MIGRATION AND THE FACTORY WORKER, 
17 
every opportunity of returning there and must cherish constantly the 
hope that, sooner or later, he can leave the city finally behind. 
(6) EFFECTS OF MIGRATION. 
A Strange Environment. 
The effects of migration can be traced in nearly every phase 
of industrial life, and it will be necessary to refer to them In con- 
nection with various subjects. It is convenient here to give a brief 
analysis of the main results which migration produces, with a view to 
considering the attitude which should be taken towards it. The first 
fact to be noted is that the industrial worker is living in an environment 
which is strange to him, and the contrast between his original home and 
the scene of his work may be tremendous. We have already noted 
that some of the most important streams of migration cross language 
boundaries ; many sections of factory workers form, as it were, foreign 
colonies, surrounded by a language and a culture largely alien to them. 
This alone would tend to give an artificial character to industrial life ; 
the people have been uprooted and find themselves in a milien of 
strange traditions, or no traditions at all. The customs and sanctions, 
good and bad alike, to which they have been accustomed are all 
weakened. The ties which give village life its corporate and organic 
character are loosened, new ties are not easily formed, and life tends to 
become more individual. 
Dangers to Health. 
The health of the worker who is transported to the new environ- 
ment is often subjected to severe strain. In the first place, the climate 
bo which he is accustomed may be radically different from that in which 
he has now to live. The untravelled villager is very sensitive to climatic 
changes ; differences between one area and an adjacent one can be 
acutely felt by families that have known no change for centuries. The 
climatic differences between the Deccan plateau and the island of Bom- 
bay, or the United Provinces and the Bengal delta, are striking. At the 
same time as the change in climate is experienced, a change in diet has 
to be faced. We deal with the whole subject of diet and health in detail 
later, but it may be noted here that the change is not one from a diet 
suited to one climate to a diet suited to another. It is rather the re- 
duction, under economic necessity, of valuable elements of diet, and it 
accentuates the effect of the change from the wide fields and fresh air 
of the village to the cramped and often insanitary streets and lanes of 
the town. The habits of the villager in respect of sanitation and other 
matters are not easily altered and are fraught with peril in his new 
surroundings. There are additional dangers from sickness and disease. 
These are enhanced by the fact that many men are living singly although 
most of them have been and are married. To such the life of the city 
brings with it new and insidious temptations. Alcohol offers its dan- 
gerous relief to a fatigued body and an over-stimulated mind while 
gambling has an attraction not previously experienced for many who 
have few healthy distractions oven to them.