Industrial Salvation, Inhumane Nation
By Natasha Oslinger
We as a nation have ridden a tidal wave of innovation to the peak of discovery, and soon, we will go over the tipping point. The tides are changing and they are changing fast, those living in the country are moving to the city for work in all new textile factories. This may be good for us, the upper class of England, but has shown to deadly for them. As we are profiting from the lower classes work, they are being beaten, starved, and paid next to nothing. What is our society worth if we resort to inhumane actions in order to achieve progress? For a stronger, greater Britain, we must learn to find a balance between change for the better, and benefit for each class.
Advantaged with industrialization, our country is a leader in innovation and a pioneer on the path of change. Merchants come from far and wide, trekking to purchase our cotton cloth, although the machinery is expensive, our economy’s strong foundation can support anything. Innovations such as the steam engine have led us to become the world’s greatest coal manufacturer, and the current demand for iron tools shows prospect for a wealthier future. Along side these flourishing industries, the recent development of railways has expanded our abilities of communication, and has opened a window to many future possibilities. Although these innovations have fueled societies drive for possibility, they have left quite a strain on the common working man. With coal replacing firewood and being an instrumental factor in the production of bricks, dyes, and glass, as well as being a key factor in running railroads, mining conditions have worsened. Underground workers everyday must face the risk of drowning, gas poisoning, suffocation, infection, lung disease, and cave-ins. Even children and women are put in danger, for they are the only ones small enough to fit in small underground passages. “The pit is very wet where I work, and the water comes over our clog-tops always….My clothes are wet almost all day long,” said Betty Harris, a coal miner. Are the risks worth the reward? For the mine workers, no. But, from the view of society and the overall innovation of humanity, absolutely. Perhaps a common ground could be made, though. If working conditions for those who spend their days laboring in the mines were improved, maybe there would be a lower death toll. If we were able to lower the risk factor, we would raise the reward, making Britain a more powerful nation, and a more prosperous one.
Those who risk their lives in the mines are not alone in needing improved working conditions, though. In the past, people of Britain worked as farmers, animal raisers, cloth weavers, or craftspeople. Men, women, and children worked hard from the morning to the evening, and earned enough to get by. Now, things are changing. More and more people are moving out of their small villages to work in mines and factories. On a common day, a worker will work for around 13 hours and in heat reaching up to 80-degrees. These factors are filthy; they have have hazardous conditions, low ceilings, locked windows and doors, and terrible lighting. Workers would be considered slaves if not for the money, or might I say, lack there of. On an average week, a man can make up to 15 shillings, a woman 5, and a child a mere 1 shilling. Some weeks, they would make even less. If business during the time is bad, or a worker is to show up late, their low wages would be reduced even lower. As this industry grows, more people are moving to urban areas, which has created a huge population boom in cities. 100 years ago, about 8 in every 10 English people lived in the country, now, only 5 in every 10. Because of the population increase, factory owners rushed to build houses in the city. Which, because of their careless construction, are dark, dank, and badly ventilated. Poor families often live in basements or outhouses, and those without jobs are forced to live on trash ridden streets. These living condition are unfit for those who work hard every day, or anyone for that matter. Workers in cities have a life expectancy of a mere 17 years, where as country dwellers are expected a full 38. Things need to change, and they need to change soon. These hard working individuals are thinking of the good of society, slaving to make goods that boost our economy and better our way of life, and they deserve proper compensation. If we raised their wage and improved their work and living conditions, they wouldn’t die so young. If we were to make a required minimum wage of 2-3 shillings a day, their lives would be drastically improved, and it would hardly cost us anything. They will have peace of mind and plenty of food, and we will have harder, happier workers. If these improvements can be made, their work will lead to our prosperous economy; we need to support, so we can thrive.
The families that work hard to support our industrial nation are not making enough money to survive, because of this, the women and children are being forced to work. In order to get extra income, women spend long hours away from their family, bent over large and hazardous machines. Doing this work often cracks their rips, and makes them more susceptible to lung disease. Still, these women work long and hard for a few shillings a week, and they do it for their children. Where must the children be while their parents are hard at work? Not at school. Not at home. They too are working from morning to evening in order to get some extra money. These kids are small, weak to the bone from malnutrition, but their families cannot afford to properly feed them. Some start working as early as six years old, and if they are work slow, they will be beaten. This is no way to treat women or children. They are making our clothes, shoes, and cotton, they deserve our respect, and they deserve safety. Every day, they risk their personal safety for the good of society. If we pay them more, give them more breaks, better health care, sturdy houses, and basic human rights, they can help build us a better England.
Times are changing, our society might be advancing, but the lower class is collapsing beneath us. We are on the verge of revolution. Coal mining, railways, and our overall advances are helping us achieve greatness, but, we cannot hold our heads high. Citizens are being abused, mistreated, and disrespected while we call ourselves a civilized society. Women and children are dying because they are being forced to work under unsafe conditions, and why? So that the men profiting off of them can make a few extra shillings. Workers deserve a safe work space, a higher wage, and feeling of security when they risk their lives for the good of society. They deserve to be treated as people, not just disposable workers that make our clothes. We are no longer a nation, but an industrial nation, and we are approaching the tipping point of innovation. Do we stay still? Or, do we go over the edge, and finally make the changes necessary to fix society's view on the lower class and truly become a supreme people. The tides are changing, do we follow their path, or do we forge our own?
Quote
“The industrial revolution has tended to produce everywhere great urban masses that seem to be increasingly careless of ethical standards.”
―Irving Babbitt,
By Natasha Oslinger
We as a nation have ridden a tidal wave of innovation to the peak of discovery, and soon, we will go over the tipping point. The tides are changing and they are changing fast, those living in the country are moving to the city for work in all new textile factories. This may be good for us, the upper class of England, but has shown to deadly for them. As we are profiting from the lower classes work, they are being beaten, starved, and paid next to nothing. What is our society worth if we resort to inhumane actions in order to achieve progress? For a stronger, greater Britain, we must learn to find a balance between change for the better, and benefit for each class.
Advantaged with industrialization, our country is a leader in innovation and a pioneer on the path of change. Merchants come from far and wide, trekking to purchase our cotton cloth, although the machinery is expensive, our economy’s strong foundation can support anything. Innovations such as the steam engine have led us to become the world’s greatest coal manufacturer, and the current demand for iron tools shows prospect for a wealthier future. Along side these flourishing industries, the recent development of railways has expanded our abilities of communication, and has opened a window to many future possibilities. Although these innovations have fueled societies drive for possibility, they have left quite a strain on the common working man. With coal replacing firewood and being an instrumental factor in the production of bricks, dyes, and glass, as well as being a key factor in running railroads, mining conditions have worsened. Underground workers everyday must face the risk of drowning, gas poisoning, suffocation, infection, lung disease, and cave-ins. Even children and women are put in danger, for they are the only ones small enough to fit in small underground passages. “The pit is very wet where I work, and the water comes over our clog-tops always….My clothes are wet almost all day long,” said Betty Harris, a coal miner. Are the risks worth the reward? For the mine workers, no. But, from the view of society and the overall innovation of humanity, absolutely. Perhaps a common ground could be made, though. If working conditions for those who spend their days laboring in the mines were improved, maybe there would be a lower death toll. If we were able to lower the risk factor, we would raise the reward, making Britain a more powerful nation, and a more prosperous one.
Those who risk their lives in the mines are not alone in needing improved working conditions, though. In the past, people of Britain worked as farmers, animal raisers, cloth weavers, or craftspeople. Men, women, and children worked hard from the morning to the evening, and earned enough to get by. Now, things are changing. More and more people are moving out of their small villages to work in mines and factories. On a common day, a worker will work for around 13 hours and in heat reaching up to 80-degrees. These factors are filthy; they have have hazardous conditions, low ceilings, locked windows and doors, and terrible lighting. Workers would be considered slaves if not for the money, or might I say, lack there of. On an average week, a man can make up to 15 shillings, a woman 5, and a child a mere 1 shilling. Some weeks, they would make even less. If business during the time is bad, or a worker is to show up late, their low wages would be reduced even lower. As this industry grows, more people are moving to urban areas, which has created a huge population boom in cities. 100 years ago, about 8 in every 10 English people lived in the country, now, only 5 in every 10. Because of the population increase, factory owners rushed to build houses in the city. Which, because of their careless construction, are dark, dank, and badly ventilated. Poor families often live in basements or outhouses, and those without jobs are forced to live on trash ridden streets. These living condition are unfit for those who work hard every day, or anyone for that matter. Workers in cities have a life expectancy of a mere 17 years, where as country dwellers are expected a full 38. Things need to change, and they need to change soon. These hard working individuals are thinking of the good of society, slaving to make goods that boost our economy and better our way of life, and they deserve proper compensation. If we raised their wage and improved their work and living conditions, they wouldn’t die so young. If we were to make a required minimum wage of 2-3 shillings a day, their lives would be drastically improved, and it would hardly cost us anything. They will have peace of mind and plenty of food, and we will have harder, happier workers. If these improvements can be made, their work will lead to our prosperous economy; we need to support, so we can thrive.
The families that work hard to support our industrial nation are not making enough money to survive, because of this, the women and children are being forced to work. In order to get extra income, women spend long hours away from their family, bent over large and hazardous machines. Doing this work often cracks their rips, and makes them more susceptible to lung disease. Still, these women work long and hard for a few shillings a week, and they do it for their children. Where must the children be while their parents are hard at work? Not at school. Not at home. They too are working from morning to evening in order to get some extra money. These kids are small, weak to the bone from malnutrition, but their families cannot afford to properly feed them. Some start working as early as six years old, and if they are work slow, they will be beaten. This is no way to treat women or children. They are making our clothes, shoes, and cotton, they deserve our respect, and they deserve safety. Every day, they risk their personal safety for the good of society. If we pay them more, give them more breaks, better health care, sturdy houses, and basic human rights, they can help build us a better England.
Times are changing, our society might be advancing, but the lower class is collapsing beneath us. We are on the verge of revolution. Coal mining, railways, and our overall advances are helping us achieve greatness, but, we cannot hold our heads high. Citizens are being abused, mistreated, and disrespected while we call ourselves a civilized society. Women and children are dying because they are being forced to work under unsafe conditions, and why? So that the men profiting off of them can make a few extra shillings. Workers deserve a safe work space, a higher wage, and feeling of security when they risk their lives for the good of society. They deserve to be treated as people, not just disposable workers that make our clothes. We are no longer a nation, but an industrial nation, and we are approaching the tipping point of innovation. Do we stay still? Or, do we go over the edge, and finally make the changes necessary to fix society's view on the lower class and truly become a supreme people. The tides are changing, do we follow their path, or do we forge our own?
Quote
“The industrial revolution has tended to produce everywhere great urban masses that seem to be increasingly careless of ethical standards.”
―Irving Babbitt,