperature and strong drafts. 328 NOTES ON SANITARY CONDITIONS IN FACTORIES. The character of the work is regarded as an excuse for dirt and disorder. The general cleanliness of the metal shops is of a low grade. The presence of heaps of metal and the accumulation of oxides and filings make it difficult to keep such places clean. Many of the establishments are small shops, which are especially liable to neglect in this respect. Only 32% of all the metal workers are employed in clean or fairly clean workrooms. Over half, or 53%, work in dirty work- rooms, and 15% in very dirty workrooms. These conditions are all the more serious in the absence of any provision for lunch- rooms. The workshop is used for this purpose, the dust-covered machines or benches serving as tables, so that the possibility of tak- ing in toxic particles with the food is always present. In one shop the men were observed eating their lunch in the midst of suf- focating acid and lacquer fumes. These dangers are increased by the poverty of washing facili- ties. It is unusual for the men to have adequate arrangements for washing up. In no case is a separate washroom provided. As to washing facilities, 1% of the workers are reported as having none at all; 80% as having cold water only provided, and 19% as hav- ing hot water; and 53% as having no towels. Measuring the shops by our standards, which are rather low than high, it was found that 766 metal workers, or 39.3%, had adequate washing facilities, and 1,182, or 60.7%, inadequate. Many of the buildings are old structures, in which the water closet apartments are additions. Usually these apartments are dark, ill-ventilated and dirty. Often they were found to be abso- lutely dark, so that the inspector had to light a match to observe their condition. The closet of one small shop was located in the cellar. The entrance was a drop door, flush with the court level, which, when lifted, disclosed dark, winding stairs. The cellar floor was of dirt, uncemented, and the wood in the floor of the closet broken through. Rubbish littered the floor, the stool was broken, and the boards were soggy and evil-smelling. This place was the worst found among the metal shops, but the average of cleanliness, light and ventilation generally was low. The condition of the water-closets for men is extremely bad. Of the men, 1,473, or 80%, are subjected to conditions which are No. 3. POLISHING AND BUFFING ROOM. The blower system has been out of order for a month or more, and the brass dust and fluff cover the machinery, floors, and windows. It is doubtful whether the blower system is adequate when in use. INDUSTBIAX, SURVEY OF A SELECTED AREA. 329 either dirty, or very dirty; 366 men, or 20%, to conditions that are clean or fairly clean. While the workers themselves are largely responsible for the shocking uncleanliness which prevails, the dark- ness of the water-closet apartments and the failure to clean up are the chief reasons for their evil state. In regard to illumination, 39 per cent of workers are supplied with water-closet apartments which are either dark, or semi-dark. For 38% the closets are poorly ventilated. Comparatively few instances of neglected plumbing were found. One establishment provides only three water closets for 137 workmen, while, according to recognized standards, one water closet should be supplied for every 25 persons. The accommodations for the 104 females engaged in this trade are slightly better as regards cleanliness, light and ventilation. Thirty per cent of them are affected by fairly clean, and 70% by dirty conditions. Sixty per cent of them have fairly ventilated apartments and 95% have well-lighted ones. With reference to location, 181 water closets are located in the workrooms, 9 in the hall, 2 in the yard, and 2 in the cellar. Of those opening directly into the workrooms, 26% have no outside windows. A large sheet-metal factory provides a dressing room for its 84 women employees. Three automobile concerns also have dressing rooms for their women workers, who number but 14 in all. This makes 98 women, or 94% of the total number, who have dressing room accommodations. But in no case are lockers for clothes pro- vided, an especial need in these uncleanly trades. The firms inspected are engaged in one or more of the follow- ing groups of processes: foundry work, tool and machine work, polishing and buffing, plating, lacquering and soldering. The question of special ventilation in connection with all of these processes is a very important one, as the removal of gases and fumes from the brass and iron foundries is imperative if the health of the workers is to be preserved. Similarly, the irritating metal dust, lint and rouge, or red oxide of iron, that fill the air from buffing and polishing, should not be permitted, especially as an adequate remedy for this evil has been found in the installation of a good blower system. The control of the lacquer fumes, the acid fumes from the plating, and the lead fumes from soldering is also 330 NOTES ON SANITABY CONDITIONS IN FACTORIES. possible and should be required. One of the largest concerns in the district maintains a boiling potash vat without a hood. Another firm, working in brass, uses a drying box within the work- room, with no outside vents. The lacquer fumes from this process pervade two lofts. These are instances of neglect to employ sim- ple and obvious remedies, and are typical of the general careless- ness existing with respect to sanitary conditions. The tin-can factory is the largest establishment in the industry in fact, it is one of the most important in the district, as well, being sixth in numbers and employing 227 men and 8-i women. It illustrates practically all the poor conditions of work above described. The premises are old and dingy. They consist of three buildings, formerly separate, now thrown into one large factory. They are all old buildings, of brick and wood construction. The mezzanine floor is particularly ill adapted for a packing room. The ceiling is but 6 l /o feet high, and heavy beams project almost a foot lower, so that the workers can not walk through the room without bending their heads at every beam. As to cleanliness, the whole factory is marked " C " grade, that is to say, it is dirty and in need of repainting. Tin cans of every sort are made, the process varying according to the size and shape. Some are made by cutting the tin, bending it into shape and soldering; others are stamped out by die presses. Both men and women handle the tin in some stage of manufacture, but only a few wear gloves to protect their hands from the rough edges of the metal. Cuts from the tin and burns from the spat- tering of acid used to clean the metal are not infrequent. Men and women operate the die presses to stamp out covers, han- dles, spouts and seamless cans. Besides enduring the constant noise and heavy jarring of the press, they are subjected to unneces- sary eye strain from the unshaded lights placed just behind the die plate, directly in line with their vision. These lights could easily be shielded. Some of the presses are admirably guarded to prevent the crushing of hands and fingers. But a number of the guards can be removed at will by the workers, so that the protection can not be regarded as complete and effective. There are elements of danger in the soldering processes from both heat and fumes. The special ventilation of the soldering machines is far from satisfac- No. 4. SHELL CUTTING MACHINE. The air is full of the shell dust, which covers the floors and machines. There are no exhausts to carry off the dust. The men eat their lunch in this work room. The washing facilities are entirely inadequate. INDUSTRIAL SURVEY OF A SELECTED AREA. 331 tory. The men are frequently shifted from department to depart- ment in order to avoid constant exposure to the vitiated air. A large number of the women stand all day. Their work at the die presses, at 1ihe threading machines, in assembling parts, etc., is speeded up to the limit of endurance. FURS, ETC. Nine establishments are engaged in making fur, leather, rubber *nd pearl goods. The number of workers employed is 020, of whom 76% are men and 24 % women. We found 75% of the men and 09% of the women working in fairly clean shops; 25% of the men and 31% of the women, in dirty or very dirty ones. Illumination in the water closets is rated as dark or semi-dark for 25% of the men. On the other hand, the women's accommoda- tions are all reported as well lighted. Ventilation is poor for 15% of the men and 17% of the women. Conditions are reported as dirty for 62% of the men and 50% of the women. One firm has a water closet in use by both sexes. Washing facilities are especially poor. They are inadequate for 86% of the workers. Hot water is not supplied in any of these factories, and towels are provided for but 17% of the workers. One of the largest establishments in this group is a factory which manufactures buttons of mother of pearl. The shop occupies the fifth floor lofts of two buildings, front and rear. There are plenty of windows, but many partitions interfere seriously with both light and ventilation. Each loft is divided into five or six rooms. Artificial light is needed much of the time. Unprotected gas jets are the only illumination. The main room has rows of machines close together for cutting, planing, drilling and polishing the shell. There are two other rooms where polishing goes on, in one of which hand-turning is done. This process consists in cutting the patterns into the but- tons with a chisel, while they are held in a revolving matrix. There is also a drilling room, a small room where the buttons are sorted by colors, two carding rooms, where the buttons are attached to cards, and a small packing and shipping room. 332 NOTBS ON SANITABY CONDITIONS IN FACTORIES. In one department, known as the Novelty Room, fancy articles are made. The edges of the shells are first cut off to make them even. Then they are sawed into square or oblong sections of the desired size. If a paper knife, for instance, is then to be made, the outline is drawn with a pencil, and the paper knife is then " shaped up " by means of an emery wheel. This process creates more dust than any other in the shop. The chief danger in this establishment is one common to the industry as a whole from the shell dust which fills the air and piles up everywhere on the machines and the floor. The dust cov- ers even the windows. A few of the machines in the Novelty Room have hoods and exhaust pipes, with a vacuum fan draught, but these are hopelessly inadequate. Most of the machines kave no exhaust at all. Perhaps half a dozen have pasteboard hoods tied on with string to protect the workers' eyes from the flying dust. Only men work in this room, but about 20 women operate drilling machines in other rooms where the dust is very bad. Although the inspector stayed in this shop only an hour and a half, the result of the visit was extreme hoarseness and sore throat. In the Novelty Room (the only place where there are hoods or exhausts) the air is so heavy as to seem almost suffocating. Ten hours a day of work in this atmosphere can not fail to be injurious. In fact, Dr. Charles D. Graham-Rogers recently testified before the State Factory Investigating Commission that in pearl button fac- tories the particles of shell fly into the eyes of employees or are inhaled by them. The silica invades the lungs and cuts the mu- cous membrane of the nose and throat, causing catarrh and some- times tuberculosis. " Every pearl button worker I examined," he said, " was found suffering from bronchitis and laryngitis." The ventilation of the entire shop is very poor. Only a thor- ough ventilating system, as well as powerful dust exhausts, could relieve the situation, for the air is not only filled with dust but is also heavy with the organic odor peculiar to the material used. The main work room, moreover, is greatly overcrowded. A few of the saws in the Novelty Room are not properly guarded. Some of the emery wheels used for polishing rub the hands of the men who operate them, so that they are forced to wrap tkeir fingers with rags to keep them from "burning." All tke ma- No. 5. BUTTON POLISHING. The exhausts to carry off the heavy shell dust are inadequate. The air i^- thick with dust which has an irritating effect upon the throat. Note^the unprotected gas jet burning at full force scarcely a foot from the worker's eye. INDUSTRIAL, SURVEY OF A. SELECTED AREA. 333 chines are excessively noisy, and in the cutting and grinding rooms the din is terrific. The lighting is defective. In the carding rooms there is a gas jet at only one end of a long sewing table, so that the girls at the other end are subject to constant eye-strain, except during the mid- dle of the day when no artificial light is needed. The gas jets which are used for lighting the cutting and drilling machines are on a level with the eyes of the workers, entirely unprotected, and often less than a foot in front of the face. The washing facilities are extremely inadequate. There are two small sinks for about 150 workers. There is no hot water. Towels are supplied for only about 25 carders, who for the sake of the cards '" must be careful of their hands." This is particu- larly bad, because practically all the workers eat their lunch in the work-rooms, at machines that are thick with dust, and with hands that are covered with it. The building is a veritable fire trap. It has wooden floors and stairs, narrow halls, many partitions and doors, and badly blocked fire escapes. The main room where about 80 people work has no tin- escapes directly connected with it, and the way to the two on the rear of the building lies through crowded work-rooms. The fire escapes themselves are of the old straight ladder type. One of the largest and most important establishments in the district is a hatters' fur cutting shop, employing 365 hands. It prepares fur for felt hat manufacturers, that is, it performs the in- itial processes in the making of hats. The shop is located in a new building and is rated high for sanitation, fire protection, etc., but the nature of the processes call for careful consideration, as there are two distinct elements of danger to the workers: (1) The flying fluff, particles of fur, and loose hair which are inhaled into the workers' lungs. (2) Contact with mercury salts used in the " carotting " process and the possible mercury poisoning resulting therefrom. The skins of Russian and Austrian hares and Australian rabbits are imported by the manufacturers and worked up into a high- grade product. The skins are first scraped and trimmed by a large force of Italian and Greek men. They work with curries 334 NOTES ON SANITARY CONDITIONS IN FACTORIES. and knives and liberate a large quantity of dust, hair and fluff from the skins which floats in the air and settles on tables, window ledges, il oors in fact, it seems to permeate the whole atmos- phere. The employers have tried to guard against this condition. The work room is large and well lighted, and the plenum venti- lator system supplies fresh air. Unfortunately, however, the in- troduction of the air serves to keep the floating particles in con- stant agitation. They are further stirred by currents of air when- ever the windows are open. These well meant and costly efforts to improve conditions are therefore not effective. The workers must unavoidably inhale the floating particles of fur, and thereby become predisposed to troubles of the throat and lungs trade diseases which have long since been recognized both here and in Europe as characteristic of the furriers. In the clipping room, the next in order, this danger has been recognized and more effectively guarded against. The hair is cut to a uniform length by a rotary knife machine. Each machine is practically closed in and so completely connected with an ex- haust pipe that the loose hair is drawn away as soon as the blade of the knife severs it from the pelt. The arrangement is so per- fect that very little hair or fur finds its way into the workroom. The chief danger to the worker is due to his carelessness in mov- ing the knife guards out of place. His fingers are consequently in danger of being cut as he presses the pelt against the swiftly revolving blades. These guards were attached to the machines a few years ago, at considerable expense. As often happens, the foreman does not enforce their constant use in face of the opposi- tion of the men, who wantonly disregard their own safety for the sake of greater speed. Following the clipping of the long hairs, the pelts are subjected to chemical treatment, or " carotting," which washes out the ani- mal oil from the fur and makes it " mat " or " felt " more easily. It is here that the chief element of danger is found; an ll 1 /^ per cent solution of mercury nitrate is used. It is evident that care and forethought have been given to the arrangements. The "Acid Room" is admirably equipped. The floor is asphalt, the tables are supported on brick piers, and drain towards the center. The whole place is washed down every Saturday. There are skylights -S 1 ' I _ a a tn be *& 0) _ ^^ o sc INDUSTRIAL SUBVEY OF A SELECTED ABEA. 335 overhead which are open in summer. The room is evidently kept as cool as possible, in order to minimize the danger due to the volatilizing of the mercury solution which occurs at ordinary room temperature. About 50 men are employed who stand at their work and wear rubber gloves, which are provided by the firm. The process consists of brushing the solution on the skins with a stiff brush. The foreman refused to admit there was any ill-health among the men; in fact, he pointed out individuals who had worked in the Acid Room for a period of years ; some of them having been there six or seven years. The men are all foreigners, and could not be interviewed apart. The statements of the foreman can not be regarded as conclusive evidence that there are no cases of poi- soning known, for mercury is a slow- working poison ; it may take years to accumulate in the system before it produces acute symp- toms, such as " shakes," that is, partial paralysis. Often the men do not recognize the earlier symptoms themselves, or refuse to speak of them, as they do not wish to lose their jobs. Unless they are sick enough to need medical treatment, it is therefore well-nigh impossible to locate cases of poisoning. We were unable to fol- low up this investigation intensively, and to trace possible clues that might have led us to the discovery of individual cases. To continue our description of the processes: After the acid treatment comes the drying of the skins. They are spread on trays and run into the drying ovens. Whether wet or dry, the skins now carry the mercury salts and may cast their injurious influence on the men who handle them. After the drying they proceed to the brushing room. The greatest care is exercised to exclude the brushings (nitrates, hair, etc.) from the work room by a system of exhausts, for, as the foreman ingenuously re- marked, " If they weren't carried off, your mouth and nose would soon be bleeding." Such, it is true, is the effect of the sharp ni- trate-laden particles or fibres. Being brushed free from dust, the pelts are finally ready for cutting. A high speed rotary knife machine removes the skin and leaves the fur lying in one piece. This fur placed on metal sheets now reaches the women, some 80 or 100 sitting at tables. They sort the fur and pick out bits of 336 NOTES ON SANITARY CONDITIONS IN FACTORIES. skin, imperfections, etc., and pack the loose fur in paper bags, finally ready to be sent to the hat makers. Authorities do not agree as to whether the wet or dry processes are more conducive to poisoning, but there is little doubt that in- sidious dangers menace the workers in this industry. Even under the best conditions, all the elements of danger are not eliminated. Admirable as this shop is in many ways, there are a few addi- tional safeguards for the workmen which may be suggested. Every recognition should be given to the sincere effort of the owners to make conditions of work as wholesome as possible. They do not, however, observe one precaution which is strictly required in the English Factory Act, namely, that they should make known to the workers the dangers of the trade and warn them to take every precaution to avoid contact with the mercury solution and the mer- cury salts. Instead of a policy of concealment, notices printed in the languages of the workers ought to be posted in the work rooms. The need for some such warning was particularly evident in the acid room. The pelts after treatment are stacked in large piles and immediately carried to the drying room. One of the photo- graphs taken in the course of this investigation shows a man carry- ing such a pile of furs on his shoulder with the wet pelts actually touching his face. As both inhalation of the vapors and contact with the lips may introduce the poison into the system, it is abun- dantly evident that the method of transferring the pelts should be radically changed. As has already been said, the workers are supplied with rubber gloves, but they should also be given rubber aprons. They should be warned that the salts may be absorbed tkrough the skin, and discouraged from spattering the solution upon themselves and the workmen who stand nearest them. It may be impossible to devise any system of ventilation to remove the mercury fumes when " carotting " is done by hand, but there is no doubt that the greatest care should be exercised throughout this process. Moreover, washing facilities should be readily accessible and adequate. In this shop neither hot water, soap, nor towels are sup- plied, so that improvements are to be recommended in this particu- lar too. Toilet facilities are supplied on all the floors, but the wash room for all employees is located on the first floor. This II O INDUSTRIAL, SURVEY OF A SELECTED AREA. 337 is not a fortunate arrangement. The wash room, it is true, is easily accessible to the men in the " carotting " and drying rooms. But it hardly seems likely that men and women at work upon the skins and fur in the upper stories of the building will walk downstairs to wash their hands before eating lunch. No lunch room is provided, and although the majority of the workers may live nearby and go home for their noon day meal, yet many re- main in the shop and should have a place kept apart for meals. This is equally true of other departments, especially in the brush- ing and cutting rooms where 110 food should be kept or eaten on account of the mercury salts. It is also true of the scraping and cleaning department where the flying fluff and the odor of the skins renders the rooms unfit to be used at luncheon time. On the whole, therefore, this shop illustrates the need of con- tinued careful study of factory hygiene, besides proving that such matters can not safely be left to. the care even of employers who are far above the average in their desire to do well by their employees. WOOD MANUFACTURES. Like the metal trades and the textile trades, the wood-working industry may be said to be indigenous to the district studied. Under this head are considered all wood-working shops except those engaged in the manufacture of pianos. It includes a large number of small places. The 610 workers are divided among 42 establishments, and 45 per cent of the employees are engaged in shops which employ a force of less than 25 persons. The largest firm has 77 workers. The establishments are housed in 14 special factories, 17 loft buildings, 2 tenements, 1 converted tenement, 2 dwellings, and 1 converted dwelling. Of the workers, 65 per cent are engaged in fairly clean shops and 35 per cent in dirty or very dirty. A low grade of cleanliness is found in the water closet apart- ments. Twenty-three per cent of the workers are affected by fair, 77 per cent by dirty, or very dirty, conditions. Accommodations for the men are poor, 56 per cent having toilets badly lighted and ventilated. Fourteen per cent of the water closet apartments ven- 338 NOTES ON SANITARY CONDITIONS IN FACTORIES. tilate into the work-rooms, from which they are separated by dwarf partitions only. Forty-nine per cent of them have no out- side windows. One shop violates the standard set that there must be at least 1 water closet to 25 persons. Inadequate washing facilities are reported for 67 per cent of the employees. Hot water is supplied for 17 per cent and towels for 35 per cent. The fumes arising from the use of turpentine in the finishing processes of this trade are extremely unhealthful. As this danger has been already described in connection with the piano trade, no further discussion will be given here. In the wood-working shops, machinery as a rule was found without guards or safety appliances. Unprotected saws and belt- ing were noted in the great majority of the shops. Only one cir- cular saw was found which was self-feeding and amply protected. Less than half the shops had installed the blower-system for removing saw dust, and the majority of these were not really effi- cient. One factory making shoe lasts has blowers at all the ma- chines, but saw dust and chips fly in the air. The dust in this factory, being made from hard wood, is particularly harmful. One man works constantly in the small room where the dust from the blowers is emptied into bags. Although the air of the cham- ber is thick, this man wears no respirator. He depends on chew- ing tobacco to keep his throat moist. LAUNDRIES. The laundry industry ranks sixth in the total number of work- ers employed, and is the second largest employer of women. The only trade employing a greater number of women is that of print- ing. Since 77.4 per cent of the workers in laundries are females, it may be said that this trade is still a woman's job. All motor or steam laundries, that is laundries which use power-driven machines for washing, starching, or ironing were visited. There are 14 of these establishments, representing a large proportion of the motor laundries in New York City. Ac- cording to the Federal Laundry Report of 1911, <: 20 motor power laundries may be said to do practically the bulk of the washing in New York City. The largest number of women employed in one laundry was 200, in several others the number reached 150, INDUSTRIAL SURVEY OF A SELECTED ABEA. 339 and elsewhere it ranged from 9 to 50." The largest establishment inspected usually employs 177, but during the summer rush has as many as 225 workers. Three employ more than 75 workers, and the smallest establishment has 7 workers. Practically every branch and grade of laundry work is repre- sented. One of the largest establishments does Pullman car, steam- ship, hotel and restaurant work. Two are waiters' and barbers' supply laundries. One does rough dry work for the small hand- laundry trade, and one specializes in flat work. Still another launders shirts and collars for high-class custom shirt-makers who have shops along Fifth Avenue. Five of the total 1-t cater to family trade. Only a few of the buildings in which the laundries are housed are modern in construction. There are none loss than five nor more than twenty years old. Only two were designed for laundry purposes. The others have been remodelled very slightly or rad- ically in accordance with the desire of the occupant. For instance, one excellent plant occupies a building originally intended for a bakery but now well adapted for a laundry. Another is housed on the ground floor of an old stable, very slightly remodeled and still a miserable place. In other words, one finds every type from a model two-story plant having light on all sides, movable sky- lights, high, metal-covered ceilings, lunch room, a filter tank, ven- tilating system with exhaust fans, hoods and pipes, down the scale to a converted tenement or old, unsuitable factory building. There are in all 3 special factories, 9 loft buildings, 1 tenement house, and 1 dwelling house used for laundries. All the establishments have windows to the outer air on at least two sides, most of them have windows on more exposures. This arrangement secures cross ventilation an indispensable feature in connection with the heat-producing processes of the laundries. Although adequate window space is the rule, artificial light is needed and used in ten buildings a condition to be accounted for in part by the location of the laundries in basements or lower floors, and the obstruction of daylight by machinery, drying cham- bers, shelves and bins. 1 Woman and Child Wage Earners in the United States. Vol. XII. Employ- ment of Women in Laundries p. 13. 340 NOTES ON SANITARY CONDITIONS IN FACTORIES. On the whole, the general cleanliness of the 14 laundries is fair, a circumstance not especially due to the good management of em- ployers, but rather to the nature of the industry which allows no accumulation of rubbish or dirt. Neglect is more often found in the washroom which is not kept properly dry. Seventy-six per cent of the force work in clean or fairly clean workrooms, 24 per cent in dirty workrooms. The toilets are, on the whole, above the average found in other industries. In two instances, they are located in the yards, but in the other establishments, they are separated from the workrooms by full-height, wooden partitions. "A" grade conditions prevail for 2 per cent of the men and 43 per cent of the women ; " B " grade, for 71 per cent of the men and 40 per cent of the women. Twenty-seven per cent of the males and 17 per cent of the females are affected by dirty or very dirty conditions. Accommodations for the men are inferior to those for the women. Fifty-seven per cent of the males and 72 per cent of the females have adequately lighted toilets; 16 per cent of the males and no females are affected by dark toilets. Twenty-eight per cent of the males and 20 per cent of the females are subjected to poorly ventilated toilets. In one laundry the flush cisterns were broken and their action impaired. Two establishments vio- lated the standard set that there must be at least one water closet to 25 workers. It seems an irony of circumstance that 46 per cent of laundry workers have inadequate washing facilities. Fifty-four per cent are provided for adequately. Cold water is supplied for 57 per cent, hot and cold to 43 per cent. Towels were furnished to 84 per cent of the employees; there was none or an inadequate sup- ply for 16 per cent. " They can use anything they find about," one employer took the trouble to explain. Since this industry is one of the largest employers of women, the provision of dressing rooms is important. Laundry workers, more than any other set of employees, change their clothes on en- tering the factory. Many take off their shoes both for comfort and from motives of economy. Of the 14 establishments only 10 have dressing rooms for women. These have been improvised at little expense, in one case simply by curtaining off the space under INDUSTRIAL SURVEY OF A SELECTED AREA. 341 the stairs. For the most part they are separated from the work- rooms by dwarf partitions of rough wood. Very few have win- dows to the outer air. Shelves, hooks, and an occasional chair are the furnishings. One place supplies sanitary lockers. Four fac- tories have no dressing rooms. In one large laundry a few nails have been driven into the walls of the toilets and are supposed to afford dressing-room facilities. Clothes were found hanging up on the hooks and shoes were standing outside the doors. Ex- pressed in numbers, 81 per cent of the women have dressing-room facilities, and 19 per cent are without any. The situation, there- fore, is most unsatisfactory. If at all intended for rest or emer- gency purposes, these rooms are hopelessly inadequate. They afford little, if any, privacy or comfort. The importance of pure drinking water cannot be over-estimated. Excessive heat and steam of the workrooms and strenuous mus- cular exertion create abnormal thirst and lead to an increase in beer drinking if cold water cannot be obtained. Complaint was made to the inspector in one laundry that the water was so bad it could not be drunk. One employer has filtered water and pro- vides ice in the summer time. Two insist upon individual drink- ing cups, another provides a bubbling fountain on each floor. One plant has a lunch room, for women. Gas stoves for warm- ing lunches, etc., were found in a few instances. In considering the sanitary condition of laundries a description of some of the equipment and processes is essential, as they directly affect the health and comfort of the workers. The preliminary processes of listing, marking and sorting are in the majority of cases performed by women. The work of handling the soiled gar- ments is dirty and unpleasant and involves the possibility of con- tagion. The washrooms call for especial notice since, under the most favorable sanitary conditions found, they are not healthful places for work. Wetness under foot, heat, steam and vapor or height- ened atmospheric humidity are always present, although in vary- ing degrees. To be sure, good drainage, effective ventilation, and proper provision for escaping steam ameliorate these conditions, but they do not remove them entirely. It is particularly import- 342 NOTES ON SANITABY CONDITIONS IN FACTORIES. ant that the washrooms should be completely separated from other departments in order that other workers may not unnecessarily be subjected to these hardships. Only 5 washrooms are wholly separate from other departments. One of the worst is located in a basement together with the engines and boilers. The best wash- room was found on the top floor of a factory an ideal location since neither heat nor vapor travel downward. In another build- ing complaint was made by a sign painter that steam came into his shop through the floor and that the heat in the summer time was unbearable. All of the washroom floors are made of concrete raised six inches or a foot above the general flooring. In regard to the drainage, there is the greatest diversity of construction and equipment. In 7 washrooms drainage is good; the floors slope toward the gutters and in some instances each machine and extractor has its individ- ual drain. Yet even here dampness and occasional pools of waste water are found under foot. Six have flat or sunken floors with streams of water escaping from the washing machines. One has a badly cracked and broken floor upon which pools of water re- main until swept away with a broom into the drain. The floors in half the washrooms seen were wet. Wooden shoes are worn by the men in some of the better estab- lishments. A number wiho wore heavy leather shoes complained that the wooden ones hurt their feet. In the very worst establish- ments the washers took no precaution whatever to keep their feet dry. The importance of ventilation in this department can not be overrated. Heat and humidity may not be as keenly felt in winter as in summer, yet the risk to the workers' health is as great dur- ing the cold weather on account of exposure to low temperatures on leaving the laundry. Mechanical devices or systems of venti- lation are necessary for the control of humidity and temperature. Yet nine of the washrooms depend solely upon windows for venti- lation. In four of the washrooms there are exhaust fans placed in the windows. Some of the rooms are small and low-ceiled. These rooms are described as veritable infernos in summer by employees who have worked the year round in them. .2 I 1 v . J3 oo .* _, -fj u C o o w c e ^ as g .- 03 2 g g O INDUSTRIAL, SURVEY OF A SELECTED AKEA. 343 In two plants where the machinery is modern, well maintained, and tended by skillful men, little waste water is poured on the floor, and practically no escape of steam occurs. In 12 washrooms inadequate provision or none at all is made for escaping steam. Clouds of vapor were noted in some places so thick as to obscure the features of the men. The washers are compelled to handle heavy bundles of clothes. One of the demands of tihe recent laundry strike was that no worker be required to handle a bundle of clothes weighing over 25 pounds when dry. At present there is rarely any attempt to regu- late this weight, and prevent injury to the men from lifting bags of clothes which saturation with water has rendered dangerously heavy. At least 75 per cent of the workers are employed on the mangle floor. Hence, the sanitary and hygienic provis ; ons on this floor are of the utmost importance. In this room the women stand all lay to shake out the wet clothes. Here also are the girls who tend the mangles, which constantly send up heat and clouds of steam. Exhaust hoods are practically indispensable if temperature and humidity are to be regulated. Yet only one plant has an equip- ment of mangle hoods, with an exhaust to draw off the steam as it rises directly from the machine. In this room, 125 women are working. In another plant, skylights or exhaust fans are fairly effective. Even here temperature varies from 70 to 75 degrees in winter. Exhaust fans are installed in three other mangle rooms, but they are ineffective and scatter the rising steam and do not successfully remove the moisture and heat. In nine of the laun- dries no provision is made for mechanical ventilation. Drying chambers in some places aggravate conditions. Only one plant equips its dryers with suction hoods. In one mangle room there is a constant draft from large doors opening on the street. In two of the plants the rooms are fairly misty with steam and yet so cold that women have to wear wraps. Under these conditions can the predisposition to pulmonary trouble and rheumatism be doubted ? In four laundries which handle waiters' and barbers' supplies the body ironer is used. The other dangerous elements in the laundries appear of minor significance in comparison with the 344: NOTES ON SANITARY CONDITIONS IN FACTORIES. wreckage wrought by these machines. The majority of the opera- tors are women. The body-ironing machine has sometimes a sin- gle, and sometimes a double, treadle. In using the latter, the oper- ator presses with the left foot on one treadle heavily enough to lift the lower roll into close contact with the upper. To reverse the motion of the upper roll the second treadle must be pressed by the right foot. These two motions must be repeated until the gar- ment is ironed. It was found by actual count that one woman at the reversible machine made 63 foot motions a minute ; another was speeded up to 81 motions a minute; a girl at the single-lever machine made 60 motions. To relieve her feet one woman wore soft bedroom slippers ; another had taken her shoes off. The man- ager said that in summer time practically all work in stocking feet. The reversible body-ironer is obviously harmful to the operator for it involves a constant pelvic jerk. An improvised platform is placed in front of each machine enabling the operator to step down upon the treadles. This plan, although it facilitates the process, relieves the operator but slightly. She is required to ex- ert a great and constant muscular force besides? the pelvic jerk which is so dangerous. Few of the operators can control them- selves to such an extent that they bring into play only the muscles absolutely needed. Most of them work with set, tense faces, using their whole bodies swinging and jerking their heads and trunks. One young Irish girl who has done this work for six years has pelvic trouble, looks extremely anaemic and complains of having no appetite. She told the inspector that she had lost 50 pounds since she began. The majority of these operators look haggard, worn-out, and exhausted. To add to its dangers, body-ironing is usually piece-work and associated with all the evils of speeding. The risk of accident is ever-present. The operator must be alert not to have her fingers crushed between the rolls. Another element of danger lies in the fumes of the gas which heats the rolls. Only one plant has equipped its body-ironer with exhaust hoods. The inspector was told, as a particularly significant and gratifying fact, that there was not a single case of heat prostration at the body-ironer during the past summer. No. 10. A body ironing machine without hood and forced ventilation. INDUSTRIAL, SURVEY OF A SELECTED AREA. 345 In one laundry, so-called " scientific management " is main- tained throughout the departments. The following is an example of problems which have been worked out by experts in the office. "If 10 women shake 6,925 towels in five hours, how many towels can one woman shake in one hour ? " In this way an average of capacity is obtained and standards are set for different processes. The workers are probably unconscious of how it is done, but they feel that some power is speeding them ahead. There is no evidence that the experts are studying the fatigue of the workers and apportioning rest periods so as to prevent over-exertion. Standing is a constant evil in laundries. Seats are provided in all of these establishments but are seldom used. A feeder on being questioned said she could not work as well sitting down. This is probably quite true where three to six women are crowded together at the feeding apron of the mangle as was the fact in this case. Sitting, at least part of the time, should be compulsory. By the exercise of a little thought and ingenuity, occupations could be alternated and the capacity of operators need not be lessened. In a word, machine washing and ironing, as it is carried on in the motor laundries visited, retains all the worst features of domestic drudgery and adds the further evils of long hours, speed- ing and dangerously unhealthful conditions. CANDY AND FOOD PRODUCTS. This industry ranks seventh in the district, and third in number of women employed. It includes seven candy factories and five plants making other foods such as artificial ice, or packing dry groceries. The 12 establishments employ 517 workers, of whom 49.5% are men,49.9% women, and .6% children. As 83% of all the workers in the food industry are in the candy trade, the condi- tions in the candy factories are especially considered and emphasized in the following report No establishment in this district occupies a plant which in any way approaches the standard set by the largest candy factories in the city. Of the 12 establishments inspected, 7 are housed in special fac- tories, 3 are in lofts, 1 is in a dwelling, and 1 in a tenement. The 346 NOTES ON SANITARY CONDITIONS IN FACTORIES. floors occupied range from 1 to 7. In the workrooms, conditions are reported as fairly clean for 78% of the employees, and dirty or very dirty for 22%. There are 42 water closets in the 12 food preparation establish- ments. Two are in the yard. Of the others, 37, or 92%, are com- pletely separated from the shop; 3, or 7.5%, are shut off by a dwarf partition only. Seventy per cent have outside windows, which does not necessarily mean good ventilation, and 30% have no outside windows. In two places the separation of men's from women's water closets is inadequate: in one they open off a common vestibule; in the other, off tihe same dressing room. The water closet accommodations are generally poor, but those for men are markedly inferior to those for women in respect to light and ventilation. Dark or semi-dark closets are in use by 47% of the males and 15% of the females. Poor ventilation of closets is reported for 31% of the males and 17% of the females. The grade of cleanliness of the men's closets is far below that of the women's. Dirty conditions are reported for 4-3% of the males and for only 16% of the females. The men are naturally more careless than the women as regards cleanliness and the poorer accommodations provided for them in this trade do not en- courage tidiness. The washing facilities are very poor. The following table shows the number and percentage of workers affected by the inadequacy of the water and towel supply: TABLE VII. FACILITIES Number of Workers Affected Per cent of Workers Affected TU ( Hot provided .. 201 38 9 * 1 Cold only provided 316 61.1 517 106 100 20 5 VELS^ Inadequate number or none supplied 411 79 5 517 100.0 The lack of hot water and towels is insanitary not only from the point of view of the employee's welfare, but also from that of the consuming public. The inspector has seen a candy maker in INDUSTRIAL SURVEY OF A SELECTED AREA. 347 a large factory dry his hands on a burlap bag which was the only available substitute for a towel and then go back to his candy mak- ing. In this factory other conditions correspond. The workers have no standard of cleanliness. The inspector has seen a man flatten out a large ball of candy by sitting on it and bouncing up and down, dressed in overalls that were none too clean; an- other worker was seen to pick up lumps that bad dropped upon a dirty floor and knead them in with the rest of the oandy. In only one factory is there any attempt to make all the workers wear white ca.ps and aprons. In this shop fresh ones are pro- vided every day, and they are worn regularly. But this candy department employs only 39 workers out of our 430 in the candy factories. In the other places caps and aprons are worn by some of the workers, but they are in all stages of cleanliness and of dirt. Dressing rooms are generally provided, but they are usually very small .scarcely more than coat closets. Of the women, 238, or 92%, have the use of these, 8% have no dressing rooms to use at all. In the local candy factories there are many sources of fatigue and of actual danger which could be removed by better management. The ordinary ventilation is inadequate, as the air is stuffy and stale, and even in mild weather windows are seldom opened. No simple devices such as window boards or boxes were found. There are a number of processes in the packing departments of the groceries which call for special ventilating systems or exhausts, such as the packing of pepper and bottling of ammonia. On 13 out of 35 floors where there are workers, such systems or exhausts are needed. But the chief danger to health is exposure to heat and cold or to abrupt changes in temperature. In the candy factories the steam from the cooking kettles is usu- ally carried away by hoods and exhaust pipes. But this has little eifect upon the heat, which is intense in the cooking rooms. In only one factory is there a satisfactory system for regulating the tempera- ture. In one or two of the others there are vacuum fans, but the thermometer in one of these rooms ranged from 83 degrees to 86 degrees. "Where a chocolate room adjoins the cooking room and the workers are obliged to pass frequently from chilled to highly heated temperatures, the risk is serious. The chocolate rooms are generally 348 NOTES ON SANITARY CONDITIONS IN FACTORIES. cooled by refrigerating pipes, and their temperature is sometimes as low as 60 degrees. This is unnecessarily cold; from 65 degrees to fi8 degrees is said by experts in the trade to be perfectly satisfactory. The lower temperature may seem comfortable for a short time, bur it is found to be chilling when the worker sits from ten to twelve hours without exercise. Many of the girls complain of this hardship. They wear shawls or sweaters. When they rest their feet on asphalt floors they feel the cold particularly. One girl was made ill by this kind of work, and was in a hospital under treatment for rheumatism of the heart and general nervous breakdown. The doctors say that her illness was caused by long hours of work under these adverse conditions. When evening work is required till 9 p. m., which is often the case, or night work, the risk to health is obvious. All such special exposures to extremes of temperature need to be carefully studied, and while they may not be injurious to some workers, the girls who would suffer from such employment ought to be weeded out by a physical examination. In the candy factories much of the women's work is done stand- ing. In one factory 27 bonbon dippers (45% of the women) stand continuously. Here the proprietor told the inspector that the girls refuse to sit down when seats are provided, as the dipping requires a particular swaying motion of the body which is only possible in a standing position. A more plausible explanation is found in the fact that his dipping tables were much too high. In all the other factories inspected, ,the dippers sit at their work. Packing candy, moreover, usually requires constant standing or moving about. In packing the higher grades of candy, each girl has a long table on which are spread out several rows of empty boxes, with one filled box at the end to serve as a model. She then takes a handful of candies from a large box, containing only one kind, and moves along the line, putting one in the same relative place in each box. The same thing is repeated with each kind that goes in, till the box is filled. The " spread " is then completed, the boxes are closed and carried to the wrapping table; and a new " spread " of empty boxes is arranged on the packing table. Occa- sionally the packers also wrap the boxes, and so can sit down at intervals at the wrapping tables, but this is rare. INDUSTRIAL SURVEY OF A SELECTED AREA. 349 One machine was found which enables the packer to sit. It is a kind of Ferris wheel on which the " spread " of empty boxes is ar- ranged ; and the packer sits before this wheel except when the filled boxes are removed and replaced by empty ones. As only one such wheel was found, and that was in a large packing room where the girls had to take turns in using it, the help it gave was slight. One way of relieving the packer would be to make the " spread " smaller so that it would be within reach of the person who is seated; or possibly some sort of revolving table or a carrier or a sliding seat could be devised. One factory in this district is exceptional in that practically all the women sit. They wrap the individual pieces of candy in oiled paper and place them directly in large boxes. Omitting this special factory there are 172 women employed in the local trade, of whom 118, or 68.6%, stand constantly. When the day's work extends to 12 hours on three days a week, as is often the case in the rush season, the strain is altogether too great. Nationality statistics were collected from all the women in the seven candy establishments and from practically all the men. The following table shows the nationalities represented by number and proportion. TABLE VIII. NUMBEII EMPLOYEES IN CANDY FACTORIES ACCORDING TO SEX AND NATIONALITY Italian and Italian American American Irish and Irish American German and German American All other National- ities Total Men 169 1 2 6 24 202 Women 120 46 34 25 20 245 Total number 289 47 36 31 44 447 Total per cent 64.65 10.52 8.05 6.94 9.84 100 This shows how far the Italians have invaded this industry, as they constitute 64.65 of all the workers. These figures are the more significant in that the Italians do not form a large percentage of the population of the neighborhood. BAKERIES. In making the bakery inspections, two things were kept in mind: conditions as they affect the workers and conditions as 350 NOTES ON SANITARY CONDITIONS IN FACTORIES. they affect the consumers of the bake-shop products. The bakeries are unique among the industries studied, inasmuch as 85% of them sell all their product right on the premises. Sixty bakeries were inspected employing 266 workers. In all but two shops, the working force numbered less than eight. Of the two larger bakeries, one employed 18 and the other 32 men. With but three exceptions, all the shops are located in cellars of tenements. Concrete floors, the most desirable floor for bak- eries, were found in 33% of the shops, and wood on concrete in 40% ; the remaining 27% consisted of varying combinations of wood and concrete. Many of them were worn and broken so that it is impossible to keep them clean. But even where the floors were intact, a clean one was a rare find. In two shops, water was seeping through the walls. In one of these, a small drain had been cut across the cement floor leading into an unused cellar where a cess-pool received the waste. The stench arising from this pool was as bad as any noted in the worst-conditioned water closets. The walls and ceilings are badly neglected. The walls, of brick or stone, roughly plastered or simply white-washed, form a rough surface difficult to keep clean. Dirt and cob-webs cling to it, and in some places, even spatterings of dough were found. The white-wash on the walls and ceilings in many cases had not been properly renewed and was peeling off above the kneading troughs. Fair conditions of cleanliness are reported only for the three shops not in cellars. These employ 40 workers, or 15%. Of the others, 134, or 50%, work in dirty stoops, and 92, or 35%, in very dirty ones. The windows are small and dirty. Twenty-two per cent of the shops have nothing that may even serve as a window. Artificial light by day is necessary in all but two of the shops. An open gas flame is found in every shop and helps to consume the all too- limited oxygen supply in the cellar rooms. Even where electric lights are used, gas lights are found near the ovens. If lighting is poor in the cellar bake-shops, ventilation is even poorer. The only special means of ventilation found was in a shop where an electric fan was used to freshen the air. The low INDUSTRIAL, SURVEY OF A SELECTED AHEA. 351 ceilings contribute a great deal to the bad air conditions. The shops were divided as to height of ceilings as follows: HEIGHT OF CEILINGS Less than 7 ft. 7 and 8ft. 8 and Oft. 9 and 10ft. 10ft. and over Un- known Total 1 5 28 21 4 1 60 Ten per cent are less than 8 feet and 57 % less than 9 feet. The temperature was also recorded. The highest reported was 88 F. Ten per cent of the shops were above 80 F. and 33 c /o were below 70 F., ranging down to 59 F. The most serious feature of the temperature conditions is not excessive heat or cold, but sud- den changes from one to the other. The shop gets too hot for comfort and the door is thrown open, allowing the cold air to rush in upon the men who are always scantily clothed. The air is also vitiated by the cooking done. Pastry is made in 87% of the shops. This means that the odor of frying oil hangs always in the air. Many of the ovens have poor drafts and fill the shop with coal-gas at each firing-up. With five excep- tions, all the shops fire their ovens inside. One has gas ovens and four fire underneath. The bad air conditions arising from the several causes given can not be removed by ventilation from the street. The bakery is underground and any attempt to introduce air from the ground-level in front simply results in admitting to the shop sweepings from the pavements. The majority of the water closet apartments are completely separate from the shop. Even where they are contiguous the separation is adequate. However, two were found in store-rooms with no enclosure whatever. Taken as a whole, ventilation is good and light fair conditions which are due to the fact that most of the closets are located in the yard. But 26% are dark or semi-dark; 15% are insufficiently ventilated; 35% are dirty, or very dirty. 352 NOTES ON SANITARY CONDITIONS IN FACTORIES. In all the shops but one, the men have only the sink for wask- ing. One place has two shower baths, which, evidently, are not used, as the inspector noted that they were covered with cobwebs. Only two places were found with really clean sinks; tihe others were repulsively dirty. In a few, towels were noted, but they were extremely dirty. The provision of special dressing-rooms is as follows: in 7% of the shops the bakers live upstairs and change in their rooms before going down; in 5%, dressing-rooms are provided; in 35% lockers only, but no dressing-rooms are provided; in 48% neither lockers nor dressing-rooms; and 5% are unreported. Thus about half the shops are without dressing-rooms of any sort. This means that clothes and shoes were left standing about the room. About 44% of the shops provided cuspidors, but in only 8% were they found to be in use. When the inspector inquired about them, they were usually dragged out from the corners, or from under boxes or barrels. Power-driven machinery was found in but 22% of the shops. By actual count, 21 pieces of such machinery were found in 60 bakeries. Cats were seen in practically every shop. In two shops litters of kittens were being raised. No windows are screened for flies, but as the inspections were made in winter, few flies were dis- covered. In seven shops cock-roaches were conspicuous. The so- called " Baker's Souls " or " silver bugs " were seen in every shop except the one using gas ovens. In 90% of the places the materials for baking are stored right in the shops. In 47%, flour is kept in burlap sacks with no other protection, and cats were found sleeping on them. In 45% of the shops the material was found flat on the floor and in about the same number tihe barrels and boxes had no cover whatever. From the time a barrel of cooking oil is broached until it is used up, it stands an open trap for unwary flies and cock-roaches. In one place an old coat, hung upon a nail, trailed actually into the cocoanut supply. All the workers are male except two women who are employed as demonstrators of special gas ovens. No boys under 16 are em- ployed. Ten per cent of the men are 45 years and over. They INDUSTRIAL SURVEY OF A SELECTED AUEA. 353 are divided as to nationality u> follows: German, 67% ; Austrian, 9%; Italian, 8%; other nationalities, 16%. Of the 60 shops. 47. representing 71% of the workers, employ non-union men only; 4, representing 11%, both non-union and union; 15, representing 18%, only union men. Most of the bakers claimed to work only 10 hours a day and 6 days a week. As a matter of fact, they generally have no regu- lar time to quit. Ordinarily they begin at the scheduled time, and quit when they finish be it 10 hours or 14 hours later. Two or three of the largest shops work Sundays, but they claim that they have enough men to allow each one day off in seven. As the majority of the shops have two shifts and ordinarily only one shift was inspected, the reports on the physical appearance of workers is based on the number actually seen and information obtained from the workers regarding those absent. Smoking was reported in but 25% of the shops and chewing in 8%. The use of tobacco was reported only where it was actu- ally seen or the men admitted the habit. Some of them tried to conceal the fact that they used it in the shop; others seemed not to know that it is illegal. However, as the majority of the work- ers in question are Germans and they are little given to the habit, the low percentage reported is probably correct. Beer drinking seemed commoner. Only five shops were met with where it was said that none of the men drank beer. Lunch is eaten in the shops and beer is almost invariably an accompani- ment. The lunch hour is irregular; the men eat when they feel hungry and can leave their work for a few minutes. All the workers change their clothes on going into the shop, though few make a complete change. The men seemed to consider this necessary not from sanitary reasons or consideration for the consumer, but from a desire not to carry the strong bakery odor on their clothes when they leave the shop. The working clothes seen were, on the whole, extremely dirty. The danger to consumers, needless to say, arises from the ap- palling lack of sanitary conditions under which bread stuff is pro- duced. Not only are the quarters dirty and insanitary, but the habits of the men are careless, at their best, and revolting, at their worst. They wash their hands but rarely. After firing the oven, 12 354 NOTES ON SANITAEY CONDITIONS IN FACTORIES. even after handling coal and floor sweepings, they were seen to return to the kneading trough without so much as wiping their hands, except possibly on their dirty trousers. One man took great pride in showing a litter of kittens he was raising in the shop. After handling the kittens, he returned to the kneading trough without washing his hands. Another man, who was suf- fering from a cold in the head, went about his work absolutely unprovided with a pocket handkerchief. In one of the shops, a pastry worker who was decorating a cake with jelly, was observed to pour out the jelly on a sheet of dirty paste-board, hastily snatched from the floor for the purpose, and afterwards to scrape the jelly from this paper into the original supply. In transferring the dough from the troughs to the kneading boards, the men often rest the mass against their bodies, or rather, against their clothing, which, as has been remarked, looks as if it were seldom washed. In one rather pretentious shop, catering to a high-class trade, all the men were stripped to the waist, and in carrying the dough they rested it against their naked bodies. One of the crudest things witnessed occurred in the preparation of the so-called " Vienna " loaf for the oven. From nine to t \velve loaves are placed on a large paddle ; the slits are then made with a thin-bladed knife, and the loaves slipped into the oven. In not less than three shops the men were observed to keep the blades of their slitting knives in their mouths while they were slipping one paddle of loaves into the oven and filling it up again. The men claimed that it made the knife cut better. From the standpoint of the workers, the chief danger is the gradual undermining of health which naturally follows under con- ditions of the sort described. Lack of proper light and ventila- tion, long hours, night work, and uncertain temperature caused by the method of ventilation these things can only result in lowering the vitality of those subjected to them. Owing to the fact that the local bakeries do not possess power- driven machinery to any extent, the very serious danger of acci- dent from this source will not be considered in this report. On the other hand, it must be pointed out that the insidious dangers to health which result from doing this kind of work in cramped, 03 QJ ffi *> -20 -Si I INDUSTRIAL SURVEY OF A SELECTED AREA. 3,55 airless, underground quarters are especially characteristic of the bakeries in the district. GARMENTS AM> TEXTILES. The textile trades, which formed the chief occupation of women on the West Side twenty years ago, have greatly declined in im- portance. Only 2 weaving mills were found. These, together with the embroidery, garment and costume-making shops in- spected, make up the 11 establishments included in this group. Although women predominate, constituting 60% of the 254 work- ers employed, they are numerically fourth in importance, com- pared with printing, laundries, and candy-making respectively. Fairly clean work-rooms are reported for 138, or 55%, of the employees, and dirty work-rooms for 116, or 45%. Water closets are reported as dirty for 17% of the men and the same percentage of the women. The proportion of workers, male and female, that have badly lighted water closet apartments is also 17%. This correspondence in percentages indicates the connection between darkness and dirt in these places already mentioned in this report. One establishment has only 1 water closet for 54 female em- ployees. The provision of washing facilities is inadequate for 38% of the employees. Towels are supplied for 97% of the workers. Ninety per cent of the women have the use of a separate dress- ing room or wash room; only 5% have clothes lockers. In all the weaving factories, artificial light by day is necessary. The electric lights above the warping mills, or frames, are usually above eye-level, but the lights over the looms are so arranged as to shine directly into the weaver's eyes, unless of his own initiative he protects them by a close-fitting shade. STONE, CLAY AND GLASS. The stone, clay and glass-making trades, which have the com- mon element of being dust-producing occupations are represented by 7 establishments. They give employment to 213 male work- ers, one of them being a boy under sixteen. 356 NOTES ON SANITARY CONDITIONS IN FACTORIES. Of these, 72, or 34%, work in fairly clean places. In estimat- ing the cleanliness of the shop-rooms, allowance was made for the presence of an unavoidable amount of waste. Places were only classed as dirty when waste had been allowed to accumulate and neglected conditions prevailed. Of the workers, 118, or 56%, are engaged in shops of this character, and 22, or 10%, work in rooms where the floors are in a state of filth. Forty-four per cent of the workers have fairly clean water closets and 56%, dirty ones. The lighting of the water closets in these trades is espe- cially poor, 72% of the men being subjected to semi-dark water closet apartments. Sixty-five workers, or 35%, have inadequate washing facilities. Fourteen per cent have cold water only for washing, and 37% have no towels. One factory produces fire-proof tiles. Apparently no effort is made here to remove the gritty dust which accumulates indefi- nitely on the earthen floor. The installation of a concrete floor which could be cleaned up would be a great improvement. The air is permeated with coal-gas from the kilns. It has no system for ventilating and cooling the ovens, although in many other factories of this kind there is a blower which forces air through a pipe from the outside into the ovens. Manifestly a factory of this kind is out of place in a crowded city. This par- ticular factory is a survival from an earlier, less populous period in the district, and continues in the city although it must bring its raw material by canal boats from New Jersey. In another factory where mirrors are made, the dust present is due to red rouge, an oxide of iron used for polishing, which though not inherently poisonous, is exceedingly irritating to the respira- tory tracts. MINERAL AND SODA WATERS. Twelve establishments, of which 9 are engaged in the bottling of aerated or mineral waters and 3 are miscellaneous bottling works, compose this group. As to the kind of building occupied, 4 are in special factories, 4 in lofts, 2 in converted dwellings, 1 in a dwelling, and 1 in a tenement. INDUSTRIAL SURVEY OF A SELECTED ARK A. 357 The number of workers employed is 158. Of these, but 3% work in shops that are below " B " grade in cleanliness. In this grading, wet floors are not rated as dirty, but as insanitary from the point of view of health. Conditions in the water closets provided are not above the aver- age for the district. For 56 /& of the workers, these apartments are reported as dirty, as dark or semi-dark for 48%, as poorly ven- tilated for 28/6. Of the total number of water-closet apartments, 25% have no outside windows and 13% are separated from the shop by dwarf partitions only. Washing facilities are inadequate for all employees, inasmuch as towels are not supplied in a single instance. On the other hand, all factories have hot water. The dangers in this trade result from constant dampness and broken glass. \Yhere the washing and tilling are going on, the floors are always more or less wet. The men who do the washing have their hands and arms continuously in the water. This condition of things can be improved by the use of a proper washing machine. The wet floors also result from the breaking of bottles in the filling process. To prevent this, an adequate waste-pan should be built around this machine. Accidents from broken glass occur in washing and filling the bottles and from the bursting of bottles already filled. A washing machine removes most of the dangers connected with hand-washing. Bottles that have been filled and labeled should be instantly re- moved from among the workmen and placed in a store-room. In one establishment employing 10 men, 2 were at home through accidents at the time of the inspection. One man had been laid off for 10 days with a cut received while washing bottles. Another had been out a week for the same reason. Another had just returned from a 4 days' absence, caused by ft cut in the palm of his hand. One of the men had suffered the loss of an eye. In response to the question, " Do you ever get cut ? " one workman replied, " I get cut every day." The great majority of cuts and wounds, however, occur in con- nection with the filling process. All the carbonated waters are bot- 358 NOTES ON SANITAEY CONDITIONS IN FACTORIES. tied under pressure, and the siphons under much greater pressure than the sodas. In all the shops the siphons are placed in iron cages while being filled. The cage imprisons a part of the flying glass, but splinters and particles escape. As a further protection, masks and gloves should be worn. Masks are furnished by all the shops, but only one place was found in which the wearing was made compulsory by the management. In another shop, it was explained that the masks were furnished, but, as one workman jovially remarked, "only the married men wore them." Gloves are even less worn as a protection than masks, as their use is rather awkward in operating the machines. Except in one shop, the machines for crowning the soda bottles are of the hand-fed variety and difficult to feed when the operator wears gloves. An Italian foreman, whose face and hands were covered with scars, showed a particularly ugly one on the hand and wrist from a cut in which blood poison had developed. This wound, which had disabled his arm for two months, had been received while sim- ply passing by the machine where another man was at work. Another workman had been laid up seven weeks with a cut which had nearly severed the tendons of his fingers. His face and hands were covered with scars, but in spite of all these accidents he had only lately taken to wearing a glove, with the finger-ends cut off, as a partial protection. One firm was found which had reduced all these dangers to a minimum by the installation of a washing machine, a self-feeding crown machine, and the compulsory use of gloves and masks. DYEING AND CLEANING. The 10 establishments representing the dyeing and cleaning industry are divided as follow- : Textile dyeing and printing 1 Carpet cleaning 2 Skein-silk dyeing 3 Custom dyeing and cleaning 4 Total , 10 INDUSTRIAL SURVEY OF A SELECTED AREA. 359 The buildings occupied are of all grades, varying from a ram- shackle rear tenement, now used for silk-dyeing, to a modern and well-equipped carpet-cleaning factory. The average cleanliness is fair. Of the 140 workers, 119, or 85%, work in fairly clean shops; 21, or 15%, in dirty shops. Dark or semi-dark water closets are supplied for 45% of the men and 16% of the women. Poor ventilation of these apartments is reported for 35% of the men and 16% of the women. Not only are light and ventilation both worse for the men than for the women, but men's apartments are also more neglected. Not quite 16% of the women use water closets that are not clean, whereas 70% of the men use closets that are actually dirty. Washing facilities are inadequate for 87% of the employees. Hot water is provided for 49%, and 59% have cold water only. No shops have enough towels: 38% have an insufficient supply, and about 62% have no towels at all. As the workmen keep their hands in the dyeing and rinsing tubs most of the time, they are inclined to think that they do not need to wash up. But the dye should not be allowed to remain on the hands, and water, soap and towels should always be supplied to remove it. Five of these establishments employ from 1 to 27 women. Only 1 of them, with 4 women workers, has a separate dressing room for their use. In the custom dye works and the skein-silk dyeing the method is much the same. The dye room has a cement or flagstone floor, graded for drainage. Dyeing and scouring with soap are some- times done in separate rooms, but generally the same room is used for both. In 6 of the 8 establishments the drainage is inadequate and the floors are very wet. The men generally wear shoes with thick wooden soles. In only one OF two rooms is the drainage effective. In most places the scouring tables drain only to the floor. But in one carpet-cleaning establishment the tables shed the dirty water into troughs, which conduct it to waste-pipes. Articles are taken from the dye tubs by hand, or with a stick. Where aniline dyes are used, it is evident that adequate washing facilities should be insisted upon. Other unpleasant features of a dvr room are the steam and odors that fill the air. In no establish- 360 NOTES ON SANITARY CONDITIONS IN FACTORIES. ment are the separate tubs or vats provided with hoods and exhaust pipes. In one room there are four ventilating stacks rising from the four corners of the room, which carry off the vapor in part. In another shop, where ribbon and textile dyeing is done, a large tube runs the length of the ceiling, with openings at intervals. A powerful vacuum fan is placed near the vent to the outer air. This was the only satisfactory ventilator found. In the others, windows and doors are the only means of ventilation, and to open these is usually to expose the overheated workers to drafts and sudden changes in temperature. In the dry-cleaning industry the dangers are from fire and ben- zine or naphtha fumes. Four of the factories do dry cleaning, and in all of them the fire risk is considerable. The room in which the clothes are washed in gasolene or naphtha is fairly well protected by metal floor coverings and ceilings. In these rooms there is no lighting and heating apparatus. In one case the dry-cleaning room is a small separate house built in a back yard. But the drying rooms and " spotting " rooms (where the left-over spots are taken out by hand with chloroform or alcohol) are often entirely finished with wood. The buildings in which these shops are located all have wooden stairs and are by no means fireproof. The danger seems to be less from explosion of the fluid itself than from the inflam- mability of the articles that have just been cleaned and the fumes which come from them. Exposure to intoxication by ben- zine or naphtha fumes results in nausea, loss of appetite and anaemia. Young people, especially girls, are most sensitive to these effects. In one or two cases ventilating pipes were found in the cleaning rooms, but in no case is there a thorough ventilation system for drying and sorting rooms or for the entire factory. One drying machine was found which consisted of a revolving cylinder, perforated like an extractor and enclosed in a case into which a current of hot air is forced and from which it is withdrawn by a vacuum fan. In this way the fumes were partially prevented from escaping into the room. In the carpet-cleaning factories the beating is entirely done by machines. One type was a " non-labor " machine, into which the rug or carpet could be completely inserted and left alone until thoroughly beaten. Unfortunately, this machine is hard on the ~ 3 JB g-a INDUSTRIAL SURVEY ur A SELECTED AREA. 361 texture of the rug. The ordinary cleaner, however, has to be tended. It consists of a long revolving drum to the surface of which leather straps are attached by one end. The carpet passes beneath this drum and is beaten constantly and violently by the leather thongs. The whole is enclosed in a box equipped with an exhaust system, by which the dust is carried away. The men who pull the rugs back and forth are thus effectively guarded from the dust as long as the machine is in good working order. TOILET PREPARATIONS AND CHEMICALS. The making and packing of soap, toilet powder, hair tonics, patent medicines, gum and mica employs 94 workers, divided among 10 establishments. The work is done in shop rooms which in no case are kept in really good condition. Of the workers, 84 c /o are in fairly clean rooms and 16% in dirty ones. Dark or semi-dark water closets are reported for 27% of the women and 41% of the men. For 25% of the women and 73% of the men the ventilation of these apartments is poor. The condi- tion of the water closets is seen from the fact that 22% of the men and 98% of the women use closets of " B " grade. Seventy-eight per cent of the men and 2% of the women use toilets that are actually dirty. Forty-two per cent of the water-closet apartments have no outside windows. Only 74% of the workers are reported as having adequate wash- ing facilities. Eighty-one per cent have only cold water to wash with, and 76% have either an insufficient towel supply or none at all. This low standard in washing facilities supplied and per- sonal cleanliness among the employees is strikingly out of place in factories whose product must bear a government guarantee of chemical purity. The packing of talcum and other powders is done by hand and the room is filled with the white, irritating dust. The girls pro- tect their hair with paper caps, but there is no protection for their lungs. No respirators were seen. BREWERIES. The brewing industry gives employment to 86 men. There are 4 establishments, all housed in special factories. Of these 86 u-N SANITARY CONDITIONS IN FACTORIES. worker.-, ^onic are engaged ill bottling and a few are coopers. One firm, which furnishes fixtures to saloons handling its product, has 4 men employed to keep the fixtures in repair. But 53 men are employed in the brewing industry proper. The cleanliness of the workrooms is fair; only 8 men, or 9%, work where conditions are bad. The water closets, however, are poor. Eight out of 13, or G'2 ( /c } are separated fiorn the shop by dwarf partitions only. Forty per cent have no outside ventilation. Of the workers, 70% must use water closets that are semi-dark. For 35% of the men the ventilation of the water closets is poor, and for 11% the flush is inadequate; (55% use toilets which are fairly clean; 35% use closets that are really dirty. Hot water is provided for washing for 72% of the workers; cold water only for 28%. None of the workers are furnished with towels. The workers are divided into: (1) the brew-house men, (2) the wash-house men, (3) the racking men, (4) the ice-house men. The brew-house men are subjected to no special dangers. The dust in the milling room, due to cleaning and grinding the malt, would be a real menace to any one who worked in it continuously ; but in these establishments the work requires only a small part of one man's time. The wash-house is where the barrels are washed and inspected. Here the floors are always wet and the men more or less so. The racking, that is, transferring the liquors from the storage casks to kegs and barrels, preparatory to shipping, is largely done in cold, damp cellars, and not infrequently in the ice-house, where the beer is stored in vats to ripen. The air is chilled by ammonia pipes, and the temperature is from 36 to 38 degrees Fahrenheit. The floors are always wet. Of the 53 workers, 18, or 34%, work in the ice-house most of the time. Twenty-one, or 40%, are employed at washing and racking. Thus nearly three-fourths of the brewery men work where it is always wet, and one-third where it is both wet and cold. RAGS. One establishment, employing 16 persons, handles cotton and woolen rags. The sorters are women. They sit on the floor and INDUSTRIAL SURVEY or A SELECTED AREA. 363 separate the woolen rags according to colors. These rags have beer collected from households and shaken out by the collectors, but have not been cleaned or disinfected. They give off dust at each handling. The cotton rags are sorted in the adjoining room, where the light and ventilation are fairly good. They are even more unpleasant to handle and more likely to convey infection. APPENDIX VI OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES A PRELIMINARY REPORT ON LEAD POISONING IN THE CITY OF YORK, WITH AN APPENDIX ON ARSENICAL, POISONING. BY EDWARD EWING PRATT, Ph. D., Assistant Professor of Economics and Statistics in the New York School of Philanthropy. TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE Prefatory Note 368 Chapter I. Introduction 369 Chapter II. Lead Poisoning in European Legislation 373 Chapter III. Industries in which Lead is Used : 392 A. Manufacturing Industries: I. Manufacture of White Lead and Lead Oxide 395 II. Manufacture of Paints and Colors 417 III. Smelting, Melting, Refining and Casting of Lead 426 IV. Use of Lead as a Hardening and Tempering Agent 428 V. Use of Lead Solders 432 VI. Miscellaneous Industries 433 1. Manufacture of Coaches, Carriages and Automobile Bodies 433 2. Manufacture of Lead Pipe, Lead Tubing and Solder Wire 433 3. Manufacture of Sheet Lead 434 4. Manufacture of Tinfoil 434 5. Manufacture of Linoleum 436 6. Manufacture of Cut (Glass 437 B. Non-manufacturing Industries > 438 Painting and Decorating 438 Chapter IV. Stories of Cases of Lead Poisoning 441 I. Industrial Workers 441 II. Painters 496 Chapter V. Analysis of Lead Poisoning Cases 532 Chapter VI. Recommendations 548 Appendices : A. Manufacture of Paris Green and Arsenical Poisoning 556 B. Method of the Inquiry 565 PREFATORY NOTE The investigation, the results of which are herein presented, has been made in large part by a group of thirteen students in the New York School of Philanthropy, in connection with my course on Methods of Research and Statistics. This work has occupied but a very small portion of their time, not exceeding an average of six hours each per week, over a period of ten weeks. The majority of the individual cases of lead poisoning were in- vestigated by the students and their descriptions are used through- out. They have also compiled the tables analyzing these cases. I take this opportunity of expressing my indebtedness to the members of this group for their assistance in collecting this in- formation and for their loyal support. The group was composed of the following persons: Miss Elizabeth Botsford Mr. H. H. Jones Miss Marie L. Chase .Miss Mildred Plumb Miss Grace W. Cottrell Miss Anne M. Sloan Miss Euphemia G. Cowan Miss Mary C. Snyder Mr. Solon DeLeon Miss Helen F. Veasey Miss Evelyn H. Ellis Miss Mary V. Walker Miss Blanche W. Hull The writer wishes also to express his appreciation of the serv- ices of Miss Alice Keyes, Assistant in the Statistical Labora- tory, who has attended to a large amount of the detail and clerical work. E. E. PRATT. CHAPTER I INTEODDCTIOK Doubtless we in America often think that we are not aiflicted with the deadly diseases which are found in Europe. We are often tempted to congratulate ourselves that conditions here are not like those abroad, that our workers are stronger, healthier and more intelligent, that our standard of living is higher, and hence our resistance to disease greater. Statements like these are often made in connection with industrial diseases. The small number of cases of lead poisoning is attributed to better conditions in the lead industries in this country and to a stronger, healthier, labor supply. It may be that this is true. I hope it is, but recent investigations throw some doubt upon such con- clusions. During the years 1908, 1909, 1910, the Illinois Com- mission on Occupational Diseases 1 discovered 578 cases, and 6 suspected cases, of lead poisoning in that state alone. In Eng- land during the same years, there were only 1,704 cases of lead poisoning. 2 In 1910 there were but 505 cases of lead poisoning reported to the authorities. 3 During 1911, the very cursory in- vestigation which I have been making reveals 121 cases in Xew York city alone. A total of 376 cases were found, mainly in 1909, 1910, 1911. This number includes only cases which were relatively serious, consisting largely of hospital cases. The vast number of dispensary cases and persons treated by private phy- sicians is not included. In most of the European countries, the subject of lead poison- ing has been thoroughly studied. The governmental authori- ties are alive to its gravity and to its importance. It is reason- able to believe that we know how much lead poisoning there is 1 Report of Illinois Commission on Occupational Diseases, p. 44. (The Commission does not clearly state that the cases occurred exclusively in these years.) 1 Report of Factory Inspector Great Britain, 1910, p. 170. Ibid. p. 170. 370 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. in Germany, France and England. The same cannot be said of the United States. We do not know, even approximately, how much lead poisoning there is in the United States, or in any one state. This ignorance is due to certain causes which are now coming to be recognized. Our physicians are unedu- cated along these lines, they fail to recognize occupational, or industrial diseases because they have been interested merely in treatment and not in the elimination of disease. There has been no method of recording or publishing the number or extent of cases of industrial disease, and inadequate hospital records fur- nish but vague clews to the industrial causes. Many of the in- dustries which are the most prolific of industrial diseases this is especially true of lead poisoning are those whose ranks are filled with the unskilled, non-English speaking workers, who find it difficult to make known their ills, and who pass rapidly from one industry to another. Very much greater progress has been made in European coun- tries, both in the study and elimination of lead poisoning, than we in the United States have even thought of making. In the German cities, for example, Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt-on- Main, there are permanent Museums of Safety that give no small part of their space to illustrations of lead poisoning and lead industries, to samples of the materials and to models show- ing the best methods of prevention. Last summer in Dresden there was a great Hygienic Exposition, dealing with every phase of ancient and modern methods of hygiene. The subject of lead poisoning played a very important part. Many of the European countries such as Germany, France, Belgium, Holland and Great Britain have passed stringent regulations for safeguarding the workers in various industries using or manufacturing lead in its many forms. In England, notable progress in cutting down the amount of lead poisoning has been made. In 1900, there were 1,058 cases of lead poisoning reported by the Medical In- spector of Factories; in 1910, this number largely by means of special regulations had been reduced to 505 cases. 1 *See report of Factory Inspector 1910, p. 170. OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. :> >7L In this country, there are only three studies of lead poisoning which are worthy of any note. These are : the study made by the Illinois Commission on Occupational Diseases, conducted under the direction of Dr. Alice Hamilton and published in the Report of the Commission in January, 1911; second, the report of the Federal Investigation of the White Lead In- dustry, carried on under the direction of the Commis- sioner of Labor, by Dr. Hamilton; and third, a study by Dr. John B. Andrews, of sixty fatal cases of lead poi- soning occurring in New York State in the years 1909 and 1910. These studies furnish but meagre data on which legislation may be based. The study, the results of which are presented here- with, is but a preliminary survey of the field. The further the investigation was carried the more serious has the problem be- come. In the time at the disposal of the people who have made this study, it was impossible to study and inspect even repre- sentative establishments of all linos of industries, much less all the establishments in these industries. Nor has time permitted the close personal investigation of all the cases which have been found. The most valuable results of the entire investigation are doubtless to be found in a close study of these individual cases. They are presented here in considerable detail, in order that the whole story may be given, and not a mere frame work devoid of interest or supplementary information. The pictures which are presented in this report, which have been taken through the courtesy of the factory owners, do not aim to show bad conditions, or good conditions. They have been taken with a view to clearly setting forth the nature of the pro- cesses of the various industries. Some of them do show that conditions need to be improved and greatly improved; others furnish a basis for suggesting such necessary improvements. The writer and his assistants regret that the amount of in- formation is not larger, that more factories were not inspected, that more cases were not subjected to a detailed and searching investigation. The results attained are merely preliminary and it is sincerely hoped that the investigation may bo enlarged and 372 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. carried on throughout the State, more thoroughly and more extensively. The recommendations which we have been bold enough to offer are the most elementary and elemental in their nature. The data herewith presented form, we believe, an adequate basis for these recommendations. More detailed recommendations covering each industry can be made only after a more detailed and more comprehensive study. CHAPTER II LEAD POISONING IN T EUKOPEAN LEGISLATION. 1 ENGLAND, GERMANY, FEANCE AND BELGIUM. Among all the countries of the world, Germany is beyond doubt to-day the one with the greatest mass of legislation bear- ing on the question of lead poisoning. Not only was it one of the first in the field regulating the employment of women in lead mines in 1892, and not only do its statutes cover the great- est number of industries, but it stands out as remarkable in the characteristic Teutonic thoroughness and minuteness with which it lays down the conditions under which each particular lead trade shall be carried on. While Germany sets the pace, England and France are close at its heels. In all three of these countries the workers in the more dangerous trades are forbidden to eat or to leave the premises where they are employed without first thoroughly wash- ing their hands and faces and in some instances their mouths and noses also. !N"o food, no beverage, no tobacco whether for smoking, chewing or snuffing, is allowed to be used or even car- ried into the workroom. In the dusty trades such as white lead making, lead oxidizing and storage battery manufacture, the men must take warm baths regularly, sometimes weekly, some- times daily. In England in the white lead industry, a register is kept of these baths. Practically everywhere the emphasis is thrown on ventila- tion; lighting is mentioned; a thorough cleaning must be given to the plant at regular intervals; the employer must furnish clothing, lockers, washrooms and dressing rooms supplied with hot and cold water, soap, towels and nailbrushes; and he must set aside a dust-free room for a lunch room, warmed in cold weather, and frequently provided with means for warming the workmen's food. In some of the more trying trades, the hours l The writer is indebted to Mr. Solon DeLeon for the summary of legis- lation presented in this chapter. 374 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. are made short and broken by frequent pauses. Belgium for- bids women from working in the china and earthenware trade for four weeks after confinement. Germany in the lead smelting, white lead, lead oxide, storage battery and painting trades, and England in all but the last of these with earthenware and yarn " heading " thrown in, require a " control book " or health register. The German book is a very elaborate affair, requiring entries of the name of the per- son keeping it, first and last name, address, age of each work- man, date of entering and leaving the employ of the factory, date and nature of his illness, date of his recovery, name of the factory physician, and dates and results of the medical ex- amination. The employer is responsible for the correctness of this record and must show it to the factory or medical inspector on demand. Before a workman in Germany, France or England can leg- ally get work at one of the dangerous lead trades, he must pro- vide himself with a medical certificate showing that he is of sound physique and constitution and fairly capable of with- standing the poisons he will have to work with. Medical super- vision is very strict according to the letter of the law, ranging from one examination per week in the white lead industry in England to one in six months among the German painters. When a worker is discovered Avith symptoms of plumbism, the laws almost universally require that he be " suspended ; " that is, given employment that keeps him out of contact with lead until he has fully recovered. Belgium requires that a leaded man be kept out of that sort of work permanently. A decisive clause found only in the German law, but there repeatedly, is that workers continually violating the hygienic rules set up, shall, after repeated warning, be summarily and permanently discharged. A similar but much weaker clause is the occasional English provision that a reckless worker lays him- self open, upon conviction, to a fine. In Belgium no workman addicted to alcohol may legally be employed in white lead, lead oxide, or lead paint making. Three of the countries considered Germany, France and Belgium have turned their attention to house painting, a pro- OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 375 lific source of painful and annoying, but less often fatal variety of lead poisoning. Among other regulations all three of these countries forbid the removal of lead paint by any dry rubbing or scraping process. On August 20, 1909, Belgium decided that after the expiration of one year white lead for paint- ing purposes could only be transported, sold, or used in the form of a paste or liquid mixed with oil, and the ministry was given power to extend the same prohibition to white lead for any other purpose. By an act of 1909, however, France has put itself far beyond this, having decreed that after July 20, 1914, the use of "white lead, of linseed oil mixed with white lead, and of all specialized products containing white lead, will be for- bidden in all painting, no matter of what nature, carried on by working painters either on the outside or in the inside of buildings." Of the industries considered which include all the more im- portant ones using lead, those in which the health of workers has been made a matter of legislative treatment in Germany are: casting, zinc smelting, type founding and stereotyping, type set- ting, white lead manufacturing, other lead oxides, paints and dyes, electric accumulators, painting and file, cutting. England has taken up lead smelting and casting, type founding, white lead, lead oxides and paints, electric accumulators, file cutting, heading yarn dyed with a lead compound, earthenware and china, and the painting of same, and turning and enamelling. France has dealt with the mining, smelting, white lead, lead oxides and paints, electric accumulators, painting, the pottery processes and enamelling. Belgium's attention has been given to lead smelt- ing, white lead and oxides, electric accumulators, painting, and particularly to china, porcelain and faience. 37G OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. THE PRINCIPAL, LEAD INDUSTRIES AND DATES OF PRESENT LEGISLATION THEREON IN FOUR LEADING EUROPEAN COUNTRIES. INDUSTRT England Germany France Belgium Lead mining ; 1892 1893 Lead smelting and casting 7>inc smelting 1898 1901, 1911 1893 1905 1900 1893, 1904 1905, 1908 1810, 1892, 1894 1898, 1901, 1905 Typefounding and stereotyp- ing 1901 1897 Typesetting 1907, 1908 1897, 1907 White lead. . . . 1898 1908 1903 1908, 1909 1892, 1894, 1898 Other lead oxides, paints and dyes 1898, 1907 1903 1893, 1908 1899, 1902, 1905 1892, 1894, 1898 Electric accumulators . . 1911 1903 1908 1909 1908, 1909 1899, 1902, 1905 1894, 1898 Industries using paint contain- ing lead 1905 1902, 1904 1905, 1909 File cutting . . . . 1903 1908 1909 Heading yarn dyed with lead 1907 Earthenware and China 1901, 1903 1909 1899, 1905, 1908 Color transfers on earthenware 1898 1902, 1908 1908, 1909 1889, 1892, 1898 1889, 1892, 1898 1894 1908, 1909 1899, 1905, 1908 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 37 - 3 i * *** OS 3 4) -^ *" 3 _ 7) O s .- i 2 . g a p >. !_ L- *^ ^3 ^ M 33 a. OJ "~" -* 2 -= L. e I 3 1 a & fc 3 M _ i = S^ !t '"" M E 1 M -O^^i 32 ^iJ xl li J"s'C a -H oj 22; _a a o ZJ5 o ji: O Z o 3 a 2 I . - -la 1 Ej I 2 1 T3 1? i i is J c -s S -2 "e <= * fi I i*i 1 3 O 1.4 "a^ x& * afl J =3-2 5xa -S 11 a* * i 11 s , h 1 ss^ s i ll 1 I ! w 00 .2 ^i-,: a o -,! -* o o Js ^Z 5 H ^ S?5 2; o I _;*i a >>j, N ^J $ 'SBi 00 S Si 1 8 - a "2 *** S? -5 oo c O >. M GERMANY Applies only to women ( No more than 8 hours per Not earlier than 5 A. M. Not later than 10 P. M. One-half hour pause he 2d and 6th hour. Women between 16 and 1 on medical certificate ness. Posted notice of law. 4-8-10 hours, depending cupation. o 5 M S a a '> e-c Jf '5 >- i . 1 11 1 j S J; 22 5 ^ ' .j| ^ S s; 1 1 1* IK ? a 1 ; 2 %$ -if S. "9 II j 1 '-s^d"^ i'-i^ l^ 1 J oo .5 3 J J o o .?'C3 3-2 "o z^; o J ^^C/SH ?as s z j _B S S o IH fl> * jg |, j | I Sj< % s Si & 'P ,; ^ o i a -*E s-f. . 3 el |I -3 '-i a O 3 3 JSJS T3 g jg yj"O "S** 2 g W tl 3? Is 1 l^lll || 11 -s 1 ll Jll'-a-S a||1 *-| J ^1 S 1 J ^ISl^ ss z a ~ c s- z E E P ~ z z E 2 M ;; 1-1 z u i !K 2 a 3 |jj 378 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. . w to u -3 3 S 1 i m c. _ o a V 1 2 " 3 ^ H a (3 ""' a BELGIUM .9 S g ol if 09 F mention of_ noxio rom spreading in . :ubic meters air a orker (1905). ,able ventilation, icient lighting. harmful debris ivay daily. > -2 i 3 I E a o 1 o M S S '3 0.5 ^"^ x^ , 3 d E-2 *< fe g o .2 >. 2 * 2 V 3 . o ~s ^ m o^j E i J 1 ll M H .v S-g- 1 1 a T3O d > 5 'a 5^ ^H 05 o is 1 1 s2 1 3 ?"S^ 5 **^ 2 S 5 o 3 * OS S sc ft Q H ll S d Q MU M IT Ij . OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 379 w o i fc s v D s s K M H fcf E a o K W fe !z M O 1 g M O 1 "S" o * s >T * 11-= a -si E s s. | 2 ii 1 j *3 kf < K 2cS^ MMO. "O ^>- * T 1 "] Q^> S^'i ^ S' C S' feO s w c ^ c"otn bj; t --5'e fl a 'S S'fc 2*>^ tjJJi *1i i ^ * -sll HI s- ^S^Sl t -ai t ;'Sa g o^" a^ c!2x^_ 6.rtfllSS> *J - G S := '3 "*^"S S^*" ^83 " O O cS hivr< C $ 2'^" *"*" Man &u*iOo ??Se Ss'^5 ^ -43 ".g a a O S $m ^mn ib g s! C o o _o 3 'C c* * 2 c ""0 *'g gS^ ^ " > rtfcfco^^C;?: as pi, OQCD< cc Clothes closets. Young persons mus type cases. Wash water. Soap. Towels. Must wash before 1 tory. ^ "5 e o.S-2 2 S ' bC J3 JS C H 1 |l| cc s H I.ANU P!l C to o.5 QJ i 3 C 3 V O o-g-cx o gE-| E | 02 H SeSot B B o V oo O - u t. a a h z r B ..- o ~< c 7. 2 o M 7 H 2 * > -a RELATING TO LEAD D BELGIUM (Conti GERMANY 11 1 -Sis- on s a S* e .b z * ifi C e L eS Q 5-i S& 2 c^i & 2t>: UJ ! JWjl Ig 1! llllf iiS T3 fl s >ogfl-Sl fl . d ^^? 0-3 n -< P.S.g .2 ti d^ alll^lllljfll'al o S o o- 0-^*5 05 o few os a>. ^Iw 3H1* i * g oj 2 "Si ^ - 2 n. "S S g be S 3 O. *>Oo3 Otjc3 ^ H VI t-i O D H z < HH j C3 fe Z o W OS ( 1 to w 1 M H i oT *) D Bg H O c -D z Sfc B Pu D ^ O H E ^5 fab o M S H " a. H OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 381 o ^ 2 ^ * ^ 5 c H 5 I o O 2 i "~ c3 M i 8. >. jE M " . 0, _^ .S ji J3 N 3 ^tf o-S 00 ee (A O *^ X d.h s cS D >> "C rt d M . S 2 ^ oo j a > S z^ o ^^tnH? S ZZ O KO "Si 01 s -a. 1 >, ^ iJfifl S3 -O 000 -B S ^ _g | I] J B| ^ o .S u .0 > J s 2 fl S 4) o s| || | "Sjj o-3 a b-^ '$J. a-SS cs a>> -o I to S II it IB P - s * S: o ^o goo 45 " o S> 11 lo IS ^1 ^ a t siubT3i*o) Idij j &* >. s tS^g S ^s-fi e- fl.9 " ""2^1 i 8 --J3 3S l-J^-i |j||t|| fSi * 3 rt53s i fe rTS^wcQQ**^ d SJ3III UH^ rl Respirators, sj Working cloth a a >. ' o a M J3 _d -3 d QJ 3 ^"S J * J o'> & 5 S o d Sg S>oj fl I *" O >! a -e *** U *c n C3 z J3 _ .2 S ~ 3.5 .i ? II 5s* c W J<= = 1 CJ C MJ= o s*': '""I e c o S | S5a 1 ii i i'i * -4 O S rj H 5 O 1 1 11 11 'i| n x| d -i| ||g jtfl ll 1 Z c ~ji .s Z G Illll ^2' 5 ZZZ^ 8- ~ > - 0:0 as i 3 I H O p T o 6 O E < I ^ i s H E E 382 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 8 I g is S 3 c u a M i-i 3 i a o i <*> So mm . ** 4* pC BELGIUM Suitable ventilation. Sufficient lighting. All harmful debris cleared a daily. Sweeping in such a way a prevent dust, and if posi out of working hours. Soap, towels, nailbrushes, s Must wash and take off w clothes before eating. Mask, respirators or hi kerchiefs with moist spo Medical inspection monthl; Men with lead symptome moved permanently ; others ill removed unti' co very. Men addicted to alcohol nc be employed. Health register. Lead dust to be kept mois Hoods on dust producing chinery. Walla and woodwork was weekly. "a i s J E a M V E i f Q i .a JB 'o a | 1 j 3 1 .h o K C. "3 E i & notice o; i 1 | a>, 3^J O t j it ventil o E 1 S ll fl Ojjj 11 .S '3 0. H) E * oo o i I 1 E | jj | gi ^ _ M^ o i- _ 41 GERMANY Medical inspection monthly. 1 Discharge of men v rules after warning. Health register. Posted notice of law. Employers to instruct r Lead material to be kep "S 1 R < 1 ^ > - fr Rooms guarded again* of dust or vapor. 1 5^' a ll o I k 5| M o i i R ig j ll 1 t5 eo w s 1 *5 ^1 1| 1 H \ 3 i 1 gs i 1 & i i . e ^ c g Si p '. o O 2 M j E X OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. PH w O Q fc d o fc W 3 o H I il a ? & I J; tft; A fc o .S c-o o ** _ "~ " e 1 ** es C j "1 S i ^ s o J3 g 5 <2 *" 85 *'5J g '5 BJO 'jj.S'.E JJ ^>l! . *- M S H ffi S c! 'S'o^ * 2 s> . c -?& fc c. o ^* pS ^ "* M o ** Q f^lJs.s !! o B -SI l &3 11* b gi ^ ^^'c j"i -"o 2 y~S B|2 2^ gfJiS |'| g i 2 & ig -a 11 s K ^ '" 115 1^ | 1 1 8 H B S,j z si I S a> = |1 "a . B| J'l o'S - i s s ' i ^'o'S - y ^ 5 GERMANY Rooms spacious and high. j: &> i s ^ a in &! i IS i-S-S o|c | 51 '! M | >> S | - 2 'M ha f| a I ^ 5l s ^-^- 1 4 | ! Sllllljlll if 3o'3g^^S|a-5 5 P ^ ^S W 11 o M r.= * b * Q.O ^ t. n 3^13 2 - 00 1 hour free after 2 hours' woi No young person under 18. Women, if not exposed to dv or vapors. Clothes closets. Lunch room. 5g "? |f a z V *| -2 || e o Is 1 J o 2 . ^ O 3 *^ z s a *"* c o fl S s ^ g S g fe s-a O o w 0)"o 8 * = Cj S) C S 99 *" - ' ill a g^-S -a-c 111 II .e h i Y c i .Q a a H * I S 5 E ii * 32 384 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. - - o d - - % 3 H S < W g W g flu I "1 si & HI 1 s ~s ~ M : i ^5 3 | ,. j? i =" ~ ~ y: ' I - U - u _1 M. 2 S kg I = * S - a t ~^ 2 - ~ & 5 * S'i ^ -5S-3 f 3 M -^ '* S a . * '^ ^ -2'5-Q 3-^.5 5 !- s * s =2 U 2 ^}"^ -. .H ti ^ _2 ** Oi3 "^ --3 O 33"* .,.-,-, a x> o a U ^ ^^^ hfl** p "^ ' - 5 * * a a -aS*** 3 ^ - Q"^ an ~^. ~ ~ S'JBS-f |^S*2 " i"" 3 li" ' 2 I s !"" 2 llr.r 1* I 1 u z < GERMANY j ^ I - 3S S 1 <** 1 i - 2 i- a .i . .- , CJ4SJ4 J 2 fe ^.S*Ss a 1 |$'i|S if -sis -j-UlsI .S> jj S A t *x^82-2 i o * 1 1 S s . o >> I ll ""S m $ -^ ^* ** S2"s 3 ** > o. u -^ - II 1 o -3 33 |2 oo-S^J >^*H Z S S ZZZ OiS II s | -2 -2*^ 5 w S f * | | a z 1 1 ^ 1 i |i 8 * 1 i : ^ Si . _ 5 J- o J-a * 9 | A 5? ^ x o W |iffi =! i! . 1 P !ji oSHfc^o! S &Z ZSS OSS [3 S i u i-1 li 5. a ! 1 P tjs g x2 N If D O n Z IT 35 u OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 385 g i .2" 1 g "" a ^ B 3 1 00 1 a 1? d * 2 h B S 5 -* fl d 1 . M PQ * a g M g g _. S E | C 11 III a i ^^ Q U 3 Py^j o o \ B fe S5 2 i W 00 . M 9 73 -O u fl O A BELGIUM (Contin GERMANY 2 .3 S J 8 p I" 8 M It ! i 4 ?s If 1! IP a Sf 1 ^ JE -.1 a ? S S rt S fe 3-^ "O * u T3 S- 13 fl hJi ^ fe M J ! II ! Jll > 1 i Hitil i, 15 fPi IIPP, ^HisllI li g-i ill11iJ1ll&l iBjBiltl 8-S f JjjragjFim S Q M Pk W>-5 ffl W K 33 oo? ^S W 8 hours per day, with break of li hours, or 6 hours per day uninterrupted > M fc ^ E S (? O o'm a H 05- >>aE B JJ J i 5 S 0 H s? H S *! i O B 7* o H H 1- m fl go o 3 h S - S O O 9| O D SO 18 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. I K ^ S 5 S J H 3 m O O a p S m i 1 1 * a I '55 gS s> * a jS I i S D i I 2 2| _oS < B"^ ,2 2 -{J o O c? a Tl * Q> _n O ^ OJ 9 fi fl C * ^ rt o ^ *** .a "S fl "* ' js g S-J fe -T3 d oJ - y!H 3% -i %% -si o O 2 03 c3 g el 5 o o o s ?s g 6 fc5* E" S S !z;!2;c OCLl iJ .20 g . 2 J.2 g T3 3T3 O S m t-< & * a C T3 GERMANY In departments where le used, no young personi women. Clothes closets. Wash and dressing room. Wash water. Vessels for rinsing mouth. Soap. Towels. Handbrushes. Warm bath. Must wash before meals. Wash before leaving facto No food in work rooms. No alcoholic drink in room. No smoking, chewing or s ing in work rooms. Overalls. Caps. Medical inspection month] Men with lead symptom moved from lead. Men acting contrary to after warning to be charged. Health register. Posted notice of law. Rooms 3 meteis high. Sufficient number of win for ventilation. ^ 11 t S i S 9 liS D. "*- o Jd . ^ -*J w o S. .3 "I* 2 SB 8 S M S u S d S2J4 |sS * .2 ENGLAND pel j 5*3 g as -S gjl* --il Warm bath. Must wash before Wash before leavi No food in work r< No drink in work i No tobacco in wor J e s F-S s l| i a - c Q cfl jlli "3 * SB'S ^ S3-5 g >> S lip 1 a 500 cubic feet a worker. Windows made 1 thorough ventili i D i a B |i K B OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 387 d- o a J3.5 5 ii n a - 5 1 S . g| 3 S 1 -S 111 o o g a S j=3 P |a 1^ ^S-S OT Ji.S s: a as II ^ . 1! si* 00 O TTS Si ^ ffi a 3 i 8 ^ S S T3 o Sn x .2 -^ -^ if u a S8 o=> II II 388 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. O ft fc a o fc W 8 i 1 1 i | |j jti X ^^ o -S 'f.2 Ijf^.S c" t'ia' 2 ' 2 -'?-! a i a d '5 jj 9 ji a -3.2 ^'E'^ g~n~sJ* j 'o'S s n SI 1 o o.S'g S e-S g >>'..2'*".2 5 8J-S e 1 * & 0.5 S z^ s z BC i < ; l^lis is g'g fl "S*rt ^ -** t fl fli8f=|l|| S 1 s"^lp- s>B ^" d rt -r3 8 < 1,2 ^' * ^0^0 1 -8 g.H | . s s l 2 - 2 ^ S t3 RMANY .9 -2 1 5| || IfSjllfi a * ^'^ ""=s "3oP> a o o o 5^ ^"o* &,^ o,^ 1 Q i ft V k ti ja o Illil 1:1*! O *-2SJ! -g^^ll JpfJ S9HH HIJJ J5 ZOOS S KH K : S roZ S5 s -a = a .-"1 j a c8 * .^ > _ ^ tag S a g JT3 _ 3 1 - B fl S e5 o 1 i III 5 i?-S o i |lj | of a III s OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 880 -a a a - * C to 3 """* s I _s ^* ?-sl *^1 i^iWofllllri a; - Ma a; . . . H != fe-a "J ** o = -= SS MJ i o en *l f! uspens worker toms. Health Efficient ~:r. g ^5 390 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. g w O j $ JS sg s 'a-a per cent solution. Into this jar are stuffed the lead buckles; they do not enter the acid, for the jar, which is narrowed at the bot- tom, prevents this. A layer of boards is laid over the jars and another thickness of tan bark is added, more jars, and so on up to a height of 15 to 20 feet. The stack remains thus for about 100 days. It reaches a tem- perature, from the heat generated entirely within the corroding bed, of from 120 to 180 degrees Fahrenheit. At the end of that time, corrosion is supposed to have taken place, and the " stripping of the beds " then takes place. This process is accompanied by considerable risks, and in England the most serious lead poisoning cases have occurred in this work. The upper layer of boards is removed, exposing the pots full of a brittle, white material, in the shape of the original buckles, but having lost the ordinary appearance of metallic lead. This is lead car- bonate. A corrosion, of from 40 to 80 per cent takes place; 70 per cent is considered good. Men enter the bed, take up the jars and dump the contents into a small car which stands nearby. (See photos No. 2 and No. 2b.) More or less pure white lead dust always rises in this process. The men are provided with bandana handkerchiefs which they tie about their noses and mouths. The firm provides cheesecloth and sponges for this pur- pose. Respirators which were provided were refused by the men, who said that these irritated their faces. A traveling crane car- ries off the car, when full, to a track where it is sent on its way to the separating machines. 3. The car containing the corroded buckles is delivered to the separating machines, and there a worker shovels the white lead from the car into the machine. Although the mouth of the sep- arating machine is protected by a hood, this is one of the most dangerous processes in the factory. (See photo No. 3.) The worker stands constantly over a rising cloud of white lead dust 398 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. He is protected by the usual device, a bandana hankerchief. This work is carried on in a poorly ventilated, dark basement. The separating of the lead carbonate from the original lead is done by machinery which is enclosed throughout, and hence not especially dangerous in itself to the workers. This process removes the corroded portions of the lead and rejects the uncorroded parts. The rooms in which this work was done were fairly clean, al- though there was a considerable deposit of white lead on the floors and walls. The next form in which the lead appears is in solution of white lead and water. In this form it is not especially dangerous. Thr solution of lead is run into basins where it is stirred gently, and the lighter ani finer lead particles are run off over a sort of dam and then through a very fine mesh screen, which eliminates any gross particles. 4. The drying room The solution of lead and water is pumped to the drying room, where it is deposited in long shallow vats which are arranged in two tiers, one above the other. The tem- perature of these vats is raised and the solution gives off constant vapors. The ventilating system here is excellent Two large fans in one end of the room, carry out the air, changing it every three min,utes, according to contract with the ventilating firm, and win- dows and doors are numerous. When the lead has well dried out it is shoveled out into an automatic conveyor which carries it out to the grinding and mixing machines. The workers in this department (see photo No. 4) are provided with bandana handkerchiefs, and the man seen in the picture claimed that he was in the best of health. The room, however, is a source of danger on account of more or less dust in shoveling, and the temperature taken at the time of inspection was 72 de- grees, although several windows were open. The tendency in a superheated room such as this is, of course, to keep the windows tightly closed. 5. Grinding and mixing. The grinding and mixing work is done entirely by machinery, but the feeding is done by hand, and is especially dangerous. (See photo No. 6.) A car of dry white T3'S Xo. 7. FACTORY A WHITE LEAD. Filling barrels with dry white lead by machinery. Xo. S. FACTORY A WHITE LEAD. Filling cans with white lead mixed with oil. No. 9. FACTORY A WHITE LEAD. Litharge ovens. No. 10. FACTORY A WHITE LEAD. Exhaust fans from litharge furnaces. OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 399 lead is brought to the open mouth of the grinding machine. The worker then shovels it from the car into the machine. The white lead dust is constantly rising about him, and although protected in the ordinary way, his position is a very dangerous one. (See photo No. 6.) HTJ H -, OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 405 II. Provisions for Hygiene: 1. The dust removal system. Perhaps the most notable feature in this plant is the system for the removal of dust from all parts of the establishment. This is not done in a perfunctory manner, but there has been installed a very complete and efficient dust removal system. It is so efficient that there is very little dust to be seen about the factory or collected on the machinery. Even machines such as the revolving screens are enclosed in double jackets. The whole system culminates in a dust room which has recently been built on the top floor. This dust house contains two large bins into which the air is forced ; above these bins are suspended bags about 1 foot in diameter and 24 feet in height. These bags are made of cloth which permits the air to pass through, but retains any dust particles. As long as the air pres- sure continues the bags are inflated, but with the reduction of the pressure the bags collapse and dust which is collected drops into the bins below. Some of this lead dust, however, remains ad- hering to the sides of the bags. The system is so arranged that no one need even go into the dust house to shake down bags ; this is done by a mechanical contrivance operated from the outside of the house. This is really an exfremely good system and is nowhere in the country, so far as the writer knows, in use on such a large scale as it is in this plant. 2. The blower system. In some parts of the factory fresh air is forced into the plant; for example, in the engine room 40,000 cubic feet of air is withdrawn every minute and 30,000 cubic feet of fresh air is forced into the room. The atmosphere in the engine room was not super-heated but was at a very comfortable temperature. 3. A new welfare building. At present this factory is not doing very much along sanitary lines, but there is at present under construction a large building which will cost about $25,000 and which is going to be devoted almost entirely to improving hygienic and sanitary conditions among the workers. This new building, which is to be on the immediate factory premises, is to contain toilets, shower baths, washrooms, locker rooms, lunch 406 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. rooms and kitchen. The arrangement of the locker room is par- ticularly interesting. As the plans are now drawn, a man, will enter the building from the factory and go into the locker room for work clothes. Here he leaves the clothing which he has used during the day. He must then go through the bathroom in order to reach the locker room where his street clothes are kept. Every man, therefore, is provided with two lockers, one for work clothes and one for street clothes. The exact policies which are to be pursued in dealing with workers in order to induce them to use facilities of the bathroom have not been fully determined. The superintendent will try to require the men to take a bath each week and in the more dangerous parts more than one a week. The welfare house, as it is called, is to be open in the evening for those who wish to come. It is to be provided with checkers, dominoes an,d other small games. When this building has been finished and is in operation, a considerable difference will probably be observed in the conditions. The present washing facilities are very inadequate. 4. In November, 1910, a doctor was established in this plant. He comes every day at eleven o'clock and gives attention to any who need it. He states that the amount of lead poisoning has materially decreased since his coming to the plant. He makes no regular physical examination but goes through tne plant at fre- quent intervals and looks over the men; any that seem to be anemia are sent to his office for examination. Most of the cases are, how- ever, medical cases other than lead poisoning, and accident cases. r The doctor reports 24 cases of lead poisoning from November, 1910, to November, 1911. III. Suggestions for Improvement: There are two or three things that might very well be done in this factory which the writer believes would considerably improve the conditions and decrease the amount of lead poisoning. 1. Suits of overalls should be furnished the men at stated intervals perhaps a clean suit each week. No. 24. FACTORY C WHITE LEAD. Casting room. No. 25. FACTORY C WHITE LEAD. Stripping the corroding beds. OCCUPATIONAL, DISEASES. 407 2. Instructions somewhat more explicit as to the care of the body and the prevention of poisoning should be distributed throughout the plant, or perhaps handed to the individual work- men. A better method of giving the men instructions would be to have some person, fluent in the languages of the workers, give them individual instruction. 3. Regular physical examinations of all workers would be advisable. 4. With the facilities to be provided in. the new welfare house, the men in the most dangerous processes might very well be required to take two, or even more, baths per week and be exam- ined by their foreman as to whether or not they had taken precautions such as cleaning of teeth and fingernails. It is quite evident that conditions in this plant have greatly improved. There was a time when the ambulance was a frequent visitor at the gates of the factory. There was also a time when the work of separating the white lead from the metallic lead was done by hand, the corroded buckles being beaten or pounded on large tables. Some of the older employees give vivid descriptions of the conditions in the plant at that time. The present system of dust removal and the organization of a continuous system of separating and refining the lead without hand manipulation has produced vast changes for the better. Among the interesting facts given by the head of the factory, was that the chief engineer had at one time suffered from lead colic. Lead poisoning does not seem to be a respecter of persons. FACTORY C. I. Manufacture of White Lead: This factory which manufactures white lead only by the old system, occupies several very old buildings. Some of the cor- roding sheds are so dilapidated as to be quite out of plumb, and already the contents are being removed in order that they may be rebuilt. The factory employs at present 140 men. The table shown herewith shows the length of time the workers have been in the employ of this factory. It will be noted that almost half 408 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. have been employed less than one year. About half of the men are native Americans, while there are large numbers of Ger- mans, Italians, Slavs, Poles and Lithuanians. During the past summer, as the season was somewhat dull, very few men were employed, usually not more than 15. The notices and warnings about the plant are in four languages: English, Ger- man, Italian and Polish. 1. The casting of lead buckles. The casting room is similar to. those in other factories. The furnaces were protected by hoods and fumes are carried off by an ordinary hood. The room, how- ever, is much cleaner than that in the other factories, and one or two devices have been added which considerably improve conditions; for example, the endless chain on which the buckles are cast is placed in a pit on either side of the furnace (see photo No. 24) and the entire surroundings of the furnace and casting work are made of concrete. The buckles are cast by allowing a stream of molten lead to run over the moulds, which when they reach the end of the chain are dumped into a car. An old Ger- man is in charge of this work, who admitted having been em- ployed in the lead factory for about 28 years, and at this par- ticular job for 15 years. EMPLOYEES IN FACTORY C: CLASSIFIED BY OCCUPATIONS AND LENGTH OF TIME EMPLOYED.* | o "3 EXACT OCCUPATION or WORKER a 8 0> a V ij J3 11 Is IP gS II 3 TJ ^ o 0.0 IB Q.~, Q,-* 1 ' Q. *"** aS u i &i !'? 87 wA 1! U I* Stack dep't, building and discharg- 28 3 3 4 11 6 1 Laborere in yard, dock and store- house, shipping and receiving lead 13 2 2 1 4 3 1 Night watchman, night engineer. . Mill hands grinding, mixing and 3 1 1 1 packing lead 24 4 2 2 6 3 6 1 Engineers dep't, machinist, pipe fitter, blacksmith, carpenter, 10 1 1 3 4 1 Total 68 10 8 10 25 13 9 3 Information furnished by superintendent. No. 26. FACTORY C WHITE LEAD. Emptying corroded bucklea into conveyors, in the corroding stock house. No. 27. FACTORY C WHITE LEAD. A portion of the separating machinery. No. 28. FACTORY C WHITE LEAD. Drying room. No. 29. FACTORY D LEAD OXIDE. Lead oxidizing furnaces, hand type. OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 409 2. The corroding sheds. The corroding is done in the usual way by the old Dutch process. The floor of the bed is strewn with tan bark, on which are placed the earthenware jars, in the bottom of each of which is about a pint of acetic acid (2 to 2^% solution). The buckles are then placed in the jars above, but not in the acid; a layer of boards is placed over the jars con- taining the buckles; another layer of tan bark is placed on the boards, more earthen jars and so on. In the building up of these beds there is comparatively little danger. In the strip- ping of the beds, however, there is great danger. The jars are first dumped into small boxes about 1^ by 2 feet by 12 inches 'deep. (See photo No. 25.) These boxes filled with corroded buckles are then lowered from the beds to a car into which they are dumped. This car is covered; the cover is in three sections and only one of them is opened at any one time. During the process of removing the tan bark from the corroding beds, there is a considerable amount of dust raised in the corroding sheds. (See photo No. 26.) Doubtless the tan bark dust is thoroughly impregnated with lead. 3. Removing lead and separating system. Cars filled with corroded lead buckles are taken from the corroding sheds through a tunnel under the street surface to the beginning of the grind- ing process. The car is then hauled to a chute, opened at the bottom, and the corroded buckles fall into bins below, which are connected with the grinding system above by means of an auto- matic elevator. In this chute is a very powerful exhaust which effectively retains the dust. The white condition of the wood- work in the immediate vicinity of which the cars are dumped, tests the presence of considerable quantities of white lead. 4. Separating and grinding. From the time the corroded lead buckles are dumped into the chute and enter the grinding system until the white lead is finally packed in oil, it is not again exposed to the air in a dusty state. The first machine sepa- rates the corroded white lead from that portion of the buckle which still remains uncorroded. The metallic lead is rejected and is 410 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. thrown into a bin which stands in the open air under a shed. The white lead is then ground up and passed through a series of screens of smaller and smaller mesh. It is then carried to the floor above where it is mixed with a large quantity of water. This solution of water and white lead is run into large vats where it is gently stirred a process calculated to send heavier particles to the bottom and to drain off, over a sort of dam, the lighter and finer particles. This process is repeated until the lead is sent through a very fine screen with a mesh measuring one one-hundred and sixtieth of an inch. From here the lead calculated to be mixed with oil is run into a large tank into which oil is introduced. The lead having a greater affinity for the oil than for water and being somewhat heavier is forced to the bottom. The water which remains on top is drained off. The lead, after being thoroughly ground between revolving stones, is forced through small tubes to the packers who weigh it into barrels and cans. These are headed up and the white lead is then ready for the market. This latter process is not dangerous except as the workers get white lead into their mouths. 5. The drying room. The lead which is calculated to be packed dry is piped in solution to the drying pans which occupy two very large rooms. (See photo No. 28.) These rooms have many good sized windows; in one of them the inspector counted thirty. There is also a large 60-inch fan conveying the air from the drying room. There are two men employed in this depart- ment. The only special danger comes when the lead is dried and is ready to be packed in barrels. It is then carried to the chute and put into packing machines. This causes considerable dust and exposes the workers to danger. 6. Packing of dry white lead. The machine used for this purpose is similar to that used for packing red lead in Factory P. There is a large cylinder which descends into the barrel and fills it with dry white lead and causes little or no duet. The barrel is then taken from the machine and headed up. In this last process there is mors or less dust OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 411 II. Provisions for Hygiene. There are notices posted at various points throughout the build- ing in English, German, Italian and Polish, instructing the workers as to the dangers of the business and calling for clean- liness and care on their part. These instructions are not printed as fully as they might be, but they are placed in several parts of the factory. A wash room is provided for the men which is in a small building on the premises. This is of the ordinary sink type, but with hot and cold water. Soap, towels, brushes and work clothes are not provided. The superintendent de- clares that the men would carry them off. There is no dust removal system similar to that in Factories B and D. A doctor is employed by the factory management and any workers who are affected in any way are sent to him for treatment. Since the first of January, 1911, he has treated the following classes of cases: traumatic (accident) 8; sickness other than lead poi- soning 6, plumbism (lead poisoning) 8, total 22. Of these cases of plumbism, the following types are noted: two case of intes- tinal type (mild), one case intestinal type (severe), four cases of chronic type (arterio sclerosis, anemia, etc.), 1 case of sub-acute. The doctor visits the plant regularly each week and examines the men in a casual way; that is, he goes through the factory and picks out any man whom he thinks looks anemic or affected in any other way. III. Suggestions for Improvement: The factory on the whole is a good one and precautions have been taken. There is, however, no dust removal system simi- lar to Factories B or D, which would be the first and primary improvement to be made. Suggestions for other improvements would include the following: better ventilation of the corroding sheds, and the wetting down of the tan bark with sufficient thoroughness to prevent the raising of large quantities of dust; the enclosing of the chutes which are used for drying the white lead, especially in the drying room; the provision of more ade- quate washing facilities for the workmen; shower baths, which the workmen should be required to use; provision of a place for 412 OCCUPATIONAL, DISEASES. eating lunch ; provision of clean working clothes each week. The superintendent is skeptical about providing overalls, but it is quite evident that this provision has worked out successfully in at least one other plant. FACTORY D. Manufacture of (1) Red Lead, Lead Litharge, (2) White Lead by Quick Process, (3) Sugar of lead. The manufacture of red lead is, according to the doctor who attends both Factories B and D, more dangerous to the worker jthan that of white lead. There are about 300 men employed ^n the white lead works in Factory B, and about 80 in the red lead works, and yet he declares that he has more cases of plumb- jsm in the red lead works and that they are more serious. In Jhe case of white lead a simple treatment is the administration of a mild sulphuric acid lemonade, or the administering of some drug like potassium iodide or magnesium sulphide which will render the lead into lead sulphate, which is insoluble, and hence, with a good physic will be eliminated from the alimentary canal. ,A. little rest and change of employment will effectually relieve he case. This, however, cannot be done in the case of lead pxide, red lead or lead litharge, and hence the lead is absorbed fry the body tissues and when a sufficient amount is present the Individual gives way to one or another of the forms of lead poisoning. . The factory now under consideration is making four products: red lead, lead litharge, white lead (by quick process) and sugar of lead (lead acetate). Precautions of an exceptional nature Jiave been taken and the cases of poisoning have decreased dur- jng the last few years. At one time the factory enjoyed a very bad reputation workers would accept jobs there only when no pther employment was open to them. The work is almost all unskilled, the men seldom earn over $17.00 per week. They are mostly Poles, Slavs, Lithuanians and a few Barbadoes negroes. The table attached herewith throws interesting light on the length of time that the men employed here have held their positions. No. 30. FACTORY D LEAD OXIDE. Lead oxidizing furnaces hand type. No. 31. FACTORY D LEAD OXIDE. Lead oxidizing furnace. Mechanical type; discharging the furnace. OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 418 EMPLOYEES IN FACTORY D : CLASSIFIED BY OCCUPATIONS AND LENGTH OF TIME EMPLOYED. k > >> m > o s^s EXACT OCCUPATION or WORKER a m - a _, 11 on sS 11 ja "S3 IP "SB >>S3 o a> >.s! O > "B.2 aS "ag, 6 Z II |f HM IS SY w^ S? W-o I* 1^ e * Is Office staff 6 1 2 1 1 1 Engineering staff 6 1 4 1 Mechanics 2 1 i Mill foreman 3 i 2 Grinding and milling 10 4 1 2 1 i 1 Packers 3 i 2 Furnace foreman 3 i 2 Furnace men . . . 37 5 2 3 10 13 2 2 Coopers 4 1 1 1 1 Total . 84 11 3 6 19 16 g 10 J J. The Manufacture of Lead Oxide, Red Lead, Lead Litharge: 1. Oxidizing furnaces. The first process in the making of lead oxide, red lead and lead litharge is the burning or oxidizing of the metallic lead. The lead pigs are introduced into the fur- naces which are kept at temperatures of from 800 degrees to 1,700 degrees. The metallic lead quickly melts. The worker who attends the furnace is armed with a long-handled hoe, called a " ravel," with which he rakes backward and forward the molten metal. (See photos No. 29 and 30.) There is a powerful firaft through the furnace, which continually passes over the lead. ,The oxygen of the air gradually unites with the lead to form Jead oxide (Pb 0). The molten mass gradually changes form and becomes a powder of a light yellowish hue. This is lead litharge. The furnacemen work only about one-half the time; jthat is, they rake over the lead for about fifteen or twenty min- utes, and then close their furnaces and wait during an interval pf about the same length, and then repeat the process. One man only is employed to each furnace. The furnaces are not pro- vided with any special exhausts. It is a question as to whether they are needed. There is a powerful draft through the furnace pulling any fumes away from the open door and up the chimney. Any fumes which escape, however, when the doors are closed are not drawn off, and any dust raised in the process of drawing is not removed. 414 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 2. Drawing the furnaces. When the lead is sufficiently oxi- dized, the furnaces are emptied the lead is raked out through the oven door into cars which are backed up against the ovens. The lead piled high in these cars then stands in the furnace room until cooled. Here is a possible source of danger. (See photos Nos. 29, 30.) Much of the finely powdered lead escapes into the atmosphere, as the material is raked from the ovens or from the uncovered cars as they stand in the workroom. The only differ- ence between the manufacture of red lead and lead litharge is {hat the red lead must remain in the ovens, subject to the oxidizing jprocess, considerably longer than the yellow lead or lead litharge. Otherwise the processes are almost indentical. 3. Delivery of lead to the milling machines. The lead oxide carried in the open cars described above, is pushed to an open chute where it is tipped out and dumped. Considerable dust is raised by this process and the worker at this particular job is exposed to more or less dust of red lead and lead litharge. (See photo No. 32.) , 4. Grinding and refining of the red lead and lead litharge. From this chute the lead oxide is carried automatically to the upper floors of the building. Here the process of grinding and refining begins. The lead which is fine enough is drawn off by an endless screw and the heavier particles are rejected. This process is repeated over and over until a certain degree of fineness is attained. In the various rooms where the grinding and sifting is carried on there is an almost complete absence of dust. The machines are very carefully and completely enclosed. The separating machines are enclosed in double wooden jackets. There is seldom neces- sity for opening the machines and then only for repairs, as they are self-cleaning. Whenever it is necessary to repair any part of of them the whole system is immediately shut down. So complete is this dust removal system, that there was scarcely a film of dust on the walls or on the machinery. (See photos Nos. 33, 34.) 5. Packing red lead and lead litharge. The packing of lead litharge is done dry and is largely done by machinery. The No. 32. FACTORY D LEAD OXIDE. Drawing the lead rejected from the screens into a car. No. 33. FACTORY D LEAD OXIDE. Separating and conveying machinery. No. 34. FACTORY D LEAD OXIDE. High speed grinding mills. The large pipes and inverted pyramids are part of the dust removal system. Xo. 35. FACTORY D LEAD OXIDE. Filling barrels with lead litharge (oxide of lead). OCCUPATIONAL, DISEASES. 415 barrel is placed under a machine (see photos No. 35, 36) and the lead is then slowly emptied into the barrel. This part of the pro- ,cess is done without dust. The filling part of the machine, a ,large round cylinder, is then raised and the supply of lead is cut off. There is little dust in this process. The barrel, which is on Boilers, is then rolled away from the machine and a head is put pn, which again causes considerable dust. The negro who appears in photograph No. 35 has worked in this particular work for five years and has been absent only one week; this absence was pccasioned by a severe fall. In this department the workers are, most of them, using bandana handkerchiefs about mouths and nostrils. This is the last process in the manufacture of lead litharge. II. Hygienic Provisions-' 1. The dust system. As indicated above in describing the vari- ous rooms where lead oxide is ground, the system of dust removal js excellent. As will be seen in the photograph showing rooms filled with machinery, there are long pipes leading in every direc- tion; these pipes convey dust from the various machines to the dust room. These machines are provided with very powerful |Bxhausts and the suction is so great that even when one of the great bins into which the dry lead dust is constantly pouring was opened for the writer's inspection, there was no dust emitted .into the room. This dust taken from all parts of the factory is conveyed to the dust room. Here there are two methods of dust disposal. The one which will be seen at the left in photograph No. 37 is the older and is rather difficult to manage because the bags are placed so close together that whenever a bag breaks especially those in the center, it is very difficult to make repairs. The newer system of bags is seen in photograph No. 37. These ,may be easily removed and adjusted. All the dust is conveyed jnto the large receiving bins which are seen above and below the jbags. As long as the air pressure remains on, these bags are plistended, but when the pressure is released they flatten out and pollapse and the dust which is adhering to their sides is precipi- tated into the bin below. It is not necessary to clean out this 416 OCCUPATION AX DISEASES. Jbin more than once in a year and a half; when this is done the entire system is shut down. It is to be noted that even in the dust room there is very little dust to be seen clinging to the walls or on the floor. ( 2. Miscellaneous provisions. The workmen are provided with a washroom and a room where they can put their street clothing. ,This room is in the cellar and is lighted by one small window only, necessitating the use of gas. At one end of the room, which Js screened off by an iron lattice partition, there is a series of Jiooks where the men can put their street clothing. This part of jthe room may be locked. There are benches in the room but no Cockers. The superintendent, however, finds this system more satisfactory than lockers which, he contends, quickly fill with refuse and various odds and ends and are difficult to keep clean. There are about ten washbowls provided with hot and cold water. Origi- nally, three shower-baths were installed in this room but the men ( did not use them; in fact, the superintendent tells me that the pnly man he knows of who took a bath, never came back to work. J3o towels, soap or brushes are provided. No overalls or work clothing are provided. Doubtless one of the reasons why the men did not care to take baths is that the place set aside for this purpose is so dark and dingy. On the whole, the provisions ,for washing and personal hygiene may be said to be inadequate in this plant. There has been a great diminution in the number pf cases of lead poisoning since the introduction of the dust re- moval system. ,111. The Manufacture of White Lead by the Quick Process: , The manufacturers of white lead have for many years been ^searching for a quick process for making white lead. One of the processes, the so-called " Carter '' process, is used in one depart- ment of this factory for manufacturing white lead. The product which results is white lead; in fact, it is much whiter lead than was made by the old " Dutch " process. Many painters find it con- venient to put a little of the quick process white lead into a quantity of old Dutch white lead in order to give a whiter color. OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 417 The quick process white lead, however, has not the hiding power of that made by the old " Dutch " process. Its grain, or texture, js so fine that it can not be used as a coverer. The process, which presents very litle danger aside from handling of the lead, is a comparatively quick one since it may be made in about 24 hours. ,It is, however, on the whole, more expensive because with a given area a smaller quantity in the long run can be made. The molten metallic lead is run through water which brings it out in com- paratively small pieces in a rough, ragged condition. This lead ,is placed in a large vat to which acetic acid is added; a lead carbonate is then formed by the combination of the lead with the acetic acid. It then runs through several processes which are entirely enclosed and from which there escapes neither fumes nor dust. The finished product is white lead and oil. The lead throughout this process is never in a dry state and, therefore, the danger is minimized. JV. Manufacture of Sugar of Lead: The manufacture of sugar of lead is also carried on in this plant, and is one of the most dangerous processes. Lead litharge is mixed in large vats with acetic acid; it is then boiled and run into vats where it is allowed to crystallize. One boiling, however, is not sufficient to purify it or to reduce it to jthe necessary fineness of texture. It is then reboiled and again Allowed to run into vats where it crystallizes. This is the final process and lead sugar or lead acetate results. The sugar of lead jtself is poisonous. It is very sweet to the taste and is very soluble, which make it especially dangerous. It is constantly exposed in a dry state and several men come closely in contact with it. They handle it with their bare hands and hence fre- quently get it into their mouths. II. MANUFACTURE OF PAINT AND COLORS The industry, which is second only to the manufacture of car- bonate of lead and lead oxide as a source of lead poisoning, is the manufacture of colors, both oil colors and dry colors. In this group of industries, two factories have been inspected. On the 14 418 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. whole, the sanitary and hygienic conditions were much worse than in the factories manufacturing the red and white lead. The reasons for such conditions are not far to seek. In the first place, many of the factories manufacturing paints and colors are much smaller than those manufacturing red and white lead. The latter products can only be successfully made in comparatively large plants - plants large enough to keep a force of men continuously building and stripping the corroding beds, each of which remains undis- turbed for 100 days. In the manufacture of paints and colors, however, a small grinding mill and a little dry room suffice. This may appear to be uneconomical production, but many concerns, not paint manufacturers, grind and mix their own paints. A second reason for the relatively bad conditions in this group of factories is that lead poisoning is less prominent the danger has not been brought home to the manufacturer as closely and convincingly as it has in the case of the white lead works. The inspectors in their examinations of those factories have found employers who did not recognize the seriousness of lead poisoning in the least. Jn fact, in none of the factories making paints and dry colors were printed instructions concerning the dangers of the work posted in the factories. Very often superintendents claimed that they or their foremen instructed the workers personally, but the very fact that a small proportion of those employed spok ; English and that orders were habitually given in pantomime establishes the futility of such instructions even if conscientiously carried out. Conditions in some of these factories were really deplorable. Dressing and locker rooms, when provided at all, were of the most primitive sort. Photograph No. 75 shows a typical dressing room small, dirty, unventilated, a leaky shower bath in the center of the room. On the other hand, conditions are very differ- ent in comparatively modern factories where considerable care is taken of the workers. Systems of ventilation, if present at all, were often not such as to be of value. One large dry color fac- tory had installed a very complete dust removal system. But No.^38. FACTORY A PAINTS. Mixing white lead with oil. No. 39. FACTORY A PAINTS. White lead department. OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 4-19 unfortunately, the exhausts on the grinding machines for example, were far above the machine and above the heads of the operatives. If, then, they worked with any effectiveness their sole result was to pull the dust up into the faces of the workers. Only a system of localized exhausts exhausts immediately over and if possible enclosing the machinery will be effective in protecting the workers. Many of the plants which manufacture dry colors also manu- facture Paris green. A full description of some of the processes in these factories will be found in Appendix A to this report. From the paint manufacturers it was learned that pure white carbonate of lead is passing out of use and that it is being re- placed by zinc white, or a new white lead called " sublimed " lead, which is not as poisonous or as injurious as the carbonate of lead. Xhis new paint, the manufactureres contend, has not as great "' hiding " power as the old " Dutch " process lead but has greater " covering " power. The distinction is this the carbonate of lead will cover up and completely hide dark figures, a thing which would perhaps require two or more coats of the zinc white or the " sublimed " lead. The latter, however, in merely covering surface will go much further on account of a greater capacity to absorb oil. The exact facts concerning these substitutes for white carbonate of lead produced by the old " Dutch " process could be determined only after an exhaustive investigation. It is sufficient to state here that there are now substitutes for pure white lead which are less injurious on the market, for which the makers claim superior advantages and which seem to be competing Successfully with the original product. Much of the so-called " white lead " which is sold on the market as " pure white lead " js not carbonate of lead produced by the old " Dutch " process at all, but is composed largely of zinc white and " sublimed " lead. In the descriptions of the factories which follow, no attempt will bo made to divide the manufacturers of paints mixed with oil and those making dry colors. Many plants make both kinds of colors. 420 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. FACTORY A I. Manufacture of Paints and Chrome Colors: This factory employs about 150 people, of whom about 25 are women. They are of many nationalities, the majority, perhaps, are Americans, but there are also large numbers of Poles, Russians, Italians and other recent immigrants. The plant occupies a new and rather well arranged, well ventilated and well equipped building. The processes are complicated and much of it is of a mechanical nature ; the actual handling of the products by hand is not usually necessary. Precautions have been taken throughout the factory to prevent poisoning. Every roan employed is required to sign a release, exonerating the company in case of accident or disease. In consideration of this release a few of the employees who are most endangered are given somewhat higher wages. 1. Mixing solutions and drying colors. The various colors for making paints are mixed in large vats. In some of these pro- cesses there is danger, arising from fumes or from dirty hands #nd clothing, but ordinarily the wet processes of mixing paints are non-injurious. The solutions in the smaller vats are drained off into other larger vats and water is added which is designed to wash ,the colors thoroughly. The heavier portions gradually settle to the bottom and the water is drained off. The residue, which is .pure color slightly moist, is taken out and put on racks and ponveyed to the drying room where all moisture is finally elimin- ated. The color is then ready to be ground. There is more or less danger in handling these colors which increases as they be- come more concentrated and drier. 2. Grinding and mixing oil colors. The process begins with ,the arrival of the white lead which is in a dry powdered form. This lead is thrown into chutes which lead to grinding machines on the floor below. (See photo No. 38.) The foreman in this Department declared that the white lead was usually mixed with oil before being put into the chutes and a couple of small hand cars nearby were filled with an oil mixture of white lead. How- No. 40. FACTORY A PAINTS. Grinding red colors No. 41. FACTORY A PAINTS. Grinding green colors. No. 42. FACTORY A PAINTS. Dust house. The dust is brought here by_meana of a suction fan. No. 43. FACTORY A PAINTS. Arrangement of vats in red color room, OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 421 ever, while the inspector was in the room a workman began to fill pne of the cars, taking the dry white lead powder from a barrel ,and dumping it into one of the cars. There was no oil in the par before the lead was put in, the workman, however, immediately .rectified the mistake by dashing for a can of oil which he dumped into the car. (See photo No. 39.) The grinding and mixing of the white lead and oil is done largely by machines and furnishes very little opportunity for dangerous contact with the lead com- pounds. 3. The mixing and grinding of colors. Dry colors after leav- ing the drying room are taken to the grinding and mixing machines. These occupy an entire floor of the building, but the room was so dark when the inspector arrived at 4:00 p. M., that photographs could not be taken by natural light. The room was also filled with dust. Machines which are set about the room .are of different colors indicating the color mixed in each. Chunks of color material are thrown in at the top of the machine and ground between two revolving stones (isee photos Nos. 40, 41) with a circular motion. There is more or less dust accompanying this process, which, in case of the chrome colors, is dangerous. In fact, almost all of these colors have some lead in them which varies .from 5 to 80 %. The worker stands in front of the machine and with a wooden hoe pulls backward and forward the finely powdered colors which are within. More or less dust was con- stantly escaping. At one of these machines a worker was observed cleaning out the wooden bin into which the colors had boon put. He was on his hands and knees in front of the low opening and was brushing out the color with a fine brush. Clouds of dust were coming from the wooden bin and rising about his face and head. All the men that worked in this department v/ere very .dirty, their faces were covered with many hues of the rainbow. The foreman of this work declared there had been no cases of lead poisoning for forty years. One of the workers there who was approached in the absence of the superintendent and foreman said several of the men l>ad had attacks of lead colic and that at that moment two men were home on that account. 422 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 4. Making of water colors. In a small, light, well ventilated workroom there were two or three men and four girls packing various shades of color which were put up in little packages for use of water color painters and for use in schools. The foreman 4n charge declared that there was no lead used in paints made in this department because school authorities would not permit poisonous paints to be used in schools. 5. Labeling cans. There were a number of young women working in the labeling department, but none of these come in contact with the lead. 6. The making of tin cans. This firm makes its own tin cans which is done in a large well lighted and well ventilated room. The only danger in this process is the soldering, but so little work is done and the conditions are so good that it is very doubtful whether there is any danger. II. Provisions for Hygiene. On the whole, this establishment can be said to be relatively a good one. There are a number of precautions taken which deserve mention. There are washrooms and lockers for both men and women scattered at various points throughout the factory. There is a ventilation system which connects with all parts of the plant. It is, however, a general system and not localized. .This would be a very good system for a clothing factory, but in .a dusty trade it does not meet the needs of the situation. All the dust is conveyed from the various machines to the roof where it is caught in dust houses. (See photo No. 42.) These dust .houses are of various colors due to the kind of color used in the .machines. They are about eight feet by eight feet by six feet and screened on three sides, which permits the air to pass through and out but retains all the color materials. These houses also .contain the exhaust fans. The workers are furnished with various safeguards, such as respirators. They are instructed to some extent as to the dangerous character of the business. They are given towels, soap, overalls, clean linen cloths and various other J No. 44. FACTORY B PAINTS. Steam pressing blue colors. Xo. 4o. FACTORY B PAINTS. Emptying lake colors from drying room into barrels. OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 423 .sanitary conveniences. There are no printed instructions posted throughout the shop. The men who are at work at the dangerous occupations are paid somewhat higher wages, but the occupations which are considered dangerous are absurdly few. JII. Suggestions for Improvements: The principal suggestion to be made is that there be a system of local ventilation with powerful exhausts placed immediately in .front of the dusty processes to take the dust away from the workmen. A useful improvement would be the enclosing of the machinery ,in dust jackets. This is especially true of the parts connected .with the grinding of colors. This process could thereby be ren- .dered almost dust tight. Compulsory washing and bathing would doubtless reduce danger and the installation of a lunch room apart from the place of work would be an improvement, as at present men are permitted to eat in the workrooms. FACTORY B Man u f (tcf tire of Dry Colors: This is one of the largest plants in this line of business and employs 70 men. The hours are ten per day, nine on Saturday, 59 hours a week. The manufacture of any dry color is essentially a simple process, although it takes considerable time and a large amount of space with a small labor supply. The processes may be divided into the main stages: 1. The boiling and preparing of the solution. 2. Washing out of the acids. 3. Filtering and pressing of the solid residue. 4. Drying of the pigments. 5. Disintegration and bolting process. 6. Packing. 424 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. In this particular establishment there are four dry color depart- ments. These are: a. Manufacture of lake colors. b. Manufacture of blue prussian blue, purple, etc. c. Manufacture of yellow ochre, sienna, etc. d. Manufacture of green color. (a.) The manufacture of lake colors. The original pigments are first boiled in large vats which are near the top of a large barn-like room (see photo No. 43). These vats are placed one above the other. The top vat is where the boiling in done ; from this vat the solution is conveyed to the lower tank where the oxidizing agents are added; in a still lower and larger vat the colors are thoroughly washed and then drained off into the filter. This filter may be of two kinds; first, the old hand press which has come down from the time of the Pharaohs. It consists of filling bags with the wet color mixture and piling them one above the other. A man squeezes out the moisture with a, long wooden lever which he leaves with a weight attached to hold down the bags of color. The process is used where the material is wanted for shipment in a wet state. The other and more modern process is to force the diluted mixture into a series of filters. Here it is pressed by hydraulic machinery. When it comes from this filtering pro- cess it is sometimes shipped immediately, but a large part of the product goes to the drying room. The contents of each individual filter is put on a pan or tray which is carried into the drying room. There it remains at a temperature of from 130-180 de- gress until the moisture is entirely taken out of the pigments and is left in a dry, hardened form. The pigment is then taken to the grinding machines, where disintegration takes place. Jt is made into a powder by being ground between revolving stones. The packing department is immediately under the mills, where it is run into barrels by a process which is not very dusty. In the making of lake colors about 5% only of the pigment is lead. Whenever a color with a large per cent of lead is ground & .5 ~~ > M)"~ 00 ^~ as Xo. 48. FACTORY B PAINTS. Filling barrels with chrome yellow. No. 49. FACTORY A LEAD REFINING. Pot of lead drawn from the " sweater," from which the caster is ladling molten lead. No. 50. FACTORY A LEAD REFINING. Lead pot, same as 49. Pouring lead into moulds. Xo. 51. FACTORY A LEAD REFINING. Kettles for melting and refining lead. No. 52. FACTORY A LEAD REFINING. Lead kettles. Stirring lead, and adding rosin, etc. OCCUPATIONAL, DISEASES. 425 there is a special room set aside for this purpose. The pigment is then ground within the specially enclosed room and no employee enters this room until the dust has well settled. (b.) Manufacture of blue color. The processes in the manu- facture of blue color are practically the same as those in the lake color department It has so far, however, been found to be im- practical to use the dustless mill in connection with the blues, on account of some differences in the texture of the materials. The manufacturing departments in which the blue colors are made are somewhat darker than the others, on account of the walla being colored with pigment. (c.) Manufacture of yellow color. In the yellow, and the following green colors, we find the highest percentage of lead that is found in any of the colors. It varies from 75-80%. Special precautions are taken against poisoning by lead. The elementary processes are similar to those in the other colors, with one pos- sible addition. At one stage in the process, when the color is still in solution, a worker sprinkles the solution with lead litharge. He does this by scattering the lead from a shovel over the mixture. (See photo No. 48.) Although he wore a respirator, doubtless considerable of the very fine lead oxide was distributed through the air. In packing the dry yellow colors, particular precautions are taken. A very large dust collector is attached to the filling ma- chine, and when the filling is going on this bag is distended and collects the dust, which would otherwise scatter itself through the air. (See photo No. 50.) (d.) Manufacture of green color. Like the yellow color, the green color has a very large proportion of lead content, varying in different qualities from 75-80%. The processes in the manu- facture are exactly similar to those already described. II. Provisions for Hygiene: Although, as already stated, this is a comparatively old plant, it has many very excellent precautions. There is notable care 426 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. exercised in providing and requiring the men to wear respirators. There are many devices which prevent dust, like the dustless mill, the special room for grinding, the special dust removal apparatus in connection with the mills. A large room has been set aside and equipped with chairs and tables as a lunch room. The men don't take care of it, however, and if it is allowed to become dirty it will itself become a source of danger. III. Suggestions for Improvements: , The suggestions for improvements which might be made are .numerous. Of course the entire plant should be remodeled, and perhaps a new one put up. Aside from this, however, minor improvements could be made which would vastly improve con- ditions: for example, the provision of some hot drinks and milk at lunch, adequate care of the lunch room, the making of washing obligatory, the provision of more adequate toilet facili- ties and others of a similar character. III. SMELTING, MELTING, REFINING AND CASTING OF LEAD. A large number of cases of lead poisoning were found in com- paratively small factories where lead junk is collected, refined and made into type metal, solder, Babbitt metal and other forms of lead solder. The lead junk is collected from all over the city, and the factories which deal in it are usually about as dirty and ill-kept as any factories that have been found to be using lead in any form. The lead, when it is brought to the lead factory, is stored usually in the immediate proximity of the workers until it is ready to be smelted up. The lead junk is then put into a /smelter, where the dross is separated from the pure lead, which is run off from the side of the smelter. (See photo No. 49.) The Jead is run into an open tank, usually at the side of the smelter. The worker then ladels it out and runs it into moulds, where it is allowed to harden, and then is piled up near-by. (See photo No. 50.) In the making of solder usually the lead is melted up in pots or kettles about three (3) feet in diameter. (For example, see photos N"os. 51 and 53.) These kettles, or lead pots, as they are No. 53. FACTORY B LEAD REFINING. Lead pot, showing exhaust and chimney. No. 54. FACTORY C LEAD REFINING. Lead pots. Flashlight picture. No. 55. FACTORY D LEAD REFINING. Lead pots. Ladling molten lead into moulds for solder, etc. No. 56. FACTORY D LEAD REFINING. Victim of lead poisoning with wrist drop, now employed in sorting scrap metal. OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 4;.' 7 called, are sometimes hooded over and connected with chimneys which are supposed to draw off the fumes, but often they are not .hooded at all. In none of the factories inspected were exhaust .fans found to be attached to the hoods. The value of the hood is, .therefore, probably small. The worker ladels the molten lead from the lead pots and runs it into molds for solder. These molds ,are shaped so that the lead, when cold, is in long, narrow strips. .The solder usually made by these factories contains from 40 to 60 per cent of lead, the remainder being tin. Other lead alloys, such as type metal and Babbitt metal, are niade in practically the same way. Type metal and Babbitt metal .have a proportion of lead varying from 25 to 70 per cent, accord- ing to the quality of the metal and the work which it is expected .to perform. Of all of the factories inspected, only one can be said to have even fair conditions. In the others the sanitary con- .veniences were of the most primitive sort and sometimes disgust- ingly dirty. The rooms in which the work is done are usually .filled with dust and dirt of every description. In one factory (see photo Xo. 54) the air was so thick with smoke and dust at .the time tin- investigator visited the plant, about 4 p. m., that .the gas had to be lighted, and in order to take flashlight pictures a fl;i>li of about twice the ordinary strength had to be used. The danger of rhis work comes probably from three sources: .First, there is a possibility of the lead poisoning being occasioned J)\ the lead fumes generated from the molten lead. This the writer believes to be negligible. Second, possibility of the contraction of lead poisoning from the hands, which are usually covered with dirt from the lead which the worker is constantly handling. This is no doubt an important source of lead poison- ing. Third, and perhaps the most important, is the possibility of lead poisoning through the inhalation of lead oxide. A scum /if lead oxide is constantly forming on the surface of the molten Jead. The worker is continually drawing aside this scum of lead /ixi.le, and very often takes it from the top of the kettle and throws it on the floor. This scum is usually covered over by a very fine powdery substance, which is pure oxide of lead. No doubt a considerable amount of this oxide is floating about in the 428 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. .air iii the immediate vicinity of the worker and that he must inhale large quantities of it. , In none of the factories in which lead junk was melted up and in which lead alloys, solder, etc., were made, were instructions pf any kind ever given the men, or were instructions posted on walls of the factories. Eating was universally permitted in the work-rooms. The superintendents usually permit beer to be brought in at almost any time during the day. Smoking was quite universal among the men. Instances of this sort are shown in photographs Nos. 50 and 56. In none of the factories were towels or soap furnished the men, and the only hot water, and in some cases the only water, furnished for washing purposes was that in the troughs in which the molds are placed in order to cool the lead. Jn some of the factories there were exhaust fans for changing the air in the room. Such a system of ventilation, however, is almost hopeless in meeting the demands of the situation. In none of .these factories was a doctor employed or doctors' services at the .disposal of the workers. With the exception of the manufacture pf white and red lead these factories are, perhaps, the most dan- gerous in which lead in any form is used. IV. USE OF LEAD AS A HARDENING AND TEMPERING AGENT. FACTOKY A. Manufacture of Magnetos. The department in which the lead is used is at the back of the building in a sort of shed " lean-to." It is slightly below the level of the ground, About 60 by 10 feet, about 12 feet ceiling. Ventilation is pro- vided for by a fan near the ceiling at one end, and an opening At the other. There are four windows, about three feet by five, along one side. In this room there are five lead pots, the tempera- ture of which varies from 1,400-1,800 degrees. Above these pots Are hoods connecting with a 16-inch pipe, which is supposed to lead off all fumes from the pots. This room was hot and dirty; the floor was littered with junk and dirt of various kinds. The process is hardening the steel magnets after they have been bent in an adjoining room. The magnets, which are horse-shoe in shape, are plunged into a bath of molten lead in one of the No. 57. FACTORY E LEAD REFINING. Brothers who have had lead poisoning melting and refining lead junk. No. 58. FACTORY E LEAD REFINING. Same as 57, showing different position. No. 59. FACTORY E LEAD REFINING. Lead pot, with hood, but no exhausts; running molten lead into moulds. No. GO. FACTORY E LEAD REFINING. Drawing solder wire. OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 429 pots. Here they remain until red hot. They are then removed by one of the workers and handed to another (see photo No. 61), ,who plunges them into a barrel of water near-by. They are then pooled and stacked about an upright bar and rubbed with sand- paper, in order to remove adhering bits of lead. There is a pos- sibility here, therefore, of the inhalation of lead fumes, which, .however, the writer believes to be slight; the possibility of small particles of lead congealing on the steel magnets as they are taken from the lead bath, and of these flying oft' into the air is great. .This is also true of the rubbing process. A more probable method pf infection is by means of the lead oxide, which is constantly forming on the surface of the molten lead. This oxide, which is An the shape of a powder, is easily disseminated through the air .and is one of the most dangerous forms of lead. There is no .washroom on this floor. The foreman, when asked where the men washed, replied: "At home, I guess." The toilets consist of ,two dirty, unenclosed seats, totally insufficient. The firm gives no advice on the danger of the occupation, and the foreman, ad- mitting men occasionally got sick, claimed that he didn't know .whether it was lead poisoning or not, and " anyway it was only the hard drinkers that got it." (See cases Nos. 20, 21, 22, 23.) No physician or medical advice is provided, and no precautions of .any kind are taken. The paymaster stated, on being questioned, .that he could give me the addresses of men who had left on Account of illness, if the foreman remembered their names. The foreman mentioned the names I) and W . (See cases Nos. 21 and 22.) Nothing was said of B (case No. 20), whom the in- spector had already visited. The two names were taken to the paymaster, who gave the addresses, which in case of D prove correct, and in case of W proved to be wrong. No mention was made of any other cases, although the inspector specifically asked for all cases. The paymaster asked, in some surprise, " Why ! Is lead dangerous ? " The superintendent admitted that nothing- was done for these cases of sickness, although in case of accident a small sum of money is occasionally given. , Subsequent to this visit the investigators have proved and in- terviewed five cases of men who have worked in this plant who have had lead poisoning. One man had died of lead poisoning and a 430 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. /complication of other causes. In addition the investigators have Jbeen given reliable information (which they have not had time Jo verify) of four other cases. This process has been in opera- tion here just one year. About nine men are required to do the .work. Here, therefore, is a department, employing a regular force of nine men and where there have been nine cases of lead .poisoning in one year. FACTORY B. Lead Used for Tempering Wire: In one large establishment where piano wire and springs are made lead is used in several departments as a tempering or har- dening agent. , Most of the men coming in contact with the lead are employed An the tempering department. Here the wires are drawn through A furnace, where they are heated to a very high temperature, and then after passing out of the furnace, are passed through a bath of molted lead. This bath of lead is exposed to the air and is about three feet long and one foot wide. The wires are wound off of one set of reels and passed through the lead to another set. The lead oxide, which is constantly forming on the surface of the lead, is ^craped away occasionally and allowed to pile up on the machinery pr fall to the ground. One man only tends each machine, and it is not necessary for him to remain near the lead for any great .length of time. Some of the machines in this room have hoods and exhaust chimneys, and some have not. Where these hoods have not been provided the engineer claimed that the wires which passed just above prevented the construction of hoods. It ap- peared to the inspector, however, that a very efficient hood could easily be constructed to fit this particular place. The room was .ventilated by means of open windows at either side and by means of several overhead skylights. In spite of the large number of windows and skylights, the room was hazy and filled with smoke and fumes. The superintendent stated that lead poisoning was on the de- crease here since the installation of the hoods and skylights. In No. 61. FACTORY A LEAD AS HARDENING AGENT. passing red hot steel from lead pot to water barrel. The hardening room OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 431 spite of this fact, one ease, evidently unknown to the superin- tendent, has come to our attention, and he admitted that he had .known of 12 cases in the last five years. There are 60 men employed in this department, in two shifts. The day shift works ten hours for six days a week and the night shift 12 hours for .five days a week. Xeither shift is given a specific time for meals and they eat as they work. In another department lead is also used. This is called the patenting furnace. There the wire is run very slowly through a high temperature furnace, and then through a bath of molten Jead. In this case the lead is covered by charcoal to a depth of #bout four to six inches. After passing through the lead the wire passes through water and through pads, which effectually cool and cleanse it of any fine lead particles. The foreman stated that while they once had lead poisoning among the workers in this department, it had almost entirely disappeared since the introduc- tion of the cleaning process. Eighteen men are employed here in two shifts, with hours the same as those in the tempering department. Another department in which there may be some danger, but in whi oli there is very little, if any, lead used, is that containing the so-called galvanizing furnaces. Here the wire is passed through an acid bath, which prepares it for a coating of spelter. This spelter is confined in a long, narrow basin, exposed to the air. The wire passes through it and comes out coated with spelter, or zinc (prin- cipally). It is cleansed of any surplus coating and reeled onto reels. Over most of these basins of molten zinc there were hoods, although some of these hoods were very high above the molten metal. There is no hot water in the wash rooms throughout the plant and, while the toilets are adequate, they are not well kept. There are no adequate washing facilities and no lockers in which the men can keep their clothing. The hoods which are put over the various lead pots, are not provided with exhaust fans and are therefore, almost useless. The generalized method of ventilation merely adds to the danger. 432 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. V. USE OF LEAD SOLDERS. The only use of lead solders that has been investigated is in connection with the manufacture of tin cans. The use of solder is being displaced in large part by the pressing of the cans and the accurate fitting of one part of the can into another and the pressing of the parts together. The use of solder, however, is still considerable and demands attention. Although no cases of lead poisoning were traced to the can factories, the fact that lead is used, and in a comparatively dangerous form, makes this indus- try a possible source of infection. The most prevalent method of soldering tin cans is by the use of a hot iron, heated in a gas furnace, and thus, by means of it, spreading the solder from a small bar along the edge that is re- quired to be soldered. The molten lead is free, therefore, only for a moment, and hardens along the edge of the tin almost imme- diately. The worker handles the bar of lead continuously and usually his fingers are blackened by the constant contact. How- ever, there is comparatively little danger in this form of soldering. There is another method of soldering, which, however, seems to need attention. In one factory the inspector found a boy stand- ing continuously over a shallow pool of molten lead. The boy's job was to dip the can, a rather large one, in the solderene (an acid for preparing the surface of the tin for its solder), and then dip- ping the edge of the can into this bath of molten solder ; he then passes it on to another worker, who puts on the bottom of the can. The boy is constantly removing from the surface of the lead bath the collecting skum of lead oxide, which piles up on the bench before him and fall off onto the floor, to be scattered and breathed. The lad could speak no English, and therefore the inspector could not get the desired information as to whether or not he had been affected. Such an open lead bath, small and shallow as it is, is, however, a source of constant danger. In this same factory pro- visions were made for several other similar pots, which were not going on account of a dull season. I Is H 03 P a C c S, OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 433 VI. MISCELLANEOUS INDUSTRIES. 1. Manufacture of Coaches, Carriages and Automobile Bodies: Only a beginning has been made in the study of this industry which will doubtless reveal evidences of lead poisoning when more thoroughly examined. Lead is used in the paints, several coats of which are usually applied in the high grade v/ork, re- quired for coaches and automobiles. These coats are successively rubbed down, in order to give a perfectly even flat surface which is capable of taking a very high polish. In one of the factories inspected, where a very high grade of work is done, the first coats are put on with a material called " rough stuff," which is composed of 60 parts lead to 80 parts of rotten stone. Several coats of this mixture are applied, and then rubbed down with pumice stone. This is a wet process and no dust whatever is raised. The manager claimed that sand- paper would not give by any means as high a polish or as fine a finish, and that it was used only on second grade work. In one part of this work the sand papering process was used, namely, on the spokes of the wheels, as shown in photograph number 63. This is not a continuous process, however, as there is not enough of the work to keep a man at it all the time. In fact the man in this picture was posed specially for the picture. In other carriage factories, especially where repair work is done, the old paint is very often removed by a sandpaper process, in the course of which considerable dust is raised, which is, of course, fatally harmful to the workers. A very much more detailed study is necessary before more definite conclusion* can be reached concerning this industry. 2. Manufacture of Lead Pipe, Lead Tubing and Solder Wire: The processes used in making lead pipe, varying in size from a fraction of an inch to a foot, lead tubing and solder wire, are all similar. The work is done almost entirely by machinery and the workers only handle the metallic lead. , The molten lead is run into a receptacle at the bottom of a hydraulic press. An aperture and mould is left at the top, which 434 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. gives the size of the tube which is to be made. The press is then set in operation and the lead is pressed upward through the aperture forming the tube the desired size. In the case of very large tubing, it is sawed off in ten-foot lengths. (See photo Xo. 21.) In the case of smaller tubes, it is carried high up over a bar and then brought down and coiled around a large drum. (See photo No. 22.) No cases of lead poisoning were found in this work, although the probability is that a more searching investigation would re- veal them. !. Manufacture of Sheet Lead: One factory where sheet lead is manufactured was inspected. The process is a comparatively simple one, and not necessarily dangerous. The lead is first run into considerable sheets, sev- eral inches in thickness. These sheets are run between two re- volving rollers, until the desired thickness is attained. The sheets are then cut to size by hand, and the remnants chopped to pieces with an axe and returned to the melting pot. No cases of poison- ing were found in this work. 4. Manufacture of Lead-Foil and Tin-Foil: Two large factories making tin-foil and lead-foil employing 300 and 200 people, about half of whom were women, and many of whom were children, were inspected. Lead is the largest ele- ment in the manufacture of ordinary tin-foil and lead-foil. In some foils pure tin is used, but this is very rare, usually there are large proportions of lead, varying from 5-80%. . The pig lead is melted up and cast into slabs about 21/2 feet square and one inch in thickness. In one of the factories where the casting is done, there are four lead pots. None of these lead pots are protected by hoods. The room in which the process is carried on is in the basement of the factory and in spite of a large suction fan of probably 42 inches in diameter, the room is badly ventilated and very hot. Most of the men working here fceemed to be healthy enough and denied having ever experienced any attacks of lead poisoning. The superintendent, however, was OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 435 with the inspector all the time. In the second plant the casting room, although located somewhat below ground, and containing unhooded lead pots, was very light and the air seemed fresh and wholesome. The room was much cleaner than the other and was provided with two exhaust fans. The men here also dis- claimed any knowledge of lead poisoning, and also disclaimed any of the symptoms. From this point in the process, the lead is always in metallic form. The slabs of lead after having been cast are sent to the rolling machines where they are rolled between the large rollers set one above the other until they have been reduced to very thin long sheets. The whole process of making the tin-foil becomes from this time forward a process of rollings, each successive oper- ation reducing the thickness of the material. In the making of bottle tops, a heavy thickness of very plia- ble lead-foil is used. The lead is drawn into the desired shapes for bottle caps by automatic machines which are tended by young^ girls. The girls, however, merely handle the sheets of foil as it pomes before them, and we are told, occasionlly get their fingers under the machinery and cut off. , The tin-foil is colored by machine, and some of it is painted by hand. The colors used are aniline colors, and are less harm- ful than lead colors, although the aniline has an intoxicating effect. Much of this work is done by young girls. In one of the factories toilet and washing facilities are pro- vided on every floor of the building. Ventilation throughout the building is merely the ordinary window sort. No lunch room is provided for the employees, and they are permitted to eat wherever they wish. Instructions as to the dangers of the work are neither given personally nor posted. A doctor is em- ployed by the firm who comes to the plant every other day. His work is largely traumatic and he has nothing to do with sickness. Lockers are provided for both men and women. No towels, soap or overalls are provided. No cases of lead poisoning were known to the superintendent. The second factory has excellent toilet and washing facilities on every floor. Towels and soap are provided, but not overalls. Special attention is given to cleanliness throughout the plant. 436 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. The firm has hired a woman whose job is to cook hot things, which the girls themselves provide. This enables them to have a warm lunch. A woman also is hired who has charge of the girls' toilets. In this plant also the superintendent denied any knowledge of any cases of lead poisoning. A certain chemical compound, the formula for which is a /secret, is added to the lead and tin mixture in the molten slabs .which tends to give the tin-foil its brilliant appearance. To this chemical may be due the absence of poisoning, for it doubtless prevents in a large measure the oxidation of the lead which .would otherwise occur. 5. Manufacture of Linoleum and Oilcloth' . At two points in the manufacture of linoleum is lead used, first, in the first process where the linseed oil is boiled, red lead is used as a drying agent. The inspector did not see the worker who regularly did the work, but the superintendent illustrated. The lead oxide dust was scooped out of a barrel and sprinkled over the mixture as it boiled. Doubtless much of this lead got out into the atmosphere. The second point at which lead was used is in the making of various colored linoleums. The coloring matter is largely made of lead colors, and is ground up with the linseed oil mixture, and comes out and is rolled into sheets, from which various portions are cut and are fitted together, or inlaid, to make the designs which are usually seen in linoleums. A large number of girls and young women work with these materials but there is almost no dust. The superintendent denied ever having had knowledge of lead poisoning in the factory. However, this factory is almost the sole support of the little and very isolated village in which it is located. No fewer than six cases of lead poisoning from this little town were known at a local hospital men who, it is almost certain, worked in this factory. Unfortunately no defi- nite information could be obtained concerning them, as they were foreigners who moved rapidly, and only one or two were known at the post-oifice, and they had not been resident in the OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 437 town for many months. Where the cause of lead poisoning is in this factory, it is difficult to say. The most likely place seems ,to be the sprinkling of the red oxide of lead into the boiling lin- seed oil. However, so little of this is probably done that there must be some other source of the poisoning which has not been .discovered. .6. Manufacture of Cut Glass: , The largest factory in the State manufacturing cut glass was .inspected with special reference to lead. At one time lead was Jargely used in the cut glass industry, but it has since very largely .disappeared, and while lead poisoning was then very prevalent among glass cutters, it is to-day a great rarity. After the design has been cut into the glass, a considerable amount of sand remains adhering to the cuts. The glass is ,then turned over to another set of workers who are usually ap- prentices, whose work consists of cleaning out thoroughly the cuts originally made. This is done by holding the' glass against .disks of pumice stone. Under the old process of manufacture ,the glass then went to a worker seated in front of a revolving .brush. On this brush was placed powdered lead and zinc, the purpose of which was to clean thoroughly the cuts made in the glass. During the performance of this process the worker be- comes covered with the lead powder. The glass was then further cleaned and polished by being rubbed with a putty which was composed of a large proportion of lead. These processes were used up to about eight years ago when they were superseded Jby a very much cheaper one. It was discovered at that time that this work of cleaning and polishing could be better accomplished by dipping the pieces of cut glass in solutions of hydrochloric and sulphuric acid. Work which had previously taken a work- man half a day could then be done in a few moments. This new process, replacing as it has in almost every shop the older methods, has almost eliminated lead poisoning from the glass industry. In the large factory employing almost 400 people, which was inspected, the amount of lead formerly used was about 150 438 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. pounds monthly; to-day they do not use 150 pounds of lead in .three years. Only one man in the entire number now uses lead at all and he is not continuously employed, his work being of a repair nature. B. NON-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 1. Painting and Interior Decorating: , Almost half of the special cases of lead poisoning collected, and more than were found in any other industry, were those of painters. The number of cases of painters, as shown by the hos- pital records, which usually record the painter's trade as such, is very large indeed; a small number of painters' unions, which ,have been visited for information, report an astonishingly high rate of lead poisoning. The painter's trade is very thoroughly organized. The painters themselves have a very strong organization, which includes the great majority of men in the city who follow that trade. At best, the average painter, and the very good painter, too, has to look forward to two or three months' idleness during every year. The work of the painter, like that of the bricklayer and .stone mason, is very casual in character. This is due both to ,the character of the work done, the hundred and one small jobs, and also to the organization of the industry where a single work- man very seldom finds himself steadily attached to one con- tractor or boss painter. The kinds of work that a painter is called upon to do may ,be divided roughly into two classes, (a) exterior and (b) in- ferior work. The interior work again may be repair or reno- vating work, the reworking of old surfaces, and new work. The exterior work, done as it is in the open air, presents in itself very little danger. The interior work is dangerous. On old work the painter must sandpaper or burn off the old paint. In the first case, he is liable to inhale the dust, which is the dust .of lead paint, and therefore carries a high percentage of lead, and in the second case, in burning off the old paint considerable quantities of lead fumes and dust due to scraping are developed. These processes are therefore, perhaps, the most dangerous lead processes. On new work the danger is two-fold; the first is due OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 439 to the inhalation of lead fumes from the wet paint. This is not especially dangerous except in a very close and very poorly ven- tilated room. The second and greatest danger is that on a high grade of work, two or more coats of paint are usually put on and successively sandpapered, in order to give a smooth finish. These sandpapering processes are extremely dangerous. Many of the painters who were interviewed for this study had worked at this grade of work immediately preceding their most serious attacks of lead poisoning. . It is a curious fact that lead poisoning is most prevalent among the highest grade of \vorkmen and that the cheap or low grade painter almost wholly escapes. This is due, in the first place, to the fact that he uses a cheap paint which contains little lead, and in the second, that he simply slaps it on and does not at- tempt to put on a high-grade finish. The best interior decora- tors, who do the highest grade of work, are usually most liable .to lead poisoning. Many of our cases were traced to the great hotels, club houses and Fifth avenue homes. The new building, in course of construction, presents some serious problems. Many new buildings, almost all new build- ings in a great city like Xew York, have scores of workmen in them, many more, perhaps, than the average factory. And so far as labor conditions are concerned, they are entirely outside the pale of the law. Except for certain regulations concerning scaf- folding and temporary flooring, etc., 1 there are no laws govern- ing the working conditions in buildings in course of construction. Then- arc probably not less than 75,000 men in New York city working under conditions which are entirely unsupervised by the State and which are usually neglected and un thought of by employers. The conditions in a building in course of construction are dif- ficult to manage. The very fact that it is in course of construc- tion means that conditions are temporary; that it is a mere shell without conveniences of any sort. Sanitary conveniences are almost impossible; it is difficult to supply water to the dif- ferent floors; there is also the newness of materials, and the dampness and moisture of a building half open and half closed. 1 Labor Law, sections 18, 19. 20 and 21. 440 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. Worst of all, everything and everybody is temporary. One group ,of workmen after another succeed each other, each with its own .equipment, which is carried away when it leaves. The very or- ganization of the building industry is a handicap the builder and owner usually sublets all the different parts of the work, pften to contractors who gather a special force of men for this particular job and who have nothing permanent in their busi- ness arrangements. Here, therefore, is an industry which is ponstantly making its conditions, which are continually changing, and to which a constantly shifting group of men are subjected. The chief difficulties are these: the painters are constantly working with a dangerous poison; they are ignorant of the dan- ger of the poison with which they are working; they are care- Jess in observing the precautions which would lessen the dangers from lead poisoning; most of the precautionary measures are denied the painter because he hasn't warm water in which to wash, he is not provided with washing facilities, nor is there time, especially during the winter months when he gets only a half hour for lunch, to use what facilities there are. , No doubt a large part of the danger could be avoided. If inc paint instead of lead were used, the danger would be al- most eliminated. In France, this will be decreed by law after 4-914. The writer has been told that as a matter of fact the 2inc paint is no more expensive than white lead, that is, when considered from all points of view. The sandpaper process could be replaced with a wet process using sandpaper and either oil or water. This process is slightly more costly than the dry process. Rooms could easily be fitted up in almost every large Jbuilding where the painters could keep a change of clothing and Jiave a clean place in which to eat their lunches. Washing facil- ities could at least be provided on the ground floor. The lunch period is in nearly all cases half an hour. In half an hour it is impossible for a man, with the usual primitive methods at his disposal, to go down several flights of stairs, wash thoroughly, eat a lunch and return to his place of work. At least an hour should be provided for lunch. The painting trade should be carefully and fully studied as a basis for detailed recommendations. CHAPTER IV CASES OF LEAD POISONING. . The real gravity of lead poisoning its effect upon the work- ers, upon their families, upon the community cannot be ade- quately estimated by a description of the disease or "fey a descrip- tion of the dangerous processes, or even by a statistical sum- paary of the cases. The following stories, which are the results pf a personal conference with the victims of the poison, or in the case of death, with their relatives and friends, give inti- mate pictures of misery, want and destitution which becomes all the more harrowing when we know that most of it could be prevented. Many of these workers are young men, most of them .have families to provide for, many of them have been compelled to remain out of work for weeks and months, some have been permanently incapacitated. The mere loss of efficiency, the mere ^oss of earning power, should appeal not only to employers, but to the State and to the public at large, as wasteful and unwise, ps an extravagent expenditure of human energy and human vitality. It has not been our aim, in presenting these cases, to draw .forth all the harrowing and pathetic details which were all aboufc us, in our visits to almost unfurnished, ragged, poverty-stricken tomes. We have sought rather to present in story form the plain .bare facts and to allow the reader to draw the picture of the .home and the inmates and to draw for himself the conclusions which inevitably follow. I. INDUSTEIAL WOKKEBS. Case No. IPaul B Fifty-eight years of age, a Slav, from Austria, where he had ,been a farmer, came to this country in 1889. It is not clear exactly what he did upon his arrival in America, but before long lie found employment in a wire mill where he remained five years. 442 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. Jn 1897 he got a job at a white lead works. He worked there .for 14 years and left about Christmas, 1910, because he was ,110 longer able to work. His particular job in the lead works was the stripping of the corroding beds. (See photos Nos. 25 and 28.) This job compelled him to empty the pots of corroded lead. He earned $12 per week and worked nine hours per day. Nine months" after he went to work in the white lead works he had his first attack of lead poisoning, and was out of work a month; at the end of that time he went back to work and worked for five months when he had another attack and was out of work for three weeks. From this time until he left the work he states that he worked only about half the time, and the other half he was disabled on account of lead poisoning. B spoke only a few words of English, but an intelligent lad interpreted. As far as could be learned the man had never been instructed, in any way, how to properly care for himself in order to prevent disease. He was accustomed, he said, to wear a handkerchief about his face. He was never given soap or towels. His breakfast usually consisted merely of coffee. So great is his ignorance, even after consulting physicians, that he ascribes the paralysis of his hands to the cold water in which he was accustomed to wash them at the end of his day's work. The old man old before his time, is a pitiable figure. He is a physical wreck, his gait is slow and uncertain, his cheeks are sunken and his face pallid. His hands are partially par- alyzed. He can lift weights and can move his fingers somewhat, but he cannot put on his coat. He has not, however, the char- acteristic wrist drop. He is practically a pauper. He gathers wood from nearby scrap heaps, chops and saws it, A Slav family who have taken pity on him permit him to sleep in a damp cellar and give him the scraps from the table "Not much," he says. The white lead company has given him nothing. A pensioner of our industrial G. A. R. Case No 2. Stephen H : A young Pole who had been working in the white lead mills for three years, 1908 to 1911. He had had several attacks of Jead poisoning and had left the mills a few days before he was seen by the investigator. OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 443 Case No. 3. George H : He was born in Germany, 1878. He worked in 1901 as watch- man for an express company. Since 1902 has worked at a ma- chine factory in the rope department, as a rope mender and jan- itor. This factory does special work for ships. Last year, 1910, he filled in the mast of one of the ships with white lead, he worked only two days on the job; soon after his left hand became weak and shrunken and he went to the hospital where the doctors told Jrim that he had lead poisoning of the nerves of the hand and arm. He staid in the hospital two weeks, and has used electricity for nearly a year with very little benefit, the arm is slightly bet- ter, but the hand does not improve. Case No. 4- Thomas S : Was born in America, 1859, died October 22, 1910. He had worked in the white lead mills for twenty-five years steadily and until within three days of his death he had never been ill enough from the lead poisoning to lose a day's work. Occasion- ally he had had slight stomach attacks for which he doctored him- self with salts. He worked in the cooperage department heading up barrels filled with dry white lead. He was very careful about .washing himself before eating and very particular about himself in every way. He drank beer with his meals as he thought that would counteract the lead poison ; he smoked a great deal. The only illnesses Mrs. S remembered her husband to have .had were smallpox in 1901 and pneumonia in 1906. His last illness lasted only three days, and the doctor at first thought it appendicitis, but decided later that it was lead colic, and death .was due to internal hemorrhage. Case No. 5. Peter P-: Three months, August, September and October, 1910, were enough to give Peter P , a " mixer " for a white lead .company, a dose of lead poisoning severe enough to make him .leave the industry. He is now picking up a precarious living as a longshoreman on the Brooklyn docks. His total weekly in- come averages about $7.50, but his health is safe, and at any rate he received only $8.85 from the lead company. 444 OCCUPATIONAL, DISEASES. Coming fresh from the farms of his native Lithuania, P landed here in 1909. He is a well-built, bright-eyed, intelli- gent man. Only the bar of language prevents his making his .mark in America. For a few months after landing he worked ,as a longshoreman, his present occupation. His pay was then ,$5 or $6 per week, according to the way work ran some days ,he put in twelve hours, some only two ; about forty hours a week was the average. He had only half an hour for dinner, and was .almost certain of being unemployed a day or two of every week ; ]but at any rate he never was ill. From sometime in the fall of 1909, until August, 1910, P was on the payroll of a large sugar company. P's third American joib was a bad one. For some- time in August, 1910, to the end of October, he stood for ten hours a day, nine hours on Saturday, over a great iron mixing bowl, in which water, oil and white lead were being kneaded ,to make the white lead to be used for ship-building and paint- ing. The workers have to pour in the ingredients, supervise the mixing process, and take out the finished product. Before the three months were up, P was incapacitated. Severe cramps and colic and a slight headache fastened on him and .kept him from work. This and the consequent weakness lasted .two full months, at the end of which time, being again able to work, he became a farm hand on the outskirts of Brooklyn. Here, in a little place on K Street, he did chores and tended live-stock from December, 1910, until the following May, for $18 per month and his keep. In May he returned to the docks, where he now is, as described above. The effect of the lead poisoning, which was so diagnosed by the company's doctor, seems now to be gone, except that P complains that he is not as strong as before the attack. He looks, however, perfectly well. P says no instructions for care or cleanliness were ever given him in the lead shop, and that he never saw any instructions posted. His customary breakfast is meat, potatoes, bread and coffee. He uses no tobacco at all, and only one glass of beer daily with meals. While in the lead factory, OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 445 Jie regularly came home to dinner at noon, living only a block or two from the shop, and did not eat in the workroom. At home he found a plentiful supply of hot water, which he used for washing his hands. He changed all his clothing except under- wear at the factory; wears a mustache but no beard. The com- pany provided a hot and cold water supply, and a doctor, but took no other precautions for their men, he says. Case No, 6 Julius S : Living in the same apartment with Peter P , previously described, we found Julius S , a young man of 21, whose experi- ence was at all points almost similar. S also was born in Lithuania, in the same village as P . He came here in 1909, and has spent the two years in Brooklyn. His first job in this country was with a white lead company. He was a stripper; that is, he stacked the steel " buckles " in jars, in tiers in the corroding room, and then at the end of the allotted 100 days went around and " stripped " or emptied the pots into little cars, to be hauled away to the next process. (See photos Nos. 14, 15 and 16.) This is one of the most dangerous jobs in the plant, and S held it about nineteen months, January, 1910, to July 1, 1911. Toward the end of this period he used to lose about three days every month due to colic, nausea and vomiting, and when his wrists began to show signs of paralysis he left the lead company and is now employed on the docks at casual labor. While in the lead company's employ, S's pay was $9.60 weekly, for 59 hours' work. He had only half an hour for din- ner. Now his pay varies from $2 to $5 per week, and his daily hours vary from 1 to 6 ; but he has a full hour for dinner, is in the open air, and is gradually recovering from the chronic stom- ach trouble which his lead experience gave him. In Europe he was a farmer and a herdsman, and was never sick. S is unmarried. He says no one gave him any informa- tion or showed him any notice about the care of his person in the lead plant. Meat, bread and coffee formed his breakfast, and he consumed daily five cigarettes and two or three glasses 446 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. of beer. He also came home to dinner from the shop, and washed his hands at home in hot water. His clothing he changed at the shop. He wears a mustache and no beard. All the precautions he knew of at the plant were hot and cold water and a doctor. He did not venture to suggest what might be added. The diagnosis of lead poisoning was made by the company's physician, and chronic stomach trouble still clings to this man. Case No. 7. Franz S : Is the father of Julius S , just described. He was not een because he has now returned to Europe, realizing that Amer- ica was " no good " for him, but his son furnished full information. Franz was the first of the two to come to this country. He arrived from Lithuania, where he had been a cattle herder and horseman, in 1908; he at once secured work with a white lead company, and the following year sent for his son. The father was no more fortunate than the son. He also was a stripper, in the corroding beds of the lead plant. His pay was $9.60, his hours ten a day, nine on Saturday, with half an hour for dinner. At this job. the only one he ever held in America, he stayed about three years. He lost from two to four days every month from lead colic, headache and vomiting spells; his wrists also began to grow weak and numb. Finally, in Oc- tober, 1911, three months after his son left the lead works for the docks, the older man sailed back to his family and his native land. He is now reported to be doing well. According to the son, no warnings or instructions were given to his father in the shop any more than to himself. The older man wore a mustache, but no beard, never touched either alcohol pr tobacco, always washed in hot water before eating, and made a regular breakfast on coffee and rolls. He came home for din- ner, and there is no indication of any non-industrial cause for his illness. In his case, also, it was the factory physician who made the diagnosis of the lead poisoning. OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 447 Case No. 8. Samuel B : , The neighborhood, about two of the plants which are located .near together, is filled with lead poisoning cases. One can hardly ,walk without stumbling into them. A map dotted with a red pin for every case would look like the tuberculosis map of the New York " Lung Block." Thus the three cases just recounted were all found at the same address, and in the same apartment. , While searching another house, only a block away from the .place where the last three cases were found, for a man whose .record we had, but who seemed to have moved and left no trace, the present case was located. Samuel B is a huge, pallid- laced youth, with only a few words of English at his command. ,His wife, smaller, bright-eyed and vivacious, acted as interpre- ter, and when she had done this service, piloted the investigator two doors further up the street, to the home of a fellow workman of her husband's, who had been down with the colic just the week previous. B was born in Poland, 1885, his parents being Polish Catholics, of the town of Prasnis. There at the age of fourteen Samuel started to learn the trade of carriage making. He con- fined himself entirely to the wood-working part of this industry, turning out parts for the vehicles, and assembling them, but never doing any painting on them. He kept at this work for eight years, earning $2 (4 rubles) a week, for twelve hours a day, seventy-two per week, with one hour off for dinner. He lost no time, either through illness or slack work. In July, 1907, B came to America, and at once went into the employ of the white lead company, where he became a stripper. A' stripper's duties are to stack the lead buckles in jars over weak acetic acid, and stack these jars in tiers in long rooms, the .floors of which are spread with tan-bark. When the corrosion has suitably advanced, after 100 days or so, the stripper takes .down the stacks and empties out the white lead which has formed in crumbly cakes and powder. B 's pay for this work was $9.60 per week, for 59 hours. He was given only the inade- quate time of half an hour for dinner. He lost no time through .slack work, but every year was incapacitated from one to two weeks. 448 OCCUPATIONAL, DISEASES. The nature of the incapacity was the usual one with lead workers; severe cramps, colic, constipation, vomiting and loss of appetite. B has been in this place now for four years, and has had four separate attacks, all with the identical symp- ,toms. These attacks came from eight to sixteen months apart, pnd lasted each from five to fourteen days. This workman married in 1908, while working at lead. He .has since had two children, a boy and a girl, who look pale and .ill-nourished, as would be expected when the pettiness of his pay is considered, but show no specific signs of lead poisoning. His wife, 22 years old, is plump and wholesome. " No ! " was the answer of both B and his wife when asked about warnings or signs in the factory. He does not eat .there, coming home to dinner. At meals he drinks two glasses ,of beer per day; he chews almost continuously, and every day smokes from five to ten cigarettes. Two cups of coffee make up .his breakfast. He " sometimes " washes before eating, in cold water, and does not change his clothes either in the factory or at home. He is clean-shaven. The factory doctor made the lead poisoning diagnosis. He knows of no permanent effect from his many attacks, but his face is pale almost to lividness, marking probable an extreme anemia. Case No. 9. Paulus M : This is the man to whom the wife of B led the investi- gator when she had completed her husband's record. He is a much different type of a man, smaller, more energetic, and also more nervous. He also works in the plant of a whife Jead company, where he is a furnace hand. His duties, as near as they could be made out from his gesticulating description, are to put the lead pigs into a melting pot, stir them up, skim off the dross, and run the lead out into the flat " buckles," of which the white lead is made. He works alternate weeks on the day and night shift. On the day shift he puts in ten hours daily, nine on Saturday, and gets $12 per week. On the night shift he gets $13.20, but has to put in thirteen hours a night to get it. On OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 4-49 both shifts his lunch time is one-half hour. About two weeks a year are lost through slack time. M has held his present job ever since coming' to the country, in October, 1903. For five years he withstood the dan- gers of his occupation. Suddenly, in 1909, he was taken with terrible headaches, cramps, weight on chest, constipation and stiff- ness of the legs. This lasted a week. He took medical treat- ment and worked about a year before he had another attack. In 1910, however, he lost another week in the same way. In the present year he has lost four weeks at various times, and to the foregoing symptoms has been added a doubling up of the fingers, which he cannot straighten. When interviewed on December 18, 1911, he had just lost from Monday to Saturday of the preceding week through an attack. He showed the investigator a bottle of medicine bearing the name of the company doctor, and told of his conversation with the latter about staying out of work for the week. Yet this man's name was not on a list furnished by the physician, and said by him to contain all the cases he had had during the year. M was born in Poland in 1872. From 1889 to August, ,1903, he worked on his father's farm, the usual " stint " being from ten to sixteen hours. He reports no illness during this .period. He married in 1900. His wife was born in 1872, and (has had four children. The third of these, a girl, was born in 1905, and died the same year of summer complaint. The other three are alive and fairly healthy. No instructions were given him, he says, on going to work in the plant, and he knows of no warning notices. Bread, butter and coffee are his breakfast; he uses no tobacco, but takes a glass or two of beer daily. He comes home to dinner, and washes in hot water before sitting down to the table. He also is careful to change his clothes in the factory. He has a mustache and no freard. The doctor and hot and cold water are the only factory precautions he knows to be in use; wash rooms, lunch rooms, soap and towels he thinks would be good things. The company physician diagnosed this man's case as lead poi- soning. Weakne&s and anemia are the results of his repeated attacks. 15 450 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. Case No. 10. Nathan G-: On February 27, 1910, the hospital ambulance clattered up to a houee on W street^ Brooklyn. The ambulance surgeou found Nathan G suffering from acute lead poisoning, but, after treating him, advised the victim to wait a day and then walk to the hospital himself if he was still in pain. This program was followed; on February 28th G was .admitted to the hospital, remained there until March 7th, and was discharged " recovered but anemic." The attack had in fact begun in a mild form two weeks before; then came an inter- val of quiescence, and finally the crucial pain that led to the ambu- Jance call. No lead line was found on the patient's gums by the .hospital staff, but his case was definitely set down as lead poisoning. G seems to be a sort of rolling stone in industry, having had innumerable jobs, keeping each but a short while. Tailoring, shoemaking and harnessmaking are his main lines; the cobbler's .trade he learned in Poland, between 1895 and 1903, and has now for a time resumed it. On these casual jobs he earns from $6 to $9 or $10 per week. It was in December, 1909, that he became a white lead worker. At his job he was called a " mixer," i. e., he mixed the lead car- bonate with oil and water to make the commercial white lead. In the three months or less that followed he got his " leading." He Jeft the white lead works for the hospital, and has never gone back. At present he is cobbling shoes on 42d street, New York. While in the white lead works G got $9.60 per week for ,59 hours, with a half hour for dinner. His symptoms when taken ill were cramps, colic, vomiting and loss of appetite. He is unmarried. He says he was instructed in the factory to be care- ful to wash his hands and keep out of the dust all he could. He remembers no notices on the walls. His breakfast consisted of coffee and rolls; two or three glasses of beer a day is his allow- ance, with a finger of whisky occasionally, and he smokes about ten cigarettes daily. He disregarded, it seems, the warning to wash, and very seldom cleaned his hands before dinner, for which jhe used to come home from the shop. He wears a mustache, but OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 451 no beard. II<- speak- of lockers for the men's clothing in the plant. He was born in Poland in 1883, came to America in 1903, and has lived all eight years in New York and Brooklyn. Cane No. 11. Alex P : This man was found at his home, two blocks away from this lead factory where he was poisoned, while the investigator was looking for another victim of lead in the same house. P , while of middle age, is pale, sallow and hollow- chested, almost a wreck ; but the most interesting thing about his case is that of his eight children, the four born in 1903, 1904, 1905 and 1906, respectively, were either born dead or died of inanition in the first half week of their lives. The mother, an over-fleshy person below middle height, does not seem to have any of the symptoms of lead poisoning, but the four successive infant fatalities are very significant. All four deaths occurred while the father was working as a stripper in the white lead works. The father has had two distinct and emphatic attacks of plumb- issin. The first, in November, 1910, kept him in bed for two weeks. He recovered under treatment, returned to stripping, and four months later, in March, 1911, was brought down with a more malignant attack. This time he again spent two weeks in bed, but was compelled to remain out of work, convalescing, for six weeks longer, so slowly did his strength return. His weight fell from 1GO to 140 pounds. This worker is a Catholic, born in Poland in 1871. At the "age of 12 he began working on his father's farm, in the village of Braznis. He stayed there for eight years, and in November, 1891, came to America. Oil this side he first found work in the cooperage plant at Bayonne, N. J. Moving in 1897, to Brooklyn, this man worked fourteen years, until March, 1911, as a stacker and stripper for a white lead company. This is the most dangerous part of the white lead process, but P seem> to have withstood it a long time. Finally, in November, 1910, he came down with a terrible case of colic, semi-paralysis of hands and feet, terribly swollen legs and 452 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. .hands, and excruciating pains all over the body. Not taking warning by the experience, he returned to the corroding beds after two weeks' illness, and in March was seized with the attack which finally made him realize that that shop was no place for him. The seizure was identical with the first, except that it weakened him more, and he was full two months getting on his feet again. While at this poisonous work P 's pay was $12 per week for 59 hours' work, with a half hour for lunch. From May till August, 1911, the convalescent was unable to find employment. In the latter month he was taken on as a por- ter in an office building, on lower Broadway. Here lie sweeps and washes floor, polishes brass fixtures and other coarse work. His hours are twelve a day, seventy-two a week, with one hour for lunch; pay, $10. P 's wife was born in 1878. Besides the four children who have been mentioned as dying within four days after birth, and who were all boys, she has had four more, all of whom are alive and of fair physique, perhaps somewhat inclined to over- fleshiness, like their mother, with the exception of the one boy, who is small and " old " looking. The girls are 16, 12, 10, re- spectively, the boy 13. Instructions were given to the man for taking care of himself in the shop, but he says he saw no signs. His regular breakfast was coffee, bread and butter. He does not drink at all, and smokes only one paper of tobacco a week, in corn-cob pipe. He always came home to dinner, and washed his hands in hot water. He changed his clothes in the factory, and wears a mustache but no beard. In the factory were hot and cold water, respirators for some of the men, and a doctor. He would have liked to have added lunch rooms, wash rooms, decent toilets and lockers. Case No. 12.Thaddeus K-: Living in the same miserable cellar single-room apartment, sleep- ing in the same bed with his friend Milkas, Thaddeus K was discovered, as ex-employee of a lead company. K is now lugging sugar barrels on the Brooklyn docks for from $10 to $12 per week of about 63 hours on the average. OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 453 His statement that he gets only one-half hour for dinner is at vari- ance with that of other lead victims now working on the docks. Perhaps he cuts his meal hour down in order to put in over-time. Before going on the docks this man worked for five years, from August, 1906, to October, 1911, with several short interruptions, as a stacker and stripper in the corroding beds of the white lead plant. His pay during this time was $9.60 for 59 hours per week, one-half hour for dinner. From the time of his immigration, May 1905, until becoming a lead worker later in the same year, K worked on the sugar docks, 60 hours weekly, for about $9.50. During his lead factory life this man had two acute attacks of lead illness, one in 1910, costing him two weeks' work, and one in 1911, costing him three weeks' work. The symptoms both times were the same: arms and fingers partly paralyzed, pains in head and stomach, muscular and articular pains in the legs and especially in the knees. While married six years, this man has no children, having left Jhis wife behind when he came over, the very year of his marriage. No instructions as to personal care were given him or posted in the lead factory that he knows of. Coffee, bread and sometimes meat made his breakfast, and the same, with two or three glasses of beer, made his supper. He never uses tobacco. Lunch was taken in the work-room, and was always preceded by a thorough washing in cold water, the only kind the factory provided. He always changed his outer clothing before leaving the factory. No other than an industrial cause can be held responsible for this man's illness. Case No. 13. Frank W-: Coming from St. Philips' Parish, Barbadoes, where he had been a school teacher, to New York in 1906, Frank W , a negro, found work at a factory where red lead or lead oxide is made, and stayed there nearly five years, until he was so thoroughly leaded that he could not stand it any longer. Then he left it and has been unemployed ever since. W was a porter at the lead works; he carried bundles of dry lead from the shop to the delivery trucks outside. Once in a 4f>4 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. while he did some packing and wrapping, but this was not his work. At the beginning of his employment there he got $9 per week, later $12, the time remained 59 hours per week, 10 per day, one-half hour for dinner. W 's lead poisoning showed itself by cramps in the stom- ach, weakness of the wrists and fingers, also of the ankles and legs, and vomiting. He had three acute attacks, losing thereby one week in 1908, two years after beginning the work, two weeks in 1910, and two weeks more in May, 1911, when he decided to leave the industry. He has one child, a girl, born this year, who, he says, is sound and well. W is a very well-read and intelligent man, a West Indian negro of culture. How he comes to be working in a lead factory is quite inexplicable. He conversed freely in excellent English about the plant and its conditions. According to him, he was carefully warned how to care for and clean himself from the lead, and he says the whole factory is placarded with warning notices. Before going to work this man used always to breakfast on coffee, eggs and bread ; once in a while, very rarely, he smokes a cigar or takes a little beer. Most of the time he ate in the work-room, washing his hands with warm water and soap powder, and changed his clothes before leaving the shop. He is clean shaven. According to W , the lead factory is fitted with vend lation hoods, exhaust fans, wash-rooms, soap, towels, hot and cold water, lockers and respirators, besides a doctor; perhaps the fact that he wns not in the actual manufacturing part of the plant gave him superior accommodations to those of the majority of the employees. His case was diagnosed as lead poisoning by the company'- physician. The only after-effect is a long-continued weakness. Case No 1 . Thomas 0: He is a young man of 22, a Polish Catholic, round-faced and rather ruddy. He has been in this country only since August, 1911, and all that time has worked at the docks of a lead com- pany. He became badly frightened as the investigation pro- OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 455 gressed, and seemed like a man who has told something he was ordered to keep secret. Some other men employed by this same company, and visited the same day as he, refused to talk at all, and even tried to conceal their identity when they found out what was wanted. In Poland O was a farmer. Here, since August, his work has been to unload lead pigs from the barges tied up at the company's docks, and load them into wagons, which cart them to one or the other of the company's plants. He works ten hours a day, 59 hours per week, one-half hour for dinner, and receives $9.00. He has lost no time on account of illness, but has com- plained of pains in stomach and loss of appetite. These symptoms were strongest early last November, and he has at present a bottle of medicine bearing the name of the company's physician, who, he says, minimized his ailment and said that it would '' soon go away." The young man is unmarried. He says he was not instructed in care of the person at the shop, and never saw any notices doing so. His ordinary breakfast consists of meat and potatoes; he touches neither tobacco nor alcohol in any form. He comes home from the shop to dinner, and washes in cold water before eating. He changes his clothes at home at night, after work, and is clean shaven. Cold water and a doctor are all the precautions the fac- tory takes, he says. In his case lead must have been taken into the system, if at all, by putting the hands to the mouth after handling the lead pigs, with their fine coatings of oxide. Case No. 15. Antonio M : M wa- born in Italy in 1878; came to America in 1897. In 1907 he married an Italian girl who came to America when she was two years old. The couple have had two children, one of whom is dead; the baby, a boy of two, is well and strong. A worked in the white lead mills in 1902, and later came back to the mills three years ago, 1908. He has worked there, off and on, during the last three years. Three months ago he went to the hospital with wrist-drop in both hands and general weakness ; he 456 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. .stayed there two months and then came home stronger, but the hands were unimproved. He is thin but has a good color and eems strong; his teeth are good and he has a slight blue line on the gums ; his hands, however, make him quite helpless. / Mrs. M isi working in a handkerchief factory, where she earns $5 per week, on which the family live. Case No 16. John 8 : This man came to this country in the month of October, 1902. He is a Pole, from Russia-Poland, and is 35 years of age. He has been married seven years and has three children, bright youngsters they are, too, two boys and a girl. , The investigator found him one sharp, cold Sunday, huddled pver the oven of a cook stove, which was one of the few articles pf furniture in a single room where he lived. His face was white and drawn, he was bent over like an old man, but despite the .deadening disease, a man of considerable aggressiveness, intelli- gence and vigor could be distinguished. When he first came to this country he worked for the S Co., and he stayed .there over five and one-half years. He then, probably for the higher wages which this work offered, went to a white lead factory, where he went to work in the drying room (see photo No. 4), and he received $13.50 per week. His work consisted of raking over .the white lead, as it stood in solution in the drying pans (see photo No. 4) and shoveling it into the automatic conveyor, when it was dry. S worked here for eight months, when he was taken sick with lead poisoning and was out of work on that account ,for three months. He went back to the dry room, and in three months he again had a severe attack. This time he was out for ,two months, and spent about 15 days at Bellevue Hospital. Again ,he went back to the lead works, this time he was given a handy job about the yard, which he held for 11 months, without any bad effects, when he was transferred to the lead presser. He was only on this job for two months when he was again stricken and out of work for four months. It seems strange to us, perhaps, that a man will continue at a work which has caused him much misery, but we find this man OCCUPATIONAL, DISEASES. 457 going back to it even another time. This time he took a job as furnaceman, on the oxidizing furnaces. Here his job was to rake .over the lead in the furnace. He was subjected to both the dust and the fumes of the burning lead. After nine months at this work, he was again leaded, and has not been able to work since, wnich, at the time of writing, is three weeks. , This man's loss of wages since he started to work for the lead .company, in May, 1908, has amounted to almost $500, out of a yearly wage of, at best, slightly over $600. The superintendent of this factory told the inspector that when a man showed the first sign of being leaded he was told to seek work elsewhere, and yet this man has been allowed to return time and time again. In fact, he has been invited to return, and in the last week two messengers have been sent to ask him to come back to work. ('axe No. 17 John K : This man, in the factory, goes under the name of" " John ]\I ," because they can't #pell his name, is a Russian-Pole, who has been in this country since 1904. Evidently he was prosperous at first and got married almost at once. He has one little girl, six years old, and a baby, born only two months ago, died within two weeks of the birth. John was at that time in the lead works. He is only 25 years of age. , Before working as a lead worker he had held a large number of jobs, the oil works, box factory, etc., but had never been sick. Jn August, 1911, however, he went to the lead company, where he was employed in the presser. Here he earned a little more than he had ever earned before, $12 per week. The S Co. .thought he was only worth $10.50. In November, after working in the lead three months, he had a severe attack of lead colic and was out a week, but went back to the job. A month later he had another attack, and then, as he said, he "chucked the job." A month later, however (January 7) he had still marked evidences of his leaded condition. His hands were still weak, his appear- ance anemic and he was still unemployed. 458 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. At the factory he was never instructed as to the dangers. He ays he saw placards in the plant, which he thinks were instruc- tions, but he could not read them. He drinks moderately. He was permitted to eat where he worked and did not always get a .chance to wash, and then only with cold water. John says he is not going back to that job again. Case No. 18. Frank P-: He came to America from Russia-Poland in 1901. He married in 1906. He has four stepchildren and a daughter of his own. He is 30 years of age. After having had a number of jobs, in various places, mostly in Long Island City, he went to work for a white lead company. His job was at the press. Here he worked for six months, when he was seized with his first attack of lead poisoning, and was out for two months. Again he went back to the same job, and he was again taken down with the poison. This time he lost about two weeks' work. He is back on the job working at the press, where Jie has now been for about four months. He has a lead line on ,the gums which is very marked and his wife says he has con- stantly recurring attacks of a serious character. Like the other workmen in this plant, P has not been in- structed or warned. He smokes little, drinks a little, eats almost no breakfast, and is doing nothing of a definite character to pre- vent a recurrence of the attacks. He can't speak much English, but is bright and intelligent, and would doubtless be able to com- prehend the dangers and properly safeguard himself if he was properly instructed in his own language. Case No. 19. Aleck P : Aleck is a brother of Frank of the same name, whose case is given as No. 18. He has not yet been in this country a year, is a fine young fellow, age 21 years, but \vith almost no knowl- edge of English. The first job he got when he came to this country was as a stripper of the corroding beds of a white lead factory. (See photos, 2 and 2b.) He got $10.50 at this work, a considerable OCCUPATIONAL, DISEASES. 459 wage for him, and he held his job for two months. He was then taken with a slight attack of lead colic, which kept him out of work for about a week. Aleck then got a job on a farm, where he only earned $15 a month, but where he regained his health, as js evident from his healthy color. He came back from the farm and found work at a terra cotta works, where he says he did every- thing around the place, and was healthy at it, but he only got $9, and that $10.50 at the lead works worried him, and so he is back .there again now, has been working there one week. He is not working on the corroding beds, but is packing red lead in barrels. (See photo No. 11.) He shows no signs of being leaded. He has a perfectly healthy, even ruddy, complexion, but in view of his previous slight attack of colic, it is only a question of time at this job until he will again be leaded and will be as sick a man as his .brother. He has been given no instructions, drinks a little, smokes a little. His breakfast consists of cakes and coffee. He eats his lunch where he works, sometimes after washing, sometimes not: all he has to wash with is cold water. >c No. 20. Leonard V> : He is at present experiencing a bad attack of lead poisoning, which he contracted while under the employ of a company manu- facturing magnetos. Mr. B is a married man, 46 years of age, and has five children. These children are all in school except one. Mr. and Mrs. B have been married 19 years. They are of German parentage. Mr. B came to the United States 29 years ago; 'Mrs. B. 25 years ago. Mr. B left the factory on June 24th last (1911), when he was so leaded that it was impossible for him to work. He was with the company for seventeen months. His work during most of this time was " har- dening magnetos," a process which consists of plunging the piece of steel into molten lead, heated to a very high temperature (he says over 1,400 degrees), holding the magneto in the hot lead for a few seconds, and then taking it out and plunging it into a barrel of water. While standing over the fumes one inhales them, both through the mouth and nose. Mr. B 's teeth are spoiled and his gums are in a bad condition. During the first 12 months 460 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. of this work he was in a large upstairs room, where there were many windows, and these were all kept open, and where the work was done with gas, not lead. At that time he said he had no trouble, but later when this work was moved downstairs into a .smaller room, where there was practically no ventilation, several of the workers experienced severe attacks of lead poisoning one of the victims, he thinks, is dying. When he felt the effects of the lead he asked for other work he then tried matching magnetos together, but this kept him in the same room, and his arms were soon in such a condition that it was impossible for him to use them. His attack commenced with vomiting now his wrists and hands are almost useless. After he left, some exhaust pipes were put in, but he thinks they are not giving satisfaction. He has Improved much, so that he now holds a position as night watch- man. He is on duty from 5 p. m. to 7 a. m., but says he can sit quietly most of the time. For this he receives $2 per night ; ,when employed by the magneto company he received $2.50 per .day, a nine hour day, working six days a week, with the exception of the hottest weather, when the plant was closed on Saturday afternoons. Twice he has been back to the company since he left, to see if they would do anything for him. He hoped they would make him a loan, and that he could work it out later. They ,told him there was no use in his coming there if he could not work. He showed them his condition they told him he ought not to have come there to work at all if he could not stand it. He says he was in good health before this that he weighed 194 pounds when he went to work in the factory; now he weighs 154 pounds. He smokes a pipe after his meals, but uses tobacco in no other form. He drank some beer occasionally with his lunch, but has no money for beer now. While he was employed in the factory they allowed him one-half hour for lunch ; this was brought to him from home, and was sometimes hot. He ate outside, sit- ting on the ground against the fence. He has no trade, and has never been employed in connection with lead at any other time in his life. For three months previous to the period of his em- ployment with the magneto company he was employed in driving a coal truck. OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 461 Case No. 21. William D: I) was born in 1875, and his wife in 1876. They have six children, from three weeks to ten years of age. Mrs. D has had no miscarriages. During the time that he was employed at the lead works he earned $15 per week. Previous to his em- ployment at the magneto factory he was for almost two years in positions where.he came more or less in contact with lead. For a couple of weeks before getting this job he was a sealer on a railroad where he used lead solder. However, the conditions were sanitary, ventilation ample when working indoors. He had no effects from the lead whatever. Previous to this he was em- ployed as a foreman in a metal working factory, where he had about 18 men under him. He smokes and drinks occasionally and uses whiskey when he feels like it. He is not a hard drinker. He wore a mustache at the time of the interview. He was evidently in a weakened con- dition and showed a trace of the lead line ; his complexion was sal- low and his face and fingers thin. D went to work in the magneto factory early in March, 1911. He was put to work in the hardening room, where his work consisted of putting bent bars of steel into a bath of molten lead. There were five lead pots in the room, which were heated to different temperatures according to the temper desired. After having been heated a sufficient length of time, he would remove the red hot bars from the bath of molten lead, pass them over to another man, who immersed them in a barrel of water, which stood nearby. They were then passed on to a third man, who tested them by knocking sharply on them with a steel rod. Another man rubbed them vigorously after they had been piled one upon another about a wooden tree, in order to remove any remaining particles. When D first went to work here there were no hoods over the lead pots, such as are to be seen in photo- graph aSTo. 61. In fact, lie helped to put up these hoodis. The room in which the work was done is a long, low room, a sort of a shed, slightly below the surface of the ground. It is about sixty feet long and about eight feet wide. There are four windows, about five feet by three, along one side. There is a fan near the 462 OCCUPATIONAL, DISKASKS. ceiling at one end, and an opening at the other. The roof is raised about one foot to let out the air. On the whole, however, on account of the intense heat, the furnaces, oil-fed under 1 1 pounds pressure, varying from 1,400-1,800 degress, the room wa= poorly ventilated. D was not warned of any dangers in connection with the work. In fact, when other men became ill, he was told that their illness was caused by the heat. . Although he shortly began to feel ill, he declared that he had never let a job get the best of him before, and he decided to stick to it. This he did. He also states that he hoped for promotion, .which was held out to him. Early in June he was taken sick and .remained at home for a day and a half. He could keep nothing in his stomach and had severe cramps. He returned to work and was put on a different job for a couple of days, but when he was slightly better he was again sent to the lead pots. He tried an- other week, and then he was laid up with another very severe attack which lasted a week. The symptoms were the same. The ordi- nary remedies which he secured at the druggists were of no avail. He had not consulted a doctor. At the end of this week he returned to work, but stayed at it only a day and a half, when he was forced to leave on account of his condition (July 6, 1911). Meanwhile he had informed himself of the nature of his disease and decided to leave before getting any worse. He then con- sulted a doctor, who confirmed his belief that he had lead poison- ing. When D entered the job he weighed about 180 pounds; when he left, scarcely four months later, he weighed 128 pounds. He had a distinct and heavy lead line on the gums; was weak and unable to do any effective work. Until September 29th he was unemployed, largely because his physical condition made it im- possible. He then went to work in some brick work, which he found so difficult that he had to give it up. He is now doing odd jobs, such as insurance collector; because of this illness he has failed to get a job as a waiter, because his appearance led peoplo to believe he had consumption. Mr. D is a man of evidently more than usual mental calibre, and knows what he is talking about. His testimony was straight and concise. OCCUPATIONAL, DISEASES. 463 Case No. 22. Willis W: An American, of native parentage, he was born in 1863. Dur- ing his young manhood he followed the sea. Later he gave up climbing masts and halyards and climbed the frames of great steel buildings. He began as a structural iron worker in those days when structural iron workers made only $2.75 per day. In the spring of 1910 he became mate on a little tug boat plying the Harlem river, and from this job, early in April, he went to work for the magneto factory. His work there was in the hardening room, where he put the steel magnetos into a bath of molten lead, and when they were white-hot, withdrew them and plunged them into a barrel of water. From the first he recognized the dangers and guarded against them. He took epsom salts every other day. In spite of his precautions he lost weight, falling from 212 pounds to 174; he also lost his appetite. Early in July he was taken with severe pains in the lower part of the abdomen and went home for half a day. After two or three weeks he had another attack, this time very much more severe, and he remained at home and in bed for 3^ days. He then went back to work for only a few days. He was not entirely incapacitated, but was considerably weakened. In fact when the investigator saw him some six months later he had only partially recovered his weight and vigor. Before his attacks W helped to erect hoods which now pro- tect these pots, and also to put in the exhaust ventilating fan and to raise the roof. These changes bettered conditions but did not by any means eliminate the danger. W received no pay for this time he was ill and was later refused a job at anything other than the lead pots. Case No. 28. James C : A young Irishman, 33 years of age, was out with his eight- months-old daughter and his four-year-old son when the inspector came upon him. He still showed marked effects of lead poison- ing, and his fairly big frame looked gaunt and thin, and he was slightly stooped. His wife, an enthusiastic, bright and jolly per- son, joined us and helped out with accurate dates and figures. 464 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. C- - was formerly employed as an inspector of meat in one of the big packing houses, but left that job after a severe attack of blood poisoning, caused by a scratch from a rotten ham bone. He then found employment, in the spring of 1909, in the magneto factory. He was employed as a hardener ; the process used was a gas one, and although there was one small lead pot, it was only used occasionally, and^then only for warming the metal. In December, however, the process was changed, and five lead pots ,were installed, in which the magnetos were heated to a white heat and then dashed into a barrel of water. The place selected was a low half-basement shed, with few windows and no ventilators. C 's job was to put the magnetos in the lead and then remove .them. The pots at that time were unhooded. He worked on this job from December 13th to April 15th. During this time he lost weight steadily ; pains in the abdomen were constant, his face took on a yellowish hue, and his gums exhibited a marked blue line. Finally he was forced to go to bed, and his physician at once pro- nounced it lead poisoning. He was out of work for H 1 /^ weeks, and his doctor's bills, medicines and special expenses amounted to about $75. He received no compensation, nor were his bills or lost wages paid. His wages at this job had been $15 per week and he had worked 54 hours per week. During that time he had also put in considerable overtime. After his illness he went back to the magneto company, where he was given a job at the same wages he had been earning before that time. Case No. 24 William C : A "furnace man," making red and yellow oxides of lead, is William C . Since the beginning of last March he has had three separate attacks of lead poisoning. , The first of these attacks was in March, and lasted one week; the second began in April, and lasted five weeks ; and the third in November, cost him two weeks eight weeks in all lost in less than a year, due to an almost wholly, if not quite, preventible industrial disease. The symptoms each time were about the same. They included cramps in the abdomen, weight on chest, vomiting and partial paralysis of the wrist. OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 465 C was born in Lithuania in 1877. His parents were .Lithuanian Catholics. He worked there for some years as a farm ,hand and later as a railroad section laborer, and in February, 1904, migrated to America. For four years and a month from that date he worked for the A S and C Co. on J street, Brooklyn, lugging sugar and coffee on the company's docks. He received $10 for from 60 to 72 hours work per week, the day varying from 10 to 12 hours, with 1 hour for lunch. From 5 to 10 weeks were lost yearly through slack time, and once he was ,out 11 weeks with a foot crushed by dropping a heavy plank on it but had no other disability resulting from his work. Between March, 1908, and October, 1910, C was a dock worker for the W S Co. in Brooklyn, and sometimes in New York. Here his time was much more irregular, so that, counting up the days and half days, he lost about 20 weeks per year. While the day's work was supposed to be set at 10 hours, sometimes he could put in no more than that in a whole week other weeks, again, he put in 60. His pay thus ran from $3 to $18 per week. Xo illness was reported for this period. Finally, being laid off on the docks, he was taken on at the red lead or lead oxide works, where he now is. His work is to place the lead pigs, weighing from 105 to 150 pounds, in the furnace and rake them over at regular intervals until the proper degree of oxidation ,has been reached, when he removes the red and yellow powder. (See photos 29, 30 and 31.) This is a very dusty part of the work, and it did not take the worker long to get " leaded " at it. .There are two shifts on this work, which alternate weekly. On the day shift the men do 10 hours daily, or 58 in the week. The night shift is 13 hours, making 78 in the week. On the day shift the pay comes out to $12 a week ; at night to $19.60. One hour is given, C says, for dinner. He has lost no time through slack work, but the above-mentioned eight weeks through illness. C- - is single. Instructions were given him, he says, when he went into the lead works. He was told to wash carefully, keep out of the dust all he could, and keep his finger nails clean. There were no warnings posted in the plant, according to him. In the jnorning he usually had no appetite and made a meagre breakfast on a cup or two of coffee. He doesn't smoke or chew, but takes 466 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. three or four glasses of beer every day ; rarely a glass of whiskey. He is in the habit of eating in the work-room, first washing his hands in cold water. He changes all his outer clothing in the shop. He recommends hot and cold water in the factory, wash- rooms, lockers, and a doctor ; beyond these he has no suggestions for protective measures. Case No. 25. Michael K : K has been in this country five years and practically all this time has been employed as a furnace man at the lead oxide works. In that time he has had no less than ten attacks of lead poisoning, the first one in 1908, two years after taking up the work, and the last only a week or two ago, in December, 1911. This last attack kept him seven days from work ; the others kept him out from two days to two weeks. K is a Lithuanian Catholic, born in 1885. From 1899 until 1906 he worked on his father's land, tending the crops and taking care of the livestock. In November of 1906 he thought to better his fortunes and set sail for America. , T.he first job he took was that of furnace man, raking hot pigs of lead over and over until they were properly oxidized for lead litharge and red lead. He works one week by night and one week by day, doing thirteen hours daily on the former, ten on the lat- ter. On night work his pay is $17.16, on the day shift only ,$11.60. One hour is allowed for lunch. , For the first year and a half the work was uninterrupted. Then came a lull, and, to fill in, K took work as a dock laborer with the A S and C Co., which has a large plant on the Brooklyn water front at Jay street. His time here was very irregular, varying from 8 to 16 hours per day, and his pay only averaged about $10 per week. Work at the lead factory picking up again, he left the docks before the month was over, returned to his furnaces in July, 1907, and has been there ever since except for his ten attacks of plumbism. His symptoms he describes as pains and weight on the stomach, headaches and cramps in the knees. Four years ago he weighed 185, now 165. He is a tall, fine-looking young fellow, however, OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 407 and does nut show any visible signs of illness. He married in ,3910 and has one child, a boy, who is plump but pallid. His wife ^kides him for staying in the lead works, saying " he's sick all the time," but he replies that is all he knows how to do. and must stick at it if they are not all to suffer. He says the foreman at the works warned him of the dangers and gave him careful instructions for self -protection. He also ,Niys that there were signs tacked up in the factory, but none in .Lithuanian, which is the only language he can read. His break- fast usually consists of coffee and bread. He smokes about four cigarettes daily and drinks from two to five glasses of beer. He frequently eats in the work-room, but sometimes comes home to dinner. He washes his hands in cold water before meals. All Jiis outer clothes, even to the shoes, are changed before he starts .work in the factory ; he wears a mustache, but no beard. Wash-rooms, hot and cold water, lockers, and a doctor aie the extent of the precautions in the shops as he described them. Case No. 26. Walter C: Another European farm, laborer, attracted to America by dreams pf wealth, only to take up work in a lead factory and come near finishing his career through plumbism, is Walter C . C was found living with friends on the top floor of a house only two blocks away from the work which nearly finished him. , He was born of Catholic parents in Poland in 1886, worked a few years there as a farm hand, and in 1910 emigrated to America. At once, in April of that year, he became an employee of the lead company and worked there until June, 1910, as a furnaceman's helper. After the lead pigs had been oxidized to the chrome yellow stage by the furnaceman, the latter would draw or rake out of the furnace the oxidized mass (see photo No. 31) and C would assist in this process and then wheel the stuff away on a wheelbarrow to the next process, that of crushing and grinding. His pay at this dangerous and dusty job was $9 per week of 59 hours, with only one-half hour for dinner. From April to June this work was steady, but on the 24th of the latter month C fell violently ill and wa? taken to the Brooklyn General Hospital. 468 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. , The diagnosis was promptly one of chronic lead poisoning. The worker's symptoms were violent cramps, weight on the chest, in- cipient wrist drop, partial paralysis of the ankles and legs, loss of appetite, with blue line on the gums prominent. For a week and a half he remained in the hospital under treatment, and on July 4th, 1910, was discharged, " condition improved." The extent of the improvement was that he was able to go home, where for six months longer, or until January, 1911, he lay in bed or about the house, too debilitated to work a stroke. In this period his weight fell from 150 to 120 pounds. He has now recovered flesh to about 140 pounds. , To this recovery the nature of his present work has largely con- tributed. Like many other men poisoned in this same plant, upon recovery he became a longshoreman on the Brooklyn docks. This strenuous out-door occupation helps to eliminate the lead by toning up the condition of the body. His work is very unsteady, one day Jie may work 12 hours, the next none at all. His hours per week run from 40 down to 8, and his pay slides in proportion from $10 to $2. One slight compensation is that he now has a full hour for dinner. C is unmarried. He says no instructions were given him concerning the dangers of the work in the lead works nor were any notices to a similar effect displayed. Coffee and bread made his customary breakfast. He used no tobacco whatsoever and drinks pnly one glass of beer daily, with a meal. He used to eat in the work-room, first washing in cold water. His clothes he changed at home; he wears a mustache, but no beard. Cold water and the doctor are the only precautions he knows of the factory taking for its men ; he thinks respirators are sadly needed. Case No. 27. James P : Native American, born about 1865, has been a glass cutter all his working life, about 28 years. Had his attack of lead poisoning .while working for a cut glass concern in Brooklyn, a firm now out of business. There his job consisted of cleaning the cut glass with a putty and with a finely powdered mixture of lead and zinc, probably lead litharge and zinc carbonate or zinc oxide. This OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 469 process is exceedingly dangerous 'and has since been replaced by an acid bath. In all he worked for this concern about 22 years. Twenty years ago he had his first attack of lead poisoning, and was out of work three weeks. Two years later he had another attack, and was again out of work for three weeks. Three years later he had the third attack, and the last one. This was eight years ago. He was sick at this time eight weeks. On this last occasion, however, he was operated on for appendicitis. Whether or not he actually had appendicitis is something that can- not be definitely decided, although the doctor who operated states that such was the case. Before the last attack he decreased in weight from 150 to 95 pounds. He is still employed in the same line of industry and is engaged in the ordinary glass cutting. In this establishment there is little putty used and the old polish- ing process is not used at all. He is now in good health and has experienced no permanent effects. Case No. 28. Frank 8 : , Was born in Naples in 1871, of Italian parents, and came to .this country at the age of twenty-four. He has worked at several .different trades but never at any where lead was used until he entered a dry color factory in Brooklyn. There he remained for a year, leaving to work on the docks in Jersey City for two years. He then returned to the same color factory, where he contracted lead poisoning after working there three months. The exact pro- cess he performed he described as grinding chunks of red color, somewhat as one would grind coffee, which, of course, is the grind- ing of dry colors. The men, he says, were aware of the danger ,and held wet sponges to their faces ; but they were never told of the dangers by the employer, neither were any instructions posted. .They were required to work 10 hours per day, with only a half tour for luncheon, which had to be eaten in the work-room. That the same dangers were common to all may be judged by the fact ,that he says that as many as one man a week was attacked, whita the foreman, after working there for 20 years, finally died of the disease. , The owner and manager of this factory stated to the Commission ,that no case of lead poisoning had occurred in this place during the last ten years. 470 OcrrpATioNAi. DISEASES. Mr. S is smooth shaven, of medium height and though he seems to feel no permanent ill effects from his attack of lead poi- soning, however he has not returned to the factory. He smokes a pipe a great deal and drinks moderately. Very often he went to the factory with only a glass of wine for his breakfast. Case No. 29. William H: Is a native of Ireland born there in 1860. He emigrated to the United States in 1874. For 35 years he has been more or less in contact with lead usually employed as a smelter, melter or caster of lead and other metals. He has been employed for 24 years with one concern and worked with G and C (cases Nbs. 32 and 37) at the same factory when it was located in another part of the city. Both of these men died of lead poi- soning. H , however, claims that he was not affected at that time. He continued at this work as a melter and caster of solder (mostly lead) until he lost the use of his hands, with double wrist drop. H has been to a number of doctors, who do not seem to agree as to what is the matter with him, nor have they succeeded in improving him very much. His wrists have been in this con- dition for about eight years, and have improved slightly, although he is greatly handicapped. The factory people have given him a job as night watchman, and that job he has held for eight years. He smokes a pipe, drinks considerably, and wears a rather heavy moustache. Case No. 30. Joe B : Came to the United States in 1907. He is a Lithuanian, about 28 years of age. Before coming he was a farmer. He first found employment in a machine shop in Newark, and later in a dye fac- tory at Worcester, Mass., where he received from $9 to $14 per week, and worked 10 hours per day. He came to work for a dry color concern on January 21, 1911. He worked steadily until the middle of August, when he had an attack of lead poisoning. The attack was not very severe, but he was out of work on that account for three weeks. Since that time he has worked at the same place and the same job with the exception of slight attacks OCCUPATIONAL DISI:ASI->. 471 which have kept him out of work on two occasions for two days each. Severe abdominal pains seem to be practically the only effects of lead poisoning in his case. In spite of the statement made by the superintendent that they had had no cases of lead poisoning in the last 40 years, B has had lead poisoning perhaps without the knowledge of the concern. His work has been of a rather dangerous character. He has been employed in the color-mixing and grinding room. His work consists of shoveling the various paint pigments into the grinding machine and then mixing and stirring the ground pigments. (See photos 40 and 41.) The room in which he works is very poorly ventilated, having only small windows, and not. many of those, and the system of ventilation is not a localized one and therefore does not convey dust from the immediate vicinity of the workmen. Very often workers are required to clean out the bins in which the colors have been put. This is an extremely dusty process, as it necessarily means stooping over the low bins, and clouds of dust rise in their faces as they brush out the contents. For this work B receives $1.85 per day, working 10 hours. As far as the writer could learn he had been given no instruc- tions whatever as to proper precautions to take. He was not pro- vided with any respirator or other protection against dust and lead. Half an hour is allowed for lunch, which in many cases is eaten in the work-room. B uses tobacco a little, drinks some beer and usually has a glass of whiskey each morning. When the inspector called, on Sunday, he was eating his lunch. His hands were covered with the paint in which the inspector had seen him working a few days before. He works about two Sundays in each month. His brother, who lives in the same house with him, is a worker at the same factory and is also affected by lead poisoning and is out of work often. B related that very often the room in which he works be- comes so dusty, as he expressed it, " You can't see a man an inch away." He does not talk English very well, although he grasped most of the questions put him. He is intelligent and knows that others of the men have had similar attacks and mentioned a man who was at the moment dying. He did not know the name and address. 472 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. Case No. 31. Mitchell C : , A solder caster, now employed in a smelting and refining place, is subject to attacks of lead colic, accompanied by pains in his arms. He left his native England and came to New York in ,1886. His parents were natives of Ireland. He was married in .1900. In 1891 C commenced working with the Blank Smelting and Kefining Co., where he remained for ten years. His work was tending the furnace, shoveling dross, tending lead kettles and casting solder. He considers tending the furnace the work which affords the greatest chance for becoming poisoned. Yet he often ifinds, when tending the lead kettle and casting solder, the draft forces the particles of lead all through the air he is breathing. He ,had attacks of lead colic while in the employ of this company. He went from the Blank Smelting Co. to J B , smelters and re- finers, for about four months then to T & Co., smelters and refiners. After one year at this place he went to the W Smelt- ing Co., then back to J B for one year returned to the W Works for about one year to J B for six months, and then to his present position with W B . In nearly all of these places he has done the three kinds of work previously mentioned, though solder-casting is his usual work. He has suffered from attacks of lead colic while under the employ of each company with the exception of T & Co., where he thinks the factory is in good condition. At W B , the drafts are bad, on account of doors being open for ship- pers. There are hoods over the lead kettles, but many times these avail nothing, since the back draft brings the oxidized particles of lead back into his face. He would have some means of ventilating the work-room and of hindering the improper drafts. He thinks, ,also, that lunch-rooms are necessary for all such shops. No in- structions concerning dangers of work are given, or posted. Tnere are clothes-rooms, which are used. He always removes his work clothes before leaving the shop. He is careful about washing, using hot water and soap. He has food brought in which he cooks and eats there in the work-room. He usually wears a mus- tache, but had it removed at one time, to see if attacks of lead OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 473 colic would be less frequent. He thinks there was no difference. ,He eats no breakfast before leaving home, but drinks a cup of .coffee. He has no appetite for food at that time. He uses about ,ten cigars in a day and a half, but practically no alcoholic drink. JrTe has never lost time from being unemployed. From illness he loses two or three days each time. At W - B he receives ,$18 per week of 57 hours. He works 9^4 hours each day ex- cept Saturday, which is an eight-hour day. He is allowed three- fourths of an hour for lunch. At all other places his usual wage .has been $14 per week of 58 hours a ten-hour day with one-half jbour for lunch, and eight hours of work on Saturday. Case No. 32. Patrick C : A brother of Mitchell and John C , Patrick is also a solder- caster. He came to New York city from England in 1886 with the brother Mitchell. , He was married in 1908. There are no children. His and ,his wife's ages are respectively thirty-four, and twenty-one years. He is now working beside his brother Mitchell as solder caster for W B , and has been there for the last six years. Before he came to W B he was employed by J N J for six months; W S and R Co. for two years; M S and R Co. for a short time ; T and Co. for two years ; J B for two years; X Smelting and Refining Company for about two years; and for D B eight years. While with D B he lost one week from an attack of lead colic, with J B he lost two weeks from an attack, and since he has been with W B he has lost a few days each time during several different attacks. Pains through his arms and elbows accompany the lead colic. He had nothing to add to what his brothers had said ^n regard to hours or wages, conditions in the shop or chances for improvements. He is careful about his clothing and washing his hands. He keeps tobacco in his mouth while he is working Jie thinks it better for him to do this. He smokes cigarettes most .of the time when he is away from his work, and uses about three pints of beer a day. He seems to realize the dangers of poison from the lead yet he wears no respirator and he says his ex- pectoration is often as black as ink. 474 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. Case No. S3. John C : Solder caster, brother of Mitchell C , left England for New York city two years earlier than his brother, in 18S4.. He has followed his trade continuously, employed at different times by all the firms which have employed his brother. , He is a single man forty-eight years of age. About the year 1887 he commenced working for D B , where he remained for fourteen years. In 1902 he commenced with the W S and R Company where he remained seven years. The rest of the time between 1901 and 1911 he had been employed for more or less short periods by the following companies: J B , D B , W S Co.. W B , and T & Co. In June, 1911, he was employed by W S and R Co., but was obliged to give up just be- fore Labor Day because his wrists were in such a bad condition. (The superintendent of this factory says he hasn't heard of a case for six or seven years.) He felt the effect of lead when he was with W B in 1910, also when with T A: Co., 1910 and 1911. He returned to the W Works several times and tried to work, but found it impossible. Since September, 1911, he has been totally incapacitated for work with his hand, and has been unable to secure work. For improving conditions in these shops, he seems to be able to offer no suggestions in addition to those offered by his brother. He said he had always been careful, and used every precaution of which he had knowledge. However he is in the habit of us- ing two or three packages of tobacco a week "in the form of a pipe " and occasionally drinks two or three glasses of beer a day. At present he wears a mustache. His wage and hours were practically the same as those of his brother the only modifi- cation of hours being a seven-hour day on Saturday with D B . His wage was $2.50 a day. Case No. SJt. Patrick C: Died BO many years ago that it may seem like ancient history to narrate his case. He came to the United States about 1876, and married shortly after, and was the father of three children. He found employ- OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 475 ment almost immediately with T , smelters and refiners of metal Here he worked for thirteen years over the pots where lead was melted and later poured into molds. During this time he was subject to constant attacks" of lead poisoning and was home sick about half the time. Especially during the last two years of this time he was almost incapacitated, he had a severe case of wrist drop and had serious swellings in the legs. After it became impossible for him to work longer at the melting pots, he was given a job as watchman at the factory, which he held until his death, three years later. The factory where he worked has been torn down and the firm haa removed to Jersey. C at his death left a widow and three children. Mrs. C went out to work to support the little family. The men of the T shop made up a purse of $100 which came in very handily. The firm, however, did nothing but express sympathy. C was not a hard drinker smoked some, but did not chew. He earned good wages and was careful in his habits. Case No. 35. Timothy G-: Born in 1865, a native of Ireland, came to the United States in 1886. He had been twice married. Since the death of his second wife he lived until the time of his death with Mrs. B , who gave the necessary information; his aunt, Mrs. C , added to it and it was finally corroborated by William H , who worked with him. He worked as a smelter for 17 years prior to his death, at several places which have now gone out of business and of which Mrs. B could give no definite information. He worked for meny years at T 's, where C and H also worked. Here he showed definite signs of lead poisoning and was ill a consider- able portion of the time. Later he was employed with W . His last job was with J . Here he worked five years and became totally incapacitated. From Mrs. B 's description of him it was clear that he had had a very bad case of double wrist drop and that his arms and legs had become partially paralyzed. After leaving J he tried to run a little coal and ice shop; his con- dition became worse and he was taken to the Metropolitan Hospi- 476 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. tal, where he died. An autopsy was per formed at Bellevue Hospital. For a considerable time prior to his leaving the employ of J , he had been in very poor health and had had attacks of lead colic, which kept him from working for considerable periods. He was also at St. Vincent's Hospital and two or three convalescent homes. G is reported to have been a considerable drinker, but not to excess. He wore a mustache. He was very cleanly and his aunt narrated with some wonder how, during the hot weather, he took a bath in a tub every evening. He smoked, but did not chew. He earned very good wages, when his health permitted, as much as $21.00 per week. His first attack came suddenly and another victim of industrial poison scarcely beyond his prime passed over the line. Case No. 36. James McP : Is employed with the N Company. He is an interesting man, intelligent, and his employer gave him a record of being a steady, reliable and sober worker. He had his first attack of lead colic in February, 1911, when he was ill two days. He has had several minor attacks since then, and is now out of work about one day every two weeks. McP had worked at his present occupation, smelting and casting, for 21 years, and last February was the first time he noted ill effects therefrom. In early life he did odd jobs ind chores around the farm of the man he lived with. His first really continuous work was when, in 1890, he got employment with the C Lead Company, as a " mixer " in the type and solder metal room. Here his duties were to measure out the ingredients for the various sorts of composites required, attend to the melting of them, skim, when necessary, stir, and finally >pour them out into pigs. Four different sorts of metal are thus prepared, each with a great, and almost overwhelming proportion of lead. That con- taining the least of this dangerous metal is the ordinary plumbers' " half-and-half " solder, which is composed of 50 per cent tin and 50 per cent lead, by weight. As tin is much more expensive than OCCUPATIONAL, DISEASES. 477 lead, there is a constant temptation to substitute, and other solders, also called " half-and-half," are made for the coarser and cheaper work, in which the tin sinks as low as 38 per cent, and the re- maining 62 per cent is all lead. The name " half-and-half " thus becomes a meaningless " trade custom," and it becomes necessary to specify, when buying solder, just how much tin you insist upon having. Various grades are made and guaranteed by the companies. A blend of 43 1-3 per cent tin to 56 2-3 per cent lead is the common standard for roofing. Stereotyping metal comes next in lead content, having only 4 per cent tin, 14 per cent antimony and 82 per cent lead. Slightly softer than this through its additional 1 per cent of lead, is the metal used in the melting pots of linotype machines: tin 4 per cent, antimony 13 per cent, lead 83 per cent. Nearest to pure lead is electrotyping metal, which is wanted very soft, and is composed of tin 2 per cent, antimony 4 per cent, lead 94 per cent. In the smelting of these ingredients together, the stirring, the skimming and pouring, there is bound to be some oxidation, and that is largely the source of danger. McP worked with the C people fifteen years (June, 1890 to February, 1905), dur- ing which time he lost regularly from 4 to 6 weeks per year through unemployment. He was never ill in this plant. There was running water, which the men would heat on a stove in cold weather for washing purposes, the hours were 10 a day with 9 on Saturday, making a 59-hour week, only half an hour was given for meals, and the pay received by this man was but $13.50 per week. Mainly to better himself in this respect, he took up work in February, 1905, with the N Company, then a new firm, with whom he has stayed ever since. His work was practically the same as in the other place, the only difference being that he now makes more solder and less of the type metals. Here his pay is $15 per week, work is much steadier, only 3 or 4 days per year being lost as a rule; the long hours and the short one-half-hour lunch time remain unchanged. When seized last winter with the colic, McP suffered from cramps, constipation, headache, loss of appetite, loss of weight, and a dull and heavy pain in the abdomen. He called in a doctor OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. who treated him, but only admitted that the trouble was lead poisoning upon a direct question. After two days out of the shop McP went back to work. Ever since the cramps in the stomach have been bothering him at intervals of two or three weeks, mean- ing the loss of a day's time at each recurrence. As a workman he is strong, vigorous and active-minded. He was born in Tipperary, Ireland, in 1872, but was brought to this country at the age of two. In 1897 he married a splendid young countrywoman of his, who was born in 1878. Five chil- dren have been born to them. Four are now alive, all bright and intelligent, and ranging from 11 to 1 year in age. The third child, a boy, died in 1905, at 10 months. He had thrived as long as his mother had been able to nurse him. When he went on the bofltle he began to fail, and the summer after his birth succumbed to summer complaint. There is no history of miscarriage or pre- mature birth. In the C works where McP worked first, verbal in- structions were given the men as to how to avoid the dangers of the trade. They were warned to keep out of the dust all they could, to keep the floor wet down, and to sweep as often as they could. No printed notices were put up. He regularly eats a solid breakfast of meat or eggs, and potatoes. He chews to- bacco nearly constantly, believing that it helps clear the throat and stomach of lead dust, and rarely smokes a pipe. As to alco- hol, he is almost a total abstainer, taking a glass or two of beer only at very great intervals on some special occasion. In the first place he worked he used to eat lunch right in the shop, or sitting outside in warm weather. Now he lives so near to his work that he is able to to come home every day. He always washes before meals, in either hot or cold weather. He wears a moustache, but- never had a beard. A novel feature of his case is that in some of the departments of the factory the men wear " muzzles," or respirators with cheese cloth. Most of the men, himself included, change clothing completely when they go to work, and put on overalls. Case No. 37. Tonio M : In a rear room, dark as pitch, in a basement 8 feet below the street, Tonio M was found, caster for a white lead company. OCCUPATIONAL DISKASKS. 47'.* He is a splendid looking man, with a kindly face and a martial bearing. Due, perhaps, to the system he has worked out of alter- nate lead and non-lead employments, he shows superficially no traces of the chronic plumbism with which he is now afflicted. M is a Pole by birth, and a Catholic. He was born in 1870, and in youth learned carpentry in his native land. In 1906 he thought he saw a wider field across the water and came to America, going at once to some place " in Connecticut," where from June until November he plied his chosen calling for $6 a v?eek and keep, 60 hours per week. Building operations then being slack, M drifted to New York, where, with a few breaks, he has been ever since. His first work here was as a porter on the A S Company's docks in Brook- lyn. His pay here was $9.30 a week, 10 hours daily, with an hour for dinner. After a little more than a month at this M got work in .December, 1906, at a white lead company. He was made a '"'cas- ter," that is, he operates the kettle in which lead pigs are placed and melted and from which they are poured out in the form of " buckles " for the corroding rooms. The danger here is from hanging the pigs, and from breathing fine particles of oxide when the molten lead is skimmed or stirred. His pay was then, and is now, on this job, $12 weekly, his hours 10 per day, 59 per week, and his dinner time one-half hour daily. In these first four years in the lead shop he lost no time through slack work, but about a week in days here and there during which he was incapacitated 1 ' through lead colic. He cannot remember the exact dates of these attacks, but there were more than one per year. Finally, taking warning from his condition, M decided to '' cut " the lead works and the city for a time, and went to North II , Conn., where again he worked at building and carpenter- ing, from June to October, 1910. His pay was only $10 for 60 hours a week, but he was in the open air, and by fall he had recov- ered, to his own satisfaction, from the lead. So back to his casting furnace in the latter month he camo. His work, hours and pay remained the same as before, but not so the length of his employment. In March, 1911, after only six months over the furnace, he was laid up with an attack of paralysis of tho finger*, pains in flic stomach, and complete bodily 480 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. weakness. For six weeks he lay at home in this condition, hardly- stirring from bed, dosing himself with a prescription written by the company physician. When the six weeks had passed and he again felt able to work, he returned to North Haven. This was in May, 1911. From then until the middle of July he worked in a brickyard, shaping bricks by machine, and getting $12 for a 60-hour week, with one hour for dinner. Then slack work drove him back to the lead work. Here he has worked ever since, losing no days because of ill- ness, but never feeling quite well. As soon as he begins to feel " colicky " he takes a dose of salts and a sip of the physician's medicine and so managed to worry along. The symptoms of par- alysis are not at the present evident, but his demonstration of how he couldn't hold a spoon when he had the attack was most pitiful. M married in 1893, his wife was born in, 1874. The couple have had five children, of whom four were boys, bu't all five were born in Poland before their father came here, and have never come to America. The father wears no beard, but a mous- tache, eats meat, bread and coffee regularly for breakfast, takes 10 cigarettes daily, but rarely touches either beer or whiskey. He used to eat dinner in the workroom, washing in cold water before ea'ting. He says the company once had respirators for the men; it also furnishes cold water and a doctor. Stomach trouble seems to be a permanent effect of lead in this case. Case No. 38. Abraham F : Eoissian Jew, born at Warsaw, Kussia, came to this country in 1899. He is now 33 years of age and is much above the average in intelligence. He learned his trade, as a diamond worker, in the famous dia- mond market, Amsterdam. Ever since coming to the United States he has worked at his trade. At the first place where he was em- ployed he remained eight years, and it was while working there that he began to feel the first symptoms of what his doctor later diagnosed as lead poisoning. His particular job has been diamond polishing. The diamond is placed in a chunk of lead, which is held by the worker on a OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 481 short stick. This chunk of lead is shaped very much like a small pear, and the diamond is at the apex. The diamond is held against a rapidly revolving disc, which polishes off the surfaces of the stone. The man's hands become grimy from the use of the lead and a certain amount of lead dust is ground off. F began to feel the first symptoms of lead in 1900. The doctors to whom he went did not seem to be able to diagnose his case and gave him sleeping potions. He did not improve. He was troubled with sleepiness, constipation, impaired vision, weak- ness and a slight palsy in the arms, hands, legs and feet. He has had no attack of lead colic and has not lost weight, apparently, and except for a slight pallor of countenance he did not look ill at all. He has just given up his job, at the advice of his physician, and is about to go abroad to visit his parents. He intends to re- main away from work about four months, to enable him to get the lead out of his system. He also expects to consult foreign specialists. He was never given any instructions regarding the dangers of the work. He is accustomed to smoking usually about three cigars daily, even while working. He drinks, perhaps, a glass of whisky once in three months. He has been accustomed to eating in the workroom, usually without washing, no hot water being provided. He stated that the men usually left their finger nails very short in order to prevent them from getting very black. He believed that the workers should be told concerning the dangers of lead poisoning and they would then take the necessary precautions. Case No. 39. Franklin K : A young printer, only 22 years old, a native and lifelong res- ident of Brooklyn, died suddenly of lead poisoning on October 14, 1910. He ihad never been ill before in his life. He was brought home suffering terribly on a Monday afternoon; Friday, he died. K 's industrial career was varied, changing from printing to shoemaking and back again. Some time in 1895 he first began work as an errand boy and job-press "kicker" in a little print- 16 482 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. ing shop in Brooklyn. His presswork was limited to printing by foot power small jobs, such as envelopes and visiting cards. His wages were not high $2.50 to $3 per week he worked eight hours a day, 48 a week, and got a whole hour for lunch. In that same year, 1895, he ftried shoemaking, becoming a "stitcher," or one who sews soles and uppers together, in a large shoe plant. Here, by doing piecework, he was able to grind out $10 or $12 per week, working 54 hours in winter and 49 in sum- mer, with an hour for lunch. Neither on this nor the previous job did he lose any time through illness or unemployment; but in 1905 he was permanently laid off, and it was a year and a quarter before he found work again. When he did, it was to return to the types, where he had been formerly. He became a hand compositor and make-up man, worked steadily for the nine ytears from 1901 to 1910, lost no time through slack or illness, and earned on the average $10 to $12 weekly for 48 hours. One hour was again given him for lunch. What happened at this job his family do not know, but he left or lost his place, and again, for a week, was unemployed. Then he found work at the same occupation with a large printing firm in New York city. He went there in August, worked steadily until October 10, and then suddenly was taken violently ill. He was rushed home to Brooklyn and a doctor called. So ter- rible were the young man's agony and contortions that the prac- titioner at first thought, he had taken poison. His stomach was pumped, and the physician decided it was lead. For three days, at home, the young printer suffered, crying aloud in his pain, his body doubled up, his appetite gone, and racked with spas- modic vomiting. Two days more he lingered at the German Hos- pital in New York and on the fifth day after his seizure was taken home dead. K 's pictures show him to have been a stalwart, wide-awake young chap. He never married. It is not known whether warnings or notices of the dangers from lead were ever presented to him. His customary breakfast was coffee, with a roll or a piece of cake. Once in a while he smoked a cigar, but consumed about, four cigarettes daily. Once in a great while he took a glass or two of beer. OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 483 He always washed in cold water before eating and never took lunch in the shop. He was in the habit of changing his trousers before getting to work, and was clean shaven. His family phy- sician diagnosed his case as lead poisoning. Case No. 40. Alexander G : On October 10, 1910, Alexander G died of chronic lead poisoning contracted while employed as a printer. G was an old man 64 when he died but rugged American stock of Scotch extraction. " He had an iron consti- tution and a nerve that never let go," said his wife. He was ,tall and at his prime weighed 1C 9 pounds. At death, after ten years' suffering, he weighed 89 pounds. , He was born in Brooklyn in 1846, the family having come pver from Scotland in the previous century. Early in life he learned the printer's trade. He was an expert compositor, job hand, make up man and " stone man." He also was a press .expert, and was the mechanical mainstay of the plants in which Jie worked. When anything went wrong with machines or presses, the word was always " Send for Sandy." , When he first came into his wife's life, in the early '60's, he was working for a printing concern in New York. He then received $18 for a 60-hour week, with one hour allowed for din- ner. In 1868 they were married, and two years later he took work with the Blank and Blank Company, New York. His tours were still 60 a week with one off for dinner each day. His wages at first were $18 a week, the same as at his previous place, but later were raised to $21, where they remained. In pre-election rush times, by working several days and nights steadily and drawing the double pay required by the Typograph- ,ical Union for overtime, he was occasionally able to make $40 pr $50 for the week. The inhuman strain he thus put himself ( under, however, may have contributed in no slight degree to his final " leading " and death. He remained with the Blank and Blank firm from January, 1870, until the summer of 1906. In 1904 he lost four week? because of rheumatism, but apart from that work was steady 484 OCCUPATIONAL, DISEASES. find his lead poisoning had not yet grown severe enough to keep him at home. About 1888, however, he began to complain of terrible cramps in the stomach. He contracted a deep cough and expectorated heavily. These two circumstances led him to believe he had catarrh of the stomach, a theory he held to his dying day, always indignantly scouting the physicians' diag- nosis of plumbism. He consumed vast quantities of sal hepatica, stomach tablets, seidlitz powders and the like, but all the time Jris cramps were getting worse, his appetite failing, and his pow- erful strength waning. He lost his color and became almost as white as a sheet pernicious anemia had set in. Vomiting, Inability to retain any solid food, came as the culminating blow. In 1889 he had moved his family to H , N. J., and com- muted to work, but even the change of air did not help him, and in the summer of 1906, as stated above he was finally forced to quit work. For three or four weeks he tried to work as a gateman at a grade crossing, for a railroad at the wage of $7 a week, for 12 hours a day, Sundays included. But although the gates were " automatic," the work was too much for him in his weakened condition, and before the end. of the month he left. , The following four years he spent at home, moving back to ^Brooklyn in 1907 to be near his boyhood haunts. A $16 a week benefit from the Union and his children's earnings sup- ported the home. But his condition became more and more alarming, and in the middle of August, 1910, he was removed ,to the Presbyterian hospital for treatment. He was kept there ,for seven weeks under the closest supervision, being frequently seized with convulsions, and most of the time delirious with pain. On October 1 he was brought home as hopeless, and on the 10th he died. G and his wife had twelve children, six of whom are ,to-day alive and grown up. The oldest, a boy, born in 1868, died of concussion of the brain, due to a fall, at the age of ten ,months. The fourth, a girl, died at two months, from pneu- .monia, in 1873, The ninth, a girl, was accidentally killed the ,day of her birth in 1887 by her mother's falling with her. The ,eleventh, a girl, born in 1890, succumbed at ten months to bronchitis. OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 485 The other two who died require special consideration. They are the tenth and twelfth in order, both boys, one born in 1888 and the otker in 1891, the little girl who died of bronchitis com- ,ing between them. 1888 is two years before, and 1891 is one year after, the date somewhat roughly set by Mrs. G as the beginning of her husband's lead symptoms. He may well have been suffering before 1888; her memory on that point is not clear. Both these infants were born dead, the first at full term, the second at seven months. This, especially when coupled with the fact that the intervening child did not have stamina enough to withstand at ten months an attack of bronchitis, apparently be- trays a progressive impregnation of the infants corresponding to the growing intensity of their father's leading. This seven months' miscarriage was the wife's last attempt to have children. Mrs. G does not know whether her husband was ever warned of the dangers of lead in his trade or not. She thinks he may have absorbed the poison through holding type in his mouth, by handling the type, and by inhaling the dust. He always ate a light breakfast of coffee and only a part of one roll, ate the noon meal in the shop, and always washed in hot and cold water. He wore a mustache but no beard. He wore an apron while at work, but was accustomed to no other change of clothing on ordinary work days. He is described as an almost constant chewer of tobacco, believing it was good for him, and a frequent smoker. His wife, who was a strict teetotaler, told with sorrow that he was a rather heavy drinker, Scotch whiskey be- ing his favorite. Both the staff of the Presbyterian hospital and the coroner's physician, of the Coroner's office, Brooklyn, diagnosed G 's ailment as chronic lead poisoning, and there can be no doubt that this is a case of a powerful, able man succumbing to that industrial poison. Case No. 41- Adolph H : H , a Catholic German, was born in Germany in 1853. In 1888 with his wife and children he came to American and estab- lished his home in Brooklyn where he has lived ever since. He 486 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. now has eight children, four married and four at home. H is a carpenter by trade, although for nine years he has worked intermittently in a blacksmith's shop. In 1906 he began work- ing in the same car repair shops in Brooklyn, where up to six weeks ago he has worked, with the exception of a couple of months each summer when he worked in a blacksmith shop. He is at present employed in a blacksmith shop in Brooklyn, earn- ing $17 a week and working nine hours a day. H evidently contracted lead poisoning while -working on the freshly painted cars in these repair shops. The conditions under which he worked are no doubt largely responsible for his attacks, two in number. The hours in these shops are from seven to five-thirty with half an hour for luncheon. H had to leave home at 5.30 every morning and consequently often ate p. scanty breakfast. The luncheon hour was so short that he never had time to wash before eating. He always ate at a nearby saloon and it was all he could do to get there and back in half an hour. Like most Germans, H had his beer, but is not a heavy drinker. His attacks of lead poisoning were due without a doubt to the long hours, short time given to luncheon and lack of washing facilities. He has left the shops for good as he is now earning $2 a week more than he earned there, and is working under more favorable conditions. H 's children are normal and healthy. Their mother says that they have always been well, with the exception of one daughter who has recently undergone an operation for tumor. The H 's last two children are dead one from diphtheria and the other from measles. H seems to have escaped any perma- nent effects from his attacks of lead poisoning, but Mrs. H says that nothing could induce him to return to the car shops. Case No. J+2 Herman S : His regular occupation is that of a plumber. He is now suffer- ing from chronic plumbism. S , who was seen at his home, is very weak and ignorant as to the nature of his trouble. He claimed to be suffering from constipation, and daily gastric fli&turbances. For a year and a half or two years back he has OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 487 had severe attacks of cramps, a week or two apart, lasting for about an hour. He has had no cramps since returning from tha hospital, October 31. Has good appetite, but is afraid to eat heartily on account of the gastric disturbances. Samuels has been a plumber and tinsmith for 17 years. He has done job work, but has worked for no particular firm. He was first incapacitated for work last March (1911). Since then he has kept a small hard- ware store with wife's assistance. The man claims not to have used alcohol for many years, although he smokes both pipe and cigarettes. He wears a moustache. The S have five chil- dren, all boys but one, and all well and strong. They have lost a boy and girl by death. Mrs. S has had no miscarriages or still born children. Case No. 43. Michael R : R is a Pole, who came to this country, leaving a wife and two children in the " old country." He found employment in the brass foundry of W , in New York city. Here he handled lead constantly and soon was affected by a disease which the doctor diagnosed as chronic lead poisoning. He went to the New York Hospital and was ill about three months. He has now returned to the old job at the foundry where brass beds are made. Case No. 44. Harry B : B is a Russian Jew and has been in this country eight years. He is a tinsmith and has worked in a shop on the lower East Side for several years. B had been well until the spring of 1909, when he had an attack of painter's colic, was sick for three months and was treated at home by a private physician. He suffered with abdominal pains and severe pains in his head. Later he had an operation for mastoiditis. He returned to his work after three months, and now works every day but has never been really well. He goes home to his lunch each day and is careful to wash before eating. The family is extremely neat and clean in the home, and it is likely, therefore, that he is careful about his clothing. Mr. and Mrs. B were married in 1907 and have no family. 488 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. Case No. 45. Sadie G-: Sadie is an intelligent, neat, clean girl, who has worked from the time she got her working papers in embroidery factories. She was a stamper and for several years be- fore she was poisoned, earned $10 a week. In her work she was accustomed to use a white powder (chalk or talcum was usual) which was brushed over the perforated de- signs and thus transferred to the cloth. The design was easily brushed off when made of chalk or of talcum, if the embroiderers were not careful. Her last employer therefore commenced using white lead powder, mixed with rosin, which cheapened the work as the powder could not be rubbed off and necessitate restamping. None of the girls knew of the change in powder, nor of the danger in its use. The workroom was crowded and hot, the stamp- ers' tables were farthest from the windows and the constant use of the powder caused them to breathe it continually and their hands were always covered with it. Sadie had been a very strong, healthy girl, good appetitie and color; she began to be unable to eat, had terrible colic, but con- tinued to go to work in spite of the fact that she felt miserable. Her hands and feet swelled > she lost the use of one hand, her teeth and gums were blue. When she finally had to stop work, after being treated for months, for stomach trouble, her phy- sician advised her to go to a hospital. There the examination re- vealed the fact that she had lead poisoning which was unac- countable as no one knew that her work had involved the use of lead until some one who had been on the job also recalled hearing the manager send a messenger out with money several times to buy a white lead powder. Sadie was sick in the hospital for six months (losing $10 per week). She said her employer bought off several of her witnesses, but before the case came to trial two years later several of them also became ill and consequently decided to testify for her. The employer appealed to the girl's feelings and induced her, on the day of the trial, to accept $150. He said that he had had busi- ness reverses and consequently would be unable to pay in case she won. OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 489 Her lawyer was suing for $10,000. At the present time the girl is 23 years old and though she has apparently good health, she is no longer strong and is very susceptible to disease. Case No. 1+6. Thomas J : Is a big Barbadoes negro, in the prime of his strength, 28 years of age. He came from the Barbadoes in May, 1911, and went to work almost immediately for the contractor on the new Fourth Avenue subway. About the middle of August his gang was laid off and he went to work in a factory making red and yellow oxide of lead. Here he worked in the sugar of lead, or lead acetate, de- partment. His job was to shovel the crystalized lead acetate from the vats to conveyors and later to pack it into barrels. His work involved chopping out the lead in which process a considerable quantity of dust was raised, and which also involved considerable handling of the lead which he usually did with his bare hands. He worked here about a month and a half when he was taken with severe colic and weakness in arms and wrists. His doctor advised him to go to a hospital, which he did; he remained there a week and at home a week. He then returned to work, but could only stand it about three days and had another attack which kept him out of work two weeks. J then changed his job, and, with the exception of slight pains in the abdomen, he is now feeling all right. He says he always took especial care in washing and eating. Case No. 47. Aleck S-: S is a Russian Pole, 31 years of age, who came to this country with the opening of the new year, 1911. Before he had been here a year he had contracted a serious case of lead poison- ing which kept him out of work for seven weeks. He found employment with a white lead company in Brook- lyn, where his job consisted of packing dry white lead in barrels. .This subjected him to the dangers of dust and for this dangerous .work he received $9.60 per week. About the first of November, pfter about ten months' steady work, he was taken ill with severe polic and cramps, weakness in his wrists and arms. He was 490 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. put of work for seven weeks. He has returned to the factory pnd is again working at his old job. He has a heavy lead line and will doubtless be incapacitated in a short time. He claims that he was never instructed as to how to care for himself or that the work was dangerous. He saw no in- structions. He is evidently careful in his habits, and his land- lord told how he actually refused to accept drinks even as treats. ,He was accustomed to eat in the work room, but had little oppor- tunity to wash, and then only in cold water. His hands were still (dirty from the day's work when the inspector saw him. The company where this man is employed has a doctor. S claims although the doctor did treat him at first, he didn't pay any attention to him later on. He wears a respirator and doubtless this accounts for the length of time previous to the poisoning. Case No. 48. Greogora T : , A Russian Pole. He came to this country just a year ago .(January, 1911), and went to work almost at once for a white lead concern. He worked as a packer of dry white lead. Here te worked until October, or about nine months, when he was ,taken with a severe attack of lead poisoning. He was in Gou- verneur hospital for five weeks and remained at home another .week. He then returned to work, but after a week at it he was again incapacitated. Since that time he has been off and on, .working not more than half the time. He had severe colic and cramps and his arms became stiff and useless. T was never instructed concerning the danger of the work, although his foreman is a Russian. He is temperate, drinks very little and does not smoke. He washed in cold water ordinarily, but says he didn't have time to do it thoroughly. He is at present ill, and a heavy lead line is evident. Case No. 49. Vladimir P : A Russian Pole, thirty years of age came to this country in January, 1910. He found work at once in the works of a whin Jead company. Here he worked as a stripper of the corroding OCCUPATIONAL, DISEASES. 491 .beds, which brought him directly in contact with the dry white .lead. For this work he received $9.60 per week a week of .sixty hours, ten hours a day. Early in March of the same year he had a severe attack of lead colic. From that time until the end of the year he worked only irregularly on account of the more or less regular recurrence of the poisoning. He probably ,did not work more than half the time. Since January, 1911, However, he has been much better and has worked steadily. , He says he was never instructed and that he saw no signs. He reads only Russian. He is very temperate; he does not .smoke and only drinks one glass of beer daily. He had severe ,colic and his arms became almost useless, later his knees and ankles swelled considerably. He seems to have recovered from his illness and although still working at the same job is now healthy. He is treated by the factory physician and takes medicine regularly. Case No. 50. John D : , A Hungarian, who works in the tempering room of a big wire works, says that he worked in the same place and at the same job for five years without having an attack of lead poisoning. About three 'months ago, however, he had his first attack. He was taken with severe colic and was incapacitated for a week. Since losing that week he has had slight attacks off and on which Jiave not necessitated his giving up work for any length of time. His wife says, however, that he has no appetite now and that she cannot persuade him to eat much. He does not eat a hearty meal before going to work. D tends the pots of molten lead, through which the wire is drawn. He works one week on day shift and the next week on night shift They do not give the men who work at these furnaces any time at all for lunch because the furnace cannot be left. The men eat a bite whenever they can get a chance, but do not have even half an hour in which to eat. There is no wash room, the man says, but provisions for washing are made in the workroom. When they wash, they wash there. He says all the men on that floor have had lead poisoning (doubtful). No instructions or warnings are ever given them. 492 OCCUPATIONAL, DISEASES. D is a young man of 22 years. His wife is three years younger, and they have been married less than a year. He is smooth-faced, dark complexioned, tall and strong looking, but listless in appearance. He uses no alcohol and very little tobacco only once in a while a cigar at home. For all the risk he takes, with the constant danger of lead poisoning, he is paid $12 per week. Case No. 51. Charles G : A young Scotchman, 31 years of age, gave up the sea some eight years ago and settled down to life as a caster in a tinfoil factory. Here his job consisted of melting up lead pigs together with tin and some other ingredients which make up tinfoil; then ran the molten composition into a mould, forming a slab of the metal about two feet square and one inch in thickness. This slab was then taken to the rollers where it was rolled thinner and . thinner as desired. After working here for eight years he was taken with a sort of paralysis of the hand, the fingers, especially of the right hand closed tightly and he found it impossible to open them without assistance. When seen at the hospital he had been there only a week, but showed decided improvement. At the time of the attack he was earning $15.00 per week. He described the room where he worked as well ventilated by two large exhaust fans and as clean and well lighted. He was instructed as to the dangers of the work, and was told to. wash thoroughly and to rinse out his mouth before eating. G chews a good deal and smokes a pipe and, like most men, drinks beer and occa- sionally whiskey. The place where G worked was inspected and is doubtless the cleanest, best equipped (with the exception of hoods) of any casting room seen by the inspector. It is also evident that the man took precautions. It is evident, therefore, how very careful employers and employees must be to avoid lead poisoning. Case No. 52. Alexander C : Is a young Russian Pole, 26 yenrs ol age, who came to this contry in 1906. Like many young laborers he found employment OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 493 at various unskilled work until he found a position with a white lead company in the spring of 1911. Here he worked in the cor- roding beds, putting the blue buckles (uncorroded lead) into the jars and after the corrosion had taken place emptying the con- tents into a large car which carries the lead off to the separators. Here he was, of course, subjected to considerable lead dusfo, and after a few months began to feel distinct symptoms of lead poison- ing. He had a severe attack of nausea, vomiting and cramps. This was just eight months after he commenced work. At the time of investigation he had been idle on account of lead poison- ing for three weeks and his debilitated condition indicated that he would remain so for a somewhat longer period. While at this job he worked two hours per day, had one-half hour for lunch, and earned $12.00 per week. He was never given any instructions concerning the danger of his work and he couldn't read those posted in the factory. He ate regularly in the room where he worked, occasionally he washed before eating. He drinks moderately, one or two glasses of beer per day. He smokes cigar- ettes. If he gets out of this work at once and stays out, he will probably get over the effects. If, however, he goes back to work it will be merely a matter of time before he becomes thoroughly leaded and totally incapacitated. Case No. 53. Raymond F : A Barbadoes negro, came to this country in May, 1908. He found employment in a paris green, factory where, he says, most of the men contracted a rash, or pimples, which ate deeply into the skin (ulcers). He staid there only a month and then went to work for a lead company, in the lead acetate, or sugar of lead department. At present he is sort of a subforeman, and earns, more than the other men. He handles much of the lead with his hands. He directs its removal from the vats, the carrying and moving of it from the vat rooms to the packing department. He has had only one attack, which occurred about Thanksgiv- ing, 1911, after he had been working at this work for about three and a half years. He claims to have been careful in his personal habits and not to indulge too freely in alcoholic beverages. He says the superintendent instructed him to keep his hands clean, but nothing more. 494 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. The most interesting part of this case is the effect upon the offspring. He had one child born in Barbadoes. It is living and physically strong and healthy. Since working in lead his wife has had two conceptions; the first ended with a birth before the nor- mal term, at the end of seven months. The attending physician stated that this was really a miscarriage. A second child born a year later lived six months and died in convulsions. Dr. Thomas Oliver states that this result may be expected from lead workers 1 . In view, however, of the absence of attacks on the part of the worker himself, the case is exceptionally interesting. (NOTE. Cases 54, 55, 57, 58 and 59 are those of employees in a Federal Navy Yard, reported to liave contracted lead poisoning. They are omitted from this report because the Commission its with- out jurisdiction to inquire into conditions there.) Case No. 56. Mrs. Myra W : While in the employ of B and W , who were engaged in the embroidery business, Mrs. W who was then un- married suffered from a very serious attack of lead poisoning. She entered their employ in the year 1901 and had worked two years before she had this attack. She was an embroidery stamper, and she learned when her case was diag- nosed by a physician at the hospital that she had been using powdered white lead for transferring the design to the cloth. She was taken with very severe pains and vomiting. She suffered intensely and could get no relief for some time. She lost three months of work and never returned to B and W . She afterward did the same sort of work for four years, from 1903 to 1907, under the employ of another embroidery shop. In 1907, Mrs. W - was married and she now has a little girl, Hannah, who was born January 31, 1909. The child has always been healthy. Mrs. W thinks her nervous system is still deranged from the effects of the attack. . She is a native of New York city, born in January, 1881, of Jewish parentage. Previous to 1901 she was living in her home with her parents. At the last place where she worked she re- ceived $12.00 for the work of a week which consisted of fifty- four hours, nine hours each day, with one-half hour for lunch. l See Oliver, Bulletin of Labor, 95, pp. 107-111. OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 495 These conditions were practically the same at the first place where she worked. Case No. 60. John W : . Now 75 years of age, came to this country from Birming- ham, England, in 1874. Immediately after his arrival he en- tered the employ of the New York as a compositor; he had learned the trade in his old home in England and had worked at it since his youth. He remained with the - until 1879, when he went to another of the great New York .dailies. Here he remained until 1894, when he was pensioned by the Typographical Union. For a time he was an inmate of the Union's Sanitarium and Home for the Aged, at Cold Springs, Col., but did not care to stay there, although the care was excel- lent. He returned to New York city. Like most printers, he smoked considerably and has since ten years of age, and also drank a good deal, especially after his wife's death, which occurred before he came to the United States. He was first sick in 1876, shortly after he had come to this country. From 1879 to 1894, while working for the newspaper, he had constant attacks of lead poisoning which .finally resulted in wrist drop. This he thinks that he cured by wearing a bandage which he says is made of eel skin, about his wrist. It is probable, however, that after ceasing his employ- ment the lead was gradually eliminated from his system. He is now permanently crippled, due to paralysis and contraction pf the toes, which makes it very difficult for him to walk. Case No. 61. Elmer M : A native of Belgium, where he learned diamond polishing. Jn 1895 he emigrated to the United States and has followed kis trade as a diamond polisher in New York city ever since. This business requires expert workers and the wages paid are con- sequently high. The disadvantage in the trade arises from the fact that the worker is idle perhaps twenty weeks in a year. M earns about $56.00 a week, working eight and three quarter hours a day and 48 hours 1 a week; one-half hour is allowed for lunch. 496 OCCUPATIONAL, DISEASES. M had his first attack of lead poisoning in 1908. This was the first illness he had had in his life. At present the man looks healthy and is quite stout. IL PAINTERS. Case No. 62. Moe S-: A Russian Jew, has been in this country five years. He has been a painter for 10 years. He is married and has three chil- dren living and two dead. Before coming to America, Simp- son worked in Germany at K , but experienced no signs of ill health. , He has suffered from chronic lead poisoning and was recently .sick in bed for three months. He has been obliged to change his occupation since his illness, and now takes orders for enlarging portraits, at which he has now been working for two months, at $7.00 per week. He has trouble with his head and eyes, also dyspepsia and arthritis. His appearance indicates anemia. In Germany, he says, the men were warned about the danger of the work and many firms used zinc white instead of white lead, though this is more expensive. Long projecting gowns were furnished the men to cover their clothing while at work and also a particular kind of soap with which to wash their hand* Here they wash their hands with benzine which causes unpleas- ant effects. When he talked to the men with whom he worked here about being careful the employers objected. He seemed rather intelligent and recognized the necessity of something be- ing done to protect the workmen. When he worked as a painter he earned $3.50 per day. He usually took very little breakfast before going to work. He did inside work almost exclusively. He did not drink nor smoke. Case No. 62. David L : A Russian Jew, twenty-three years old, came to the United States in 1903 and has been in New York city five years. OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 497 He is a painter and has worked at the trade five years. Last year he had an acute attack of lead poisoning. He was taken ,sick on the streets with cramps and suffered with vertigo. He was taken to the hospital, where he remained three months. Although at present he says he is well, he still looks badly and is anemic and suffers with his head when in a closed room. L drinks tea and wine, does not use tobacco and eats no breakfast. He is careful to wash his hands in hot water and ,cleans his nails before eating, and always goes outside to eat. He does not wear a mustache or beard. He changes his clothes ,at home. His employer is an old gentleman of 85 years and is good to his men. " The boss always tells the boys how to take care of themselves when working with paint. He tells them to wash their hands carefully and not to eat where they work." L earns $3.00 per day when working. He has worked at the P Hotel and Hotel - , on inside work. He also does out- side painting. Case No. 64. Pincus W : The parents of Pincus W- are Austrians and cannot speak English. Pincus was a painter and was admitted to the hospital July 21, 1910. His case was diagnosed as lead colic. He was discharged on August 6, 1910. On August 4th the blue line was still present. He suffered from weakness, loss of appetite, abdominal pains, with vomiting and diarrhoea. He still has stomach trouble. Ho usually ate no breakfast before going to work. By order of his physicians, he changed his occupation after the illness. He had an opportunity of marrying a young lady with money, which he seized at once, married and bought a candy shop. Since that time they have had cne son. Case No. 65. Harry W- : Was born in the outskirts of Wilna, Russia, in 1878, his parents being Russian Jews. In 1891, at the age of 13, he began to learn the trade of bricklaying which he carried on until September, 1899. His pay was five rubles ($2.50) per week when he worked, 498 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. which was only about half the year, building operations being- stopped the rest of the time by the weather. To make up for this long period of slack, work, when it came, was piled on heavy. From 13 to 16 hours daily were put in, or about 90 per week. To escape this life, W came to this country in 1899. Prac- tically all of the twelve years since then have been spent in New York city and at the occupation of painting and paperhanging. At the beginning the wages were only $3.00 per week, but as he learned the trade, rose to $15.00 and later to $18.00 at which figure they have been for the last nine years. The hours are now only 9 per day but the period of unemployment is not greatly shortened. It now amounts on the average to 16 weeks, yearly. Sometime in the three years between 1899 and 1902, while he was learning the trade, White got his first attack of what looks like lead poisoning. It was a two-day seizure of severe pains in the left kidney. The physicians of the Sick and Death Benefit Fund, to whom W - went, strongly advised him to give up painting. This would indicate that the trouble was a result of lead. The advice, however, could not be heeded and the third day after his seizure found the man back at his job. From then until 1910 nothing of an acute nature occurred, but in that year the kidney pains returned in aggravated form, accom- panied by loss of appetite. Four weeks were lost from work by this illness and during the present year an exactly similar seizure caused an equal loss. At present the man is ghastly pale and anemic and complains of pains in the back after any spell of hard, continuous labor. W has worked for several bosses in his painting career, only three of whom kept him long enough to fix their names in his mind. All of them allowed one (1) hour for dinner, but none gave him or posted up any instructions for personal care to avoid the lead. He eats a breakfast of oatmeal, bread and tea regularly, smokes ten cigarettes daily, but touches no alcohol in any form, partly from natural antipathy, partly from the physi- cian's orders. He nearly always leaves the job at noon to eat, wears overalls while at work, but goes through no further change of clothing. He washes before meals with cold water and soap- powder, wears a moustache, but no beard. He has found hot and OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 499 cold water in the places he worked at, but would like to have these supplemented by towels, soap and a supply of washing soda which he considers very efficacious for the hands. W 's wife, born in 1883, married him in 1901. The couple have had two children, a boy (6) and a girl (9) who look plump but pale. Case No. 66. Sam A : , Unmarried, is a Jew from Ilussia. Of Russian parentage, ,he came to .New York in 1904, and has remained here until the present time. He is by trade a paper-hanger, but resorts occasionally to painting as a means of a livelihood. As a paper- ganger he is likely to come in contact with atmosphere filled with particles of paint caused by the sandpapering of painted wood work, as painters are often working at the same time that ,he is hanging the paper. From August to October, 1911, he did piece work here, .working from 10 to 11 hours a day, with one-half hour off for luncheon, making a total of 55 to GO hours a week. He earned from $40 to $60 a week. From April to August, 1911, he worked as a paper hanger and painter at the P hotel. He /did time work here, working eight hours a day, with an hour pff for lunch, totaling 48 hours a week. He earned $17 a week. ^Because of the lack of work during the dull season he is obliged to lay off about five months in a year. Since stopping work at the P hotel, two months ago, he had been feeling wretchedly and has done no work. He suffers from pains in the shoulder And cramps, and complains that his hands are weak. Six weeks ,ago he consulted a physician, who told him that he thought he had been poisoned with lead. A says that several of the men who were working at that time at the P hotel were .taken sick and he thought that one reason was because the paint used was ready mixed. A does not wear a mustache or beard; he does not eat in the room he works in and he is care- ful to wash his hands before eating. He smokes only in small quantities and drinks a moderate amount, chiefly at meal time. .When he is working, he has a very poor appetite and conse- quently eats a small breakfast. 500 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. Case No. 67. EliN: . Is a Jew, born in Russia in 1880, of Russian parentage. He came to New York in 1903 and has remained here until the present time. , He is by trade a painter. For the last three years he has jbeen working for himself, hoping in this way to make his work lighter and so raise his general state of health which was not good. He makes from $13 to $14 per week; his hours are not regular and he takes from one to two hours for lunch. , In 1906 he worked for a regular contractor. Then he did time work, earned $18 a week, worked eight hours a day, and from 45 to 50 hours a week and took one-half to one hour for lunch. Because of lack of work during the dull season, he is pbliged to lay off each year from three to four months. , About two years ago he had an attack of painter's colic with cramps, pains over the body, swelling of the body and dry mouth and throat. He was at the hospital for ten days, but was .unable to work for three months. The poisoning has left no permanent effects but he is troubled often with intense pains and the blue line is still on the gums. He wears a mustache Jbut no beard; he is careful about washing before eating and does not eat in the room in which he works. He smokes from eight to ten small cigars a day and drinks moderately at meal time; He seldom has an appetite when he is working and in consequence eats small breakfasts. He has a wife, born in 1882, and two children D , a boy born August 18, 1906, and E , a girl, born September, 1908. Case No. 68. Max W-: , Unmarried, is a Jew, born in Russia in 1882, of Russian parents. He came to New York in 1889 and has remained here until the present time. He is by trade a painter. His work has been time work; .working eight hours a day, 44 hours a week, and with a half to one hour for lunch, depending upon the season; during the busy months the shorter time only being allowed. He earns OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 501 from $15 to $22 per week and counts in three months as the amount of time during the year that he will have to be idle .because of lack of employment. Winter has had three attacks of lead poisoning, the attacks (being just seven months apart. He has been obliged to be idle because of this illness eleven days. When sick he suffered with .cramps and pain in the right side; there are, however, no perma- nent effects. , He does not wear a beard or a mustache. He does not eat jn the room in which he works and is fairly careful to hold .the food in a napkin so that his fingers will not come in direct contact with it. He does not smoke and drinks only a moderate amount of beer, chiefly at meal time. He does not always eat a good breakfast, because of lack of time. Case No. 69. Nathan B : , Was born in Saxony, Germany, and came to America in August, 1888. He did frescoing but did not find the work very profitable in this country. He worked for himself for a time, then for his landlord. It was while working for the latter that he had ,an attack (acute attack) of painter's colic in July, 1909. Suffered sever abdominal pains and distension. The lead line was very marked. He was crippled for a while and was first treated at home by a physician and then followed the advice of an .old .German druggist, to whom he believes he owes his life. A short time after this attack, he had typhoid fever and was treated at 3ellevue. At last when convalescent he was sent to the country jay his priest and after six weeks' work there he returned to the city much improved and has since been working steadily. He till suffers with rheumatic pains in his feet and ankles; uses some tobacco and eats but little breakfast. He drank beer and whiskey but was told to stop it when he had lead colic. After .abstaining for 6 weeks he had fever and says, " When I had lead colic they said I drank too much beer, when I had fever they said it was too much water. Now what can I do? " He was .married in Saxony in 1888, then came to this country. They .have had 12 children two girls and ten boys, four of whom 502 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. .are dead. The oldest child is a son, now 22 years old. He .received much better treatment and had more work in the old .country, but is ashamed to return until he makes good here. They .are an intelligent and thrifty German family. Case No. 70. Andrew F : , Was born in Germany, of German parents, in 1877, and came ,to this country in 1896, living in Brooklyn until the time of his death, Oct. 13th, 1909. His wife does not speak English, so the only information we could get was from a young nephew. F had no children. He was a painter and paper-hanger all his life. , The nature of his attack was acute, and after suffering for ,four months he lost the use of his right arm the doctor then pronounced it rheumatism. This illness lasted 15 months and ,was so severe that he looked like an old man, altho' only 32 years ,of age. All that we could find out as to working conditions was that he .always washed before eating and usually ate in a nearby saloon. His hours were not regular, and at the time of his attack he ,had been working on an interior where they used some peculiar Jand of red wallpaper. Case No. 71. Joseph B : , Was born in Ireland, of Irish parents, in 1863, was married 4n 1897 and came to this country in 1900, since then he has Jived in Brooklyn. His wife is also Irish, born in 1865 and has .three children, thirteen, six and three years. B developed lead poisoning while working for himself as a painter and was treated at a hospital, where he remained for about one and a half months and left improved. He is a thin and anemic looking man, altho' he says his appearance is not altogether due to his recent illness. He has always had a strong constitution and an unusually strong heart, but tires very easily .since his attack and is very apt to take cold. He attributes his case of lead poisoning to his own carelessness, due to rolling cigarettes and eating with fresh paint on his hands. He nl-<, says that he frequently went without any lunch when very bu-\. OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 503 His former occupations could not be recorded as he has been all over the world and worked at all kinds of trades. For many years he lived aboard ship and did odd jobs of painting without any ill effects. He traveled in South America, did farming in Australia and suffered from various tropical diseases, including smallpox. His early life was one of dissipation, but since his marriage he has not drunk to any great extent, altho' he is still an inveterate smoker. On returning for additional informa- tion we found that B is again in the hospital with kidney trouble and a general breakdown ; it is not, however, attributed to lead poisoning. Case No. 72. Henry H : . Is a Russian Jew, living with his sister and brother-in-law in Brooklyn. He is 22 years old and has always worked as a painter; eight years in Russia and three years in America. He is of medium height, dark, and smooth shaven. When 20 years of age, while painting the outside of a house, he was seized with very severe cramps and was in such a serious condition that it was necessary to remove him to the hospital, where after two weeks he was discharged as cured. This was the first attack that he has ever had and he has not been very strong since, altho' he still continues to paint, working five days a week at $3.50 a day. He smokes cigars, but is always careful to wash before eating, although his boss has never warned him of any dangers. He was unable to tell me, at the time, for whom he worked at the time of his attack or any job since ; he is working at present. Case No. 73. Francis F : A man of 28 years. Is a semi-chronic invalid, due to lead poi- soning contracted at his trade, painting, which he has followed since the age of 13. Every year he loses an average of eight weeks, due to recurrences of his symptoms. These include headaches, dizziness, colic and constipation, which are acute ; arthritis of the knee, which is practically chronic and the blue line on the gums, which was detected at Gouvorneur hospital in 1909, and may reap- pear at any time. F is another one of those who first and last 504 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. work at painting. He was born in 1883 in Czernowitz, Austria, of Jewish parents, and started to earn his own living at thirteen. He does general inside and outside work, including much sand- papering, which is the worst of all jobs from the hygienic side. Jn summer he gets an hour for lunch, but in winter due to the early darkness, only a half hour is taken, the men quitting earlier to make up for it. The customary union scale ($22) was stated as his weekly income when on full time. Last year F married; his wife was born in 1883. One child has been born, a boy, who is hale and sound. None of F 's employers ever cautioned the young man about his work or posted up any notices to any similar effect. He eats a light breakfast regularly; smokes about ten cigarettes a day and drinks as a rule, about two glasses of beer. He eats in the workroom, but always washes firsfl, using cold water most frequently, but hot in the few cases when it is available. His change of clothing is confined to pulling on a pair of overalls in the morning. Ho wears a moustache but no beard; can attribute his illness to nothing but his occupation, which he recognizes as very dangerous. As against a meagre cold water supply, which is the extent of the precautions he has met with in his work, he suggests plentiful water, especially in new buildings where it is extremely difficult to get a drop even to drink, and the allowance of ten minutes before the noon-hour to allow a thorough cleansing of the hands. Case No. 74- Morris R : A man who makes a point of good air and solid food for himself and his family, who knows all about the danger of his painter's trade and takes extraordinary precautions against them and who yet has had several severe attacks of lead colic, is Morris R a man well on in life, residing in Harlem. R was born in 1864. He looks older than 47, but explains this as due to the incessant worry due to uncertainty of employ- ment. Due to his aging, R has of late years refused to work on a scaffold, for fear of falling. Being now kept at inside work, he is in just the worst situation for contracting plumbism. He always get ill after working with paint steadily for several weeks OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 505 and so takes great care to vary by varnishing, kalsoniining or the like. This man has had several bad attacks of colic, keeping him in bed each time from one to four weeks. Coming to America from Russia in 1888, and to New York city in 1890, he has been a painter ever since the latter date. Naturally the names of his earlier employers are lost in obscurity. The first one he could readily recall was I G , for whom he worked from June, 1908, to March, 1910. In these 20 months, two were lost thro' unem- ployment, but no period of illness was remembered. During March and April, 1910, he worked for S & S , losing one week out of the eight with a frightful colic attack. From May to November, 1910, he was employed by M S , here he lost three weeks due to unemployment and one on account of another seizure of painter's colic. J J was the next employer. Here the work was very confining and combined with the anxiety and short rations, consequent on eight weeks employment, brought on the worst series of colic' yet, lasting, in all, four weeks. From last May down to date, R has been working for I G , mainly in the capacity of an overseer and general manager. In this way he has been largely out of direct contact with lead, and while owing to another eight weeks slack time in this period has had no recurrence of the colic. Under all these various employers R received $22.00 per week as his wages for 44 hours' work in summer and one hour for dinner, while in winter one-half hour for dinner. R 's wife was born in 1867 and married him in 1892. All their seven children, four boys and three girls, were born at regu- lar term, and are alive and in average health to-day, except one, a boy born in 1906, who died within three months of infantile debility. All possible care was lavished on this infant ; he was sent to an institution to be under expert care, but in vain. Whether the child's poor physique and early death are not due in some way to the father's plumbism is at least a fair question. The father himself says he doesn't know. Instructions, either verbal or on signs, were a minus quantity everywhere R worked. He usually eats a heavy breakfast, but an interesting point is that every morning immediately on 506 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. arising he drinks a glass of boiled water, as hot as he can take it. This, he says, keeps his stomach in tone and helps wash out any traces of lead. Two packages of cigarettes and one or two glasses of beer form his daily allowance. He eats in the workroom, washes before eating, in cold water, and wears overalls while at work. Other change of clothing there is none. lie wears a heavy moustache but no beard. Fellow workmen who knew him ascribed a certain droop of the eye lids to his lead poisoning, but he himself does not think there is any connection between the two. He has, however, undergone an operation for the eyes for some- thing which, as he describes it, seems to be a sort of opacity of the lenses. There may be a more direct connection here than he suspects. , Neither canned goods, water pipes or any other non-industrial cause seem to apply to this case of plumbism. Cold water is the only precaution R has found on the job. Hot water, soap, towels, lunch rooms, are all called for in his estimation ; but above all some way to compel the contractors 'to get the water supply into their new buildings as fast as the structure progresses. Often the men are at work on the tenth or twentieth story and the only water in the building is a little tap down in the sub-cellar. If a painter goes after this he loses most of his lunch time traveling .up and down. What many of them have to do is to stay up aloft and hold their food between pieces of paper, to keep their dirty hands from touching it. How comfortable a meal taken under such conditions is, needs no telling. Along with the severe colic which periodically attacks R , goes equally severe constipation. The growing weakness and stiff- ness of which R , although only 47 years old, already com- plains is manifestly due in greater or less degree, to the recurrent plumbism with which he is afflicted. Case No. 75. Walter L : One spring morning in 1860, L , then a 16-year-old appren- tice press boy in M 's Printery, left the cards which he was dusting with bronz and gold powder, to go and watch his uncle and a friend paint a nearby house. From that time OCCUPATIONAL, DISEASES. 507 the types and rollers saw him no more, and attracted by the free- dom and the outdoor life, he became a wielder of the brush. After various vicissitudes in his native country he arrived in America, still as a painter. He does not remember many of his early employers, but 1908 found him at work doing fine interior work and finishing in a private residence, up on the Hudson. In this place he was kept steadily sandpapering for five weeks. This is the process which yields the firm ivory- like finish so dear to the eye of those who can afford it in this case pure white is applied and allowed to dry. Then it is sand- papered and smoothed and a second coat put on. The sand-paper- ing process is repeated, then another painting, and so on until the surface is like glass. But what about the painter meanwhile? He is living in a cloud of dust lead, dust white lead dust, one of the worst of industrial poisons. As L describes it " you might as well eat the lead." Before the five weeks were over he had contracted violent arthritis of the left heel, so painful that he could not touch the affected member to the floor. Still he kept hopping about, working as best he could. Finally he was forced to stop, returned to the city and went to the hospital. There they tested the nervous reactions of his left leg, examined the afflicted heel, advised him that he had been " leaded " and told him to give up painting if he wanted to save himself. He did leave it, temporarily at least, for twelve weeks he was unable to do any work, and used his time going to the hospital for treatment and nursing himself at home. Quite a change, this, from the peaceful times in the English printing shop, at five shillings a week, for 60 hours^ work. At the end of the twelve weeks, however, L was back at his brush: losing, on an average, eight weeks yearly through unem- ployment and always suffering more or less with his leg. He went along till the summer of 1911. Then a violent and painful swelling of the knee on the affected side came upon him, necessi- tating another twelve weeks' loss, due to lead illness. Of recent years L has been a member of the Brotherhhood of Painters, and claims to have been getting the required $22.00 per week for 44 hour*, working eight hours par day with one hour for dinner. 508 OCCUPATIONAL, DISEASES. L 's parents, like himself, were English. He married in 1861. In all, he has had eighteen children, but has kept no record of the .dates of their birth. Fourteen of the eighteen are now alive, as far as he kn DWS, one of them being in New York and the rest in England. Among the eighteen there were two miscarriages, but these seem due to other causes rather than lead. , No instructions, verbal or posted, were ever given this man concerning the dangers of painting or how to guard against them. In England, due to the custom of stopping work at eight o'clock for a meal, he used to go to work breakfastless. Over here he eats a light meal before starting for the job. Once in a great while he smokes a cigar and occasionally, on a physician's orders, takes a little whiskey in milk. Wherever possible he washes be- fore eating, using hot water in the few cases it offered. When he can't wash he holds his lunch in a piece of paper while eating to keep the paint off it. He wears a moustache, but no beard. Living in a furnished room house and eating maimv in restaurant^ he can never tell whether he is getting canned food or not, but does not believe he got his lead poisoning that way. The con- nection between the sandpapering job at the G mansion and his sore heel is too close to be ignored. As to safe-guards, he has found hot and cold water, and that is all. He suggests the abolition in some way, of the dry sandpapering process, and re- quiring contractors to get a water supply early into the new buildings. . The knee at present is quiescent, but his left wrist is troubling him with intervals of weakness a posible forecast of eventual .wrist drop. Case No. 76. William K-: . Was born in Germany in 1860, where in 1876 he began to learn the painter's trade, and working at it for several years in France, much of the time in Paris. K had to come to America before he got his first attack of lead poisoning; then it got him in 1901. For eight weeks or more his left shoulder, arm and wrist were paralyzed; colic, cramps and constipation tortured him and acute kidney trouble added its complication to the others. OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 509 . Rest and treatment restored him to his former strength and .again things went well until 1905, when another attack, the same as the first, incapacitated him for a period of ten weeks. Since then he has had no acute paralysis or cramp attacks, but the kidney trouble is constant. When interviewed, he had just been discharged after having helped put through a rush job of four weeks' duration. From ten to twelve weeks are thus lost yearly by this painter, who says those are the common conditions in the trade. He gave his wages, as customary, as $22.00 for a 44-hour week, eight hours per day, one hour for lunch. K 's wife was born in 1866 and died in 1908, of tuberculosis. They had three children, the eldest of which was killed in infancy by loose milk. The other two are stocky and strong. . The father himself is a powerful, distinguished looking man, with a face showing much refinement and education. He speaks German, French and Kng-lish fluently. He wears a mustache but no beard, and is a splendid type. He says no warning of the .dangers of the work were ever given him or posted up. He eats a light breakfast of rolls and coffee and smokes about five small cigars daily. Beer and whiskey he takes in small quantities and rarely, other liquors not at all. He eats in the workroom, using cold water most usually. Cold water, and little of that, has been the utmost precaution he has found for the safe-guarding of the painters. No cause other than industrial can be found for his attacks. Case No. 77. Richard W-: " Frightful pains in both arms and wrists, especially the right ; severe cramps in fingers and right calf ; throbbing headaches three or four nights in succession, making sleep impossible; pains in .the legs from the knees down, especially in the ankles, which often swell painfully; a swollen joint on the little finger of the right hand which is over a year old and still growing." This is W 's own description of the chronic effects of the leading he has under- gone in his long career as a painter. W 's parents were Scotch. They migrated to America and at L , Mo., Richard was born in 1850. In 1868 he began 510 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. to learn his trade. As a young journeyman he received $18.00 for GO hours' work a week, having one hour daily for dinner. He moved a great deal about the country and eventually settled in New York, where he has worked for numerous boss-painters in the last 20 years, doing general painting and paperhanging. His hours are eight per day, 44 per week, with one hour (usually) for dinner. He loses from eight to ten weeks yearly through un- employment and occasionally a day or half day because of his lead illness. In 1908 he lost six weeks in succession on account of a violent attack of arthritis. , In 1910 he went to a hospital with a severe ulceration of the lower jaw. From there he was sent to Bellevue, where he was kept two weeks and a section of the diseased bone excised. All his teeth are loose and when one becomes too unsteady and uncom- fortable he simply picks it out with his fingers. The lump on his little finger did not look inflamed and is not painful to the touch, but is round and hard like an oakball and keeps on grow- ing. It interferes somewhat with his work, but otherwise his fingers are not affected. He is a fine-looking earnest old man, and it is pitiable to hear his description of his constant pain. W has one child, a daughter six years old, who has never had any unusual trouble. His wife was born in 1864 and married Jiim in 1887. No instructions were ever given him to aid in caring for himself about paint, no notices were posted up and the only precaution he has ever found taken was a cold water supply. He knows the value of a meal before coming in contact with lead, but finds it impossible to force himself to eat anything in the morning. He never touches either alcohol or tobacco in any form, always washes before the noon meal, but nearly always has to eat it right where he is working. He wears overalls while at work, but makes no other changes of clothing. He wears no beard, only a mustache. His poisoning can be traced to nothing else but his occupation. i " Put water in new buildings, when and where painters can get it," was his emphatic reply when asked what improvements would help matters. OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 511 Case No. 78. Carsten K : Has for the past eleven years been employed as a painter at at a hotel in New York city, and several smaller establishments in cities up-state. His work has been the general renovating and caretaking of a large hotel, which means, of course, mainly indoor work in confined spaces. As a result he is a chronic sufferer from colic and severe headaches ; his disposition has been made irritable and moody, and while of powerful build, he always has the ap- pearance of great illness. In the winter of 1909 he was confined to bed half a week by an attack, but ordinarily the disturbances are not severe enough to necessitate loss of time. Due to the nature of his job, he has lost only eight weeks on slack time in eleven years. His wages have been $12.50 per week at first, now $15.00; hours, 48 per week (eight per day with a full day Satur- day), and he gets one hour regularly for lunch. K was born in Germany in 1859, coming to America in 1881 and New York city in 1882. His parents were Germans of Gentile stock. His wife was born in 1864. They have had two children ; one died of rheumatism. Instructions or warning notices were unknown things on every job where K worked, and he has been a painter all his life. Since working in the hotel he leaves home without breakfast, but has a meal before starting in; this meal usually consists of eggs, milk, bread, sometimes .chops or other meat. He smokes about two packages of pipe- tobacco a week and is a heavy drinker. He is also fond of sit- ting up late nights, thus, no doubt, weakening his resistance to lead or other poison. He does not eat in the workroom and always washes in hot water before the noon meal. Due to the steam heat in the hotels, he takes off all his outer clothes before donning his overalls and wears the same clothes around home that he does to and from work. In his case, part of his ill-appearance, unstable temper and headaches may be traceable to his irregular habits of living, but the chronic or almost chronic colic seems to necessitate lead as cause. It was, in fact, so diagnosed by the family physician. K has been singularly fortunate in the character of the place where he works, in the matter of safeguards, as hot and cold 512 OCCUPATIONAL, DISEASES. .water, soap, towels and washrooms are part of the hotel equipment ,and freely used by him. Similar provisions on all painting jobs would no doubt be of great benefit to the men there employed. Case No. 79. Walter B-: , Has had lead poisoning six times in the course of 28 years' .painting. The symptoms each time are about the same lead ,colic confining him to bed from 8 to 14 days, severe constipation and, at least on one occasion, the blue line on the gums. After each attack it takes about two weeks for him to recuperate his /strength so as to return to work, making an illness of four weeks each time seized. Besides that he has been left with chronic affects, namely: distorted, stiff, weak fingers on both hands, a weak right wrist and liability to sudden and severe attacks of cramps in the hands and calves. B was born in Germany in 1859, of German parents. At the age of 14 he took up painting, and has kept at it ever since, doing all-around inside and outside work. In 1883 he came to America, and has been in New York city for 24 years. He loses 16 weeks out of every year, on the average, due to unemploy- ment. When employed, he states that his wages are $22 per week, of 44 hours, eight hours daily and four on Saturday. In summer he has an hour for lunch, but in winter only half an hour. The first two years in America he had three attacks ; since then they have come less frequently, the last one having been two or three years ago. ~No instructions were ever given B as to how to protect him- self against lead poisoning, as to what the dangers were. No such notices were ever posted. He makes a breakfast of eggs, rolls and coffee before setting out to work. Chews tobacco a little, smokes three or four pipes a day and drinks two or three glasses of beer. He hardly ever eats in the workroom, always being par- ticular to get out of the vicinity of the paint at noon-time. Cold water is the usual kind used for washing. He doesn't change his clothes at home, but wears overalls while at work. He wears a mustache, but no beard. Industrial causes are the only ones lead- ing to lead poisoning in his case. B is eloquent as to the pre- OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 513 cautionary devices which should be installed on paint jobs. He says, put in hot water, substitute zinc for white lead, prohibit the dry sandpapering process, and get a supply of water in new buildings; these, he states, would go far toward keeping the painter and lead colic apart. Case No. 80. Antonio V : , While engaged in renovating the offices and wards of a large New York hospital in this city, Antonio V was suddenly seized with what one of the medical staff characterized as the worst case of lead colic he had ever known. The painter was first doubled up, unable to do a thing. Prompt treatment relieved Jrim, he went to his home, returning to the dispensary for five days for treatment, then resumed his work. When seen at his home some weeks later, he was very polite, but evidently became frightened and inclined to minimize the whole affair. He said he had worked through the attack, going to another job, where he did plastering for a while. This, however, is very doubtful. V was born in Italy in 1860. He was a small business man, but losing all his money, he came to America in 1901. He seems to have traveled around a good deal for two years, doing nothing in particular, but in 1903 settled in New York and took up paint- ing. He set his weekly wage at $16. The hours, however, were 8 per day and -M per week, with an hour's lunch time in summer and half an hour in winter. According to V his employer, while teaching him the trade, also instructed him in the matter of personal care. This may be due to the more advanced scientific attitude toward mat- ters of this kind in Europe, the employer being himself an Italian. The man eats a breakfast of coffee and bread, very rarely smokes a small cigar, and occasionally takes a few glasses of wine. He leaves the workroom to eat most of the time, and washes usually in hot water, before beginning the meal. He wears overalls, but does not otherwise change his clothes. He wears a mustache, but no beard. Water and soap powder to wash with and cheap canvas gloves to work in are the suggestions this man makes as to what precaution- 17 514 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. ary devices he feels might be beneficial. He says he retains no ill effects of his attack. Case No. 81. Frank B-: A very peculiar case is that of Frank B , a young painter living on the lower East Side. Apart from one severe attack of lead colic in 1903, he has had no apparent disturbances. But for the past ten years, beginning six years after he took up the trade in his boyhood, all the finger nails of both hands have been in a pitiful condition. They are blackened, corroded, and in many cases eaten away half way to the quick. He has several times tad them treated, but their condition remains unimproved. One physician told him plainly they would never improve until he stopped painting. " What shall I do ? " he said, " painting is all ,the trade I know." In addition to the corroded nails, his fingers frequently have spells of numbness or paralysis, during which it is impossible for him to hold or wield a brush. , He gave the union scale of wages ($22) for 44 hours' work. The time lost by B , due to his plumbism, is slight, being pnly a day or a half day at long intervals, but he reports from 3 to 12 weeks lost yearly, due to slack time. " They rush us to death on the job," he declared, " and then worry us to death by making us hunt for a new one." B is unmarried. He was born in Roumania in 1879, coming to this country before his tenth year. No instructions were ever given him as to the insidious and far-reaching poison he ,was working with, or how to guard against it, nor were any such instructions posted in any place he worked. He is accustomed ,to eating a light breakfast, smokes a package of tobacco per day, in a pipe, and drinks daily two glasses of beer. He is wise enough never to eat in the place he is working in if he can help it, and always washes his hands carefully in cold water before a meal. He wears overalls over his clothes while working and keeps the same clothes on after quitting work. He uses little /canned goods and there is no adequate non-industrial cause for his being " leaded." The precautionary devices his employers have favored him with are limited to cold water for washing purposes, OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 515 .which he thinks might well be supplemented with a hot water installation, giving a full hour for lunch, and providing adequate ventilation. " Closet work," as he calls it the painting in a close, shut-in room, with pure white lead, in bathroom and clothes closets, he looks upon as the most dangerous. Case No. 82. Joseph M : oTorty years old, has worked for the same painting firm since he was nineteen. Thirteen years ago he had a slight attack of lead poisoning. Since then he has had three very serious attacks, and to-day is so badly leaded the doctors say he will never be a well man. He is not able to work more than four and a half days weekly, because of wrist drop. His left foot is partially paralyzed, no feeling in it at all. He suffers so from dizziness that he can do no outside painting where it is necessary to use scaffold- ing. Lameness in the muscles of the right hand has caused the hand to become twisted and distorted. His appetite is poor rarely eats but the lightest breakfast. Claims he is fond of alco- holics and never drinks less than three pints of beer daily. In appearance he is white and anemic. Both children and their mother are healthy. The man claims that having but one-half hour for lunch, and only cold water with which to wash, it was impossible for the men to properly clean their hands, and that he was certain his own poisoning was the direct result of eating with hands covered with lead. Case No. 83. Fritz H: Was born in Basel, Switzerland, in the year 1842. His father had followed the trade of painter before him and the son naturally enough entered the same trade. Mrs. H remembers very well when they were married, that his father warned her of the dangers of the painting business and asked her to see to it that he always took proper care of himself. They came to this country about 1871, and H - pursued his trade in this country. Like all painters, ke worked here and tkere for one painter and then an- other. During his entire life lie enjoyed tke beat of kealth until he was suddenly stricken, about nine days before his death, with 516 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. acute plumbism. He had never, up to this time, had any of the symptoms of lead poisoning. Even then he did not go to bed, but remained at home and walked around. His hands and fingers became paralyzed and he had intense pains in his ankles and instep, and his big toe turned black and blue. During the last few days he was mentally unbalanced. Mr. H took excellent care of himself, washing carefully and changing his clothing frequently. He always recognized the dan- ger of his profession and for this reason took extraordinary pre- cautions. The last job he was in before his attack was the paint- ing and enameling of some small rooms and closets in a big apart- ment house. Here he had to put on a coat of white paint and then sandpaper it, later putting on one other coat and sand- papering it down. "Still later he put on the enamel. He was a union man, worked the regulation 44 hours a week, eight hours per day. One hour for lunch in summer and one- half hour in winter. For this he received $4 per day. He was abstemious in his habits, smoked some and drank a pint of beer now and then. Case No. 84- George K : In 1899 K was occupied in a painting job in New York city which involved the scraping off of large quantities of old paint. His knuckles became cut and chafed, and it was not long before his hands had swelled to twice their natural size. The knuckles festered and ulcerated, and his hands had to be carried in slings for six weeks. The physician who treated him said that undoubtedly the lead had worked in through the cuts in the knuckles, poisoning the tissue. Although K is an old man, this is the only trouble he has had which he can definitely trace to lead. He was born in Kinselan, Germany, in 1844. He was married twice. The first wife had one child still born while K was painting, and four of the children of the second wife died be- tween the ages of two and five. K experimented with several occupations in Germany, but when he came to America apprenticed himself to a painter. This OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 517 he completed in 1870, but did not enter the trade immediately, driving a truck for the fire department some time. He has worked at the painter's trade thirty-one years. In this time hs remembered losing only 24 weeks altogether due to unemployment, a remarkable record if correctly recalled. In this period came the six weeks attack of poisoned hands already mentioned! The pay during the latter part of this period is given as $22 per week, 44 hours work, with one hour daily for lunch. Since 1909 K has been custodian of the union headquarters. K used to wear a full beard. He looks old and bent, but was apparently once stalwart and strong. For breakfast every day he consumes meat, potatoes and coffee, uses no alcohol, but smokes a pipe. Xo instructions as to the danger of the trade were ever given him, or posted up where he works, and hot or cold water is all the protection he has ever found extended to him or his brother painters. He eats in the workroom after a wash in the water, either cold or hot, which is furnished. Wears overalls, leaving the rest of his clothing unchanged. The most needed improvement seems to him to have the employers put water in the buildings early in the construction. The only permanent effect in Kruger's case is a stiffness of the hands. Case No. 85. Paul T: Is a native of Wurtemburg, Germany, and has been a painter since he was ten years of age. He, like many another young German, has had the " wanderlust," and has wandered in Ger- many, Switzerland, France and Africa (Tunis.) In the latter place he met his wife, and they were married in 1892. One year later he came to the United States. (1893.) He had his first attack of lead poisoning in Paris, where he was doing some fine interior decorating, which he described as Louis XTV style. He had been working long hours, from 6:00 a. m. to 11:00 p. m. It was after this time that he went to Tunis, and later to Paris, and finding no work there came to the United States. He immediately found work in a large apartment house that gave him employment until the following spring. He then got employment as a house painter and decorator at the Hotel V , where he remained twelve and one-half years. Here 518 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. lie did painting and decorating work of the finer sort and had charge of a large gang of men who were under his direction. When the hotel went out of business, he did several jobs for small houses in Jersey. His first attack in this country came when he was working at the Hotel P . A strike had delayed the work and when the men came back they were pushed to the limit. While working on. the decorations in one of the large banquet halls he was stricken with lead colic and was disabled for four weeks. His work from that time forth became rather irregular, although he worked for one or two firms. Most of his work was of a fine grade and he did considerable work in private houses where it was necessary to use white lead, to sandpaper and to stripple the work. Last March be got a job at the new F Theatre, where he was employed on the interior decorations. He held this for a couple of months, and then got a job doing some exterior painting. After a short illness, he found work at the G Club House. Here he was engaged on the big banquet hall and was working steadily and very hard. The work was of the very finest quality, and he had just about completed it and was ready to varnish when he " keeled over." He says he does not know how he got home, the attack was so sudden and so complete. Since that time (July 1) he has been out of work, almost wholly incapacitated. His left hand is almost wholly useless (he uses both hands in painting and is left handed), and his right is partially affected. His knees and ankles are also swollen and give him considerable pain. He says that after he had his last attack his whole body seemed to be stuck with pins and needles. He has always been scrupulously clean and has worked carefully and taken good care of himself. He described how, when work- ing at the F Theatre, he had to eat in the same room where he worked, >and how he would only partially unwrap his sand- wich and eat it out of the paper to prevent his hands from touching it. Very few facilities are ever provided for workmen and the short lunch hour, especially in summer time, makes clean- liness more impossible than godliness. He wears a thin mustache, smokes a pipe, drinks a pint of beer every evening. He is very intelligent about his work, and .he brought out clearly the dangerous substances, laying special stress on th OCCUPATIONAL, DISEASES. 519 qualities of white lead which were the worst. He also decried the use of cheap turpentine which aided the poisonous lead. He belongs to the union and has worked to regulate hours, and has received union wages. He declares, however, that the bosses overwork the men whom they pay $4.00 per day, and they get little time for rest or to wash. Case No. 86. Marcus R : A stocky, swarthy man, with a heavy black mustache, is Marcus R , who started in life as a shoemaker in Warsaw, but, not sticking to his last, has embraced the painter's trade and with it its ills colic,, cramps, paralysis of the wrist and arm, and mad- dening inflammatory pains in the knee. R was born in Warsaw (Russia) in 1873. He married in this country in 1898, his wife now being 44 years old and having borne him seven children. One of these died in its first year, in 1902, of summer complaint, and another almost as soon as born, in 1907, being deprived of its mother through her own illness. Xothing was found to indicate that either of these two deaths was due to lead poisoning. The other five children, aged 11 to 1, are all alive and well. To return to R 's industrial history, he started his career as a wage earner at the age of nine, in M J 's shoe-making en- porium in Warsaw. After serving his apprenticeship, he received 4 to 5 rubles($2 $2.50) a week as a laster, working 69 hours a week. He says he lost no time while thus employed, but in 1902 threw up the whole job and came to America. Here he somehow fell into the painting trade. For four years he worked at this, receiving on the average $9 for a week of 48 hours. Then a period of slack time sent him back to shoemaking; but the $4 to $5 procurable in this way for a 58 hour week failed to appeal to him, and within a month he had hunted up new em- ployment at the less ill-paid but more dangerous trade of painting. From January, 1907, to the present he has stuck to this, his present employer being J L . R has now been ailing with colic, wrist paralysis and pains in the knee, on and off for five years. No warning of the dangers 520 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. of the trade was ever given him, nor instruction for self- protection. No safety devices have ever been known to be applied on the jobs he was sent to. He eats breakfast regularly, smokes a package of cigarettes a day and imbibes perhaps a pint of beer. As a rule he cannot help eating right " on the job," washing his hands first with hot or cold water when either is available, change of clothing is limited to the use of overalls. No new water pipes have been installed in his residence, and he very seldom eats canned goods. No other cause can be descried for his " leaded " condition than the occupation at which he earns his bread. Case No. 87. Martin W-: Is an intelligent and progressive young man, was born in Kal- vary, Russia, in 1872, of Jewish parents. He never married, finding his hands full earning a living for himself. He lives on the lower East Side of New York city, and is an influential mem- ber of his local of the Brotherhood of Painters, Paperhangers and Decorators. Painting, his only occupation, he took up 22 years ago, in this country, working for nine years steadily for the same employer. In February, 1898, slack time caused him and this "boss" to part company, and since that time W has shared the common lot of the painters, hardly ever having the same em- ployer for more than a month or two at a time. He is at present working as a general painter. W 's first siege of lead poisoning came seven years ago, when, after 15 years at the trade, he was suddenly seized with general paralysis. After a week flat in bed, accompanied by vigorous treatment with epsom salts, he was able to crawl about, and made his way to the New York Post-Graduate Hospital, where three months' electrical treatment as an out-patient fairly restored him to vigor. The debility resulting from his seizure, however, has lasted down to the present date. He is drawn and bent, his face weazened before its time. Added to his chronic afflictions is also arthritis in nearly every joint in his body, manifesting itself in severe pains and stiffness. The second poisoning climax in W 's life was three years ago, when he lost two full months, due to wrist drop. All through OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 521 April and May, 1910, he could not raise his right hand and was utterly unable to manipulate a brush. A repetition of the epsom salts and electricity eventually gave him back the use of his wage- earning hand, and since then he has had no acute attacks, although the chronic debility and arthritis are still with him. In common with all other painters, W 's face was a study when asked what precautionary measures had been taken to pro- tect the workmen on the jobs he had worked on, and whether the employer had given any warning as to the dangers of the trade. When he could speak, a vociferous and expressive " ]S"o ! " was the answer. When it came to protective devices, however, he had many to offer, namely, in the line of affording adequate facilities for personal cleanliness. " Let the employer put in hot water, soap and towels for us," he said, " and give us time to use them, and we'll be all right. When a man's only got half an hour for dinner, he can't very well spend the 15 minutes necessary properly to get the paint off his hands and out from under his nails. If the painters got a chance to wash at noon, then by careful brushing of the teeth and keeping the bowels free, there would be little chance of their getting poisoned." Aware of the added susceptibility to lead-poisoning that comes with an empty stomach, W made it a practice almost invariably to have a meal before going to work in the morning. He con- fessed to smoking 15 cigarettes daily, but was little addicted to spirits, a glass of beer or whiskey once or twice a week being his limit. As a rule he ate in a lunch room, leaving the job if at all possible, and always washing with hot water in the few cases it was available, otherwise with cold. His change of clothing con- sisted of pulling on a pair of overalls, or in hot weather substitut- ing these for his trousers. Canned goods were rarely used in his home, no new water pipes had been installed there, and there was no reason to believe he got " leaded " in any other way than through his occupation. He wears a mustache, but no beard. He gave the regulation statement, $22 a week and 44 hours. Case No. 88 TuUl B : Weight, 180 pounds at 17, 130 pounds at 36 such is the progress backward of Tubal B , for 26 years a painter. 522 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. Thirteen years ago, after 13 years at the trade, B had his first plumbism attack. Suddenly one night he was seized with cramps, nausea and vomiting. His appetite was gone, he became subject to spells of having everything go dark before his eyes. This state of affairs lasted eight months, when he was able to resume work. Since then, regularly at the return of cold weather, he begins to undergo a similar, although not always so keen an experience. This lasts for several months, and wears away with the coming of spring. Seven years ago paralysis caught him in the arm. Eight and four, and again at three years ago, he had the characteristic blue line on the gums, but no traces of it can be made out at present. So many and long-recurrent seizures have now left him with chronic anemia and neuritis; of the latter he had a particularly excruciating attack last May. B was born of Jewish parents in Russia, in 1874. In 1899 he married, his wife being then 18. His three children enjoy average health and apparently have inherited no weakness from their father. He never saw any precautionary de- vices employed to save painters from lead, but suggested plenty of water, soap, towels, and above all, time to use them. In the customary meal time of half an hour the painter has little chance to protect his health. No instructions or warnings for self-protection were ever given him by his employer; he eats breakfast, as a rule; smokes 15 to 20 cigarettes daily; takes a glass of beer perhaps once a week; washes in cold water before lunch; wears overalls on the job; uses very little canned goods; wears a mustache; has no new water-pipes in his house; and there is no causo for his poisoned condition evident except his becoming leaded through painting. Case No. 89. John R : Thirty-two years old, married, and living in a quiet corner of the Borough of Queens, began his career as a wage-earner in June, 1895, as an employee of one E , a boss painter, in Boston. For nine years, till November, 1904, R worked for this one man. In the nine years he lost about 50 weeks, due in part to slack time, in part to illness. OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 523 He turned lumberman, going to West R , Vt, where he worked for the West li Lumber Co., a 60 hour week for $25. A shut-down of the plant sent him back to painting. Rice says his illness varies largely with the sort of paint he is using. When working with lead paint he at once and invariably is attacked by pain and swelling in the feet, cramps, severe head- aches, vomiting, nausea and temporary lameness of the wrist. He often has to go to bed for a day or two at a time. He is a powerfully built man, but says the lead keels him right over. Paint containing no lead does not bother him. Due to this experience, R forcibly advocates experimentation to discover a substitute for lead in paints. This would strike right at the heart of the matter. In the meantime, or failing of this, he advocates compelling the employers to see to it that a supply of water keeps pace with the painters on a building, the supplying of towels, and a longer period for lunch. R was born in Russia, of Jewish parents, in 1879. His wife, now 30, he married in 1902. They have two healthy children. No warning was ever given him against the dangers of the work, no protective devices were ever seen on the buildings where he was employed. He is clean shaven, usually has breakfast, consumes 10 cigarettes and one glass of beer daily, and changes only his overalls. He is careful to eat in a separate room from where he is working, and uses benzine in default of water to wash with. His family uses little canned goods, there are no new water pipes, and his plumbism can be laid only to the door of his trade. Case No. 90. Edward I : Colic, wrist drop, lasting from two hours to two weeks, sick headache, sharp pains in joints, darkness before the eyes, floating specks in field of vision, inflamed and watery eyes, with drooping eyelids, lame spells of arms and legs, chronic kidney trouble, chronic gastritis, operated on three years ago for appendicitis, but strongly doubting the reality of the appendicitis so reads the history of Edward I . I was born in Russia in 1862. His parents were Jewish In 1883 he married, his wife having been born in 1864. They have had seven children, of whom the youngest, G , aged nine, 524 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. has a weakness of the wrists and hands closely resembling his father's. Two other babies died in their first year through mal- nutrition. Painting was the first trade I took up, and he has stuck to it. He does general inside and outside work and paper- hanging, his present employer being M P , a boss painter of the Bronx. The wages and hours were again stated as $22 and 44, but even if that were true, from six to eight weeks are lost yearly from the effects of the lead poisoning. I was greatly amused when asked whether his em- ployers had ever warned him of the risks of the trade. He had never heard of any protective devices being used; his suggestions were the usual ones of plentiful water supply and more time to utilize it. He finds himself unable to eat much breakfast, but always takes at least a glass of milk before starting to work. One package of cigarettes and one glass of beer per day are his limit ; a little wine occasionally on festive occasions. Sometimes he eats in the work-room, but not if he can help it. Cold water is the usual thing for washing, and no change of clothing is made beyond overalls. Canned goods are almost unknown in his home, and there are no new water-pipes. The disease from which he suffers can have come from no other source than his occupation. In spite of his serious illness, he looks well ; he wears a mus- tache, which is slightly tinged with grey, like his hair. Case No. 91. Fred J : Numbness in arms and wrist, headache, darkness before the eyes and colic for several hours or a day are the peculiar ailments from which painter Fred J suffers when an attack of lead poisoning is on. He has had a more or less severe attack nearly every year, as the cold weather draws on probably, he thinks, because of more inside work being done then. So far he has been able to work through all his sick spells. J - was born in Russia in 1883, of Jewish parents. He married in 1909, his wife being then 21 years of age. They have no children. From January, 1902, when he began working, up to January, 1907, J was a cap-maker in Russia, being paid 6 rubles ($3) a week for 18 hours a day. The young workman OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 525 was a Revolutionist, so the Russian government laid its strong hand on him and threw him into prison. Released in some way after four months, he embarked for America, and in September, 1907, found him employed by the painting firm of L and Co., where he still is. T does both interior and exterior work. He makes a practice of eating breakfast before going to work, but does not change his clothes at the job any more than to pull on a pair of overalls. He wears a mustache, uses no tobacco, but takes two or three glasses of beer weekly. He washes his hands with cold water whenever he can get it, which, he says, is rare on new buildings. He recommends that contractors be compelled to lay in a water supply for use of painters, and thinks that a clean lunch room, free from paint, would be of benefit. He has lost no large amount of time through lead illness, but is always under some form of annoyance from it, and thinks it cannot be too strenuously guarded against. Case No. 92. Samson K : Living on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, was born in Minsk, Russia, of Russian Jewish parents in 1879. In 1905 he married, his wife being born in 1886. Two children have come to them, E , born in 190(5, and G , in 1909. Both are in fair health and strength. Since his sixteenth year K has been a painter, it being his first and only occupation. Since May, 1911, he has been em- ployed by S . He does inside and outside work. Lead poisoning has manifested itself in him in paralysis of the arm and severe arthritis pains, lasting at various times from two days to a week. He loses little time, however, for the necessity of earning a livelihood for his family drives him out to work even when he is really not in condition for it. No precautionary de- vices were in use on the buildings where he worked, but among those possible he laid great stress on the necessity of having water to wash up with. Often on new construction work painters have to go all day without a drop to drink, much less to wash with. 526 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. The inevitable consequence is eating with dirty or imperfectly cleaned hands, with the resultant ingestion of lead. Hot water and soap would infinitely lessen this danger. No warning or instructions as to the dangers of the occupation ;vere ever given him. He always breakfasts before going to work, smokes about a pack (10) of cigarettes a day, and takes in the same time perhaps two small glasses of whiskey. He nearly always eats in the place where he is working, thinking it unavoidable, but tries always to wash up before lunch, using hot water in the few cases when it is procurable. He wears overalls over his trousers in winter and instead of them in summer, and always removes his coat when at work ; otherwise makes no change of clothing. He is clean shaven, seldom uses canned goods, no new water pipes have been put in at his home, and his poisoning can be attributed to no cause other than his occupation. Case No. 93. Paul H: Suffering from severe intestinal cramps at intervals for two years, Paul H , a rugged old man now aged 47, but looking 60, was told in 1909 that he had appendicitis, and sent to the Presbyterian Hospital. There the fact that he was a painter, used to doing inside work exclusively, came out, the diagnosis was changed to lead poisoning, and he was removed to Bellevue, where he staid for 14 days. All through this attack he had f aintness, diz- ziness, severe headaches and general debility. His toenails also turned black and were extremely painful. Since his discharge from the hospital he has been fairly well, except for splitting head- aches which occasionally overtake him, and frequently a spell of dizziness while on a ladder. H was born in Galacia in 1864. His parents were Gala- cian Jews. At the age of 12 he began to learn the painters' trade, and has stuck to it ever since. When asked whether he did not realize the dangers, he replied : " Of course, but what can I do ? Bread must be had." Even at that, he lost ten weeks in the past year, due to slack time. Every year he says he is forced to lose as much or more when he is able and willing to work. This pre- cariousness of occupation he declared to be common to all painters, OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 527 except a few who might be able to find permanent berths for themselves. H has one child, a daughter of 20, who has always been large and robust. His wife was born in the same year he was. He always eats breakfast before working, uses about one-half a package of smoking tobacco a day, and in the course of the week may take two or three glasses of beer ; he drinks whiskey in small quantities at long intervals. When lunch time comes he always, if possible, goes to a saloon to eat. If he must remain on the job, he is very careful to keep his edibles out of contact with paint or paint dust. He washes with hot water where obtainable. He wears a mustache and pulls overalls on over his trousers. His coat and vest he usually removes, but that is all, except in summer, when he takes off his trousers before putting on the overalls. No canned goods are consumed in his home, and his lead illness can be due to none but industrial causes. Case No. 94- Frank G : A painter by trade, has had two serious attacks of lead poison- ing, contracted while working under unfavorable conditions. He suffered from his first attack while under the employ of S & Co., painters, in November, 1898. Mr. G worked for this company at several different times, amount- ing, he thinks, to about ten years. The nature of this attack was colic a general stiffness and a feeling like rheumatism through- out the body. The duration was three weeks, though he thinks he was absent from work only from November 9-18. At about this time his daughter, , born April, 1898, also suffered from an attack of lead poisoning. The doctor found she had chewed the corner of a tile which was among her playthings. The child re- covered and lived until 1901, when her death was caused by diphtheria. Mr. G and his wife were born in Germany in 1868 and in 1876, respectively, both of German parentage. They were mar- ried September 16, 1894. Mrs. G , who is a nurse, seems to be a strong woman, and says her health has always been good. There are two daughters in excellent health and strength K , 528 OCCUPATIONAL:. DISEASES. born April, 1895, and W , August, 1900. There were no miscarriages and no other children lost except the one mentioned. The second attack occurred while G was employed in the capacity of painting and scraping dry paint at S , L. I., G began work at this place October 17th, 1908, left with a very severe attack of lead colic December 22, 1908, returned to work January 9th, 1909, and was laid off February 1st, 1909. There was a threatened strike. Mr. G was spokesman, and when the number of workers was reduced one-half, he was one of those to go. Beginning August 24, 1909, he was employed for seven months by J F . From May 28th, 1911, to July 27th, 1911, G was employed by F B ., sign painters and general painters. At this time he did enameling, sandpapering and rubbing. Between July 30th and November 9th he was em- ployed by four different firms. His " decorating " usually in- cludes painting white woodwork, enameling and sandpapering paint. During the time from July 30th, 1911, to November 9, 1911, he lost two weeks time because he was unable to find work when the job was finished. Sometimes there was a " lack of work " on account of some delay in the job. Mr. G is a strong union man. His wage is $22 for a 44 hour week. He finds no preventive measures used by companies employing painters. The running water in the building is usually shut off. Two pails of cold water may stand in the over-crowded dressing-room in which forty or fifty men are sup- posed to wash their hands. One-half hour is the regulation time for luncheon. The workmen may be on the eighth floor and have to hire the elevator men to take them down. Sometimes they try to clean their hands in the pail of benzine which is given them for cleaning certain brushes. The cold lunch has been all the morn- ing in the paint-laden atmosphere. There is no chance to get proper food or to eat with any degree of decency. The men are rushed back to their tasks, weary and overstrained. A minute lost may mean the loss of his job, for each man has a tasik, and the ever-watchful eye of the foreman means to see this task accom- plished. Mr. G sees great chance for improving conditions. He says there should be running water in the building, with a supply of hot water at noon, and convenient clothes rooms. That OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 529 the men should have enough time at noon to get a warm meal comfortably. The long hours of heavy work, with insufficient nourishment and rest, weaken the physical condition and make it more susceptible to the poison. He also says ventilation is sorely needed in some cases. In many of these places where he has worked the rooms have been made very close, especially in the cold weather, since the enamel will harden too quickly if it is too cold. He says when one opens the door to enter it seems almost impos- sible to breathe. He eats a good breakfast before going to work ; smokes a pipe, but not to excess, unless he is overstrained from his work. He occasionally takes a glass of beer. In the summer season he removes his overalls before coming home, at other times he removes them as soon as he gets home. He wears a mustache, but no beard. The family seldom uses canned goods, has used no new lead pipes, and cannot attribute the poison to other than industrial causes. Case No. 95 John C : John C- - was born in Ireland in 1851. He came to the United States when he was 20 years of age, and has lived in New York city ever since. He has worked at the painters' trade since he was twelve years old. He married in 1874 and they have one child, born in 1879. C was employed by various firms as a foreman painter. His weekly wages were $22.50 for 44 hours work eight hours a day and four on Saturday; one hour allowed for lunch. His first and only attack of lead poisoning occurred in 1908, when he suffered from pains in the stomach and had trouble with his gums. He has never been well since, and is now in Bellevue Hospital, suffering from dropsy. C- - had potatoes, meat and coffee for breakfast. He used a good deal of tobacco, and drank whiskey and beer. He was accustomed to eat in the workroom; he changed his clothing on leaving work. Case No. 96. Fried-rich R : Came to this country from Germany in 1883, when he was 21 years old. He was a painter by trade and for years he did odd 530 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. jobs, mostly painting. For the past ten years he has worked every summer at the B Institute. R was married in 1889. They have no children. The wife had one miscarriage, in 1890. R 's usual weekly wages are $22 for 44 hours work; eight hours per day, four on Saturday. He has one hour for lunch. He allows for about 20 weeks idleness per year. R had his first attack of lead colic in July, 1893. He had severe cramps, and in later attacks wrist drop developed. He had attacks in 1897, 1898 and 1902. At the time of the latter attack he left the city and went on a farm in New Jersey and stayed until 1907. Here the wrist drop disappeared and R has had no recurrence of the attacks. R never received any instructions concerning the dangers of the work. His breakfast consisted of meat, rolls and coffee. He usually washed in cold water before eating and changed his clothing on leaving work. He smoked cigars moderately; drank beer and whiskey in the morning. Case No. 97. Samuel C : He is a native of Austria, who came to this country in Septem- ber, 1892, and immediately took up his trade of painting. From 1895 to 1905 he worked for a man by the name of S , in Brooklyn. After 1905 he worked for himself. His work was largely interior painting, thougjh he did some outside work. Four years after coming to America, C married. There have been no children. When C was employed by S he worked 54 hours a week, nine hours per day. He was idle about twelve weeks during the year. His wages were $12 per week. When he worked for himself he had no regular hours and earned about $10 per week. It was necessary for his wife to work in order that they might live comfortably. C had his first attack of lead poisoning in April, 1909, and was never well after that. He had a second severe attack in August, 1910. The third attack, in August, 1911, proved fatal. OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 531 The symptoms were severe pains in the stomach, headache and loss of appetite. C had been a strong, healthy-looking man even after his first attack of lead poisoning, so his wife says. It is evident that Mr. C-- took no precautions to protect him- self from the dangers of his occupation. He did not realize these dangers until the doctor told him, in 1910. He was accustomed to eat in the workroom and usually did not wash before eating. His breakfast consisted of eggs, oatmeal and coffee. He smoked cigarettes to excess, used whiskey and beer moderately. CHAPTER V ANALYSIS OF LEAD POISONING CASES. 109 OASES OF LEAD POISONING. Of the 376 cases of lead poisoning which were found in the city of New York during the years 1909, 1910 and 1911, 109 were thoroughly investigated. The results of those investigations have been tabulated, and are presented herewith in a series of tables. While the number of these cases is so small that any conclusions based upon them may possibly be fallacious, yet they will indicate the trend of the situation. In the groups where there are the largest numbers, they will represent with fair accuracy the condi- tions that exist among all the workers. Remembering, there- fore, that the number of cases here presented is too small a number on which to base large generalizations, the writer presents these analyses in the hope of shedding a little light on conditions as a whole. Table I shows the occupations of the workers in various lead industries and their ages at the time of the first attack of lead poisoning. Over one-half of the workers are taken before the age of 45 years before, therefore, they have reached the limit of their productive power. It will be noted that, on the whole, the white lead workers are attacked at an earlier age than the paint- ers. This is probably due to the greater virulence of the white lead, and also due to the slower absorption of lead by the painters. The nature of the disease is described in Table II. The cases are divided between acute attacks and chronic cases. An aston- ishingly large proportion of the cases, 62 out of 109, are classed as chronic lead poisoning, which means that the workers are habitu- ally ill. One of the most far-reaching effects of lead poisoning, as pointed out by Dr. Oliver, is its effect upon the genital functions, particularly among women. Most of his evidence, however, is concerned with women who had actually worked in lead. The 'data, therefore, showing the large number of still-born children and children who did not reach one or two years of age, is exceed- ingly interesting. OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 533 Lead poisoning does not always show itself in exactly the same way. The symptoms vary from individual to individual. Usually the "disease attacks the weakest part, or the part which has been used the most, as, for example, the arm and wrist of the painter. The least severe form of lead poisoning is that of colic. This is often so slight as to cause no absence from work. Usually, however, the colic becomes more and more severe, and gradually more serious symptoms, such as wrist drop, paralysis or encephaleopathy develop. Table III aims to show the character of the lead poisoning in the 109 cases which were studied. It is very often the case that a single individual might have several symptoms, and it is evident that almost all had colic. Six cases of death were studied, djeath usually resulting from lead poisoning and a combination of other diseases. The really serious cases are those under paralysis and wrist drop. Here we find the chronic cases where the greatest loss of time and wages is to be found. Table IV, which shows the wages of the workers at the time of the attacks, is very illuminating. It will be noted that none of the white lead workers were earning more than $13.99 per week. The old theory that a man is compensated for the risk he takes seems to be fallacious. The painters, however, make fairly good wages, most of them earning $22.00 per week, which is the regu- lar union wage. The painter, however, must average in his yearly earnings at least two months of idleness, which considerably re- duces his income. In comparison with Table IV, the following table, Table V, is very interesting. It aims to show the amount of earnings lost on account of lead poisoning. The economic loss, it is quite evident, is a great one. Table VI shows the amount of time lost by the workers in various occupations. Many of them, it will be noted, were un- employed from seven to twelve months; the greater part, how- ever, lost from one to three months. Amplifying this information, Table VII shows the length of time the workers had been em- ployed, and the amount of time lost. There are a surprisingly large number of workers who have been employed less than six months, but who have lost considerable time on account of lead poisoning. 534 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. Table VIII gives the length of time the men in the various occupations had been employed. While a considerable number had been employed six months or less, still there are large groups of workers, even among the white lead workers where we should ex- pect to find the greatest amount of casual labor, a considerable group who have been at the work more than one year. Probably the most important preventatives of lead poisoning are the proper personal habits of the workmen. These are de- scribed for this small group of workers in Tables IX, X, XI, XII, XIII. These tables, which are self-explanatory, show some very 'important facts: (1) that a very small proportion of the men were instructed as to the dangers of lead, (2) that an even smaller pro- portion found warnings posted in their work places, (3) that most of the men ate in the rooms where they worked, (4) that where they worked most of them had to use cold water, which is almost useless, (5) that while some of the men were excessive drinkers the majority were temperate. These facts seem to show clearly certain fundamental defects in our methods of handling this dis- ease, and in our metheds of preventing it. There is absolutely no excuse for these men being exposed to lead poisoning and not warned of the dangers and how to protect themselves. There is equally no reason why these men should not be provided with the fundamental preventatives, such as warm water and a place to eat away from the dangerous poison. Lead poisoning is preventable, at least to a large degree, and the analysis of these cases demonstrates how careless employers have been, how careless the State Departments have permitted them to be and how ignorant we all have been regarding the true con- ditions. OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 535 fe o ^ < 3 E2 N H ^< a O * a o l| -*-* e* 1 15 Ji *d i i fe o w n > 8| n i H "5 el to o i H a 1! . . . ^. ^.. = CO o 1 < *< - 10 -<^^^ : ; :- : : : : ~ ** N ft 6 fc S^ M s H g ^ i Pn Q ?s ub >> N O^W*NW-<-<^-^ -H . r- CO < S w E V-H . . .rt . . .- . : : : i :::::::::: ; ; :J V :::::::::: :, : 1 3i ;j ; : CO to o i- ^ *- ,*_^ cS -^ '"S 5 "^* OCCUPAT] T3 O ^"o -S -Q, u^feaS.* 1 536 OCCUPATIONAL, DISEASES. P3 M pq O M CO S M T w ^ cu .. M H O <) w W W M EH g w I ^ o ^ 9 s H | I te 02 W o S 00 - p o o 1 e N 'TH T}I O 1-1 (N (H c ^ O) bC _ J3 *sji s ^< c 2 n .s~ ^ s 25 o >> e* ""- **2 ^ es n g ll.s ^3 o^ ^1 -IN w s o~-fl ^" 7J ^ a '3 g O MOO INN-V ^^M^ 00 w ~ - - - --, ^, * ij J-r | M 1-1 fl - ^^ ^^ " IM [**"*" p :2 QC : : :x : : : : : : : : : : : : liji|p g|gg :|| : : i :f : : I^I'^.S |-| : : | :p : : ^^ g4i'-5''O- 1 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 537 || * "* e to 1 o tn 1*1 - "::::: - - - cj oo O Q, 2^ 9 i ^ '5 ft W^INM^ -^W*^ ^ . N h o _ >>"3 :::::::::::-::: CD H a l R M P bl ::::::::::::-::- " M to JJ^ 5*2 M fi .a 'C ::::::::-::::: :* E < 1 a 1 J'J * : : r* : : : N H o < w li M ( 1 H- 1 H- 1 1 M O 1 C4 CO e iH a to < |o * "* :::"::: r ::" O H 02 3 a i * DO4B A ^, .^e, . . . .^ o oo 00 p 3 B.9 Q W c B H- 1 /-i | 1 1 M to M a | H O [ 1 1 1 1 1 i 1 1 1 i j y I ...... a ........ 'ATIONS OF . . .-d . . . a'.i:: :|.l : : : j : : yn p O o li^IllHll^^ifl ^ 1 538 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. ISONING. 3 o H woN'HMr-tt-^^ein N^N N -^ ^H e IH H O d M g.S.3 9 ^gJ Hi h M ! H C20.00 and over f-i ^ IH . NN 00 N 5 W H <1 ^8 -^ 00 H oo'2 r M PH h o ^ -< ec ^1 H 9 M J3 J* H H ^ ...(....* N H <1 CO H 22 S* o M Ol-H-H rl -t-( . .N M N g * ^ 03 i -H .M N i-l t-1 O 1H B 2 U* CO p p I M OtHrH . . .rH iH M 38 Hi ta M 03 M H M M o ^ M 'S ' -^ J. .. g ....;::: ....... ... :: :SP: :::::: : j :1 : i ill . : i : J i : 3 %_ aS 00 fc iidj .U j =1 1 : 2 H IH:-1 i'J :| * : = Ijij* o3 - ' : i p o fljttl:-sll^:^ - : . . i H OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 539 H fe 5 Q 1 N - 00 H O o <1 to o Unknown H 00 . . .4*-4 . . . .**r* -CO r- tc 8 g 2 rt -( -H * r 1 1 fc Q 3 H O5 . .^^ (M -1 . . .00 CO to 9 p O i B -ie -co IH . . -us a s * t-i . . . .-H e 3 5 . . . 0) H 1 h -"3 -^ ! . .-g a . '. o be o a .- 5- 2 -S ._ J'_2 -g OCCUPATION | 540 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. H "3 N "1-1" If 35 '5 " : f* : ; : T : : T : :* H ll *s M is >O *~ il i-l II = = e n N ^s " - - -"::-::::: 00 r- O j 1 1 j j | j 1 1 1 1 1| I j S S a .'!= SSC'S -JS- ' : - E 8 " s ^^ t. S a ^_-S^S :J : -J ; : u -* i- ._9SjQ J- o ** SMtqU ^1 i*Jl - : 3 t ^Jl^llllllHll OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 541 M fi fc O B O P a H W H W ft, B g o s 8 h 1-1 O <5 M ^ tf ~ e SIS O c3 mos m ^ ;i_ _ f . * N * IN CO W . B .' ' '5 ' ' 2 ' E ) a> llsll^ *lwl a i9 | * "3 IIIlss o rt ff trf C SI CO ' o o g g . H 81*":; 00 rt : :^^ :::::-::- :2 i 1! >H ai hi ft - 15 (N -N NiH . . (0 w w H M H h o W H 6 years 10 years H dj fc 5 i! 00 p R < > 03 W M 3 11 C4 i-H W DUST I s H M 6 months or less n 1-1 a H 3 :::&:::::::::::: O ft 0} i i :9 i^S. : : i ': ': : : : :| :s :|2 : : : : | : M g Ijlllll Jl ^ -I - M P 3 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 543 2 H 5 H S.9 S.9 ~4 -CO H t^r-l - to o i i '-' * LYSIS OF PRE VENT > DANGERS YOURSELF? 1 5 N * a o iH X ly f~j A g a s EN You AS T< ro SAFEGUARD Information lacking H DUSTRIES IHE DAN< RUCTIONS GlV IK AND HOW 1 o iO,-lHifl(N (Nt-iO IN-* N -I CO CO r- D II t^ ; ~ -, . ; CO r- 9 M 1-^ pq gg ^s 3 to i I M W O f>* fe- o : : : :::::::::::: : : :* :::.,:::::::: ^ s ;1 ^g ; ;ij ;;;*;; to o | 8 |^-S i|ll : :J i| ': : OCCUPATI "? S o E'o 33 "5|g^lcfe .-IS ~3 55 3 a-- ail H Q-d '.e o 2 m g Jj's"*"" c.5 - ~ 3 rf'3 I OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. 545 M I H- ""^^ ' 10 00 iH 33 p p fc QUANTI g eo hH i l< rt NW IO fc 5 r4 -CO < .i-l . . . CD t-i BO l a M O O GO ; ; ;| : ; ; : ; ; ;;::;; o p yj n jtt 1 1 ! y n O O iillilMlillllll 1 IS 546 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. i i w H 1 ** H O COM IN 00 N "3 1 1-1 H * b ii < d o ** o ^t i-t . i-l.-ii-liO ii o I * 3 I p o OOl-IN -M -r-t -rH . . -W n 8 o H a o H i o C9 CO W^ CO CI o 2 It t^rt'-Ci-l CON H H 00 A ij i -H * N CMM 00 o TH a N a !R O H3innnnn 5 :| :| 1'| ::::!:: BlM "Si i ifi I i i O fill ill 1 OCCUPATIONAL, DISEASES. 547 3 o N* H TH o o j3 a JABITS. < _c Neither : ' ^ CO 5 d - F4 i o a 8 P-I * V ustache i- M 05 JSTRIES "3 N " " TH " H < TH fc II S Unknown ^ 0* S 1 CO i-l 1-1 ** C* oc M a a 1 o 1 1 s 5 -l i-l^4 COO -! i-l article is done in the factory and only a small group of worker? are employed there to put materials into shape for the jobber. (Brushes particularly.) Again we will find a small storage room just for the giving out and receiving of the finished work. Such places sometimes have 400 outworkers, some of whom are again contracting to outwork- ers, and it is almost impossible to show up the insidious outreach- ings into new districts, other towns, etc. Recently we have found an industry that sends its work all over the country, the manu- facturer himself a German, resenting a system whereby he does not know the conditions under which his goods are being made. S8S HOME WORK ix THE TENEMENT HOUSES. The competition between each other, and with factory hands, makes it impossible to regulate or standardise a wage for women in any industries involving home manufacture. In order to show the effect of this on wage, we have only to men- tion what has happened in willowing of ostrich feathers. Three years ago when the trade started, there were few workers in the field. Fifteen cents was paid for tying one set of knots per inch. The following season more workers were in the field and the price went down to thirteen cents. Then it dropped to eleven, nine, seven, five, and last summer, just three years from the time it started, the workers were receiving three cents an inch; and this fall they are working by the piece. Formerly the price paid per inch in the shop was from two to three cents an inch more than in the homes, but this fall the price paid in the shop is three cents an inch, the same price that was being paid in the homes. One plume, which contained 8,613, took a woman and two children a day and a third to tie. Health. I have seen a girl in the descumating stage of scarlet fever (when her throat was so bad that she could not speak above a whisper) tying ostrich feathers in the Italian district. These feathers were being made for one of the biggest feather factories in the lower part of the city. She told me herself she had been sick with scarlet fever for ten days, but had been upstairs in a neighbor's rooms working for over a week. The skin on her hands was in such condition as to attract my attention and be recog- nized at once as scarlet fever although she further authenticated it by telling me the doctor stated she had scarlet fever. I have seen a baby two years old in its mother's arms (while she was finishing clothing), whose head was a raw sore from a disease known as inpetigo, a very disagreeable and very contagious, though not dangerous skin- disease. I have seen men, women and girls with tuberculosis, who sail they had tuberculosis, were going to tuberculosis clinics, working on dolls clothes, picking nuts, working on feathers, working on crocheting slippers. Our investigators have told us many stories of work being done in homes where there were sick mothers or sick mem- bers of the family whose cases after being reported and looked after, proved to be cases of tonsilitis. HOME WORK ix TIIK T I:\KMKXT HOUSES. 583 IN FAMILIES DOI.V. NUTS A. VI) DOLLS' CLOTHES OCCUPATION OF FATHER Wage per week Rent per month Number in family Number of children Age of oldest child Age of youngest chiki Baker $1S 00 $14 00 6 4 12 3 Barber 12 00 15 00 3 1 17 Bookbinder 15 00 11 50 8 4 15 10 Bottler .... .... 12 00 8 00 3 1 Butcher 15 00 13 00 3 1 14 Candy factory 15 00 11 50 8 6 15 5 Cap cutter (in season) . . 20 00 18 00 6 4 17 4 Carpenter. . . 18 00 12 00 10 8 17 1 Cement 12 00 6 00 4 2 8 3 Chauffeur . . ..... 12 00 12 00 2 Coal man 12 00 13 00 4 2 16 11 m Cobbler 16 00 17 50 5 3 7 22 moe Cook 9 00 11 00 2 Driver 15 00 11 50 4 2 15 10 Driver 15 00 13 00 5 3 4 2 Driver 13 00 12 50 5 3 13 10 Dii.-er 12 00 14 00 6 4 15 5 Elevator man 9 00 15 00 7 2 7 6 Factory hand 12 00 15 00 7 4 20 9 Furniture cleaner 9 00 17 00 7 5 18 8 Gen El. Co 10 00 15 00 6 3 13 Q Hod carrier 15 00 14 00 5 3 11 I| Insurance agent 10 00 16 00 4 3 13 9 10 00 10 00 4 2 9 2 Jewelry mender 12 00 5 00 3 1 Laborer 15 00 12 00 6 4 17 9 9 00 16 00 4 2 14 7 Laborer .... 9 00 8 00 3 1 6 Machinist 12 00 13 00 3 1 1 week 11 00 11 00 2 National biscuit . . ... 12 00 11 00 4 2 2 Packer 12 00 13 00 3 2 2 2 mos Painter 15 00 12 00 5 3 3 2 Pencil factory 9 00 13 00 3 1 10 Plumber 24 00 14 00 5 3 9 5 Policeman 29 00 16 00 8 6 16 4 Polisher (brass work) 12 00 11 00 3 1 14 Printer 12 00 7 00 2 Rag man 10 00 13 00 8 6 15 6 10 00 10 00 6 4 18 14 15 00 15 00 7 4 19 9 Saloon clerk . ... 9 00 12 00 10 6 16 6 10 00 11 00 2 10 00 17 00 6 4 18 11 Stone maker 8 00 12 00 6 17 9 Street cleaner 9 00 12 50 5 3 17 9 Switchman 1 050 10 00 7 5 14 7 mos. Tailor 14 00 16 00 5 3 11 4 Tailor 12 00 13 00 6 4 7 5 Tel Co 15 00 13 00 3 1 6 Dead 12 00 4 2 18 5 584 HOME WOKK ix THE TENEMENT HOUSES. IN 100 FAMILIES DOING FEATHERS. OCCUPATION OF FATHERS. Families *Building trades 36 *Unskilled labor i'."> Shops and stands 5 Small trades '. 15 *Ice and coal dealers 6 Saloons - Miscellaneous 4 Incapacitated or dead 7 Total . 100 ''Average working year 200 days. APPENDIX VII Photographs Submitted by the Consumers' League and Miss Lillian D. Wald of the Nurses' Settlement, New York -CO |S 00 5? S "~IS - 1 03 a 11 o 9 - o be o s a fi O-g 5; d a 6J o o e a -8 to bC rf *> S3 is S.2 bC M c.S '52 " I ? 1 s 04 ** o " 5 ** 2.* ' s tn o -1 cc 2 ?. f " G B.S r s^ >> ** S3 o3 1*1 " .?* ? 5fl .50 o 25 ^< 33 e3 3*0 - It IP o 02 *" 83 C 5 PL,- o 3 5 '- ^ o 2-0 fe to '*+** < **. -a "o 2 OS S C8 1-rj ~ CC JTl "^ (H ^" -+J ^ S^= e J: > EfS P ft xo o rs M SB, 1 APPENDIX VII Photographs Submitted by the National Child Labor Committee of the City of New York; 13 <^ as < i S S o ^ -S S- 11 Ill .III S "5. . . 0-G II e e Twelve and 15 year old girls knitting caps in " Little Italy." Jerome Avenue (The Bronx). Florence V., .12 years Jold, and sister Jennie, working on crochet hats, in dirty kitchen of tenement, Jerome\A. venue. They make heavy hats, muffs, scarfs, slippers, jetc. Jennie, 15 years old, works in a Tremont avenue factory part of the time. Can make 1J dozen heavy hats a day. Florence makes five hats in half a day being in school only half a day. Have been at it one year. Photo by L. W. Hine, Dec., 1911. s 2 m ' See 3 . Pf[ E - S "** K ^ ffi 8 i SP*1 > 02 . a $ 3 . s >> O> 03 o * ago. .2 -So s -a s S5, ^^ ,-H C3 m !i IT o _- . -u T3O5 Rose V., 9 years old, helping her mother on corset covers. Sullivan Street, 3d floor back. Photo by L. W. Hine, Dec. 26, 1911. &9 * H c 42-32 !il o > ; tao ii oo CO Ill 9 0> 35 8 -fl M b CL 111 lid 00 s s i>ss **i e-o >. 2 w 6 ^ 2^^^ "2 o^ >> 3^o- SS-** o S^* o g3 O ^ i d l-sT-i I B aJS "8 Cfc 3: 2 s I 2 a n s- o o> 02 -g ~ CQ H 2"5 yi o> >, a -?- . 3 n k. IV *-s _ 5 ^^--s - Slt^T. ^ ^ 0; CC i-H ^" W > 4J" * fl> g^ >> * fl 03 O O j- T..S ail s a l ^ S J3 >> t> ^j ^ OJ CO >,fe s a 1 - oa '-?, . gs -J? >> loo T3 _ . "! a P5 2^ -,-i a 2 >> 2 8- ^>5 S 2 ^ CO S^ 5 ^ o S *K 8 M S s ll J3"* APPENDIX VIII QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION AND DIGEST OF REPLIES RECEIVED I. QUESTIONNAIRE 588 II. ALPHABETICAL LIST OF PERSONS REPLYING 600 III DIGEST OF REPLIES 603 Jurisdiction over Factories 603 State Labor Law 610 Museum of Safety 617 Medical Inspection 620 Power of Commissioner 622 Penalties for Violation of Law 625 Registration and Licensing of Factories 627 Water closets 631 Removal of Dust, Gases and Fumes 632 Ventilation 633 Eating Meals in Workrooms 638 Lighting Facilities 640 Accident Prevention 641 Occupational Diseases 643 Employment of Women and Children in Industry. . 646 Hours of Labor 649 Bakeries 655 Fire Prevention, Fire Escapes, Building Con- struction 660 Manufacturing in Tenement Houses 689 Industrial Commission 691 Continuation Schools 693 General Matters 694 I. QUESTIONNAIRE LIST OF QUESTIONS CONCEKMXG METHODS FOR IM- PROVING THE CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH MAN- UFACTURING IS CARRIED ON IN CITIES OF THE FIRST AND SECOND CLASS OF THE STATE JURISDICTION OVER FACTORIES AND MANUFACTURING ESTAB- LISHMENTS IN NEW YORK CITY. 1 a. Should there be a Department of Labor for the city of New York and one for the rest of the State? fe. Should there be one or three Commissioners at the head of each of those Departments ? 2. Should the Board cf Health of New York city have sole jurisdiction over bakeries in tenement houses and elsewhere^ 3. Should the Tenement House Department of the city of New York have sole jurisdiction over all manufacturing in tenement houses and over bakeries and confectionery establishments con- ducted in tenement houses? 4. Should there be a Bureau of Inspection established whose function it shall be to inspect factories and manufacturing estab- lishments and report existing conditions to the different depart- ments charged with the duty of enforcing the provisions of the law on the subject; the Bureau of Inspection to report the facts to the responsible department, the latter to secure compliance with the provisions of the law applicable to the condition reported? 5. Should there be a new department established for the city of New York to have exclusive jurisdiction over all factories and manufacturing establishments other than those carried on in tene- ment houses (the new department to possess all the powers which are now held by the State Labor Department in the city of New QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. 589 York, the Building, Fire and Health Departments of the city with reference to factories and manufacturing establishments)? 6. What bureaus should be established in such new department? 7. What suggestions have you tending to lessen or do away with the duplication of inspections in the city of New York by various city and State departments? 8. What other suggestions have you which would tend to cen- tralize the authority and responsibility for the enforcement of the laws relating to factories and manufacturing establishments in the city of New York? STATE LABOK LAW. Factory Inspection: 9. Is the present system of factory inspection adequate? 10. How often should manufacturing establishments be in- spected. 11. Should the number of inspections a year depend upon the character of the industry? 12. How many factory inspectors should the Department of Labor have? (a) For the City of New York ? (&) For the rest of the State? 13. How many supervising inspectors should the Department of Labor have? 14. How can the services of inspectors with technical knowledge be procured? 15 a. Should violation orders be sent direct to the violator from the sub-offices of the Department of Labor instead of having to go through the Albany office? 590 QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. 15 b. What measure? should be adopted to do away with the duplication of inspections by city departments and the State De- partment of Labor and to bring about the necessary co-operation between city and State officials charged with the duty of inspecting factories and manufacturing establishments? Museum of Safety: 16. Should there be a Museum of Safety established? (a) As a branch of the State Labor Department \ (6) As a private institution endowed by the State? 17. Should the Labor Department publish and circulate from time to time a list and description of safety devices in the various trades and industries? Medical Inspection: 18. Should there be a division of medical inspection in the State Labor Department? 19. Should there be a board of medical advisers to the State Commissioner of Labor appointed by the Governor? Power of Commissioner to Make Rules and Regulations: 20. Should the Commissioner of Labor be given the power to make rules and regulations to cover accident prevention and proper sanitation in different industries? 21. Should there be a board of technical experts appointed by the Governor to advise the Commissioner in the formulation of these rules and regulations and their revision from time to time? Penalties for Violation of Law: 22. What additional summary powers should be given to the Commissioner of Labor to enforce the provisions of the Labor Law? QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. 591 23. What measures would you recommend to bring about a more speedy and effective punishment for violations of the provisions of the Labor Law? Registration and Licensing of Factories: 24. Should there be a compulsory system of registration of all factories and manufacturing establishments in the State ? 25. Should plans be filed showing the location of machinery, partitions, etc., and such plans approved before any new factory or manufacturing establishment is operated? 26. Should a license be required (a) for all factories and manu- facturing establishments? (6) In what cases should such license be required ? Water Closets: 27. Should there be a provision in the law specifying the num- ber of toilets to be installed? How many should be required for each 25 persons employed? Removal of Dust, Gases and Fumes: 28. What provisions should be added to the law that will cover the removal of dust caused by materials used in an industry or by the nature of the industry itself rather than by machinery ? ? 29. What measures should be adopted for the removal of gases and fumes? Ventilation: 30. Should there be j, standard of ventilation ? 31. What should the standard of ventilation be? 32. How many cubic feet of air space per person in the day time? (a) When gas is used for lighting purposes? (&) When electric lights are used? 592 QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. 33. How many cubic feet of air space per person in the night time? 34. When should mechanical ventilation be made mandatory ? 35. (a) Should the number of persons employed be limited in proportion to the floor area? What should the standard be? (&) Should there be a standard of temperature in all factories and manufacturing establishments ? What should the standard be ? Eating Meals in Workrooms: 36. Should the eating of meals in work shops be prohibited generally? In what specific industries should it be prohibited? Lighting Facilities: 37. What measures would you recommend to improve artificial lighting facilities in factories and manufacturing establishments ? 38. Should there be a standard of intensity and brilliancy of light, and what should this standard ba Accident Prevention: 39. Should there be a provision making it mandatory to main- tain lights in front of all elevator openings ? 40. What measures would you recommend that would tend to prevent elevator accidents? Occupational Diseases: 41. What is the extent of occupational poisonings and diseases in the State of New York? 42. What measures would you recommend to check such poison- ings and diseases? 43. Do you favor compulsory physical examination of employees in dangerous industries? QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. 593 44. llo\v can physicians co-operate to bring about a more thorough knowledge of the prevalence and extent of occupational poisoning or diseases and the method of combating them ? 45. What is the extent of industrial consumption among factory workers ? What measures should be adopted to check the disease ? Employment of Women and Children in Industry: 46. In what industries should the employment of girls be pro- hibited ? a. Under 16 years of age? 6. Under 21 years? 47. In what industries should the employment of women be prohibited ? 48. In what industries should the employment of males be prohibited? a. Under 16 years? fc. Under 21 years? 49. What measures would you recommend to prevent the em- ployment of physically unfit children? Should there be a com- pulsory physical examination of children periodically up to 18 years of age in all industries ? 50. How should the employment of women be prohibited im-. mediately before and after child birth ? Hours of Labor: 51. What changes would you recommend in the existing laws relating to the number of hours per day or week that women or children are permitted to work ? 52. How can seven days in the week labor be prevented in all industries ? 53. Should female minors or male minors between the ages of 16 and 18 years be under any circumstances permitted to work more than ten hours ? 54. Should male minors between 16 and 18 be permitted to work after 10 p. M. or before 6 A. M. ? 59-Jr QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. 55. Should the number of hours of work per day or week be limited in the case of male minors between the ages of 18 and 21 years ? 56. Should a one-hour lunch period be made mandatory? Bakeries: 57. Should the use of cellars for bakeries be prohibited? a. In case of bakeries already in existence? b. In the future ? 58. What standard of ventilation should be made mandatory in existing cellar or basement bakeries ? 59. Should existing bakeries in which the distance between the floor and ceiling is less than nine feet be declared unlawful ? 60. Should existing bakeries, the floors of which are of a depth greater than 4 ft. 6 in. below the street or sidewalk level adjacent to the building, be prohibited ? 61. Should employees in bakeries be required to furnish a medical certificate of fitness ? 62. Should there be a compulsory physical examination made periodically of employees in bakeries? 63. What should be the minimum requirements of ventilation, light, height of ceiling, distance below street level, in basement bakeries to be opened in the future? 64. Should all bakeries be licensed? Fire Prevention, Fire-Escape Facilities and Building Construction: 65. Should smoking in any part of the factory or manufactur- ing establishment during working hours be made a crime ? QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. 595 66. Should t'he use of wooden or non-fireproof partitions in any part of a factory or manufacturing establishment be prohibited? 67 a. What can be done to prevent spread of fire because of the inflammable material used in manufacture? b. Should doors and sashes of windows leading to exits be painted red ? c. Should such sashes be of metal ? d. Should windows leading to fire-escapes be made of wired glass ? 68. Should any change in the interior of a manufacturing es- tablishment be permitted only after plans therefor have been filed and approved? 69. Should fire drills be made mandatory in all manufacturing establishments how often ? 70. Is it practicable to compel the installation of a so-called cooperative drill for the employees of different manufacturing establishments in the same building? 71. What plan would have to be adopted ? 72. What value would separate and independent fire drills for different manufacturing establishments in one building have ? 73. Should the installation of automatic sprinklers be made mandatory in all factories and manufacturing establishments ? 74. Should the mandatory requirement of automatic sprinklers depend (a) Fpou the character of the industry? or (6) Upon the number of persons employed in the establish ment? or (c) Upon the distance of the establishment above the street level ? or 596 QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. (d) Upon the height of the building in which the establishment is located irrespective of the number of employees in the particular establishment or its location ? 75. In what factories or manufacturing establishments should the installation of an auxiliary fire-alarm system to wain the occupants of the building itself be made mandatory? 76. How can such a fire-alarm system be operated practically in a loft building with numerous independent establishments ? 77. In what factories or manufacturing establishments should the installation of an automatic fire-alarm system to communicate with Fire Headquarters be made mandatory ? 78. Should manufacturing be prohibited above a certain num- ber of stories ? What should be the maximum ? 79. What should be the penalty for locked doors in a factory or manufacturing establishment while there are employees on the premises ? 80. What measures would you recommend that would provide for the proper spacing of machinery ? How wide should the clear passageway between machines be? 81. Should the law absolutely prohibit the use of any doors or shutters opening inwardly that lead to exits or fire-escapes ? 82. Should the law prohibit the obstruction of the exit to fire- escapes by window sills? 83. Should outside fire-escapes be constructed at or about the floor level of the factory or manufacturing establishment in such a manner that no climbing over window sills would be necessary ? 84. In all cases of outside fire-escapes should there be a standard of construction as in the Tenement House Law ? QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. 597 85. What kind of ladders or stairways would you recommend from the lowest balcony to the ground ? 8G. Should the number of people permitted to work in a factory be dependent upon the number and kind of exits provided ? 87. Could such a provision be made specific or would it be left to the discretion of the responsible authority in each particular case? 88. Should every manufacturing establishment have a card posted shoving the maximum number of people permitted to work in it ? 89. Should factories and loft buildings be licensed for certain designated occupations and should changes in the nature of the occupancy be prohibited unless expressly authorized by the re- sponsible authority? 90. Should stairways that wind around elevators be ordered removed in existing buildings? 91. Should existing elevator shafts be ordered enclosed in fire- proof walls ? 92. Should existing stairways be ordered enclosed in fire-proof walls ? 93. Should fire walls be ordered installed in existing buildings? (a) In buildings 25 ft. x 80 ft. (6) In buildings 50 ft. x 80 ft, (c) In buildings 75 ft. x 80 ft. 94. Should fire towers be ordered in any existing buildings ? In what kind ? 95. What provisions would you recommend to secure adequate fire-escape exits in buildings to be constructed in the future ? 598 QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. 96. What changes would you recommend in the present Build- ing Code ? 97. What criticisms have you to make of the recent Sullivan- Hoey law and what changes in that law would you recommend? Manufacturing in Tenement Houses: 98 a. How should manufacturing in tenement houses be restricted ? &. To what extent are young children illegally employed in manufacturing conducted in tenement houses ? c. What measures should be adopted to prevent such employment ? Industrial Commission: 99 a. Should there be a permanent industrial commission ap- pointed to work in conjunction with the State Department of Labor ? &. How should such commission be made up ? c. What should be its duties and powers? Continuation Schools for Minors Employed in Factories and Manufacturing Establishm ents: 100 a. Do you advocate the establishment of continuation schools ? 6. How should they be organized ? c. Between what ages should compulsory attendance in such schools be required ? d. What part of the day should be devoted to such schools ? General Matters: 101. What other suggestions of any kind have you that would tend to bring about a thorough and regular inspection of factories and manufacturing establishments and protect the health and safety of the operators therein? QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. 599 102. Are you familiar with any conditions in factories and manufacturing establishments that you think would be of interest to the Commission or that should be investigated by the Commission ? Note: Although many of the questions admit of a categorical answer it is hoped that your views and the reasons for the position you take will also be set forth. In answering, reference may be made to the numbers of the questions. Dated New York, December 6th, 1911. ROBERT F. WAGNER, Chairman. ABRAM I. ELKUS, Counsel. II. LIST OF PERSONS REPLYING TO QUESTION- NAIRE SUBMITTED BY THE COMMISSION Battle, George Gordon, Oounselor-at-law. Bensel, Walter, M. D., Sanitary Superintendent Department of Health, New York. Callacy, G. B., Secretary Bakers' Union, Local. Croker, E. F., ex-Chief Fire Department, New York. Davis, Gherardi A., Counselor-at-law, formerly Deputy Police Commissioner, New York. De Forest, Robert W., formerly Tenement House Commis- sioner, New York. Dix, S. M., Expert Accountant, Insurance. Fox, E. F., Secretary International Moulders' Union, Local 246. Ferguson, J. W., Contractor. Freeman, J. R., Consulting Engineer, Board of Water Supply, New York. Goler, George W., Dr., Health Officer, Rochester. Grace, Charles, Legislative Agent, New York State Associa- tion of Journeymen Plumbers, etc. Gray, J. P., President Boston Manufacturers' Mutual Fire Insurance Company. Grossman, Herman, Dtistrict Manager, Joint Board of the Cloak and Suit Makers' U"nion of New York. Haight, A. S., Insurance Expert QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. 601 Hessler, H. E., Commissioner of Public Safety, Syracuse. Hoffman, Frederick L., Statistician, President American Statistical Society. Johnson, Joseph, Fire Commissioner, New York. Kelley, Mrs. Florence, General Secretary, National Consum- ers' League. Keyes, Charles H., Secretary of Committee on Safety, New York. Knopf, S. Adolphus, Dr., physician, New York. Leamy, J. J., Secretary International Boiler Makers and Iron Ship Builders, Local 197. Lezinsky, Eugene L., General Manager, Cloak, Suit and Skirt Manufacturers' Protective Association, New York. Loeb, Morris, Dr., New York, President Hebrew Technical Institute. Low, Seth, Hon. Marsh, Benjamin C. Maxwell, William H., City Superintendent of Schools, New York. Nathan, Mrs. Frederick, President New York Consumers' League. O'Connor, D. W., Chairman Molders' State Legislative Con- ference. Panken, Jacob, Attorney Garment Workers' Union, New York. 602 QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. Parsons, H. DeB., Consulting Engineer. Quarles, E. A., Secretary Model Safety Act Committee 1 , Na- tional Civic Eederation. Quigley, J. P., Chief of Fire Depart., Syracuse. Reagan, J. F., Superintendent Department Public Safety, Utica. Rochester, Delancey, Dr., physician, Buffalo. Sewall, W. G., New York. Sherman, P. Tecumseh, ex-Commissioner New York State Department of Labor. Smith, J. "Waldo, Chief Engineer, Board of "Water Supply, New York. Sullivan, D. J., Chief Engineer, Department of Public Safety, Utica. Tomlin, F. S., Secretary, Joint Legislative Labor Conference of Greater New York. "Wentworth, Franklin H., Secretary and Treasurer, National Fire Protection Association. Wiley, Harvey W., Dr., Pure Food Commissioner. Woolston, H. B., Prof., Department Political Science, College of City of New York. Yates, Charles (Secretary, Central Labor and Trades Assembly of Syracuse), and "Wood, E. V., Representative, Machinists' Union. Yates, H. R., Chief of Fire Department, Schenectady. III. DIGEST OF REPLIES JURISDICTION OVER FACTORIES AND MANUFAC- TURING ESTABLISHMENTS IN NEW YORK CITY. George Gordon Battle: I believe that there should be a Department of Labor for the city of New York and one for the rest of the State, and that there should be three commissioners at the head of each of these De- partments. A bureau of inspection should be established, such as is suggested. A new department should be established in New York city to have exclusive jurisdiction over all factories and manufacturing establishments. I do not think that duplication of inspection is necessarily an evil, so long as each inspection is thorough. There is no danger of these inspections being so frequent as to become unduly burdensome, but danger might arise from divided respon- sibility attendant upon inspections by different Departments. The best way to centralize authority and responsibility for the enforce- ment of laws relating to factories is to make substantial violations criminal offences and to punish them by imprisonment. The present tendency of our Court of Special Sessions to punish infractions of statutes only by fines, is a great misfortune. As a result manufac- turers feel that they are safe in violating the law and the most they have to fear is a fine, which they regard as in the nature of a license fee. Robert W. De Forest: I do not think there should be a separate Department of Labor for the city of New York. The unit of administration for this De- partment is the State. One policy should control all the cities of the State. For purposes of administration, New York city pre- sents a unit so large as to require a resident official with large discretionary powers. He should be a deputy or assistant, or someone appointed to control by the State Commissioner of Labor. QUESTION XAIIIE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. The Tenement House Department in the city of New York has at the present time all the jurisdiction it can wisely exercise with the force and means now ar its disposal. To enlarge its judisdictio.il without enlarging its resources and personnel would only make it less possible than at present to enforce our tenement law. The Bureau of Inspection, such as suggested in this question, should emphatically not be established. The duty of inspection and the duty of enforcing results of inspection should not be separated into different departments. 8. X. Dix: There should be one State-wide Department and one Commission. Neither the Board of Health nor the Tenement House Depart- ment should have jurisdiction over the bakeries, except as delegated by the State Commissioner of Labor A Bureau of Inspection, such as is suggested, might be estab- lished, but it should use the city bureaus already existing for the details. A new Department should not be established for the city of New York, but the Commissioner of Labor should have au- thority to make city bureaus responsible and accountable to the State Department of Labor. To centralize authority and responsibility for the enforcement of laws relating to factories, the State Commissioner should be made responsible, using the city bureaus as delegated authority. Herman Grossman: There should positively be a Department of Labor for the city of New York. There should be a Commissioner and a deputy at the head of this Department. The Board of Health of New York city should have sole juris- diction over bakeries in tenement houses. The Tenement House Department should have jurisdiction over all other manufacturing in tenement houses, exclusive of bakeries. A separate Bureau of Inspection is absolutely unnecessary, but one Department should notify another in case its inspectors find violations that do not come within its jurisdiction. QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. 605 I am in favor of establishing a new Department for the city of New York, with exclusive jurisdiction over all factories and man- ufacturing establishments. A. S. Haigkt: I think there should be a Department of Labor for the city of New York and one for the rest of the State. A separate Bureau of Inspection should be established. A new Department should be established for the city of New York, to have exclusive jurisdiction over all factories, unless the present Department can be made efficient There should be a De- partment of labor established for the city of New York and one for the rest of the State. H. E. Hessler: I believe that a separate Bureau of Inspection should be established. Frederick L. Hoffman: I am inclined to favor the suggestion of one Department of Labor for the city of New York and one for the rest of the State, as it is in conformity with the principle adopted of the creation of two Public Service Commissions for the State of New York. I am emphatically in favor of one Commissioner who should have sufficient discretionary powers to adapt himself successfully to the needs of a rather complex situation. I am inclined to favor the suggestion that the Tenement House Department for the city of New York have sole jurisdiction over all manufacturing in tenement houses and over bakeries and con- fectionery establishments in tenement houses, since it will elim- inate the duplication of inspection and reports, and place the sole responsibility where it seems properly to belong. I approve of the suggestion for a separate Bureau of Industrial Inspection, which is in conformity to the recommendation of the Massachusetts Commission, and which would eliminate the evil of a multiform system of inspection, and subserve and centralize the executive functions concerned with the enforcement of the provisions of the law. 606 QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. Joseph Johnson: The Fire Department should have jurisdiction as to fire hazard in bakeries in tenement houses. Mrs. Florence Kelley: I do not believe that there should be a Department of Labor for the city of New York and one for the rest of the State. There is great need for uniform enforcement of the law throughout the State. The division of administrative Departments would make work more difficult. There should be one Commissioner for the whole State. The Department of Health of New York city should not have sole jurisdiction over bakeries any more than it has sole jurisdiction over any other industry. It should have sole jurisdiction over sanitary conditions in the bakeries. The Tenement House Department should not have sole juris- diction over manufacturing in tenement houses and bakeries and confectionery establishments in tenement houses for the following reasons: Manufacture should not be carried on in tenement houses, nor should bakeries, which are a form of manufacturing, nor con- fectionery establishments, except, possibly shops exclusively for the sale of confectionery wares. The creation of such a Bureau of Inspection, as is here suggested, would be a mere duplication of administrative bodies. So far as labor is concerned it should be in the future, as it has been in the past, the duty of the State in- specting body to enforce the law. A new department should not be established for the city of New York, as it is not desirable to duplicate or subdivide administrative bodies dealing with labor. The State Department of Labor should be given power, funds, personnel, equipment and authoiity to enforce the labor law throughout the State. Dr. S. Adolphus Knopf: I believe that there should be one State Department, but a special sub-bureau for New York city. There should be one head for the Department of Labor, with an advisory board consisting unions: others of the State Commissioner <>f Health. QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. 607 The Board of Health in the city of Xew York should have sole jurisdiction over bakeries in tenement houses, including the super- vision of confectionery establishments and every business which produces or handles food products. The creation of a separate Bureau of Inspection would lead to useless multiplication of effort. Supreme power over this work should be vested in the Commissioner of Labor. Eugene L. Lezinsky: We heartily endorse a Department of Labor for the city of New York and believe in a single head for such a Department. Hon. Seth Low: I think there should not be a separate Department of Labor for the city of Xew York and another for the rest of the State. It seems to me much better that the Department should be one, while there might very well be two bureaus in the same Department. The experience in Xew York city ought to be serviceable to the other cities of the State, and vice versa. This sort of mutual benefit will be lost if there are two Departments. I think it is necessary that the Departments of the city govern- ment should have authority everywhere in the line of their func- tions. I think that the Board of Health should have nothing to do with the question of labor in bakeries in tenement houses or elsewhere. In tenement houses, in view of the existence of the Tenement House Department, sanitary conditions in bakeries should be under the care of the Tenement House Department, while the event of the outbreak of disease in bakeries would come under the care of the Health Department. Outside the tenements, the Health Department should have entire sanitary jurisdiction. I do not believe in the advantage of a second Bureau of Inspec- tion. I think it would be a source of weakness and disadvantage. I do not believe in the creation of a new Department for the city of Xew York to have exclusive jurisdiction over all factories and manufacturing establishments other than those carried on in the tenement houses. 608 QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. Benjamin C. Marsh: There should be one Department of Labor in the State. There should be a Deputy Commissioner in New York city. There should be one Commissioner at the head of the Department of Labor. There should not be any bakeries in tenement houses, but the Board of Health might properly have sole jurisdiction over bak- eries as far as sanitary conditions are concerned, and not as to the hours of labor. Manufacturing in tenement houses should not be permitted. Pending prohibition the Board of Health should have jurisdiction as to sanitary conditions in manufacturing establish- ments in tenements, including bakeries and confectionery estab- lishments. A separate Bureau of Inspection is a useless duplication. A new Department for the city of New York, to have exclusive jurisdiction over all factories, should not be established at present. Jacob Panken: New York city should have a Commission to have jurisdiction over workshops of every description. This Commission should be separate from the Factory Inspection Department and should be composed of the heads of the Tenement, Fire, Board of Health and Building Departments, plus one member to be appointed by the government. E. A. Quarles: A Department for the city of New York would be a good thing, but it should be under the authority of the State Commissioner of Labor. I am absolutely opposed to more than one person in au- thority at the head of any Department. I do not think that a separate Bureau of Inspection should be established. The inspecting and enforcing power should be lodged in the same bureau. A new Department should be established in the city of New York with the exception noted above, namely, that the New York city Department should be under the general direction of the State Commissioner of Labor. QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. 609 Dr. Delancey, Rochester: There should be a Department of Labor for the city of New York and one for the rest of the State, but there should be only one Commissioner. A separate Bureau of Inspection should be established. P. Tecumseh Sherman: There should not be a Department of Labor for the city of New York and one for the rest of the State, and there should be only one Commissioner. The Board of Health should not have sole or concurrent juris- diction over bakeries in tenement houses and elsewhere. The Tene- ment House Department for the city of New York should not have sole jurisdiction over manufacturing in tenement houses and over bakeries and confectionery establishments in tenement houses. There should most decidedly not be a separate Bureau of In- spection established. A new Department for the city of New York should most decidedly not be established. There is no harmful duplication of inspection in New York city. What is desirable is to fix primary responsibility as between the different Departments. Jurisdiction over the original construction of buildings should be given to the Building Department. The Fire Department in New York city should have jurisdiction to make and enforce regulations of fire and escape of persons in case of fire. The Labor Department should have jurisdiction commensurate with its laws, except that the Fire Department should have primary responsibility for its laws. F. S. Tomlin: There should not be a Department of Laibor for the city of New York and one for the rest of the State. There should be one Department of Labor and one Commissioner. The Board of Health should not have sole jurisdiction over bakeries in tenement houses. The Department of Labor should take charge of all industries, including bakeries. Manufacturing in tenement houses should be absolutely prohibited, except on the 20 610 QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. ground floor. Statutory provisions as to labor should be under the jurisdiction of the State Department of Labor. A separate Bureau of Inspection should not be established. The Department of Labor should have charge over all factory inspectors. A new Department should not be established for the City of New York. It would be a useless duplication of officials and con- sequent expense to an already tax-burdened people. To do away with duplication of inspections in the city of New York and to centralize authority and responsibility in the enforcement of the laws, I would suggest placing all inspection in charge of the Department of Labor. Charles A. Yates and Edward W. Wood: There should be no division of Departments, but as many Commissioners as are needed to get good results. STATE LABOK LAW. Frederick L Hoffman: Without reflecting upon the efficiency of the State Bureau of Labor and Factory Inspection, I am of the opinion that the present system of inspection is inadequate. I am not prepared to say what the exact number of inspectors should be, or what propor- tion of the staff should consist of women inspectors, or what their respective technical qualifications should 'be. I believe, however, that the peculiarly congested condition of industry in the city of New York requires a larger pro rata inspection force than is at present the case. I may say in this connection that under date of April 1, 1908, an increase of thirty-five inspectors was author- ized for the Department of Factory Inspection of Great Britain, raising the total number of inspectors and assistants to two hun- dred. The numiber of places under inspection in 1908 was 260,000 factories and workshops, apart from warehouses, docks, and other premises not technically factories or workshops, but within the scope of the factories acts for certain purposes. I am of the opinion that at least four inspections should be made each year, but at irregular intervals and without the pre- vious knowledge of the owner or supervising official of the establishment. QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. 611 The services of inspectors with technical knowledge may be pro- cured by holding out the inducement of oontimiity of service, reasonable hours of labor and adequate compensation. I am em- phatically of tlie opinion that a high degree of technical ability is required for adequate and effective factory inspection, at least in the case of dangerous mechanical industries. A precedent for this point of view is found in the universal employment of highly trained technical factory inspectors and assistants in the German Empire, in connection with the carrying out of (the rules for the prevention of accidents in German industries. Many of the most valuable suggestions for the installation of safety devices have been made by the technical supervising officials or inspectors and assist- ants, and so well established has become tiheir employment tibait they have formed themselves into a national association. By raising the standard of the inspection service to that of a profession, it will not be difficult to secure the right kind of men and women, who are graduates of engineering 'and other technical schools. It is a hopeless task to expect really valuable results from even the most earnest efforts of untrained inspectors, confronted by the often extremely technical conditions and requirements of modern industry. It would seem equally hopeless' to expect that really efficient rules and regulations, framed for the protection of wage earners in dangerous or unhealthy trades, should issue from a technically unskilled inspectorial force. Herman Grossman: I believe we haven't enough inspectors to carry out the work. At the present time an inspector has a chance to visit a place only once or twice a year and this is not sufficient. Inspectors should be sent to places in seasonal trades when they are busy, and not, as often happens, in slack times. Frequency of inspection should be left to the judgment of the Commissioner with due regard to busy or slack times, and the number of inspections should vary with the character of the industry. Violations should be sent direct from the office in order that im- mediate action can be taken. City Departments should work hand in hand with the State, and the heads of the different De- partments should have meetings in order to devise ways and means of co-operation. 612 QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. Joseph Johnson-' Manufacturing establishments should be inspected at least once a month, and the number of inspections should vary with the character of the industry. In order to obtain the services of inspectors with technical knowledge, a civil service examination is -necessary. Violation orders should be sent direct to the violators and dupli- cate copies should be forwarded to Albany. Mrs. Florence Kelley: Frequency of inspection of manufacturing establishments depends largely upon the nature of the occupation and the sex and age of the employees. Where dangerous occupations are carried on inspections should obviously be frequent. Where women and chil- dren are employed in large numbers inspections should be corre- spondingly frequent. The State Department of Labor should have inspectors enough to enforce all the provisions of the labor law. These provisions could probably be enforced with a reasonable degree of thorough- ness by 200 inspectors for the city and 300 for the rest of the State, if manufacturing in city tenements were effectively abolished. Until that is abolished, no staff of inspectors, however large, can hope to enforce the law completely. The services of inspectors with technical knowledge can be obtained by providing for them in the labor law, by establishing rigid educational qualifications for candidates for these offices, arranging for graded increases of salary and retiring pensions. Violation orders should be sent direct to the violator from the sub-offices of the Department of Labor, but the record should be kept in duplicate at the sub-office and also at Albany for the |rarpose of assuring prompt publication of reports. The State Department of Labor should administer exclusively those provisions which deal with labor, that is, provisions relating to hours, children's working papers, machine guards, etc. Sanitary inspection of all kinds in fill buildings is properly the function of the local health authorities and should be made mandatory. QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. 613 Charles H. Keyes: The present system of factory inspection, while administered with rare intelligence and scrupulous integrity, is yet not adequate. The Department is not provided with inspectors enough to make the frequent inspections necessary, especially of dangerous in- dustries. It is difficult to say how often manufacturing estab- lishments should be inspected. The character of the business, the stability of the process, the nature of its housing, all enter as de- termining elements. Inspections should take place so frequently to make sure that safe conditions are maintained. It would be a mistake to reduce the number of inspections in manufacturing establishments. What is referred to as duplication of inspection by city Departments and the State Department of Labor is not, in fact, duplication. Just as in our homes we have inspectors to take the water meter, to determine the safety of the elevator, to pass upon the safety of the boiler, to read the gas meter, sanitary inspectors to examine the health appointments, police supervision and inspection, each for its own valuable end, so it is necessary, in order to maintain any high degree of safety, to in- crease rather than to decrease the number of inspections. Dr. S. Adolphus Knopf: The present system of factory inspection might be considered good if more men and more competent men could be designated to do the work. Frequency of inspection depends upon the char- acter of the institution, the products manufactured and the promptness with which previously existing violations have been removed. The head of the Department of Labor with his advisory com- mittee is the only one who can answer the question of the number of inspectors necessary. The number of supervising inspectors should be determined by the number of inspectors and the size of the district. Inducements to follow the career of factory inspector should be held out so as to make it a profession worth following. I would recommend that applicants who have successfully passed the civil service examination should, for a period of three months, 614 QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. be assigned as assistants to inspectors having had some years of service. After that, the candidate should pass a practical examina- tion to become eligible for appointment. A recommendation as to good character of the applicant by three reputable citizens should be required. All candidates should submit to medical examina- tion to determine their physical and mental soundness. The position of factory inspector should be renumerative and secure enough to invite capable, responsible men to offer their services. After 25 years of faithful service they should receive one-half or two-thirds of their former salaries as a pension. Minor violation orders may be given to the sub-bureau of each city in order to expedite the compliance with regulations. Minor offenses when not complied with as well as greater offenses, should be referred to the head office. Eugene L. Lezinsky: We believe that the present system of factory inspection is inadequate, an insufficient force of inspectors being undoubtedly the main reason. We understand that the factory inspector to-day inspects but from six to eight establishments in a day. Factories conducting a seasonal business should be inspected at the busiest time of the year. The fur industry has one busy season and the cloak and suit industry has two. We would recommend the grad- ing of shops into three classes, a shop in grade A, for example, to require but one yearly inspection, others to be inspected several times each year in order to keep up the desired standards. In regard to violation orders, we believe the factory inspector should file a copy of his report with his own Department and other copies with the Bureau of Fire Prevention and also the Health Department, in order to insure the placing of the responsibility where it belongs. Benjamin C. Marsh: I regard the present system of factory inspection as inadequate. Manufacturing establishments should be inspected at least twice a year. The number of inspections per year should depend upon the character of the industry. There should be at least 300 QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. 615 inspectors for New York State 200 for New York city and 100 for the rest of the State. There should be ten supervising inspectors. The services of inspectors with technical knowledge can be secured by training men and paying them ample salaries. The respective spheres and functions of city Departments and of the State Department of Labor should be more clearly defined, and so far as possible the work of enforcing factory laws left to the State Department of Labor, .as that of enforcing building ordinances for the city Department. Mrs. Frederick Nathan: I regard the present system of factory inspection as adequate, but there is not a large enough force of inspectors. Manufac- turing establishments should be inspected four times a year at irregular intervals, dangerous and seasonal trades more frequently. The services of inspectors with technical knowledge can be procured through civil service examinations framed for the pur- pose of bringing out such special technical knowledge. Jacob Panken: Factory inspection in New York city is not adequate. The force of inspectors in the service of the Department in New York is absolutely insufficient to properly inspect the factories, shops and stores. Factories, shops and stores should be inspected bi- monthly. In places where great numbers of people are employed the inspections should be more frequent. In order to procure the services of inspectors with technical knowledge, I believe that inspectors should be qualified in two grades : one, inspectors in the employ of the State, receiving pay for their services ; two, a voluntary corps of inspectors. Violation notices should be sent to the violator direct from the sub-office requiring him immediately to remove the violation. Up- on failure to comply within the time specified in the notice, a notice shall be posted on the door of the shop, factory or store prohibiting the use of the premises as a workshop, factory or store. 616 QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. E. A. Quarles: The present system of factory inspection is not adequate, but I think the Department is doing the best it can under the circum- stances. There should be no hard-and-fast rule as to the number of times a factory should be inspected. Generally speaking, how- ever, I think it would be well to have every factory inspected at least once a year. The number of inspections should depend not only upon the character of the industry, but upon the history and conditions in the individual plant. The services of inspectors with technical knowledge can be se- cured by paying adequate salaries and observing rigid civil service requirements. I believe that minor vilolation orders should be sent direct to the violator. Dr. Delancy Rochester: From the results, I should judge that the present system of factory inspection was not adequate. Manufacturing establish- ments should be inspected at least four times a year. The number of yearly inspections should depend upon the character of the industry. Inspectors with technical knowledge can be procured by payment of a sufficient salary, with the knowledge that they cannot be ousted for political purposes. The sub-office of the Department of Labor should send its violation orders direct to the violator. P. Tecumseh Sherman: I believe that the present system of factory inspection will be adequate when arrears are dealt with, etc. Manufacturing estab- lishments should be inspected once a year for statistical purposes. How much oftener depends upon many purposes and conditions. There should be about 100 factory inspectors for New York State, three-fifths in New York city and two-fifths in the rest of the State. Those in the country should serve some winter months in the city. Inspectors with technical knowledge can be procured by payment of adequate salaries and through civil service examination. The method of sending violation orders is a matter of administration which should not be fixed by law. QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. 617 F. 8. Tomlin: The present system of factory inspection is decidedly not adequate. Manufacturing establishments should be inspected once in six months. The number of inspections yearly should depend upon the character of those who carry on the business. There should be 300 factory inspectors for New York State, 175 for New York city and 125 for the rest of the State. There should be 15 supervising inspectors. Technical inspectors are not needed. They are like expert witnesses, impractical, misleading, wasteful and useless. Violation orders should be sent direct from the sub-office. Charles Yates and Edward V. Wood: The present system of factory inspection is not adequate. Manufacturing establishments should be inspected at least once a month and oftener if possible, since new conditions arise every day. The number of inspections should not depend on the char- acter of the industry. There should be as many factory inspectors in New York State as are necessary. We would suggest one for each Assembly district. There should be at least one supervising inspector in every city of over 50,000 inhabitants. Inspectors with technical knowledge can be secured by appointing tradesmen to investigate shops of their craft. Violation orders should be sent from the sub-office direct. MUSEUM OF SAFETY. Robert W. DeForest: I think the Labor Department could wisely publish and circu- late a list and description of safety devices. The cost of this is small compared with the gain. 8. M. Dix: I believe that Labor Department should publish a list and de- scription of safety devices in the various trades, and a description of them. 618 QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. Dr. George W. Goler: There should be a Museum of Safety established with traveling exhibits, and the expense thereof ought to be borne by the State. The State Department of Labor should publish, from time to time, bulletins describing the newer devices, and the old and current dangers. Frederick L. Hoffman : The Labor Department should publish and circulate from time to time a list and description of safety devices in the various trades and industries. This suggestion follows the long-established prece- dent in the practice of German compulsory accident insurance institutions, which, in the annual reports of the technical inspect- ors, publish illustrations of the latest discoveries in the ever- expanding field of safety devices. It would serve a much more useful purpose if the Labor Department were to give the widest publicity to facts of this kind, than to enlarge upon the field of elaborate statistical publications, which, without the advantage of a thoroughly qualified critical analysis, often serve no practical purpose whatever. Mrs. Florence Kelley: There should be a Museum of Safety as a branch of the State Department of Labor, not as a private institution endowed by the State. It is essential to the efficiency of the State Department of Labor. It might be made of great value to employers desiring to improve their establishments. It is of the utmost importance that the State should, from time to time, publish and circulate lists, descriptions, drawings and pictures of safety devices. In no other way can the work of the inspectors be standardized, and employers assured of the uniformity of expense, and employees assured of uniform safety in relation to a given industry. Dr. 8. Adolphus Knopf: A Museum of Safety should certainly be established, but the already existing private institution, if aided by the State, would answer the purpose. The State Department of Labor should by all means publish lists and descriptions of safety devices. I QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. 619 would even suggest that the function of the Museum of Safety be enlarged by establishing a course of lectures to popularize the ways and means whereby industrial accidents can be avoided. Dr. Morris Loeb: The American Museum of Natural History should be urged to set aside a particular space for a Museum of Safety. Such a Museum could only be effectively maintained by private corporation. Benjamin C. Marsh: There should be a Museum of Safety established, and the safety of people in offices, as well as in factories, should be considered. Hence, the Museum of Safety should be under the charge of a separate department, not the Department of Labor. The Depart- ment of Labor should publish and circulate a list and description of safety devices. E. A. Quarles: A Museum of Safety should be established as a branch of the State Labor Department. I believe the Department of Labor should circulate a list and description of safety devices. Dr. Delancey Rochester: A Museum of Safety should be established as a private institu- tion, endowed by the State. The Department of Labor should publish a list and description of safety devices. P. Tecumseh Sherman: A Museum of Safety should be established as a private institu- tion, endowed by the State, unless the Federal government will establish one. The Department of Labor should publish such a list as that suggested, and also a description of safety " practices." F. 8. Tomlin: A Museum of Safety should be established under the State Labor Department. If the State Department of Labor published 620 QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. and circulated a list and description of safety devices, I think the undertaking would do much good. Charles Yates and Edward V. Wood: A Museum of Safety should be established under the State Labor Department. The Department of Labor should publish a list and description of safety devices. MEDICAL INSPECTION. 8. M. Dix: There should not be a Division of Medical Inspection in the State Department of Labor. The functions of such a depart- ment should be performed by local Boards of Health, responsible in such matters to the State Commissioner. Dr. George W. Goler: I doubt very much if there should be a Division of Medical Inspection in the State Department of Labor, or whether there should be a Board of Medical Advisers. But that there should be a board of advisers, some of whom should be sanitarians and hygienists, I think there can be no doubt. Herman Grossman: I think there should be a Division of Medical Inspection in the State Labor Department and also a Board of Medical Advisers to the State Commissioner of Labor. A. 8. Haight: There should be a Division of Medical Inspection in the State Labor Department. Joseph Johnson: There should be a Division of Medical Inspection in the State Labor Department. QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. 621 Mrs. Florence Kelley: There should be a Division of Medical Inspection in the State Labor Department. The work of Dr. Rogers, viewed as a begin- ning, indicates the very great need of an increase in this direction. Charles H. Keyes: It is manifestly impossible to discharge the sanitary responsi- bilities devolving upon the State Department of Labor without a Division of Medical Inspection. Dr. 8. Adolphus Knopf: If medical inspection of every laborer is meant, a practice in vogue in Germany, it would seem a physical impossibility to do it with the present equipment of any of the existing State Depart- ments. The work belongs by right to a State Insurance for Acci- dents and Diseases. If the creation of a division having to deal with purely medical questions of the Department is meant, I think it would be expedient. I certainly would deem it expedient to have a Board of Medical Advisers to the State Commissioner of Labor appointed by the Governor. Benjamin C. Marsh: I think there should not be a Division of Medical Inspection in the State Labor Department. The city health authorities charged with the duty of conserving the health of the city should make medical inspections, although the frequency of such inspections and the general nature might properly be determined by the State Department of Labor. Mrs. Frederick Nathan: There should be a Division of Medical Inspection in the State Labor Department, and it should be authorized and equipped to study industrial diseases and safety devices to prevent accidents. E. A. Quarles: There should be a Division of Medical Inspection in the State Labor Department. 622 QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. Dr. Delamcey Rochester: There should be both a Division of Medical Inspection in the State Labor Department, nd a Board of Medical Advisers to the State Commissioner of Labor. P. Tecumseh Sherman: There need not be a separate Division of Medical Inspection in the State Department of Labor, but there should be a Board of Medical Advisers to the Commissioner. Charles Yates and Edward V. Wood: There should be both a Division of Medical Inspection in the 3tate Labor Department and a Board of Medical Advisers to the State Commissioner of Labor. POWER OF COMMISSIONER TO MAKE RULES AND REGULATIONS. Robert W. Deforest: I think the Commissioner of Labor should be given power to make rules and regulations to cover accident prevention and proper sanitation in different industries. I think the best results would be obtained by having the Commissioner appoint an advisory board of technical experts to formulate these rules and regulations, whom he could call on from time to time for advice. 8. M. Dix: The Commissioner of Labor should be given power to make rules and regulations to cover accident prevention and proper sanitation in different industries. Dr. George W. Ooler: The Commissioner of Labor should be given power to make rules and regulations relating to the prevention of accidents and the sanitation of all industries. These rules should, of course, be made under the advice of a board of experts. QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. 623 Herman Grossman: I think the Commissioner of Labor should be given the power to make rules and regulations to cover accident prevention and proper sanitation in different industries. A. S. Haight: Power should be given to the Commissioner of Labor to make rules and regulations to cover accident prevention and proper sani- tation in different industries. Joseph Johnson' I believe the Commissioner of Labor should be given the power to make rules and regulations to cover accident prevention and proper sanitation. Mrs. Florence Kelley: Power should be conferred upon the Commissioner of Labor to make rules and regulations for the prevention of accidents. Sanita- tion, however, is the function of the State and local health officials and should be left to them. It is not desirable at the present time that a board of technical experts should be appointed by the Governor to advise the Commissioner. Charles H. Keyes: The Commissioner of Labor should certainly be given power to make rules and regulations to cover accident prevention and proper sanitation in different industries. Dr. 8. Adolphus Knopf: In conjunction with an advisory board, the Commissioner of Labor should be given the power to make rules and regulations to cover accident prevention and proper sanitation in different industries. As a part of the advisory board, there should be a board of tech- nical experts appointed by the Governor to advise the Commissioner in the formulation of rules and regulations and their revision from time to time. 624 QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. Eugene L. Lezinsky: We are in favor of the Commissioner of Labor being given the power to make rules and regulations to cover accident prevention" and proper sanitation. Although we recognize the great difficul- ties involved, we believe such power of the Commissioner to be in line with modern standards. Benjamin C. Marsh: I believe the Commissioner of Labor should be given power *i'j make rules and regulations to cover accident prevention and proper sanitation, with the proviso that the minimum requirements should be determined by State legislation. There should be a board of technical experts appointed by the Governor to advise the Commissioner. Mrs. Frederick Nathan: I believe, emphatically, that the Commissioner of Labor should be given the power to make rules and regulations to cover accident prevention and proper sanitation in different industries. It is not necessary to have i paid board of technical experts to advise the Commissioner. Expert advice can always be had. Jacob Panken: The Commissioner should have the power to make rules and regulations, but such rules and regulations shall be submitted to the Court of Appeals of the State to be passed upon immediately after the rules and regulations are made, so that the legality and constitutionality of same may be determined forthwith. E. A. Quarles: The Commissioner of Labor should be empowered to make rules and regulations by and with the consent and advice of a board of technical experts appointed by the Governor. The Commissioner only, however, should be clothed with authority to initiate rules and regulations. QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. 625 Dr. Delancey Rochester: I think the Commissioner of Labor should be given the power to make rules and regulations to cover accident prevention and proper sanitation, and there should be a board of technical experts ap- pointed by the Governor to advise the Commissioner in the forma- tion of rules and regulations and their revision. P. Tecumseh Sherman: The Commissioner of Labor should not be given the power to make rules and regulations to cover accident prevention and proper sanitation in different industries. There should be a board of tech- nical experts appointed by the Governor to advise the Commissioner in the formulation of rules and regulations, those rules to be amended solely upon motion of the Commissioner of Labor. F. S. Tomlin: I am of the opinion the Commissioner of Labor should be given power to make rules and regulations covering accident prevention and proper sanitation. I do not think there should be a board of technical experts appointed to advise the Commissioner in the formulation of these rules and regulations and their revision. The Commissioner should have authority to consult with experts if he chooses, and they should be paid by the State. Charles Yates and Edward V. Wood: The Commissioner of Labor should be given the power to make rules and regulations to cover accident prevention and proper sanitation. There should be a board of technical experts ap- pointed by the Governor to advise the Commissioner in the formu- lation of these rules and regulations and their revision from time to time. PENALTIES FOR VIOLATION OF LAW. Robert W. DeForest: I think if one or more courts were set aside for the enforcement of the Labor Law, the Tenement Law and the like, so that the 626 QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. trial judge would be thoroughly familiar with this specialty. of law, enforcement would be far more effective. Herman Grossman: Absolute power should be given the Commissioner of Labor in order to enforce the law. I would recommend a heavy fine, im- prisonment, or both, as measures to bring about a more speedy and effective punishment for violations of the provisions of the Labor Law. A. 8. Haight: If an employer neglects his employees, shut his factory until he does as required. Joseph Johnson: Power should be given the Commissioner of Labor to close a factory. Make violation a misdemeanor and get prison sentences as well as penalties. Mrs. Florence Kelley: Power should be given to the Commissioner of Labor for sum- mary enforcement of the provisions of the Labor Law by closing the establishment whenever, in his opinion, persistent violation of the law threatens life or limb of employees. Dr. 8. Adolphus Knopf: The Commissioner of Labor should be given power for the pub- lication or placarding of violations until they are removed. Benjamin C. Marsh: Any person attempting to prevent the speedy and effective pun- ishment for violations of provisions of the Labor Law should be guilty of a misdemeanor. The prosecuting officers should have a little more nerve, while magistrates and judges who fail to enforce the law should be made liable thereby to removal. QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. 627 Mrs. Frederick Nathan: The Commissioner of Labor should be given power to force eviction from premises until the law can be complied with. Jacob PanJcen: If punishment is to be meted out, it should be severe if it is to have any effect at nil. I believe that it is possible to grade the violations in such a manner that some shall be made felonious, while others are ordinary misdemeanors. Dr. Delancey Rochester: Summary power to enforce the Labor Law should be given to the Commissioner. P. Tecumseh Sherman: The Commissioner of Labor should be given power to enjoin for violation of regulations. In order to bring about a more speedy and effective punishment for violation of the provisions of the Labor Law, I would recommend that magistrates be deprived of the power to suspend judgment for fines and to dismiss for compliance with the law after prosecution has been begun. Charles Yates and Edward V. Wood: The Commissioner of Labor should be made the prosecuting authority rather than shift responsibility to an officer, board or commission having charge of the work. In order to bring about more speedy and effective punishment for violations of the Labor Law, more competent and intelligent inspection should be had, employers not to be notified when inspection is to be made. REGISTRATION AND LICENSING OF FACTORIES. Robert W. DeForest: There should be a compulsory system of registration of all fac- tories and manufacturing establishments in the State. 628 QUESTIONNAIKE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. Frederick L. Hoffman: I am strongly in favor of a compulsory system of registration of all factories. This goes to the root of the whole problem of effective and' complete factory supervision, and industrial inspec- tion, exclusive of the supervision and control of manufacturing in tenement houses and the bakeries and confectionery establish- ments carried on therein. The suggestion that plans be filed showing the location of machinery, partitions, etc., and 1 such plans be approved before any new factory or manufacturing establishment is operated, is an excellent one. This is in entire conformity to the principle long since adopted by several Continental European States, and to which is largely due thie fact that modern factory construction on the Continent is, generally speaking, of a very high order. The same principle which applies to tenement 'and other building con- struction applies with even greater force to factory construction, and it is not going too far to say that many old-ime evils have been reproduced in modern plants by a simple disregard of well- known elements of safety and sanitation. I cannot make my recommend'aition too emphatic that the principle of previous official approval of plans for factory construction should be embodied in any new factory legislation, ensacted by the State of New York. I favor the requirement of a license for all factories 1 and manu- facturing establishments, and would suggest that such a license should be made revokable in the event of non-compliance with the factory and sanitary laws. I would not favor any exceptions what- soever, except, of course, that as a disease of the masses; and lastly, create a Federal Depart- ment of Health, the head of which should have a seat in tin- cabin et. QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. 645 Benjamin C. Marsh: Every possible safeguard for the workers in unsafe occupations should be provided, and the use of any material which is poisonous should be prohibited. I favor compulsory physical examination of employees in dan- gerous industries. Physicians can co-operate to bring about a more thorough knowledge of the prevalence and extent of occu- pational poisoning or diseases and the method of combating them by discussion and publicity. (2) Better lighting of rooms should be secured, too long hours of work should be prohibited, adequate wages should be paid. Industrial consumption, like tenement consumption is chiefly a disease of darkness, overwork and inanition and bad air ta:d only secondarily a disease of the lungs. E. A. Quarles: These questions could all be worked out by a Division of Medical Inspection. Dr. Delancey Rochester: To check occupational poisonings and diseases I would recom- mend proper ventilation and the use of proper respirators, and when the poisoning is absorbed through the skin, the compulsory cleansing of the hands and covering them with proper gloves. The careful examination by competent medical men of those employed in dangerous industries should be made compulsory, at least four times a year. Physicians can co-operate to bring about a more thorough knowledge of the prevalence and extent of occupational poisoning and diseases and the method of combating them, by talks to em- ployers and employees illustrated by lantern slides and other materials. Of all those who die between the ages of 15 and 45, one-third die of pulmonary tuberculosis. Consumption is much more preval- ent with those who work indoors than with those engaged in out- door occupations; it is especially prevalent in dusty occupations. 640 QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. P. Tecumseh Sherman: I am not in favor of compulsory physical examination of em- ployees in dangerous industries, but I do favor such examination in unsanitary industries. Physicians can co-operate in bringing about a more thorough knowledge of the prevalence and extent of occupational poisoning or diseases and the method of combating them, by reporting cases that come under their observation. To check industrial consumption, I would recommend that the same should be investigated and left to the Board of Medical Advisers Charles Yates and Edward V. Wood: Expert advice should be had as to the extent of occupational poisonings and diseases in the State of New York, and as to what measures should be recommended to check such poisonings and diseases. I favor compulsory physical examination of employees in dan- gerous industries. Let the physicans say how they can co-operate to bring about a more thorough knowledge of the prevalence and extent of occupational poisoning or diseases and the method of combating them. Cases of industrial consumption are too many to enumerate. EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN INDUSTRY. Dr. George W. Goler: The employment of girls under 16 years of age should be pro- hibited in all industries. The employment of women should be prohibited in these industries requiring speeding-up, heavy manual labor, and in such further industries as physical examination shall show to be undesirable for the employment of women. The employment of males under 16 years of age should be pro- hibited. If the physical examination of all persons is undertaken at the outset of their employment, there will be no physically unfit children in employment. QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. 647 Employment of any pregnant woman should be prohibited, and no woman with a child under a year old should be permitted to enter into factory employment. All women in pregnancy and with children under a year old should be pensioned during that period. Herman Grossman: Children under 16 years should not be permitted to work in any factory regardless of sex. Children that are unfit should not be employed. I am opposed to compulsory physical examination. I don't think any child would accept a position unless he knew he could do the work. A. 8. Haight: There should be as stringent a compulsory physical examination as possible of children periodically up to 18 years of age in all industries. Mrs. Florence Kelley: The employment of girls under the age of 16 years should be prohibited in all those occupations in which it is already for- bidden and also in stores, offices, on the stage and in the manu- facture of tobacco and all tther substances known to be injurious to the immature physique. By reason of the nervous strain which it entails, employment of girls under the age of 21 jears should be prohibited in the tele- phone service and in all gainful occupations after 6 P. M. The employment of women should be prohibited in and about mines, and in all gainful occupations after 6 p. M. The employment of males under 16 years of age should be for- bidden in all these occupations in which it is already prohibited, and in all other occupations now generally recognized as dan- gerous to health or morals. This enumeration should, however, be made specific and transferred from the Penal Code to the Labor Law, to be enforced by the State Department of Labor. 648 QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. The employment of males under 21 years of age should be prohibited ill all running of elevators, in the delivery of telegrams and messages in the service of telegraph and messenger com- panies, on the same grounds on which such employment is now prohibited between the hours of 10 P. M. and 5 A. M. Every argument for such prohibition for the shorter period applies for the whole 24 hours, with the single exception of the loss of sleep through work at night which is obviously already covered by the statute. Benjamin C. Marsh: The employment of girls, both under 16 years of age and 21 years, and of women, should be prohibited in all indusiries in which their employment means a reducing of wages below what would be paid to the men for the same grade and amount of work, and in all industries in which their physical strength is unduly taxed, especially in all cases where there is night work. The employment of males should be prohibited as messenger boys, pool room attendants, etc., also in industries where their strength would be unduly taxed. The employment of physically unfit children should be pro- hibited by law and there should be compulsory examination of of all children under 18 periodically in all industries. Women should not be permitted to work in factories at least three weeks before and three weeks after childbirth. Mrs. Frederick Nathan: The employment of girls should be prohibited in stores and factories. The employment of women should be prohibited where the work is so severe that it is a strain on the constitution. Physicially unfit childien should not be permitted to work. E. A. Quarles: There should be compulsory physical examination of children periodically up to 18 years of age, in all industries. QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. 649 Dr. Delancey Rochester: It would be better that no one, male or female, should be em- ployed in factories of any sort under the age of 18 years; that the employment of all under 16 years should be absolutely pro- hibited. P. Teciimseh Sherman: Questions as to what industries the employment of women and girls, and males, should be prohibited, should be left to the Board of Medical Advisers. To prevent the employment of physically unfit children I would recommend that the Factory Inspectors be given power to require the discharge of minors from employment for which they are unfitted, subject to reversal by the Board of Health. The employment of women immediately before and after child- birth should be prohibited by imposing a fine upon the employer, superintendent or foreman, who knowingly employs such women. Charles Yates and E. V. Wood: The employment of girls should be prohibited in all industries. HOURS OF LABOR. J. B. Callacy: One hour lunch period should be made mandatory. S. N. Dix: The one hour lunch period should not be made mandatory. Herman Grossman: Eight hours a day for women and children should be the stand- ard. Seven days a week labor can be prevented in all industries by enforcing a law to that effect. It also depends on the labor organizations to prohibit the members working seven days. Fe- male minors or male minors between the ages of 16 and 1.8 should absolutely not be permitted to work more than ten hours. They 650 QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. should not be permitted to work more than eight hours. Male minors between 16 and 18 should not be permitted to work after 10 P. M. or before 6 A. M. It would be enough if they have to work till 8 o'clock, but they should not start before 8 A. M. A one-hour-lunch period should positively be made mandatory. This will give employees a chance to take a walk, because a half an hour passes before they have time to finish their lunch. Dr. George W. Goler: One hour lunch period should be made mandatory. No woman or child should be permitted to work more than eight hours. Seven days' labor in the week can be prevented by stopping it. No minor of either sex should be permitted to work more than eight hours, nor should they be permitted to work after 5 P. M. or before 3 A. M. A. S. Haight: Female minors or male minors between the ages of 16 and 18 years should be permitted to work more than ten hours if well and strong, and they so desire. This also applies to male minors 16 and 18 working after 10 P. M. or before 6 A. M. A one-hour- lunch period should be made mandatory. H. E. Hessler: One hour lunch period should be made mandatory. Mrs. Florence Kelley: In the interests of uniformity among employees and employ- ments, we recommend establishing the eight hour day for children in all occupations, with 8 A. M. as the opening and 5 P. M. as the closing hour. We recommend aboliskmg the Christmas exemption for girls over 16 years of age in stores in December, by which they now work unlimited hours during eight days, and extending uniform pro- visions and uniform inspection throughout the first, second and third class cities. There is no more reason for variety in treat- ment of mercantile employees than of workers in manufacture. The great need is for simplicity and uniformity. QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. 651 We recommend making the hours of labor uniform for women and minors. We recommend establishing a uniform closing hour for the work of women and minors in manufacture, commerce, hotels, offices, telephone service, bakeries, restaurants and laundries. The working-day for women and minors should not exceed ten hours in any case; the working week should be limited to 54 hours with the option of nine hours on six days or ten hours on five days and four hours on Saturdays. This, however, is merely an immediate step on the way towards a working week of 48 hours and a working-day of eight hours for women and minors. The work of women and minors should be limited to six days in the week. In the interest of uniformity, the enforcement of all provisions with regard to labor on Sunday should be lodged with tho State Department of Labor not, as at present, with the local police. The most easily enforced law on the statute books of New York State with regard to the hours of labor is that which prescribes that children under the age of 16 years shall not be employed in manufacture before 8 A. M. or after 5 p. M. Every person con- cerned knows when this law is violated, children, employers, parents, fellow-employees, passers-by in the streets. For this reason it is of the greatest possible value to the children, being almost self-enforcing. Other laws governing working hours of women and minors and children are enforcible just in proportion as they approach this simplicity, uniformity and definiteness. The present law governing the working hours of adult women is composed of the bad, left-over remnants of former times sur- viving in the English factory acts, from which it is copied. It omits the good points which are found in the English textile acts, i. e., the definite limit of the working week to six days and of the working-day to ten hours and the definite 'opening and closing hours ; and the posting of the daily working periods. The present New York law for women is non-enforcible and illusory, and therefore demoralizing to every one concerned. Because it permits working-days of varying lengths nominally for the purpose of making a shorter working-day on one day of 05*2 QucsnomcAntB ISSUED BY COMMISSION. the week, it would be necessary, in order to convict an ei iployer of violating the law, to have an inspector present watching a par- ticular worker throughout an entire week. For facility of enforcement, the presence of women and minors in a workroom at times other than those posted as their working periods should be forbidden, and should be made prima facie evidence of illegal employment. This should apply to all work- places, not merely to some of tfiem as at present. Since limitation of working hours of women and minors is established in the interest of the health of women and all minors, it should be maintained without seasonal interruptions. If the nature of the work calls for night work or irregular or overtime work, men should be employed. Night work and overtime should be the monopoly of rrtn who are better able to protect their interests in regard to it than either women or children, because men can both vote and expedite legis- lation for their protection, and also organize and thus enforce their demands. Women and minors can do neither and are, there- fore, in need of clear, definite, rigid time limits with uniform opening and closing hours, Sunday rest, night rest, posting of hours, and acceptance of their presence on the premises at times not included in the posted hours as evidence of illegal employment. The mercantile employees' law should be extended to apply to the telephone service in which a large proportion of employees are minors who, at present have no restrictions upon their work at night. Seven days labor can be limited in all industries by prohibiting it and attaching heavy penalties for violation of the law. Con- tinuing process need not mean continuing employment of ny one person. Relay work can be arranged. Females at any age should not be allowed to work more than ten hours in any one day. Male minors, between 16 and 18 years of age should not be permitted to work more hours in one day than will permit their regular attendance at a continuation school. The same opinion applies as in the case of minors between 16 and 18 years of age. QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. 653 A one 'hour lunch period should be made mandatory in the in- terest of the health of the employee, and also in the interest of the enforcement of the limit upon the working hours. Variations in the length of the lunch hour are one of the most availabc means of violating the statute fixing the length of the working-day. Dr. 8. Adolphus Knopf: One hour for lunch should be made mandatory. An opportunity should be given to indoor laborers to rest or enjoy themselves in the open air. Benjamin C. Marsh: I would recommend that the existing laws relating co th^ num- ber of hours per day or week that women or children tre per- mitted to work be changed by the enactment of the so-called 54- hour bill by the next session of the Legislature. Seven days a week labor can be prevented by making it a felony. Female minors or male minors between the ages of 16 fcnd 18 years should not be permitted to work more than ten hours, and male minors between 16 and 18 should not be permitted to work after 10 p. M. or before 6 A. M. The number of hours of work per day or week should be limited in the case of male minors be- tween the ages of 18 and 21 years. A one hour lunch period need not necessarily be made mandatory if the total number of hours of work is reduced to eight or nine. Mrs. Frederick Nathan: I would recommend at present 54 hours a week for women or children to work, looking toward an ultimate ideal of 44 hours a week. Seven days in the week industry can be prevented by hav- ing shifts when necessary. Male minors between 16 and 18 should not be permitted to work after 10 p. M. or before 6 A. M. The number of hours of work per day or week should be limited in the case of male minors between the ages of 18 and 21 years. A one hour lunch period should not be made mandatory. 654 QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. Jacob Pariken: Xo minors between the ages of 16 and 18 should work more than eight hours a day, nor should they be permitted to work be- tween 8 P. M. and 7 A. M. Minors between 18 and 21 should not be permitted to work more than ten hours a day, and not be per- mitted to work at all between 10 P. M. and 6 A. M. A one hour lunch period should be made mandatory. The law permitting children between 14 and 16 to work certain hours of the day should be repealed, and no minors under 16 should be permitted to work under any circumstances or at any time. The provision in the law suspending the law regarding female workers between December 15 and January 1st with re- gard to the employment of children of whatever age, should be repealed. E. A. Quarles: Female minors or male workers between the ages of 16 and 18 years should never under any circumstances be permitted to work more than ten hours, nor should male minors between 16 and 18 ever be permitted to work after 10 p. M. or before 6 A. M. The number of hours of work per day or week should be limited in the case of male minors between the ages of 18 and 21 years. A one hour lunch period should be mandatory. Dr. Delancey Rochester: Eight hours of actual labor is all that should be demanded of any male or female, and sufficient shift should be used as are necessary in those occupations in which work has to be mairtained for a longer period. A one hour lunch period should be made mandatory. P. Tecumseh Sherman: I would recommend that the law relating to the number of hours per day or week that women or children should be per- mitted to work be changed to be more elastic so that it will pro- hibit only what is in fact injurious to health. QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. 655 Seven day labor cannot be prevented in all industries. As to allowing males between 16 and 18 years of age to work more than ten hours, I would say that males over 16 should be left alone. As to females, that should be left to the Board of Medical Advisors. Male minors between 16 and 18 should surely be per- mitted to work after 10 p. M. and before 6 A. M. under conditions not injurious to health. The number of hours of work per day or week in the case of male minors between the ages of 18 and 21 years should not be limited. Such laws are sentimental nullities. F. S. Tomlin: ]STo man, woman or child should, under any circumstances, work more than 48 hours a week. There is no occasion for any person to work seven days per week. Male minors between 16 and 18 should not be permitted to work after 6 p. M. nor before 7 A. M. If there is an eight-hour day, each occupation should arrange its own time for lunch. Charles Yates and Edward V. Wood: I would recommend that working hours should be eight hours for all. Seven days in a week labor can be prevented in all in- dustries by making a law against it and then enforcing it, with absolute protection to the person refusing to work the seventh consecutive day. Female minors or male minors between the ages of 16 and 18 years should not under any circumstances be per- mitted to work more than 48 hours a week. Male minors between 16 and 18 should not be permitted to work after 10 p. M. or before 6 A. M., nor over eight hours between 6 A. M. and 10 p. M. A one hour lunch period should be made mandatory. BAKEKIES. /. B. Callacy: The use of cellars for bakeries should be prohibited because a cellar cannot get enough air and natural light. Destroy all exist- 650 QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. ing cellar bakeries. In the future, bakeries are to be built on the main floor of the building. It is not necessary that existing bakeries in which the distance between the floor and ceiling is less than nine feet be called un- lawful. They can remain the way they are until the law is passed which will call for the destruction of all bakeries in cellars. There should be a compulsory physical examination made periodi- cally of employees in bakeries. 8. M. Dix: Establish standards and hold to compliance. Dr. George W. Goler: Cellar bakeries should be eliminated and employees required to furnish certificate of fitness from a certified medical examiner and not from just a doctor. Bakeries should be licensed. Herman Grossman: As to those cellars used for bakeries which are in existence already, we must see that all the requirements of the law are lived up to, but in the future, bakeries in cellars should not bo permitted. Existing bakeries in which the distance between the floor and ceiling is less than nine feet should positively be declared unlaw- ful. Existing bakeries, the floors of which are of a depth greater than 4 ft. 6 in. below the street or sidewalk level adjacent to the building, should be prohibited. Employees in bakeries should be required to furnish a medical certificate of fitness. Bakeries should be referred to the Health Department, and if they are good, clean and wholesome places, should be given a license. I am absolutely against allowing future bakeries to be opened in cellars. All bakeries should positively be licensed. A. S. Haight: The use of cellars for bakeries should be prohibited. Bakeries should be in clean, wholesome quarters always. QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. 657 H. E, Hessler: The use of cellars for bakeries should be prohibited. Existing bakeries in which the distance between the floor and ceiling is less than nine feet should be declared unlawful. Employees in bak- eries should be required to furnish a medical certificate of fitness and there should be a compulsory physical examination made periodically of employees in bakeries. Joseph Johnson: In the case of bakeries already in existence, the use of cellars therefor need not necessiirily be prohibited if clean, and aa to future bakeries, the use of cellars need not be prohibited. The standard of ventilation in cellar or basement bakeries should be sufficient to be wholesome. If the ceiling is fireproof, existing bakeries in which the dis- tance between the floor and ceiling is less than nine feet need not be declared unlawful. Existing bakeries, the floors of which are of a depth greater than -i ft. 6 in. below the street or sidewalk level adjacent to the building, should not necessarily be prohibited. Employees in bakeries should be required to furnish a medical certificate of fitness and there should be a compulsory physical examination made periodically of employees in bakeries. Mrs. Florence Kelley: The use of cellars for bakeries should be prohibited in the in- terest of (a) the employees, of (b) the consumers, of (c) the tenants for whom the additional heat in the tenements is an addi- tional burden in the summer and of (d) the reduction of con- gestion of the population. It should be prohibited after a fixed, early, future date for bakeries already in existence, and immedi- ately for all new bakeries. Employees in bakeries should be required to furnish a medical certificate of fitness at frequent intervals in their own interest and that of the consumers. Benjamin C. Marsh: Within a year of the date of bill prohibiting such use, cellars for bakeries should be forbidden. 658 QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. The standard of ventilation in existing cellar or basement bakeries should be the same as in factories. Existing bakeries in which the distance between the floor and ceiling is less than nine feet need not necessarily be declared unlawful, if within c year of the date of bill prohibiting their use, the law is complied with. Existing bakeries the floors of which are of a depth greater than 4 ft. 6 in. below the street or sidewalk level adjacent to the build- ing, should be prohibited. A medical certificate of fitness should be required of all employees in bakeries, and there should be a compulsory physical examination periodically of employees in bakeries. All bakeries should be licensed. Mrs. Frederick Nathan: The use of cellars for bakeries should be prohibited both as to existing bakeries and future ones. Existing bakeries in which the distance between the floor and ceiling is less than nine feet should be declared unlawful. Existing bakeries the floors of which are of a depth greater than 4 ft. 6 in. below the street or sidewalk level adjacent to the building, should be prohibited. Employees in bakeries should be required to furnish a medical certificate of fitness, and there should be a compulsory physical examination made periodically of employees in bakeries. All bakeries should be licensed. A. E. Quarles: The use of cellars for bakeries should be prohibited both as to existing bakeries and future ones. Existing bakeries ii* which the distance between the floor and ceiling is less than nine feet should be declared unlawful. Existing bakeries, the floors of which are of a depth greater than 4 ft. 6 in. below the street or sidewalk level adjacent to the building, should be prohibited. Employees in bakeries should be required to furnish a medical certificate of fitness, and there should be a compulsory physical examination made periodically of employees in bakeries. All bakeries should be licensed. QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. G59 Dr. Delanccy Rochester: The use of cellars for bakeries should be prohibited as to exist- ing bakeries and also as to future bakeries. Existing bakeries in which the distance between the floor and ceiling is less than nine feet should be declared unlawful. Existing bakeries the floors of which are of a depth greater than 4 ft. 6 in. below the street or sidewalk level adjacent to the building, should be prohibited. Em- ployees in bakeries should be required to furnish a medical certifi- cate of fitness, and there should be a compulsory physical exami- nation made periodically of employees in bakeries. All bakeries should be licensed. P. Tccumseli Sherman: The use of cellars in existing bakeries should not be prohibited,* but in future bakeries they should be, except where connected with shops, etc., which shops are above the basement. What stand- ard of ventilation should be made mandatory in existing cellar or basement bakeries should be left to the Board of Medical Ad- visers with concurrent power in the Board of Health. With them should also be left the question as to whether existing bakeries in which the distance between the floor and ceiling is less than nine feet should be declared unlawful, whether existing bakeries, the floors of which are of a depth greater than 4 ft. 6 in. below the street or sidewalk level adjacent to the building, should be prohibited, whether employees in bakeries should be required to furnish a medical certificate of fitness, whether there should be a compulsory physical examination periodically of employees in bakeries, and what should be the minimum requirements of ventila- tion, light, height of coiling, distance below street level in base- ment bakeries to be opened in the future. All bakeries should be licensed. F. 8. Tomlin: The prohibition of existing or future cellar bakeries should be left to the discretion of the Commissioner of Labor, as also the standard of ventilation in such bakeries, the question whether 660 QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. existing bakeries in which the distance between the floor tmd ceil- ing is less than nine feet should be declared unlawful, and whether existing bakeries, the floors of which are of a depth greater than 4 ft. 6 in. below the street or sidewalk level adjacent to the building should be prohibited, and whether bakery employees should be required to furnish a medical certificate of fitness, and there should be a compulsory physical examination made periodi- cally of employees in bakeries. All bakeries should be licensed. Charles Yates and Edward V. Wood: The use of cellars for bakeries should be prohibited as to exist- ing and future bakeries. Existing bakeries in which the distance between the floor and ceiling is less than nine feet should be declared unlawful, and bakeries the floors of which are of a depth greater than 4 ft. 6 in. below the street or sidewalk level adjacent to the building, should be prohibited. Employees in bakeries should be required to furnish a medical certificate of fitness, and there should be a compulsory physical examination made period- ically of employees in bakeries. All bakeries should be licensed. FIRE PREVENTION, FIRE-ESCAPE FACILITIES AND BUILDING CONSTRUCTION. Edward F. Croker: It is absolutely necessary for the proper protection of employees to have mandatory legislation enacted for such fire drills as may be necessary, as the various employers will not go to the small expense and trouble for the purpose of protecting their employees unless compelled to do so. It is almost impossible to lay down an absolute rule to govern all buildings, as they vary as to their exits and means of escape, etc., but there should be a competent person employed to be on duty continuously during working hours for the purpose of seeing that all fire appliances are in proper working order, stairs, hall- waye, etc., properly lighted, and that no rubbish or other ma- terials likely to cause fire is allowed to accumulate, and that all QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. 661 other matters such as unprotected lights, gas and heating irons, smoking, etc., are not allowed, and that an electric bell system is established throughout the building for the purpose of drilling one or more floors at the same time. The man above described should be in uniform and clothed to a certain extent with some authority. His duty should also be to drill the various employees from time to time and organize the male employees into various fire brigades and instruct them how to properly use the various fire appliances in case of fire. Gherardi Davis: Smoking in any part of a factory during working hours should hardly be made a crime. If you cannot stop it by discipline, you cannot stop it at all. The use of wooden or non-fireproof parti- tions in any part of a factory should not necessarily be prohibited. The spread of fire because of inflammable material used can be prevented by putting rubbish in metal cans. Automatic sprinklers should be installed. Exits to fire-escapes need not be painted red. It would be useless. The sashes need not be of metal. Change in the interior of manufacturing establishments, if not in violation of law, should be permitted without filing and approving of plans. Fire drills should be made mandatory once a week at first, follow- ing public school drills. I doubt whether it would be practicable to compel the installation of the so-called co-operative drill for the employees of different manufacturing establishments in the same building. The installation of automatic fire sprinklers should be made mandatory in all manufacturing establishments where in- flammable materials are used. The mandatory requirement of automatic sprinklers should depend upon the character of the industry but not upon the number of persons employed or the distance of the establishment above the street level, or upon the height of the building in which the establishment is located. An auxiliary fire-alarm system should be mandatory in all factories and manufacturing establishments. It should be installed in each loft independently. Such system communicating direct with fire headquarters would probably not be practical and would tend to confuse the Department. Manufacturing above a certain number of stories should be prohibited. I consider this the most important of all your questions. My own idea is that 662 QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. 1. The number of people employed on a floor in manufactur- ing establishments should be reduced as you go up. 2. There should not be allowed any manufacturing of inflam- mable materials to be carried on above 100 feet and if inflammable materials are used in the lower stories, then the number of people employed above them should be very small. 3. I do not believe you can empty ten stories of a twenty-story building with a hot, smoky fire on the ninth floor, no matter how many means of exit you have in the building. The capacity of a staircase is small. The more turns it has, the smaller its capacity, because the movement is slow. I do not believe you can keep smoke out of the stairway?, and a very little smoke makes a panic. For these reasons it is my opinion that the employment of people in manufacturing establishments where inflammable material is used should not be allov/ed above the eighth or ninth story, and in any event, the number of people should be greatly reduced as you go up in the stories, and that no manufacturing of any kind should be allowed in a building above eight or nine stories in height if any inflammable materials are used in the building. The locking of doors, if wilful, should be made a felony. The law should absolutely prohibit the use of doors or shutters opening inwardly that lead to exits or fire-escapes. It is hardly necessary that outside fire-escapes be constructed at or about the floor level. I do not see how it is possible to have a standard of construction for outside fire-escapes. It is a very difficult question to ?ay what kind of ladders should extend from the lowest balcony to the ground, as it depends in part on the character of the building and the use of the store floor. The number of people permitted to work in a factory should depend upon the number and kind of exits provided. I should think it would be useless to have every manufacturing establishment post a card showing the maxi- mum number of people permitted to work in it. I am opposed to the bureaucracy involved in licensing factories and loft buildings. You will break down all supervision if you try too much. Let such things be regulated by the general build- ing law. If the use is changed, the building must be changed. QUESTIONNAIBE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. 663 Existing stairways and elevator shafts need not always be en- closed in fireproof walla. In existing buildings 50 x 80 feet, fire walls should be ordered installed. They are absolutely necessary. There should be no 50 ft. open lofts. Fire towers should be or- dered in all existing buildings wider than 25 ft. and over 100 ft. high, but I doubt their efficacy in tall buildings. To secure ade- quate fire-escape exits, I should first limit the height of buildings. Robert W. DeForest: Some prohibition should be placed on the height above the ground at which a large number of employees might be congre- gated and where inflammable material might exist in .icy such amounts as to cause a repetition of the Triangle fire. I doubt if any form of fire-escape can be an adequate exit for, say, a hundred employees of average intelligence from the eighth, ninth, or tenth story of a building in case of an alarm of fire. In any case all such factories should have outside fire-escapes or other equivalent in the the way of outside stairways with a standard of construction not less than that required by the Tenement law. Such structural changes in existing buildings, however de- sirable, could not practically be obtained and the loss might be out of all proportion to the gain. When I say loss I do not merely refer to the cost of construction. Such drastic require- ments might easily close many factories, throw people out of em- ployment and prove a great hardship to the workers. . M. Dix: Smoking during working hours should be made a crime in any part of a factory in cities of the first and second class. Wooden or non-fireproof partitions should be prohibited. The installation of automatic sprinklers should not be made mandatory in all fac- tories. The prohibition of manufacturing above a certain number of stories depends upon the construction of the building and char- acter of the business. Doors or shutters opening inwardly that lead to exits or fire-escapes should be absolutely prohibited. Out- ride fire-escapes should be constructed at or about the floor level 664 QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. of the factory. There should be a standard of construction of outside fire-escapes. The number of people permitted to work in a factory should be dependent upon the number and the kind of exits provided. Such a provision should be made specific, based on the time required to get the employees out of the build- ing. Every manufacturing establishment should have a card posted showing the maximum number of people permitted to work there. It seems reasonable that factories and loft buildings should be licensed for certain designated occupations, and that any change should be prohibited unless expressly authorized. Stairways winding around elevator shafts need not be removed if of fire- proof construction. The enclosing of elevator shafts and stairways in fireproof walls and the compulsory installation of fire walls, seem less fair than to restrict the use of inadequately protected property. J. W. Ferguson: It should be compulsory for every manufacturing concern hav- ing over 25 employees above the third floor in a building to have a fire drill under the supervision of proper monitors at least once a month. The utility and safety of the present fire-escapes could be in- creased by substituting metal or metal covered sash glazed with wire glass for the ordinary wooden sash glazed with plain ^lass. The upper section of the sash should be securely fastened which would prevent the smoke or flames reaching the fire-escape in case the window was opened at the top. The lower section of the sash coni-1 be hung with weights if necessary, but preferably they should be closed. Metal sash and wire glass should be placed in all windows open- ing onto the fire-escape or within 6 ft. of the same. It is hardly necessary in existing buildings to change the wooden frame in which the sash is placed as they could not be destroyed in the five or ten minutes which would be necessary for the people to get out of the building. New buildings should have metal frames as well as metal sash where they are adjacent to or open onto the fire-escapes. Qn.si [oNNAiRK ISSUED BY COMMISSION. 665 The stairways in new buildings of more than four stories should have the stairs in a fireproof enclosure, independent of nri,l in no n;i v connected with the elevator. The only opening to the stairs should bo from the main hallway or the loft, as noted on the enclosed sketch. The door to the stairway shaft, as well as that to the elevator .-tui ft, should have metal-covered frames and the doors should be metal-covered with wire glass if any light is required. Where the building is large enough, the fire-escape should be uu-losed in a fireproof shaft inside of the building, access to which should be by means of a balcony with a doorway, the doors opening out onto the balcony and doors from the balcony to the fire-escape opening in. There should be no other communication to the shaft enclosing me fire-escapes. A good protection for existing buildings would be to utilize tne present stand pipe as a supply to sprinklers placed on all floors, each sprinkler head not to cover over 100 sq. ft. of area. This stand pipe should have a Siamese connection at the sidewalk, to which connection could be made from the fire engine. With this arrangement it would be possible for water pumped by the fire engine to be confined directly to the point where the fire ex- isted without jeopardizing the life of the fireman who would otherwise have to fight his way through the smoke to reach the fire with the ordinary hose. J. R. Freeman: Automatic sprinkler protection should be made mandatory in substantially all manufacturing establishments where stock of a combustible nature is worked or where the apparatus or furnishing of supplies present any large amount of combustible material, Mich, for example, as clothing factories, woodworking factories, paper box and other paperworking factories, electrical apparatus factories, food product factories, etc., for all rooms exceeding, say, 2,000 sq. ft. in area (and in many cases irrespective of the area), and including factories constructed of incombustible materials as well as those of slow-burning construction and those of quick-burn- ing construction. 666 QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. The other great proventative of loss of life and property by fire is an improved degree of order and neatness, enforced by frequent rigid inspections, under which all waste material and rubbish is removed before night to a safe locality outside the manufacturing rooms. J. P. Gray: Smoking should be absolutely forbidden in any part of a factory or manufacturing establishment during working hours, and a severe penalty should be made to apply where such practice prevails. I do not believe that any absolute rule in regard to the use of wooden or non-fireproof partitions in factories can be devised which will be feasible. I am of the opinion that this should be left to the discretion of the Inspection Department. The only way that the spread of fire where inflammable materi- als are used can be prevented, is by the operatives being properly drilled as to how to care for such fires when they occur. Fire extinguishers are used, but the fire pail is of the greatest benefit because of the fact that every man, woman and child knows what it is there for and how to use it. All exits should have some dis- tinguishing mark and this should be sufficiently plain to catch the eye of all persons in the room. I think it is immaterial whether the windows leading to the fire-escapes are glazed with wired glass or with plain glass. In any case, these windows should be so weighted that they can be easily raised, and inspection should be made often enough so as to know that they are in proper operating condition. In the average manufacturing establishment I do not believe it would be feasible to require all changes in the interior to be submitted to the Department for approval before being carried out. Such regulation would greatly interfere with manufacturing operations. It should be a subject of inspection. Fire drills of a varying degree should be required in all manu- facturing establishments, depending upon the class of manufactur- ing and upon the number of operatives employed. QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. 667 I believe it to be practicable to compel the installation of a so- called cooperative drill, where there are several manufacturing establishments in the same building. The owner of the building should be compelled to insist upon these drills and be held re- sponsible for his tenants. Separate and independent fire drills for each tenant would be valuable when such drills are confined to handling of the apparatus for the prevention of spreading of fires. For quick and efficient departure from a building, com- bined drills are necessary. For many years I have been firmly convinced that automatic sprinkler protection is an absolute necessity in all manufacturing establishments if loss of life by fire is to be prevented. The requirement for automatic sprinklers should not depend wholly upon the character of the industry nor upon the number of persons employed. It should be made mandatory in all manufacturing establishments where inflammable materials are used, or where operatives congregate in any number. Neither should it depend upon the height of the building, although possibly a one-story building might be omitted, but such buildings do not occur in our large cities. The question of an automatic fire alarm in manufacturing es- tablishments is one open to debate. Such systems easily get out of order, and unless a very complete system of supervision is devised they would be ineffective; further, unless the operatives were thoroughly drilled, they might tend to creat panics. Manufacturing should be prohibited above the tenth, story, pre- ferably above the eighth, principally because of difficulty of pro- viding a sufficient number of exits for operatives. Locked doors in manufacturing establishments should be abso- lutely forbidden and a severe penalty applied to same. It is a dangerous practice. The regulation of spacing of machinery is a most difficult prob- lem and should be left, in my opinion, to the judgment of the management of the Inspection Department. All doors and shutters on openings that lead to exits or fire- escapes should either open outwardly or be of the automatic slid- ing type. On openings into exit towers, a swinging fire door of any type is objectionable, in that, if opening outwardly into the 668 QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY COMMISSION. tower, it may swing into the faces of those coming down from above. The sliding door can be so protected at the sides by grill work that it can easily be slid back without any pressure from the opera- tives interfering with same. While outside fire-escapes would be most effective if constructed at about the floor level of the factory, in many cases this would hardly be feasible; hence would have to depend upon individual cases and be a subject of discretion upon the part of the manage- ment of the department. The number of people employed in a factory building should be dependent upon the number of fire exits provided. This should be left to the discretion of the responsible authority in each case. Licensing certain buildings for certain designated occupations would not be feasible. Stairways should not be permitted where they wind around elevators. All elevator shafts should be enclosed in fireproof wall 3. I do not think that it would be quite feasible to enclose all existing stairways in fireproof walls. They should be enclosed, as far as feasible, by partitions construsted of expanded metal, or wired elass and cement, with doorway at the bottom of the stairways. With automatic sprinkler protection, fire walls would be wholly unnecessary in buildings of the sizes mentioned in the question. The need of fire towers in existing buildings depends largely upon circumstances and must be left to the judgment of the rp.poiL*iblo authority in each case. In all new buildings, at least two efficient methods of fire exit should be provided. Th'_' only efficient method of fire exit is through fireproof towers built specially for the purpose, and these towers should have no direct communication with the rooms. They could be constructed after the type of what is called the " Philadelphia stair tower." This tower is entered from each story by passing through a doorway outside the building and to an open platform and from thence into the tower. JJfnnnn , as I believe the most valuable service you can render the State at this time, is in connection with the solution of these funda- mental problems. 758 BBIEFS AND MEMORANDA. ACCIDENT PKEVENTION. JOHN CAJLDER, Manager, Remington Typewriter Company. (I) Some Facts About Accident: One of our authorities on industrial mortality in the United States has estimated that the deaths amongst adult male wage- earners alone, due to accidents, amount to 35,000 a year and that the non-fatal injuries of occupation cannot be much less than two millions additional. Such figures take no account of the many accidents to females and young persons and are based on data which is admittedly incomplete and below the mark. It is staggering to find that in a single year of peaceful in- dustry we kill and wound, without intent, more people than in several great military campaigns where disablement is deliberately pursued with all the engines of war which science can devise. From 25 years' experience in factories and the investigation of some thousands of accidents, I have found that for such casual- ties the responsibility is pretty evenly divided between indifferent employees and neglectful employers. I believe that factory accidents are due chiefly to the follow- ing causes: Ignorance; carelessness; unsuitable clothing; insufficient light- ing; dirty and obstructed workplaces; neglect of fire precautions; defects of machinery and structures; absence of safeguards ant} of safeworking supervision. Not all our accidents, however, are preventable and nothing is to be gained by blinking the fact. Many of them are purely fortuitous and accidental in the most literal sense, no blame being attachable to anyone. Yet when every allowance is made for inevitability, I am firmly convinced from a lengthy practical experience that at least one third of all our factory injuries can and ought to be prevented by legal, administrative and practical measures which I will en- deavor to describe and illustrate. BBIEFS AND MEMOBANDA. 759 At the outset let me say that this is chiefly a matter for experts with engineering training, though in the United States a large number of such men have yet to be educated, experienced in risks, hired and called upon to show results, not merely or even chiefly in the work of State factory inspection, but as part of the organ- ization in every factory where the upward trend in efficiency is allowed to permeate every function of the establishment. The aibove scientific and practical procedure applies to the whole program of factory matters referred to your Commission, but I can deal solely at this time with accident prevention. I direct your attention briefly to three aspects of this important matter, viz: (1) What the State Can Do. (2) What the Manufacturer Can Do. (3) What Some Manufacturers Are Doing. (1) What the State Can Do: (a) Because of our extensive Inter-State Commerce we need, as far as possible, Uniform State Safety Laws. Dangerous ma- chinery and other appliances used in the arts both new and second-hand is constantly moving over State boundaries, and such danger as is inherent in the machine itself, apart from its future application, should be provided for by its maker by stat- utory requirement. (b) The State safety laws should not only be uniform; they should also be definite and practical. At present the legal responsibility for safety under such laws - often copied unintelligently from foreign statutes or a mangled compromise emerging at the end of a political session is so tangled that it is sometimes hard for employer and inspector alike to know where they stand. (c) The remedy is simple. Prepare such statutes only under the best expert advice. Keep them non-partisan and take a step 760 BRIEFS AND MEMORANDA. forward which has long been needed, by removing every permis- sive clause from these statutes and making the employer and also the maker of machinery solely responsible for the guard- ing of all dangerous parts or appliances which they use or origi- nate, letting proved impracticability be the only defense for non- .bservance. (d) Do not attempt to enumerate in the statute all specific dangerous machines excepting of course elevators and common utilities in structures, in power generation and transmission. Such a catalogue is attempted in nearly every State statute we have, but it is always inconsistent and imperfect, and prevents progress in industrial safety. (e) Catalogue rather in the law the " dangerous mechanical elements " which are found on machinery and appliances. These are well known to engineers and less than a dozen in number and comprise the following: (1) All engaging toothed or other gears, rolls, drums and slides of every description on any machine. (2) The spaces between fixed and moving parts of any ma- chine, or between the latter and structures near it, leaving insuf- ficient working clearance in no case less than eighteen inches - for any person employed thereon or near it. (3) Pulleys and clutches. (4) Belts, bands and driving chains. (5) Flywheels and starting balance wheels. (6) Shafting and spindles and all couplings or projections thereon or upon reciprocating or other moving parts of machines. (7) Counter-weights and balance gears and their suspensions. (8) The actual element on every machine which comes into contact with the work and cuts, shears or otherwise operates upon BRIEFS AND MEMORANDA. 761 the latter, for instance the circular saw blade on the saw mill, the punch and die in the press, the revolving cutter in the milling machine, etc., etc. Insist that these elements be always guarded where found " unless they are of such form and in such position as to be equally safe to all as if guarded " and you will have, without listing thousands of machines, a working category of machinery risks. (f) These steps will relieve the factory inspectors entirely of their present impossible burden, viz ; their duty in so many dangerous cases to take the initiative and create the obligation on the employers part by serving notice to safeguard. No possible force of inspectors will make much progress in safety work unless the onus to protect the worker is placed fairly and squarely on the employer's shoulders and on those of the negligent maker of appliances. (g) At present the law practically invites the employer, in many cases of danger, to create risks freely and do nothing towards safeguarding until an inspector, who can only visit the plant once a year, happens to make a complaint or recommendation. Even then, if legal process results, it is a long drawn out one with a very doubtful issue. (h) This unbusinesslike procedure would be swept away at once if the obligation to safeguard rested upon the employer from the moment of starting a dangerous machine and at all times thereafter. Meanwhile, the inspector of factories, if he is an expert with a secure and honorable future in the service of the State, has ample scope for educational work especially amongst the owners of the small plants and for occasional punitive and disciplinary measures based on the clear obligation which the courts will respect and uphold. (i) In recent years this task of industrial betterment, owing to the wholly inadequate financial assistance 'afforded Labor Com- missioners, has been largely performed by our well-trained casualty 762 BRIEFS AND MEMORANDA. insurance inspectors, so far as their policy holders are concerned, and by the engineers and executives of many corporations who have given their experience freely to the public. (j) It is too soon yet to try to estimate the work of our strengthened and reorganized State Factory Department, which got into operation only this fall. All that has been done recently has been in the right direction. I believe that we should increase the number of engineering experts on the State staff and should seek to sever for all time the last possible connection of our Factory Department with political influence and patronage. Until this is done, it will not command the absolute respect and confidence of the employers and workmen. To sum up, what can the State do in the premises? (1) It can give New York a better, simpler, more scientific and effective safety law, and can promote uniform State action on this subject and on accident reporting, which is the real source of information as to what is actually transpiring in our factories. (2) It can place the safeguarding initiative and obligation fairly and squarely upon the men who create the accident risk, viz ; the employers and the machinery makers, and not on the in- spector as at present; the latter can never be other than an occa- sional skilled visitor, reporter and adviser, and he cannot be ubiquitous. (3) It can coordinate through its experts, the safeguarding of the best plants in the State these are our true safety museums and attempt an educational task, long overdue but not expensive, viz, the illustration by special bulletins, of the various trade risks and their practical remedies. (4) It can provide for compulsory registration of all existing factories and every new factory. I do not favor licensing such places except in fire protection, for accident risks are constantly changing. BRIEFS AND MEMOBANDA. 763 (2) What the Manufacturer Can Do: When we consider the history of factory legislation and admin- istration in this State and the nature of the financial and material provision for enforcement of the labor laws, we are not surprised that our manufacturers had difficulty in believing that serious observance of these statutes was expected by the Legislatures which enacted them and starved the department charged with their administration. In brief, what can the manufacturer do? (1) He can see that the principles of safeguarding and safe- working in industry are made as much a part of the education of young engineers at college and young foremen in the plants as are those of efficiency and conservation in other directions. This one duty conscientiously fulfilled is fraught with more good to the industrial community than all the statutes ever penned on the subject. With this provision naturally goes the progressive educa- tion of the workmen also. In other words, the State may give valuable help but it can never do the work, whereas the manu- facturer determined to have " safety " can get it without asking Society or " all-of-us " for any assistance whatever. (2) He can place the responsibility for the safeguarding of his plant upon the mechanical engineer, for the secret of repeated preventable accidents in any plant is an open one, viz ; that what- ever is permitted to be anybody's or everybody's business is in daily life, as we well know, nobody's business. Committees of safety may locate accident risks, but the design and installation of well-considered, consistent, durable safeguards need the close attention of a competent engineer. In a matter such as this, the attitude and action of the mechani- cal executives of a factory are all important, and give the key-note on " safety " to the whole plant. It is because such a source of betterment has a hundred chances to one over an inspector for preventing accident that I desire to see a compelling legal obligation constantly lying upon the em- 764 BRIEFS AND MEMORANDA. ployer such as has been so successful in the United Kingdom and in Europe. Lastly consider (3) What Some Manufacturers are Doing: Many manufacturers no longer desire to take any advantage of the numerous grave omissions in the text, obligations and ad- ministration of our present safety laws. Some are treating the subject as an ordinary engineering prob- lem in which they have set a far higher standard for themselves that the State, and are living up to it regardless of the lower requirements of the statutes. Others wish, but are unable to do likewise and art asking for advice and help from a ninadequately manned State Bureau. BRIEFS AND MEMORANDA. Y65 CLASSIFICATION OF OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES. DR. W. GILMAN THOMPSON, Cornell Medical School. METAL POISONING CASES occurring during the past 8 years (from 1903 to 1911) in the wards of Bellevue Hospital and the Out-Patient Department of the Medical Clinic of the Cornell University Medical College in New York City : Acute. Chronic. LKAD POISONING: Bellevue 23 164 Cornell . 3 48 Total . 26 212 Chronic Arsenic poisoning during the same period, 4 cases. Chronic Mercury poisoning during the same period, 3 cases. Chronic Chromic acid poisoning during the same period, 1 case. Chronic Brass poisoning during the same period, 12 cases. Submitted by PROF. GILMAN THOMPSON. TENTATIVE CLASSIFICATION, submitted by W. Oilman Thompson, M. D., Professor of Medicine in the Cornell University Medical College in New York City: Visiting Physician to the Bellevue Hospital, late Visiting Physician to the New York and Presbyterian Hospitals. NOTE. This classification is based upon the medical point of view. A. Occupations. B. Harmful Substances. C. Harmful Conditions. D. Diseases. 766 BRIEFS AND MEMORANDA. A. OCCUPATIONS. Workers in Hazardous Trades. I. Workers in Harmful Substances: 1. Workers in metals. 2. Workers in dusts. 3. Workers in gases, vapors and fumes. 4. Workers in infective materials (hides, anthrax, etc.). II. Workers Under Harmful Conditions: 1. Heat and moisture, 2. Excessive light. 3. Compressed air. 4. Confined air. 5. Confined positions, nerve strain and fatigue; the " Occupation Neuroses." 6. Eye and ear strain. B. HARMFUL SUBSTANCES: (1) Metals, (2) Dusts, (3) Gases, vapors and fumes. (1) METALS: antimony, arsenic, brass, copper, iron, lead, manganese, mercury, phosphorus, silver, steel, tin, zinc. (a) Lead Occupations: Lead miners. Makers of white and red lead. Plumbers (solder). Gas-fitters (red lead). Painters (especially house painters and those who sandpaper the paint on walls, carriages, automo- biles, tram cars, etc.). Putty makers. BRIEFS AND MEMORANDA. 767 B. HARMFUL SUBSTANCES Continued. (a) Lead Occupations Continued. Solderers of tin, brass, zinc, copper, etc. Makers of tinfoil and metal bottle caps. Workers in storage batteries. Printers, type founders and setters. Jewelers and workers in electric connection (solder). Workers in brass foundries and brass polishers. Polishers of glazed pottery. "White rubber workers. Makers of car buffers and brakes. File makers. Harness makers. Users of amalgams (dentists, etc.). (by Other Metal Occupations: Antimony : workers in pigments. Arsenic : Twenty-seven trades, including wall paper, artificial flowers, chemicals, glass, oil-cloth, etc. Brass and tin (same hazard as lead, derived from solder and amalgam). Bronze powders, makers of bronzed articles (vari- ous metals). Copper miners, smelters, electroplaters. Iron and steel (mechanical action only, causing in- jury to lungs [pneumokoniosis] and to eyes. Manganese (pigments and alloys). Mercury: Hat pressers, workers in explosives, makers of mirrors, mercurial pumps, barometers and thermometers, etc. ; gold and antimony miners. Gold cyanid. Phosphorus (workers in matches). Silver (poisonous chiefly as a nitrate), mirror mak- ers, electroplating. Zinc, makers of white paint, painters. 768 BRIEFS AND MEMORANDA. (2) DUSTS: (a) Insoluble Inorganic Dusts (irritating the respiratory passages) : Flint, silica, sand (sand blasts, sandpaper). Carbon (coal, soot). Brick dust, marble, granite, terra cotta. Cement. Asphalt. Enamel. Glass, quartz. Lime, gypsum. Meerschaum. Phosphates, guano. Plaster. Emory. Diamonds. Metal filings: lead, brass, iron and steel, etc, (b) Soluble Inorganic Dusts (liable to be swallowed and absorbed) : Metal filings of lead, brass and zinc, arsenic, mer- cury and silver salts. (c") Organic Dusts: Sawdust, fur, skins, feathers, broom and straw, flour and grain, jute, flax (linen), hemp, cot- ton, wool (worsted, etc.), carpet dust, ashes and street sweepings, tobacco and tobacco box dust, hides and leather, felt, rags and paper, horsehair. (3) GASES, VAPOBS AND FUMES: Illuminating gas (C.O.). Gases from coke and coal. Carbon dioxid (brewers' vats, bakers' ovens, aer- ated waters). BRIEFS AND MEMORANDA. 769 (3) GASES, VAPORS AND FUMES Continued: Chromic acid and chlorine. Mineral acids, sulphuric, hydrochloric, nitric, etc. (acid factory workers, engravers, etchers and lithographers) . Mercury cyanid. Heated lead. Ammonia. Naphtha (dry cleaning) and benzine. Tar and creosote distillers. Asphalt and petroleum products (vaseline etc.). Wood alcohol. Smoke (firemen). Varnish makers, varnishers. Arseniated hydrogen (copper refiners). Amyl alcohol. Dinitrobenzol. Nitro-glycerine. Carbon disulphid. Chlorine, chloride of lime. Formaldehyde. Hydrofluoric acid. Nitrous gases. Prussic acid. Pyridine. Sulphur and sulphuretted hydrogen. Aniline. (d) INFECTIVE MATERIALS: Hides (anthrax, etc.), II. WORKERS UNDER HARMFUL CONDITIONS: 1. Heat and Moisture: (a) Heat: Stokers, miners, roofers, foundrymen, pud- dlers, glass-blowers. (b) Moisture: Linen weavers and spinners, clay mixers (pottery), oystermen. (c) Heat and Moisture: Laundry women, drivers, dyers. 25 770 BRIEFS AND MEMORANDA. II. WORKERS UNDER HARMFUL CONDITIONS Continued: 2. Excessive Light: Glass blowers, foundrymen, electric light men, X-ray workers (eye-strain, burns of skin, nervous disorders), electro-metallurgy. 3. Compressed Air: Caisson workers, divers. 4. Confined Air: (All bad ventilation.) 5. Confined Positions and Overuse of Nerves and muscles: Nerve-strain and fatigue the " Occupation Neuroses." Palsy, cramps (writer's, telegrapher's, typewriter's) sciatica, neuritis, neuralgia, gastric and intestinal dis- orders, general "nervousness" and insomnia, de- formities of chest from cramped positions (tailors.) Effect of pressure, blows, vibrations, repeated muscular contractures. Position in standing (motormen, etc.), leaning toward one side as at a bench. Vaso-motor disturbances, reflexes, spasticity, dysaesthe- sia. 6. Ear-Strain: Boiler-makers, rivetters, gunners. * D. DISEASES: 7. Diseases of the Respiratory System: (a) Due to hard inorganic dusts : Bronchitis, em- physema, pneumokoniosis (cirrhosis of the lung.) (b) Due to soft organic dusts: Rhinitis, coryza, laryngitis, acute and chronic bronchitis, asthma, lung abscess. (c) Associated diseases: Tuberculosis, pneu- monia. II. Diseases of the Circulatory System: Enlargement of the heart, arteriosclerosis, aneurism, varicose veins. BRIEFS AND MEMORANDA. 771 D. DISEASES Continued: III. Diseases of the Kidneys: Chronic Bright's disease (chronic interstitial nephritis.) IV. Diseases of the Alimentary System: Chronic dyspepsia, chronic gastritis, gastric nicer, chronic constipation. V. Diseases of the Skin: Ulcers, eczema, chronic fissures, etc. VI. Diseases of the Nerves and Muscles : Paralyses, spasm (tic), tremors, cramp, pain, neuritis, neuralgia, sciatica, muscular atro- phy, insomnia. VII. Diseases of the Eye and Ear: Conjunctivitis, optic neuritis, deafness, etc. INFLUENCE OF: Alcoholism. Syphilis. Foul air. Poor food: Fatigue and worry. ASSOCIATED DISEASES: Tuberculosis. Pneumonia. Chronic bronchitis. 772 BRIEFS AND MEMORANDA. CONDENSED CLASSIFICATION USED FOR COLLECTING DATA IN PROF. OILMAN THOMPSON'S Clinic. OCCUPATION DISEASES. I. DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM: Solid Irritants; Fumes. [A] SOLID IRRITANTS: 1. Sharp insoluble mineral dusts, as steel, silica, emery, glass, flint. 2. Soluble metal dusts, as lead filings. 3. Soft organic dust, as particles of cotton, wool, grain, feathers, etc. INVESTIGATE ESPECIALLY: weavers, spinners workers in fur, feathers, flax, jute, wool, horsehair, cotton, to- ' bacco, grain elevators, street sweepers, subway and tunnel employees, ashmen, coal heavers, stokers, fire- men, chimney sweepers, plasterers, cement grinders, pottery polishers, porcelain workers, grinders of meerschaum, scissors, knives, needles, etc., workers in leather, skin and paper, wood-sawyers, stone- cutters, brass polishers, filers of iron and steel, brick makers, emery grinders, diamond and glass cutters. [B] Toxic FUMES: Workers in asphalt, chromic acid, engravers and etchers, copper refiners (arseniated hydrogen), hat pressers (mercury), beer brewers (C0 2 ), matches, gas house workers, wall papers (arsenic), dyers, workers in veneer, wood alcohol, benzine, mercury cyanid, di- nitro-benzol ; H 2 S and CO fumes, aniline oil, acet- elene, tar, creosote, nitro-glycerine. BRIEFS AND MEMORANDA. 773 II. METAL POISONING DISEASES. [A] LEAD: Painters, makers of white lead, type founders and set- ters, solderers and tinsmiths, pottery glazers, gas fit- ters (red lead), rubber (white lead), metal cork caps, file makers, electrical equipment (solder.) [B] OTHER METALS: Mercury: Workers in mirrors, mercurial pumps, in- candescent lights, barometers. Zinc oxide paint : Workers in bronze, copper and brass (ascertain per cent of alloy used), tin, bronze, pow- ders, workers in wall papers and feathers (arsenic), gold cyanid. III. TRAUMATIC AND OCCUPATION NEUROSES. Nature of the trauma or strain. Duration of the occu- pation. Hours of work. Nerves or muscles affected. Neuritis, pain, cramp, paralysis. Concentration of attention, as in caring for machines. Strain of eyes and ears. Effect of pressure, blows, vibrations, re- peated muscular contractures. Position in standing, leaning toward one side, or sitting in cramped pos- tures as in tailoring. Interference with proper lung expansion, and deformities of chest. Gastric neu- roses from errors in diet and occupation. General " nervousness " from overwork and strain. Examine patient for vaso-motor disturbances, reflexes, dyssesthesia, spasticity. 774 BKJEFS AND MEMORANDA. Blank Form for Recording Cases of Metal Poisoning. Metal poisoning diseases. Diagnosis Case No. Hist. No. Name: Age: M. F. S. M. W. Occupation : Occupation in detail: Drinker (hard, moderate, abstainer). Syphilis (years) Years employed Hours of work No. of co-workers Are they also affected ? Prophylactic instructions ? Washing facilities (good, poor). Lunch eaten where ? Ventilation of room? Masks, respirators (for fumes) Room cleaned, how often? Details of metal: dust, filings, fumes, alloys (composition) Solder ? Port of entry: mouth, nose, finger-nails. Protective agents: gum or tobacco chewing? Milk? Wife's miscarriages ? Physical examination: gums teeth beard? arteriosclerosis blood pressure- heart, size murmurs lungs digestion constipation nervous system: neuritis cramps palsy hands: eczema fissures ulcers Blood examination: Hb.$> red cells white cells basophiles Urine examination: alb. casts sp.gr. lead? Eyes: trauma injury by heat, light Acute symptoms at beginning of work vertigo Gastrointestinal nervousness Synopsis of present symptoms: chief complaint BRIEFS AND MEMORANDA. 775 Blank Form for Recording Cases of Respiratory Diseases. Respiratory diseases: dust, fumes: Diagnosis Case No. Hist. No. Name Age M. F. S. M. W. Occupation : Occupation in detail: Drinker (hard, moderate, abstainer). Syphilis (years) Years employed Hours of work No. of co-workers Are they also affected? Prophylactic instructions ? Ventilation: Fans, hoods, windows (open, shut). Masks? Respirators ? Room cleaned, how often ? Exposure to cold, heat or wet? Physical examination of pharynx lungs heart General condition: Weight anemia, Hb.% r. b. c. w. b. c. digestion cough sputum exam. Acute symptoms at beginning of work; coryza, headache: Note especially: recurrent bronchitis, asthma, dyspnoea, rhinitis, laryngitis, vertigo, pneumokoniosis, tuberculosis. Onset of tuberculosis in relation to duration of employment. Present symptoms: chief complaint 776 BBIEFS AND MEMORANDA. 3. SEVEN DAY LABOR LEGISLATION. JOHN A. FITCH, The '' Survey. ' October 31, 1911. ME. ABRAM I. ELKUS, Factory Investigating Commission, 165 Broadway, City: DEAB SIB: According to your request, I am sending you with this a state- ment, which can hardly be called a brief, designed to throw a little light on the situation in the continuous industries. I have not thought it proper to draft a bill for your consider- ation, though I have tried to indicate what I think is the proper form of law. In my statement I have included some of the most significant things to be found in court decisions relating to this subject. With this statement, I am including two tables, indicating the amount of seven-day work in certain callings in New York and Minnesota. I am sending it to you for these two States simply because there is no data available for any other States in the Union that I have been able to find. My reason for sending you figures for another State is simply so that you can judge from the figures there represented something of what the figures would be in New York, if we could obtain them. For example : in the Minnesota list there are 11,358 seven-day workmen in hotels and restaurants; we have no figures whatever for hotels and restau- rants in New York State, but if we were to obtain them, we should find, of course, a very much larger number than are em- ployed in the State of Minnesota. The table which I am sending you, showing seven-day work- men in New York, you will find very incomplete. I have listed on this table all of the important industries which I personally know to employ workmen seven days a week. For many of these occupations I have no figures whatever. It will serve to show you, however, how extensive is the field covered by the continuous industries. BRIEFS AND MEMORANDA. f77 Under separate cover, I am sending you a copy of the bulletin of the New York State Department of Labor, for September, 1910. On pages 377 to 403 inclusive, you will find a discussion which 1 prepared on this subject of seven-day labor, in which I go into the constitutional question involved. On pages 450 to 464 inclu- sive, you will find tables giving extensive information on this subject. On page 464 you will find citations to all of the im- portant court decisions that have been made in this country on the question of the constitutionality of the Sunday laws. If after examining this material you care to have me come be- fore the Commission, I shall be glad to do so. I do not think that I shall be able to add anything to the information which I am now sending you. I shall be glad, however, if you desire, to go into greater detail or to express an opinion more fully than I have here. Yours very truly, JOHN A. FITCH. I. AMOUNT OF SEVEN-DAY WORK. (1) In New York: Out of a total of 1,138,965 wage earners in factories in New York, reported to the Factory Inspection Bureau in 1909, 30,467 were reported as working an excess of 63 hours per week. This is 2 and 67-100 per cent of the total number of wage earners reported. Sixty hours per week indicates a ten-hour day six days in the week. More than 63 hours indicates the probability of Sunday work. From personal examination of the files of the Factory Bureau, made when I was an employee of the State Department of Labor, I know that these wage earners who worked an excess of 63 hours per week, varied generally in the time of their weekly employment from 65 hours to 119 hours; the former indicating ten hours of regular work for six days and one-half day on Sun- day; the latter indicating an average of seventeen hours per day for a full seven days per week. This latter schedule existed in a certain canning establishment. 778 BRIEFS AND MEMORANDA. In March, 1910, the secretaries of a considerable number of labor unions in the State reported to the State Bureau of Labor Statistics, 335,814 members. Out of this total they reported 35,742 (10 and 6-10 per cent of the whole number) as working regularly on Sundays. Most of them, all but 698, Avorked every Sunday. Twenty-eight thousand two hundred and eighty-three (8 and 4-10 per cent of the whole number reported) worked as long on Sunday as on week days. The remainder worked a shorter schedule. Since organized labor is naturally opposed to seven-day labor, it would be natural to suppose that the proportion of seven-day labor in the unorganized trades would be much larger. (For the figures quoted above see report of Bureau of Factory Inspection for 1909; table 14, page 281 and Bulletin of the New York Department of Labor, September 1910; table 12, pages 450-451. See full table accompanying this report, showing the number of seven-day workmen by industries.) (2) Massachusetts: In 1907 a Joint Committee of the Massachusetts Legislature, after an investigation, reported that 221,985 men in sixteen trades and callings, not including factories, were employed on Sundays in that State. (Massachusetts House Document No. 1160.) (3) Minnesota: The report of the Bureau of Labor of the State of Minnesota for 1909 and 1910 reports 98,558 workmen working seven days per week in that State. (See accompanying table for number of seven-day workers by industries.) n. - All of these reports are incomplete and fragmentary. Minne- sota has come nearer than any other State apparently to recording the full number of seven-day workers within her borders. In New York we have no means of ascertaining with any accuracy at all the number of seven-day workmen. For example : BKIEFS AND MEMORANDA. 779 the hotels, restaurants and railroads probably employ more -work- men seven days per week than are to be found in any other calling. Yet hours of labor for these enterprises are not reported to any public agency. In other States, excepting Massachusetts, no attempt of any importance has ever been made to ascertain the extent of seven-day operation. Hence it is evident that one of the first necessities is an investigation to ascertain the number and character of continuous industries, whether they are neces- sarily continuous, and the number of workmen they employ. III. LEGISLATION. (1) Necessity of it: The old colonial Sunday necesarily has passed away. The Sunday laws have been inadequate to preserve the Sabbath intact, and they have been of even less effect as a protection to working- m3n. A consideration of the industrial conditions actually exist- ir^ at the present time reveals the fact that neither is the Sabbath preserved nor are workmen protected by the present laws. (2) A Rest Day Law. (One day in seven.} In Europe, Switzerland adopted such a law as far back as 1878, and Spain followed in 1904. Now most of the European countries have adopted the principle. Canada on the north of us and Chile and Argentina on the south have enacted it into law. The principle is simply this : While it may be necessary for an industry to operate continuously every day in the week, it is not therefore necessary for workmen to labor every day in the week. Accordingly, it may be required that those industries which have to be in operation on Sundays, shall allow every employee at work on that day a full day of rest on some other day. Under such a law, either the industry will have to stop one day a week or else the working force will have to be increased by one-sixth and the employees receive their rest period on different days by rotation through the week; that is, one group of employees would have Sunday as a rest day, another Monday, and so on through the week. Thus the full quota of workmen would always be employed 780 BBIEFS AND MEMORANDA. and the industry would not suffer, but every man would have a day of rest. Such a law protects the industry and the workmen both, and it naturally tends to protect the Sabbath much more than the laws now in existence. It penalizes continuous opera- tion by requiring the addition of one-sixth to the working force and hence to the pay-roll. Accordingly, the seven-day industries that are not necessarily continuous would tend to go back to a f.ix-day schedule and the day of rest would naturally be Sunday. This is a system that the American Telegraph and Telephone Company adopted some years ago. It is a custom followed by most newspaper offices, and now it is being adopted by the U. S. Steel Corporation, the Lackawanna Steel Co. and by other large steel companies. (3) Form of Law Required: (a) Sunday should be designated as the universal day of rest. (b) Continuous industries should be licensed. Switzerland has, since 1876, licensed those industries which have to be operated at night. This brings the industries to a special degree under the control of the State. The Switzerland law particularly specified that no industry may be licensed to operate at night unless the working time is no more than eleven hours. The Commissioner of Labor is the logical officer in this State to administer such a law and to issue licenses at his discretion, when he is convinced that the industries are of necessity continu- ous. The law should prescribe carefully what industries are to be considered as continuous industries. It is very important that this legislation should be under the control of the Department of Labor. At present, Sunday laws in this country are in the penal code, and the officials of the Labor Department have nothing to do with their enforcement (c) Having designated Sunday as the general rest day, and having granted exceptions to this rule in the case of industries that are necessarily continuous, the law should provide that no workman should be required or permitted to work for his em- ployer more than six days per week. This will compel the em- BRIEFS AND MEMORANDA. 781 ployer to grant each man a day of rest some time during the week. The law must also provide fully for the protection of every man's religion; so that if some other day than Sunday is observed by any man as a day of rest or worship, he should not be interfered with if he desires to pursue his regular work in a quiet and orderly manner on Sunday. The only reason for designating Sun- day as a day of rest is that a large majority of the people in this country do already observe that day. IV. CONSTITUTIONALITY OF ONE-DAY-IN-SEVEN LEGISLATION. The principle underlying rest-day legislation, such as is here recommended, has been approved by the courts so often that there can be little doubt that such legislation would be declared valid. The Sunday laws now on the statute books are upheld solely as police regulations. As long ago as 1853 an Ohio court went on record to the effect that a Sunday law is a police regulation, neither weakened or strengthened by the fact that the day of rest enjoined is the Sab- bath. " Wisdom requires that men should refrain from labor at least one day in seven, and the advantages of having the day of rest so fixed, and so fixed as to happen at regularly recurring intervals, are too obvious to overlook. It was within the constitutional com- petency of the General Assembly to require this cessation of labor and to name the day of rest." Bloom v. Richards, 2 Warden, 388. In 1877 the Supreme Court of Massachusetts said, " The legisla- tive authority to provide for its (Sunday's) observance is derived from its general authority to regulate the business of the com- munity and to provide for its moral and physical welfare." Commonwealth v. Has, 122 Mass. 10. The following citations indicate similar views not only of State Courts, but of the Supreme Court of the United States : " That Sunday is kept as holy by most Christian denomina- tions, neither adds to, nor detracts from the validity of the enact- 782 BKIEFS AND MEMORANDA. ment. Had any other day of the week been selected, the enactment would have had the same binding force." Richmond v. Moore, 107 Illinois, 429. k< There can be no well-founded doubt of its (Sunday Law) being a police regulation .... for the frequent and total suspen- sion of the toils, cares and strain of mind or muscle incident to pursuing an occupation or common employment, is beneiicial to every individual, and incidentally to the community at large, the general public. Leisure is no less essential than labor to the well- being of man. Short intervals of leisure at stated periods reduce wear and tear, promote health, favor cleanliness, encourage social intercourse, afford opportunities for introspection and retrospec- tion, and tend in a high degree to expand the thoughts and sympathies of people, enlarge their information and elevate their morals Without frequent leisure, the process of forming character could only be begun; it could never advance or be com- pleted, people would be mere machines of labor or business nothing more." " If a law which, in essential respects, betters for all the people the conditions, sanitary, social and individual, under which their daily life is carried on and which contributes to insure for each, oven against his own will, his minimum allowance of leisure, can not be rightfully classed as a police regulation, it would be diffi- cult to imagine any law that could." Hennington v. The State, 90 Ga. 396. (3) " It is to the interest of the State to have strong, robust, healthy citizens, capable of self-support, of bearing arms, and of adding to the resources of the country. Laws to effect this purpose by protecting the citizens from overwork, and requiring a general day of rest to restore his strength and preserve his health have an obvious connection with the public welfare. Independent of any question relating to morals or religion, the physical welfare of the citizens is a subject of such primary importance to the State, and has such a direct relation to the common good, as to make BKIEFS AND MEMOBANDA. 783 laws tending to promote that object proper under the police power, and hence valid under the constitution. . . . The statute under discussion tends to effect this result, because it requires persons engaged in all kind of business that takes many hours each day, to refrain from carrying it on during one day in seven. This affords an opportunity, recurring at regular intervals, for rest, needed both by the employers and the employed, and the latter, at least, may not have the power to observe a day of rest without the aid of legislation." People v. Havnor, 149 N. Y. 195. " The statute under consideration is not class legislation, nor does it violate any of the provisions of the constitution. It is clearly within the constitutional power of the Legislature to re- quire this cessation of labor for one day in seven, and to designate the day of rest." State v. Nesbit, 8 Kan. App, 104. " The Legislature having, as will not be disputed, power to enact laws to promote the order and to secure the comfort, hap- piness and health of the people, it was within its discretion to fix the day when all labor, within the limits of the State, works of necessity and charity excepted, should cease." Hennington v. Georgia, 163 U. S. 299. 784 BRIEFS AND MEMORANDA. NUMBER OF MEN ENGAGED IN SEVEN DAY LABOR IN MINNESOTA. (Keport Minn. Bureau of Labor, 1910, Table D, pp. 104-119.) Food Products: Bakeries Brewing. Confectionery Creamery, Past, and Ice Cream Flour and Grist Mills Grain, cleaning and storing. 56 96 32 532 62 2 Iron and Steel Products: Autos and Bicycles. . 95 Blast Furnaces 279 Paper and Pulp Pro- ducts: Paper and Pulp Mills 299 Chemicals and Allied Products: Oils 377 Tallow and Fertilizers 4 General Contracting ... 218 Public Utilities: Heat, Light and Power 2,320 Telegraph and Tele- phone, Express and Messenger Service. 3,207 Transportation : Railroads 49,166 Street Railways .... 3,705 Ferries 7 Mining Operations 20,678 Personal Service: Barber Shops and Bath Rooms 37 Hospitals, College and other Institutions.. 180 Hotels and Restau- rants 11,358 Laundrv Work . 5 Livery and Drayage. . Shoe Shining Retail Mercantile Estab- lishments: Amusements Bakery Goods Billiard and Pool . . . Houses, Station- Bowling Books and ery Clothing and Gents' Furnishings Confectionery and Cigars Dairy Products .... Drug Stores Dry Goods and No- tions Furniture and Under- taking General Mdse Groceries Hardware Ice Dealers Jewelry and Optical Goods Meat Markets Nurseries and Florists Photographers and Photograph Sup- plies Toy? and Novelties. . Wholesale Mercantile Establishments : Commission Mer- chants. . 2,221 81 401 11 153 2 19 1,171 67 1,081 6 25 173 85 5 13 9 46 21 48 6 99 Total. 98,558 BRIEFS AND MEMORANDA. 785 LIST OF CONTINUOUS INDUSTRIES IN NEW YORK AND STATISTICS OF WAGE EARNERS SO FAR AS AVAILABLE INDUSTRIES WAGE EARNERS REPORTED IN SPECIFIED INDUSTRIES BY N. Y. FACTORY INSPECTION BUREAU BY TRADE UNION SECRETARIES Total No. reported No. working 63 hours or more each week Per cent, working 63 hours Total No. reported No. working 7 days a week Per cent, working 7 davs a week I. Transportation: 1 . Steam railroad 15,604 14,765 94.6 2. Steam railroad shops. .. 3. Electric railroads 22,036 1,862 8.44 4. Navigation 1,929 13,300 1,929 3 745 100.0 28.1 5. Cabs and teaming . 6. Ice and milk delivery. . . II. Communication: 1 . Teiegraph 1,889 1,884 99.7 2. Telephone 3. Newspapers III. Manufacturing: 1 . Cement and lime 1,375 3,168 399 1,855 10,688 13,907 1,087 2,841 12,991 4,172 980 228 116 1.529 4,584 597 591 121 5,660 459 71.3 7.2 29.0 87.8 42.9 4.3 54.4 4.2 43 5 11.0 2. Smelting and refining.. 3 . Ore crushing 4 Blast furnaces 5. Rolling mills and steel works 6. Drugs and chemicals .. 7 . Wood alcohol and es- sential oils 8 Mineral oils 9' Paper and pulp 10' Flour and cereals 7,927 6,772 500 1,707 6.3 25.2 13' Sugar and molasses. . . 14' Canning, etc 5,155 12,037 16,749 912 9,049 1,911 910 207 515 2,572 37.0 7.5 1.2 56.4 28.4 15- Baking bread, etc. . . 16. Artificial ice 17. Heat, light, power. . . . IV. Personal service: 1. Hotels and restaurants. 3,186 1,002 31.4 3. Bootblacks 4. Drug clerks 2,254 13,925 5,020 294 6.740 2,244 13.0 48.4 44.7 V. Miscellaneous: 1. Public employment 786 BRIEFS AND MEMORANDA. REST DAY LEGISLATION IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. The Foreign Rest Day Laws may be divided into three classes, those naming Sunday as the regular day of rest, but allowing con- tinuous industries to operate on Sunday provided every employee gets one day of rest a week ; those requiring a weekly day of rest, without designating the day; and those requiring regular periods of rest of less than a day in duration, at stated intervals. The greater part of the legislation comes within the first class. ' The following is a summary of the foreign rest day laws. They have been secured from various compilations, to which citations are given. A considerable number were taken from the English edition of the Bulletin of the International Labor Office, cited (E. B.) the publication of the International Association for Labor Legisla- lation. In such cases the citation to the bulletin is given together with the original citation. Together with the laws, the orders and decrees which have the force of laws are presented. No attempt has been made, however, to digest the voluminous decrees which have been issued explana- tory of the original statutory provisions. The full text of the more important ones may be found in the International Labor Bulletin, together with citations to the others. ARGENTINE REPUBLIC. Law of September 6, 1905, on Sunday Rest. (Annuaire de la legislation du travail, vol. 9, 1905, pp. 43 Bruxelles, 1906.) Art. 1. Prohibits Sunday work in the capital of the Republic, either for any one else, or for one's self, if in public, in manu- facturing establishments, shops, mercantile houses and other establishments or workplaces, without any exceptions except those provided in the present law and in regulations which may be issued for its enforcement. Art. 2. Excepted from the preceding prohibition, are: 1. Work not susceptible of interruption on account of the nature of the wants it is to supply, or on account of technical BRIEFS AND MEMOBANDA. 787 reasons, or in order to avoid serious damage to the public i/hterest or to the industry itself. 2. Necessary work of repairing and cleaning, which, if per- formed during the week, would bring about a stoppage of work in industrial establishments. 3. Work necessary in order to avoid threatening injury, either oin account of accidents of nature, or on account of temporary circumstances which must be utilized. In each case regulations shall fix the weekly rest to be allowed to persons affected by these exceptions. Art. 3. Xo exception to the obligation of a weekly rest shall apply to women and children less than 16 years old. Art. 4. The provisions of this law shall not apply to domestic servants. Art. 5. Cafes shall be closed on Sundays. Art. 6. Unless proof to the contrary is furnished, employers shall be held responsible for violations of the present law, and shall be fined for a first offense, one hundred pesos, and in case of a second violation, the penalty shall be double this fine or fifteen days in jail. Decree issued November 18, 1905, in accordance with act of Sept. 6, 1905, E. B. I., p. 387. Prohibits labor for another, or for one's self if carried on in public, in capital or Republic, from midnight Saturday until mid- night Sunday. Exceptions are allowed in case of work which cannot be interrupted. a. On account of nature of requirements which it satisfies, or of the serious loss that would accrue to the public interest by any interruption in such work. b. For technical reasons and serious loss to public interest. 788 BRIEFS AND MEMORANDA. c. On account of temporary circumstances of which advantage must be taken. d. On account of requirements satisfied and in order to prevent serious loss accruing to industry. e. In case of processes which must be carried out because they are urgent. Where, on account of such exceptions, work is done oai Sunday, an equivalent period of rest must be granted during the week. AUSTRIA. Law of Jan, 16, 1895, Le Travail du Dimanche. (Office du Travail, Belgium, Bruxelles, 1896, p. 87.) All industrial work is to cease on Sunday from 6 a. m. and for a period of 24 hours. Exceptions are made in the case of the following: 1. Work of cleaning or repairing necessary to keep the estab- lishments running, and which could not be performed during the week without interfering with the work or without danger to the life and health of the workers. 2. Necessary supervising. 3. Work to take inventory once a year. 4. Work of a temporary nature that cannot be delayed, on account of the interest of the public, or for reasons of safety, or in cases of necessity. 5. Personal work of the owner of an establishment, if per- formed without the help of workmen and not in public. Employers employing workmen on Sunday at the kind of work mentioned in 2, 3 and 4, must keep a register, giving for each Sunday the names of workmen employed, the place and duration of employment and the kind of work performed. This register is subject to the examination of administrative industrial authori- ties and industrial inspectors. Concerning the work mentioned in 3 and 4. BRIEFS AND MEMORANDA. 789 Employers must notify the industrial authorities before begin- ning the work ; but if the necessity of beginning or continuing such work is not felt until Sunday, the industrial authorities must be notified as soon as the work is ended. If the work mentioned in 1, 2 and 4 prevent the workmen from attending religious service before noon, employers must on the Sunday next following allow the workmen time to attend religions service before noon. If the same work lasts over three hours, the workmen are entitled to a rest of at least 24 hours on the following Sunday, or if the nature of the work does not allow it, to a day of rest during the week, or in any case, to a rest of six hours two days in the week. Law of July, 1902, regulating Government Contract on railroad work. (Annuaire de la legislation du travail, V. 6, 1902, p. 71.) The law requires at least 24 hours rest on Sundays, beginning not later than 6 a. m. for all workmen on government contract work on railroads or in establishing connections therewith. Exception is made for cleaning and mainte- nance work necessary to continuous operation and which could not be done during the week; necessary supervision of work and other necessary work of a temporary character that must be performed in the interest of the public. There must be a record kept of the -names of workmen employed on Sunday, together with 'the duration of their work. If the latter is more than three hours, the workmen so employed must have a rest of at least 24, hours on the following Sunday, or if this is impossible, on a week day, or a rest of six hours, exclusive of night rest, on two week days. Ministerial Order, May 5, 1906, E. B. I., p. 176. In cement stone works using hot air currents in drying cham- bers, Sunday work is permitted, but must be kept at a minimum of necessity. Those working over 3 hours on Sunday must have on the following Sunday 24 continuous hours of rest. 790 BRIEFS AND MEMORANDA. Order of Minister of Agriculture in agreement with the Minis- ter of Interior, relating to the employment of young persons and children in mining operations. June 8, 1907, E. B. II, p. 215. (R. G. Bl. No. 115.) 6. " If young persons are employed on Sundays in pursuance of S. 4 of the Act of 21st of Jnne, 1884, they shall be allowed a compensatory day of rest during the following week." BOSNIA AND HERZEGOWINA. Order of April 20, 1907, E. B. II, pp. 361-362. (Gesetz und Veordnungsblatt fur Bosnien und die Herzegowina VHI Stock ex. 1907.) A weekly day of rest of 24 hours must be allowed in all indus- trial occupations. The day of rest for Christians is Sunday; for Moslems Friday, and for Jews, Saturday. Workmen may be employed on days of rest in carrying on urgent processes, providing that notice is sent to industrial authorities. A compensatory day of rest of 24 hours must be allowed to employees who are obliged to work on the usual rest day for more than three hours. BELGIUM. Royal Decrees, Feby. 7, 1907, and March 2, 1907, in pursuance of Act of July 17, 1905, E. B. II, No. 2, pp. XXIV, 217. Authorizing hair dressers of certain cities to carry on business for ten hours on specified Sundays, provided as a compensation, a half-holiday is allowed the following week. CANADA. An Act respecting the Lord's day. July 13, 1906. E. B. Ill, pp. 101. (6 Edw. VH. c 27.) No sales are to be made or business done or labor performed or hired to be performed on the Lord's Day, but works of neces- BRIEFS AND MEMORANDA. 791 sity or mercy are excepi.ed. (These are defined in detail and include industries or businesses usually continuous. No employee may work at receiving or transmitting messages, in any industrial process or in transportation, on the Lord's Day, unless he is allowed twenty-four consecutive hours of rest during the next six days, but this does not apply where the day's work is not over eight hours. CHILI. Law of June 26, 1907. E. B. Ill, pp. 37-38. (Boletin del Institute de Iveformas Sociales IV, No. 40, Octubre de 1907, pp. 390-391.) Weekly day of rest must be allowed for "factories, manufac- tories, workshops, workrooms, houses of business, mine, saltpetre works, and generally all public and private enterprises of whatever description." The days of rest are Sundays, unless there is some express arrangement to the contrary, and January 1, September 18 and 19 and December 25. The period of rest begins at 7 p. m. on the day preceding the day of rest and ends at 6. a. m. on the day following the day of rest. Exceptions to the above provisions are: 1. Repairing of damages due to circumstances beyond human control or to accident. 2. Operations requiring continuous work, on account of the needs which such operations satisfy, or on account of technical reasons, or in order to prevent serious injury to the public interest and to the industry concerned. 3. Enterprises of a seasonal character, and those dependent on the operation of natural forces. 4. Operations indispensable to the routine of enterprise, and which cannot be postponed, as the cleaning of machinery and of boilers, the drawing up of accounts, taking of inventories, eitc. 792 BRIEFS AND MEMORANDA. In the case of the exceptions, there must be a day of rest for all every two weeks, which no employee can contract to renounce. Children under 16 and women are not allowed to contract to renounce the weekly rest period under any circumstances. DENMARK. E. B. I., p. 177. Act regulating work in bakeries and confectionery business, April 6, 1906. At Copenhagen and Fredericksburg every employee in such establishments must have twenty-four hours continuous rest, each week. In other cities, sixteen hours. Men in cities named may work not over three hours either at beginning or at end of twenty- four hour period preparing yeast, etc. Men in other cities may work not over one hour at beginning or end of sixteen hours rest period at same operation. This time must be made up by equiva- lent period during the same week. FRANCE. E. B. I, p. 185. Act of July 13, 1906, establishing a weekly day of rest for em- ployees and workmen. Provides for weekly day of rest of twenty-four hours in all establishments, commercial and industrial. The rest-day shall be Sunday, excepting where it can be shown that a simultaneous period of rest on Sunday for the entire staff of an establishment would be injurious to public interest, or would disorganize the normal working of the establishment in question. In such a case the period of rest may be given in any one of the following ways : a. On a day other than Sunday to the entire staff. b. From noon on Sunday to noon on Monday. c. On the afternoon of every Sunday, with a compensating period of rest one whole day in every fortnight, by rotation. d. By rotation to the whole, or a part of the staff. BKIEFS AND MEMOBANDA. 793 Exception is made to observation of regular rest period in case of urgent need. Corresponding rest period must be given later. In case of undertakings subject to interruption due to weather, interruptions in each month may be deducted from number of ctays of rest due the employees. In open-air industries and in industries having to do with per- ishable material, the weekly rest day may be suspended fifteen t imes in year, but at least two rest days must come in each month. The provisions of the act do not apply to employees engaged in services of water and rail transportation. Note. Where continuous operation is necessary, resulting in the rotation system of rest, the result has been, in a majority of cases, to increase the labor force by one-seventh and to increase the daily wage in the same degree. (II. S. Consular Report, September, 1908, p. 90.) Engineers and Stokers. E. B. I., p. 450. Order of Minister of Public Works, May 9, 1906, amending two orders of November 4, 1899. (E. B. L, p. 432.) Requires ten hours rest and not over ten hours work in work- ing day. Any nine consecutive days, midnight to midnight, shall have not over thirty hours work and not less than ninety hours rest. Thirty hours continuous rest every ten days for road engineers and stokers ten hours to be reckoned as part of the total ninety hours. May be reduced to thirty hours in fourteen days if em- ployee sleeps at home. Artificer engineers, thirty hours rest in fourteen days, or twenty-four in ten days when engineer has assistance of stoker. Where engineer works single-handed, thirty hours in twelve days, or twenty-four hours in eight days. Guards. E. B. I., p. 451. Period of employment on average not over ten hours work and not less than ten hours rest. In fourteen days (consecutive) not over 140 hours employment and not less than 140 hours rest. 794 BRIEFS AND MEMORANDA. GERMANY. decree of the Federal Council of Jany. 23, 1902, concerning em- ployees in cafes and restaurants. (Soziale Rundschau, Jany., 1902. Apprentices and helpers over 16 years of age, in cafes and res- taurants, must have one uninterrupted rest of at least eight hours every day, and those under 16, one of nine hours. In addition, there must be daily rest periods of a total duration of at least two hours, exclusive of time spent at meals. Once every three weeks there shall be, instead of one of the daily uninterrupted periods of rest mentioned above, an uninterrupted rest period of at least 24 hours. In towns having more than 20,000 inhabitants, this 24- hour period is to come every two weeks. In those weeks in which a 24-hour rest period does not fall, there is to be, besides the regular daily rest periods mentioned above, an extra rest of at least six hours, between 8 a. m. and 6 p. m. Notification relating to exceptions from the prohibition of Sunday work in industrial undertakings, May 23, 1906. (E. B. I., p. 155.) Provides for Sunday work in glass factories, in certain cases, and provides for rest periods during week in compensation. CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. E. B. I., p. 38, Act of June 6, 1905. Provides for closing of shops some day in week, at 1 :30, and to remain closed the remainder of the day. On such day the em- ployees may be kept only in case of necessity and then compen- sating time must be given on some other day in week. ITALY. Laws of July 7, 1907. E. B. II., p. 288. (B. D. U. D. L. VIII, No. 1, Luglio, 1907, pp. 276-279.) All persons other than members of the employers' family, en- gaged in commercial or industrial enterprises, must have 24 con- BRIEFS AND MEMORANDA. 795 secutive hours of rest in every week. Employers must not extend the hours of work on either the day before or the day after the rest clay. Law does not apply to agriculture, hunting, fishing or trans- portation. Exceptions are as follows: Industries dealing with raw materials of a perishable nature, as often as required ; indus- tries liable to interruption by wind or water, ten weeks in the year, in which case the period of rest must be allowed every fortnight; industries subject to periods of extraordinary pressure, six weeks in the year. Weekly rest must, on principle, be on Sunday, but in the follow- ing industries rest may be allowed by rotation on another day: Industries with continuous fire; continuous processes, cheese- making, seasonal industries, where Sunday work is necessary for technical reasons ; industries where work is necessary in the public interest, as gas works, water works, bakeries, transport undertak- ings, except railways, repair, etc. ; where work is necessary by rea- son of hygiene ; trades dealing in necessaries, as restaurants, amuse- ments and newspapers. Rest day other than Sunday may be pro- vided for undertakings in the open air. Sunday afternoon holi- day is imposed upon certain establishments allowed to be open Sunday morning. PORTUGAL. Decree establishing a weekly day of rest, August 3, 1907. E. B III, 1, 3. (Diario do Governs, 1907, No. 176, 9 de Agosto.) All employees of commercial and industrial enterprises must be allowed a weekly rest period of at least 24 consecutive hours and on the day fixed as the rest day, factories, work places and com- mercial and industrial businesses must be closed. Exempt from the weekly closing provision are newspaper busi- nesses, chemists, hospitals, undertakers' businesses, bathing estab- lishments, bakeries, restaurants, inns, eating houses, ice factories, slaughter houses, businesses for the sale of fresh fruit, garden pro- duce, vegetables and fish, dairies, heater works, lighting and power plants, undertakings for the work of loading and unloading, tele- phone offices, mines, and all industrial enterprises where the sus- 796 BRIEFS AND MEMORANDA. pension of work would involve damage to the raw materials used therein or to the manufactured goods, or which are of such nature that work must be carried on without interruption. In these en- terprises all employees must be allowed a day of rest by rotation through the week. Sunday shall be the day of rest, except where a suspension on that day shall entail serious loss to the public interest, and in the cases of places of amusements and photographic studios. In such cases another day may be chosen. An exception is made in the case of pastry works on certain Sundays. In case Sunday is, for any reason, unsuitable as a day of rest in a particular industry or trade, the civil governor may fix another day, or readjust the rest period so that half of it may fall on Sunday and half on Monday. Sunday rest may be suspended to facilitate rescue work, repairs that are urgently needed, or to prevent accidents, but in every case there must be, on the next day or days, a compensating period of rest. Violation of the law is punishable by fine and imprisonment. SPAIN. Law of March 3, 1904. (Annuaire de la legislation du travail public par Poffice du travail de Belgique, 1904, p. 141.) Sunday work prohibited in factories, work-shops, stores, fixed or movable markets, mines, quarries, docks, transportation, public works, construction, repairing or demolishing of buildings, agri- culture or forestry, establishments or services dependent on the state, province or municipality, and any analogous occupations. Exceptions are made in case of : a. Works which cannot be interrupted either because of the needs satisfied by them, or for technical reasons, or on account of the effect on public welfare. b. Repairing or cleaning necessary to avoid interruption of manufacturing during the week. BSIEFS AND MEMORANDA. 797 c. Works justified by imminent danger, accidents, or to take advantage of temporary conditions. No more employees than are necessary shall be allowed to work on Sunday, and they shall not be employed for the whole day or two consecutive Sundays. Every employee working a full Sunday must have a full day free during the week. No exception is made allowing Sunday work to women or children under eighteen. SWITZERLAND. I. Federal Laws. Law of 1872 on Transportation. (Le travail du dimanche. Office du travail, Belgique, 1896, v. 5, p. 236.) Art. 9. Officers and employees of railroads shall have a rest at least on one Sunday out of three. This provision shall apply also to other enterprises of transportation authorized or owned by the federal government (steamboats, postal service, etc.). Most of the companies refused to obey this provision, demanding the right to substitute a week day instead of the Sunday, according to the necessities of the service. In 1878 the following was added to article 9 : " For officers and employees, whose replacing on Sunday causes certain difficulties or is not practicable in the interest of safety of transportation, railroad companies may, with the approval of the Federal Council, -decide that the rest on Sunday may be replaced by rest on a week day. The same may take place exceptionally for other officers and employees, if they send a request to their superior officers." By law of June 27, 1890, the old system was adopted again. Art. 4. Officers, employees and workmen shall have 52 days of rest a year, well distributed, of which in any case 17 shall fall on Sundays. No part of the wages shall be retained on account of the rest days granted by the present law. Art. 5. Transportation of merchandise is prohibited on Sunday. Excepted from the prohibition are fast freight and cattle. The 798 BRIEFS AND MEMORANDA. regulations issued for the enforcement of article 4 say " provision must be made that the rest days may be spent at the place of resi- dence; they shall comprise 24 full hours and shall not be shortened, neither at the time of ceasing, nor at the time of beginning work." Subsequent investigations showed that the law was well observed, the suppression f Sunday freight making it easier of enforcement. CANTON OF APPENZELL ON RHINE. Act of April 26, 1908, E. B. Ill, pp. 124-126. Female hotel servants must be allowed a daily period of rest of at least 8 hours between 3 p. m. and 8 a. m., and are entitled to a weekly rest period of at least 6 hours between 8 a. m. and 8 p. m. In lieu of foregoing, servants may contract to receive five days' leave, with full pay, twice each year. No. 22: In shops which are open on Sundays, the women em- ployees shall have a period of rest during the week, equal to the time worked on Sunday. CITY OF BASEL. Law concerning Sunday rent, June 20, 1909. (Sociale Rundschau, herausgegeben vom Arbeitsstatistisohen Amt im Handelministerium, Vienna, Austria, Sept. 1909, p. 49.) 1. Good Friday, Easter, the Pentecost; the day of prayers and Christmas; all Sundays; the first day of the year; Easter Mon- day; the feast of the Assumption, the Monday of the Pentecost, and the day after Christmas, when not Tuesday, are considered official rest days. 3. There is prohibited on rest days noisy work or any noise near church during religious services, public parades, the employ- ment and the paying off of employees in industrial, manufacturing and mercantile establishments, all agricultural work not re- quired to be performed daily, or not depending on events of nature BRIEFS AND MEMORANDA. 79 9 or the weather; transportation; peddling, stocking up, auction sales, and hunting and trading. 5. As far as employment is allowed on rest days, the following provisions are binding: a. If regularly employed on rest days, employees are entitled to one full day of rest at least every two weeks. Besides one full day of rest at least every two weeks, on weeks during which employees do not obtain a full day of rest, the rest that has been lost through Sunday or holiday work must be given to them on a week day, and in case this is not sufficient, on two weeks days. For holidays and during the time of the fair, the government may order the replacing of rest lost through Sunday and holiday work by rest on week days, also the delaying and bunching of rest days. b. Employees working regularly on rest days may agree in writing with employers that at the most, half of the free time they are entitled to during the week shall be delayed and allowed in an uninterrupted vacation, but the remainder of the free time shall be divided as evenly as possible. The entire amount of rest- ing time to which employees are entitled shall be allowed within periods of three, six, or twelve months. c. If regular employment on legal rest days is not exceeding two hours, and employees are allowed a full day of rest each second week, employees may enter into a written agreement with employers to be indemnified in cash for lost time of rest. d. For extra work on legal rest days 'the employees are to be indemnified either in free time or in cash. S7: Domestic and agricultural servants are to be allowed every week, on a legal rest day or on a week day, at least six hours of free time between 7 a. m. and 9 p. m. and of these, four hours must be without interruption. 800 BRIEFS AND MEMORANDA. CANTON OF TOWN OF BASLE. Act to amend the hotels and public houses; Act of December 19, 1887, and June 8, 1905. Jan'y 14, 1909. E. B. IV, p. 52. 29b. Every employee in hotels and public houses must have at least 8 hours of uninterrupted rest in 24. In addition, each employee must have a period of leisure each week between the hours of 8 a. m. and 10 p. m. of at least 6 hours on one day, or at least 4 hours on each of two days. Each month there is to be holiday of at least 24 consecutive hours, or not more than 6 such holidays may be combined from time to time in one continuous holiday. In the weeks when the 24 hour holiday occurs, the weekly rest period of 6 hours or the two rest periods of 4 hours each, as the case may be, need not be allowed. E. B. I, p. 564. General Service Regulation for Employees in Gov- ernment Service. July 28, 1906. Section 12: Workmen who have to work several hours on Sunday shall have equivalent period off on some other day in week. Each employee shall have a Sunday holiday 26 times during the year. BERNE. Act of the Grand Council of Nov. 27, 1907. Adopted by Referen- dum on Feby. 23, 1908. E. B. Ill, p. 118. 17. Female shop assistants may be permitted to work on Sun- days, but they must have a corresponding rest period during the week, and one free Sunday in every month. CANTON OF LUCERNE. E. B. I, p. 65. Apprenticeship Act, March 6, 1906. Part III, Section 12 : In establishments where Sunday work is unavoidable State Council may grant permission to male appren- tices to work Sundays. But there must be ten hours unbroken rest in twenty-four and extra leisure must be granted to make up for hours worked on Sunday. BRIEFS AND MEMORANDA. 801 CANTON OF TESSIN. E. B. I, p. 210. Decree of July 3, 1906, prohibiting night work in bakeries, etc. Section 6. Provides that hours of work shall not exceed eleven in twenty-four, and each employee shall have one day of rest a week. At least once a month the rest day shall fall on Sunday or a holiday. Act respecting work in bakehouses and pastry-cooks businesses, June 19/fc, 1908. E. B. IV, p. 54. 4. Every workman has a right to a weekly holiday, which must fall on a festival at least once a month. Workmen may be em- ployed for one hour on holidays, however, for the purpose of pre- paring fresh dough. CANTON OF THURGAU. Hotels and Public Houses Act, March 12, 1906, adopted by refer- endum, May 20, 1906. E. B. I, p. 568. " All employees shall have the right * * * to one half- holiday in the week, which must fall on Sunday morning or afternoon at least once in the month." CANTON OF ZURICH. Act of May 27, 1907. E. B. I., p. 296. Declares Sundays and seven festivals to be public holidays. Pro- hibits employment on holidays in industrial or commercial estab- lishments, in any trade or handicraft, noisy occupations, or the making up of accounts. Exceptions allowed in the case of agri- culture, continuous processes, industries serving daily needs, stock- taking and emergency work. Sunday work restricted to certain hours in hairdressing and photography. Regulation of Sunday work of porters, cabdrivers, pleasure-boat owners and in bathing establishments left to local authorities. Employees in certain in- dustries who work a part of Sundays must have every third Sun- day free, and for each Sunday worked, must have a free afternoon during same week. 26 802 BKIEFS AND MEMORANDA. There has been, so far, little discussion of the new rest-day laws. The French law has received some attention, iind \ seems to oe defective chiefly in its tendency to leave to tb-j executive the spe- cific classification of certain trades and i:. its failure to provide adequate machinery for its enforcement. This latter gave rise to friction, for a time, because some retail stores did not obey the law and thus had an advantage over those who closed on Sunday. Another serious objection arose over the reduction in earnings of the workmen formerly employed seven days in the week, and numerous strikes occurred during the autumn of 1906. Two years later this matter had been adjusted so that in industries where continuous work had to be done, in a majority of cases the labor force had been increased a seventh and thus output was kept up to the former level and daily wages had gone up in the same degree. BEIEFS AND MEMORANDA. 803 4. COMMUNICATIONS. HEALTH DEPARTMENT, NEW YORK STATE. MR. ABRAM I. ELKUS, Chief Counsel, Factory Investigating Commission, 170 Broadway, New York City: DEAR SIR : Your communication of recent date, asking for a statement in reference to the investigation being carried on by your Commis- sion, was forwarded to me during my absence from Albany and I regret to say that for this reason there was delay in its delivery. I have been, and am, much interested in the work which your Commission has undertaken, and am glad to note that there is a movement on foot to extend the time within which your Commis- sion may report, to enable you to go more thoroughly into some of the questions at issue. I shall endeavor to answer the questions which you have put to me and can assure you that I will be glad to co-operate with the Commission in any way in its work, or to furnish you any infor- mation in my power. As to the jurisdiction of this Department over manufacturing establishments, I beg to say that contrary to general public opinion, the direct powers of this Department are exceedingly limited. Most of the authority in regard to public health matters lies with the local Boards of Health, and as I have pointed out for some years, I believe New York State is far behind in failing to put sufficient authority in the hands of the State Department of Health to in- augurate many radical reforms which are needed and which it is apparent can never be carried out by local Boards of Health. We have no direct authority over the conditions in manufactur- ing establishments, nor have we attempted to make inspections of the same. We have very little money to expend in inspection work, and it is necessary that the men so employed should be kept busy on work in the protection of public water supplies and matters of this kind where the Department is charged with responsibility. The questions as to the improvements necessary to reduce the heavy mortality from tuberculosis and other diseases among factory 804: BRIEFS AND MEMORANDA. workers and the causes of this disease go to the root of our social conditions. It is obvious that the employer of labor should be re- quired to keep his premises in a sanitary condition, to make the premises as safe as possible for his employees, that persons afflicted with contagious diseases should not be allowed to spread the same by contact with others, and that the health and efficiency of the workers should be maintained at as high a standard as possible, and that it is to the advantage of the employer to see that this is done. While our figures in regard to the cases of tuberculosis are not complete, the disease never having been required to be reported in this State until I placed it upon the list of diseases to be reported, in 1907, we know that there is a heavy mortality among factory workers and in certain cities of the State where there are large manufacturing establishments. The living conditions must be im- proved, as well as the conditions under which these people work, if we are to successfully combat the disease. Insanitary tenements must be abolished and the worker must receive a wage sufficient to enable him to obtain proper food. He must be educated as to the steps necessary to prevent tuberculosis, the dangers of alcohol- ism, and the necessity of rest, fresh air and good food in maintain- ing his strength and efficiency. It will readily be seen that the subjects involved require co- operation and consideration on the part of the State, the munici- pality, the employer and civic associations. The efforts of this Department in regard to tuberculosis during the past few years have been directed along the lines of a widespread educational campaign to teach the people what the disease is, how it should be prevented, and its cure. Our experience leads us to believe that what people are in need of is an opportunity to learn about matters of this kind, and that if the State will furnish this infor- mation they will grasp it eagerly. In regard to mortality and morbidity statistics, I would say that our mortality statistics have been very much improved in the last few years as we have secured a number of amendments to our law, and we have a complete registration of all deaths. Morbidity statis- tics are not as complete, owing to the difficulty in getting local Boards of Health to get physicians to report all cases. We are endeavoring to interest the physicians throughout the State in this BEIEFS AND MEMORANDA. 805 work, and to require local Boards of Health to compel the report- ing of all cases. I believe this question is largely an educational one and more direct results can be secured by getting the co- operation of the physicians than by attempting to force them into line. As to the functions of the State Health Department and the State Department of Labor, concerning the sanitary conditions in factories, it would seem that as the State Labor Department is vested with general authority over these plants, the authority governing sanitary conditions should also be given to them and that they should have proper funds to require its enforcement. As to the co-operation between the State Department of Health and local Boards of Health, I beg to say that it our endeavor to co-operate with local Boards of Health in all matters, and to en- deavor to assist them and advise them in their undertakings. We have very little control over their acts and have great difficulty in compelling them to carry out some of the provisions of the Public Health Law. Tt is our purpose to introduce at this session of the Legislature a bill making some general amendments to the Public Health Law in which we propose to strengthen the authority of the State De- partment of Health over the local Boards and secure a more effec- tive co-operation. As to the necessity for a State Sanitary Code, I do not believo it is feasible to attempt to do this. All of our local Boards of Health have rules and regulations. They must be drafted to suit many varying conditions, and in the majority of the jurisdictions the regulations are sufficient to protect the public health if they are properly enforced. I beg to assure you of my deep interest in the work of your Commission and my desire to be of every possible service, and if there is any further information I can give you I will be very glad to furnish it. Thanking you for the opportunity of addressing you, I am, Very Respectfully, EUGEXE H. PORTER, Commissioner of Health. 806 BEIEFS AND MEMORANDA. BAKE1UES. OFFICE OF THE COMMISSIONER OF HEALTH. January 4, 1912. MR. ABRAM I. ELKUS, Chief Counsel, Factory Investigating Com- mission, No. 165 Broadway, New York. SIRS: In reply to your letter of December 26, 1911, I beg to advise you as follows in answer to your several questions: During the year ending October 1, 1911, 3,042 inspections of bakeries were made; 744 reports were referred to the State De- partment of Labor, in 571 instances unclean conditions were re- moved by the personal effort of the inspectors or patrolmen of the Sanitary Squad, and 60 notices were issued by the Department. During the period from October 1, 1911, to December 15, 1911, 3,824 investigations of bakeries were made; unclean con- ditions were removed by the personal effort of inspectors or patrol- men of the Sanitary Squad in 666 instances; 123 notices were issued by the Department; 192 "public nuisance" orders and 95 " vacation " orders were issued by the Board of Health against bakeries. The Department of Health has no authority to " seal " bakeries. Very truly yours, ERNST J. LEDERLE, Commissioner. ]]RIJ:KS AND MEMORANDA. 807 EMPLOYMENT OF PJ4EG V ' V T WOMEN. J ahuu. it 2CM, 1912. ME. ABEAM I. ELKUS, 170 Broadway, N. Y. DEAE SIE: I presented your letter of the 18th at the meeting of the Brook- lyn Pediatric Society in connection with the discussion of a paper on " The Cause and Prevention of Premature Birth." There was a very general and interesting discussion of your plans, and at my motion the following resolutions were unanimously adopted. Make use of them in any way that seems wise. " Whereas, The statistics collected by many investigators, both in this country and abroad, conclusively prove that factory labor is responsible for a large percentage of prematurity and infant mor- tality; Be it resolved, That the Brooklyn Pediatric Society heartily endorses the efforts of the Factory Investigating Commission to regulate, by law, the employment of women immediately before and after childbirth." Practically all who discussed the question agreed with you that it would be difficult or impossible to do much in the way of pre- vention before childbirth. They also wanted me to express to you their opinion that we should shorten, by law, the working-day for women. Another point was that the State must supply some way of taking care of such women if they" are not allowed to work. Yours truly, LOUIS C. AGER. 808 BRIEFS AND MEMORANDA. HEALTH INSPECTION IN FACTORIES. HEALTH DEPARTMENT, MASSACHUSETTS. BOSTON, Sept. 25, 1911. DR. GEORGE M. PRICE, Director of Investigations, Factory Investigating Commission, 165 Broadway, New York, N. Y. MY DEAR DR. PRICE: I have your letter of September 23 requesting copies of inspec- tion cards and schedules used by our inspectors. While I am send- ing them under separate cover, I wish I might see you to explain how they are used, as otherwise I feel that you will get but slight help from them. I am also inclosing a copy of the 1906 report of this board relating to the sanitation of factories. Since you ask for suggestions, in addition to 'the printed matter, the suggestion which I would offer is one which is the outcome of seven years' experience in the work in Massachusetts. In this State, a distinction is made between " factory inspection " and "health inspection in factories." Factory inspection, except for a study of the health conditions in factories and the health of the persons employed therein, is in the hands of the district police, while the health inspection work is under the supervision of the State Board of Health. In considering the protection of the public health, we recognize that the factory is not an isolated part of the community, that in manufacturing centers factory employees mingle freely v:ith persons in other walks of life, and that the health of persons who work in factories, therefore, may aifect materially the healtn of the public. We recognize, too, that in making a study -of the sanitation of factories and the probable effects of conditions, processes, and methods upon health, we must have a knowledge of the sanitation of each industrial community including the factory, the school and the home. For these reasons, the health inspection of the commonwealth includes the health inspection of industrial establishments and some knowledge of each industrial process and a study of the probable effects of oc- cupation upon the health of the workers at their work, as well as BEIEFS AND MEMORANDA. 809 the investigation of the prevalence of communicable and occupa- tional diseases. So far as I know, Massachusetts stands alone in providing for such a thorough study of factory and industrial conditions, their probable effects upon the health of the workers and investigation of the prevalence of communicable and occupational diseases. In this latter work, our inspectors are empowered to make physical examinations of minors under eighteen years of age, not only for the purpose of excluding minors with dangerous diseases like tuberculosis, but for the purpose of excluding them from any occupation or process, condition or method which may injuriously affect their health. A few words as to the history of the present system: the ques- tion of providing a body of health inspectors who should stand bet'veen the authorities at the State House and the municipalities first arose some twenty years ago. In 1904-5 and 6 a rather ex- tensive investigation of health conditions of industrial life by the State Board of Health marked the first definite step in the devel- opment in America of industrial hygiene. Dr. Charles Harring- ton, then Secretary of this Board, realizing the importance of preventive medicine, and therefore of encouraging specialization in sanitary work, went so far as to announce to one of his classes in hygiene in the Harvard Medical School that only graduates of medicine would be eligible for the work. The result of the in- vestigation warranted certain definite recommendations to the Leg- islature providing for a more efficient provision for the health of the operatives than at that time existed. This investigation, there- fore, covering a period of three years, was one of the several in- fluences that in 1907 affected the legislative mind. Another was a very strong organization of persons who were interested in the measures for the prevention of the spread of tuberculosis. In this year of 1907, therefore, the Legislature of Massachusetts passed an act which provided for the establishment of health districts land the appointment of State Inspectors of Health. There are fourteen State Inspectors of Health, each in charge of a health district, who are physicians legally recognized as sani- tarians who work under the supervision of the State Board of Health, acting as an intermediary between the State Board and S10 BRIEFS AND MEMORANDA. ibe l<.cal boards. While the health district division is still experi- p.ental, the matter of determining the division lines and the power of changing them from time to time is left entirely to the State Board of Health. The State Inspectors of Health are appointed by the State Board of Health with the consent of the Governor and Council. While the term of office of a State Inspector of Health is designated as five years, he may be removed at any time by the State Board of Health. The important thing, in general terms, about the legislation, so far as it a fit-Ms local health au- thorities, Li that it is advisory. Ir U the business of a State In- spector of Health to assist the local health authorities within his district and when necessary, advise them relative to the prevention of the s] .'<^ci of diseases dangerous to the public health, and all influences iangerous to ih and provisions of this chapter, anfi the certificate of ap- proval hereinbefore required has been filed wits; him, the commis- sioner of labor shall issue a license therefor. Such licence r if at any time an order of the commissioner requiring compliance with any of the provisions of this chapter be not : o so constructed and maintained as to minimize drafts, and all windows therein sJiall lie maintained in proper condition and repair. 2. All passageways in foundries sliall be constructed and main- tained of sufficient width to make the use thereof by employees reasonably safe; during the progress of casting such passageways shall not be obstructed in any manner. 3. Smoke, steam and gases generated in foundries shall be promptly and effectively removed therefrom, and whenever it is necessary, exhaust fans of sufficient capacity and power, prop- erly equipped with piping and hoods, shall be provided and oper- ated to remove such smoke, steam and gases. The milling and cleaning of castings shall be done in rooms not otherwise used during the progress of such milling or cleaning and provision shall be made for confining and collecting the dust arising during the process. 4. All foundries shall be properly and thoroughly lighted dur- ing working hours and in cold weather proper and sufficient heat shall be provided and maintained therein. The use of heaters dis- charging smoke or gas into workrooms is prohibited. In every foundry employing five or more molders there shall be provided and maintained for the use of employees therein suitable and convenient washrooms adequately equipped with proper hot and cold water service; such washrooms shall be kept clean and sani- tary and shall be properly heated during cold weather. Lockers shall be provided for the safe-keeping of employees' clothing and proper facilities shall be provided for drying the working clothes of employees. Water-closets used by foundry employees shall be so arranged or located that such employees in passing thereto or therefrom shall not be exposed to outdoor atmosphere, and swch water closets shall be properly heated during cold weather. 5. The flasks, molding machines, ladles, cranes and apparatus for transporting molten metal in foundries shall be maintained BILLS SUBMITTED TO THE LEGISLATUKE. 837 in proper condition and repair, and any such tools or implements that are defective shall not be used until properly repaired. There shall be in every foundry, available for immediate use, an ample supply of lime-water, olive oil, vaseline, bandages and absorbent cotton, to meet the needs of workmen in case of burns or other accidents; and any other equally efficacious remedy for burns may be substituted for tliose herein prescribed. 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 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