The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1906-02-13
Winton B. Garrison Chief Of
the Bureau Of Statistics
Says Old Diseases Have
Disappeared
WORKERS ARE TEMPERATE
HYGIENIC REGULATIONS HAVE
WORKED MIRACLES IN I'M
PROVING POTTERY CoNDIT-
IONS.

An interesting and instructive article
on ''The Health Conditions Of the Pot
terry Industry forms part of the an
nual report. just issued. of Winton C.
Garrison, chief Of the New Jersey State
bureau of statistics. The bureau main
tains general oversight of all the New
Jersey industries and each annual report
contains valuable pa pers on various sub
jects of vital importance to these indus-
tries.
The pottery paper refeured to is based
on reports from 33 pottery nlanufactur-
ers in this city, which makes the article
practically at Trenton treatise. The ar
ticle follows
In this chapter the results of careful
study are given of the progress made
during recent years toward the final elm
the health of operatives which at one
time caused the pottery trade to be re-
garded as a most unhealthful and even
dangerous occupation. The conclusions
presented in the report are based upon
statements on schedule blanks obtained
from 33 firms engaged in the production
of pottery in the city of Trenton.
The inquiry was directed toward as
certaining the date of establishment of
each pottery, the number Of wcrkmen
employed. the number of deaths among
employees during the year 1904, the
number of fatal accidents to workmen
that occurred during the same time, the
diseases peculiar to the industry, the
branches of the trade that are considered
unhealthy the principal ill-health pro-
ducing factors. the branches of the trade
which offer the greatest liability to ae-
cident and also the principal accident
producing features.
In addition to the enumerated
questions, pottery owners were requested
to state the number of foreigners em-
ployed, giving the races or natioEaities
to which they belonged and also to give
whatever they could as to whether or
not intemperance in the matter of strong
drink was noticeable among their work.
men.
AS to the length Of time the potteries
were in operation, it was found that the
beginning of one of the number dated
back to 1857; one had been in continuous
operation since 1864; three Others were
running under the same management
since 1858, 1878 and 1879, respectively
% were organized some time between
the years 1883 and 1850 and seven were
started after the latter year. The total
number of workmen employed in all the
potteries at the time of making the in
yestigation was 3,571.
Answering the question as to the num-
ber of deaths that had occurred among
employees during the year y frans re-
ported that there had besn none; six
firms stated that no record of deaths
among employees was kept and only five
firms reported deaths among their opera
tives-the number for the year ranging
from one to four.
In the establishments reporting deaths,
the total number Of persons employed
was 533; the number of deaths reported
as having occurred was II. or 2.3 per
cent. Of the total working force. The
highest percentage of deaths shown by
the establishments reporting was So per
cent.
On the diseases peculiar to the trade,
II firms disclaimed all knowledge of all
lnents of kind to which pottery. opera
tiyes were more liable by reason Of their
work than other persons, while 16 firms
not only recognized the existence Of such
diseases, but named the ailments also.
and indicated the departments of the
business mainly responsible for them.
The diseases admitted as existing are
"potters asthma 'potter's consrmp-
tion,' 'aead colic' and lead poisoning"