'The task of convincing the owners. fof shops that It was important for the study to be made, and of persuad~ ing the workers to' submit to exymination—ineluding the drawing of drop of blood—fell to the skilful handling of Miss Dju Vu-bao. To owners she used the argument that If China were to industrialize, it was essential that the health problems of industry should be understood, lest Industrialization prove to the ultimate disadvantage of the people. To the workers she had to advance the argument that in submitting themselves to examination they perhaps made more healthful situations possible in the future. It says much for the reasonableness of all concerned that her efforts met with success.
Dr. Gear's deductions on the age of the workers is of interest, 00 per feet. of the 189 workers examined were below 20 year Jand 63 per cent. had been in the Industry less than five years. Only 38 of the 189 were Shanghai born, the remainder having come from "the country districts, and 61 per cent. had been in Shanghai less than five years. All these facts point to the frequently-changing labour force and the employment of young workers, many of whom are recruited by the contract system.
"Thus develops", "the evil situation and can callously discard any worker who is not giving the last ounce or who objects to the terrible conditions his employment.... The onset of illness or the suffering of an injury so tragic and fatal blow to any, employee. Indeed industry is a To-lent less machine in Shanghai'
Dealing with the physical and medical conditions discovered, out of 180 workers examined "ess than one-third could be assessed as being free from gross defects and disease and in a At condition to work." yes, Ear Nose Affected Among the eye conditions noted, 18 eases of trachoma were found, and no fewer than $2 of conjuntivitis. "Though the trachoma cases are not specifically relaied to the occupation, is considered on the other hand that the large number of cases of conjunctivitis is largely the result of the dark and dirty conditions of the ]works. The performance of printing} recesses taxes the eyesight considerably. A remarkable result of the study was the number of recent and old cases of "otitis media," and Dr. Gear points out that the disability that arises in the varying degrees of destness is a great handicap in the struggle for existence. The nasal conditions revealed 33 cases of rhinitis—may be considered to be al industrial condition, for the atmos boric state of the workshop was Obviously conducive to. respiratory tract irritation. "Thick dust lay over everything, and the heavy activity proceeding in the machine rooms con Stantly scattered it. Pungent fumes arose from several charcoal. burners and to these were added the fumes from the lead crucibles. Other dusts canie from the filing and cleaning of the lead type and from the various colour powders used. Especially noticeable was the bronze dust. Three represent the Shanghai creditors would be better known to" the cases of ulceration present on the cal with matters of the bank. nasal septum were found in workers using bronze colouring powder, which was "found to be much disliked by those forced to ase Dealing shortly with dental con ditions, fonallar conditions, venereal Alsease, the report goes on to indicate that the incidence of general skin Centditions such ae scabies, eczema Stic dermatitis wat s0\ common warrant' particular. case tion. "The great mefority complained bittery of being the victims of bed bug activity ofering to injuries, Dr. Gear states! "All the manual workers bore Scars of burns and injuries caused by their traces. Crushed or ambulated fingers from machinery accidents were found in sie workers: Sven in the Snail printing "works machinery "as PTeause of istilty ie not the ignored Tubereulosts. Comm Finally, dealing with tuberculosis, the report draws attention to its general high incidence in the Chinese community, but goes on to indicat that "employees who spend whole existence, eating, sleeping and working in dirty, illeventilated, dark confined rooms, eating and drinking Out of the same utensils..." would be likely to show signs of the dise Three definite cases of active pulm ary tuberculosis were found in the 189 cases, and seven further cases classified as strongly suspicious of the early stages were discovered.
in order to establish whether or not there was definite lead poisoning resulting from occupation, it was necessary to obtain a specimen blood, which the investigators suc jeeeded in doing from all but four workers." The. detailed microscopic examination of blood specimens was carried out by Mrs. Gear. With the ald of the information so obtained, together with other subjective factors, the following conclusions were reached:
Definite cases of tend poisoning Taking the frst two alone, 10 per cent. of the workers in the works [studied showed they were the view Ums of lead poisoning, which is therefore shown to be a "definite and dangerous hazard in the Shanghai printing works.
Dr. Gear, in conclusion, sees that perhaps the most useful result of the relatively pioneer effort undertaken that it proved that such studies were able to be made. "When the Programme was first mooted much scepticism was expressed even those with long experience in China." The study has shown that much can bbe learned, and it is hoped that ad-@itlonal investigations in. the future will place the instrument of knows edge in the hands of those who are {in @ position to use it in the direction of betterment.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.