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Foreword. B. L. Hutchins v

Introduction. B. L. Hutchins ix

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." The conditions of much work undoubtedly tend to become mechanical, deadening, and soul-destroying.

More recently Mr. Arthur Greenwood in a pamphlet 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. 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

Of the 794,800 girls occupied, it is interesting to note that 30?5 per cent had entered 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.

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. 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.

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.

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.

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."

In the evidence before the Physical Deterioration Committee in 1904, Dr. Eichholz 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."

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

At the time when the inquiry was initiated , 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 resp

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