Opportunities for the Disabled
Occupations in garment making are largely nonhazardous. Handling heavy rolls of material, climbing ladders to hang shrunken goods to dry, testing heating apparatus for pressing irons, managing the knives of cutting machines, are all accompanied by some danger, but accidents as serious may occur in the daily occupations of any home.
Yet it may fairly be said that the clothing industries offer only small inducements to the handicapped. The man who has lost a leg would hardly choose to be a cutter, a presser, or an examiner, since much standing is required of these workers. Nevertheless, a well-fitting artificial leg might enable him to do any of this work successfully. Machine operating, a sitting-down job, might appeal to him. A man with both legs amputated could run a power machine. A man with an arm gone or with eyesight impaired would not find employment in the clothing industries suitable, for the use of both hands and good eyesight are essentials in the trades generally.
The lint which constantly flies in the air of the shop is bad for the lungs, and catarrhal conditions of the nose and throat, as well as tuberculosis, are prevalent among the workers. Nevertheless, one who understands the difficulties and the drawbacks of the garment trades, as well as its advantages, makes the following statement:
“I do not think that the clothing trade per se is injurious except for the possible slight dust and the stooping posture. I have also no doubt that the trade could be made so hygienic as to enable a post-tuberculous person to work a limited number of hours. There are, of course, some processes, like pressing, which it may not be advisable for post-tuberculous persons to engage in. Most of the work in clothing shops consists in the operator guiding various clothing material under the needle of the machine. This by itself should not be injurious. There are also other processes, like sewing on buttons, either by machine or by hand, which have very few harmful features in them.
“I should say that soldiers whose legs are not functioning could well be taught to work on electrically-driven machines with benefit to themselves and to the industry.”
Neurasthenics should avoid employment in these trades, as nervous disorders are intensified by the noise, close confinement, and intense application which the work involves. Pressers suffer from flat foot because of their constant standing, but otherwise they are quite robust, which is an indication that this work is not too severe for men who are physically below par.