e of the most frequent
causes of prostitution. The fact that the great mass of working women
maintain their virtue in spite of low wages and dangerous environment is
highly creditable to them."--Final Report of the Industrial Commission,
1902, xix:927.

[175] See an article on this point by the Rev. F. M. Goodchild in the
"Arena" Magazine for March, 1896.

[176] In the course of inquiries among the Chicago religious missions in
1909, the author was everywhere informed that the great majority of
native prostitutes were products of the department stores. Some of the
conditions in these department stores, and how their owners have fought
every effort to better these conditions, have been revealed in many
official reports. The appended description is from the Annual Report of
the Factory Inspectors of Illinois, 1903-04, pp. ix and x:

"In this regard, and worthy of mention, reference might be made to the
large dry goods houses and department stores located in Chicago and
other cities, in which places it has been customary to employ a great
number of children under the age of sixteen as messenger boys, bundle
wrappers, or as cash boys or cash girls, wagon boys, etc. In previous
years these children were required to come to work early in the morning
and remain until late at night, or as long as the establishment was open
for business, which frequently required the youngsters to remain
anywhere from 8:00 to 9:00 o'clock in the morning until 10:00 and 11:00
p.m., their weak and immature bodies tired and worn out under the strain
of the customary holiday rush. In the putting a stop to this practice of
employing small children ten and thirteen hours per day, the department
found it necessary to institute frequent prosecutions. While our efforts
were successful, we met with serious opposition, and in some cases
almost continuous litigation, some 300 arrests being necessary to bring
about the desired results, which finally secured the eight hour day and
a good night's rest for the small army of toilers engaged in the candy
and paper box manufacturing establishments and department stores.

"In conducting these investigations and crusades the inspectors met with
some surprises in the way of unique excuses. In Chicago a manager of a
very representative first class department store, one of the largest of
its kind, gave as his reason for not obeying the law, that they had
never been interfered with before. Another, that the children