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.