The facts of this child labor are carefully recorded here along with the sense of outrage that new laws were needed to protect children and women. The article was originally given as a speech to the National Consumer's League, a women's organization that began in Boston but grew to enlist female reformers in large cities all over the country. While the NCL began with boycotts against department stores hoping the pressure would result in improved working conditions for female employees, concerns and strategies broadened and the NCL was recognized nationally as an influence in public policy. The most hideous and uncontestable type of sweating is done in what should be the homes of working people. In one room, that which opens on the street or yard, is carried on all the domestic life.
Every garment worn by a woman is found being manufactured in tenement rooms.
The coarsest home-wrappers to the daintiest lace gown for a fine evening function are manufactured in these rooms. Corsets and shoes are the most uncommon. In this case the hats belonged to a Broadway firm. Every garment worn by men is found being manufactured in rooms whose legitimate use is for living purposes. Men's hats are less frequently found, but one wonders if there are men enough in the world to wear all the trousers that are finished in tenement rooms.