Page:The Laboring Classes of England.djvu/120

. A man of correct proportions will, in general, be about the same height as the length of the arms from tip to tip of the long fingers, when extended. I have frequently seen cases of factory deformities, in which the length of the arms thus, was six inches more than the altitude of the body; in my own case, this difference is eight inches. I have observed, that, so far from the ratio of these cripples being in proportion to the weight of the work to be done, it is directly the contrary; the woolen, which is the heaviest employment, furnishing the fewest cripples, and the silk, which is the lightest of all, the greatest number.

A person going through a silk mill, and viewing the operations of the various branches of the manufacture, would suppose that no human beings could be deformed and crippled by such light, clean, and beautiful work; consisting of little more than knotting threads of silk, clipping the edges of ribbon, and other things, which seem to a casual observer, more suitable for a lady's parlor than a factory. But when we look more narrowly into the matter, we find causes for the awful effects of factory labor in silk mills. It may seem a very nice thing for a child or young person to be placed near a frame and have nothing to do but knot the threads of silk as they break; but, if we take into consideration that they are to remain close by that frame for twelve hours per day, and never sit down, our astonishment at the great number of silk mill cripples will vanish. Let us suppose that these young persons had nothing to do whatever, but were compelled to walk over a space of ground four yards long, and one yard wide, for twelve hours per day, without having leave to sit down, or rest themselves in any way, except by leaning their knees against a rail which runs along; and this duty to be performed, day after day, and year after year, the conse-