Los Angeles herald., 1906-09-03


Amazing revelations of British in
dustral life, which In the horror o.
their details almost equal those Of thu
Chicago Jungle" are made in the an
nual report of the chief inspector o.
factories and workshops for 1905, ISSUED
yesterday as bluebook.
Many Of the worst revelations relate
to Industries connected with the prepa
ration of food products, the condition,
under which they are carried on beinf
In some instances almost beyont
credenoe.
81 inspected one jam factory" says 6
lady Inspector. where the boiling room
lay between the yard and a stable, and
the horses reached the stable through
the boiling room. In others l have
found the sanitary accommodation very
inadequately separated from the rooms
where fresh fruit or uncovered jam 1:
kept, and dirty, undrained floors are
far too common.
Where the workers have no mean,
OF washing their hands provided, It Is
only natural that everything should be.
come coated with sickness, which any
dust In the factory readily adheres to.
A terrible state of affairs exists lr
some Irish jam factories, according tc
the report of Miss Deane another lady
Inspector. She says:
THE bottle washing rooms, in which
empty jam pots from which 1t Is desir-
able to remove the dirt and old labels
are washed, are not only very unsatis-
factory from the point of view of the
workers i'm them, but would probably
very disagreeably impress the GUS
toners.
Foul Water
"In one such place the usual hot
heavy atmosphere, loaded with steam
was rendered more than usually OPP
pressive by the disgusting smell arising
from the water in the tanks, over which
the dripping women were bending. In
answer to a remark l was Informed by
the manager that the water in them
was changed about once a week.
Hundreds of dirty pots were being
washed in this liquid, which was like
dark soup and smelt abominably. The
pots, when fished out, are allowed to
stand till they become dry. and are
then considered fit to receive the JAM
which may or may not be rendered
more nutritious by the addition of a
sediment of dirt.
I'm this place also the empty pots
were stacked, not upside down, nor
covered IN any way, and, though coated
inside with dirt, were, / found, held
fit to be filled. 1t is unlikely that the
jam contained In them would keer
properly, but this did not appear t.
cause any misgivings"
For disregard of cleanliness it would
be impossible to imagine anything
worst than the condition of many
bakeries.
Work was over in a bake house
visited on a Saturday night, but the
presence of a brush and comb, sponge
etc, on the baking table led to the ex-
pianation: When the place is cleaned
up we bathe the children here
"In another, on Monday morning,
found the sorting of the family wash
had overfiowed into the bake house."
Alien-Made sausages
In the East End of London the re-
port shows that the production of saus-
ages, Drawn, confectionery and aerated
waters is carried out in a great many
cases absolutely unsuitable an unsan-
itary places.
The sausage and Drawn factories,
says Mr.. Boggie Rolfe, an East Enc
inspector, 'are. mostly owned by Ger
mans, and employ one or two hands
to make the goods in a room behind
IDe SnOp or III Cellar unQernedln
These places are small, dilapidated
badly lighted and often infested witt
rats"
Remarkable testimony is borne by
Mr.. Bellhouse, another East End in
spector, to the difficulty of suppressing
irregular hours Of labor among the
alien makers of wearing apparel. A
careful watch is kept at the work.
house for the arrival of an inspector
he says, and when he has gained ad-
mittance it is by no means uncommon
to find the women hidden away In
kitchens, bedrooms and supboards-
even in bed with their clothes on.
The effect of the London sea son, and
especially of Ascot week, is shown
the report states, in long hours of over
time among the court dressmakers in
the West End of London. In May and
June, at the height of the season last
year, the notices of overtime received
amounted to $3.50.
There is less overworking now, how
ever, in the West End dressmakine
trade than there used to be.
Fear of Publicity
public opinion, as a factor moro