Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1876-01-20
Uncomfortable Workshops.

with some rare exceptions workshops
are not built for the comfort Of the oper.
atiyes: most of them have inadequate pro.
visions for heating In winter and many
! also have defective ventilation, which Is
even worse In winter than In summer.
Most shops cannot be kept at an equal,
comfortable temperature, and thus the
workings suffer, especially from cold
while tic fact Is that ii they were print
lively well constructed the same amount
or even less fuel would keep them suffi-
GENTLY warm In cold weather, and judi.
cious ventilation would promote the gen.
cral health Of all In the shop a. well in
the summer as in the winter.
We maintain that If the owner of any
industrial establishment understands his
own interest he will do great deal for
the comfort Of bis employees, as an oper.
alive, when working iE tolerably com.
Portable surroundings, will do more and
better work than when he suffers from
heat or cold, or, what is worse than all In
the long run, an impure atmosphere. All
practical men know the utter discomfort
Of working on hot day in an illy-venti-
lated place, even the fmpossibiiity oil
doing much labor or turning out guam
tity Of work at all In keeping with their
CAPACITY al other times They also know
the influence Of icy feet and frosty teels,
cold TO the touch, benutnbing the fingers
and hands which use them and thus csus-
ing the production Of kind OF work far
inferior 10 what they could otherwise do.
This Ia the first effect; the next effect Is
he suffers, gets cold, does less work
and finally becomes sick, when all work
ceases. at H8n r.
Very few people are aware that more
than half the diseases OF the labOring
classes proceed from exposure 10 cold.
We must not forget that In cur climate we
have only three summer months; that 81
least for four months artificial heat is alb.
solutely necessary, while the remaining
five spring and fall months are so uncer.
tain that careful precaution Is required,
especially In dress, TO avoid being caught
by sudden changes In temperature and
thus pay for the least imprudence by
coughs, catarrhs, bronchitis, indigestion,
rheumatic attacks, diarrhmas, etc. There
are indeed few persons OF such perfect
constitution that will not from time to
time suffer by taking cold In some form
or other, and careful observation and in
quiry has convinced US that In the great
majority of cases the cold has not exerted
rs baneful influence In the open air but
when in the house or shop where the
body was exposed for long time to a
temperature so low AS 10 cause the animal
heat To descend below the normal tempcra-
ture; then the check upon the otherwise al
ways active perspiration causes substances
10 remain In the system which should
be continually eliminated; the blood be-
comes In this way, ~ u were, poisoned
with undesirable material, and the results
are various, according to the constitution
of the individual the weakest parts will
then suffer, either the throat, head, lungs,
joints, muscles, stomach, intestines, etc,
hence the various results which the same
exposure 10 cold will have on different
persons.
An employer who thus exposes his en-
ployes 20 causes Of disarranged health by
the effectiveness OF his workshop not
only commits nm offense against man, but
he causes losses In his own behalf which
he could prevent. The expense of having
things Of this kind arranged in the right
way Is indeed so small when compared
with the results tobe attained that even
aside from humanitarian principles,
which make 1t duty, ii is surprising 10
see SO much neglect in this respect, and
that even In quarters where IL should be
least expected Naaujactarera,sd Builder.