View report page

187
[1903
notifications, and those received from the Medical Officers of Health of other districts (principally
from the City of London, Finsbury and Hackney), I have, during the year, called on 646 female
homeworkers, whom I had not previously visited. I found that 135 of these had given up work at
the time of my visit, or had removed, or were unknown at the addresses given. I inspected the homes
of the remaining 511. The conditions of these homes varied greatly, but the majority were
satisfactory as regards cleanliness. I found the work being done in kitchens, sitting rooms, bed
rooms, living rooms, and, in one or two cases, in separate work rooms. The workers were
principally:—women with home duties to perform, elderly women, or girls, who were delicate, or for
some other reason preferred working at home to going out to work. The pay is as a rule small, the
work irregular, and the worker has to provide machines, cotton, etc, and has to carry the goods to
and from the warehouse. Fortunately in most cases the work does not seem to be the sole means of
livelihood.
The names and addresses of 636 homeworkets employed by Islington employers, but living outside
the Borough, have been forwarded, during the year, through you to the Medical Officer of
Health of forty different districts in which they live.
Restaurant Kitchens.—In accordance with your instructions I have inspected the kitchens of 149
restaurants, dining rooms and tea shops. Some of these were scrupulously clean, others fairly so,
while a minority were dirty and insanitary Here, as in other districts, the kitchens of working
men's dining rooms—and which are usually on the ground floors—compare favourably, on the whole,
with those of more pretentious restaurants, where they are in the basement. One is impressed by
the fact that good management is the most essential point, as, with equal advantages, in one kitchen
there is nothing but dirt and disorder, while in another everything is clean and well kept The most
common defect which I found in the kitchens was the amount of vegetable and other refuse which
was allowed to accumulate on the premises. In some places most of the vrgetable refuse is burned
but in others it is only removed once a week and the dustbins are filled to overflowing. On removal
this refuse is, as often as not, carried through the kitchens in open baskets by the dustmen. More
frequent removal and the use of small dustbins which can be carried to the dust carts would be a
distinct reform. Insanitary conditions also arise from the poor lighting and ventilation of most of
the basement kitchens—and some of the stringent regulations which now apply to underground
bakehouses might with advantage be made to apply to such kitchens.
Miscellaneous Inspections.—These 107 inspections include inspections of the sanitary arrangements
in factories, steam laundries, etc., where women are employed, and of the three public conveniences
for women in the Borough -on which I have reported to you from time to time.
I refer to the results of my inspections under the following headings : —
Overcrowding.—The bad weather of the past year has made more marked the depression of trade
in the Borough, which has been noticeable since the beginning of the South African war. In most
of the workshops the number of persons employed has been smaller than usual I found, however,
13 overcrowded workrooms In these the overcrowding was abated upon intimation notices being
served.
Since 1895, when the amount of cubic feet required for each person was definitely stated in the
Factory Act, a great improvement has taken place as regards overcrowding. Now, most employers,
before opening a workshop or additional workrooms, have them measured, so that they may know
how many persons they may legally employ. The cards which this Public Health Department
supplies, stating the cubic capacity of rooms and the number of persons who may be employed in
each, are most useful. During the year I have distributed 294 of these cards.
Cleanliness.—The walls and ceilings of 130 workrooms, which I found in a dirty condition, have
been cleansed and whitewashed during the year
N 2