Triangle Shirtwaist Fire: A Look Back

March 25, 2011 marks the 100-year anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, which claimed the lives of 146 garment workers, mainly Jewish and Italian immigrant women, in New York City. The disaster eventually led to the establishment of better working standards and safety regulations.

Women's Wear Daily sent over its coverage of the 1911 event. Some excerpts from the fashion newspaper's page one story:

The lesson for the sewing trades to learn from the tragic fire at Washington place, New York, the terrible loss of life, seems to lie in the neccessity of more discipline and less selfishness which is concealed under the guise of personal rights. We are individualists in this country, and yet there comes a time in every industry when the individual should consider and should be made to consider the rights of a community.

This catastrophe will bring vividly to mind and will create the opportunity to inaugurate a fire drill and other protective measures in places where many people are employed. This would not alone guard against the repetition of so terrible a holocaust but would mean the starting of better discilpline in many shops in the sewing trades.

Life today in the United States is lived at a tremendous pace. So many people are thrown into very close contact with others so that the slightest mistake by one may injuriously affect many.

Take a look at the scans below -- a little blurry, but surely an interesting read. And head over to WWD.com for the latest in fashion news.

Comments

[timetocookdinner]

11:25 PM on 03/25/2011

So sad to remember this tragedy. I suppose we will attain a healthy balance of free market/government regulation....someday.

[WrongApeture]

07:09 PM on 03/25/2011

Aren't the Tea-Party-Republican Governors trying to take the country BACK to this WONDERFUL time???

[Angie Daniels]

10:07 PM on 03/26/2011

Yes.

[LMPE]

04:35 PM on 03/25/2011

The Tealibangelical corporatists want to take the country back to the "good old days" when incidents like the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire were a common event.

[MESavvy86]

02:10 PM on 03/25/2011

This was a truly terrible event. I found this chilling eyewitness account from UPI reporter Bill Shepherd who was at the scene before firefighters or police. Tragic Photos included. http://bit.ly/ieLGON

[farmerlady]

09:37 AM on 03/27/2011

thank you for posting. clear language, very affecting. could have been written today.

[concernedazvoter]

01:46 PM on 03/25/2011

wow. The idea that these women died because of reckless regard for the working poor, must not be interesting enough for any comments. So here goes. The truly sad thing: talk to any Republican governor, lawmaker, etc out there and I'm pretty darn sure that they wouldn't mind going back to the good old days when this tragedy occured. I for one, honor these women who died. I plan to watch the HBO documentary as well.
I hope Congress is doing something to acknowledge this date, but again, I'm guessing not!

[wolfiegirl]

02:38 PM on 03/25/2011

They did go back to those good old days. They went to developing countries.

[cdnbystander]

03:58 PM on 03/25/2011

Exactly, and then have the gall to complain that the current admin is not creating jobs.

[concernedazvoter]

09:40 PM on 03/25/2011

Here as well...I'm pretty sure that there are some factories in garment districts that hire women too scared to speak their mind.

[pcflamingo]

06:10 PM on 03/25/2011

Presidential proclamation was issued

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/03/24/presidential-proclamation-100th-anniversary-triangle-shirtwaist-factory-

[concernedazvoter]

09:40 PM on 03/25/2011

Thank you for posting a link.