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About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 23, 1908)
N LoiNDONS e f 1 It:,- : .., .-. I - . . 'if W I 4, ., .vatfyj.jM' V.. .ll .'iv'. j-jl '-.- ' -XW .i Ki- rt Her Sensational Ejcperi-1 ence of the Underworld Across the Sea SHICAGO is not the only city with a i . "iungle" And the ravening beasts capitalism seeking whom they . may devour, in the pages 'of a Siricfairian novel, are not confined by any means to the United States. Not if we may believe Olive Chris tian Malvery, a young woman who has already earned a unique reputation in Eng land by her clever writings and -uho lately raised a furor by publishing a book dealing largely with what she calls "the jungle of London." If we may believe her and she claims to have ferreted out the secrets of the terrible underworld herself the horrors of the Chi cago meat markets and stockyards are more than paralleled in London... Moreover, they are repeated in industry after industry, in in numerable phases of life, until London, it nould seem, after reading the book, must cry aloud with its iniquities and abominations. And in this connection it is interesting to note that Miss Malvery or Mrs. Archibald Mackirdy has traveled in the United States, where she Aerlarss mnditinns are hrttrr and , . t t , cleaner in every respect than they are in the industries and among the working people of F n eland " How decayed and putrescent meats arc prepared for consumption, how foods are adulterated, how women labor in degrading and nauseating conditions and the almost un believable conditions in which the poor live are revelations made after a first-hand investi gation. Eight years were spent by Miss Malvery in gathering her material. A young and re fined woman, she sought life as it was, lived 4. j- j 7. , it n ; uk LUiicii, Ullguncu UCT)CI J u Jivwcr gn t , . J -U -, , - J itr',at ziorked in sweatshops, stores and factories, prfiA nfttiretitir'thiti r c n hnrinniA tnrL'fd servea apprenticeship c.s a uarmaia, ttorA.ftf as a waitress, lived in hovels and among the most degraded in one street, indeed, discov ering a colony where young children were trained to thieve. M' ISS MALVERY. who several years ago was married to Archibald Mackirdy, for twenty five years United States consul at Muscat. Arabia, was born in India. In her veins flows the Cilood of Indian princesses. But in her the dreamy temperament of the Indian was stirred by the. high spirit coming from Scotch ancestry and tempered by the artistic spirit of a French inheritance. Imbued with high ambitions, she went to Ixindon when in her teens to study music. While a student at the Royal College she studied dramatic art under Beerbohm Tree. Three years of rttudy, then she appeared In the role Qt singer, lecturer and reciter. Much of her work was among working girls She entertained both In the drawing room and guilds In factory districts. 6truck by; the shallow and Insincere lives of the rich, and Hie' bard, unhappy lives of the poor, she be came Impressed with the sense of doing something to help the unfortunate. How did they live? From what did they suffer? What could be done for them? It was the desire to learn their needs that im pelled her to become one of them one with the ros ter, the flower girls, the fishwives, the factory hands, one In that teeming, festering underworld where, she say a. revelations came as startling ,n those that greeted John in Patmoa. Mis Malvery's experience began with work In a box factory, where he secured a Job as learner. "I was sent up to a girl whom I found at work on a bench in a long room crowded with other benches and girls My task was to work for her at no wages for one month After this 1 was to he put on piece work myself. This arrangement meant that I had to give my time to this girl for a month In return for the Instruction she could give." One year training. Miss Malverr learned, would be required before she could earn six shillings. Eighty girls and young women were employed in this place They were in charge of foremen who. she declared were able to ahow favoritism to the girls One of the girls' choice amusements was the "penny "op" One of these Miss Malvery attended "This was a dance given in a back parlor of a small public house." r,e writes. "I sat against the wall and watched some of these young creaturee disport them !ve. The young men took them out occasionally to the br and treated them to drinks 'We did not get home until i: orlok i-id I fojnd thst these ven.r.g expeditions made it very difficult for us to rfse Tn the morning In time for our work ' Of the work she says: "I used to grow fslnt very often In tb cardboard box factory the air was bad. the light was bad too and the lack of rod food nd.led to the hardship of1 the work. No women earned quite 1 IS a wek in this factorv, and we had to work overtime, s-d ,-.ften workers were obliged to go out I1L There as abso lutely no thouerhl for the employee yet In lookirg over the fnsncial columns rf a paper I saw the yesr s oiTiueni pain ey tnie very lacrory ana the profits were most excellent " Among thee factory girl. M! Vslrerr declares a festlon for gambling Is rampart In almost ever actory, sh ears there Is a 'starting price b-rk-traker." and on Faturdaye trd In spsre moment ther weald gather and eagerly dieevas the merits of race koreet i - ; : , i v v...;. v j i nil i mm mtu mm rm n r Afft 5' cfiiiw-i - ' III. . . vx-as f r . 'if-v.'.i:Aj!t5 I It S ' 1,1' . Iff J 1". y ar,! In the aerated water concerns, where many women are employed, she found conditions to be alarming. Explosions of glass and broken machinery are al- WQys iinmll,t.,u, a.d m one year. ma. m women were injured. "ily exiic-rience In a Jam factory was very difficult tr endure ' slie writes. "ln iam factories, tin box fac- tories and fur sewing- houses the workers are often of a vei v idii'ii class. In these branches of trade many mariiri women work, and the behavior and lanfc nape cf these women is generally bad. "Many of ttie women used to keep 'Saint Monday.' That is. "tt.i.-. used to drink heavily on Sunday, and be so unfit for work on Monday that they were oblieed to slay nwav or work half time only." t o in men t i n on tiie intolerably lilthy conditions in these places, the fair InvestiKator says; "KiiKland Is a rich country, et in America they Kive women toilers splendid clubs and fine eating houses, bright and comfortable places where they can enj.iy the companionship of their lovers, brothers and husbands under happy conditions. They gmard their people by such societies as the Consumers' Leaitui." Her experience in the first Jam factory was mild compared to that in others, line dealer bought the cheapest, and. consequently, decayed fruit. "It may be some little compensation." she comments, "to the nilS(,raMe toners to think that a tine iadv with aii the dainty tastes fostered by great wealth and elegant ;.,surroun(ljnKS may perhaps, partake of some pre- uerved delicacy which has heen made in filthy and in sanitary workshops by suffering- and dirty people. s the Silk Hat to Pass into History? (T l v; '? w 5Si 0 72vs was 5yfisb a? Che Sj Gmuv?? $ovey?pe G OIN(i! (ioingl (June: The Summer Ci i rl f No. foarnrthinft less attractive, but a more important thing to many mm the 8ilk hat! That's it. They say ;t is puihR-. Or, rather, that it has already pons) in Ixnrl.n. This is the sad fact at hast, it will hp hailed with sorrow with that staid and respectable coterie of rhop-whLskered gentlemen whose embonpoint is tittinly accentu ated by the crowninp of the hirh ?ilk hat. 1 he Summer Girl is perennial. So, truth to ttll, t-t-emed the high silk hat. Put it seems they hare decided on its extinction, and it r.o longer ap pears save on purely formal occasions. Sometimes not even then. o NFl ef the mo,t impressive 'ghts at the rr.m I rnco-Brlt;h Krrltlon In Urlrni the pageant of frock-coated gentlemen topped off by silk hats "l it a f uneralr' asked a rabby "FunerrT." chewed a cockney hov. with scorn. "Them fashun p.atfa welkin' fr the new clothe men " An1 r it seemed So. It seme1 to th"uiMt rf rit'res. who. In the r:r f the high ihk hat.' had Eever wtne4 inch tight "Ten thousand men" Fifteen thousand'" "Repre sentatives of the tatters' asaociatioe '." "High silk THE OREGON SUNDAY JOURNAL. PORTLAND. SUNDAY MORNING. AUGUST 2 1903 Jungle; A Wqn$ Ieriemge In one shop the women were all desperately dirty. Many of them spent their nights on tho sUeet. one had a skin disease, others were Hi. There was no place there where the workers could Wash their hands. "We were at the factory at 7 in the morning and worked all day, with about ten minutes f,,r food at noon and ten minutes abut 1. untit o'clock, thus exceeding the working limit allowed by the factmy act. It was our business to pick as rapidly, ns possible the stems and lean's from t!,e ft oil i;i ..to- hasxei and throw the stuff thus prepared i.'.t-. thf ,.;,.-r, ready to be can ied away to the boiling rton.." USED UNSALABLE FRUIT 1 he fruit was not washed. Lsual.y it able stuff bought cheap and broug:,t ti tli. Halt I erir.cn 1 1 ng . Adulterants wet.- ::.-i. In a marmalade factory ureal ir.ttt'.e .. peel w ere brought m ai d i.'d in i: e n ,i , ;f; .ietly. A stoiy m cl ri-u la; i: ai:....r:g -,...i that these were swept at i.igiit off tiie s: scaveii'fis. fa.-tory "1 had no means of veti: i:-,g t:. writer declares, "but this 1 .1" ki v which came in great basket e e deca y. "The enrious pari "f the f..1 seems to me the maie'oiis- w a - iti ous owners of these fact cries can tt looking stuffs from t!,- I -If d". a o nt. till' . e . ranges a static of 1 ! e r : : , g n a b' i : the i 1 1 1- e : i i . oit .jiiiti nlc and d ise t s.'d cJtySoveJ&y. hats!" "Popularity '" "V. - - 1 professional criers hi..e ! . . a. hat In stentorian tones, . . - a marched through i.he ex...' ; and moving amon tne ;i- , ..- "I never saw so man. i.-r. m . a In London." declare. I a v..1- 'ir -a.- . "Why. don't ou know . answered a InJonir Ir hat mah ufact u rer a ser.t c: t high atlk hat." "Do you mean to ear." ! Itor, "that they no longer t " London, the -home of trie hut . t. k "Not impossible but tr . i given it up Trey een ma: siona. And the srrro. of r .a. rt. -. dressed, hi ere one n , . r '. their employer wttrlr.i s k ' hats, even capa. Oh thirst ::. V. ( -- "Well. I guess so." rep. led the i: gasted way. According to rpor's th '-" - hat emp.oves f.i.ed ti rv . f high silk hat- Pa r. k t - e ' ' Mock brokers donned -a':' ' A r 1 Ik ..:' -i. s . . k hats i l -u ri accustomed to the high silk i s i because of the ttd of pjhlic -. i , a n The silk hat In London irori :, To rerTi" 'as b in m A rlr ft vis If is rl;,a 'l t V I'-''' Ian fossils In the muum It r f v '" bandhoxe a a aarred tV-i a-.-l '- c . 1 -'' said to hare Inaur jrt1 -' - .t - - 1 i 'e ilalir with the reverem- mlt-. ' -, ' ' -' " placea: yea. place whre a-cestcn gae up thefr Urea. If It were on a iciTf.d' material. There are the usual dyeing and other proc esses, and these have evidently been brought to auch a stale if perfection that, in appearance at least, the prepared articles glvo no hint of their unsavory i . i 1 j, i n . " Her experience in the meat Industry caused Miss Malvery to become a vegetarian, except, she says, when she could net meat she positively knew to be good. It is customa r , she declares, among the farmers to s.-nd all disase l or tuberculous cattle to London to be sold as fiiiriu meat. Ity advertising t. ai she wished to buy a butcher's business Miss Malveiy was enabled to examine many slaughter hi with a large The I'.e: lal ge ui:i,.i i.a.oe til al i -. .-i,e ftnaily got a Job as bookkeeper it pin king concern. act. ii y 1 u orked in was owned by a and a v e : y rich one. It Is run in a b. e:i familiar for many ears to the iritis! I : , I -1 1 1 "A : n i ' 1 1 g ol he factor' . ere in 'lea I I s :,:,. live .ml nn ; Ions which arrived at the oas cases of meat, tongues, sheeps' w-i U'h were delivered here from . 111 e ; 1 L a M . 1 o I 1 . e ," p! "There Js a e'ass t 'ou s 1 v in the trade - of sheep that fr .Men I : 1 i e 1 ' I I ...ii.'. ; On .me oi'Vaion there s cnnils which- Is called face atian atrocities." This consists Sei via. They are frozen and a verv Indifferent condition, nme Into the factory where I d rain 's n nd o1 - w b n cases containing .e.irt which wre mildewed over.- t o n g . high hat in tha United i. -it h h-. u t - . t - e i a Hl!.i w e i - . ::.-: i .. I j 1 W . A r. v vi ele , pr'iri of : V- :. t te -. K : ' i r r r e .1 v e ' And other ira'.s ai. 1 ca, a Cr.e of tV. hit in I ,o:, i - r e v n ! u I "s t '. k . H-g- - .e .: w r. r. ir" aji f ,imi wear ' t ea-sor. s f i sa : 1 p-a . i e 1 r. " a j ' high , k bl What It kills c-il- n !tii ii 1 n -r, fa thev t - le lis- -i-s - h r e h ! 1 r a hf; e r : o n affx r 1 k n he cant v . ar, i - I". I-T d - ".AVi dec oleJ v Ir t r ik ha- o.itf ' A. A-.l t .-. e -.h-e 7 -,a . f h v a t 5 " -X ;f g.v rC . . p !..-- - 1 1 r. ' h k t l'ke'v -r.at A i.en.a- 'l ' r, aJ-t't 'he i" t r t.-i ..r or pur' " fan.-:-' X - 1out- 1 r v " f r r v ' :- P -t it malr. r, rr-f't 'o' T-rr 'i' " m--..M,.K ra: s s--"ipg lm- -' ' !- 1f . -- s--. -rr' Thee'ik ' .'..x -x a '- s Kr ".' re :r dsr r' traw ,,r. . tij la ..-.. cou.-.try w&att WU1 .-3. . and smelt so fearfully that the odor made me physio ally sick. "The whole air was polluted by the smell from these horrid cases, and yet every scrap of that dig eased offal was used in the preparation ., of potted. tongues and savories of various kinds." These meats, avers the doughty Investigator, were highly seasoned and doctored with preservative". The meat Inspectors of London number eight. There arrived In the city in 1906. according to MiM Mai verv. 4 15.96 tons of meat. There were slaughtered In the Metropolitan Cattle Market 173,904 animals. Ot this number luul were condemned as unlit for food at riverside wharves. This caused the packers to send the meat to the wharves in vans, delivering the meat to retailers direct, often frustrating meat Inspection. In one packing house Miss Malvery relates seeing; tongue and pork coming in lor pressing mat wore falling apart In decomposition. The staffs of worker in these places are reinforced by relays or tramps that drift in. The workers, as a rule, are dirty and un washed, and the establishments "a perfect miasma 0 standi and animal orfiranlsms. In the bakeries of London the young explorer di covered that foreign eggs were used. "The stench from these was absolutely loathsome,' she writes. "In a baker's shop where I obtained ! ployment in the West End they used eggs which war sent from Holland In great casks tnat is to say, egga were broken Into these casks and packed in Holla,nd. This Is decidedly a trade that ought to be stopped St once, for it was a usual occurrence mat inese eggs arrived In a seinl-deeayed state. They were well lu'aten un. and owing: to the flavorings used and th baking, It was remarkable how little apparently bad effect they had on the pastries and cakes they war used for. I'ondliions In the bakeries are described as tin' sneakahle In one of the biggest shops In an under ground vault dough was kneaded by the feet of man who stood in the troughs, perspiration rolling iron) their bodies. During her exploration Miss Malvery lived among the poorest. She penetrated the haunts or the miser nhles of London. To learn their lives she both worked and lived with the people of the underworld. As a flower girl she sold flowers on the streets; dressed In rags, she sang on the curbs, was Insulted, endured the innumerable Indlgnltleff of the flower sell er's and the street singer's lives. WORKED AS A WAITRESS .r: She w orked as a waitress In cheap code and fish' ileus's In small sweatshops she scrubbed floors, an dined the long tedious hours and studied the life. ike girls frequently receive presents from tha ma ' cast. nners who admire them," she says. "Flow ers. theater and concert tickets are given and many ai.ept these favors. Hut, as a rule, these young worn, en are loyal to sweethearts of 'their own class; and it woiiid make tunny a Junior clerk writhe If he could .- .ar the lecipient of his gifts -take him off that tsr .1.-.i-rit.e his piiysu.il peculiarities or affected mannar of speech to her sweetheart." As a barmai f she learned the hardships of this l'fe. T.'ese whom, she declares, are usually honest, alth v.igh haul, tie, I. and the ambition Is invariably tft niairv a gentleman. 'he of Miss .M.iuery s most Interesting experiences w her l.fe m 1'iovldence court. "A breeding placa for thieve-i," she nil s It "a. stagnant, festering back was--, of h'iniar it'-, where naagat but c: lino and d4s a .--e can !l . on 1 sh . ' About the ( ou't stood thirty house?. Washing was do--- ,., , p,,-, a. i- h I i"' f water ran to a n: k in t-ie u. i 'the '. t'e co'.i'. ti..,k!-.g it "a baleful bari. i rh M f a :- i s; : . i i r. g r.-is. :, t: rough i ut the neich- d M a :!'; ' at ti ls place and shs l .-o:-i .il-.d saw the Ufa. t ;-. t: i la.-e di 1 not even malt ird ojenly a c k n o wl edged that ss -that is, Ly dishonesty," aha ' Ms' f t a J et.T -" ,1 t " v 'live 1 on t : ' III" s. Fr d i y s -j nut there sallied forth Trr : gang, 'a no. like packs of wolves, pray ad it i.i ..in f . .- t-y. fi nuplug down upon the "Icoik.'u, w . t. fuJino-i lay thera open ta o!..i t-e'i of money. Children a le t . naiv. ,rai' l Into shop and Mnder '. . f i'.e i.i ..:ni. c riarket, filching tha fruit i - ir t. e.r t:nv h-:ci could (teal. a rr. a' out nickin'T some urchin f Or 1 1 1 SCI. -.. v i- .i t ii. we. i r.y a utile gang of children I of or. what was called a 'nickln" axpedl- .am a thieving raid. As they grsw older ; -e I.:, nif.l h y n.ote e x perlencad erlraiaals la ta f -t o - .ifttng' that is, till itealuig. :v v.ar rrov'idenee court turns oat ens or '.ci. -,i hooks' tiiat 1. pickpockets who gr rr -..tii'ir red' or 'pinching a leather,' whlc1 English means taking a watch or stealing a. the 't tve - r e alTi In Vouri'i!' -tirg den regularly t-urnad ent kal ev. ari f counterreiters went to their sunnh,.. tnent a respectable men go to Dusinasa o i.-.is 'r waa Misa Mai-Vary's ssperle .in o; ionrjon. 10 oeecrioa ail ja b To descrlba all horrors i and t.-.e v:r utterabie wretch d nee of ui e xr mi It would take twaaty lives at.h as hra.V- amful revnatlon of crime and misery such as I .;. lure to say no "heathen exintry eould esutrlveX The account of tha brtlltaat and brava young vein, a n. neediee to say, has stirrod Loadosy alrsvost ,t. eanlcaliv It has proToss-4 i Iseestlg-stlaa nrH Upton P.reialr's book lasplrad Is tbla untry. Ief p has brftusbt ta the attention af maay af f ' smug and centaated respectables al tha net I r metres)!! condiUeas Iflty t.ees t. dreamed eiutad. i
