El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-11-09
VICE FIGHT ON
UNSANITARY
FACTORIES
Disease Germs Often Car
ried in Garments Made by
Cheap Labor.
CONSUMERS LEAGUE
DEMANDS GOOD WAGES
CBy Frederic Haskin.)


Washington, D. c., Nov. Sid you
/ ever think Of the risk you run in using
/ articles made in factories or by peo-
! pie who work and live under unsani-
{ contagious diseases to which you are
/ exposed in the use Of the articles? 1t
I is natural Tor people to be careless of
: the dangers which they do not see, so
/ the fashionable youth smokes his gold
I tipped, hand made cigaret OblviOus Of
! the fact that it may have been made
( by a woman in the last stages of con-
/ sumption, in a dirty room, foul with
! the diseased breath OF other in6ividu-
: ais.
Charity Starts Epidemic.
! A few years ago a charitable woman
] bought some little wooden dresses and
distributed them among some poorer
J neighbOrs. A few weeks later an cpl
demic of scarlet fever broke out and
i it was found that the dresses had been
I made by a woman working in her ten
/ ement home. where three of her chill
! dren were III with scarlet fever. one
I of them died during the period when
I she was at work upon these little
dresses. When the death occurred the
board Of health took up the matter and
} an investigation was made, but the
sewing upon which the woman depend
ed for her living was smuggIed out and
the cOntagiOn carried to the home Of
every purchaser and Tisked by each
saIespersOn who handled them in the
store.
Because of thousands OF incidents
similar to this by which the health of
the consumer is constantly being
risked, a number Of men and women
some u years ago organized The Con-
sumer's league, having for its object
the securing OF adequate lnVeStlg cation
of the condition under which goods are
made, in order to distinguish IN favor
Of goods made in q well ordered fac
tory" Since the majority of employ
erS are almost helpless 10 MAINTAIN
high standard as to wages, hours and
working conditions unless sustained by
the cooperation Of consumers the Con-
sumer's league also proposes to edu-
cate public opinion and to endeaVor
to direct its force so as to promote
better conditions among the workers,
thereby securing to the consumer eX-
emptiOn from the dangers attending
unWhOlesome conditions. The league
also endeaYors to promote legislation
tending to improve Industrial cOndi-
tons, in recognition OF the fact that
the interests OF the community demand
that all workers should receive a fair
living wage, that the goods should be
produced under sanitary conditions and
that the response blllty Tor some OF the
worst evils from which the producers
suffer rests with the consumer who
seeks the cheapest markets, regardless
D Of how the cheapness is brought about.
Marks Campaign Of Education.
In this way the Consumers league
stands for the best interests of the
I purchaser and the worker, and a con-
I tinuOus campaign of education is being
( carried on throughout the country.
{ Through the influence OF the league,
I sweat shops and home work under i'm
proper conditions are being rapidly di-
/ minished each year and, while the
conditions of the workers are being
greatly improved, the consumer also is
benefited
One of the first matters to be taken
up was the manufacture Of WOmen's
underWe ear, which had been an espe-
cially sweated and unorganized trade.
The league provided a label to those
firms complying with their require
ments as to labor conditions This Ia
bel indicates that the factory laws Of
the state have been compiled with, that
I the goods have been made and finished
on premises approved by the league,
I nd that no children under 16 have
been employed The label is known
from the Atlantic to the Pacific and
each day new demands are being made
for it. Sometimes these demands come
all the way across the continent. For
instance, the merchants in Portland re-
ceived so many demands for the Ia
belled goods, that they appealed to
factory in Worcester, massachusetts,, to
use It Consequently, this factory
asked the Consumers league to inspect
I its methods and grant a white label"
College Girls Help in Work.
The early attempts OF the league to
secure recognition of the value of the
label were most painstaking. As soon
as a local branch Of the National Con-
Z a
community, its members Immediately
set about educating the merchants to
the alue of the league label by going
10 the stores and asking repeatedly fer
goods bearing that label and refusing
to look at any without it. The Bryn
MaWr college girls were among the
first to take the matter up, and their
example is still being followed by the
students in colleges and private schools
as well as women living in their Own
homes IN towns IN every state IN the
union.
When the league label was first put
into service the members of the league
in Bryn MaWr college organized into
regular parties to make its purpose
known to the Philadelphia stores. Two
or three girls would go together into
half a dozen different stores asking
for clothing bearing the white label"
It was not in stock at first, and they
would politely explain its use and re-
IuSe 10 accept any other goods. The
girls would report the ground covered,
and a few days later the same stores
would be visited by another group OF
well dressed young ladies inQuiring for
the same label Within three months
the leading stores in Philadelphia were
supplying goods bearing the white
label, and the credit of the demand
was largely due to the college girls
The Consumers league has been act
i've in enforcing existing laws tending
to protect the workers in all classes of
factories, as well as to secure addi-
tinuOUs Investigations of many classes
Of industries and the Improvement Of
conditions The legal efforts of the
league already have won some notable
victories and have added much to the
strength Of the labor unions. Two
years ago a great victory was regis
tered in the case Of Curt Miller VS.. the
State Of Oregon. The new Oregon Ia
Dor law prohibiting the employment Of
women in factories, mercantile estab-
lishments, etc, for longer than 10 hours
a day, was challenged by the proprietor
of a laundry. The case was carried
through the courts Of Oregon to the
supreme court of the United States
where the law was sustained by the de-
cisiOn Of justice Brewer
Has a White List.
The league also has made a white
list" of stores which come nearest to
the standards and principles Of the or
ganizatiOn. The stores upon this list
pay what is known as a living wage,
give two weeks annual vacation with
pay what is known as a. living wage.
dismissal for three months, and extra
pay for overtime work. In realization
Of the fact that many of the hard
ships imposed by the stores are caused
by the thOughtlessness Of customers,