"647. 'The protracted labor described above,' says the Sub-commissioner, 'is, I believe, quite unparalleled in the history of manufacturing processes. I have looked over a considerable portion of the Report of the Factory Commission, and there is nothing in the accounts of the worst-conducted factories to be compared with the facts elicited in the present enquiry. Gentlemen who, from their official situation, were well qualified to judge, have also stated, in answer to my questions, that they knew of no instance in which the hours of work were so long as those above stated.'
"663. Of the general treatment and condition of these young people, the Sub-commissioner reports:—'The evidence of all parties establishes the fact that there is no class of persons in this country, living by their labor, whose happiness, health, and lives, are so unscrupulously sacrificed as those of the young dressmakers. It may without exaggeration be stated, that, in proportion to the numbers employed, there are no occupations, with one or two questionable exceptions, such as needle-grinding, in which so much disease is produced as in dressmaking, or which present so fearful a catalogue of distressing and frequently fatal maladies. It is a serious aggravation of all this evil, that the unkindness of the employer very frequently causes these young persons, when they become unwell, to conceal their illness from the fear of being sent out of the house; and in this manner, the disease often becomes increased in severity, or is even rendered incurable. Some of the principals are so cruel as to object to the young women obtaining medical assistance.'"—(No. 626.)
FOOTNOTES:
[32] It is, however, but fair to state, that many competent and most respectable observers declare, that though the facts stated by the Commissioners may be perfectly true, yet that the tone and spirit of the Report bears token of material exaggeration.
[33] The colliers in the east of Scotland, however, are excepted.
[34] It is curious to contrast this with a similar comparison instituted by the Factory Commissioners, and embracing upwards of 1000 children.—(Analysis of the Evidence taken before the Factory Commissioners, p. 9.)
| Boys not in factories averaged | 55.56 | inches |
| Boys in factories, | 55.28 | " |
| —— | ||
| Difference, | .28! | " |
| Girls not in factories, | 54.979 | " |
| Girls in factories, | 54.951 | " |
| ——— | ||
| Difference, | .028!! | " |