The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-01-12
BABIES WORKING
INSQUALIO CAMPS
Struggle Long Hours for Pitiiul
Sums Paid by Fac
tories.

t.astlngton. January ia pitrul
p.cttre u men and women, ana emu
dren OF I'VE and six years old. working
under filthy conditions and living IN
eoual!d canning camps OF the New YORK
Fruit and Vegetable Canning Company,
was presented 10 the House Rules COM
rnittee to-day BY Mary Boyle O'ReiiIy'
8 social worker. and Frank c. Praete'
an investigator for the New YORK LAD
or Department. They supported reso-
luton introduced by Representative Al
lei. Of Ohio. fcr AL investigation OF
conditions N the canning industry
throughout the country.
Frank GorreN, secretary OF the Ma
.ional Gamers Association. declared
that his organization, representing from
20 70 Is per cent OF the canning -outpu;
OF the country. Invited the fullest IN
vestigatfon OF conditions IN the indus
Try and would leEd every assistance
possible 20 Congress for making tho
inquiry thorough. The committee took
me resolution undsr advisement.
Conditions Are Horrible.
Miss O'Reilly and Mr.. Praete. from
notes made during personal :nvestiga
ton OF the canning camps in New York.
gave the committee detailed descrip-
tons OF horrible working conditions.
filthy housing conditions and lack OF
sanitary equipment Miss O'Reilly
spent a month in the camp as woman
laborer. She shook with emotion as
she described 20 the committee the
plight OF LITTLE children sent into the
camps TO earn 1 few pennies a day.
There are children n the camps
four and five years Old" she said. "and
there are children of ten and eleven
There IS 10 record Of child labor, and
the employers maintain that this chill
dren 10 10 the factories with their
parents. know OF a camp where
three children working together earned
So cents 4 day among them.
working IN the stripping shed un-
der the View York law is not consider
ed factory laSor. Women IN the camp
are paid l cent a pound for stripping
peas. A strong. vigorous woman can
strip about fifty or sixty pounds day.
A woman IS paid 81 day for huskins
corn. but tho work IS very heavy. ]
know OF two little Italian girls who
are steady workers. They are sisteTs'
Eve and six years old.
IN one cannery I visited FIVE Iblian
boys from fifteen 70 seventeen years
old. who worked rs hours in one
week. They ended the week By work
ing from : O'Clock saturday morning
until o'clock sunday morning. never
leaving the factory. One OF the boys.
Tommy Soccore- refused 20 so back 10
the factory Monday morning.
When his mother called him ne
waved her away. saying. I'm going 10
cut * out. There ANT no use because
there amt no God
did you say he worked rs hours
week" demanded one OF the commit
tee
Why. yes" returned Miss O'Reilly.
Il know oS women who have worked
100 hours week. and girls OF sixteen
and eighteen who have worked twenty
hours a day"
Too Dirty for Pigs.
NJ. Praete presented the report Of
his investigation Of nearly fifty can
ming camps in New York state. inclGd-
ing camps ct Webster. Lyons. Clyde
Marion. Rome and other towns
througnout tire fruit and truck garden
sections az the state. His description
OF housing and factory conditions, OF
filthy shacss why're the workers lived
and OF conditions OF water and sani-
tat.on moved Representative Denver.
OF Ohio. 10 ask;
Did you see these things yourseII-
"Au Of the statements made here
a-e the result OF ny OWE inVestiga-
ton returned AIr. Praete. 7 could
not find words 10 describe the condi-
-!ons truly. some OF the places are so
flthy that 70 pig would have seen al
home there.