Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1874-03-05

How TO RUS YorR UEALTn Win THE
SiwISG MACHINE AND HOW TO AyoID
lSJvRY. by a Thy sician. Published
~ Turniuli Hro'lers.
This little rsmrhlc, has very useful
purp SC. I; is designed as n guide to
women in the working Of the sewing ma
chine. ~ well rs in the selection Of pro-
Ter kind. OF course il has nothing tn DO
With the comparative sewing qualities Of
the various machines; but deals only with
the position Of the operative and the man
sgrucnt Of the ircadlcs and motive pow
eIs. II is written BY a distinguished
young physician who has given to the sub
jcct q minute aud scientific study. and
what he says is worthy Of carc.u! exami-
nation.
The use Of the sewing machine has vast
ly lcss,pcd the labor Of sewing; but it has
Introduced n class Of pains and troubles
among its operatives tha, go lar TO offset
its many advantages. And the causes of
these pains aud troubles have not been
clearly understood; and. only by under
s,Hr,iing ,Lcm can We hope to avoid them.
In factories where tue operatives are
required ,n run the machines themselves.
n a~idc diversity in their physical condi-
ton is to DC Observed. Some of the wo-
ncn whom We saw bending over. and
,oi!ing 4, the ,rCadlr. presented a sickly.
woru-ou, asr ct. while the appearance of
some that we found elsewhere. and who
also ran III. machines then, elves, COM
pared favoraLiy with ti.at of the opera
iiv.s of the sicam-ran factories. Upon
irquirv, We learned that these women
were employed upon an entirely different
machine. ;he construction of which ena-
tled il 20 hc run with such facility that
the operatives could maintain an upright
Position. aud at tie same time easily keep
the machine in motion BY the application
of bat one foot to the treadlc; while the
others whom we had observed, were Ia
bnriUasly running a machine for which
they weIe compelled constantly TO employ
Ic,h ic,t Our observations soon led US
Go the conclusion that in IostGrc Of body
aud over tx,riion of muscle. was to be
found the source of sewing machine dis
eases. Thcsc conclusions were further
confirmed, when we had asccriained that
the women employed upon the light rum
hing machines did rot complain Of any
disorIc,s attributable to their use. In
order To satisfy ourselves siIll further uIon
this pciu,. we inquired of one of the wo-
men Why she thought that the use Of one
foot ia running the machine gave her i'm
munity from disorders With which others
suffered She 4, once replied tha, it was
because she could thus sit nearer the ia
bic a, which she was working. and So
avoid ..oopiuc: and could also escape "a
iisGc ty sLaI gius the feet upon the trca-
die.
lf our Investigations had been confined
Go the working women OF factories. the
uuu,tcr u; them is So large that the sug-
gcs,icns which We shall make would not
have been uncsIlod for; but inquiry was
4x,,nded further. TO the homes of mum.
hers Who depend upon the sewing machine
for their sulsisicuce. Little difference is
% be Observed between this class aud the
factory operatives. The home workers
are spared the goading spur OF the eon,pe-
tition which 90 often Is 10 be found be-
tween factory women. and which doubt
less often drives them on to ovcr-cxer-
tion; tat nevertheless. they have their al
!ossC6 number Of hours for daily work.
and 80 share the ills common to both
classes.
In ills connection there occurs to our
mind certain resolutions passed at re.
cent meeting Of a medical society. and
published in The American Journal Of
Medical Sciences" 10 the effect that the
use of sewing machine by woman in
ordinary health for fonr or Eve hours dali
". was not detrimental TO her physical
eell-leirg. The gentlemen who adopted
these resolutions seem TO have lost sight
Of the fac, that the great majority Of NO.
men ~ho use the sewing machine. do so.
no, fsr four or eve. but for eight or ten
hours daily: and il il was their intention
Go indicate the amount Of labor that nigh,
be undertaken without injury. they SIN
eularly failed OF their purpose. by omit.
ting to consider that the amount Of labor
involved IN four or Eve hours work varies
very materially with the kind Of machine
employed.
We have remarked upon the healthy
coeditioa Of those women who use ma
chimes run BY steam aud Of those who
have adopted the light machines. which
may be comfortably worked by Que foot
at a tisee. We have especially observed
and compared the posture Of the body Of
these with that OF the operatives os hca-
visr machines requiring both feet. and
considerable muscular caog, to move them,