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 over 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 class in the State, together with their totals. In addition to the actual wage earners concerned, the Commission's inquiry bears indirectly upon the millions of women and children who compose the families of these workers and are dependent upon them for support.
Health is the principal asset of the working man and the working woman.
The state is bound to do everything in its power to preserve the health of the workers who contribute so materially to its economic wealth and its industrial prosperity. Aside from the humanitarian aspect of the situation, economic considerations demand from the State the careful supervision and protection of its workers. Failure to perform this obligation will produce serious results in the workers of the future. It will affect the working capacity of the future generation. Indifference to these matters reflects grossly upon the present day civilization, and it is regrettable that our State and national legislation on the subject of industrial hygiene compares so unfavorably with that of other countries.