Document wrJkZq63QdN0a59wnQXj3MYeE

FILE NAME: Household Contact (HC) DATE: 1900 DOC#: HC046 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Published Presentation from Conference PROCEEDINGS. FOURTEENTH ANNUAL CONVENTION OF THE INTERNA TIO N A L ASSO CIATIO N OF FACTO R Y INSPECTORS, . HELD AT THE REPRESENTATIVE HALL, STATE CA PITO L BUILDING, IN D IAN APO LIS, IN D IA N A , O C T O B E R 2-5, 1900. The Fourteenth Annual Convention of the International Association of Factory _Inspectors convened in the city of Indianapolis, Indiana, in Representative Hall, State Capitol Building, at 10 o'clock a. m, Tuesday October 2, 1900. President James Campbell, of Pennsylvania, presiding: and owing to the absence of the Secretary, Chief J. L. Cox, of Michigan on account o f delayed train, Chief Deputy Holbrook, of Michigan, re-^ ported the first session as Secretary pro tem. ' The convention opened with a large attendance o f delegates and the following officers were present:-- N ATIO N AL OFFICERS PRESENT. H on. James Campbell, Harrisburg, Pa....................................President H on. J. W . B ath, Elyria, Ohio, . . . . ist Vice-President H on. George L. M cL ean, Hartford, Conn., . . 2d Vice-President 111 H on. J. L. C ox, Battle Creek, Mich., . . . Secretary and Treasurer H on. A. J. H arris, Chicago, ................................. Assistant Secretary * Hon. Louis Guyon, of Montreal, Canada, 4th Vice-President, and Mrs. Annie Greene, of Fort Plain, N. Y ,, 3d Vice-President, were unable to attend, but sent their regrets and well wishes. ^ COMM ITTEE OF ESCORT. 5 of T r i e? tL-apPcinterd^ com" ittee consisting of Chief McAbee, Indiana, Chief Knaub, of Ohio, and Chief Williams, of N ew Y ork to escort Governor Mount to the President's chair in the Convention Hall. HIS EXCELLENCY, GOVERNOR MOUNT. finn/^tAfi^tej n j^n"Ute- i?aj t /f? o'clock the committee returned with the honored and distinguished Chief Executive of Indiana, who was intro duced by the President. Quoting from the Indianapolis News report, the in te r n a tio n a l factory inspectors. 35 Sf e i j g L x n ? ! ' &* `1% S places of this kind should be at school The'cbiid olf a'fa r and m pthV s s , a `. y f h / K e ; 1' ^ & / & % facto ly is m U r ' t L f e T V t e , . % s * " S S ?sf , ? , ` w hole/.!* * were made to. prevent the, violation of the child labor l a ^ T t f o o n h e = t a;iLwg,lib.*zss rs,*fi have the inspectors devote their entire time to child labor. The results w ere obtained from examining 3,360 children, who were employed in 21c estab- tR^" 1898 tntSivran<1i,o to , March i oWhom lP 1899, 1,396 5chwiledrreenllseiSxatelleyn employed. years of From age oT September underem - m 7S dls,tmct establishments, were covered, and of these 301 t i o f of th 7 k w Un T ^ fOUri en yCarS f af e>. and thus employed in viok- l t h s- The kWork was contlnued in a slightly different manner om this time on, and up to June I. many more children were relieved !n P Wtv,rk'- .B y this time the new laws for the regulation of child labor f d t.aUtRrf ^ g addli Ion,a factory inspectors had gone into force and for the first time m the history of this Bureau it is now in a position to do effective and .proper work in the way of enforcing the child labor laws. J- J- W illiam s, b w l * , ; 0>PM called fo , th e'read in g`of*a E ' Wa, fng' of Chlcag0< entitled "The Dangerous T rad es" PThis haPenroY as j eaP In a very excellent tone of voice, the points being well de veloped and the subject matter well received by the convention:_ THE DANGEROUS TRADES. . _ B Y W . E. WALLING. Our American Legislatures seem almost to have ignored a branch of TM T / i S c a u as5,hr ^ S ^ i z t z 3Hctory legislation considered elsewhere to be of the utmost importance fu m0St f, the conntries of Europe, especially England, have consid-' ered the special regulations of dangerous trades as a necessity of modem been a 'd S S f b y S a ,, o f ou! S u Z "" " " wh" ls' *>' ccaali ssenssee.eXIrttreddolesf 'nnnottd,anoff crouUrSset,raindcelfu''d!.eisalnl Sterdadiens athsaotna>rcewhdaatngteecrohunsibut has been especially applied to those trades in which some form of poison or disease is incidental to the trade itself as at present carried on It. is not generally used with reference to those trades in w hkh sudden bDuTtrraatthhwer rreeffeerrss ttoo" th,"os"e" s?lowbyerdaancftgienrg UcaSumseaschwinheicrhy, owr huilnegunaortdesod speinlslas-, 36 FOURTEENTH ANNUAL CONVENTION tional in their horrors, are even more frightful in their results. On the other hand, the term is not applied to those dangers of poor sanitation and poor ventilation that are incidental to all trades. In our present era of sharp international competition the smallest difference in the technique of an industry may give a nation a great com mercial advantage, such as the United States enjoys in many cases to day; but, with the spread of technical education, all the nations are turn ing out men able to bring each industry up to the highest level of effi ciency, so that in the great majority of processes the same methods pre vail in all countries. In England we have had, so far, our greatest com petitor, and her methods are most similar to our own. In that country this question of the dangerous trades has for the last ten years claimed a very large share of public attention. It has been foremost in the Unions, has filled columns of the press day after day for years, has been the sub ject of two parliamentary acts and two exhaustive parliamentary reports. One o f these appeared in 1898 and the other last year. They are so far the most authoritative treatments of the subjects, and as we have no com parable discussions in this country, I will draw on them at length. I. T H E D AN G ER S. The following is a classified list of those trades which have been considered dangerous either in the acts of parliament, in the recent reports above mentioned, or in the annual reports of the factory inspector. 1. Trades in which lead is a poisonous element:-- The manufacture of earthen-ware and china. File cutting. The manufacture of white lead. .Lead smelting. The use of lead in print or dye works. The manufacture of red, orange or yellow lead. Glass polishing. Enameling of iron plates. ' Enameling and tinning of hollow metal ware and cooking utensils. Processes in which yellow chromate of lead is made, or in which goods dyed with it undergo the process of building, winding, weaving, etc. 2. Trades which produce other chemical poisons:-- Manufacture of paint and color. Extraction of arsenic. D ry' cleaning. Paper staining, coloring and enameling. Hatters' and furriers' work. The manufacture of matches. Chemical works. ' Bronzing and jnetallochrome powder in lithagraphic works. India, rubber work. Dyeing With certain dys. ' Mixing' and casting of brass, gun metal, bell metal, white metal, phosphor bronze arid Manila mixture. 3.. Trades in which-anthrax or lockjaw is an incident:-- W ool sorting. . The handling o f hides and skins. Hair factories. .Brush making. ' . Bone factories: r results. On the loor sanitation and ition the smallest ation a great com in many cases to : nations are turnfhest level of effiame methods preour greatest com In that country n years claimed a ost in the Unions, has been the subiamentary reports. ; we have no comi at length. which have been nt, in the recent factory inspector. ng utensils. r in which goods iing, weaving, etc. rks. : metal, phosphornt:-- INTERNATIONAL FACTORY INSPECTORS. Fellmongers' works. Furriers' works. - Tanneries. Wool combing. Blanket stoving and tentering. Warp dressing. ' Carbonizing and grinding or rags. Flock making. Feather cleaning. . Trades in which the danger arises from injuries particles in the air or from dust:-- . * uuc Bosic slag works.1 .. Manufacture o f silicate of cotton. File cutting. - Flour mills. Trades which use i Grindstones, o f . (Em ery wheels. ` China scouring. Silk combing. Flax scutching. jK special i S t i o i iCh ^ S freqUent aS to demand a Metal works which use convertors. Wfi Electrical generating works. - Bottling and bottle testing. Quarries. . Manufacture o f salt. 6. Processes which require a sudden change from great heat to cold and vice versa, such as lacquering and japanning, galvanizing or iron and the work carried on in furnaces and foundries 7. Processes that require artificial humidity Cotton spinning, weaving, etc. F lax spinning, weaving, etc. Wool spinning. Silk spinning. Many o f the trades mentioned will fall in one of these seven classes. The above list shows a wide prevalence of trades in which such special dangers as we are now discussing exist. E very State in the Union ried3^ numerous lndustries in which these dangerous processes are car- _ u t ,canno*; S*P discuss just which are the dangerous elements in a c h o f f a trades, but must go on to describe the dangers themselves. i n this description all statements have been verified through actual cases found by the English officials and traced directly to the factories. 9 - I- , Lead Poisoning.-- The direct disease caused by inhaling particles ,, leadA C a 1d p uTMblsm', ne of Its early symptoms is a blue gum followed by a loosening and dropping out of the teeth. The writer was shown through a pottery by one of the Glasgow inspectors, and the v^ry 1 uf stloned showed the blue line along his gum and other symp toms of poison. There often follows blindness, paralysis and death in B e r i d J f T ' , Miscarriages become the rule with the married women. Besides the plumbism itself, there are other serious indirect results. Dr Sai S: T ^ re .a re thirteen occupations in which there is untnistakable evidence of poisoning by lead. For each occupation the mortal- if-, I fe: 1 3 FOURTEENTH ANNUAL CONVENTION ity is shown not only from plumbism, the mortality directly attributed to which cause forms by itself but an imperfect measure of the injury re sulting from the absorption of lead into the system, but also from gout and from phthisis as well as from diseases from the urinary, nervous, circulatory and respiratory systems. On examining the mortality tables it at once becomes evident that exposure to the risk of lead poisoning is associated with increased liability to disorders of the urinary and nervous systems. This is true of all those occupations which are especially ex posed to that particular risk; and further, it is found that those occupa tions which show the greatest excess of mortality from plumbism, also show the greatest excess of mortality from diseases of the urinary and nervous systems. Am ong lead workers the combined mortality under these two headings is represented by 393, and that among file makers by 316, as against 123 only among occupied males in general." This subject, together with the others under discussion, has been most exhaustively treated in the Factory Inspector's reports o f 1897 and 1898. There are discussed the cases which have occurred, the condition of the persons upon whom they have fallen, symptoms, remedies and the frequency of cases in the different processes. 2. The diseases and injuries arising from other poisons are so numer ous and varied that they will have.to be referred to very briefly. (a) Among the early symptoms in phosphorus poisoning are recur rent ulceration of the gums, jaundice, anaemia and general ill health. Later phosphorus necrosis follows, with terrible disfigurement and often death. Optic neuritis and drop-wrist are among the other results. ' (b) Mercurial poisoning gives rise to anaemia, loosened 'teeth and spongy gums and paresis of the muscles of the limbs. (c) The use of nitric acid for cleansing, etc., gives rise to poisonous fumes which may cause instant death. The same thing is true of the manufacture of bleaching powder and other chemical processes too numer ous to mention. It is noticeable that the workers in the chemical indus tries have a rate of mortality half again as great as the other trades. (d) The use of_ bisulphide of carbon in rubber works causes nerv ous symptoms, digestive derangements and peripheral neuritis. (e) The use of naphtha in rubber and other factories causes severe inflammation of the eyes, giddiness, nausea, hysterical symptoms and even loss of consciousness. (f) In paint, dye and wall-paper works wherever arsenic is used the danger o f poisoning is very great. As deaths have been known to result even from arsenic paper on the wall the risk may be estimated in places where solutions of arsenic are in use or arsenic dust is abundant in the air. (g) Workers in copper and in bronzing lithographs suffer from copper poisoning. The symptoms are severe diarrhoea, vomiting and vio lent nausea. Skin eruptions and respiratory troubles are also common results. The workers in copper show an unusual rate of mortality. _ O f course there are other important cases of chemical poisoning in industry, but these may serve as illustrations of their widespread evils. 3. Anthrax.-- The symptoms of lockjaw are too well known to need description, but it is not so well known that large classes o f wools, furs, hides and skins are thoroughly infected with the anthrax germ. The least scratch then becomes sufficient to cause serious illness and even death. A n y one working continuously among these germs runs a very heavy risk of being infected sooner dr later. . 4. Dust.-- To-day we are apt to look at the breathing in of dust as buted to jury re>m gout nervous, y tables oning is nervous ally exoccupa;m, also try and ' under kers by subject, ustively ere are persons ency of numer- : recurhealth. d often :th and isonous of the numerindus;s. s nerv- . severe d even sed the i result places the air. from id viojmmon V; . ling in ivils. 0 need wools, . The 1 even a. very lust as INTERNATIONAL FACTORY INSPECTORS. 39 our fathers did at the breathing in of germs. It seems an insignificant and ridiculous matter, but this is the reverse of the truth. One of the women inspectors of England says of the evil effects of dust: In the majority of cases the evil is very insidious and the general symptoms pro duced by dust on the various respiratory organs are to the lay mind so similar to those produced by other causes that it is not always easy to trace the connection. The incessant `sore throat,' the irritation of the bronchial passages, the frequent `cold on the chest,' and `hoarse voice and `morning cough,' from which girls employed in dusty processes suiter, are all symptoms which to casual observers might be easily accounted for in other ways. One or two sad cases of phthisis medically certified to be seriously aggravated, if not induced, by work in rope factories which came under my notice have emphasized in my mind the grave possibilities aris ing from work in these places. . " Such instances can seldom be fully traced except with infinite labor and patience. The worker falls into ill-health, and sinks away out o f sight in no sudden or sensational manner so that attention is seldom at tracted to the ultimate source of the trouble. . " The evil effects of asbestos dust have also attracted my attention, a microscopic examination of this mineral dust which was made by H. M. Medical Inspector clearly revealed the sharp, glass-like, jagged nature of the particles, and where they are allowed to rise and to remain suspended in the air of a room, in any quantity, the effects have been found to be injurious, as might have been expected." .. , As-to the scouring of china, she says : " A microscopic examination of the flint in which china is bedded shows that, owing to the shape of the prteles, it forms one of the most mechanically injurious of all dusts. In his `Diseases of Occupations' Dr. Arlidge describes the symptoms and development of the form of phthisis produced by the action of this dust on the lungs. ... , , ,. . ... " In the Staffordshire district the cause of the disease is so well known that even in a death certificate the doctor frequently enters the direct cause of death by the significant term `flint.' '' . In an old investigation one of the workers said: Not many scourers live long; we all feel overloaded upon the chest and cough very much. I am stuffed up at my chest; I cannot lie down all night; m y throat is al ways sore and I have a constant cough with difficulty of breathing. Every one that works in this place suffers from coughs; we are all stuffed u p; we have known a great many deaths from it." .............. Another very injurious dust is that produced in silk combing, lhe- British Medical Inspector says: " The photographs of silk dust taken from the combing room of a large silk factory show that it was composed not so much of particles of silk as of the debris of silk worms. ^The dust was present in the air of the rooms in large quantity. Microscopically it consisted of striated muscular fibres, fragments of the tracheae with; their spiral thickenings, hair-like processes from the skin of the larva, portions of the chitinous homy skin of the pupa case, and an enormous-, number o f hook-like structures, probably portions o f the thoracic and ab dominal segments of the pupa case." ... .. . ' , s Among the trades in which sudden and violent accidents are so common as to need special rules the British reports give the following:-- Metal works using convertors. Electrical generating works. . Quarries. ' . . .v_., . 40 fourteenth a n n u a l con vention The manufacture of salt. Bottling and bottle testing. can papers^comider shdckTMg that ur Ameri- The' j They ? ave justIy b" n e notorfous d haVe glVCn fre(5ueat thepans detltThre sti11 very frequent. " one f * ^ g into ^ e Precautions taken, the acci- also less known.^Thebpressur * tfs^d Md^th ^ fr r -bottlc testin? >s cause the bottles frequently to burst mequaIltl of the glass every k d of mutilation and even death ' COUrse' 15 aP` to use temperature to a muclTlower one*ar^ n U<tv w ci 1" ge from a very high the workers than has ever been sh o w n ^ ^ s^ y fruitful of more injury to low might have been due to other erases as w in f ` f16 tr? ubles that fol- nothing can be conclusively proven but if wY eji,,,aS t tbis' tbe real one, medical advice about much smaller Vko bear in .mind the common what the results must be Cr chan&es m temperature, we can judge T hi/brin gs6a b o u tlS ? n o u r is h a lf diseases8thatUire f rtificial b" midity. cess.vely moist climate and in som e w f f , * are [ostered bX an ex susceptible to these troubles. L i S o s t . T " t.h?se.not especially there is little of the striking o r Ip e c S c u la ? m}ttrie{ mentioned, perhaps the cause of more humab miserw r i f these dlseases-' but they are trial accidents. an misery than our most revolting indus- |nd is m many cases very effectite^ The m ^thdVf p r / - these trades Home Secretary power to declare a certahf ^ h f Ilowed Is to give the quire whatever preventatives he m m t ade dangerous' and to re facturer objects he may a p p e a l t o a r b S r f " w -If the manu- bmdmg These provisions are very eeneran?' ^fh0Sej deCAS,0ns are then 7 eases before the courts in 1898 the Inspectors w onfnr^ Ut o f fifty-six The first essential point in the re ,i, - S TM , forty-nrae. cases is required to berenorted T h ^ 1, t <>nS ls . t.bat sickness from these ment of th i rules and as Pa guide T o r f u t u r e ? ^ 1 the ^ force- staek be fitted with a stand-pipe or movable ho se aw ad W0/ k th at e v e r y ' of water distributed by a very fine hosi e r i - d an adeqate supply white-bed before stripping. Another is _watcrmg-can for dabbling the the floor of the sorting-room shall be th m -n ^ 'iif1011 in, Y 0l sorting that disinfectant solution, and swept daily after the^workfs111, ! ^ dady w` tb a ly adapted to the various industries. ' ther Slmilar rules are especial- )N tig that our Ameriive given frequent one of falling into >ns taken, the acci- n bottle testing is ties o f the glass is apt to cause rom a very high of more injury to troubles that folthis, the real one, nind the common ire, we can judge rtificial humidity, istered by an expse not especially luries mentioned, ses,' but they are revolting indus- all these trades d is to give the rous and to re. If the fnanuusions are then Out o f fifty-six me. ness from these or the enforceortunately, this oduced in Par- iects:-- t instance. An ork that every dequate supply >r dabbling the iol sorting that i daily with a e. he worker. In that the occuerever dust is s are especial- I INTERNATIONAL f a c t o r y INSPECTORS. the person o^th^wo^ker in thoFIVsf^ o f'th e T 'd dust-from reaching nearly all the dangerous trades r e s Z a w * bodX th^y m`ght injure. In mgs are squired to be worn by theVrsons e m S y e d 1' 3 **** C VI" 7 c lo th ifo f worker ^heTe* lie* urrounded6tiv T h i r ' 7 person and the provisions have been enacted to 9TMUnidCu b yln ju n ou s dust. Several clothing and baths are often requir e T & , hlS, pUrPSe' Cbanges of rooms, lavatories and cloak room 9 S P 7 j dressing-rooms, diningcertain limits made compulsory U v a t S ^ d r ^ Bathing is with" preroqvuiidreedd tofobr.e kept in a clean coonidaimti^onn. Tliimme' flor wansght.i-nrogoamnsd' eeatcti->ngaris poison "which may i ^ r L a i ^ a k ^ n t o ^ h antldote before the effect of any tary drinks, are recommended a" d r e a p e d The " i son complammg o f being unw ell t u l ! , to be taken- Upon any per least possible delay: and uDon doctor must be summoned with the prescribed medicine must be p ro v iL d a ffh e w w k f mediclne 3 doSe of the whethei the*worker ^awarefthat* h n'i!g relief after an injury visit bv a doctor must bTarranged' and S6" injured r A weekly attempted to prevent its r l L w n g ^ ^ r ^ e r i o T s s la g ? E poisoningit is S ""8eo" " " i th<f^'liminaUng S ' j S o a ^ S ' i S ^ l J ories may arise from youtfi, sex persona,] CCUpatl0ns- This unfitness accumulated effects of labor at t h e \ rad~syncrasies, or even from the " " ' i n S S i v e : - - " ^ Pr " physician. Ce through illness without a certificate from a bC aU Wed t0 " at TM k - a room inPwhich W"ulphid7 i f7 rbon housed1*" fiYe hours in any day in a haIfThr f * an t v a f o f aUeras7 a,,Tourthan ` W 3nd 3 youn^bpersons^t wo^viit^hTmeryhwheefs foil Cmpl r TM \ 0i Women and trades, b7 as these S s art not d Z ^ T * , f i ildren in dangerous rule, useless. It is extraordlna^ t h a f b Lthe ProvlsiQn is, as a 42 FOURTEENTH ANNUAL CONVENTION States. But the point I want to make is, that, with the exception before mentioned, they have not been made the subject of the necessary special legislation. This has invariably caused improvement where it has been tried but the problem is a difficult one at its best. Even in England many regulations have not yet given satisfaction. T o ignore an issue when in telligent and persistent effort has failed to overcome it is both cowardly and unwise. The success of our emery-wheel laws should give encourage ment and show the practicability of special legislative enactments in this field. O f course two or three States have a general law which may be stretched to cover some of the evils, but as experience in Great Britain has shown, this is not sufficient, and I believe that nothing less than the best, m legislation as in anything else, is good enough for America. THE NEGLECTED' STATES. Chief Knaub, o f Ohio, explained in a few well-directed words that the establishment of Factory Inspection Departments had certainly been neglected in the extreme Southern and Western States and after stating that he favored the idea of the convention meeting in neglected States, he offered,, a resolution upon the subject, which was referred to the Commit tee on Resolutions an^ will appear in ,their report. SOCIAL FUNCTIONS. Chief McAbee, of Indiana, apprised the delegates o f the various points of interest and manufacture that were to be visited, at the con clusion of which statements Chief Arrington, of Illinois, protested against devoting any time to visiting factories or sight-seeing, but he stood alone in his position, while many defended the idea o f occasionally visiting points of interest as a matter of knowledge and observation as well as a needed rest from the tiresome, irksome routine of convention work. A s one chief put it, " A ll work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." A LADY OF THE LABEL LEAGUE. Mrs. Sarah Crossfield, general organizer of the Woman's Interna tional Union Label League, addressed the convention for a few moments stating the object of their organization and asking the co-operation, as far as possible, of the State Factory Inspection Departments. She stated that both these organizations were working with practically the same object in view, the protection and relief of female and child labor and other wage workers as well. Mrs. Crossfield paid a very neat compliment to Chief McAbee, o f Indiana, for various endeavors in the interest of wage workers of this State. She explained that her league worked among the mothers, daughters and sisters of wageearners and that they had a specific mission to fill. TO GAIN TIME. It having neared the hour for dinner, President Campbell notified the delegates that there would be an evening session of the Convention, to be convened at 8 o'clock, for the purpose of regaining such time as might be lost on the afternoon's inspection trip. The convention then adjourned.