The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1890-06-14
TOO FEW FIRE ESCAPES.
Annual Report Of the State
Factory Inspectors.

SUCCfut " tHtS OSfoc1 Otb9 fCfoof
TRENTON, N. j., June II, S90.--Chiei
Inspector Lawrence 7. Fell has issued
his report concerning the condition
Of the factories and workshops
He says that of the total num-
Der of employees in the factories
inspected during the year five thousand
five hundred and seventy-seven, or AS
per cent, are under sixteen years of age.
Comparing this with b report
of last year there Is a decrease
fore, be readily seen that there is a grow
ing tendency on part of employers &c
comply with the requirements OF the
law, and to avoid as much as possible
the employment Of children under the
legal age.
The compulsory education laws, the In
spector says, are being gradually IN
forced, especially in some of the large
cities where truant officers have been
appointed to look after truants and com
pei their attendance at school. Inc
greatest obstacle to contend with IN the
enforcement of this law is the lack OF
school accommodation.
The object of this law will never be
attained until the municipalities are
compelled by law to furnish accommo-
dations for all children who apply for
admission. Night schools have been
opened in all the cities m in many OF
the small manufacturing towns, and are
well attended; many of these schools
are maintained at The expense of the
manufacturers of the locality to enable
their employees to comply with the law,
and themselves the inconvenience OF fire.
quent changing of employees.
Of the factories two or more stories in
height, inspected during the year., only
81 per cent Of them have fire escapes or
tower stairways. Such a percentage is
entirely too small when the number of
large factories in the State is taken into
consideration. A factory cannot be con-
sidered amply supplied with means OF
exit unless it has tower stairways, outside
iron fire escapes or bridges, connecting
each floor with adjacent buildings, and
the employees familiar with the use of
them.
The old styles Of machinery and eleva-
tors, from which resulted many seri-
Gus accidents, are fast being replaced
by those of more modern construction.
1t is a rare occurrence in machinery of
modern manufacture to find the gearing,
etc, without a hood or proper covering,
rnd the elevators are being equipped
with improved safety appliances.
OF the seyenty-fiye factories and work
shops inspected in Trenton, where there
is q total of 10, 1854 employees, 6, 402 are males
and 1862 females. Of the employees 514
are under sixteen years of age.
The firms employing the largest num-
Der of hands in this State are:--The Singer
Manufacturing Company, of Elizabeth,
1929; p. Lorillard g. Company, tobacco
and snuff. Jersey City, 5000; Clark's 0.
N. 7. Cotton, Newark, 1900; Adams Es-
sex cotton mills, Paterson, 200; Whital,
Tatem Company, glass, Millville, ], las;
Matthieson & Wiechers, ugar Jersey
City. 1910; Domestic Sewing Machine
Co, Newark, 1000; Rogers Locomotive
Works, Paterson, 1000; j.. A. Roebling's
Sons Company, Trenton, 800; William
Strange & Company. silk, Paterson. $50;
Now Jersey Steel and Iron Co apany,
Trenton, $40; Trenton Iron Company and
S. K. Wilson, Trenton, each 200.