The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Girl in Industry, by D. J. Collier
& B. L. Hutchins
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license
Title: The Girl in Industry
Author: D. J. Collier
B. L. Hutchins
Release Date: June 26, 2014 [EBook #46104]
Language: English
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GIRL IN INDUSTRY ***
Produced by Chris Curnow, MWS and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
produced from images generously made available by The
Internet Archive)
THE GIRL IN INDUSTRY
"The adolescent stage of life has long seemed to me one of the most
fascinating of all themes, more worthy, perhaps, than anything in the
world of reverence, most inviting study, and in most crying need of a
service we do not yet understand how to render aright."
G. Stanley Hall, _Adolescence_, I. xix.
THE
GIRL IN INDUSTRY
BY
D. J. COLLIER
WITH A FOREWORD AND INTRODUCTION BY
B. L. HUTCHINS
AUTHOR OF "WOMEN IN MODERN INDUSTRY"
[Illustration]
LONDON
G. BELL AND SONS, LTD.
1918
CONTENTS
PAGE
Foreword. B. L. Hutchins v
Introduction. B. L. Hutchins ix
Part I. Investigation. D. J. Collier 1
Part II. Recommendations. D. J. Collier 49
Table I. 55
Table II. 56
FOREWORD
The problem of the adolescent at work is a very complex one; not only
the economic, but also the educational, physiological, and biological
reactions of industrial work have to be considered. The present work
does not attempt anything like a comprehensive discussion of the
subject; it is merely a small contribution to existing knowledge of
the facts in regard to one section only: the physiological effects of
industrial work on growing girls.
The young, it is often said, are the nation's capital. If by this we
merely mean that they are the force by which the material goods of the
future will be produced, our view of life is inadequate and rather
brutal, but if the words are given a higher and more spiritual sense
they become full of significance. Youth is the future: from among the
young of to-day the parents, citizens, leaders, prophets, artists of
the next generation will arise. Work at this age should be considered
not only for the shillings it will immediately produce, but partly
for its effects on the worker's productive power later on, partly for
its effects on character, physique, mind. Dr. Stanley Hall says of
modern industry: "Not only have the forms of labour been radically
changed within a generation or two, but the basal activities that
shaped the body of primitive man have been suddenly swept away by the
new methods of modern industry.... Work is rigidly bound to fixed
hours, uniform standards, stints and piece-products, and instead of
a finished article, each individual now achieves a part of a single
process, and knows little of those that precede or follow. Machinery
has relieved the large basal muscles and laid more stress upon fine and
exact movements that involve nerve strain.... Personal interest in, and
the old native sense of responsibility for results, ownership and use
of the finished products, which have been the inspiration and soul of
work in the past, are in more and more fields gone."[1] The conditions
of much work undoubtedly tend to become mechanical, deadening, and
soul-destroying.
A strong impression seems to haunt the minds of some who are
intimately in touch with working-class conditions that adolescent
labour is excessive in amount, and that the resulting fatigue may be
cumulative in its effects and injurious to the continuance of the
race. Thus in 1904 Miss Anderson and her colleagues of the Factory
Department, being invited to report on the subject of married women's
work, found themselves impelled to the consideration of the previous
life-conditions of the women, and stated: "It is the employment
of women from _girlhood_, all through married life and through
child-bearing that impresses itself on the mind. It is useless for any
not familiar with the conditions of mill life to pronounce any opinion
... they have no conception of the stress and strain."[2]
More recently Mr. Arthur Greenwood in a pamphlet (_The Schoolchild
in Industry_, published by the Workers' Educational Association,
Manchester, 1914) states that the fatigue and prolonged standing
characteristic of some factory industries produce serious disease
in girls and young women, "and, in the opinion of many doctors,
sterility." The same impression may be found occasionally among Sick
Visitors and the like, who work among these women. Whether there is a
scientific basis for the belief it is impossible to say; there is not
at present sufficient information.
The investigation embodied in the present volume was undertaken in the
hope that it would yield some information as to the vitally important
subject of the biological effects of early employment, or, in other
words, the reaction on the woman and her offspring of industrial
employment in the adolescent years. No statistical data have, however,
been obtained on this point; probably none such could be obtained
within the limits of a small inquiry directed and financed by private
persons. Even in regard to the effects of industrial work on the health
of girls, without special regard to ulterior effects, there is at
present very little scientific information.
I welcome Miss Collier's report, therefore, as a pioneer effort; it
is limited in scope and matter by the nature of the undertaking,
but I know that she has spared no pains in collecting her facts,
and has set them out without prejudice or bias. Her experience
has suggested to us the desirability of a form of inquiry which is
probably beyond the resources of most private inquirers, but might
well be undertaken either by a Government department or by some public
fund for sociological research. Some years ago, statistics of the
anthropometrical measurements of school children in certain districts
were published.[3] These figures were obtained from elementary school
records in rural and industrial districts, and the results were
valuable and instructive. Such a survey of young people, aged 14 to
18, might usefully include not only those in industry, but also those
attending secondary schools, who in certain districts belong to much
the same social grade, and often come from the same families. Thus the
material for a valid comparison would be available, and the results,
under scientific medical guidance, might be of first-rate social
importance. Possibly also some light might be thrown upon the subject
by investigating the previous occupational histories, from the onset of
puberty onwards, of patients in maternity hospitals, and tabulating the
results with the nature of the confinement, whether normal, difficult,
or complicated.
In conclusion, Miss Collier and I wish here to offer our best thanks to
the many friends who kindly allowed themselves to be interviewed, and
gave the help and information necessary for carrying out the inquiry.
INTRODUCTION
_Numbers Employed._--The whole number of girls employed from 10 to 21
years of age amounted in 1911 to over a million and a half, or about
40 per cent of the total female population of that age. If, however,
we restrict ourselves to the adolescent girls at the ages 14 and under
18, we find that the total number employed amounted to nearly 794,800,
or 58·6 per cent of the whole. The 41·4 per cent unoccupied include
girls of the class in which women do not work for money, girls studying
who intend to follow a profession or occupation, and some girls of the
higher industrial classes who attend school one, two, or three years
beyond the elementary school age. There must also be in this group some
proportion of working-class girls who are kept at home to help their
mothers, and a small number of invalids and imbeciles who are incapable
of work.
Of the 794,800 girls occupied, it is interesting to note that 30·5 per
cent had entered service (including hotel service, but not including
laundry and washing service). If we take the whole domestic group which
includes laundry and charing as well as service, we find it takes up
34·8 of the total girls employed. Considering how much complaint is
frequently made of the unwillingness of girls to enter these ancient
and traditional paths, it is worth noting that one girl in every three
actually does so, and the girls who stay at home to help their mothers,
if we knew their numbers, would bring this proportion up a good deal
higher.
The textile trades employ 16·8 of our occupied girls, and the various
dress trades 19·2. We thus find nearly 71 per cent of occupied girls
are engaged in the occupations constantly associated with their sex
and regarded as "womanly," although in modern times nearly all textile
and a considerable proportion of the dress and laundry trades are
organised on factory lines. The other 29 per cent are dispersed over
the clerical, artistic, and other professions, and in miscellaneous
factory industries.
The proportion of girls employed varies from one place to another;
it is highest in districts where there is a well-marked industry,
especially where textile factories absorb a large proportion of female
labour. Table II. shows the proportion of girls in a few selected
districts. In industrial districts the proportion of domestic servants
is very low, and the figures bring home to us the fact that in certain
districts a large proportion of the female population spends the
transition from childhood to adult life in the mill.
It is, however, useless to spend much time over these figures, which
have become completely out of date through the war. No details for
young workers are obtainable in official statistics, but the increase
in numbers of females employed in industry since the outbreak of war
was estimated in July 1917 at 23·7, while the increase in professional
and other occupations, including transport, was 82 per cent. The total
increase in industry, commerce, and government service of various kinds
amounted to over 1,420,000, or 42·5 per cent.[4] It is probable that
the increase among girls of 14 to 18 was at least no less than among
female workers generally. The net increase in numbers must also be only
an imperfect indication of the enormous changes within the employed
group. The Munitions group, the metal trades, all the textile and other
trades that produce the clothing and other accoutrement of soldiers,
the supply of food and comforts for the army, all these industries
have expanded considerably and have drawn recruits not only from the
unoccupied but from the domestic workers, and from many other less
indispensable occupations. Women and girls have also taken the places
of men and boys in many civilian occupations.
_The Factory Act._--During the war the regulations of the Factory Act
have been considerably relaxed or suspended. The strain of industry on
the immature, however, though undoubtedly intensified by the war, was
already a matter of anxious consideration before 1914. Even in times
of peace the Factory Act vouchsafes to the adolescent worker a meagre
and inadequate protection. As regards hours of work, "young persons,"
_i.e._ such as are between 14 and 18, and also such as though only 13
have obtained a school attendance certificate, are placed on a level,
but for some trifling exceptions, with adult women. The hours of work
for both classes are the same, viz.: 10 hours in textile factories,
10-1/2 in non-textile factories and workshops, plus meal times. It is
thus legal for a girl of 13, a mere child, as most people would call
her, to be at work "all round the clock," or, including meal times, for
full 12 hours. On Saturday there is a half-holiday. The only difference
in regard to hours is that in certain industries women are permitted
overtime, which is prohibited to young persons.
_Medical Inspection._--There is, however, a provision special to
workers under 16, which is of interest, and that is the requirement
of a certificate by the certifying factory surgeon that the young
person is physically fit for the proposed employment. The surgeon has
power to reject boys and girls for work he considers unsuitable to
them, and he may also make certain qualifications or conditions as
to the kind of work on which the boy or girl should be employed. It
is evident that here we have a provision with great possibilities of
good for young people. The unfortunate side of the matter is that the
certifying surgeon is not concerned with the care of the child; he is
merely remunerated by the employer to fulfil a legal formality. Within
a few years the Women Factory Inspectors have, however, taken the
matter up and initiated action in the interests of rejected children.
The system has been shown to be most unsatisfactory. No certificates
are required for other than factory industries, so that in many cases
rejected children go to some employment which may be more harmful than
the one for which they have been rejected, or may even be admitted
by one factory surgeon into the very occupation for which another had
disqualified them.
Equally serious is the absence of any system of medical advice or
treatment for the cases in which physical defect or disease has been
notified. For these and other reasons it is highly desirable that the
factory medical service, so far as it relates to juveniles, should be
absorbed in the School Medical Service, which for nearly ten years
has been doing such good work in the detection and to some extent the
treatment of pathological conditions among school children. This body
is far better placed than the certifying surgeons, as the whole of the
elementary school population passes under its hands. Medical inspection
could then become a condition of all employment, instead of, as at
present, factory employment merely, and suitable arrangements could
be made without much difficulty for medical care and treatment where
necessary. It would be likely, also, that the school doctors would
take a more enlightened view of factory conditions and the needs of
adolescence than the certifying surgeons, and would have the Education
Authority at their backs in urging the importance of healthful
conditions on the employer in the factory.[5]
_The Industrial Conditions needed for the Young._--In regard to
girls the importance of adapting conditions of work to the needs
of the immature woman is a matter of thought and care, of details
intelligently combined into a coherent whole. Given suitable
arrangements it need by no means be assumed that the factory is
inherently injurious to women and girls. Several persons whose views
have been included in the following report even thought that factory
life was beneficial in some respects. Dr. Louis Starr also says: "While
there is no question of the evils of child-labour, more of the young
suffer from too little than too much use of the muscles. Where harm
comes the blame should not be put upon the mere work, but upon the
unhealthy surroundings, bad work-rooms, long hours, great monotony,
over-specialisation and excessive use of the accessory and neglect of
the fundamental muscles."[6]
The principle of economic individualism has been definitely thrown
over by all but a few invincible doctrinaires, and it is coming to be
recognised that the shoe must fit the human foot and not the foot be
cut down to suit the shoe. We are beginning, greatly daring, to foresee
a time when directors of industry will be required to revise their
schemes of management or even to construct new ones, not merely to
avoid injury to workers, but with the view of promoting their healthy
mental and physical development. Hours of work must be considerably
shortened for young workers, rest pauses must be introduced to minimise
fatigue, time must be allowed for physical exercise, education, and
recreation, and the whole surroundings of work modified with a regard
for the personality of the workers. The question of speed is of
special importance in regard to young girls. In America, where speed
and strain have been and still are extreme, it is beginning to be
recognised by the most enlightened employers that it is useless to urge
the human organisation beyond the power of endurance. In some cases
speeds have been reduced to get the best results.[7]
Detailed study is necessary in order to adapt the work to the
capabilities of the workers. In Miss Collier's reports several
interesting notes will be found on the desirability of picking strong
girls for certain kinds of work: on the need of seats, and specially of
the right kind of seats, and other points. When a new Factory Act comes
under consideration, as we hope it may after the war, the needs of
youthful workers will be the point that most urgently requires emphasis
and re-statement, and I venture to hope that the then Home Secretary
will take account of Miss Collier's investigation.
The war has shown us the extraordinary elasticity of productive
power in modern times. In response to an urgent national need,
material production has been stretched to a point that would have
been incredible a few years ago. This is surely an indication
that--apart from the present need for enormous quantities of
war-material--production can satisfy the bodily wants of men and
yield a surplus for the higher needs of civilised communities without
excessive toil, certainly without overtaxing the young and immature.
Further, much evidence collected both before and during the war
indicates that overwork is relatively unproductive compared with work
for reasonable hours. All this shows that we can, if we wish, decide to
be the master of the machine and not its slave. The knowledge and the
power are there: let not the will be lacking.
INVESTIGATION
Little attention has been given until quite recent times to the
effects of industrial work on the health and physique of adolescent
girls. Child labour has been the subject of much discussion, and
medical investigations have shown the detrimental influence exerted
by wage-earning employment on the plastic organism of the growing
child. It is recognised that with children bodily work often produces
a greater degree of fatigue both mental and physical than does mental
work of equal duration. The various legal restrictions limiting the
hours and controlling the conditions of the labour of children,
although inadequate in extent and sometimes only permissive in
character, are evidence of a realisation that the well-being of the
child is of more importance than its immediate commercial utility. This
recognition of the necessity of guarding against overstrain during
the critical early years does not, however, extend to the period of
adolescence. The restrictions of the hours of work and the conditions
of employment of young persons of both sexes differ but slightly
from those applying to adult women. This failure to appreciate the
special problems of adolescence is the more remarkable in that medical
evidence has shown that young children grow and develop despite
great hardships, while adolescence is more dependent upon favouring
conditions in the environment, disturbances of which more easily
retard development and effectively injure the still growing body. "In
late adolescence contrasted with earlier life there is more variation
in growth, much greater liability to retrogression, and increased
susceptibility to outside influences, unfavourable surroundings, and
conditions more readily causing arrest of growth and preventing perfect
maturity."[8]
In the evidence before the Physical Deterioration Committee in 1904,
Dr. Eichholz[9] emphasised the need of close attention to the physical
condition of young girls who take up industrial work between the ages
of 14 and 18, for the conditions under which they work, rest, and
eat doubtless account for the rapid falling off in physique which
so frequently accompanies the transition from school to work. And
the summary of that Committee states: "The period of adolescence is
responsible for much waste of human material and for the entrance
upon maturity of permanently damaged and ineffective persons of both
sexes. The plasticity of the human organisation, the power it possesses
of yielding rapidly towards degenerative or recuperative influences
appears to terminate at 18."
This sketch of the conditions and circumstances of the girl in
industry was undertaken as a contribution to the study of the effects
of industrial employment on the health and physique of the female
population of the country, and it was hoped that in the course of
the investigation some light would be thrown on the question of the
relation of the employment of the young girl to her health after
marriage. Only a minority of women are normally employed at any time,
but as an examination of the figures in Table I. shows, a large
majority of girls between the ages of 15 and 19 are employed, and of
these more than one-half work in manufactures, over two-thirds of the
factory and workshop girls being absorbed in the textile and clothing
trades. It follows from this that the majority of women have been
employed during the critical years of adolescence which have so great
an influence on the physical constitution of later years.
As it was impossible in a private inquiry, such as this, to cover a
wide range, certain industries which seemed to offer the best scope
for the investigation were selected and subjected to as detailed an
examination as was possible. The entrance of large numbers of girls
and young women into the industries connected with the manufacture
of munitions suggested Birmingham and Coventry as fruitful fields of
inquiry, and the increase in welfare supervision with appointment
of matrons and nurses in charge of surgeries and rest-rooms seemed
to indicate that the required information would be easily obtained,
while the abnormal conditions prevailing in these industries offered
a favourable ground for investigation in that they afforded unusual
opportunities of studying the effects of excessive hours of work, night
work, and other variations in hours and conditions of employment. In
addition to collecting evidence from a number of these supervisors in
the factories, I endeavoured to find out from social workers, in touch
with girls outside the factory, how far the abnormal conditions due to
the pressure of war work are affecting the general health of girls. It
is only natural that patriotic zeal and a desire to earn good money
on piece-rates may mask any possible evil influences that long hours
and increased speeding up may exert, so that the evidence from those
in charge of girls in the factories, if considered alone, might not
disclose the true state of affairs. Since it was impossible to get
statistical evidence as to output, accidents, and actual industrial
fatigue, I interviewed secretaries of Girls' Clubs and Care Committee
workers connected with the Birmingham Juvenile Advisory Boards, who
were in touch with girls between the ages of 14 and 16. I saw also a
number of medical men and women with panel practices in industrial
districts. The certifying surgeons were not able to give me any
information, as they deal only with young persons who are commencing
their industrial careers.
But it is from the textile trades that the great mass of the evidence
is derived. The cotton industry of Lancashire and the wool and worsted
industries of the West Riding of Yorkshire, built up as they are on
the labour of children and young persons, offered a much wider field
than the non-textile trades, and here, where the girls join their Trade
Union directly they are working full time, there is much more class
consciousness and reflection upon industrial conditions. Consequently
evidence as to these industries, together with that of the clothing
trade, is derived mainly from the Trade Union officials, particularly
from the Sick Visitors of the Insurance sections, and from meetings
of operatives called together for the purpose by the Trade Union
secretary. In the course of the inquiry I visited a number of mills,
both spinning and manufacturing, and thus gathered a good deal of
information from employers, managers, and overlookers. A certain number
of doctors were also visited, and some of these supplied much valuable
evidence, but it must be remarked here that many doctors, possibly
from stress of work, fail to note the relation between occupation and
disease except in extreme and obvious cases, particularly in towns
where one main industry occupies a large proportion of the inhabitants,
and where one imagines deductions as to occupational disease and
tendencies to disease could be most easily made.
In addition to the engineering and textile trades I have collected
evidence from a few miscellaneous industries in the various towns I
have visited, generally from "good" employers, who have made some
study of industrial fatigue or whose interest in the welfare of their
employees had directed their attention to some of the problems under
discussion.
The evidence from the clothing trade was collected at Hebden Bridge
and from various other towns where wholesale tailoring is merely
a subsidiary industry. The conditions in Hebden Bridge due to the
ever-present shortage of female labour make these clothing operatives
the aristocrats of their trade, so that the general results of
industrial work here had to be correlated with the evidence from the
clothing trade in other towns.
GENERAL CONCLUSIONS
_Hours._--The evidence to be considered under this heading is concerned
with various factors: the total number of hours worked each week, the
length of the spells, and the number and length of the pauses for rest
and meals, as well as the time of employment, _i.e._ day or night work.
At the time when the inquiry was initiated (October 1916), practically
all the munition factories in Birmingham were working a 60-hour week,
and only in a very few cases had three 8-hour shifts been tried. This
was due mainly to the difficulty of securing sufficient male labour
for setting tools, etc., and also to the fact that there was already
some difficulty in getting enough female workers. Similarly in Coventry
the total weekly hours ranged between 55 and 60, though at one factory
visited girls under 18 worked only 47 hours, and those over 18 worked
53 hours. The evidence of Welfare supervisors and nurses in charge
of rest-rooms went to show that these long hours had not exerted the
bad effect that had been expected. Various witnesses stated that "no
signs of undue fatigue had been observed," "no increased sickness
since the hours had been lengthened," "the strain of the long hours
is considerable, but actual breakdowns are rare." Another witness is
"quite astounded" at the good standard of health after a long period of
55-hour weeks. One witness, a medical woman who had examined the girls
at a factory working 10 hours and more per day for six and sometimes
seven days per week, found no marked deterioration when she examined
them again at the end of six months. But she stated emphatically that
the good food now obtainable because of the better wages was largely
responsible for this result. It must be remembered that in pre-war
times the average wage for girls on simple engineering processes in
Birmingham and district was about 8s. to 10s. per week, while now they
would get 16s. to 30s., and it must be concluded that some of the girls
under discussion were now adequately nourished for the first time in
their lives. Again, the results of this particular inquiry must be
taken as representing the survival of the fittest, as many of the
girls examined the first time the doctor visited the factory had left,
possibly because of ill-health, before the second visit.
Nearly all the witnesses quoted above insisted that the high standard
of health that prevailed was due mainly to better living and increased
care, which did much to mitigate the possible evil effects of the long
hours. One matron pointed out that girls who are earning good wages
and who are therefore financially independent, get far better care
and attention at home than if they are not earning, and this prevents
breakdowns.
There is, however, another side to this optimistic picture, and this
is presented by some of the doctors interviewed and by Girls' Club
secretaries and Care Committee workers. One woman doctor stated that
there is much increased sickness--anaemia, gastric disturbances,
etc., among girls working long hours. Another doctor declared that
the fatigue resulting from long hours of labour frequently leads to
acute anaemia and then to irregular menstruation, and he said that the
greater part of the work was not too heavy and not entirely unsuitable
for girls, but that the hours were so long as not to allow time to
recover from fatigue.
The secretaries of Clubs and Care Committees were unanimous in their
condemnation of the present system of long hours. They say the girls
they come across are thoroughly worn out, "languid and lacking in
vitality," "pale and nervous," and "incapable of taking an interest
in anything." The fatigue seemed to affect them mentally more than
physically; thus the worker at one Club said that the girls working
long hours, _i.e._ about 60 per week, were quite incapable of
brainwork, so all classes, even needlework, had to be stopped, but
they could stand the most strenuous drill and gymnastic work for two
evenings a week and did not want to stop when the Club closed: the
constrained nature of their work, generally tending automatic machines,
seemed to increase their restlessness, and they are glad to work it
off in any occupation involving movement. In case this point, which
others corroborated, seems to contradict the view that the long hours
made the girls lethargic and apathetic, it must be mentioned that this
same witness said that when any girls were working 1-1/2 hours over
their 10 hours, they were fagged physically as well as mentally and
would not have the energy to drill, etc., but would just sit and watch
the others. As a general rule the girls do not complain of the long
hours, and very few cases of complete breakdown are recorded. This
is attributed to the higher standard of living made possible by the
increased wages and to the fact that many girls have been lost sight of
since the pressure of work has become so great.
The evidence from a few miscellaneous industries, drawn as it is from
the experience of a few "good" employers, is of a very different
nature. Here the hours worked seldom, if ever, exceed 9 per day, and
in some instances experiments had been tried with an 8-hour day with
satisfactory results to both health and output. It must be remembered
that most of the work done by girls in these miscellaneous factories
is of an intensely monotonous nature--packing and sorting finished
goods, "taking off" on printing machines, making cardboard boxes or tin
canisters, but, at the same time, the work is very light and easy and
is learnt in a day or so, although some weeks may elapse before the
maximum speed is attained. The only danger in these light automatic
processes is the temptation, often encouraged by the employer, of
excessive speeding up, but to this I will refer later. As a general
rule, the evidence from this group goes to show that the standard of
health among girls working 8 or 9 hours a day is quite satisfactory,
and the sickness rates are very low. How far these good results are
due to the shortness of the working-day compared with that of the
munition and textile industries, and how far to the various "welfare"
provisions, such as special attention to delicate girls, supply of hot
drinks in the middle of the morning and afternoon spells, gymnastic
classes during work hours and so on, it is difficult to say. It is
interesting to note that one employer reported that the addition of two
hours' overtime to a 9-hour day for three days a week caused excessive
fatigue after a few months, so that the overtime was stopped, but after
a month the pressure of work was so great that they had to return to
it, and now they find that this excessive fatigue is avoided, or,
rather, fatigue so extreme as to diminish output is avoided by working
every fourth week without overtime.
Turning now to the textile industry, particularly the cotton trade of
Lancashire with its 55-1/2-hour week and its 6 A.M. start, we find
opinion somewhat divided. A certain number of employers and their
representatives declared that the hours worked exert no detrimental
effect on young girls, and that the time lost through sickness is very
slight. But these statements are outweighed by the evidence of most of
the inside managers and some of the employers interviewed. One of the
latter firmly believed that the present working hours are too long for
young girls, and had often noticed how they fell off in health. Another
states that young workers find the long hours very tiring and that a
shorter working-day, which would be an advantage for all, is almost a
necessity for young girls, although he has no exact evidence that the
hours worked are actually detrimental.
But the heaviest indictment against the 10-hour day comes from the
Trade Union representatives. Many of these declare that the girls are
utterly worn out at the end of the day and are generally incapable of
any serious work, which accounts for the small proportion of girls who
attend Workers' Educational Association and other evening classes. The
strain of most of the work in cotton factories, both on the preparing
and on the manufacturing sides, is considerable, and the competition to
increase output is very great. Girls and women are indirectly set to
emulate one another and to compete with men and boys. Some observers
say that the girls are tired out by 4.30 P.M., and that if the hours
were reduced the output would be more regular, as at the present time
girls are unconsciously forced to "slack." The Sick Visitors of one of
the large Weavers' Unions in north-east Lancashire state that "shorter
hours are far more important for the well-being of the weaver than
either weavers or manufacturers realise," and they point out that the
girls look much brighter and better when they are away from work with
minor ailments, and certainly the sickness returns show that fewer are
ill when "short time" is general as in the latter half of 1914. This
is confirmed by the experience of other Unions. The weaving master in
one of the technical schools, who had been a working weaver for years,
was convinced that the hours are too long for all operatives, but
especially for growing girls, and he said, "One has only to live in a
household of weavers to notice the extreme weariness and lassitude with
which they sink into chairs as soon as they get home in the evening."
As a proof of the evil effects of the long working-day my attention
was frequently drawn to the physical differences between the girls
attending the secondary schools and those who work in the mills. In
the majority of cases, particularly in north-east Lancashire, both
groups come from the same class and from the same type of home, but the
former are tall, well-built, and rosy-cheeked, while the latter are
often short, always thin, and generally pale and anaemic.
The comparison between the different effects of weaving and winding
is instructive. The latter process is of itself more tiring and
monotonous, and the strain is continuous; yet winders are said to be in
better health and to be much more cheerful and energetic out of work
hours. This apparent inconsistency is explained by the fact that the
winders seldom work a full week; they frequently start after breakfast,
and generally "play" on Saturday and one other morning every week.
One witness emphasised her conviction that the long hours were
mainly responsible for the very prevalent ill-health of girls and of
older women by declaring that no reform of factory conditions can be
effective until the hours are shortened.
The medical witnesses were also unanimous in their belief that the
long hours of confinement in the close atmosphere of the mill is the
cause of much of the ill-health that is prevalent among girls about 16
and 17. The fatigue resulting from the hours of labour weakens their
resistance to disease, and they are liable to fall victims to any
epidemics, while anaemia, gastric and menstrual disturbances are very
frequent about this age.
The worsted industry told the same tale. Many of the employers
interviewed were in favour of a shorter working-day, as the younger
operatives get very tired at 4.30 P.M. and work suffers, while a Trade
Union representative declared that the hours are exceedingly fatiguing
for all female workers, particularly for growing girls, who, unlike
the men and boys, practically in all cases have domestic work when the
factory day is over.
The majority of the employers in the clothing trade had never given
any consideration to the effects of the hours on the health of their
operatives. Consequently they were vehement in declaring that a 52-hour
week exerted no injurious influences. On the other hand, the Sick
Visitors of the local branches of the United Garment Workers' Union
were confident that the 9-1/2-hour day in the confined atmosphere of
the factory was particularly harmful for young girls, and they pointed
out that the sickness returns were always lower during slack time and
during strikes, while other witnesses, although unable to make any
definite statement on the effects of the hours worked, said that very
few girls at the clothing factories have much energy for Continuation
and Workers' Educational Classes after their full day's work.
In non-textile factories 5-hour spells are very common. All the
doctors interviewed spoke very strongly against this practice. It is
noteworthy that far more accidents are reported as occurring in the
5-hour spells than in shorter periods, and the general opinion is that
the spell is too long for health and efficiency. In many munition
factories short breaks for ten or fifteen minutes have been instituted
in the 5-hour spells, and trolleys from the canteens are sent round
with cheap refreshments. The benefit derived from this system is
everywhere acknowledged, and the wonder is that so few experiments with
rest pauses have been tried. The 4-1/2-hour spell also comes in for
much criticism, and some observers say that the girls are thoroughly
fatigued at the end of the time, while the Welfare supervisor at one
works goes so far as to say that the last half-hour even of a 4-hour
spell drags so heavily with the younger workers that a 3-1/2-hour spell
would be a distinct advantage both to health and to output.
The continuous 4-1/2-hour spell allowed by the Factory Acts for the
textile industry is seldom adopted in either the cotton or worsted
trades, the most usual hours being 6 A.M. to 8 A.M., 8.30 A.M. to
12.30 P.M., and 1.30 P.M. to 5.30 P.M. Very little attention has
been paid to the effects of the 4-hour spells as such, and though
many observers say that girls are thoroughly fatigued by 3.30 or
4.30 P.M., this seems to be due mainly to the total number of hours
already worked rather than to the fatiguing influence of the individual
spell. With regard to the early morning start characteristic of these
industries, opinion was sharply divided. Some employers and Trade Union
representatives declared that no ill-effects resulted, while others
were most insistent that the work before breakfast was the cause of
much illness and discomfort. Whilst it is impossible to dogmatise in
the face of these conflicting statements, especially in view of the
fact that neither side can produce scientific evidence in its defence,
so that the statements are probably the result of social and domestic
considerations, it may be assumed that the early start is harmful
in the cold winter months, but that it does not of itself exert any
injurious influence in the summer.
Night work for juvenile workers is now almost universally condemned.
The effects of such work are more marked than with adult workers, the
nervous strain is considerable, and lassitude and weariness invariably
accompany the night shift. This results in spite of the fact that
girls are reported to sleep well during the day, unlike the older
women, whose domestic concerns frequently prevent sleep in the daytime.
Some witnesses from Birmingham and Coventry report that night-work
was still (November 1916) common for juvenile workers. Where Welfare
Workers are in charge, however, they endeavour to restrict it to girls
over 16, though even with these the fatigue is considerable, as sleep
is frequently broken by the mother waking the girl to partake of the
family mid-day meal. Evidence as to the relative merits of long and
short periods of night-work are so conflicting that it is impossible
to draw any conclusions, and as the question is receiving considerable
attention from the Health of Munition Workers' Committee, it was not
made the subject of special investigation.
Some explanation of the conflict of evidence recorded under this
section of the inquiry may be found in the outlook of the witnesses
interviewed. Where increased output and commercial profit were the
chief concern, so long as few actual breakdowns occurred the witness
would report no unfavourable results from long hours of labour, while
those whose main interest lay with the well-being of the worker would
notice any falling off in health with long hours and would report
accordingly. It is obvious that no definite conclusions as to the
immediate or ultimate effect of long hours can be made from evidence of
this nature. In the second part of this report suggestions will be made
as to the lines on which more scientific inquiry should be conducted
in order to determine the exact effects of varying hours of industrial
work on the physical organisation of adolescent girls.
_Protracted Standing and Opportunity for Rest._--Evidence as to the
provision of seats in munition factories is, on the whole, very
encouraging. Most workshops have stools or seats for use during the
short pauses which occur whilst waiting for materials or for the
setting of tools, and where possible younger girls are put on work that
can be done sitting down, whilst Welfare supervisors are generally
ready to recommend that delicate girls be transferred from work which
involves protracted standing to processes which allow occasional or
even continued sitting-down, and foremen are nearly always willing to
fall in with the Welfare Workers' suggestions. Only in a few cases have
there been difficulties in securing seats: where men have been formerly
employed the foremen are sometimes prejudiced against allowing girls
to sit down, but they are soon convinced of the wisdom of making this
concession.
With certain processes prolonged standing is inevitable, but evidence
as to resulting injury was not forthcoming in Birmingham or Coventry.
None of the doctors interviewed was able to make any statement
regarding the effects of a continued standing posture, as no cases
of injury that could be attributed to this cause had come to their
notice. Some of the Welfare supervisors stated that girls got very
tired at first but soon got used to the permanent standing, and that
no serious or lasting injuries resulted, though in a few cases girls
not used to industrial work would get flat-footed or would suffer from
swollen feet. While varicose veins are rare in young girls, every
witness brought into contact with older married women was impressed by
the apparent inevitability of this trouble in later years, but it is
impossible to gather how far work during adolescence is responsible.
Evidence as to the effects of standing on the menstrual function will
be discussed later.
From the evidence received it seems probable that only a small
proportion, and these perhaps the more delicate, are troubled by
prolonged standing, but attention may be drawn to the evidence of one
large factory where 50 per cent of all new workers leave before the
end of six months, and of these 30 per cent declare that they find the
standing so fatiguing that they cannot remain at the work.
In most of the processes of the cotton and worsted industries chances
of resting are exceedingly rare. Girls carrying laps[10] from the
blowing-room to the cards, can-tenters and drawing-frame minders in the
card-room, and winders and weavers, seldom, if ever, get an opportunity
to sit down. Girls on the slubber, intermediate, and roving frames, and
those in the ring-room of the cotton trade and the spinning-rooms of
the worsted industry, are in a better position in that a few minutes'
rest is sometimes possible, and some managers and overlookers believe
that these girls are less tired and show a better sickness record than
the former group. Even where the nature of the work allows occasional
periods of rest, seats are scarcely ever provided, so that the girls
seldom sit down unless the waste-boxes or the skips are in a suitable
position so that they can see down their frames to note if the work is
proceeding all right. Many of the witnesses stated complacently that
the girls soon got used to the prolonged standing, but doctors noted
that prolapsed wombs were not uncommon in young women between 20 and
30, though some felt that the number of cases were not sufficient to
warrant any conclusions. Sick Visitors also reported that prolapse
was not unusual, and that most girls found the long hours of standing
very fatiguing. Cases of prolapse are sometimes reported amongst young
married women who have not worked after marriage and who have had every
care after child-birth, which seems to point to an adverse influence
exerted during adolescence. Sometimes girls complain bitterly of the
lack of opportunity for even a few minutes' rest, and the Sick Visitors
say that conditions of work which do not allow a girl to snatch even a
short respite during a 10-hour day do not give her a chance to get over
any constitutional delicacy. As a general rule, however, the girls make
no complaints, but older women find the continued standing very tiring,
and many witnesses believe that this is due to the cumulative strain
of long years, while some declare that the anaemia prevalent among
young textile workers is largely due to the weakened condition brought
about by long hours of standing.
Reference may be made here to the necessity for attention to the type
of seat provided, particularly in entirely sedentary occupations, as in
the clothing trade and in many of the processes of such industries as
biscuit-making, soap-manufacturing, etc. Witnesses from the clothing
trade laid great stress on the fact that sitting all day on a small
hard stool was extremely fatiguing for growing girls, as it gave no
support to their backs, and the Welfare Worker of a large soap-works,
after trying one of the stools in her own office, is having them all
replaced by chairs with suitable backs in those departments where the
work is mainly sedentary.
_Weight-carrying and Heavy Work._--As far as one can gather from the
rather scanty evidence available under this heading, girls under 16 in
munition works are seldom engaged on work involving heavy lifting and
carrying. The majority of young girls are feeding automatic machines
and working power presses, and all materials are brought and taken away
by special labourers. Many girls over 16 have been substituted for men
workers, but it is exceedingly difficult to gauge the effect which such
work is exerting on their health. Overlookers and Welfare supervisors
declare that tall strong girls are chosen for heavy processes and that
very few injuries result, while a girl can be transferred to lighter
work if the heavy work is too fatiguing. One doctor related how she had
just concluded the examination of 200 women and girls engaged on heavy
capstan lathes and had discovered no injurious effects, but she pointed
out that they were all from the Black Country, where women and girls
have been doing heavy work for several generations, and their physique
was undoubtedly superior to that of the average industrial girl worker.
Another doctor stated that the carrying of weights over 50 lbs. is
exceedingly injurious to adolescent girls, as it causes the heart to
beat too quickly, so that after a time the beat is continuously rapid
and anaemia sets in. This effect is seldom, if ever, noticed in girls
over 20. On the other hand, uterine injuries are practically unknown in
young girls and hernia is very rare.
In one large works the girls who are transferred to men's work of
lifting and carrying goods are selected by the gymnasium mistress and
wear gymnastic costumes to facilitate their movements, and the works
doctor reports that there have been no ill effects beyond a few cases
of sprained ankles and wrists.
By an agreement between the Master Cotton Spinners and the Card and
Blowing Room Amalgamation, which was signed in February 1917, women
and girls are allowed to break off laps from openers and scutchers
provided they do not exceed 45 lbs. in weight, and also to fetch these
from the blowing-room on lap-trams and put them on the cards. In Leigh,
Wigan, and other districts where Trade Unionism is weak, girls have
been employed at this work for a long time prior to the agreement, and
the laps are seldom moved on lap-trams but are carried on the girl's
shoulder. Some overlookers said that they had always tried to get
tall strong girls for lap-carrying, as the laps, though seldom very
heavy--average weight 32-42 lbs.--are very cumbersome to manipulate,
and that such girls never experienced any difficulty in carrying the
laps. Where this care is not exercised (and it is to be feared that in
the majority of cases no regard is paid to the girl's capacity for the
work) difficulty in manipulating the bulky lap may be experienced by
small girls.
Can-tenting on the cards is an easy or fatiguing occupation according
as the cans are made of fibre or of tin. When the latter are in use
girls get very tired, as they are continually dragging the cans, three
or four at a time, from the cards to the drawing-frames, which are
often some distance away. The secretary of one branch of the Card Room
Amalgamation expressed the opinion that the use of fibre-cans ought to
be compulsory, as the improvement in physical condition when these are
introduced is quite remarkable. But in view of the fact that whenever
cans are being renewed fibre ones invariably replace the old-fashioned
tin cans, legislation seems unnecessary, and in many places where
tin cans are still in use trams are used to convey them to the
drawing-frames.
At the present time girls are frequently seen dragging skips of
cops and bobbins from one room to another or on to the hoist. In
well-managed mills the skips are moved on lines, or else are furnished
with wheels, but sometimes cases are reported of girls getting ruptured
through pulling skips without wheels up sloping floors.
In most weaving sheds--cotton and worsted--the weavers' work is to
fetch the tins of weft, keep the shuttles full, repair broken threads,
and carry the finished pieces or cuts to the warehouse. The actual
process of weaving does not involve any heavy work, and fetching the
cops of weft is only fatiguing when heavy tins have to be brought from
the cellars, which is not usual. But the dangerous element in the work
is the occasional necessity of altering the weights, which are placed
by the overlooker on levers at the back of the loom, to maintain the
required tension of the warp. Many witnesses, Trade Union officials,
doctors, overlookers, employers, and technical schoolmasters bore
testimony to the risk of internal strain and hernia which attends the
manipulation of these weighted levers. A broad loom for the manufacture
of cotton sheetings or worsted cloths may have two or three 56-lb.
weights on both levers, while for lighter fabrics two 32-lb. weights
on each side are quite common. In most sheds the space between the
looms is so restricted that the weavers have to move the weights in the
position of maximum disadvantage. As a matter of fact the actual number
of cases of rupture and other injuries is very small. Many witnesses
said it was a cause of perennial amazement to them that this should be
so, but some Sick Visitors and Trade Union secretaries said that not
all the cases came to their official notice, as girls are often too
reticent to claim compensation for internal injuries. Other witnesses
recorded their conviction that the effect of the risk was seen better
in the gradual strain and the deterioration in health than in the few
cases where actual injury results. It must be remarked here that men
weavers are often willing to help women and girls with this lifting of
the weights, but as a general rule the girls are too independent to
ask for the help, and the competition and speeding up are so intense
that they will not take up the time of a fellow-weaver. There are a
number of patent weighting motions on the market whose object is to
dispense with heavy weights, a 9-lb. weight being sufficient for any
ordinary warp, so that a young person can roll back the yarn on the
beam after unweaving or pulling back equally with the strongest man.
Many witnesses considered that legislation ought to be introduced
making such contrivances compulsory, and it is interesting to note
that some employers who had tried these patents on a few looms intend
to introduce them altogether when the war is over, and some have found
that by selling the old weights they have been able to install patent
weighting motions at a very small cost per loom.
Carrying finished pieces to the warehouse is an advantage to the
weavers in so far as it breaks the monotony of the work, but where the
cloth is heavy it is very tiring, particularly for short weavers, as
lifting the bundle over the loom-end in the narrow alley is exceedingly
fatiguing. In the worsted industry most pieces weigh 100 lbs., and
two girls are said to carry one piece to the warehouse. Cotton goods
seldom reach this weight, but in many districts the trade is becoming
heavier, and 60 lbs. is not unusual, and girls will carry such a piece
without any help. Most witnesses insisted that cut carriers ought
to be employed, as they are in a few places, where heavy cloth and
broad pieces are woven; even though few cases of serious injury can be
attributed to this cause, girls at work on heavy goods and broad looms
are "off sick" more frequently than other weavers.
_Peculiar Movements._--The points to be considered under this heading
were included in the investigation as it was felt that movements
involving continued use of one foot, while the full weight rested
on the other, as in working a treadle, or frequent stretching might
exert a harmful effect during adolescence, whilst they might be quite
innocuous for adults. The evidence, however, is too scanty to warrant
any conclusion, as work of this character is much less general than
formerly. On some of the machines used in engineering girls have either
to work a foot lever continuously or to start and stop the motion,
but where Welfare Workers and nurses are in charge they frequently
arrange that girls be transferred to other work after a time, so they
have nothing to report as to the effects of the work. The doctor at
one large factory considers that such work causes trouble with womb
and bowels and may lead to prolapse, and that it is likely to weaken
the abdominal muscles, but she had no definite evidence from girls
under her supervision as she had insisted some time previously that
girls should only do pedal work on alternate days, so that now they
are engaged on another process in the same room every other day. She
was, however, able to report that, previous to the enforcement of this
arrangement, many girls working treadle machines would go home during
their menstrual periods, and now very few feel the need to do this.
In some of the card-room processes, particularly on the intermediate
frames, also in the ring spinning-room, and at worsted spinning, short
girls have much stretching to reach the top rows of bobbins, but
though this is tiring no special injurious effects are recorded. The
difficulties of stretching movements are further intensified in the
case of preparation work on drawing-boxes in the worsted industry, as
girls have to lift large bobbins weighing about 28 to 30 lbs. into
creels above their heads; but though some witnesses declared that this
was very tiring, no evidence as to actual effects could be secured. A
Trade Union delegate mentioned that some girls on this work have broken
down completely, and have been forbidden by their doctors to return to
the work--the effect showing itself in a rapid deterioration in general
health rather than in actual injury. Further inquiry, however, brought
out the fact that the majority of workers on this process are over 20
years of age, and are therefore outside the scope of this investigation.
_Sanitary Conditions._--Reports as to sanitary accommodation in
factories are generally satisfactory, thanks to the untiring efforts
of the Women Factory Inspectors. In Birmingham, with its multiplicity
of small workshops, however, conditions, to put it mildly, are not
always ideal. As one doctor remarked, "Things are not so bad as to
allow closing down of workrooms, but the sanitary arrangements often
fall short of a reasonable standard of decency, though the competition
with large firms is having a salutary effect." The only complaints
that were brought to my notice referred to inadequate ventilation
and lighting and the objectionable system of "timing." The former is
generally remedied with the advent of the Welfare supervisor, the
latter complaint appears to be quite general in Coventry and is the
cause of much discomfort and annoyance. Where a large number of girls
are employed the temptation to remain away from the workshop for
long periods, playing in the lavatories, appears to be very general
among younger girls. One cannot help feeling that the difficulty
can be overcome by arranging for a woman attendant to take charge
of lavatories and cloak-rooms, rather than by a system which runs
counter to all decent instincts. Welfare Workers report that where
such attendants are employed the behaviour of young girls seldom gives
cause for complaint. In a few factories the attendants in charge of
the lavatories supply sanitary towels at 1d. or 1/2d. each, a practice
which might be universally adopted.
The sanitary arrangements in textile mills are not always adequate,
though few are reported as actually unsatisfactory. Pail closets are,
however, still present in a fair proportion of the older mills. The
chief complaint, particularly in reference to the needs of adolescent
girls, concerns the position of the closets; in most mills the male
and female conveniences are next to each other, and witnesses report
that young girls are frequently too shy to make use of them, especially
in weaving-sheds where the doors of the closets are in view of all.
Much unnecessary suffering therefore results, and girls sometimes
turn ill from this cause. These witnesses recommend that the sanitary
conveniences be placed outside the sheds, and that male and female
accommodation be in different parts of the mills. It may be noted
in passing that this difficulty was only represented in north-east
Lancashire, where the social position of the operatives is generally
somewhat superior to those of other districts, and where reticence in
such matters is more likely to be intensified.
Lighting and ventilation of closets is frequently faulty, and stress
must be laid on the necessity for washing facilities, generally
entirely lacking in textile factories.
_Meals._--Attention has been drawn in the section devoted to hours
to the value of good feeding in mitigating the injurious effects of
long hours of labour. It must be remembered that the evidence from the
engineering industry was collected towards the end of 1916, so that
the reports refer to the period before the increase in food prices had
balanced the rise in wages. It seems to be fairly established that
where good wages are earned adequate food is eaten, though one or
two observers reported that girls are still eating unsuitable food,
with the result that gastric troubles are common. As a general rule,
however, particularly where canteens have been set up, good meat
dinners are eaten, and the girls appear to be well nourished. Welfare
Workers report on the improvement in health which follows the opening
of canteens, and they note especially how anaemia is reduced. Inquiries
by club secretaries and the experience of district nurses who visit
working-class households show that improved feeding invariably follows
an increase in wages. As one witness says, "If they have the money they
eat good food, and once in the habit they do not easily fall back."
This is encouraging in face of the widespread belief that girls are
careless about their food and willingly live on tea and bread. The only
complaints concern the lack of variety in the food provided in the
canteens. One Welfare supervisor lays great stress on the value of a
long dinner-hour, and she attributes the absence of digestive troubles
at her factory to the hour and a half allowed at midday.[11]
One witness pointed out that when work starts at 8 A.M. many girls
get no breakfast, and when dinner-time comes at 12 or 12.30 they do
not feel able to eat ordinary food and take only bread and tea, or
something "tasty," but not nourishing. This point should be borne in
mind when the arrangement of hours is under discussion, especially
in view of the suggestion of one doctor who thought that the ideal
working-day when long hours are necessary for output, would be from
7 A.M. to 12 and 1 P.M. to 6 P.M., with ten minutes break for tea,
etc., in the middle of each spell. His reason for opposing an earlier
start with a breakfast interval at 8 o'clock depended on the fact that
the earlier spell (6 A.M.-8 A.M.) would probably be worked fasting,
which he considered to be very injurious. How much more harmful then
must be a whole morning's work with only a very light refreshment at
the interval. The Sick Visitor of the United Garment Workers' Union
at Hebden Bridge also draws attention to the difficulty of obtaining
an adequate breakfast at 7 o'clock in time for the 7.30 A.M. start
general at Hebden Bridge, and she attributes the prevalent trouble of
indigestion to this cause.
In the textile industries such amenities as dining-rooms are
practically unknown. A benevolent employer here and there, or a
Co-operative Wholesale Society, may provide a canteen, but such
examples are exceedingly rare. In south-east Lancashire most operatives
who work at a distance from their homes arrange with a family in the
neighbourhood of the mill to provide them with hot water for tea,
and possibly to cook some food for them, for breakfast and dinner.
Those who do not do this take their meals in the mill, and as seats
are non-existent they have to sit on skips or on the floor. When one
realises the atmospheric conditions of most mills, the heat, the damp
resulting from steaming, to say nothing of the smell from oil and size,
one cannot imagine a worse arrangement. In north Lancashire conditions
are somewhat better in that most mills provide hot water for tea at
a charge of 1d. or 2d. per week, and a certain few provide ovens for
heating food, but here again the meals have to be taken in the vitiated
atmosphere of the mill. Practically all operatives remain at the mill
for their breakfast, but the majority go home to dinner. The standard
of living is high, but too much carbo-hydrate and too little protein
food is general; bread and tea, chips and fish (mostly batter), and
cakes and pasties, and potato pie with very little meat, form the
staple diet. Doctors especially remark on this, and they attribute
the distaste for nourishing food to the long hours of confinement in
the close atmosphere of the mill. Industrial employment of the mothers
is also held to be responsible for faulty feeding, and when the mother
leaves the mill to look after the needs of a large family the taste for
unsuitable food is settled, and the diet continues as before.
GENERAL EFFECTS OF INDUSTRY ON PHYSICAL CONDITION
In addition to the influence of these special considerations on the
health of girls in factory employment, certain ailments and forms
of physical disability which may not of themselves be immediately
incapacitating may be induced by the general unfavourable environment
of industrial life Amongst such disorders may be classed:
1. Anaemia.
2. Gastric disorders.
3. Nervous affections.
4. Disturbances of menstrual function.
Growing girls are particularly liable to these disorders, so that their
extent was made the subject of special inquiry.
_Anaemia._--The absence of an absolute standard and complete lack of
statistical information render the evidence under this heading vague
and inconclusive. Most of the Welfare Workers in the various munition
factories visited stated that very few girls suffer from anaemia;
two or three stated that many girls were anaemic when they started
their industrial life, but that after a short time, thanks, as they
believed, to better feeding and a regular life, the disorder passed
off. On the other hand, the doctors and club workers interviewed were
confident that the long hours worked were increasing the proportion of
anaemic girls. One doctor, when recording the prevalence of anaemia
among industrially employed girls, attributed it to the fatigue
following inadequate rest, coupled in many cases with excessive
menstruation, due similarly to the fatigue of long hours. There was
considerable divergence of opinion as to the age incidence of anaemia,
some observers stating that the period immediately following the taking
up of employment, 14 to 16, showed the worst record, whilst others
found the years 16 to 20 were responsible for most of the anaemia.
It is interesting to note that some of the Coventry witnesses found
anaemia much reduced since the War, no doubt as a result of the better
feeding, and one Welfare Worker stated that only those girls who were
found to be eating insufficient food or who came from long distances
without breakfast suffered in this way.
The textile industry presents a more uniform picture, and there is much
evidence to show that a large proportion of the girls employed in the
cotton and the worsted trades suffer excessively from this disorder.
Some observers state that many girls are anaemic about the age of 12
when they start work, and then again between 18 and 22; others declare
that most girls suffer from anaemia at some time between the ages of
13 and 18. As far as the actual sickness returns of the Trade Union
Insurance Societies are concerned, it appears that anaemia is more
frequent after 21 than before, but these refer to anaemia of such
severity that absence from work is necessary, and the Sick Visitors
say that many girls under 21 suffer from anaemia for lengthy periods
without medical attention or sickness pay.
Doctors are inclined to attribute the excessive anaemia to the fatigue
of long hours of labour in a close atmosphere, continued standing,
insufficient sleep due to the early morning start, and faulty feeding.
The sedentary nature of the clothing industry renders the girls very
liable to anaemia, and though the employers frequently deny this,
the evidence from the Trade Union Secretaries and the Sick Visitors
with their actual record of cases outweighs the observations of the
employers. Witnesses from girls' clubs and evening classes often state
that the clothing trade is responsible for a higher proportion of
anaemic girls than any other industry.
_Gastric Disorders._--Most witnesses report that indigestion and other
gastric disorders are general among girls, though it is often noted
that men and older women suffer more frequently from these complaints.
Seldom is the actual work held to be responsible. Girls working with
powder in munition factories or where the smell of oil is disagreeable
appear to be more liable than others, and weavers who are taller than
the average--only a small proportion--find the constant bending over
the loom aggravates a tendency to indigestion, but beyond these few
cases faulty and irregular feeding seems to be the main cause for the
prevalent gastric troubles. It is interesting to note that hygiene and
physiology classes are doing much to inculcate sound notions of diet,
which, taken in conjunction with increased wages and easy accessibility
of food in canteens, are doing much to prevent gastric disorders.
Irregular and hurried feeding depends mainly on the arrangement of
hours of labour, and can only be overcome when these are based on more
rational lines. One Welfare Worker records a very small proportion of
digestive troubles, and this she attributes to the hour and a half
allowed for the midday meal.[12]
Where work starts at 7.30, as in the clothing trade at Hebden
Bridge, many girls take only a cup of tea or a piece of bread before
commencing work, and then have to wait until 12.30 before they can get
a proper meal. Doctors point out how the long hours of labour in the
close atmosphere of mills and factories engender a poor appetite, so
that nourishing food becomes distasteful, and tea and confectionery
frequently form the staple diet, with disastrous results to the
digestive functions.
_Headaches._--Headaches appear to be extremely common amongst girls in
all the industries reviewed, the reasons advanced to account for this
being variously the noise of machinery, the smell of oil and size,
inadequate ventilation, and eye-strain consequent on close attention to
the work.
Ventilation is notoriously bad in those factories where previously
only men were employed, but new and large factories, particularly
where there is a Welfare Worker, show much improvement, and under
such conditions headaches are said to be rare. Defective eyesight
is a frequent cause of headaches, and here again a careful Welfare
supervisor can do much good by advising a visit to the optician or eye
hospital. Clothing operatives are especially liable to eye-strain,
and care in lighting arrangements is very necessary. Mending in the
worsted industry is also trying for the eyes. In one large mill visited
a superior woman overlooker was in charge of the mending and burling,
and she was careful to vary the work so that the tedious pieces did
not always come to the same girls. By this means, and by the use of
eye-shades to keep off the glare of the light, she finds headaches can
be largely prevented. It is to be feared that such care is not general
in the industry, as a Trade Union representative reports that headaches
are very common.
_Nervous Disorders._--The evidence here is extremely scanty. One doctor
drew attention to the danger of automatism. When very monotonous and
restricted movements are employed, a whole room of girls may become
nervous and hysterical. He has known this to occur in the making of
nails, where the difference between the various processes is so slight
that the monotony cannot be obviated by periodically transferring the
girls to different kinds of work. Two other witnesses drew attention
to the effect of piece-work at high pressure in causing a tendency to
hysteria and other nerve disorders, and doffing in the worsted spinning
rooms is said to be responsible for the noisy excitability which is so
marked among the younger boys and girls. The more common experience,
however, is the absence of nervous disorders among industrially
employed girls. Various doctors in Lancashire and Welfare Workers and
others in Birmingham and Coventry commented on this, and recorded their
conviction that the social influences at work, cheerful companionship
and an increased interest in life, are powerful antidotes to possible
nervous afflictions.
_Menstrual Disorders._--As far as can be ascertained from an inquiry
based on the general experiences of persons in touch with girls either
inside or outside the factory, the extent of menstrual disorders
appears to be much slighter than is generally supposed. In most of
the non-textile industries reviewed, opportunities for sitting down
were fairly general, and here painful or excessive menstruation
was exceedingly rare. Nurses in charge of rest-rooms and surgeries
report that only a small proportion of girls are troubled in any way,
and those who make use of the rest-rooms during their periods are
always the same ones each month, so it may be presumed that these are
constitutionally delicate, and that the work is not responsible for
their disorder. Doctors declare that if the general health is good,
industrial work for a reasonable number of hours has no ill-effects,
but, on the contrary, the active movements involved are a positive
advantage. When, however, the hours worked are so long as to cause
extreme fatigue, excessive and painful menstruation frequently results.
Nurses and Welfare Workers notice that many girls of 14 have not
commenced their menstrual periods when they start work, and they point
out that the active life and the chance of good nourishment which
wage-earning ensures has a good effect in bringing on normal periods.
Some witnesses report that girls who have no opportunity of sitting
down suffer much pain during menstruation and get very fatigued, but
the evidence on this point was not unanimous.
Evidence from the textile industry is not so satisfactory. As was
pointed out when the provision of seats was under discussion, cotton
and worsted factories are lamentably behind other industries in this
respect, and as hours are uniformly 10 per day and the pressure of
work generally very considerable, it is not surprising that menstrual
disorders are reported more frequently than in non-textile trades. It
must also be remembered that the large majority of textile operatives
start work at 12 or 13 years of age, just at the onset of puberty,
while in other industries 14 is the general school-leaving age.
Many girls find the long hours of continued standing very tiring during
menstruation, and as these factors conduce to anaemia, failure of the
menses and dysmenorrhoea are more common than in other industries.
Most witnesses laid stress on the need for seats and rest-rooms in
textile factories as a means of preventing painful menstruation; in
many mills girls are not even allowed to snatch a few minutes' rest
by sitting on the waste-boxes or on straps slung between their looms,
and they frequently experience difficulty in getting permission to go
home when feeling unwell unless they can get a substitute. Two men
overlookers drew attention to the advantage which results when the
foremen and overlookers are married, as they are then more sympathetic
about periodical lost-time and are more willing to allow girls to go
home at the half-day.
But the doctors interviewed are unable to attribute any permanent
menstrual disorders or resultant injuries to these causes, and they are
inclined to believe that the active life of the mill is a help rather
than a hindrance to the menstrual function.
REALISATION OF THE NEEDS OF ADOLESCENTS
Any realisation of the particular problems and needs of adolescents
by attempts to fit work to their physical capacity is so rare that
the few cases where such provisions are made stand out in marked
contrast. In munition and other factories where Welfare Workers are in
charge, efforts are generally made to limit overtime and night work
to those over 18, but at the time the inquiry was made in Birmingham
and Coventry girls over 16 were in most cases expected to take their
turn at night work with the older workers, while in some factories,
after the first few weeks' probationary period is over, old and young
alike have to work on the alternate night and day shifts, although it
is now generally acknowledged that night work is more detrimental for
young than for adult workers. At one of the larger factories visited,
girls under 16 always stop work at 6 P.M. after a 9-3/4-hour day, while
those over 16 work another hour, and when overtime is being worked,
another two hours. At another factory all the girls under 18 were
engaged on light sedentary work for 42 hours per week, while the heavy
work on presses and capstan lathes was done by girls and women over
18 for 53 hours. In some works the majority of the younger workers
are on light work, such as "examining," and in others the foremen are
willing to transfer girls from work they find specially fatiguing,
on the recommendation of the Welfare Worker. This, however, is not
general, and few foremen exercise care in the selection of girls for
heavy processes. As one witness pointed out, girls are chosen for their
bright and intelligent appearance, with little attention to physical
capacity.
In the cotton industry the position is even worse. Girls entering
the mill at 12 as half-timers or at 13 for full time are expected to
conform in every way to factory life. Voluntary reduction of hours by
employers for younger workers is completely unknown, and instead of
suiting the work to the capacity of young workers, the girls have to
adapt themselves to the requirements of their work. As soon as a girl
has her own looms--at the present time weavers are on two looms at 13,
and frequently on four at 14 or 15--the manager expects her to produce
the average output every week, and the strain to do this is responsible
for much deterioration in health. The competition between weavers is
encouraged by overlookers and managers, and no effort is ever made to
teach girls to conserve their energies.
In the worsted industry the majority of the younger workers are
employed in the spinning rooms, first as doffers and then as spinners,
which one witness describes as the hardest process in the industry.
Few girls remain at spinning after they are 18, as the money earned
here seldom exceeds 18s. per week, but it is during the critical years
of adolescence that they are engaged on this exceedingly fatiguing
work, and no effort is made to reduce the burden of their employment.
In the clothing trade of Hebden Bridge the Trade Union officials report
that the younger workers are not subjected to heavy pressure of work,
and are able to take their ease at the workshops if they so desire,
the peculiar circumstances of the trade here preventing any attempt to
speed them up by threat of dismissal. In one or two factories learners
and young operatives work in a separate room in charge of women
overlookers, and in most cases these supervisors are careful about the
health of their charges and prevent them working at an excessive pace.
THE TRANSITION FROM SCHOOL TO FACTORY LIFE
In reviewing the effects of the transition from school to factory
life it must be remembered that the evidence from the non-textile
industries refers to girls who are over 14 years of age, while in the
textile towns the large majority of the children start work either as
half-timers at 12 or as full timers at 13. The general trend of the
evidence shows that the taking up of non-textile employment is attended
by a considerable falling-off in health. Most girls become thinner
and lose their colour and vitality during their first six months at
the factory, and those working long hours become "like machines, able
to keep on without breakdown, but lose all their normal interests."
This, however, appears to pass off after a time, and their health and
vitality return.
Some witnesses had noticed that the usual manifestations of lessened
vitality and anaemia were not so general as in pre-war days, and
this is naturally attributed to the better feeding and consideration
obtainable at the present time. My attention was drawn several times
to the desirability of increased care during the critical years of
early adolescence through an extension of the medical service under
the National Insurance Act to all industrially employed persons.
Some Welfare Workers found that constant attention was needed to
prevent a widespread deterioration in health during the first period
of employment, and their efforts were frequently hampered by lack of
facilities for medical attention.
Some witnesses, notably those from the Hebden Bridge clothing trade, as
well as from some of the miscellaneous trades investigated, state that
girls are put to easier and lighter work when they first leave school
and that they take their ease at it, so that no falling-off in health
accompanies the transition stage, but a deterioration in physique with
increased sickness shows itself at 16 or 17, when they begin to work at
a high pressure.
The special problem of half-time labour in the cotton and worsted
industries, dealing as it does with the employment of children as
distinct from adolescents, does not concern us here, so that we will
review only the taking up of full-time employment at 13. Where girls
come straight from 6 hours' work at school to the full working-day of
10 hours the change involves a considerable strain, even when, as
tenters and learners, they are not worked hard. Opinions vary as to
the stress of work during the first few months of employment, some
witnesses declaring that the children take their ease at first. This
may be the case when they are earning a time-wage as back-tenters in
the card room or as tenters in the weaving shed, provided they are
working for kindly, considerate persons, but where they are put on
piece-work the more general opinion is that the anxiety for earnings
is as strong an incentive to young as to adult workers, and that all
alike work at top speed. These witnesses lay stress on the inevitable
deterioration which sets in at this time, and they attribute it mainly
to the strain of factory life coming at the same time as the onset
of puberty. This opinion is reinforced by the examples often quoted
of girls who have not taken up industrial work until 15 or 16; these
soon settle down without any falling-off in health. The comparison
between girls who go to the mills at 13 and those who go to the
secondary schools is even more striking. In most of the cotton towns,
particularly in north-east Lancashire, the majority of the pupils at
the secondary schools are drawn from the same class and come from
the same type of homes as the girls who go to the mills, so that the
different circumstances of their lives after they leave the elementary
schools must be responsible for the differences in health and physique
which are so marked at this period.
Many witnesses were of the opinion that the certifying factory surgeons
are not careful enough in excluding girls from the factories, so
that many delicate girls work at the mills who might grow out of
their weakness in a more favourable environment. If the surgeons were
able to postpone admission to the factory for varying periods much
deterioration might be avoided.
SPECIAL PROBLEMS
_Girls in the Mule Rooms._--The shortage of boy labour in the spinning
branch of the cotton industry has led during recent years to a revival
of the old custom of employing women and girls in the mule rooms. In
strongly organised districts this means that girls are being engaged
as piecers in increasing numbers, while where Trade Union organisation
is weak, outside the great spinning areas, as in Wigan, they are
frequently acting as mule minders. As might be expected, the influence
of war conditions has been to intensify this shortage of boy labour and
to increase the number of female piecers, so that the Bolton Operative
Cotton Spinners' Association finds that no fewer than 1163 additional
girl piecers have been brought into the mule rooms in their district
since the outbreak of war, making a total of 3315. The increase will be
proportional in Oldham and district.
In this inquiry the evidence as to the effects of such work was drawn
entirely from non-medical sources, as it was impossible to get definite
medical experience of the problem. Consequently the conclusions are
more general than exact. Many employers and overlookers and some
Trade Union witnesses were firmly of the opinion that mule-room
work exerted no injurious influence on the health of girls, but it
must be noted that these witnesses were drawn entirely from Wigan
and Leigh, where the proximity of coal-mines with the attraction of
higher wages absorbs most of the available boy labour, so that the
shortage has been acute for some years, and the witnesses have got
so accustomed to the presence of girls in the mule rooms that they
can see nothing against it. All the more striking, therefore, is the
testimony of some overlookers in these districts who declared that the
work made girls thin, weak-chested, and anaemic. The temperature of
the mule room frequently exceeds 90°F. and girls and men work in very
scanty clothing, and the liability to colds on leaving the overheated
atmosphere is very marked. Girls are on their feet the whole day, with
no opportunity for rest, and by the end of the day they have walked
many miles. One witness said that girls get very tired, but that no
permanent ill-effects are noticed; but he advocated that rest-rooms be
provided in order to prevent undue fatigue. More than one mule-room
overlooker declared that no daughter of his should ever work in the
spinning room, and the opposition to such work was based on physical as
well as on moral grounds. One manager pointed out that "wiping down"
the mule is particularly "nasty work" for girls: every two hours or so
the little piecer has to run down the mule under the ends and clean
with both hands as she runs, and this has to be done with great speed,
as the spinners object to the mules being stopped for more than a
minute or so.
A small meeting of mule-room women workers, joint minders, and piecers
whom I interviewed were very resentful that their work should be
considered harmful, probably from fear of losing their employment, so
it was difficult to get any definite evidence. The only reform for
which they pressed dealt with the provision of cloak-rooms where men
and women work together. As mentioned above, the heat is so intense
that very little clothing is worn--men wear a pair of linen drawers
and a shirt, the women and girls frequently only a skirt and blouse;
and they dress and undress in sight of one another. The moral effects
of mule-room work are outside the scope of this investigation, but
attention must be drawn in passing to the undesirable position
occasioned by the heat, the scanty clothing, the attitudes necessary
for the work, and the subordination of women and girls to the male
minders in an unhealthy atmosphere. In Wigan, where women minders or
joiner-minders are the rule, these moral objections seldom occur.
Witnesses from mills that do not employ girls in mule-room work were
very insistent on the objectionable moral and physical effects of such
work, agreeing with Mr. James Haslam that it makes girls "sallow and
tired, crooked in limbs, bloodless and dyspeptic."[13]
_Speeding up._--We have already referred to the driving effect of
piece-work on simple automatic processes, but it is difficult to
deduce any definite conclusions from the evidence of the non-textile
industries. Thus some Welfare Workers and employers say that the girls
take full advantage of the liberty allowed them, and are frequently
to be seen wandering into other rooms and workshops for conversations
with their friends. This seems to contradict the view that anxiety to
earn a good wage causes excessive speeding up, but other witnesses find
that the incentive to increase output which piece-wages provide is
so strong that girls will not make use of rest-pauses when these are
allowed, and sometimes consequently become exceedingly nervous. The
pace is set by the quickest workers, and the effort to keep up is very
wearying to weaker and slower girls, who will not sit down or rest even
when seats are provided. Some interesting observations were made by the
director of a factory employing about a thousand female workers. He has
found that continuous piece-work on simple processes has a cramping
mental effect, so that the girls become perfect machines. Thus young
women who have been in the works for about six years will not face
the responsibility of an overlooker's position, and seem to have no
interests outside their output and their wages. On the other hand, a
small proportion of the workers do not work at top speed if they can
get a moderate wage which seems to supply their ordinary needs. Some
girls previously earning 16s. per week on piece-work are still getting
the same money, although they now get 3s. or 4s. war bonus, plus their
piece-earnings.
Speeding up of the machinery in the cotton industry has been very
marked during recent years. In each department unremitting attention is
necessary if even a moderate wage is desired. The standard of comfort
is higher in Lancashire than in any other industrial district, and a
good family income is considered essential. Consequently children and
young persons are just as keen on their output as adult workers. Some
witnesses pointed out that doffers and back-tenters and other beginners
who are paid a time-wage are saved from the excessive speeding up which
results from piece-wages, and that they get time to sit down and rest
in the intervals of doffing, etc. But any one who has watched the gang
of doffers passing from frame to frame in the ring spinning rooms of
the cotton industry or at fly or cap spinning in the worsted trade will
be inclined to disagree with this view; and indeed the textile master
at the technical schools of one of the West Riding worsted centres said
that doffing was done at top speed amid deafening noise, so that the
work was more fatiguing than any other occupation in the mill.
Weavers and winders suffer from increased speed as much as the card-
and spinning-room workers. Attention has been drawn to the spirit of
competition which managers and overlookers encourage between weaver and
weaver. Boys and girls, men and women, are indirectly set to emulate
each other. Some witnesses believe that women and girls work at higher
pressure than men and boys, and since the former invariably have
domestic work when the factory day is over, the strain is considerably
increased. At the present time girls are given responsible work before
they are equal for it. Teachers frequently find half-time scholars, who
have not been at the mill more than a couple of months, announcing
that they were working "for sick," that is, minding the looms for a
weaver who is away ill. Such girls will get two looms of their own
before they are on full time, and at 14 they have four looms under
their charge. It was no uncommon thing in north-east Lancashire to
find that girls have been working their mother's four looms for some
months while the mothers are minding the soldier father's six looms. In
some cases girls of 16 have six looms, and Sick Visitors report that
cases of heart trouble, anaemia, and general weakness are most common
at the present time amongst these girls; "the possible lasting effects
of this severe strain are terrible to contemplate." The Sick Visitors
of another Union say that the falling-off in health which is marked
in adolescent workers, shows itself most when the girl is put on to
three looms. Even in normal times girls mind three looms at 16, and
the strain is considerable. These witnesses believe that the average
girl should not be in charge of three looms until she is 18, and that
21 is soon enough for four looms. In this connection the evidence of
one large mill where the quality of the weaving is above the average
is particularly instructive. The manager reported that the standard
of health was extremely satisfactory, and he pointed out that girls
are not allowed to take three or four looms until they are strong and
capable enough to manage them, and he had found by experience that it
is seldom advisable to put them on the full number of looms until 17 or
18.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The greater part of the evidence considered in this report was based
on opinions derived from personal observations with very little
scientific and no statistical groundwork. The complete report leaves us
with a fairly accurate picture of the conditions under which a large
proportion of the adolescent workers of the country are employed, with
some general notions as to how these conditions react on their health
and physique. Exact conclusions as to the particular effects of the
conditions of labour cannot be obtained, as no records dealing with the
health of girls in factories are in existence. The impossibility of
securing scientific and reliable data was apparent at an early stage
of the inquiry, but it was felt that by reviewing the conditions of
adolescent labour and by noting general tendencies the way might be
cleared for further investigation on a more scientific basis.
It is now generally recognised that "fatigue has a larger share in the
promotion and permission of disease than any other causal condition,"
and as adolescents need a sufficient reserve of energy to maintain
growth as well as health, it is obvious that conditions of work
that exert no injurious effect on adults may be unduly fatiguing
for juvenile workers with their twofold need. Consequently the best
criterion for judging the effects of industry on the health of
adolescent girls will be based on observations as to the incidence of
fatigue with different industrial occupations.
The presence of fatigue among girl workers has been frequently noted
in the course of the investigation, but in every case the evidence
is deduced merely from the observations of those in contact with the
girls or from the testimony of the girls themselves. Physiological
research has conclusively proved that subjective sensations are not a
measure or even an early sign of fatigue, and that real or objective
fatigue is shown and is measurable only by the diminished capacity for
performing the act that caused it. Considerable attention has been
devoted to the subject of industrial fatigue during recent years, and
various tests for the detection of latent fatigue have been employed.
Measurement of the output of work gives the most direct test of fatigue
provided allowance is made for all variable factors except the worker's
changing capacity. In addition, the observation of certain secondary
symptoms supplies a useful index to the degree of fatigue which work
induces. Lack of co-ordination, one of the earliest manifestations of
nervous fatigue, results in increased accidents. The accident rate in
factories tends to be 25 to 55 per cent higher for boys and girls than
for men and women. In 1912 there were 4914 accidents to female young
persons in factories and workshops.[14] Much light might be thrown on
the presence of fatigue amongst industrially employed girls by records
of the accident rates in factories, corrected with reference to the
hours and conditions of labour and to the speed of work as shown by the
output curves.
Laboratory tests for the detection of accumulated fatigue have not
sufficiently justified the trouble they involve, but observations as
to complex reaction time with letter or colour tests, determination of
acuity of auditory and visual sensations, and records of the systolic
blood-pressure may be found to serve as an index to the incidence of
fatigue when other methods are not applicable.
There is no need to amplify these points. It only remains to suggest
that inquiry on such lines be applied to groups of adolescent workers
to discover the extent to which industrial fatigue may be under-mining
the health and physique of growing girls.
It was stated above that the absence of accurate data in the shape of
records of the health of industrially employed girls made it impossible
to arrive at any exact estimate of the effects of such work, but the
sickness returns of industrial Insurance Societies must have been
accumulating a vast mass of evidence as to the particular ailments and
diseases to which employed girls are especially liable, so that an
examination of these records may be extremely enlightening.
The secretary of the Insurance Section of the Northern Counties
Weavers' Amalgamation informed us that at the present time the sickness
returns of this Association are not tabulated according to ages,
but that such tables could be obtained from the local Unions and a
complete estimate made if the need be proved. One Weavers' Society,
the Nelson and District Weavers' Insurance Society, No. 1882, which is
outside the Amalgamation, does indeed tabulate its records according to
ages, but the total number of women and girls in this society reaches
only 5982, so that far-reaching conclusions cannot be drawn from its
experience. Unfortunately not all the members of the Trade Union are
in the Insurance section of their Society for the National Insurance
Benefit, but many belong to such Approved Societies as the Prudential,
the Blackburn Unity, etc., so that evidence from these sources cannot
be regarded as entirely conclusive. Nevertheless, were such data
available for purposes of comparison between one industry and another,
considerable evidence as to the particular effects of different
industries might be obtained.
During adolescence the plasticity of the human organism makes it
more easily affected by external factors. Chief among the external
influences which may disturb normal development are the attitudes,
postures, and movements which industrial work involves. If these are
cramped and constrained the healthy action of the heart and lungs
and their natural development may be retarded, while if excessive
muscular strain, such as that resulting from heavy lifting or prolonged
standing, is experienced, active injury to vital organs may be brought
about, and similarly these factors and the demands which excessive
fatigue due to long hours, etc., makes on the growing organism may
result in stunted growth and abnormal development. Information on
these lines can only be obtained by detailed anthropometric and medical
examination, and would have to be carried out on a large scale if the
datum is to be of any value. But the material so collected would be the
most reliable index of the effect of industry on health and physique,
and if comparison be made between industrially employed and unoccupied
girls by examination of different groups the final results would be
invaluable. Such an inquiry might be carried out by medical women and
anthropometric investigators in specific industries throughout the
country. The exact conditions of the work, number of hours worked,
etc., would have to be observed, and a record made of the history as
well as the present physical condition of each girl examined. If groups
of girls aged between 14 and 20 from different industries are thus
examined, comparison can be made by similar examination amongst girls
attending secondary schools. In districts like north-east Lancashire,
where the pupils of the secondary schools are drawn from the same class
and from the same type of home as the majority of the operatives, the
exact influence of industrial work will be more accurately gauged than
where the home environment differs in the two groups.
An inquiry based on methods such as these would be of vast national
importance. What is needed is exact scientific information available
for the guidance of those responsible for the organisation of
adolescent labour, and, more important still, as a basis for new
regulations controlling the extent and conditions of this labour.
TABLE I
Occupations of Girls in England and Wales, according to Census of 1911
00's omitted in Employed Columns
Key:
A: Employed.
B: Per cent.
+----------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| |14 years.|15 years.|16 years.|17 years.|18 years.|
| TRADES. +---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| | A B | A B | A B | A B | A B |
+----------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
|Manufacture-- | | | | | |
| Textiles | 312 9·1| 343 10·3| 352 10·4| 357 10·6| 356 10·5|
| Dress | 251 7·3| 383 11·5| 425 12·6| 414 12·3| 405 11·9|
| Other | 234 6·7| 328 9·7| 366 10·7| 381 11·2| 386 11·3|
| | | | | | |
|Domestic, Hotel and | | | | | |
|Restaurant Service-- | | | | | |
| Private Indoor and | | | | | |
| Other Domestic | 367 10·7| 598 17·8| 733 21·8| 810 24·1| 855 25·1|
| Hotel and Restaurant,| | | | | |
| etc., Service | 16 ·5| 35 1· | 57 1·7| 76 2·3| 93 2·7|
| Commercial | 89 2·6| 168 5· | 225 6·7| 257 7·7| 275 8·1|
| Other | 63 1·8| 78 2·3| 95 2·8| 125 3·7| 160 4·7|
+----------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
|Total Occupied |1332 38·7|1933 57·6|2253 66·7|2420 71·9|2530 74·3|
+----------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
|Total Unoccupied |2111 61·3|1424 42·4|1121 33·3| 946 28·1| 874 25·7|
+----------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
|Total |3443 100 |3357 100 |3374 100 |3366 100 |3404 100 |
+----------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
[Extracted from _The Present Position of the Juvenile Labour Problem_,
by F. Keeling.]
TABLE II
Proportion per 1000 Girls engaged in Occupations in certain Districts,
England and Wales, 1911[15]
+------------------+-------------------------------------------------+
| | AGES. |
| +---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| |14 Years.|15 Years.|16 Years.|17 Years.|18 Years.|
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
|England and Wales | 387 | 576 | 668 | 719 | 743 |
| | | | | | |
|Lancashire | 651 | 751 | 801 | 826 | 837 |
| | | | | | |
|Blackburn | 841 | 905 | 925 | 931 | 934 |
|Burnley | 872 | 899 | 932 | 940 | 938 |
|Oldham | 843 | 890 | 910 | 926 | 923 |
|Preston | 784 | 887 | 906 | 930 | 916 |
|Rochdale | 853 | 904 | 910 | 932 | 932 |
| | | | | | |
|London | 365 | 625 | 737 | 795 | 820 |
| | | | | | |
|Birmingham | 643 | 812 | 867 | 890 | 894 |
|Bradford | 790 | 858 | 881 | 895 | 896 |
|Leeds | 673 | 768 | 815 | 831 | 835 |
|Sheffield | 435 | 595 | 660 | 699 | 714 |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
_Printed by_ R. & R. Clark, Limited, _Edinburgh_.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] _Adolescence_, vol. i. 167.
[2] _Report on Physical Deterioration_, 1904, p. 123.
[3] _Health and Physique of School Children_, by Arthur Greenwood. P.
S. King, London, 1913, 1s. net.
[4] _Labour Gazette_, November 1917.
[5] See _The Present Position of the Juvenile Labour Problem_, by
Frederic Keeling, 1914, 2d.; compare the same author's _Child Labour in
the United Kingdom_, P. S. King, 1914.
[6] Starr, _The Adolescent Period_, p. 15.
[7] Tarbell, _New Ideals in Business_, p. 211.
[8] Starr, _The Adolescent Period_.
[9] _Inter-Departmental Committee on Physical Deterioration, Report_,
1904.
[10] A lap is a thick layer of cotton fibre wound on a roller in early
stage of preparation.
[11] See below, p. 33.
[12] Cf. the evidence of the British Mission on the output of munitions
in France in December 1915, who note the advantage to health accruing
from the long dinner hour, generally one and a half hours, and often
two hours. (Cd. 8187 of 1916, p. 7.)
[13] "Lancashire Women as Cotton-Piecers," _Englishwoman_, June 1914.
[14] Keeling, _op. cit._ p. 7.
[15] Census, Summary Tables, p. 242.
* * * * *
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES
Minor punctuation errors repaired.
Italic text is denoted by _underscores_
Table I has had the the original headings "Employed." and "Per cent."
replaced with "A" and "B" to enable the table to fit within the
75-column limit of an ASCII etext.
Footnote 11 "See below, p. 33." refers to footnote 12.
End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Girl in Industry, by D. J. Collier
& B. L. Hutchins
*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GIRL IN INDUSTRY ***
***** This file should be named 46104-8.txt or 46104-8.zip *****
This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
http://www.gutenberg.org/4/6/1/0/46104/
Produced by Chris Curnow, MWS and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
produced from images generously made available by The
Internet Archive)
Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
will be renamed.
Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules,
set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project
Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you
do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is
subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
redistribution.
*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
http://gutenberg.org/license).
Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic works
1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all
the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be
used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few
things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See
paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works. See paragraph 1.E below.
1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the
collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an
individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in
a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check
the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning
the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
States.
1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
copied or distributed:
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license
1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
1.E.9.
1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked
to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
Gutenberg-tm License.
1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or
distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
that
- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is
owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments
must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License. You must require such a user to return or
destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
Project Gutenberg-tm works.
- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
of receipt of the work.
- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the
Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
1.F.
1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
your equipment.
1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
DAMAGE.
1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you
received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with
the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy
is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
opportunities to fix the problem.
1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any
provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists
because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
people in all walks of life.
Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org.
Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
Foundation
The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at
809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
[email protected]. Email contact links and up to date contact
information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
page at http://pglaf.org
For additional contact information:
Dr. Gregory B. Newby
Chief Executive and Director
[email protected]
Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation
Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations
($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
status with the IRS.
The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations
where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To
SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
particular state visit http://pglaf.org
While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
approach us with offers to donate.
International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other
ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate
Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works.
Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily
keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
http://www.gutenberg.org
This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
