The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-04-25
NEW BOOKS.
british Factory Liquidation.

Va are indebted to two English women,
A.. n L. Hutchins and Miss A. Harrison,
~. ,be first systematic and complete sHis-
~ ~ Factory Legislation Westminster.
Z King 4 SOM. Within the compass
:, ,sss than two hundred and fifty pages
w. authors have set forth the purport
I'd results OF the long series Of enact
.,,snts which began with the Health and
Mails OF Apprentices Act, 1902 and has
I'D for the moment with the Factory
"a Workshops Acts Consolidation Act,
,eol As Is pointed out by Mr.. Sidney
with who contributes q preface, this
century Of experiment in factory legisla-
lion presents a typical example Of the prac-
,Ical empiricism characteristic Of British
lawmakers. They started with no abstract
theory of social justice or Of the rights Of
nan. On the contrary, they have often
seemed incapable Of taking a general visw
Of the subject upon which they lsgislated.
Each successive statute simply aimed at
remedying a single ascertained evil. That
the progress effected by the purely en-
pirica method Of dealing with industrial
eyils would be slow was to be expected.
The British House OF Commons being
what it is, no progress at all could have
been eUeCteu Dy any OtilcT uelilOus IL was
also inevitable that the progress would be
uneven. At the present time some in
dustries-ootton spinning. for example,
are so thoroughly guarded by statutory
regulations. enforced either by the factory
Inspector or by the jointly acting officials
Of the Trade Union and the Employer
Association, that no individual mill owner
and no individual operative can 90 far
In lowering the standard Of living. While.
in spite Of the keenest foreign composition,
the Lancashire cotton mill. In point Of
technical efficiency, still leads the world,
the Lancashire cotton spinner, who was
once sunk In the lowest depths Of social
degradation, now occupies, as regards the
general standard Of life In the trade. per-
haps the foremost position among English
wage earners. On the other hand, In such
'sweated' London industries as the manu-
facture Of slop clothing or low-grade fur
niture. factory legislation ls, after half q
century Of agitation. only rudimentary in
Great Britain. According 10 Q report mads
IN 1890 BY Q select committee Of the House
Of Lords On the sweating system. no e.
fsotive regulations prevent any employer
or any operative from competing In the
downward way at Earnings barely SUM-
Client to sustain existence; houss Of labor
such a. to make the lives Of the workers
periods Of almost ceaseless toll; sanitary
conditions injurious to the health Of the
persons employed and dangerous TO the
public The state Of the London slop-
clothing and low-grade furniture trades
seems. IN fact, In 1909. TO be closely parallel
to that Of the Lancashire cotton trade In
1cn9 Alxknv~k thn ~v{ls - The
system were laid bare thirteen years ago
by the committee Of the House Of Lords
Just mentioned. and although a hundred
years Of experiment have shown by what
line Of action the evils can be remedied,
practically nothing has been done The
sweated trades remain at the opening OF
the twentisth century - free from any
effective regulations a. was the cotton
factory system at the beginning Of the
nineteenth.
The authors Of this book are not Opt
mistio with regard to the prospect Of any
early extension Of British factory legisla-
ton. They recognize that, as society 10
organized In the United Kingdom. ths pos
dbtlity OF further social reforms In any
direction at any given time Ii limited, FIRST,
by the amount Of sympathy and Interest
that the community at largo can be per-
suaded to feel. and, secondly, by the degrees
In which the sympathy and interest felt u
Intelligent enough to know what It wants.
We are reminded that public opinion on
the subject has undergone marked modi-
acations during the past sixty years. The
passionate controversies con corning the
expediency Of factory legislation which
we're Witnessed In 1874 were followed by
a period Of full aoquiesoence and sanguine
confidence. In which the principle Of State
control over industry was unhesitatingly
accepted. Then ensued a time OF doubt
and hesitation, Of opposition on new lines.
succeeded by the partial retrogression Of
1878. The last quarter Of a century has
bean characterized by much vacillation
and uncertainty on the part Of public opin-
ion. 1t seemed, indeed, when tho acts
Of 1891 and 1895 relating TO out-workers
and to sanitation in workshops were passed,
that the United Kingdom stood on the
threshold Of a period OF scientific remedial
legislation. Now, on the other hand, the
authors Of this book deem 1t rash to proph-
esy what the next step will be. They
do not adopt the enthusiastic tone Of some
who have written Of the British factory
acts as II the conditions OF labor have
thereby been completely transformed and
humanized. As a matter Of fact. although
experts are agreed that the frst step In the
regulation OF the home should be the COM
pulsory registration Of all workplaces,
homes included. even this elementary
measure Of reform has never been carried
out. and the authors have but little hope
Of Its finding . place on the statute book
in the near future. In British laundries
and shops the regulation as to hours Of
labor Is still little more than nominal; Ger
tain processes, such a. bookfolding, are
exempted from any restriction OF hours;
and there are certain trades, such as fish
curing and fruit-preserving, which have
become notorious from the INSCRIPTIONS
way in which the exemptions granted to
them. on account OF the perishable nature
Of the material. have been abused. There
are still, 1t seems. excellent people In Great
Britain who argue that burdensome re-
quirements will crush out the small en-
ployer. and others who cannot for the life
Of them sec why q woman may not b per-
mitted to work a. long - she likes.
A valuable feature Of this book Is the long
appendix. contributed by Mr.. @. II. Wood,
on the course Of vomen's wages In Great
,tata al