New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-09-07
Public Health Service EX-
amines 5000 New York
Garment Workers.
PREVAILING STYLES
AID GOOD POSTURES
Surgeons Find Personal APP
pearance Powerful Influence
Among WorkWomen.

Washington. Sept 6.-"The modern
cors,- arrears TO be a decided aid in
--evcotrc very bad postures," is the
s.,.erert o. the United States Public
Health Service in comprehensive re-
r.rt on conditions among garment
ar,kers Of New York City, taking issue
Nth doctrine hitherto almost univer-
,,ly accepted as true, from the ply
s.s.ans' standpoint,
The rerort is the result Of a careful
stu6y and examination of the garment
workers during which about 1000 men
and 600 women employed in this trade
ir New YORK. City were examined, and
records kept Of the results. Details OF
che results Of the examination of the
men rarmert workers were printed ex-
,gsive.v IN The Tribune on August 2.
Corsets a Protection.
That corsets had prevented the wom-
., from suffering many of the i'll ef-
fscts Of bad positions assumed by gar
ren- workers at their tasks was one
~ the conclusions drawn by Surgeon
:. ". Scbcreschewsky, who wrote the
report. IL, :.
while the postursl habits OF fe-
males were not studied so carefully as
those Of males the report declares
"stU IL was evident that defective
natures we're not so frequent among
;ber Tn the first place, the modern
no
preventing very had postures. Sec
ord. consciousness OF the personal ap-
rearance is q far more powerful intiu-
f7ce in females than il is in males.
Irasmuch as until very recently the
prevailing STYLES and the type OF cor
SCI used are not becoming unless the
posture assumed by the wearer DC
more or less correct, We have IN fe-
males a powerful incentive TO good
postures which is not operative for
males. Besides this, in females their
average age was so low that, as rule,
the normal tendency OF human beings
70 .slump' when habitually sedentary
had not as Yet time 10 overcome the
operatlon Of other influences which IN
females tend 20 make for good post
ure."
Declaring that tuberculosis is I'M
6oubte6lv the most serious disease
prevalent among garment workers, be-
Ing over three times as prevalent
among males as among females, the
report recommends open air shops IN
which workers with tuberculous ten
denotes could be employed.
Adjustable Seats Needed.
As means Of correcting the faulty
r.. srsc sV4c Won
sitting on seats improperly supporting
the body an effort should be MADE
the report SAYS, 10 promote the use
in the garment trades of adjustable
seats with backs :.
"The spread of communicable dis
eases i'm workshops should be guarded
against" i- continues, "by more rigid
enforcement or the regulations against
promiscuous splitting. the use OF the
common drinking cup, the common
towel numerous evasions OF these
regulations having been noticed IN
shops Of the trade The high rate Of
prevalence Of tuberculosis among gar
ment workers makes the consistent en-
forcement Of such regulations impera"
tive"
Of the thousand women examined,
$50 per cent were Jewish, II per cent
Italian. and IS per cent German. Sew
enty-four and one-tenth per cent were
born in Russia. 101 per cent in Aus.
tria-Hu0gary. per cent in Italy and
Inly ~ per cent in the United States.
First Work for Majority.
Fifty Of the thousand women had
been dres makers, either forced into
the shops through lack of business, or
else, having given up their business
when married. came into the shops on
the death or divorce of their husbands.
One had been q stone setter, one tea
packer, while only one had been en-
plOyed Of domestic service. One girl
said she had been typewriter, but
none specified having been steno-
graphers. Seven hundred and twelve
had never worked before, as compared
with 28S who had.
The average paw Of the women was
S725 a week. Finishers were paid
1921 a year and $445 was the average
for the miscellaneous workers. A feat
ure Of the low pay of the hnishers
among the women workers is that TINS
Is the only classification in which there
ls competition between men and women.
finlsheTs, the report said. have the
worst physiQues and lowest earning
esphcltes. The men, however, were
pald much better than the women, aver
aging SiS6.
Floating Material Menace.
In connection with the physical con-
oinon Of the shops the report recon-
mended that attention should be di-
rected toward the elimination of the
ty," or the particles Of material float
Ing through the air, which are menace
TO the respiratory organs of the work
erS.
Dry sweeping should be rigidly sup
pressed" says the report. Floors
should ~ constructed, so far as prac-
teable. with tight joints. smooth sur
faces and coated with some dust re-
tanning oil. Suction cleaning is desira.
bic where practicable. The vibration OF
machines, transmitted TO floors, should
be reduced by means Of blocks of rub
Der or similar damping substances be-
meath machine supports"
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