PROCEEDINGS. TRENTON, N. J., Aug. 7, 1889. The third annual convention of the National Association of Factory Inspectors of North America convened in the Senate Chamber at 12 M., with President Rufus R. Wade, Chief Inspector of Massachusetts, in the chair. Secretary Henry Dorn of Ohio being absent, Assistant Secretary L. R. Campbell of Maine assumed the duties of the office. The first business being the calling of the roll of officers, the following were present: Rufus R. Wade, President. L. T. Fell, First Vice-President. L. R. Campbell, Assistant Secretary. Absent: Henry Dorn, Secretary and Treasurer. On motion of Inspector White of Massachusetts the reading of the minutes of the session of 1888, held in Boston, Mass., was dispensed with. The roll was called and the following delegates answered to their names: — MASSACHUSETTS.-R. R. Wade, John T. White, J. A. Moore, Isaac S. Mullen, W. S. Buxton, Frank H. Morton, J. L. Knight. MAINE.-L. R. Campbell, Chief. NEW JERSEY.-L. T. Fell, Chief; John D'Arcy, E. R. White, P. Callan, J. S. Weinthall, P. Coogan, Frank Sayre. OHIO. William Z. McDonald, Chief; John H. Ellis, Оно. James A. Armstrong, Evan H. Davis. CONNECTICUT.-W. S. Simmons. NEW YORK.-John Franey, Assistant Chief; John Jordan, Francis H. Coe, George H. McKay, Johnson Beers. RHODE ISLAND and WISCONSIN delegates absent. Chief Fell of New Jersey read a telegram from the Governor stating his inability to be present to welcome the delegates on account of important business. President Rufus R. Wade delivered the following address: GENTLEMEN OF THE CONVENTION: - Conceding the wisdom of the adage, that "in union there is strength," and believing that, even in departments of special knowledge, all men know more than one man, we met in the city of Philadelphia two years ago and organized an association comprising the factory inspectors of those States whose legislation provided for the protection and elevation of their industrial population. That initiatory session brought together men whose official duties were of the same general character, but whose methods of administration were, in the nature of the case, in many respects unlike. The ́ value of that meeting consisted in the opportunity it gave for mutual acquaintance, for comparison of views, for free discussion of the industrial laws of the respective States represented, and in its being the occasion of the formation of a permanent association of factory inspectors. It quickly settled one question, namely, that in no better way could we obtain a broad view of the functions of our vocation, and secure the lasting benefits of co-operation. Confined to his own territory, seeing only what transpires therein, running always in the grooves of official routine, an inspector was liable to hampering influences. As we compared the legislation of our several States, bearing upon the work of factory inspection, as we listened to the statements and suggestions of our colleagues, as we noted the progress that had been made wherever these subjects had been fairly discussed and considered, the wisdom of the movement which brought us together became more manifest. And when our second convention was held in the city of Boston, a year ago, no member thereof doubted for a moment that the association had justified its existence in its deliberations and its actions, and that it had come to stay. At that convention the scope of the discussions indicated how much thought and purpose had been given to our work since the idea of organization had been fully embodied. Many valuable papers on the several branches of inspection had been read by factory inspectors, whose opinions and conclusions were based upon actual experience and extensive observation. Another important feature of that meeting was the enlargement of the jurisdiction of our association; so now we are assembled as a convention whose appellation is The National Association of Factory Inspectors of North America. And it is to be hoped that, as other States are added to the number of those which legislate for the protection of the industrial classes, their inspection officials will deem it an honor and a privilege to bring to our annual meetings their contributions of wisdom, and aid us with their suggestions and enthusiastic purpose. Let me cordially congratulate you, gentlemen, that we are met in our third annual convention under the most encouraging auspices. We come together in a city whose historic memories shed lustre upon the annals of our country. When Washington and his little army of patriots traversed this region, not the wildest flight of imagination could have pictured the scene our eyes behold to-day. Arts and manufactures and industries, which have made Trenton a centre and source of business enterprise and prosperity, and brought together upon this spot thousands of happy homes, which have planted the school-house and the church and the various institutions of charity and learning for which this city is famous, all tend to show that the struggles and trials of our patriotic ancestry were the fruitful seed from which this bountiful and glorious harvest has sprung. The State within whose borders we have assembled is noted for practical conservatism, and if it is wise to prove all things, it is equally wise to hold fast to that which is good. That, as I understand it, is Jersey conservatism. She makes haste slowly, but she gets there always. Her laws in relation to the employment of children, her compulsory education law and general factory act, with the supplementary act in relation thereto, are models of wise legislation. Certainly no State has more diversified industries, ranging all the way from the cruder products to the finest specimens of art. Her noble rivers, her fertile fields, are tributary to her numerous manufacturing centres, where, let us hope, labor and capital are harmoniously united in developing the resources of the State. Our special mission here is to report progress in the important work entrusted to us, to gather up the lessons of individual experience and to formulate them into such action as may be deemed expedient and wise. It may not be amiss for me to say that in my own State, Massachusetts, during the past year, we have paid especial attention to sanitation, as related to the proper ventilation of our public school buildings. The most thorough investigation has been made, by competent inspectors and scientific experts, to ascertain whether the school-houses scattered all over our Commonwealth are in a proper sanitary condition, especially as to ventilation. Can anything bearing directly upon the comfort, health and life of our children be of greater importance? room. A very considerable portion of their time must be spent in the schoolLet an intelligent observer note the appearance of the children in an average school-room, after it has been occupied by them an hour or two. Coming from the outer air he instantly discovers that the close air of the school-room is loaded with carbonic acid gas, the impurities that have been thrown off by half a hundred persons, and that it is being drawn back into the lungs of the helpless victims and breathed over and over again, until languor settles upon them all, headache ensues, the seeds of disease are implanted, and the place becomes in some degree a pest house. The seductiveness of the evil is apparent from the fact that after a little time one becomes so accustomed to the stifling, vitiated atmosphere of such a school-room that he notices it less as he remains subjected to its influences. It is a fact of common knowledge that a certain proportion of children of the school age, especially in our larger cities, come from homes where life must be lived, if at at all, under most serious disadvantages. The narrow, dirty alley, the close, filthy surroundings within doors, the food poorly prepared and often inadequate in quantity, what chance of health and life have children thus reared? But if the school-room is bright, attractive and wholesome by reason of sunny and well-ventilated rooms, even children of the less favored class get only what they are fairly entitled to, and to that extent are compensated for the misery of their home life. In one of those foul, ill-ventilated school-rooms let the obvious experiment be tried of opening all the windows for a few moments, and what a sudden transformation ensues. The animated countenances, the alert expression, testify more surely than words to the grievous wrong thus summarily remedied; and while such a method, of course, cannot be relied upon regularly, it points out the direction from which permanent relief must come. I do not wish to convey the impression that, in our Commonwealth, the evil alluded to is more common and glaring than elsewhere. It is not necessary to institute comparisons, and surely it would be unwise to overstate any wrong for the sake of effect. The facts are what we have to deal with, and the appropriate remedy. In Massachusetts we are less concerned to know the origin of good ideas and improved methods than to adopt them when, after due investigation, they seem to be worthy of it. The story goes, that the poet Whittier once lent a volume of Plato to a neighbor, and when the book was returned, asked, " Well, friend, how 66 Idid thee like Plato?" First rate," said the farmer, "I see he's got some of my ideas." Wherever the ideas originate, if they are good, we want them, and if our experience in using them is worth anything to others, we are always glad to pass along benefits received. Nothing aids more in the enforcement of laws such as those entrusted to us, than the general enlightenment through the newspapers which it is always possible for us to secure. An illustration occurs to me which I will state. We have a recent statute relating to ventilation of public buildings and school-houses, and also factories and workshops. In one or two instances there was a little friction, because the impartial enforcement of the law would, in certain instances, entail some expense which the local authorities desired to avoid. Possibly they did not like to admit the existence of such evils among them. At all events, when the last Legislature met, an effort was made to amend the law in effect, to provide for the constitution of a board of arbitration, to be chosen in each case as it arose, and to decide whether in that particular case the law should be enforced. It was a serious principle which was sought to be engrafted upon the statute. The press ventilated the subject thoroughly and the law remains unchanged. It is often said that you cannot make men moral by law, and that may be true, but if a man is disposed to be immoral, the law can make him very uncomfortable. And in respect to all legislation placed upon the statute books for the benefit of the industrial population, it is a very common and cheap form of criticism frequently heard, "That it interferes with individual rights." Men should labor as many hours a day and under just such conditions as they please. If they desire to send their wives and children into factories and workshops a dozen hours a day, it is their personal right to do so. Why should the State interfere? What right has it to control individual freedom in such respects? But it is too late to raise such questions. The case has been brought to the tribunal of public opinion. The evidence has all been heard. The arguments have been made and the judgment has been given. It is recorded on the statutes of many States, and while under our republican form of government it cannot be said that such judgment is irreversible (for the people who make laws can repeal them), still no man in his senses expects a reversal of the solemn judgment of the people, made in their representative capacity, and embodied in their laws, framed after patient investigation and earnest discussion, and generally conceded to be necessary to the welfare of countless thousands within their borders. In the long run justice cannot be defeated by ingenious technicalities, and we know that the cry "individualism " has been made in more than one community to cover the perpetration of wrong acts. It was the extreme assertion of that idea that generated the disturb |