The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-02-18
TENEMENTS ARE
DANGER TO LIFE
Clothing Made in Dirty Places
Garry Disease Germs
BETTER LAWS SOUGHT
Action Is TaLen BY Women of New
York TO Stop This Work and Have
Clothes Made Under More
Sanitary Conditions

New York. February 17.-tSpecial)-Are
the lives of children of rich, or even
we'll to do, not only in New York but
throughout the country endangered by
clothing made in pest-ridden tenements in
the Feast Side, New York slums
1t is stated today that the society wo-
men like Mrs. Belmont, Miss Morgan,
Miss Milholland and others who took SO
active a part in the shirt waist makers
strike, have discovered that there is
great trade in infants clothing which is
made in the East Side tenement houses
by women and young girls who for va,
rious reasons cannot leave their homes,
but nevertheless are compelled to add to
the family incomes
Steps were at once taken by these wo-
men to put a stop to this business. These
tenement house workers work long hours
and make little pay. Their work is done
under the most insanitary conditions
Imaginable Cases have been found where
babies clothing was made up in close, i'll
smelling rooms used for cooking and
sleeping purposes. In some instances cases
of tuberculosis and other contagious dis
eases. even scarlet fever, have been found
in these closely crowded apartments
where the work is done.
OF course this is direct menace to
the health of those to whom these goods
60
The health department and the state
labor department inspectors do all in their
power to mitigate this evil but the work.
ers need the money and it is not a diff
cult matter to fool the inspectors.
Respectable merchants. too, do all in
their power to prevent their goods being
made up under dangerous conditions but
under the contract system this Is not
always possible.
1t is the purpose of the women to seek
for an amendment to the laws which will
abolish the tenement house work on gar
ments, especially children's garment, and
in this they will have the support of the
better classes of merchants.
One OF them said today:
THE only way to cure this evil, and
it Is areal evil, is to absolutely wipe
out the tenement house work and have all
garments maze IN we'll IeSuldttu Snops.
1t might result in a slight increase in
cost, but this should not be considered
when a real menace to the health of the
community and especially to the chill
dren is involved
1.-THE child slaves of New Yorks 'slums
are a menace to the health of children
in all parts of the country" was the
declaration made in an interview by Miss
Edith Kendall, a woman long engaged
in phianthropic work and one of the
leaders in this new campaign. mot only
are the thousands of baby toilers in the
tenement houses sapping their own vital
| ity by cruelty long hours of labor amid
insanitary conditions but in every stitch
they set there turks possibilities of dis
ease and death for little ones every
where who will wear the garments.
"Who knows" she continued, whether
the little garment bought at clean
store counter, is reeklng with disease
germs or not? Possibly, and 1 have seen
case after case of the kind, 1t was made
in a tiny dark room, and during the
process of making 1t was used az
a covering for a child Ill with scarlet
fever Both inspectors are doing all they
| can and in such cases as these they
quarantine the places as soon as they
are discovered but who can tell how far
reaching evil has been done?
.There are thousands of these little
slaves here in New York, the tragedy OF