The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-06-10

q. spirit Of compromise and in reeogni-
ton Of strong, initiative by the
Mr.. Glenn says the association IS in
vestlgatlng committee is simply to
prove conditions, to the public
" AS to. cleanliness, - said MI. Glenn,
am Of the opinion that the stock
yards are as cleanz as the White House
Still another 4stockyard investigation
day that Miss Sophonisba Breckenridge
Of the University of Chicago, and Mrs.
Harriet M. Van Der Vaart of Neigh
borhood House, had just completed for
Governor Deneen AN inquiry into the
wages and working. condition. Of the
women in Packingtown. The result of
their work, begun on Feb, ! and COM
public by the Illinois Labor commits
sion i'll special report, as well as in
the governors forthcoming emessage to
the legislature in January. ..-
Girls Interviewed.
Two. thousand girls and women were
interviewed by the investigators, who
were aided by Miss Zelda Stewart,
daughter Of Ethelbert Stewart of the
United States department Of labor.
1t will be several weeks before the
department will have completed the
said David Ross, secretary of the labor
commission. $50 far as L could tell
otfhand, the investigators found marked
similarity in wages but wide differ
ences In sanitary conditions in the
stockyards plants.'
Miss Breckenridge and Mrs. Wander
Vaart took two sets of schedules, with
a e
| these sets was made out by the firms
themselves, the other by personal inter
rogation Of the women. Girls under is
were excluded in order to keep it a
purely adult study. ~-."
The questions asked. covered nation
| atty, wages, nature of employment,
whether it was handwork or machine
work, hours, effect, if any, upon the
health Of the worker, sanitary surround
ings, washrooms, lunehrooms, supervis-
ion during lunch hours, kind of homes
the women lived in, rent and general
living expenses.
| s:->s-lg Refuses to Talk.
Mrs. Van Der Vaart declined to dis
cuss the result Of the investigation on
| the grounds that it had been turned
over to the authorities.
cit was an ordinary study similar
| to others, which 4 the department Of
labor has compiled she said. cit
was not prompted by the present stock
yards investigation, but rather by the
feeling that this was an unexplorei
and important feld.N
Recommendations for the improve
ment of sanitary conditions in the pack
irghouses were made to Health Commits
sicner Whalen today by Chief City San
itary Inspector Perry L. Hedrick.
. =, Notices will be. issued to the packing
firms Monday to clean and renovate
their plants in compliance with his sug-
:gestions. + s,-.,y.. -, -, IT,.
The principal changes he recommends
are a replacement of wooden floors by
asphalt or impervious material, the inn
provement Of the toilet facilities, and
the enforcement of the rule that EN-
ployees shall wash their hands fire.
quently and change aprons and frocks
"While a great many floors must be
changed from wood to asphalt,' says
the report, e their condition at the time
of inspection showed them to have beer
kept in a reasonably clean condition
and they were free from foul odor'
The management has needed no encour
agement to. order changes when there
was any question as to whether -thei1
condition might be passed as being
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