The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1876-06-08

RENEWAL OF THE AGITATION AGAINST III
TENEMENT HOUSE MANIEA croRIrs

RENEWAL OF THE AGITATION AGAINST THE
TENEMENT HOUSE MANUFACTURES
movement has again beon started among the
smaller cigar manufacturers having for its object the
suppression OF cigar making In tenement houses This
subject agated about two years ago and received
at the time good deal Of attention. and the reasons
then urged for reform in the system similar to
those which the present movement Is based. The
protractcd dulncss in the cigar trade attributed also
by the opponents OF the tenement house system to tho
cheap rates At which work can be done by the Bohe
mians engaged In the trade outside of the factories
The arguments employed against the tenement house
system are:-That the air In the houses in
which cigars mado Is rendered impure; that
the work induces uncleanly HABITS, in consec uence
Of being done where tho workers live eat and sleep
that because all tho members OF the family assist in
the work the cnildrens health prejudced and that
the system breeds disease only among The workers
themselves, but throughout tho ncghborhood. The
efforts Of the opponents tcnemcnl house nanntac
ture succeeded heretofore getting the Board OF
Health TO investigate these things and report was
published At the time giving the results Of the exami-
nations then made The inspectors-Drs. Emerson and
Tracy--who made the report this subject then
said making these inspections We have been
into each room in which the manufacture OF cigars
was being carried on well into the other rooms:
have the people al thor work and at their meals
have talked with them and with their employers, when
we have chancod TO mect the latter and have thus en-
JOY cd the best opportunity for judging for ourselves
the effects upon the workmcn and their families OF
their peculiar environment"
The report then proceeds TO show that the air srace
light and ventilation of the operatives In tenement
houses superior TO that afforded by factories to
their operatives and several instances cited in sup
port of this assertion In The matter OF cleanliness and
food also, tho tenement house workers acknowi-
edged 10 have the advantage the factory workers
Further on the inspectors say that far their OBJ
scrvation extended the children OF families who work
in tobacco quite healthy as the average children
reared in tenement houses. fhc door OF the tobacco
in the tcncments the report SAYS Is less pungcnt than
In the factories. AT night The tobacco is kept covered
nd trtc Vnt (x..t
THIS inspection, however, confirmed the report
that workers in tobacco were emarkablc for
the paucity OF their offspring, thus giving
color 10 the impression cxlani regarding the eject Of
tobacco upon the reproductive system The report
says
''lt Is undcnable that the number OF children
In The families OF tobacco workers is surprisingly
small In the 90 families OF which one OF "a TOOK
notes hcrc only cnidrcn or an average Of only
little over one TO each married couple And in the
las families visited by the other there only 23i
children, making an average OF l5s 100 10 each mar
rcd couple Concerning the alleged propagation Of
disease through the tenement house system the IN
Spectors sad I'VE have To discover M owl
dencc that such Is the case. There have been many
OF smallpox IN families engaged cigar making
which have 10 notice OF the sanitary
authorities until death took place and which, probably
represent certain proportion OF cases which ALWAYS
remain undiscovered The tendency 10 conceal such
cases Us natural one. Tho knowledge that case or
smallpox existed IN such family, II bru,ed about
might and probably would seriously nJure Their bust
and II not surprising that they prefer keep
II quiet aud allow " 10 recover without the knowledge
OF outsiders But IL 10 the same with any family
who carry asma business In their own house. v
The concluding paragraph OF the report read az fol-
lows 1--WE have now given the results OF nvcsti-
CATION somewhat at length and will orely recapitulate
them. We ind that the homo workers have moro air
space A. good vcntation light and ood; that their
apartments quite clcanly that their children
appear healthy as the shopworkcrs In addition to
this they earn more money, are enabled TO live in
better quarters, have better food and afford more
Of the Injuries aud clegancics OF lifc and In so tar
are v ng under better hygcnic conditions that they
pass their hours OF sleep under probably, favorable
conditions, and that they DO not, rule, occasion
any nuisance TO their neighbors With all this how
ever there Is evidence enough that the acture Of
cigars Is not heathui employment, but we believe
that evil effects equally cIt by those who work
In shops at homo
Several Of the larger cigar manufacturers give out
work the tenement house operatives, and thus may
in measure account for the opposition the smaller
dealers