New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-08-18
TIN HEALTH OF SHOPWOMEN

Tur HEALTH OF SHOPWOMEN.
INQUIRIES OF A SANITARY INSPECIoH.
uo,v sc sr,nrxc ArFrcrs WOMEN AND GIRLS
EMPLOYED IN STORES AND fAcfo"'hS-""
SEARCHES OF DIR. r. 5. TRACY. UNDER Di"'O'
TON or THE HEALTH DOARD-His lNQo''
RIrs LAUGHED AT BY THE WOMEN l"h"-
sILvEs-TALKs WITH rnE EMPLOYERS
DR.. Roger. S. Tracy, one of the Sanitary III
spectors, submitted to the Board OF mean"
Yesterday a voluminOus report 0I Dis eiioi's
10 ascertain, in obedience to the dircctlops y.
the Board. the influence OF long-c0ntin"c"
standing on the health of girls and young
women employcd in stores. He did not ma
his worl, satisfactory. The girls and sales
women and their parents whom lie talheu
with treated his inquiries with scorn OF rlui-
clI!c. The employers, when spoken to per-
sonally, attributed the pale faces and weary
manners to dissipation and bad food. NO one
paid any attention to the inspectors circulars
EXTRACTS FROM THE REPORT.
"In the summer Of 1877 was requested" says
Or Tracy IN his report by the Board Of Health to
invest gate and report upon the heaith oi snoP
girls as affected by loHs-cf fhid r"oue9t
b,can such an investigation. but met WIN
Il AIcultio, of such an unexpected and apparently
in.upr.abIo nature, that was forced 10 abandon III
after proenung with great expenditure OF time
and trouble the comparatively unInportahC sta'c-
ments embodied m this report"
Assuming that women are physically weaker man
men and less able to bear fatigue, DR.. Tracy turned
his attention especially 10 forms OF disease
10 which the practice of standng LOT
long time mig d t pS P }e,nre that would
GER any follow personal guest9nine ne piepa TO-.
circulars containing questions ana sent tnc w Wv
owners of stores and factories where many young
women were employed. Another set OF circulars was
mt inro the hands Of the women themselves.
The result was unSatls factory. The employers
whom DR. Tracy visited in person always t0lind
some Reuse for not filing out the CIRCULARS ne
answers written out by the girls were goneraliY
found to b. irrelevant. and apparently ln,ended 10
be iocose showing that they either looked npo the
Investigation ~ ridiculous or impertinent, OF tney
we're endeayoriug TO conceal fear OF their enl-
plOycIs under q comic mask
WHAT HE EMPLOYERS SAY.
All the real information that was gained was by
conversation with the employers. Cmei among
those Dr. Tracy visited were Ridley & Co., II.
O,NeiU & Co.. and Macy & Co. Mr.. Ridley said
that Of go young women i'll his employ only seven
had dIad in fifteen years, and that their
health was generally good. The pallld faces
and wearied manner of some he attributed TO bad
food and insufficient sleep Many of the girls he
SAID spent their evenings at parties. rcnics ana
balls eXeTting themselves phYSlcaiiy ana eatlnH
late suppcra. not retiring before O'Clock III the
morning, so That they Rad ~. oniy nye or
of them irs cad OF bring ng wholesome and sub
slant al lunch from home ~ men generally doViSit
rhe heighborug confectionery and cake SHOPS, ana
lunch on cake, PIE and pastry. with perhaps lew
rumdrops tor dessert" He had often Won
dered at the strength shown by hali-grown
girls IN resisting the eHects OF such con
tnued dissipation. In his view the habituai pallor
and deb lity of some shop-glrls are only the
counterparts Of the same symptoms IN the denZenS
of Murray Hill when the season is at It's height,
and ttfn al II l.
known physiological laws" Alr. Ridley also stated
that bis cupOye are allowed to SIT on the edges OF
half-opcned drawers when they have moment of
leisure and chat even this concession on bis part
had been met with violent criticism from many Oh
his customers, who complained to The loor-Walkers
and to members of the firm that the girls were
sometimes sitting when Lanes approach the counter.
TIE CAUSE OF PALE FACES.
Mr. ONeil stated that thero was very little sick
ness of any kind among his saleswomen. They are
oblqed he said to be in their places in the store at
5 A. m. and are allowed to 20 away at D. M, with
haitian hour for lunch in the middle Of the day.
They are also allowed " TWO hours of. morning and
afternoon twice a week. On SATURDAYS their
duties keep them in the store until 10 p. M
Al II. II. Macy " Co.'S sore the girls must
be at work a. \ a. No., and they quit work at D.
m. with half an hour for lunch. Mr.. Valentine
stated hat there was very tfle sickness among the
saesw0Inen but that the cashiers. VINO SAT all day,
ntquen. Is broke down. There was much Sickness
among them, and he was Obliged to give them
rpcpSSrS uHliY on twenty uuHltb tlCll, bcoit'S
lunch tlme. Ihis tendency TO give way under the
pressure o their duties was SO general that the nrm
bad been cons deuug the prOprlety of putting men
IN the places of the women employed as cashiers.
Neither MIR. VNeIll nor Mr.. Valentine attributed so
much Importance to the question Of food and sleep
as Mr.. Ridley did.
Dr. Tracy. having obtained q list of his sales
women from Mr. O'Nell. called upon them at their
homes and questioned them and their parents but
hc met with constant Tebuffs ana was obliged TO
abandon this mode OF inquiry. The parents.
like their children, seeued to have dread OF their
EMPLOYERS and lear OF the consequences OF the
slightest criticism. DR.. Tracy quotes seven cases
OF shop gIrls who are compelled to stand all dav.
Most of them suffered from pains in their feet, but
were otherwise in good health. One felt better
when at work than when at leisure. and another
had abandoned one place because she had too many
holidays.
AS "A last resort Dr. Tracy sent out circulars from
the office OF the Board of Health to forty different
houses with blanks for the desired information.
Not single one ever came back, though all were
accompanied BY stamped envelopes. He then VS.
tied The dispensaues, but found that no record of
the occupation of the women patients was kept
This" he concludes. d" was my last attempt to
obtain the facts was in search of. There seemed
TO be no other available source of information and
So after many months spent in these fruitlcss
injuries was forced to abandon the investlga-
ton"
The report was ordered to be put on file.