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The difference between the above total (753) and the number of
factories on the register (717) is accounted for by the various
businesses carried on in the tenement factories.
1. Sanitary Condition of Workshops, &c.
(a) Cleanliness.—Speaking generally, it may be said that the large
workshops, which are in the majority of cases situated in comparatively
new buildings, are kept in a clean condition. Many of these
have to do with the making of dress materials or wearing apparel,
and cleanliness is essential to success in such business. The same
cannot be said of a great number of small workshops situated in
or at the back of residential houses. It is almost impossible
to maintain cleanliness in small sheds in back yards. Sometimes,
too, the processes themselves are of a nature to make cleanliness
difficult. Perhaps 30 or 40 per cent, of these workshops are open
to criticism on account of uncleanliness. During the year, 145
workshops, out of 834 inspected, have been found to require notices
for cleansing.
(b) Air Space.— Taking the standard of 250 cubic feet per head as
laid down in Section 3 of the Act, it may be said that few Finsbury
workshops have been found in 1907 to be overcrowded. In only
5 cases has it been necessary to issue notices. In other cases a
slight re-arrangement of workers has provided that each person
shall have at least 250 cubic feet. In many of the large workshops
the air space provided is liberal.
(c) Ventilation.—It hns already been pointed out in previous
reports that the majority of workshops in Finsbury are provided
with sufficient means of ventilation, but that a certain number of
thean do not conform to the Section of the Act (7-i), which requires
that "sufficient ventilation shall be maintained." The means of
ventilation provided are not always taken advantage of, and it is
no easy matter to compel their use. If the windows of a workshop
are open at the time of inspection, the persons responsible appear to
be doing their best to maintain a pure atmosphere; and without a