The herald., 1895-08-04

morality fostered upon the young and
slavery run rampant. In this present
gruesome shape IL is horrible COM
mentary upon the freedom and liberty
of the Declaration of independence.
Nine.tenths of the slaves are Russian
and Polish Hebrews, driven from the do
main of the czar by the harsh laws OF the
Russian, empire. They come TO this
county for peace and happines and find
partial slavery. Few of them have'money
enough to 20 into the interior of the
country. Beggared already BY the unjust
taxes of the czar and the impositions
heapsd upon them by his hirelinss, they
land. To live. they must have imm diate
work, and some of them who land in
New York in the morning are slaving
away in the sweaters dens in the after
noon. The father is not the only one
who works. The mother and children
and grandparents. if there are any, also
slave. Not long ago sweater committed
suicide. This is not rare occurrence by
any means. In fact, the suicide statis-
ties of the city are largely swelled annu-
ally by the sweaters colony. But this
man tried to support wife and three
children, the eldest four years of age. by
working from4 o'clock in the morning
until ~ at night for seven days in the
week. He could earn trfle more than
S. week by this slavery but his wife
and children be came sick. 1t seems that
he was more tender-hearteu. than the
average sweater, and tried to keep them
at home-a home composed of one room
which cost IS month. Attending to the
sick took time from his swork. and he
earned less. He was probably made crazy
by trouble and overwork. Perhaps, If
many of the suicides Of the sweating dis
trcts we're probed into they would disclose
similar tragedies.
In one room recently four generations
were found at WORK. There was the
feeblv plying tho stitches which earned
a few cents q day. The grandfather and
grandmother were about 55 and worked
fifteen hours day. The mother was a
woman of 30. She, too. worked. She had
a girl OF IL and boy OF g.. They and
their father worked and a girl OF took
care OF two younger children. They ate.
slept and worked in room 10x12 feet,
and in all earned $50 week.
At a recent session of the committee
now investigating the sweaters woman
testified that she worked thiteen hours
day seven days in the week. and earned
$l.27. She was probably slower than
others. as a clever working man or wo-
man can make 81. so and sometimes $3.5u
in that much time.
The most distressing feature OF the evil
is the child LABOR employed. The factory
laws of the state prohibit the employing
of children under Is years. But in nearly
all of the large sweat shops children as
young as 8 years. both boys and girls.
work ten,, twelve and fourteen hours
day in fetid atmosphere redolent OF filth
and disease germs The law is practically
a dead letter.. There are but five in
spectors for the whole city and ten times
that number working in the most
vieo-ous way. could barely control the
sweating districr.
The investigating committee. tiring of
the wholesale perjury on the witness
stand recently made tour of the sweat
shops. The ii rst place visited was COM
paratively well-managed one, and the
alarm signal was at once given to the
other places, SO that when they arrived