New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-12-12
WOMEN FOUNDRY LABOR
. DEFENDED BY EMPLOYER
Should HaveNo More Considera-
tion than Young Men, Syracuse
Manufacturer Declares.
LABOR MAN C0MBATS HIM
Ought To Be Ashamed to Say
He Employs Females in Such
Dirty Work as This-Baker-
les Called Unsanitary.
fBy Telegraph to Tho Tribune.

Syracuse. n. Y, Dec. lis the EN-
ployment Of women in foundrfes a dis
grace to the good name OF the State OF
New York;" This question was argued
before the State Factory investigating
Commission In this city this afternoon.
f.. c. Stearns, a manufacturer. de-
clared 81 want the matter or gendef
| eliminated from the bill. The women u
this case are entitled TO no more con-
sideration than young men and the boys
What IS injurious TO the women is IN
furious to the boys"
Mr.. Stearns was unalterably opposed 70
the proposal to prohibit women working
In foundrles. He told the commission
that of the $50 employees in his foundry
twenty-five are women. The women had
been employed four years, and they
worked more steadily than men, he de-
clared.
When the question of providing wash
ing facilities for the men was brought UP
Mr.. Stearns referred to Ernest NJ. VIII
bur, a state factory inspector, who crit
cised the facilities at the plant 81 told
Mr.. Wilbur" he said. that II he would
90 through the foundry and find, three
men who would use better Mushrooms II
we had them would install the best pro-
durable. He went through the foundry
and did not find one"
Matthew MCGOWAN. a labor man, took
issue with Mr.. Stearns, saying:
was in Mr.. Stearns's plant twenty
eight wears ago, when he had the lockers
there. and | know that fully 20 per cent
OF the men used them. When we got
through work we went TO the locker
rooms, and when We started for home
we had on fresh clothes and white collars
and could ride on streetcars.
This talk about foundrymen not want
ing to wash UP is silly. Imagine these
men walking out Of hot foundry with
their underclothes sticking to their skins
I'm zero weather!
Women employees have only recently
been brought into the foundries. We are
opposed TO them on every ground. IL Is
true that they are engaged only in small
work but in other states where you see
women working on the foundry floor with
the men. wearing overalls and usnB
mems tools, they started with small cores.
! should think any man would be
ashamed TO say that he had women en-
ployed I'm such dirty work as this: But
the foundryman. like every one else, is
looking Tor the dollar.
Carlton a. Chase called the attention
OF tho commission 10 the fact that where
exhaust fans are used to take smoke and
gases from the foundry IT is impossible
20 use partitions or screens when clean
Ing off castings. as the proposed law pro-
vides.
Mr.. Wilbur corroborated what Mr..
stearns said about the men not wanting
10 wash.
Did you report that at Albany Sem
ator Wagner asked.
When the inspector said that he had
not he was given curt lecture on the
scope of his duties.
Eugene Adams speaking for the bakers
union. testified that the law is not en-
forced and that there are bakeries in
Syracuse which are highly unsanitary.
He said that state inspection was worth
less