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b. s. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
WOMEN'S BUREAU
MARY ANDERSON, Director

BULLETIN OF THE WOMEN'S · BUREAU, NO. 9

HOME WORK IN BRIDGEPORT'
CONNECTICUT

DECEMBER, 1919

W~HINGTON
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

.


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

1920


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

WOMEN'S BUREAU
MARY ANDERSON, Director

BULLETIN OF THE WOMEN'S BUREAU, NO. 9

HOME WORK IN BRIDGEPORT
CONNECTICUT


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

DECEMBER, 1919

WASHINGTON
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
1920

CONTENTS.
Page.

Letter of transmittaL________________________ _______________________
Introdu ction __________ ____________________ ___________________________
Memorandum of work done at home for facto ries________ ___ ___ _________
Summary of facts------ ----------- --------------- - ------- --~----Recornrrienda tions__ __ ___ ____ __ __ __ ___ ___ __ ___ __ __ ________________
Conditions under which home work is clone__________ __ ____ ________
The conference_____ ______________________________________________ ___ _
Regulation s, recommendations, and policies_________________ __________
State laws regulating home work..,________________________________
Recom mendations of commissions and governmental authorities_____
The r elation of the minimum wage to home work______ _____ __ _____
Elimination of home work through trade-union agreements______ ___
Community action ----------- -----------------------------------Charts of labor laws_________________________________________________
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LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL.

u. s. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR,
WoMEN's BuREAu,

W a8hington, December 16, 1919. ·
Sm: We submit herewith a report on an inquiry relative to the conditions of home work for factories in Bridgeport, Conn. This inquiry was made by the ·women's Bureau at the request of certain
local agencies interested in industrial conditions.
The memorandum of findings was sent to the manufacturers giving out home work, the State department of labor, the city health department, the various social agencies of the city, and the Corset
Workers' Union. A conference called by the Women's Bureau to
discuss the memorandum was held in Bridgeport an October 7. Representatives of the foregoing organizations and thG Children's Bureau and the w· omen's Bureau of the United States Department of
Labor were present. A summary of the proceedings of the conference is included in this report.
The following members of the staff of this bureau prepared the
material: Mi ss Agnes L. Peterson and Mrs. Ethel L. Best, who conducted the inquiry, ·Miss Mildred L. ,Jones, who compiled the research material, and Miss Mary N. Winslow, who wrote the report
under the direction of Miss Mary Van Kleeck, ~former director of the
bureau.
Respectfully submitted.
MARY ANDERSON'

Director.
Hon. W. B. WrLSON,
Secretary of Labor.


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INTRODUCTION.
Investigations of home work and its attendant evils have been
made many times, and the findings have been practically · identical.
The evils of home work-low wages, long hours, insanitary condi- ·
tions, and child labor-are no recent discovery; but the problem
is still a matter of discussion, as no solution has been found. It was
with this fact in mind that the Women's Bureau (then the Woman
in Industry Service) of the United States Department of Labor
undertook a brief inquiry into the conditions of manufacture at
home for factories in Bridgeport, Conn., in May, 1919. Certain
persons interested in industrial conditions in Bridgeport had noted
the practice of giving out home work and believed that with the
possibility of unemployment during the period of reconstruction
this custom might result in 1essening the opportunities of employment for women in the factories. They feared also that standards
of labor conditions might be adversely affected by ~ome work, as
has been the experience in other industrial commun_ities. They
therefore requested the Women's Bureau to make a brief investigation.
As the giving out of work to be done at home for factories is not
prohibited or regulated by - law in Connecticut, action to change·
conditions in advance of any possible legislation must necessarily be
voluntary on the part of the employers acting on their own initiative,
or through agreements with the trade-unions. The Women's Bureau
planned, therefore, to submit its findings to the employers and to
groups of the workers in advance of any publication of recommenda~
tions in order that action might be planned by the two groups
directly interested. A memorandum giving an outline of the facts
discovered in the investigation was, on June 12, accordingly· submitted to a group of employers, workers, public officials, and social •
work~rs in the city of Bridgeport with the request that they meet
in conference to consider them and to make recommendations for
action.
This bulletin contains·not only the memorandum-on the investigation but a summary of the conference which was held on October 7.
The problems disclosed by the inv·estigation are not new. The contribution which this report can make is in . the results which may
come through its consideration by the people of Connecticut and the
action they may take. The facts given and conditions described can
be assumed to be fairly indicative of the problem throughout the


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6

INTRODUCTION.

State, as, according to a report made by the State commissioner of
labor on home work in Connecticut, there are 528 home workers in
Bridgeport, which is over 20 per cent of the 2,575 home workers in
the State. The importance which the problem should ~ssume to the
people of Bridgeport is indicated by the figures included in the same
report showing that. while home work throughout the State increased 15 per cent from 1917 to 1918, home work in Bridgeport increased 51 per cent during the same period. It is also 9ignificant to
note that the survey which was made throughout the State reported
average earnings for all home workers as $5 a week, while the investigators for the Women's Bureau found in Bridgeport that the
median earnings were between $4 and $5 for · a week's work. Although there can be found several instances where a comparatively
large amount has been earned by a home worker both in Bridgeport
an~ in the rest of the State, the similarity of these average and
median amounts earned points to the fact that the low earnings which
were found to prevail in Bridgeport are common for the entire State.
The Women's Bureau feels that home work should be abolished.
There seems to be little reason why a gronp of workers should be
obliged to carry a large part of the overhead expen es of the manufacturer, supplying housing, heating, lighting, equipment, and frequently machinery, while at the same time earning in many cases
lower wages than do the workers who are employed in the factory itself. The added difficulty of regulating sanitary conditions under
which home work is being done and the practical impossibility of
preventing child labor through any system of leg·islation or inspection produce a condition which is clearly most undesirable.
From the point of view of the employers, also, giving out home
work has been found to be beset with many difficulties. At the conference and during the inve tigation testimony was gi ven of the
reluctance which any conscientious manufacturer must feel in having
his goods made under ,-vha.t very po sibly may be extremely insanitary
conditions, of the heavy cost of supervision , and of the mistakes
made by unsupervised workers. In the course of this investigation
manufacturers were vi ited in several other ~ities in an attempt
to discover their attitude o:i the question of horn t work. It was .
found that while some of them were em ploying a large number of
horr1e workers, others declared that they considered it an "oldfashioned eastern idea " and did not care to have their work done
in this way. Although it was very difficult and in some cases impossible to discover what rates were paid for home work in other
cities, the rates when quoted were very much higher than in Bridgeport. For instance, one firm in New York quoted a rate of 2½ cents
a dozen for taping buttons, while th_e wage paid in Bridgeport for


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INTRODUCTION.

7

similar work was reported by the workers to be only one-half or
five-eighths of a cent a dozen.
That home work is a community question, and that it is closely
tied up with the general wage rate paid in the community, is shown
both in the i:r'i.vestigation and by the numerous statements made at the
conference attributing the ease or difficulty with which home workers
could be secured to the adequate or inadequate wage for men which
prevailed in the community. There are many problems connected
with the home worker wp.ich can not be solved by one course of action
alone. If the matter is to be disposed of in a satisfactory manner
it will be necessary for all agencies to combine so that each may
render the help it is especially fitted to give. How home work is to be
abolished and how to avoid the privations which may be caused by
removing even such undesirable work from this group of restricted .
and underpaid women must be decided by the community. Each
family in which home work is done will present a special problem for
adjustment.
Some of the recommendations contained in the memorandum were
considered at the conference. Regulation of home conditions
through a system of inspection was recommended by the employers.
Two employers reported that they had started to deliver and call for
the work given out. But the discussion was. left unfinished of the
more fundamental recommendations, such as possible arrangement of
short shifts for women who could not be at the factory all day, payment of equal rates to workers at home and in the factory, and possible adjustments which could be made by social agencies and city
authorities in families where there is more need of social treatment
than of home work. Before establishing a settled policy it will be
necessary for those concerned to search carefully for the best solution.
It is for this reason that the recommendation made at the close of
the conference, by one of the Bridgeport people, is of the utmost
value. T hat the people of Connecticut should look into this matter
for themselves and get the exact facts, deciding then what is to be
done about it, ,, ould seem to be the most satisfactory way to approach the subject. The speaker was right when he said that there
would be much more enthusiasm for changing the situation if the
impetus came from within the State.
This report gives facts disclosed, remedies suggested, the attitude
of the people of Bridgeport most concerned with the subject, and the
legal remedies which are being applied in other States. It is hoped
that from such a presentation the people of Connecticut may be
aroused to a consideration of their problem ,a nd a realization that the
solution of it is in their own hands.


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PART ·I.
MEMORANDUM OF WORK DONE AT HOME FOR FACTORIES
IN BRIDGEPORT, CONN.
I. SUMMARY OF FACTS.

The outstanding facts which are described in this memorandum .
show that home work in Bridgeport is done under conditions which
usually characterize this system in urban communities.
(a) The majority of the workers are foreign born.
( b) The families are large and the children so young as tomake the employment of mothers outside the home difficult.
(c) The father is either not contributing to the family income
or his earnings ·are too low to support the family. This
results in economic pressure which compels the mother to
contribute to the family support often by taking in
lodgers as well as by work at home for the factories.
(d) The earnings from home work are very low, however, and
constitute merely a supplementary income in spite of the
fact that several members of the household often take
part in the work. This seems to be due to two main
causes, (1) low rates of pay and (2) the small output of
an unsupervised process and the general inefficiency of
the entire home-work system, requiring, as it does, that
the workers shall take time to call for the goods at the
· factory and deliver them after they are completed, while
also the worker is constantly interrupted by home duties
and lacks the stimulus of a well-organized factory department to make possible effective production.
(e) Children work at ages when their employment in factories
is prohibited by law. This results in depriving them of
recreation which they need and is often reflected in irregular attendance or a lower standing in school.
(f) From the point of view of public health the danger is
always great that work may be done while members of the
family are ill from contagious or infectious diseases and
this danger is increased by the crowded conditions in the
home of the typical home worker.
158575°-20--2


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HOME WORK IN BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICVT.

II. RECOMMENDATIONS.

In Bridgeport as in other industrial communities, as has been
shown by many official and unofficial investigations, the practice of
home work yields a very inadequate income to the workers, while
from the point of view of the factory it is of doubtful efficiency.
Nevertheless, when it is once established its sudden withdrawal
would work hardship for the families whose already inadequate
incomes are supplemented from this source. It is, therefore, exceedingly desirable that in any plan which may be developed the interests
· of the workers should be safeguarded by their representatives.
. It is therefore recommended(1) That these findings be jointly considered by the manage,,
ment and the representatives of the workers in those estab•
lishments in Bridgeport in which trade-unions are recog•
nized and the workers have a share by this means in deter..
mining the conditions of employment.
(2) That home work be gradually eliminated after steps hav&
been taken to prevent hardship in individual ·families.
For example, it is suggested that opportunities should
be .given to the home workers to work in the :factory, pos•
sibly arranging short shifts of four or five hours, which
would make it unnecessary for mothers to be away from
their children the entire working day. Moreover, the
cooperation of the social agencies should be sought, preferably by the representatives of the workers, in securing
adjustments of family conditions which would make it
possible for the mothers of small children to remain at
home instead of contributing to the family income either
by home work for a factory or by work in the factory.
(3) That in the meantime, while the practice of giving out work
continues, the work be delivered and called for at the
expense of the manufacturer and that home conditions be
inspected by the State department of labor from time to
.time in cooperation with health officials.
(4) That the same rates be paid to the workers at home as would
be paid in the factory and that such rates be determined
on the basis of tests insuring a minimum wage for the
standard working day prevailing in the plant.
These recommendations are based on the results of interviews with
workers in their homes while they were engaged in home work and
·with other persons familiar with conditions affecting wage earners
.in Bridgeport.


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HOME WORK IN BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT. -

lf

III. CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH HOME WORK IS DONE IN
BRIDGEPORT.

1. Scope of investigation.-One hundred families in Bridgeport
were visited and inquiry made as to rates of pay and earnings, the
employment of children, other sources of income in the family, and
in general the conditions under which the work was done. These
families were chosen at random through addresses secured from a
variety of sources and there is no reason to believe that they are not
typical of a laFger group.
2. Types of home work.-The workers visited were divided into
three groups according to the following occupations:
(a) Garter making ( G6 families) .-This is a series of operations
consisting of stringing-that is, slipping the button and
hook on the tape, and then stitching the tape down. The
buckle is then slipped on the elastic and stitched. This
work is part of the corset industry, but it is also given out
by firms that do not make corsets, and includes not only
women's garters but children's and men's garters and
.
armlets. 1
( b) Foat-press work ( 17 families) .~The foot press is used to
clamp onto the base the button over which the hook of
the garter is slipped. Before the button is clamped on,
a rubber ring is slipped by hand over the button. There
are slight differences in the processes-for the garter buckle
and for the buckle which is used· on suspenders or on the
band fastened around the leg of boys' trousers.
( o) M isceUaneous work ( 17 families) .-The miscellaneous varieties of home work consist of ripping apart strips of lace
insertion, stringing buttons on tape, stitching dolls' shoes,
and finishing men's coats.
3. Nationality of workers.-In the entire group of 100 families,
57 were Italian, 27 native born, and the remaining 16 included Polish,
Hungarian, Holland Dutch, Swedish, , English, Irish, and Swiss.
The nationality of the workers differed somewhat in the three groups.
All of the foot-press workers and all of the 17 miscellaneous workers
were Italian and- almost as many of the garter makers were born
in the United States. In many of the Italian families the mothers
spoke no English and many of them did not know the name of the
factory from which they secured their work nor the rates according
to which they were paid, although of course they all knew their
earnings.
1 In this group were included also two operations not part of garter making but processes in the manufacture ot corsets, namely, sewillg lace around the top of corsets and
makin1 bows for corsets.


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HOME WbRK IN BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

4. Size of families.-The households varied in size from 1 to 11.
They included 300 children, of whom 268 were under t6 years of
age. Nearly half of the mothers had 3 or more little children, and
6 out of 7 had children unuer 16.
5. Child labor .-Of the 268 children under 16 years of age, 110
were definitely shown to assist regularly in home work and it is
- · probable that others in the group are also helping. One woman said:
"Home work isn't worth bothering with if the children don't help."
Instances were found of very young children working hard at
home work. One little girl of 9, whose mother had died 6 months
before, was operating a foot press at the noon hour when she was
home from school. She seemed to be the principal home worker,
but it was her aunt with whom she lived who took the work from
the factory. A younger brother and a little cousin helped slip on
the rubber bands while the 9-year-old girl worked the press. When
she was asked, "When do you have time to play? " her answer was,
"Sometimes on Sunday." In addition to taking part in the home
work the children often carry the work to and from the factories.
In the miscellaneous group where there was skilled machine stitcbing,
as on dolls' shoes, the work of the children did not play so important
a part, _but their employment in the other groups ~howed how the
spirit and intent of child-labor legislation are usually evaded when
home work is done.
6. Earnings from home work.-Although the earnings vary
greatly from week to week and it is therefore difficult to make any
definite statement about the amount received, a definite record was
made of the last receipts from the factory. Results are shown in the
following tabular statement :
Weekly earnings from horn,e work, by class of work performed, Bridgeport,

Conn., 1919.
umb I of farnilie receiving specified
weekly ea.mings.
Weekly earnings.
Garte
making

Footpr1
work.

Miscellaneous.

Total.

- - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - 1 - - --1- - - - - - - -· Lessthan $1......... . .. ....... .......... . ... ...... ......... ....
1
2
!it and le ; than $2.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1 ......... . ...... ... .
$2 and less than $3.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8 ..........
2
10
$3 and less than $4. . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13
2
6
21
$4 and les ; than $5 .... . .... ............. . ......................
12
6
4
22
$6 and les than $6 .•........................ . .. "= ...... : . . . . . . . .
11 . . . • • • . . . .
2
13
$6 and less than $7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6
1
L
8
$7 and less than $8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5 . . . . •. . . . . . . . ••••. . .
5
$8 and less than $9...................... . ......................
3 . . . . •. . . . .
1
4
$9 and less than $10.................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2 . .. ... . . . . . . . . .. . . . .
2
$10 and less than SIL . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3
3 ..........
6
$11 and less than $12 ..••................ . .........................•.......••••.................•.• . : . ..
$12 and less than $13. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1
4
5
$13 and more..•....•••...•.••.•...•..... .. .. . ... ~... .. . . .. .. ... . . . . . . . . . .
1
1
Total. ..••••••••••••.••••..•.....................••••••...


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HOME WORK IN BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

13

As the table shows, the median earnings were between $4 and $5
for a week's work with only 31 of the group of 100 reporting earnings of $6 or more. The di:fferences between the three groups are
slight. The median for the garter makers was between $4 and $5,
for the foot-press workers it was between $6 and $7, and for the
miscellaneous groups it was between $3 and $4.
It has been noted that these earnings vary greatly from week to
week.. The amounts reported by this group of 100 families varied
from 71 cents to $17. The women reported also that sometimes-when
they went to the factory they did not succeed in securing any work.
One woman, a widow with two little children, said she had tried all
kinds of home work" but none of it is steady so you c~n depend on it
to pay your rent."
Whether the rate of pay would be the same if the work were done
in the factory was not possible to ascertain from the workers' reports
nor could very definite information regarding rates for home work
be secured. For button work the pay is rated per pound and varied
from 6 cents to 9 cents a pound. The rate of pay for dolls' shoes was
5 cents a dozen. One woman who worked in the shop at the same
work 26 years ago said that the rate had not changed in that time. 1
Lace ripping is paid for at various rates according to the number of
threads to be pulled. For example, a piece 24 yards long and consisting of 14 rolls with four threads each brought 40 cents. Another
worker reported pay of $1.16 for pulling two threads in each of 51
pieces, each piece 24 yards long. She reported that if she worked
steadily all day and evening with help in the evening she could earn
$1.16 a day.
·
In the finishing of men's clothing the rate reported for sewing
the too of the lining in the trousers, basting the hems, and tacking
the placket was 6 cents a pair, and for hemming the lining in sleeves
of coats, 5 cents a coat. One woman said that if she worked steadily
·she could earn as much as a dollar a day. _ Another who had worked
for 16 years at this trade in a New York shop said: "This is my
trade, bui pay small-awful small. Yesterday I worked from 6 in
the morning until half-past 9 at night and earned $1.25; -only took
10 minutes for each meal, too." In her work, however, no time wa~
lost in going to the factory, as the garments were delivered and called
for at the · expense of the manufacturer, thus saving the worker car
fare.
The unstandardized nature of the work makes it impossible to
estimate what these rates mean in terms of hourly earnings. One
experienced op'e rator who had worked for several years in the fac1 At the conference this statement was challenged by the woman's employer, who stated
that although the same rate was still paid the type of machine had been changed, making
possible a greater output and consequent larger earnings.


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HOME WORK IN BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

tory said that the most she could earn on garter making, if she worked
alone, was 10 cents an hour. Another worked at stringing garters
from 1 p. m. to 11 p. m., stopping only to eat the supper which her
mother prepared, beginning again the following morning at 7 a. m.,
she worked until 9.30 a. m. Her earnings were $1.45 for the 10
packages, which she finished in that time or an average of approximately 12½ cents an hour, assuming that she took one hour for supper. The rate for bows for corsets was 3- cents a dozen and one
woman said she could make as many as nine dozen in an hour if she
worked at it steadily.
The foot-press operato_rs must pay a deposit of $10, which is returned when the machine is brought back to the factory. It should
be pointed out that the home worker also contributes rent, light,
heat, and, if her work is stitching, the cost of the sewing machine.
7. Total family income.-Although it is exceedingly difficult to
secure accurate information about the total income when it is made
up from several di~erent sources, as is true of these home workers,.
nevertheless, the impression as one talks with them is strong that
the chief reason for home work is an inadequate income from other
sources. Among the 100 households, in 13 the :father, normally the
chief breadwinner, was dead, and in 12 he was not employed. In 75
households, or exactly three-fourths, there was a man breadwinner.
0:f the 58 men, heads of families, who were employed and whose
earnings could be ascertained, one-half received less than $20 a
week and only six received $25 a week or more. For the large
families, of which this group of home workers was composed, these
earnings alone would be obviously insufficient. The income was increased, therefore, by home work and by renting rooms. Twentytwo :families rented rooms, and in some instances they had two, three,
or four lodgers. Generally the number of lodgers was an index of
the economic need of the family rather than a sign of any surplus
space, :for the overcrowding was very great.
An effort was made to ascertain the percentage of the total income
which was derived from home work as based on the statement o:f the
workers regarding their total income and their last weekly earnings from home work. An estimate was possible :for 81 families,
although it can not be regarded as more than a rough indication of
the ratio between two indeterminate and varying· quantities. In
two :families home work appeared to be the only source of income,
but in only seven others did it constitute more than 40 per cent of
the total. In 36 households, or more than two-fifths, the income
from home work was less than 20 per cent of the total family income.
Roughly, the receipts :from home work were regarded as coveri:Q.g
the rent. Of the 98 ~amilies concerning whom the facts about rent


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HOME WORK IN BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

15

were reported, 18 owned the houses they lived in and three liad rent
free in return for janitor service. For the remaining 77 the median
rate was between $17 and $18.
8. Horne conditions.-Twenty-two families living. in flats rented
rooms to lodgers. These flats consisted of from three to five rooms.
In one home a widow with four children under 9 years of age had
three lodgers in a three-room basem~ent flat. Another family of
mother, daughter, two boys, and a grandchild had two lodgers in
.a three-room flat.
Crowding was evident also in home where no boarders or lodgers
lived. One family of eight lived in three rooms. The kitchen was
used for cooking, eating, washing, and manufacturing. Housework
was necessarily often neglected, and little time could be given to
caring for the children.
No adequate protection is assured against manilfacturing where
members of the family are ill. One home was visited in which a
child was in bed with a rash, which appeared to be measles, and the
older child, who had 'just recovered, was helping a neighbor to string
garters. In a number of households the children had had diphtheria
during the past year, and in many more members of the family had
been ill with influenza. In . view of the fact that no adequate inspections of the homes of these workers is provided, it is quite possible that the public health would be jeopardized through the making of these goods in the presence of contagious or infectious diseases.
Another serious health problem was illustrated in the number
of pregnant women working on foot-power machines and carrying
heavy packages of work to and from the factory. One package of
garters was weighed and registered 34 pounds. Buttons are paid
for by the pound and are usually taken out in lots of 3 bags of 30
pounds each. Many of the women use baby carriages or little express carts to carry the goods if they live within walking distance,
but even then the bundles must often be carried upstairs at the
home end. One woman with six little children and another expected
drew her express cart a distance of 2 miles to save car fare and carried the bundle up three flights of stairs. She was glad to get the
· work even under these conditions, but surely she and the future generations are paying a high price for the privilege. One worker
paid a neighbor 20 cents a morning to take care of her children
when she went to the factory, and of course she -carried as much
work as possible in order to avoid too many trips.
;
9. Effect of home work on unemployment in the factory.Very little information was available on this point, which was one of
the questions raised by those who were t nterested in having the
inquiry made. In some firms practically all the work of certain


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HOME WORK IN BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

operations is done in the home, and this, without doubt, results in
fewer opportunities for full-time factory workers. There was no
evidence of preference given to home workers while factory workers
e.ngaged in the same occupation were idle or on part time. One
woman reported that it was impossible to get girls to work in the
garter department of the factory because" piece rates were too low."
T,his would seem to indicate that home work is sometimes resorted
to because lower rates of pay can be given than would be accepted
by full-time workers in the plant.
Certai"nly the home-work system, with its lack of supervision or
training and its wasteful carrying of work for long distances from
the plant, would seem to be as unproductive for the plant as it is too
low paid for the worker. It is doubtful whether in the nature of
the case it could be made more efficient. Efficiency in modern industry requires effective organization and supervision of processes
and it is the resultant output which should make possible adequate
e2,rnings for the worker as well as a satisfactory product for the
plant.
1•.'

.

,,

'

' (

,t

.,
.J


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'

'

PART- _II.
THE CONFERENCE.
After the foregoing memorandum had been submitted to a group
of people who would be interested in the subject, a conference was
called by the Women's Bureau, on October· 7. This conference was
held in Bridgeport in the office of ·one of the employers of a large .
number of home workers. . Present at the conference were representatives from five factories where home work was given out, one
labor union, the city health department, and the State labor department, the Charity Organization Society, the Visiting Nurses' Association, the -public charities, the Young Women's 'Christian Association, and the Children's Bureau and the Women's Bureau of
the United States Department of Labor. Miss Mary Van Kleeck,
who was the Director of the Women's Bureau· (then the ·woman in
Industry Service) when the investigation was being made, presided
at the conference .
. , As each person had ,received a copy of the me~orandum there was
no detailed discussion of the facts found- by the investigators, but
general p,olicies and points of view on the subject were expressed by
the various representatives and several courses of action were suggested .
.The policy of .t he Government as expressed by the Women's Bureau
was stated as being that no work should be given out to be done in
rooms used for living or sleeping purposes, or in rooms directly
connected wjth living or sleeping rooms in any dwelling or tenement.
The employers considered home work necessary for two reasons.
First, the women needed the extra money, and second, the employers could not get the work done in the factory. Their attitude was:
well expressed by one who said: " Home work is not our choice; it
is a necessity. We do it for two reasons. One is, we are constantly
being applied to by people who want assistance, and it is a great
benefit to them. Home work is their support. ' The other is that it
is difficult to get it done under the roof." Another employer said.
that he did not get as quick results from home work as from work in
the factory, that he would niuch prefer- to have work done at thefactory, but that he could not get workers to come. It was suggested that this shortage of labor might be due to the low wage rate1585700-20---,...S


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,

11

18

HOME WORK IN BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

prevailing in the operations for which home work was used, but no
·definite statement was made on this subject.
The social workers who were present at the conference had no
·very well-defined policy regarding home work. One of them stated
that she did not think the women would give up the work because
they needed the money, as their husbands did not make an adequate
income. • The former secretary of the associated charities said in
answer to a question that he had not found that home work had ever
solved the problem of restoring a family to a self-supporting basis.
The commissioner of labor said the women were doing home work
only because they ~id not have sufficient income to maintain their
:families, and he thought that if home work were taken away they
would either have to send their children to the county homes or be·come dependent upon charity. As :far as the manufacturers were
concerned, he felt that they did not want to use outside work, but
were obliged to~ because women for factory work were at a premium:
In support of these statements he presented the results of an investigation of home work throughout the State which had just been made
by his department. He stated that his investigators had found that
73 employers in the State gave out home work to 2,600 families and
that over 20 per cent of these families were in Bridgeport. They
also found that about half the home work done in the State was
Shelton, Derby, and Ansonia; that home work was on the increase in
·B ridgeport, Chester, Derby,. New Britain, New Haven, New London,
Stamford, and Waterbury, and that it was on the decrease in Hartford, Ansonia, Seymour, South Manchester, and South Norwalk.
The investigation covered 1,316 families; of these families 569, or
over 43 per cent, have from thr~e to eight children. There was a
total of 3,418 children· in the families investigated. The pay was .
found to run about the same throughout the :factories, $5 a week. On
_piecework it was found that the women made from $1.11 to $2.23
·a day. Sometimes they made $15 ·a week for full-time work. Outside of
-Bridgeport they got $4 to $8 a week In corset work, threading snaps
:and hooks, they usually made from $2.13 to $7 a week, although one
woman made $11. Sanitary conditions were generally found to be
·fair.
The city health officer felt that while the danger from communi.:
-cable disease in home work was inconsiderable, the effect of this
.system on the health of the workers should be considered. He
:also thought thrut there was as much danger for children whose
:mother and father were both employed away from home, because of
lack of supervision, as there was for those who did home work. As
a result of this remark it was emphasized by others present that
children should not be obliged to grow up under either of these conditions. No one who joined in the discussion felt that continuous


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HOME WORK IN BRIDGEP9RT, CONNECTICUT.

19.

•employment away from the home for both parents was a possible
solution of the home work problem.
The first suggestion for regulating the conditions under which home
work was done was offered by one of the employers, who said that
while the question of outside labor was complex and troublesome for
manufacturers to such an extent that· he would rather not have it
at all, he felt that it was a perfectly legitimate system atl.d knew
that some factories were entirely dependent upon home products.
Because of this situation he felt that the only possible thing to do
was to regulate the conditiop.s under which wor:k was done at home.
He advocated that every person who wanted to do home work should
be required to apply to the board of health for a permit. This suggestion was approved by the other manufacturers present, who
s_eemed to feel that such a system of permits would relieve them of
considerable responsibility. Others at the conference, however, pointed out that it would be very difficult to devise a permit system which
would guarantee sanitary working conditions and prevent child
labor. · Details of such a system were discussed and it was emphasized
by several people, including the representative from the Children's
Bureau, that even with trained social workers with medical experience it would be practically impossible to enforce properly any inspection law of this sort.
Several of the employers would not admit that child labor was a
general custom in-the homes where factory work was taken, although
the investigators of the Women~s Bureau had ample proof that this
was true. The attitude of those who did admit that this condition
was possible was .that the manufacturer could not be held responsible, and that there was no way to keep a woman from lying about
the ages of her children if she ·wanted them to do home work.
One of the recommendations made in the memorandum was that
transportation should be furnished by the factory for the work sent
to and from the homes. Two manufacturers reported that they had
instituted this system, but that it had not been running long enough
for them to know just what were the results.
Every group at the conference gave testimony to the fact that insufficient w·ages were the cause of home work. As stated by one of
the representatives of the Women's Bureau," It is one of those situations that come about where there have been too low wages for men.
Home work is not a solution, because it does not provide a .living. It
is not the support of those families. In the majority of cases the
fathers are living, but eari:iing very low pay." The manufacturer
complained that he could not get women to take work home "because
their husbands' wages were sufficient, I suppose," and the so-c ial
w6rker said: "-The women will not give up the work, because they
need the money, and their husbands do not make an adequate in-


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20

HOME WORK IN BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

come." One employer submitted a ta;ble of weekly wages received by
a group of home workers who had been working for him. The•.
amounts varied from $39.93 a week in one case to $3.42 and $2.34 in
two others. These figures are significant of the usual lack .of information about the manner in which home work is done, as no informa-tion was given to show whether the amounts were paid to one person
for ~he product of that person's labor alone or whether she had received assistance from others, nor was the length of time stated for·
which she had worked to earn this sum. Another employer gavefigures for the amounts which could be earned by a ·number of employees who worked for him for many years. He said that onewoman who had been with him for 15 years was able, if she put in
nine full hours, to stitch 25 dozen dolls' shoes at 10 cents a dozen;
35 dozen of another kind of shoe ·at 6½ cents, or 45 dozen at 5 cents
on a third kind, requiring less stitching. When these amounts are
computed for the day's work it will be seen that the earnings for
nine hours' work after 15 years' experience were $2.50, $2.27, and
$2.25 a day, respectively. In addition to these figures he said: "Another worker has been with me 12 years. She does 100 dozen at onehalf cent a dozen and in addition does her housework. She can
do 150 dozen in nine hours with no housework." He did not describe the processes on which this woman worked, but the total
amount earned, 50 cents a day when doing housework, and 75 cents
a day for nine hours' work, would seem to be very inadequate earnings regardless of process.
·
The conference concluded with the following remarks from one
the social workers of Bridgeport:

of

Realizing all the time that it is a Connecticut" problem and it would take
Connecticut people to meet the situation whatever is done, I wonder if we
could request the agencies in the city to undertake this coming year to get the
exact facts and then meet again with the manufacturers to see what had best
be done. There will not be much enthusiasm for changing the situation as long
as the impetus comes from outside the State. We should be much more liable
to do more about it to remedy the situation, if we acted within the State.
CHAIRMAN. We agree. It was our purpose in coming to put the matter into
your hands. Have you any suggestions as to how that could be done?
ANSWER. It seems to me that within a year we ought to be able to give a
good report of what is going on.
CHAIRMAN. Can we leave it with you to see that · the Connecticut organizations do concentrate on this? It is surely most important that if this is a
problem for Connecticut there should be some definite plan of action on it by
the citizens of the State.


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PART III.
REGULATIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS, AND POLICIES.
STATE LAWS REGULATING HOME WORK.

The charts which are presented with this report give in br~f
outline the laws affecting home work and home workers in the various States. These laws are grouped in two sections showing, first,
th~ conditions under which home work is absolutely prohibited and,
second, conditions under which it is permitted but for which certain
regulations must be met.
RECOMMENDATIONS OF COMMISSIONS AND GOVERNMENTAL
AUTHORITIES.

In addition to these laws there is a mass of authoritative material
on the subject of. home work which has been assembled by numerous
commissions appointed from time to time to study the subject and
devise methods for improving conditions.
From the point of view of the situation in Connecticut the recomm~dations on home work made by the Factory Investigating Commission in New York State in 1913 1 are most significant. These recommendations were made after an extensive investigation of the conditions throughout the State, when it was felt that the State law
needed amendm~t. Weak points in the law, many of them similar
to those in the Connecticut law, and possible remedies are brought
out in the :following quotation :from the report of the commission :

,

We realize that manufacturing in tenement houses is a serious evil, that it
is, in fact, a blot on our industrial system. It is to be condemned because it
is injurious to the health of the women and children directly engaged in this
work and because it unjustifiably invades their homes. Moreover, the health
of the public using such products is endangered. From an economic point of
view its continuance is unjustified; it undermines the wage scale of the factory workers; it is wasteful both of human labor and of material. Public welfare would be promoted by its eradication. In the long run the home worker
would gain precisely as the men working in the coal mines of Pennsylvania were
benefited when thei.r young children were prevented from working and thus
from competing with their parents.
The commission did not feel justified, however, in recommending that the
whole system be rooted out at once. It is deeply entrenched in our industrial
1 State of New York, Second Report of the Factory Investigating Commission, 1913.
Vol. 1, pp. 118, 119.


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HOME WORK IN BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

life, and to overturn existing conditions too suddenly would, perhaps, cripple
certain industries and would work great hardships to thousands of workers
engaged in them. It is true that for more than 20 year.s there has been a
statute regulating home work, but it is also true that no serious effort bas been
made to enforce this law in the spirit in which the legislature undoubtedly
intended it to be carried out. The inadequate resources of the department of •
labor account in a large measur e for this failure. Licenses have been issued
as a matter of form and prosecutions for violations of the law have rarely
been in stituted. Licenses, moreover, · have not been revoked for unsanitary
condition of premises as often as circumstances demanded.
The present law is in many respects entirely inadequate. It covers only
tenement houses in which the 41 a rticles specified in the law are manufactured
and leaves the manufacture in tenement homes of all other articres withoµt
supervision of any kind.
Our recommendations are therefore embraced under the fo llowing heads:
1. Entire prohibition of the employment of children .under 14 years of age
in tenement-house work.
2. Immediate prohibition of work in tenement houses on all articles likely
to become contaminated and therefore injurious to public health; or on a rticles
by which it is clear that disease may be communicated.
3. Extension of the present law to cover manufacturing in any ten ement house
of all articles and the strengthening of the administrative features of the law.
4. Adequate number of inspectors to enforce t he la w.
5. Further investigation and study by the industrial board.

Following this report an amendment to the law was passed which
prohibited work in tenement houses on dolls, children's clothing and
articles of food, thus introducing the principle of prohibition of employment in the New York law. As it now stands the law states :

* * * no artic!P. of food, no dolls or doll's clothing, and no article of children's or infant's wearing appa rel shall be manufactured altered, repaired. or
finished in whole or in part for a fa ctory, either directly or through the instrumentality of one or more contractors or other third person, in a tenement house,
,in any portion of an apartment, any part of which is used for living purposes. 1
Recommendation No. 3 of the commission was also followed by the
amendment of the law so that it includes the manufacture of "any
articles whatsoever" except "collars, cuffs, shirts, or shirtwaists
made o:f cotton or linen fa brics that are subjected to the laundering
process before being offered for sale." 2
At the same time the prohibition of child labor was accomplished
by an amendment to the child-labor law which caused it to read:
No child under the age of 14 years shall be employed, permitted, or suffered to
work in, or in connf'ction with any factory at any place in this' State, or for
any factory at any place in this State. 3

The attitude o:f the United States Government in r rgard to this
problem is shown in the recommendations made at the beginning of
1 Cb. 31, sec. 104, as amended by ch. 260, Acts of 1913.
• Ch. 31, sec. 100. as amended by ch. 2.6 0, Acts of 1913.
• Ch. 31, sec. 70, as a mended by ch. 529, Acts of 1913,


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HOME WORK IN · BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

23

the war by the Quartermaster General's Department in its "Stand:ards
of Employment in vVar .vVork," 1 ·w hich states:
,
ro work shall be given out to be done in rooms _used for living purposes, or
in rooms directly connected with living rooms in any dwelling or tenement.

As already emphasized in the body of this report the Women's
Bureau of the United States Department of Labor concurs in this
attitude and has issued a similar statement in its" Standards for the
Employment of vVomen in Industry." Such a point 9f view is the
·n atural outcome of the findings of Government investigators in previous years. In 1911 Congre s authorized a special investigation of
the condition of woman and child wage earners in the United States.
The report of this investigation stated: 2
Officials in seYeral States have testified to the physical impossibility of enforcing laws regulating home finishing. No single State can afford to employ
a corps of inspectors sufficiently numerous to make more than a cursory inspection of licensed house . * * * It has proved impossible in spite of all existing laws merely regulating tenement house manufacture, either in the United
States of America or elsewhere, to guarantee to the consumer that clothing made
or finished in the home is free from disease and vermin.

Private organizations interested in industrial subjects are unanimous in their condemnation of the practice of home· work. The
National Consumers' League has for years conducted a campaign
against the manufacture of articles in insanitary surroundings by
low-paid workers. The National Child Labor Committee has stated
as its policy : 3
Expedence has shown that where the older members of the family work at
home the children are almost sure to help. It has shown as well that the
existing licensing system does not regulate, but, on the contrary, gives a cover
of legality to the work. Complete and universal prohibition of home work
for adults as well as children is therefore the only efficient means of preventing child labor in tenements. It is to the immediate interest of the consumers, the workers, and all humane employers to put an end to it once for all.

THE RELATION OF THE MINIMUM WAGE TO HOME WORK.

•

Widespread recognition of the close connection between low wages
and home work has led to many recommendations for minimum wage
laws, both to reduce the amount ·of home work and to raise th rate
of pay for that which still continues.
In 1908 a special committee was a ppo,i nted in England to report
to the House of Commons on means of remedying existing abuses in
Sammary or recommendations to Employers. Circular No. 18, Nov. 15, 1917.
S. Doc. 645, 61st Cong., 2d sess., Report on Conditions of Woman and Child Wage
Elarn~rs in the United States. Vol. II, Men's Ready-made Clothing, p. 317, 1911.
• National Child Labor Committee, Child Work in the Honie, pamphlet No. 232, 1918.
1

2


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HOME WORK IN BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

trades in which home work was prevalent.
mittee stated:

In its report 1 this com-

No proposals which fail to increase the income of these people can have any
appreciable effect in ameliorating their condition. Improved sanitary conditions are important, and necessary; greater personal and domestic cleanliness
in many cases is desirable; Q_Ut the poverty, the miserably inadequate income,
of so many of the home workers is the great difficulty of the situation. With
au increase in their earnings many of the other unde$irable conditions which
intensify and in turn are aggravated by the ever-present burden of grinding
poverty would be very appreciably modified and improved. * * * Your
committee are of the opinion that, unless Parliament steps in and gives them the
protection and support which legislation alone can supply, the prospects of any
real and substantial improvement in their position and condition being brought
about are very small and remote. * * * Upon the question of the general
policy of Parliament fixing or providing for the fixing of a minimum rate of
payment for work, below which it should be illegal to employ people, your committee are of the opinion that \t is quite as legitimate to establish by legislation
a minimum standard of remuner ation as it is to establish such a standard of
sanitation; cleanliness, ventilation, air space, and hours of work_, * * * It
is doubtful whether there is any more important condition of individual and
general well-being than the possibility of obtaining an income sufficient to
enable those who earn it to secure, at ariy rate, the necessaries of life. If a
trade will not yield such an income to average industrious workers engaged in
it; if is a parasite industry, and it is contrary to the general well-being that it
should continue. Experience, however, teaches that the usual result of legislation of the nature referred to is not to kill the industry but to reform it. 1

During the same year the British Government -appointed a commission to investigate the workings of the. wages boards and industrial concUiation and arbitration acts in Australia and New Zealand.
The wage rates established in those countries applied to home as well
as factory workers, so the report on this subject is significant. In
speaking of conditions in Victoria after the establishment of the
wages boards, Mr. Aves, the commissioner, said :
There is also a very widely spread belief that the boards have been instrumental, some say in abolishing, and others in modifying the evils of " sweating,"
and, from the complex motives, there is in Victoria a great preponderance of
opinion amongst all classes in favour of the retention of the boards. 1

In many European countries the need for a higher wage rate to
remedy the evils of home work has long been recognized. Testimony
on the present attitude toward the subject in foreign lands was given
at the First International Congress of Working Women, held in this
country in October, 1919. ft this conference during t~e discussion
1

Great Britain. House of Common s, Report from the Select Committee on Home Work,

1908.
2

Idem.


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HOME WORK IN BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT. .

25

on home work Mme. Stychova, speaking for the Republic -0£ CzechoSlovakia, said :
We feel that if the · pay is adequate in other lines, home work will not be
necessary.

Mlle. Bouillott, representing the working women 0£ France, said :
There should be special regulations for men who are supporting families and
for women who are supporting families so they will get enough salaries so they
·will not have to take outside work. - The French deLegates a·r e of the opinion
that home work should be abolished as soon as possible.

The attitude 0£ Poland was given by Mme. Konopaka, the Polish
representative, who said:
The question of home work is strictly related to low wages.
favor of the cessation entirely of home work.

Poland is in

ELIMINATION OF HOME WORK THROUGH TRADE-UNION
AGREEMENTS.

For many years the trade-unions have recognized the serious
effect on wages, working conditions, and public health produced by
a system which permits the payment of a very low wage and which
can not regulate either hours or conditions of work _for a large group
of persons.
One of the first of the unions to attempt to relieve this condition
was the Cigar Makers' Union, which started about 1880 to wO&'k for
a law which would prohibit the manufacture of cigars and preparation of tobacco in tenement houses in New- York City. In 1883, a
law on this subject was passed by the New York State Assembly.
This law was entitled "An act to improve the public health in the
city 0£ New York by prohibiting the manufacture 0£ cigars or the
preparation of tobacco in any form in the tenement houses of said
city."
In commenting on the passage of this law the Cigar Makers' Official Journal for February, 1883, said :
The working classes and cigar makers in particular owe a debt of gratitude
• to those assemblymen and senators who have successfully fought for a great
sanitary reform.

The law was subsequently declared unconstitutional, but the manufacture of cigars was afterwards included in the law regulating
home work for the entire State.
Another and more modern example of the achievements of the
trade-unions in eliminating home work is found in the protocol
agreement made between the International Ladies1 Garment Workers'
Union and the Cloak, Suit, and Skirt Manufacturers' Protective
Association in New York City, September 2, 1910. One clause in the
agreement. isNo work shall be given to or taken to employees to be performed at their
homes.


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HOME WORK IN BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

This agreement was the result of a protracted strike. The part
that the abuses of the home-work system played in the successful
termination of this controversy is brought out in a- study of trade
agreements in the women's clothing industries in New York. 1 This
report says :'
The disgust of the public with the sweating system, which was accompanied
by home work and most of the other evils peculiar to these trades, was partly

responsible for the development of collective bargaining in these trades in spite
of the instability in the membership of the labor organizations.

Agreements similar to the one in this protocol were afterwards
included in the dress and waist protocol in New York City, January,
1913; the kimona and house-dress protocol in New York City, February, 1913; the misses' and children's dresses protocol in New York
City, March, 1913; and in the cloak and suit and dress and waist
protocols in Boston i.n March, -1913.
These examples are representative of the continuous efforts of
organized workers to abolish this form of industrial exploitation.
COMMUNITY ACTION.

As with any group of low-paid workers, the condition of the home
worker will be affected by any action of the community for the solution of its problems of poverty. A program which includes sickness
and unemployment insurance, maternity benefits or mothers' pensions, by relieving certain conditions will shut off the supply of certain groups of potential home workers. But the effect of such legislation is indirect. Action by prohibition or by strict regulation of
wages and working cqnditions will produce the most immediate and

lasting results.
1 Boris Emmet, "Trade Agreements in the Women 's Clothing Industries in New York
City." Bu reau o! Labor Statistics, U. S. Department ot Labor, Monthly Review, December, 1917.


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LAWS PROHIBITING HOME
[Compiled by the Women 's Bureau from Bulletins:
State.

Mandatory clause.

Places covered by law.

Illinois (Bul. 148, pp. 547-48)
(Hurtl's Revised Statutes,
1906, ch. 48, secs. 21-28).

"No room or rooms * • •
shall be used * * •."

Room or rooms, apartment or apartments in any tenement or dwelling
house used for eating or sleeping
purposes.

Indiana (Bul. 148, pp. 647-48)
(Annotated Statutes 1901,
secs. 7087n-7087o).

Room or rooms, apartment or apart"Noroomorrooms • • *
ments in any tenement or dwelling
shall be used * * *·"
house.

Maryland (Bul. 166, p. 103)
(Acts of 1914, ch. 779).

* * * shall be Ulled * * *·"

Massachusetts (Bul. 148, pp.
982-83) (Acts of 1909, ch. 514,
secs. 106-111).

* * *

"No room or apartment

Room or apartment in any tenement
or dwelling house, or part of any tenem ent or dwelling house.

"A

A room or apartment in a tenement
or dwelling house.

room or apartment
shall not be used for
the purpose of m aking * * *·"

Any room or apartment used for Iiv-

~~~rct~Je~~li ~:~s~~ ~~~~i~se~
for such purposes~ and which has not
a separate and aistinct outside entrance.
Missouri (Bul. 148, pp. 1181-82)
(Revised Statutes 1909, sec.
7853-7855).

*

"No room or apartment
* * shall be used."

Room or apartment in any tenement
or dwelling house.

New York:
(Bul. 148, pp. 1516-1520)
(Consolidated laws 1909,
ch. 31, sec. 100-106, 110,
Amended Acts 1913, ch.

"No article shall be manufactured, etc. * * *·"

Any room or apartment of a tenem ent house.

"No article of food • • •
shall be manufactured * * *.''

Tenement house, in any portion of
an apartment, any part of which is
used for living purposes.
In a part of a cellar or basement of a
tenem ent house more than one-half of
its height below the level of the curb.
Room or apartment in a tenement
or d welling house used for eating or
sleeping purposes.

~).

"No articles shall be manufactured, etc. * * *·"
(Bul. 148 p. 1553) (Consolidated 1aws 1909, ch. 48, *
sec. 33) .
Ohio (Bul. 148, pp. 1650-51)
(General Code, 1910, secs.
1020-1021).

28


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7°.

rs~:il b~rus!N~tment

"Nodwelling *
be used * * *.''

•

*shall

Dwelling or building or room or
apartment thereof, in or connected
with a tenement, dwelling or other
building.

WORK IN THE UNITED STATES.
of the Bureau of :r,abor Statistics, December, 1919.]
Occupations covered by law.

Exceptions.

Manufacture, in whole or in ~rt, of coats, vests,
trousers, knee pants, overalls, c oaksflshirts, ladies'
waists* purses, feathers, artificial owers, ciaars
* * made altered, repaired, cleaned, sorte or
finished, in whole or in part, for sale or for wages.

Immediate members .or famny living therein.

Manufacture of coats, vests, trousers, knee pants,
overalls, cloaks.f furs, fur trimminfs, fur garments,
~~rrr;:ie~urses, eathers, artificial owers or cigars,

Immediate members of family living therein.

Manufacture, in whole or in p1trt 1 altering, repairing or finishing of any articles whatsoever.

Immediate members of family living therein, i. e.
husband, wife, their children, or the children of
either.
Tailor or seamstress employed by family on articles for family.
Articles for exclusive use of person occupying
house.
Workshop on main or ground :floor not used for
cooking or sleeping purposes and having a separate
entrance and which is entirely separate from the
rest of the building.

,.

Making, altering, repairing or finishing therein,
coats, vests, trousers or wearing apparel of any description.

Members of family dwelling therein.
Room or apartment in a tenement or dwelling
house, not used for living or sleeping purposes,
having a separate entrance and not connected with
any room used for such purposes.

Manufacture of coats, vests, trousers, knee pants,
overalls, skirts, dresses,cloaks,hats,caps, suspenders,jerseys, blouses, waists, waist bands, underwear:.,
neckWear, furs, fur trimm.ings1 fur garments, shirts,
hosiery, purses,!. feathers, artificial
flowers, cigars,
cigarettes 1 *
* or making of these articles in
whole or m part.

Seamstress manufacturing articles for family use.

Manufacture or wearing apparel, purses, feathers,
artificial flowers, or other goods for male or female
wear.

Members of family dwelling therein and three
additional persons.

Any article manufactured, altered, repaired or
finished.

Immediate members or family living therein.
Dressmakers, who deal solely in the custom trade
direct to the consumer and whose shops are on the
~round or second floor, and who have a permit
issued by the commissioner of labor certifying ;hat
the premises are well lighted, well ventilated, and
sanitarfi, and that there is 1,000 cu. ft. of air space
for eac person employed therein.
Bakeries for which certificate of exemption is
issued.

Food,dolls,or dolls' clothing,articles ofchildren's
or infants' wearing apparel, manufactured, altered,
repaired, finished, in whole or in part.
Articles manufactured, altered, repaired, finished.
Manufacture, wholly or in part, or coats, vests,
trousers, knee pants, overalls, cloaks, shirts, purses,
feathers, artificial flowers or cigars.

Members of family living therein, i. e. husband,
wife, their children or the children of either.

Carrying on any process of making wearing appa.rel or goods for wear, use or adornment, manufacturing cigars, cigarettes or tobacco goods in a~y

Immediate members of family living therein.
Room or aJ?artment having no window or door
or oth<1r openrng into a livintor sleeping room of a
tenement or dwelling, and aving a separate entrance, and not in use for living or sleeping purEoses and sufficiently lighted, heated and ventiated.

form.


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

29

30

HO M ~ WORK IN BRIDGEP ORT, CONNECTICUT.

LA \VS PROHIBITING HOME
St ate.

l'lar es covered by law.

Mandatory clause.

Pennsylvania (Bui . 148, pp.
1847-48) (Acts of 1905, N o.
226, sec. 14).

" No person fl rm or cor poK itc hen , living room or bedroom
ration engaged in the mann- in any tenemen t house or d welling
facture or sale of clothing house.
bargain or con*tract
* with
* shall
any person
* *
for t he m anufact ure." *

Tennessee (Bui. 186, pp. 377-78)
(Acts of 1915, ch. 28.)

R oom or rooms, apartment or a part"No room or rooms * * *
m ents iu an y tenem ent or dwelling
shall be used for t he m anufac. house used fo r ea ting or sleeping purture for sale * * *·"
poses .
Worksho p, i. e. place where goods
or prod ucts are m anufactured, repaired, cleaned, sorted, in whole or
in part, for sale or for wages.

.

LAWS REGULATING HOME
(Compiled by t he Wom en 's Bureau from Bulletins
Occu pat ions covered

Persons whose work is
controlled by la w.

State.

Places covered
by law.

Connecticut (Bui. 148, p .
405) (General Statutes
1902, sec. 4527- 4530) .

All buildings, apartments, rooms, and places
in an y tenem ent or
dwelling house used for
residen tia l purposes.

Illinois (Bui. 148, pp.
547-48) (Hurd's Revised Statutes 1906,
ch. 48, sec. 21- 28).

Manufar.t ure, in whole
Room or rooms, apar tment or apartmen ts in or in part, of coat , vests,
an y tenem ent or dwell- t rousers, knee p,mts overin~ house used for eat- alls, cloaks, shirts, ladies'
ting or sleeping pur- waists1 purses, feathers,
artificial flowers, cigars, or
pose5.
House, room or place. an y wearin~ apparel of
an y kind whatsoever.
Any process of m aking,
altering or finishing{ cleaning. sort ing in who e or in
part, for sale or for wages.

Immediate mem bers
of family living therein.

Indiana (Bul. 148, pp.
647-48)
(Annotated
Statutes 1901, sec.
7087n- 7087o).

One room or rooms,
apartmen t or apartm ents in an y tenement
or dwelling house, or
building in the rear of
a tenement or dwelling
house.

Makin~, in whole or in
part, an y vests, coats,
trousers, knee pants, fur,
fur trimmin gs , shirts
purses, feathers, artificial
flowers or cigars for sale.

Immediate members
of family living therein.

A room or apartment
Manufacturing in whole
in an y tenement or or in part.i · altering1 redwelling house, part of pairing or nnishing tnerean y tenement or dwell- in any articles- whatsoing house.
ever.

Immediate members
of family Ii.ving therein.
(Husband, wife,
their children or the
children of either.)

Maryland (Bui. 166, pp.
101-104) (Acts of 1914,
ch. 779).


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

by law.

Manufacture of artificial
Others t han t he imflowers, purses, cigars. cig- · m ediate m em bers of
ar<'t tcs or an y art icles of the family .
wearing app,,rel intended
for sale.

.

31

HOME WORK IN BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

WORK IN THE UNITED STATES- Continued.
Occupat1orn; covered by law.

Except ions.

,
Manufacture, or partial m anufacture of clothing
or other wearing apparel, cigars, cigarettes.

Resident members of family, i. e., parents and
their children or the children of either.

Manufacture for sale, in whole or in part, of coats,
vests. trousers, knee pants, overalls, cloaks, shirts,
1ladies' waists, purses , feathers-, artificial flowers,
cigars, all wearing apparel.

1

Immediate m embers of family living therein.

WORK IN THE UNITED STATES.
of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, De:)ember, 1919.]
Requ irements which must be met before home work
is permitted.

Exceptions.

Person engaged in such work to notify factory inspector
within 30 days a fter the time of commencing work .
Work to be done in clean, sanitary rooms properly lighted
and ventilated.

.
Persons so occupied or havin§ control of such workshop, to
not ify board of hea lth wi thin 14 ays after the time of commencinf:i.:i~;~f work for fema les and list of children empl~yed with
their ages to be posted.
Premises to be kept in a cleanly state, free from any matter
of infectious or contagiou s nature .
All a rticles made are subject to inspection and examination.
Employer t o keep list of all workshops in hi s employ.

Person, firm or corporation hirin_g work done to obtain written permit from chiefinspector who investigates before granting
permit.
P~mises to be adequately ventilated.
Permit states maximum number of persons who may be
employed , groviding for not less than 250 cubic feet of air space
per person etween the hours of 6 a . m. and 6 p . m ., and for not
less than 400 cubic feet of air space per person between the
hours of 6 p . m. and 6 a. m . Chief inspector may modify latter
provision a llowing 250 cubic feet of air space per person if
electricity is used for lighting.
Permit may be revoked at any t ime if health of community
or of those employed therein require it.
Permit to be posted.

I

-

License to be obtained by persons desiring to do home work
Articles for the exclusive use of per.
from chief of bureau of statistiC's, who consults records of local son occupying house.
Employment of tailor or seamstress
health authorities and if premises are reported satisfactory has
prem ises reinspected to verify report.
by person or family to do work for such
License states maximum num ber of perti,ons who may be em- person or family.
ployed, providing for not less than 500 cubic feet of air space per
Workshop on main or ground floor
of any tenement or dwelling house not
person .
Premises to be inspected every six months.
used for cooking or sleeping purposes,
Premises to be free from infectious, contagious or communi- and havin~ separate entrance and
cable disease, and from a ll unsanitary conditions.
which is entirely separate from the rest
Permit may be re voked at any time if health of community or of the building.
of those employed therein require it.
Em31oyer giving out work to keep register of persons employe on home work and to be sure that such home workers
are licensed.


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

I

32

ROME WORK IN BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

LAWS REGULATING HOME
State.

Places oovered
by law.

Massachusetts (Bui. 148,
pp. 982-8.1) (Acts of
1909, ch. 514, sec. 106-

A room or apartment
in a tenement or dwelling house.

Making, altering, reFamily dwelling
pairing, or finishing coats, therein.
vests, trousers or wearing
apparel of any description.

Room or apartment in
anv tenement or dwelling house, building or
parts of building.

Manufacture of coats,
vests, trousers, knee pants,
overalls, skirts, dresses,
cloaks, h_ats, caps1 suspenders, Jerseys, b10uses,
waists, waistbands, underwear, neckwear, furs, fur
trimming, fur garments,
shirts, hosiery, purses,
feathers, artificial flowers,
cigars, cigarettes, or making of these articles in
whole or in part.

lll).

Michigan (Bui. 148, pp.
1068-69) (Acts of 1909,
No. 286, sec. 22).

Missouri (Bui. 148, pp.
Room or apart ment in
1181-82) (Revised Stat- any tenement or dwellutes 1909, sec. 7853- ing house.
7855).

Occupation covered
bylaw.

Manufacture of wearing

:re~~i~i K~~~s ~:~t!i
goods for male or female
wear.

Persons whose work is
controlled by law.

Members of family

1
t~:!i
~t1Wti~~ ~i
sons.

New Jersey (Dul. 244,

pp. 237-38) (Acts
1917, ch. 176),

Manufacturing, altering,
Room or rooms, apartof ment, or apartments in repairing, or finishing for
any tenement or dwell- wages or for sale any articles whatsoever.
ing house.
Building si,t uated in
the rear of a,ny a.p artment or dwelling house.

,I

New.York:
Manufacturing, altering,
Tenement house or
(Bul. 148, pp. 1516- anA part thereof.
repairingf or finlshing of
20) (Consolidated
ny room or apart- any artic es whatsoever.
laws 1909, ch. 31, ment of a tenement
sec.. 100-106, 110; house.
Amended Acts
1913, ch. 260.)

Immediate members
~f family living thereIll.

;

i,

,

(Bui. 148, p. 1553)
Members of family
Manufacture, in whole
Room orapartmentin
(Consolidated laws a tenement or dwelling .or in part, of coats, vests, living therein; i. e .
1909, ch. 45, sec. house used for eating or trousers, knee pants, over- husband, wife, their
. 33.)
sleeping purposes .
alls, cloaks, skirts, iurses, children, or the chilfeat~ers, artificial owers, dren of either.
or cigars .

.


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

HOME WORK IN BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

33

WORK IN THE UNIT.ED STATES-Continued.
Requirements which must be met before home worll.
is permitted.
.

Exceptions.

Room or apartment in a tenement or
License to be obtained by persons desiring to do home work
dwelling house not used for living or
from State inspector of health.
Premises subject to inspection by State inspector of health. sleeping purposes having a separate
Premises to be in cleanly condition, free from vermin and .all entrance and not connected with any
room used for such purposes.
infectious and contagious matter.
Tailor or seamstress making articles
Employer giving out work to keep register of persons employed on home work and to forward such requests monthly to for family wear.
State board of health and to be sure that such home workers
are licensed.
License to be posted.
Written permit, to be obtained by persons desiring to do
home worK: from factory inspector, who investigates before
grantin~ permit.
.
Permit states maximum number of persons who may be
employed, providing for not less than ?50 cubic feet of air space
per person.
·
Permit ma~ be revoked at any time if health of community
or of those employed therein require it.
Factory inspector to prescribe amount of light, beat and
ventilation.
Premises to ·be clean, sanitar,r, fit for occupancy and free
from contagious and infectious diseases.
Employer giving out work to keep register Q( persons em-ployed on home work and to be sure that such home workers
are licensed.
Permit to be posted.

Seamstress manufacturing articles
for family use.

Premises to be in a clean ·a nd healthy condition.
Employer giving out work to keep register of persons employed on home work.
•

Written permit to be obtained by persons desiring to do
Tailor, seamstress women's exchanges not organized for profit.
home work or by employer desiring to give out home work from
commissioner of labor, who investigates premises for which
permit is requested before granting permit.
Permit to last not longer than six months.
Permit states maximum number of persons who may be employed tberein,providing for not less than 250 cubic feet of air
space per person between the hours of 6 a. m. and 6 p. m., and
for not 1ess than 400 cubic feet of air spaoo per person between
the hours of 6 p. m. and 6 a. m., but the commissioner of labor
may modify the latter provision.
Permit may be revoked at any time if health of the community or of those employed therein require it.
Premises to be properly lighted, in_clean and healthful
condition, free from vermin, and every matter of infectious and
contagious nature.
Employer to be sure that all home workers in his employ
have a license.
Permit to be posted.
License to be obtained by owner of tenement where persons
desire to do home work, from commissioner-of labor who acts
upon favorable report by local board of health and verification
of this report by his own office.
Premises to be inspected every six months, to be well lighted
and ventilated and allow 500 cubic feet of air space per worker,
to be in a clean,healthful, and sanitary condition, to be free from
infectious, contagious, or communicable diseases, and from
vermin.
Permit may be revoked at any time if health of community
or of those employed therein may require it or if children under
14 years of age are employed therein.
Employer giving out work to obtain permit from commissioner of labor and to keep a register of persons,,emploved on
home work and to be sure that such home workers are licensed.
Permit to be obtained by persons desiring to do home work
from the local board of health within 14 days of the time of
commencing work.
Permit may be revoked at any t ime if health of community
or of those employed therein require it.
Premises to be free from infectious or contagious diseases.


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Articles for sole use of occupant or
his family.
Collars, cuffs, shirts, or shirt waists
made of cotton or linen and laundered
before selling.
Dressmakers who deal solely in the
custom trade direct to the consumer
and whose shops are on the ground or
second floor and who have a permit
issued by the ,::ommissioner of labor
certifying that the presmises are well
lighted, well ventilated, and sanitary,
and that there is 1,000 cubic feet of air
space for each person employed therein.
Rooms on m ain or ground floor having separate entrance, unconnected
with living rooms not used for cooking
or sleeping purposes.

34

HOME WORK IN BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

LAWS REGULATING HOME
State.

Places covered by law.

Room or apartment in
Pennsylvania:
(Bul. 148, pp. 1839- ·any tement or dwelling
40) (Bri ghtley's house, or any building or
Digest, 1893-1903, parts of buildings.
p. 825, sec. 1- 4.)

(Bul. 148, pp. 184748) (Acts of 1905,
No. 226, sec. 14).

Kitchen, living room,
or bedroom in any tenement or dwet:'mg house.

(Bui. 148, pp. 192728) (Act s of 1913,
No. 428, sec. 34.)
(Bui. 186, p . 339)
(Acts of 1915, No.
420, sec. 32.)

Any part or ad welling
or rooming house or
tenement.

Tennessee (Bul. 180. pp.
377- 78) (Acts of 1915,
ch. 28.)

Room or rooms, a partmcnt or apartments in
any t enement or dwelling house used for eating
or sleeping purposes.

Occupation covered by
hw.

Manufa"ture of coats.
vests, trousers, knee pants,
overalls, skirts, dres es,
cloak's, bats, cats, suspenders, jerseys, louses,
w aists, wa ist bands,
underw ear, n e e kw ea r,
furs, fur trimmings, fur
garments, shirts, hoisery,
Nurses, feathers, artifi< ial
owers, cigarettes, or
cigars - or making in
whole or in part of these
arti"les .
Manufacture of clothing,
R esident members
wearing apparel, ci~ars,
cigarettes, or the partial ~~~~~i~ ic~t:,:ni;
manufa!'ture of these arti- the children or eitber.
cles.
"Mimufacturing purposes.
Tenant, members of
bis family, others.

Manufa -- ture for sale, in
whole or in part, of coats,
vests, trousers, knee pants,
overalis, rloaks, shi rts,
ladies' waists, purses ,
feathers, arti.fi( ial flowers,
cigars. all wearing apparel.
Work hop: i. e. pla"'e
where goods or produ-ts
are manufa"tured , repaired, cleaned, sorted,
m whole or in part, for
sale or for wages. ·

Manufa"turing, altering,
Room or apartment in
Wisconsin (Bui. 148, pp.
263-66) (St atutes of any tenement or dwell- repairing, or finishing for
ing hou e, or building wages or for sale, coats,
1911, sec. 1631- 71situated in the rear of vests, knee pants,trousers,
1636-73).
any t enement or dwell- overalls, cloaks, hats, caps,
s u spenders, j e r seys,
ing housil.
blouses, dresses, waists,
waist bands, underwear,
neckwear, knit goods of
all kinds, furs, fur trimmings, fur garments,
ski rt s, shirts, purses,
feathers, cigars, cigarettes,
umbrellas.


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Persons whose' work is
controlled by law.

Immediate members
of family living therein.

HOME WORK IN BRIDGEPORT, OONNECTIOUT.

35

WORK IN THE UNITED STATES-Continuec_l.
Requirements which must be met before home work
is permitted.
Permit to be obtained by persons desiring to do home work
from factory inspector who investiftes before granting it.
Permit to state maximum num er of persons who may be
employed therein providing for not less than 250 cubic feet of air
space per person.
Permit may be revoked at any time if health of community
or of those em~oyed therein require it.
Premises to e clean, sanitar:fu, flt for occupany, adequately
ventilated, and firovided with re escapes.
Employer giv ng out work to keep register of persons emfllo ved on home work and so be sure that such home workers are
censed.
Permit to be posted. '
Certificates to be obtained by persons desiring to do home
work from board of health.
Premises to be free from infectious or contagious diseases.
Permit mav be revoked at any time if.health of community
or of those employed therein require it.
Permit to be obtained by persons desiring to do home work
from board of health.
Permit to last one vear.
Permit may be revoked at any time if health of community
or of those emplornd therein require it.
Processes of work not to be hazardous to health or to create
dust, foul odors or undue noise.
Premises to ailow 400 cubic feet of air space per person.

Exceptions.
Seamstress,manufacturlngarticleator
use of family living therein.

Domestic ·work.

Persons engaged in such work to notify board of health within
14 da vs of the time of commencing work.
Premises to be kept in a cleanly state, free from all matters of
infectious or contagious nature, and from vermin.
Articles manufactured to be ins~ected.
Employer giving out work to eep register of persons employed on home work.

License to be obtained by persons desiring to do home work
from the industrial commission which investigates before
granting it.
License to state maximum number of thersons who may be
employed therein, providing for not less t an 250 cubic feet of
air space per feerson between the hours of 6 p. m. and 6 a. m .,
and for not ess than 400 cubic feet of air space yer person
between the hours of 6 ~- m. and 6 a. m., but this atter provision may be modified y a special permit if the building bas
suitable lightint.
License may e revoked at any time if health of community
or of those emtloyed therein require it.
Premises to em a clean and roper sanitary condition, free
from vermin and all matter of in ectious and contagious nature,
to be heated properly, J?rovided with toilets, and suitable light
and ventilation at all trmes.
License to be J?Osted .
E~loyer givmg out work to keep register of persons emRloy on home work and to be sure that such home workElrs are
icensed.
Industrial commission may require that rooms used for manufacturing have no door 1 window, or other opening into rooms
used for living or sleepmg purf:oses, and that they contain no
bed, bedding, or cooking utensi s, and have an outside entrance.


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

0

Tailor, seamstress, for making any
article of wearing apparel for famil y use.