Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1897-09-02
IN A,sUGAR REFINERY.
PLACES WHERE MEN TOu IN NEAT
Of i4O DEGREES,

Clad Only n Light Oxeralls and Shoes
Many Iau from Exhaustion Every
Day-xEy Cannot Long Survive the
IntenSe Heat-Sv orking for Small PAY.
Astenpe.ature of'10O degrees above
zero. aae rsturn of which has. driven
thousapds from the. city and has re
suited nnsdeath and insanity, would be
hailedwiA delight by the men en-
ployed IN the great sugar retnerles
that Soc are to be among the indus
tries OF. .tireaher New York
OF alkt1e bot places ii is the priv-
ilepe OF nan to enter these are un-
2ou1st<aa thA lOEest. In tha tai,
structures along the river front IN
Brooklyn can be seen daily hundreds
Of men TO whom a temperature such
as has driven most New Workers to
despair would be s godsend. From
morning Sill night these people labor
IN rooms the temperature of which
seldonrs falls below 140.
In all the tales Of suffering from the
heat that~come from the large cities Of
the country none are1nore distressing
than those from the sugar refineries.
It maybe an element in the business
that men should literally be roasted 10
death in order to carry it forward.
The capitalists who conduct refneries
insist that such is the case They de-
clare that their plants cannot be shut
down during the excessively hot
months of the summer, and they add
that they keep the buildings as cool as
possible for the men
This is one instance, however, in
which it seems incredible that human
beings can long survive the burdens
imposed upon them. The men en-
gagged in this industry get through the
winter months with considerable diff
fcuhy owing to the heat, and when
the summer sun returns they find
themselves working In veritabRe fur
naces, each in a modern Dante's in
ferno. They throw the windows wide
open, and resort to mechanical devices
to keep cool, but the effort is vain
Few, men can hold their own against
temperature Of lao, even when no ex-
ertion isrequiref Of them. Much less
can M1nlreds Of men engaged In the
laborbous work Of sugar refinery go
about their duties and long survive
the intense heat.
The department of the Brooklyn re-
fneries in which the sugar is crystal
E1la vdhid id4hearegarded bymost per-
| Soma I,ass1saa ia 1es - - vsAy
comfortable when compared with the
temperature in other departments
| Here the sugar Is poured in q semi
| liquid state into metal cones, which
act as filters or coolers The heat is
very oppressive, and many employees
drop down while at work, despite the
fact that their dress consists only of
light overalls and heavy shoes. The
cones into which the sugar IS poured
stand on their narrow ends In racks
all about the floor, and the workmen
stand over them Ill the heat radiatlng
| from the hot sugar E.>al in the cold
est weather OF the yea and with the
windows all open the men here cannot
wear thin undershirts With comfort
Streams Of persplratlon r'm down them
backs as they bend over their work
To add TO their discomfort the air il
the rooms IS moist and steany.
But wearing as is the workton the
lower floors, it is IN the upper stories
Of the refneries that the extreme
measure of suffering IS to be found
There the temperature stays regularly
in the vicinity Of 140 degrees abovt
zero. It is on these floors thatework
men fall exhausted day after day
Some revive on being taken to O win
dow, while others are able only to &c
t. their homes But the collapse D
one or two or a half dozen men In th'
afternoon no longer Is regarded as
matter worth mentioning. It ha
come to be considered as merely Incl
dental to the business.
The majority Of the employees i
these departments Of the big retinerie
are Poles and Hungarlans. They de
eide to become sugar refners as sooI
as they land IN this country, and the.
trv TO adapt themselves TO the condi
tons they find in the factories. Thos
who seem able 10 stand tho work ar
sent to the top floor, where are grea
watts, with dark, slippery passageway
between them. In these watts Ii
sugar is boiled The men stand ovc
the vats. stirring the sugar with lon
/ sticks On all sides ara big tanks
and each Of these radiates al iuteus
heat.
When to.the closeness of the roor
and the heat from the vats Is adde
the other discolnfort- Of the work,
becomes little wonder that tbs ne
drop n their tracks from lay 70 day