The Sweating Evil.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 15301, 15 November 1911, Page 20

The Sweating Evil.

THE LIFE OF WOMAN EASED. OUTSPOKEN PUBLIC CRITICIBM. Tho highest aim of » newepapw msf well be said to be the service Of the intorosta of the commnnity in the midst of which it baa its bcinc—the service of the poor and downtrodden aa well as the rich and prosperous; the protection 10 far as may be of tho weak and those who are unablo to protect thcmsolvM. In tho performance of this humanitarian work ft newspaper has preat opportunities offered to it. Publicity ia a most strongly effectivo weapon. Many a gross evil may flourish luxuriantly and without eo much aa a qualm of conscience on the part 0! thoso responsible for it® existence, m lone as their practices bo well hidden in corners and concealed from the public gaze. Hut let the rays of light once penetrato so tlmt the conditions that obtain become disclosed and the public conscience may speedily be aroused to a sense 0! their objectionableuess. The publicity afforded by the columns of this newspaper in January, 1889, to the conditions under which women workers in the tailoring trade were employed in some Duncdin factories created x sensation in the community, and excited a strong feeling of public indignation. The effect was instantaneous • and far-reaching. Locally, an outcome of the revelations in tho columns of the Otago Daily Times was the organisation of a Woman's Labour Union—the first in New Zealand—and tho Duuedin Tailoreeses' Union, which celebrated the attainment of its majority on July 11 of last year. On that occasion tho consummation of .good work commenced 21 years ago was seen, and it proved to be such aa to arouse in the hearts of all capable of humanitarian feelings a sense of gratitude and appreciation that the opportunity of performing a public service had been accepted' 21 years ago. A more noteworthy result of tho publicity that was given to tho existence of the evil of •' sweating " in our midst was the appointment of a ltoyal Commission torn quire into the conditions under which the factory workers of New Zealand were employed, and the investigations of .the commission Jed to the enactment of the factories law that served a3 the foundation whereon all the future statutes relating to the regulation of factory labour in the colony were erected. The disclosures in tho Otago Daily Times may consequently be said, with perfect truth, to have been instrumental in the production of the factories legislation for which politicians are wont, with much less justice, to claim tho credit.

In the latter half of 1888 the Rev. Kutherford Waddell, minister of St. Andrew's l'rcsbyterian Church, had ivtlcntion directed to certain conditions of ihp clothing trade. This aroiucd all his Christian manhood, and fi® preached a vigorous sermon entitled "The Sin ol Cheapness," in which were given, certain facta and ligures of a startling character that had come under his notice. The report of this sermon in the Otago Daily Times provoked a sharp controversy in its columns, in which the accuracy of the statements made by Mr Waddell WM challenged, and eventually the editor of the, paper commissioned a member of hia staff to mako personal investigations into the matter. The reporter, Mr Silaa Spragg, jiow chief of the Hansard staff of the ] dominion, spent'some.time in gathering' his facts and familiarising' himself with the conditions that were prevalent. .Then on Tuesday, January 22, 1889, the first of his articlos giving the result of his investigations was published, and from that date tho sweating evil in Dunedin waa , doomed, .'fl . ! Tho revelations afforded in the articles wore complete and astounding. Here in this southern city there half gradually been introduced that very system which' occasioned half the honor of the* Old liand, and which had induced the emigration from England of many residents of the colonies. Here was slavery as toilsomo 86 at Home; hero was the "Song' of tho" Shirt," sung to the same doleful tune; here, in short, was the germ of the canker most destructive of happiness and health—sweating and povorty. This system of sweating workers in their own homes by making them nnder- • take work forconlractors at low rates was introduced by a firm, 'one member of which boastfully; stated that in a short ' time they would have the Work done M cheaply out hire as it could be done at' Home! By reducing tho rates of pay of its workers the linn in question was enabled, of course, to undersell corapetitors, and once the tWn edge of unfair competition was introduced in this way, the couree'downhill was rapid. The plight of the workers rapidly went from bad to worse, until it became simply deplorable. • At this point the exposure was made, the downward tondency was arrested, and, by tho exercise of the influence of public opinion, tho cbnditions of tho factory, workers were made not' merely tolerable, but wholesome and agreeable.

The articles thai appeared in the Daily Times were dispassionately written. Facia, and facU only, were'adduced. No highly-spiced comment was trade—tho facts in'themselves wore abundantly sensational. Each article was' packed with stance after instance of wretchedly-paid labour protracted in many cases until far in the night in order to secure ft miserable wage. We reprint our record of a few illustrative cases which may be taken as representative of many >— Said one woman:—"The first reduc-' tions were made abont two years ago. Thore were three classes of shirts made, and two years or so ajjo for the best class we got for machiuing 3s a dozen, for the second class 2s 3d, and. for tho third class Za Id. 'Che first reductions were to 2s 6d, Is 6d. and Is 7d. for the three classes. At tneoa rates I could mako 12s, 13s, and sometimes' 14s a week; but had to work very hard to do it. For flannels wo got only 9d per dozen, and later for the second-class «hirto wo got. Is Yd, and had to do our own pressing. I used to make sometimes 5s a week, sometimes 6s or 7s a week, and 7s 6d was the highest 1 ever made at these prices, and to do that 1 had to take work home at night." Then Miss T. told of the ultimato limits of sweating, and of her rebellion. " Wo had Hour-bags at Jd a dozen, 6d a gross, and that put tho set on mo and made me leave. If 1 did threo gross in a day 4 did very well indeed; that was too much to do, and the work was very hard." Moreover, tho spirits and bodies of the unfortunate working women were being broken in the Tace for wealth. Even the Sabbath was not for rest. Ming M., " who appeared to have suffered most severely and to , have had tho life well nigh crushed out of her by ( {he system, fully corroborated what had been stated by other persons similarly engaged in the bitter struggle for existence. And to mako at the rate of 2s a day for six (leys a week this unfortunate was obliged to work on Sunday. "By staying np in the mornings I made 12s 6d one week, but that meant working till 3 o'clock some mornings, working till 1 or 2 o'clock other mornings, and working on Sunday, too, for 1 had to do it to mako ft living."

Immediately on tho pnblication of these facts there sprang up a demand for reform. The earliest outcome of this movnwent was tho formation of tho Duncdiu Tailoreeses' Union—now tho leading organisation of .ta kind in- tho Dominion. On the celebration by this body last year of its twenty-first anniversary the story of its inception was briefly reviewed. Other papers too'- op the cry which tho publication of the artidoa b the Daily Times had inadi articulate, "and a public meeting was soon callcd in tho Choral Hall, and a committee we* appointed to consider the bxt means of dealing with the problem. On Juao 7, 2889, a great public meeting was (itlit. to receive the report of this committee. This meeting ranks as ono of tho moat fame n« ever held in Duncdin. Mt Downie Stewart, tho chair, and there wi*e associated with him on the platform a h. *e number ol influential and interestw men. Tho'

ideal-of the committee had been to frame a tariff of prices which would bo accepted as minimym rates. The contractors endorsed and agreed to those rates, but the warehousemen could not bo brought into line. After negotiation tho committee altered its recommendation submitted to this meeting to-(l) (iise of legislative interference, and (2) the organisation of the workers themwlvca into a union similar to that which had been so pticcewfully Carried on in Victoria.' At threfeat meeting referred to Dr Wtuldeu spoke first, and roundly condemned the .action of the warehousemen, spying that ho could not understand it. Other speakers during tlio, evening included Sir' Robert Stout, Dr Fitcbett; 'Alcssrs Hogg, Ueorge \Joachim, J. F. M. Fraser, T. A. Maitland, H. S. Fish, M.H.R., T. Browti, U. Feuwick, and others.

The idea which was .mooted at this meeting ,of organising' tho workers was cairicd into qilcct.

The early, difficulties of the union were many. The employers were naturally reluctant to recogniao this new imjy intruding into their domain, and iney. refused it recognition. For a long time diiKcultics were uppermost, and the conditions, between employers and the infant union becamo eo acute, that a dreadful strike was feared.. In this position, the late Mr Bendix Hallenstein approached Mr George Fentvick to ask him to mediate between tho two parties. That gentleman consented on condition that the workers expressed tlieir approval . That being done, negotiations between the parties were entered upon, and after a fortnight's mediation a (settlement as satisfactory as could bo oxpected at the timo was effected and disaster averted. The union movement spread from this centre to others, and inside VI months it was estimated that the strength oftiie bodies stood thus: Dunedin 1000, Wellington 450, Auckland 422, Christchurch 700. Tho parent body at Dunedin extended every assistance to other bodies being formed, and materially assisted jt-ho cause of unionism and protective factory legislation in the. Dominion.

At the present time the lot of tho women workers in the clothing industry ia an. immeasurable improvement on the conditions. prevalent 22 years ago. The Factories Act is one of tho beat in the world, but its provisions and tho great improvement effected by it,in the lot of women workers are well known. The Dunedin Tailoressefl' Union stands numerically and historically in tho forefront of New Zealand unionism. As a result of organisation. competent journeywomen tailorosses from end to end of the Dominion have a minimum jvage of 25s per week, the honre of labour are regulated, overtime controiled, and tho conditions of work supervised.