Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 6.djvu/626

 6l2 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

often worse than those of the Poles. The whole district is "cluttered up" both in and out of doors. There is much crowd- ing, although less than among the Italians. The homes are not well built, are without all modern improvements, and many of them are rear tenements. The home conditions are bad because the people are poor, and the people are poor, as someone has expressed it, because of "economic wounds, the lack of means of making a living." The young women never go into domestic service, and not many in proportion to the number of men are found in the sweat-shops. They prefer to work down town in the department stores, and are remarkably free from any immo- bility which might keep them nearer home.

In the ten shops visited there were fifty-six males and sixty females almost as many males as females while among the Bohemians there were more than three times as many females. In some shops more men than women were employed, and in these and in cloak and suit shops the wages were higher than among the Bohemians. Almost invariably the men and boys were smoking cigarettes, no matter whether there were girls in the room or not. 1 The shops were poorly lighted and ventilated, and were cold from lack of heating, in midwinter. Foot-power was used in every shop, and only two out of the ten reported full work for the entire year.

Although the Poles are scattered more or less throughout the city, there is some concentration of them on Clybourn ave- nue in the twentieth ward, and more especially on Ingraham street in the sixteenth ward. Their homes are worse than those of the Jews, and they are more crowded. They are industrious and frugal. There is a notable difference between the Polish girl and the Jewish girl. The ambitions of the latter have been mentioned ; the former is afraid to go away from home, and is therefore at the mercy of the nearest contractor. She is held fast in the fetters of her religion and her ignorance.

Of all the sweat-shops visited personally most complete information was secured about the Polish shops. As partially indicated already, the Poles work for a little less than the

1 Personal investigation. See accompanying tables.