Evening star., 1914-03-03

days Of work in the week, proviso is con-
sciously violated every day IN the year
all over the country. Cleverly arranged
schedules of work and fines for tardiness,
carelessness and unnecessary breakase
see to this. SO there still is great deal
Of remedial activity before the child LABOR
reformer.
Turning now from organized industry,
where the authorities. the economic so
cieties and the general public can see
just how the wheels go round, we lace
the dark and wholly unSolved proolcm OF
child tenement labor. Here no age mini
mum stops the uniformed, half-educated
boy and girl at the threshold OF the
factory and sends them eff to schooi; no
eiGht-hour rule brings the days grind 10
close. whether the little worker be
fourteen or four. DIR. Annie S Daniels,
the famous settlement worker who has
given thirty years of her life to the
poverty stricken East Side of New York
city. has stated public y more than once
doing her small share after the fashion
of the other members of the family
seated around her in the small murky.
insanitary room-virtually miniature
authorized by the labor unions. usually
absolutely unknown to any hut the
nei2hbors.
The articles manufactured in such
holes include almost everything the
general popu-
Work in Same Room lation use or
They Eat and Sleep. stance Gus
tom and ready made clothes for men,
women and children (although very
little woman's wear nowadays, hats,
shoes. all kinds of embroidery. cigars
hair switches, boxes. furs. buttons,
flowers, feathers even church vest
men.s, DR.. Daniels reported recently
that during the eleven months ending
September I. 1912. she was called 10
attend 357 families whom SHE had not pre-
vious1y seen OF these. lfe fahhiies
were at work on some kind of tene-
ment house manufacturing. f1fty-sik
of the tenements were in fairly good
condition: 124 were old, dirty and un-
improved: six were filthy. OF the en-
tire ITS families. 1872 were underfed
and oyercrowded. OF course, nedFiy
all of the families were working IN one
ROOM the same one in which they also
ate and slept.
There Is absolutely no regulation OF
working hours in these tenement cells
Usually they are from in the morn
ing until midnight. The pregnant
woman works until the hour Si deHv
cases. They have been known to re-
sumo work within ten hours after con-
fnement; it is general for them to DC
SO on the third day. When a contag-
ious disease breaks out the health de-
partment puts a notice on the door, the
sick one is isolated or taken to a free
hospital, but toll behind the door goes
on as before, and the articles thus
manufactured in travail and disease
are sold by the employing manufactur-
err, germ laden and misery marked, TO
the needless public.
What are the wages? A child from
three to five years old. working on but
tons, sometimes earns from IL to ~
week; a girl from eight TO ten can
make between SO to IS; the average
stipend Of the mother is IS: II is ofh-
cially estimated that fully $4,000 peo-
pie, mostly children. are fighting star
vatfon under these conditions in New
York city. for it must be borne h, In rnin1 tha1
that they do not get all the work tney
can do. In idle days they trudge
anxiously from factory to factory IN
search Of orders The state factory In
spector recommended, as long. ago as
1888, the absolute abolition OF manu-
featuring in tenements. But 1t stiii goes
on, and certain eminent soc1ologfsts as