The Sun.
London, England, 1842-09-06 00:00:00

W ORKING TAILORS

(From the Report on the Sanitary Condition of the
Labouring Population of Great Britain.)
The evils arising from bad ventilation of places of
work will probably be most distinctly brought to
view, by the consideration of the evidence as to its
effects on one particular class of workpeople. The
frequency of cases of early deaths and orphanage,
and widowhood amongst one class of labourers, the
journeymen tailors, led me to make some inquiries as
to the causes affecting them.
Mr. Thomas Brosynkiw, tailor, aged 52 :
" It is stated that you have been a journeyman
tailor, and now work for yourself. At what descrip-
tion of places have you worked ? I have always
worked at the largest places in London ; one part of
my tine I worked at Messrs. Allen's, of Old Bond-
street, where I worked eight years ; at another part
of my time I worked at Messrs. Stultze's, in Clifford-
street, where I.worked four years. At Messrs. Allen's
they had then from 80 to 100 men at work • at
Messrs. Stultze's they had, when I worked there,
about 250 men.
" Will you describe the places of work, and the
effects manifested in the health of the workmen ?--
The place in which we used to work at Messrs.
Allen's was a room where eighty men worked to-
gether. It vas a room sixteen or eighteen yards long,
and seven or eight yards wide, lighted with sky-
lights; the men were close together, nearly knee to
knee. In summer time the heat of the men and the
heat of the irons made the room twenty or thirty de-
grees higher than the heat outside ; the heat was then
most suffocating, especially after the candles were
lighted. I have known young men, tailors from the
country, faint away in the shop from the excessive
heat and closeness; persons, working-men, coming
into the shop to see some of the men, used to complain
of the heat, and also of the smell as intolerable; the
smell occasioned by the heat of the irons and the va-
rious breaths of the men really was at times into-
lerable. The men sat as loosely as they possibly
could, and the perspiration ran from them from the
heat and the closeness. It is of frequent occurrence
in such workshops that light suits of clothes are
spoiled from the perspiration of the hand, and the
dit:t and flue which arises darkening the work. I
have seen 401. or 501. worth of work spoiled in the
course of the summer season from this cause.
" Taking your account of the average loss by ner-
vous exhaustion and. bad habits to be two hours.' work
for twenty years, and twelve hours daily work for ten
years in additio::, supposing him to be employed full
time, it would be a loss of the value of 50,000 hours
of productive labour (of the value at sixpence per
hour, 1,250/.); or, if he were only in work half a
year at a loss of 25,000 hours ; so that if he were
employed the half time at the full wages, or full time
at the half wages, such workmen will have lost the
means of putting by a sum of not less than 6001. to
to maintain him in comfort when he is no longer able
to work ?—Yes, I think that would be found to be
correct. Very few do save • but I have known some
save considerable sums. I knew one man, of the
name of John Hale, who saved about 6001. He
was not one of the most sober men, but he was
in constant employment, sometimes at Allen's and
sometimes at Weston's, and he was very careful ; but
he died when he was about forty-five. I knew
another man, whose name was Philip Gray, who used
to prefer the smaller shops. He was a man of a very
good constitution, and he lived until he was about
seventy. He was a journeyman all his life, and he
had, when he died, more than 1,5001., all saved bay London journeywork. He used to live in a baker's
shop in Silver-street, Golden-square."