MORE WOMEN AT WORK

Otago Witness, Issue 2650, 28 December 1904, Page 30

MORE WOMEN AT WORK

Bi Mbs E. .W. Ctjnnington.

" Warp and Woof," the somewhat tindramatic play by the Hon. Mrs Alfred liyttelton, wife of our Colonial Secretary, has "passed off the stage, and Mrs Pat. Campbell is no longer a dressmaker's assistant charming society London by~ her beauty and her graces. All the world of fashion rushed to see the celebrated actress ; but how many out of that world cared for the real victim of society's selfishness — the poor overworked dressmaker's assistant, whose woes and wrongs have been so much discussed of late? I wanted to know something definite about these poor girls ! Now r here in London, if you want to know anything definitely and accurately, you can always apply ut headquarters, provided, of course, that you we well supplied with personal pluck ! Calling up to the scratch (of my pen) a stock of courage I wrote direct to Mrs Alfred IJyttelton, and asked her if society women were really as heartless as depicted in her drama. The reply came promptly from the authoress: "Many women of high social position give a great deal of their time and energy to helping the factory girls and girls in dressmaking establishments, but undoubtedly a certain section of society is absolutely brutal in its want of thought and consideration — but even this is largely, due to ignorance." Accompanying this note^pame a courteous invitation to an "At home." I went, 'still' searching for information.. Now, London society "At homes" are* a Bit unsatisfactory from the point of view of the woman in earnest!- You are conducted from the street door to the reception room by three more or less stupendous footmen; you say three words to your hostess, you eat three Bfirawbsrries. and "then you go "empty away." By-the-bye, let me say one word about these footmen, coachmen, and butlers. Superficial folk brush them off their mental iandscape with a label, "flunkies." Now, this is absurd. " Flunkey " may be a generic term, like eoleoptera for beetles, hvtt after all it's the individual beetle that interests the scientific observer. The mdi-_ vidual footman interests me immensely. Scientists stick pins into "poor little frogs in ■ order to- study reflex action, a kick, or some other muscular contraction. I always feel I want to do something of the same sort to these oreatures — the footmen, I mean, not the frog3,spjust to see if they can be humanized, or galvanised, or somethingised. Indeed, I am- seriously thinking •of doing a little original' research in that, direction. Quite accidentally, like • Hersche 1 discovering •Uranus, I did make a discovery with regard to reflex action on a footman's face the other day. I was at a dinner party, rather _* solemn, correct sore of ffair — professors of Greek and railway managers sprinkled around the table. Quite by accident, as , I remarked above i I said something that made everybody laugh. Quick as thought I seized the- psychological \ moment, , and glanced _surreptifciously at my 'human frogs ; ; they were actually, responding to stimulus; they were, trying .".not to smile! But >we -must -return, to our dressmakers' assistants. ' Mrs.Lyttelton's "At home" was delightful, and evidently jay hostess took 'me quite seriously, for_ a few days after I received a letter from ' Mrs H. J. Tennant begging' me to luncheon with -hsr on" a certain^ day, as Mrs Alfred -Lyfctelto-n had told' Her I was^ interested in , factory legislation and the^ industrial conditions prevailing among women and children. Two luncheons arise before my mind's eye as I write. A hot day in "the city, a dingy a--dirty marble table, a glare of heat, a buzz of flies, a ~ pale, thin, ill-dressed workgirl, munching a sickly biscuit'and sipping at some aged milk, her intellectual feast a twopenny novelette. I studied the girl carefully; she was ugly;' her food was ugly; her entire appearance ipoke of a life lived on wholly ugly lines. A hot, scorching day pa large cool room, with no windows showing you the glaring streets, but a spacious dome- in the ceiling, through which light and air were admitted ; k rich, soft-carpet: beautiful pictures on the" * walls ; a round table, where bright, pleasant men and women were seated; fruit, flowers, rosy sahnon fresh from Scotland, roast duck from Essex; a soothing atmosphere: charming talk! Why do I draw these two pictures? Because there is a connecting-link between the two. The poor workgirl in the city restaurant has a staunch friend, though the girl does not know it, in the charming young" hostess sitting in that luxurious apartment. •'.Please-, Mrs Tonnant, will you tell me what you are? I' don't quite understand," said I,- after the party of friends around me had finished discussing the last State ball and the latest .snub bestowed by " Arthur " in the House ' on an impudent Radical. She . laughed: "I was superintending inspector of factories ; I aim examiner of candidates for ihspectors under the Civil Service Commissioners. I am also chairman of the Industrial -Law> Committee." This is delightful, I though ; I ' have ' indeed got to headquarters as regards Factory Acts, etc. "I- really won't say hard things about society ladies any more, for 'here is one working hard for her less fortunate sisters : but I wonder if it is an" fuss and fume, and no real work she does!" I said something to this effect. Mrs Tennant shoo^. her head. "It is real hai-d work: we are trying to better the conditions of those work-g-irls: ■ Parliament simply won't take an interest in them. One thing I can say : we are still far behind New Zealand in humane factory legislation, but we hope to reach where you are some day. I'll send you some papers, and you oan judge for yourself of our work." The next day the postman staggered up the stairs of our little flat under the load of a huge, square, very departmental-looking parcel. I have opened the parcel, and have before me a bewildering mass of information on all matters concerning the Factory Acts, etc., and the infringements thereof. Now I am going to be serious and busi-ness-lake, and, give, my readers some solid material for thought, for I know there are anany people in New Zealand interested in HM -that concerns the great mass of operatives la, this crowded land. A purely unofficial organisation called the Industrial Law Committee has been formed by Mrs H. J. Tennant to supply information as to the legal protection of the . indtiStria.l classes with regard to the- conditions of their several trades. This information to be given by means of lectures, correspondence, and printed matter to persons interested in aud working amongst the factory population. This society has be&n widely taken up, not on.ly by so-called outsiders and amateurs, but by- Government officials themselves, thus creating a powerful influence, official and unofficial, working for the same object —

n&mely, the practical administration of the laws as they now stand on our Statute Books. These aforesaid acts are excellently framed, but they fail time after time and in place after place in the congested industrial areas because of the' ignorance of the working women and girls. This ignorance of their own rights, coupled with timidity, paralyses the operation of* these iaws. To reach the working classes, to inform working women all over England that England's laws are protective and just and ,kind — these are the supreme objects of Mrs Tennant and her fellow-workers. To New Zealanders accustomed to a working populalion well acquainted with the laws touching its own interests, this philanthropic action appears most curious, but the fact is soon patent to a thoughtful observer from the more thinly-populated colonies that there is iv the Old Country a yast horde of uneducated, unenlightened people at the base of the social fabric who are absolutely helpless under tihe pressure of economic and industrial conditions. Miss Anderson, Principal Lady Inspector of Factories, in a lecture addressed to district visitors and ladies engaged on social work, makes these remarks : — ' ' You need to have put into your possession some leading hints which will enable- you to cooperate with Mrs Tennant's committee in forming a kind of -personal connecting link between the vast uninformed numbers of unorganised woi'king women and girls in England and the women inspectors under the Home Office." Bishops, lawyers, members of Parliament have joined this interesting movement, and, while carefully avoiding unwise friction between employers and employees, they are endeavouring to render the operatives mors self-reliant and watchful of their rights, believing that the dignity of labour will ensure true dignity of life. Some astounding facts are brought to light with regard to cruelties practised on weak women and children in c&rtain firms and workshops by Mr H. J. Te-nnant, M.P., in a recent article in the Review. I enclose them in case the editor sees fit to publish them, ar.d I will now finish by quoting the last words of the article, which is a oorroboration in facts of Mx Alfred Lytteltcn's play. After citing several cases of brutal defiance of the Factory Laws, rvhe author says : — "Yes, let the laws be enforced . . and for this end the Industrial Law Committee exists. Much is heard to-day of physical degeneracy. With shorter hours, better sanitation, in purer air, with better protection against dangerous machinery and poisonous trades, the nation would again •attain to a higher standard of physical vigour. In 1902," continues Mr Tennant, "the reported casualty list from accidents in factories and workshops was 90,355, Of these 14-,636 happened to boys and girls under 18. The more subtle injury to health is not l-eeorded. ~ This is not a parochial question : national issues are involved." Decidedly, my hostess with the pretty, winsome face and manners, the woman of society, yet mother of children and sympathetic wife, has not been toying with philanthropy. As an expert Government official, she learnt hoAV for below the standard of. the law English women and children are living. To help them, to arouse a public i sense of justice", to establish' an Industrial Law Indemnity Fund with which to assist witnesses turned off for giving evidence, to further amend legislation on humanitarian lines — all these '•• aims have been striven -and struggled for 'by Mrs H. J. Tennant and,, others. The poor/ factory girl munching her biscuit may indeed join hands with her richer sisters, and claim tbem to be, like herself and her fellow-women, at work. In the annual report of the Chief Inspector of Factories, issued in 1902, we find such cases as the following : — Dressmaker. — Employing 14- women and girls all night; altogether a period of 22 hours and a-half. Dressmaker. — Employing five young persons (under 18) for a period of 30 hours (three and a-half hours' rest). Tailor. — Employing women after legal hours; the women worked all night and up to noon next day. A Costumier.— Twenty-four girls employed in a room only large enough to accommodate eight girls. In one case a dressmaker was fined for working her girls during illegal hours over a long period of time. The magistrate described the defendant's conduct as " almost inhuman," and said it was almost incredible that she should have treated her own sex in the way described, knowing that the strain upon the young women if continued' would tend to shorten their lives. •The House of Commons was occupied with the Home Office vote a, few days ago, and a long discussion took place upon the inspection of "factories. Sfr Charles Dilke complained that there were not enough inspectors, especially female inspectors, and that the Home Office was slack in enforcing the law. Sir John Gorst took up the same point, and especially complained that very little was done to prevent the employment of children who ought to be at school. Mr John Burns also joined in the criticism of the Home Office, and said that the number of inspectors ought to be largely increased. Mr Asquith, who has himself been Home Secretary, also supported this view, and he, too, laid stress on the need for more lady inspectors.— Daily Telegraph.