Indiana State University - Sycamore Yearbook (Terre Haute, IN)

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THE NORMALADVANCE '7 The Factory Acts FLORA SAUPERT One of the most difficult problems which the English Parliament has had to solve with- in the last century is the problem of factory legislation. Perhaps no greater evils exist in England than those which are found in the factories, workshops, mills, mines, collieries, etc. The working class of people7 especially the women and children, were in a deplorable condition before any laws concerning their welfare were enacted. Inhuinan treatment by the superintendents, long hours of labor, star- vation, diseases, and unsanitary conditions in the factories existed at that time. These sad and wretched conditions of the majority of the people aroused the sympathy of some of the great political leaders, statesmen, and philan- thropists. Some Of these men while in Parlia- ment made long speeches in behalf of the fac- tory hands and attempted to secure the passage of such measures that would better their con- dition. This was a very difficult task to per- form, because most of the representatives in Parliament were not chosen by the working people, but by the wealthy landlords, who took no interest in their prosperity. Of course the Reform Bill of 1832 partly removed this griev- y ance, but the agitation of the laboring people continued until some laws were passed to modi- fy their wretched condition. Even after the factory laws were passed it was hard for the inspectors to discover whether the laws were actually carried out, since too many allowances were made in the laws. This was not the only diEiculty that had to be encountered, but- there were many others. Such has been the social state of affairs in England within the last cen- tury, which has constantly occupied the atten- tion of Parliament and has caused great dis- satisfaction in England. Before discussing factory legislation in de- tail it is essential to have some knowledge of the origin of the factory system and the cir- cumstances preceding the establishment of fae- tory legislation. When England acquired colonial possessions, especially when she ob- tained a foothold in India, there was a great demand for English goods. Since the English people could not supply this demand and were anxious to secure all the trade they could pos- sibly obtain, ingenious men began to reflect upon different methods of overcoming this ditliculty. They saw clearly that in order to accomplish anything the domestic system must be abolished and that manufactures must be produced by means of machinery, so that the output of goods would be increased. Hand labor was entirely too slow. Labor-saving ma- chinery was the thing needed at this time. Everything was done to encourage inventions. Even societies in England offered rewards to any person who would invent a method of spinning by means of a machine. Finally a radical change came in 1764, when James Hargreaves, of Sandhill, near Blackburn, in- vented the spinning jenny, which carried six- teen or eighteen spindles manipulated by one workman7 whereas the old spinning wheel only had one spindle. Later Samuel Cromp- ton, of Bolton, invented the spinning mule. This rendered the old type of labor obsolete and inaugurated an entirely new era in this department of manufacture. The next step in the improvement of machinery, chiefly for weaving, was the invention of the power loom by Rev. Mr. Cartwright, a clergyman of the Church of England, which had important con- sequences for textile manufactures. Along with these lameliorations in the process of man- ufacturing was the invention of the steam en- gine by James Watt in 1784, which furnished an adequate power for propelling the newly in- vented machinery. Thus the most important

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6 THE NORMALADVANCE Faculty Marriages Mr. E. E. Clippinger, assistant professor in the department of English, and Miss Laura Minturn, head of the department of music, were married in Cleveland at G :30 on the even- ing of September 9, by the Rev. Avery, pastor of the Episcopal Church, at the home of the bride7s sister, Mrs. George Presley. Mr. and BIYS. Clippinger spent their honeymoon Visit- ing relatives and friends in Detroit, Mich, and Mr. Clippingerk parents in Eau Claire, IVIieh. Mrs. Clippinger is not wholly lost to the teach- ing profession, as she has opened a studio at her home, 1501; South Center street. Mr. Charles Baldwin Bacon, head of the de- partment of reading and public speaking, was married in Denver, 0010., 011 September 12, t0 lVIiss Adalene Helen Gates, head designer for the thenver CO.77 and a' niece of John IV. Grates. Mrs. Bacon was born in the Middle IVest7 and received her advanced education at the University of lVIiehigan. Mr. and IVII'S. Bacon spent their honeymoon at Colorado Springs and Manitou; They are at home to their friends after November lst, at 739 South Sixth street, Terre Haute, Ind. OPPORTUNITY. Master of human destinies am I; Fame, love and fortune on my footsteps wait, Cities and fields I walk; I penetrate Deserts and seas remote, and passing by Hovels and mart and palace, soon 01' late I knock unbidden, once at every gate! If feasting, rise; if Sleeping, wake before I turn away. It is the hour of fate, And they who follow me reach every state Mortals desire, and conquer every foe Save death. But those Who doubt or hesitate, Condemned to failure, penury and woe, Seek me in vain and ceaselessly implore; I answer not, and I returneno more. eJohn J. Ingalls.

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8 THE NORMALADVANCE inventions have been mentioned that changed the method of'manufacturing textile indus- tries, and that transformed the domestic sys- tem into the factory system. Perhaps the greatest question in connection with the Factory Acts is the meaning of the word! factory. This word has gone through many processes of alteration, and is still un- dergoing similar processes. Its Erst meaning was that of a trading establishment, generally in the country, with which were associated in idea the settlements and the surroundings be- longing to it, but later it meant a place of proa duction and not sale. Therefore it was an es- tablishment where things were made on a large scale for profit. Just the precise time when this transformation took place is not known. What is certain is the fact that as early as 1802 the English legislature interpreted the word in the modern sense. Briefly stated the word fac- tory at this time meant. any place devoted to spinning and weaving certain fabrics by power. It had scarcely attained this signilica- tion when it underwent another alteration. This time the modern conception of a factory was formed, which explains it in this way: ttthat it is a place of production, where labor is congregated and divided within an estab- lishment of definite bounds, sometimes with and sometimes without the aid of exterior motive power? Now the question may be asked why the meaning of the word factory is of such Vital importance. The true answer is this, that the various meanings of the word factory led the people to expound the laws in different ways, and have caused great varia- tions in factory legislation. A few words regarding the establishment of the first modern factories are necessary in or- der to fully comprehend the subject under dis- cussion. Factories have not been recent con- trivanees, but they existed as far back as the time of the Egyptians and the Romans; al- though they were not called factories and were not regulated like factories, nevertheless they were real factories. Turning back to our mod- ern factories, let us see how they originated and developed as the result of the industrial revo- lution. After the great inventions were made which brought an enormous change to indus- try, capital became concentrated in the hands of a few wealthy men, who were able to buy or construct the newly invented machinery to be operated by employers. The poor hand-work- ers; therefore, could not compete with the ma- chines, because their method of working was too slow. So they were compelled to leave their own little workshops and labor in the fac- tories. Not only were men employed, but even women and children, because they worked for lower wages than men. Here is the place where the great evils and abuses in the fac- tories originated, which necessitated factory laws. It would require many pages to relate the evils which not only have existed, but in some cases still exist in the English factories. The , first complaints were made in the cotton fae- tories of Lancashire. As the result of these complaints a committee was appointed in 1795 at Manchester to investigate the matter. The report of this committee revealed to the public the horrible and shocking condition of the fac- tories. Disease, especially the contagion of fever, which was rapidly propagated when once infected, appeared not only in the cotton factories, but even in the families whose mem- bers worked in these places. Factories were not properly ventilated. Want of fresh air and active exercise, essential for the youth to in Vigorate the system, injured the constitutions 0f the employees. The long hours of pro- tracted labor debilitated the workers, particw larly the children. Child labor also served to make parents lazy, because they depended for subsistence upon their offspring. Another evil of the employment of Children was that they were debarred from educational, moral, and religious instructions. These were not the worst abuses of the factory system. The method for obtaining juvenile workers for the mills was perhaps the gravest and saddest one. Most of the early factories were water mills, situated in remote places, where running