Workmen's advocate. (New Haven, Conn.) 1883-1891, 1890-03-15
A FOOT PRINT IN NEW YORK.
FLORENCE KELLEY WIscHNEwETsKY.


Under the above title Mr.. George N.
Miller publishes an article in the Febru.
airy Nationalist calling attention to the
Factory Inspection Department and
asking the question: SIS not, then, this
system of factory inspection genuine
foot print of Capitalism
The wage earning Nationalist will be
tempted to reply: "Far from it. Rather
is it an ear mark of Capitalism"
For the existence of labor Legislation
and functionaries appointed for it's en-
forcement indicates that the outrages
of capital upon labor have already pro-
duceda revolt of labor, powerful enough
to extort from reluctant lawgivers GER
tain palliative measures most imperfect
under capitalist conditions and super
huous under Nationalism.
The factory inspection of to-day, like
the militiaman, is the child of the strug-
gle of labor against capital, The fac.
tory inspector enforces the law for the
worker against the capitalist. The
militiaman shoots down the worker by
command of the capitalist 1t is char
acteristic of the present status of the
forces engaged on each side, that there
are hundreds of thousands of militia and
less than fifty factory inspectors in the
United States to-day.
Moreover the factory inspectorship,
like every thing else conceded to the
workers under capitalism, bears the trail
of the serpent. For it sometimes hap
pens that the office is conferred as a
brlbe to silence a too efficient labor agi-
tator. Or it may be a prize for par
ticularly valuable party heller, as Is
now notorionsly the case in New York
state. Sometimes it is lever for COM
polling employers to subscribe to cam
paign funds on condition of being left
unm oested, Or it may be mere device
for personal extortion for the individual
Inspector.
In no case does the factory Inspector
ship afford adequate protection to the
workers life and limb, although Eng
land has had inspectors for forty years;
Germany has about fourscore of them
and the city of Paris alone has thirteen
women Inspectors apart from the ma
TONS corps of men. For nowhere is the
corps large enough for the work allotted
to it. In New York city it is most con-
spicuously futile, one incompetent man
having the inspection of 10000 factories.
Does it follow that Nationalists have
no farther interest in the Development
of factory inspection?
Far from it. If we are clear as to the
exact nature of the institution, we must
logically do all that lies in our power to
obtain more straight labor legislation
and better inspectors, both men and
wom en-, to enforce it. And we must
increasingly urge upon the labor organi-
zatlons the need of inspecting the inspec-
tors and keeping them up to their work
While we do this we must clearly ex-
plain that these palliatives are not Ma
tionalism or Socialism; that they will
become superhuous when Capitalism is
superseded. Their utility lies in their
contributing with the shortening of
hours, the growth of organization and
many other factors, to keep the adult
of to-day in fighting trim. In the same
way factory inspection, with compul-
sorry school legislation, better sanitary
meas ures in general, and the growing
recognition of the evils of child labor,
may contribute together to check the
devast ation of childhood, which Capital-
ism I'm bridled is working upon the rising
generation.
But it is far cry from reforms such
as these-which are recognized by
all social reformers as immedaatelg
necessary for society upon ITS present
baSis-to Nationalism or Socialism,
which proposes to alter that basis and
so rem der palliatives unnecessary.