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U S DEPARTMENT OF LABOR JAMES J DAVIS Secretary BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS ETHELBERT STEWART Commissioner BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES1 fcT BUREAU OF LA B O R S T A T IS T IC S W O e M I S C E L L A N E O U S S E R I E S HANDBOOK OF LABOR STATISTICS JUNE 1927 UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON 1927 jo A A D D IT IO N A L C O P IE S OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE PROCURED FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON D C AT 1 00 P E R C O P Y Contents Page Introduction Apprenticeship Types of apprenticeship plans Apprenticeship plan of the New York Building Congress Short term intensive training Cleveland plan of building trade apprenticeship Wisconsin plan Corporation apprentice schools Apprenticeship provisions in building trade agreements Union rules and scarcity of apprentices Arbitration and conciliation Railroad labor act of Federal legislation regarding railroad labor disputes prior to act of Act of Erdman Act of Newlands Act of Adamson Law Procedure under Government control Railroad Labor Board Principal arbitrations of Conductors and trainmen on Eastern railroads Employees of American Railway Express Co Newspapers Washington D C Stereotypers Detroit Eastern Massachusetts street railways Street railways of East St Louis and vicinity Carpenters Denver Ladies clothing industry Cleveland Conciliation work of the United States Department of Labor Child labor Extent and character of child labor Restrictions on industrial employment of children Age and hours of labor Educational and other restrictions Trend and difficulties of regulation Child labor in fruit and vegetable canneries Children in agriculture migratory workers Industrial home work of children Work accidents to minors Convict labor Extent and character of convict labor Systems of employment Sale within and without the State Sex of convicts Compensation Hours of work Historical comparison Competition of prison made goods hi IV CONTENTS Cooperation Page Cooperative societies in the United States Consumers cooperative enterprises Workers productive societies Pilot s association Credit and banking organizations Credit unions Labor banks Other banks Building and loan associations Housing societies Cooperative insurance Cost of living Trend in cost of living in the United States Changes for country as a whole 1913 to Changes in individual cities Cost of living in the United States and in foreign countries Income and expenditures of workingmen s families Cost of bringing up a child Employment statistics Sources and character of existing employment statistics Data on unemployment Statistics of employment offices Employment statistics from pay rolls Trend of employment in manufacturing industries Trend of employment in Employment by industries 1923 to Proportion of time worked and of force employed Employment by geographic divisions Industries covered Method of computing employment index numbers Employment on steam railroads Unemployment survey of Columbus Ohio Work of United States Employment Service Family allowances and child endowment Family allowances and child endowment Family allowances in foreign countries Recent development regarding family allowances in foreign countries Child endowment by the State Hawaii Labor conditions Labor conditions in Hawaii Occupational distribution Filipino laborers in Hawaii Work of Hawaiian Homes Commission Housing Building permits in principal cities of the United States Families provided fo r Volume of construction 1914 to Work of the United States Housing Corporation Living conditions of small wage earners in Chicago New York housing law CONTENTS V Immigration and emigration Page Immigration movement in Immigration into the United States 1820 to Quota restriction laws Industrial accidents Present status of accident statistics State accident records Accidents in the Federal Government service Accident record by industry Building construction Coal mines Coke ovens Explosives dyes and chemicals industry Iron and steel industry Metal mines Metallurgical works Paper mills Portland cement industry Quarries Railways electric Railways steam Rubber industry Textile industry Dust explosion hazards in industrial plants Eye conservation in industry Fatal accidents in various countries Industrial accident experience of American industry in Industrial Accident Prevention Conference Washington D C Rock dust as a preventive of coal dust explosions Development of national safety codes Industrial diseases and poisons Recent studies of industrial diseases and poisons Abrasive industry Dust hazard in the manufacture of arti ficial abrasive wheels Anthrax Cases in various industries Arsenic trichloride Effects of exposure on workers Benzol poisoning Final report of National Safety Council mittee Brass foundries Health hazards Carbon monoxide Physiological effects of low concentrations Carbon monoxide poisoning Diagnosis Carbon monoxide poisoning Treatment r 276 Chemical poisoning Effects and treatment D usts Eye diseases Symptomatology in occupational diseases Fireworks manufacture Phosphorus necrosis Fruit canneries Skin disease among employees Fur cutting and felt hat manufacture Occupational hazards Fur dyeing industry Health hazards in the use of intermediate dyes Gases and fumes Heat and humidity Heart disease Industrial aspects VI CONTENTS Industrial diseases and poisons Continued Recent studies of industrial diseases and poisons Continued page Hydrofluoric acid Effect of fumes Hydrogen sulphide gas Poisoning Irritant gases Action on respiratory tract Lead Excretion by normal persons Lead poisoning Deaths Lead poisoning Report of cases among motor car painters in New South Wales Manganese poisoning Report of six cases Mercury poisoning Mining industry Engineering hygienic aspects of dust elimina tion in mines Mining industry Health hazards S05 307 Nickel refining Control and treatment of nickel rash Phosphorus necrosis Photo engraving industry Health survey Printing trades Health survey 1922 to Printing trades Hygienic conditions Radium Effects of radioactive substances on health of workers Skin diseases Defects caused by various substances Skin diseases Lime dermatitis Skin diseases Steam laundries Effect of working conditions upon health of workers Tanning industry Occupational disease hazards Tetraethyl lead gasoline Report of Columbia University laboratory Tetraethyl lead gasoline Report of committee appointed by United States Public Health Service Watch and clock dial painting industry Insurance and benefit plans Types of insurance and benefit plans Sick leave with pay Factory workers New York office workers Experience with group life insurance in the metal trades Trade union benefits Insurance by organized labor Insurance provisions of Chicago street railway agreement Inventions by employees Rights of employees to their inventions S 45 General employees Employees under contract to make improvements Employment to develop employer s suggestion Summary Labor organizations Organization and membership of American trade unions Building trades Metals and machinery Transportation Paper printing and bookbinding Textiles and clothing CONTENTS VH Labor organizations Continued Organization and membership of American trade unions Contd Page Food liquor and tobacco Mining oil and lumber Glass and clay Woodworking Public service and amusements Other white collar unions Miscellaneous Industrial Workers of the World Knights of Labor Aggregate membership Collective agreements Collective bargaining by actors Labor relations in the lace and lace curtain industries Workers Health Bureau Union Health Center Legal aid Legal aid work in the United States Small claims courts Conciliation tribunals Industrial accident commissions Wage payment legislation S 6 The defender in criminal cases Legal aid organizations Hinimum wage Minimum wage laws and their operation Minimum wages for women and minors Minimum wage laws for men Negro in industry Migration of the Negro Industrial employment of the Negro Adaptation of Negroes to northern industrial conditions Vocational education in agriculture for Negroes Occupational distribution of population Occupational distribution of the gainfully employed Number and proportion of persons gainfully employed each census year Distribution by general divisions of occupations 1910 and Trend of occupations in the population Data from censuses of occupations Old age pensions and relief State old age pension laws S 6 Importance of problem of old age dependency Progress of the movement in the United States Provisions of existing laws Wisconsin and Montana laws in operation Criticisms of old age pension systems now in force Industrial old age pension plans Pension plans defined Purposes of pension plans Leading features of pension plans Objections to pension plans Deferred annuity systems VIII CONTENTS Old age pensions and relief Continued Page Cost and conduct of American almshouses Cost of American almshouses Acreage value of property income and maintenance Comparative cost of large and small institutions Institutions without inmates Self supporting institutions Public control Operation Philippine Islands Labor conditions Labor conditions and relations in the Philippine Islands Occupations and earnings Wholesale and retail prices Activities of Philippine Bureau of Labor Industrial accidents Strikes Labor organizations and unemployment Immigration and emigration Cooperative movement Physical examination of workers Physical examination of workers Extent and character of physical examinations in industrial establishments Physical examination of street railway employees Porto Rico Labor conditions Labor conditions in Porto Rico Industrial distribution of the population W ages Cost of living Child labor Housing Emigration Recommendations Prices Wholesale and retail Retail prices in the United States Retail prices of food in Monthly price changes of food 1916 to Food prices by cities How food prices are obtained Method of constructing index numbers of food prices Retail prices of coal Retail prices of gas Retail prices of electricity Determination of demand Wholesale prices in the United States Wholesale prices in Wholesale prices 1913 to Wholesale prices of agricultural and nonagricultural commodi ties Trend of wholesale prices in the United States 1801 to Method of computing index numbers of wholesale prices Wholesale prices in the United States and in foreign countries 1913 to CONTENTS IX Productivity of labor Page Meaning of labor productivity Labor productivity as measured by physical output Coal mining Common brick industry Cotton textile industry Paper box board industry Pottery industry S Labor productivity as measured by index numbers Automobile industry Cane sugar refining Flour milling industry Iron and steel industry Leather and boot and shoe industries Paper and pulp industry Petroleum refining Portland cement industry Rubber tire industry Slaughtering and meat packing industry Railroads Sickness statistics Disabling sickness among industrial employees Hookworm disease in cotton mill villages of Alabama and Georgia Strikes and lockouts Strikes and lockouts in the United States Place of occurrence of disputes Causes of dispute Industries and occupations affected Principal strikes and lockouts in Turnover of labor Labor turnover in American industry Labor turnover by industries General labor turnover records Causes of labor turnover Cost of labor turnover Unemployment insurance and stabilization of employment Unemployment insurance and stabilization of employment Trade union out of work benefits Insurance plans and guaranteed employment through collec tive agreements Cleveland garment industry plan Chicago clothing industry plan New York clothing industry plan Ladies garment workers fund New York City Cloth hat and cap industry Other guaranty plans Establishment insurance and guaranty plans Insurance plan of a paper and novelties company Unemployment sinking funds in two textile finishing es tablishments Unemployment compensation for discharged railroad em ployees Guaranteed employment in a soap manufacturing plant Guaranteed full time earnings in two paper mills Guaranteed time in the meat packing industry X CONTENTS Vacations Page Vacations with pay for wage earners Vocational education Organization and objects of Federal Board for Vocational Edu cation General provisions of Federal vocational education act Vocational education in the United States prior to passage of Federal act Developments under the Federal act Expenditures for vocational education Trade and industrial education service Agricultural education service Home economics education service Commercial education service Vocational rehabilitation Early investigations of vocational education Rehabilitation work of the United States Veterans Bureau Women in industry Extent and distribution of women in industrial employment Hours and earnings of working women Protective legislation for working women Effects of new inventions upon the field of women s employment Trend of employment of women and men Workers education Workers education in the United States Workers Education Bureau Brookwood Labor College Summer labor institutes Educational activities of International Ladies Garment Work ers Union Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America Headgear workers educational plan Schools for women Characteristics of trade union colleges Other workers education institutions Workmen s compensation Workmen s compensation in the United States as of January Recognition of the principle Progress of legislation Comparison of compensation and insurance systems Scope or coverage Occupational diseases Election Suits for damages Waiting time Compensation scale Medical benefits Administration and settlement of claims Accident reporting and prevention Nonresident alien dependents Wages and hours of labor Wage studies of the U S Bureau of Labor Statistics Union scale of wages for time workers Anthracite mining CONTENTS XI Wages and hours of labor Continued P a ge Bituminous coal mining 1924r Boot and shoe industry Common labor S1 Cotton goods industry Farm labor 1910 to January Foundries and machine shops Hosiery and underwear industry Iron and steel industry Men s clothing industry Motor bus operators Mo tor vehicle industry Naval Establishment civil employees Paper box board industry Pottery industry Railroads Sawmills Seamen Slaughtering and meat packing industry Woolen and worsted goods industry International comparison of real wages International comparison of trend of wages 1914 to The five day week in American industry Bakeries building trades laundries and printing and pub lishing Men s clothing industry Iron and steel industry Paper box board industry Foundries and machine shops Other trades and industries Optional five day week Five day week without reduction in total hours Five day week in summer Resolution of American Federation of Labor on shorter work week BULLETIN OF THE U S BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS NO 439 WASHINGTON JUNE 1927 HANDBOOK OF LABOR STATISTICS Introduction VERY year the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes from 25 to 30 bulletins each representing an original investigation in the labor field In addition the bureau regularly issues its Monthly Labor Review now in its 24th volume in which are pre sented not only the results of current bureau work but also digests and abstracts of studies and reports on labor subjects made by other authoritative agencies As a result after a short lapse of time the accumulated volume of material becomes so great as to make refer ence difficult particularly for those so situated that they do not have available a complete file of the bureau s publications The handbook here presented seeks to meet this difficulty by bring ing together in convenient form for reference purposes digests of the material published by the bureau of sufficiently recent date to be of present day interest and value and relating for the most part to the years and 1926 There has been however no rigid exclusion of earlier data the policy in general having been to include a maximum number of subjects and to give the latest avail able information for each of them provided that the information is still significant Also it is to be noted that while this volume con tains very little material that has not already been published either in the bulletins or in the Monthly Labor Review of the bureau most of it has been completely rearranged and rewritten in order the better to adapt it to the plan of making this publication essentially a work of reference The material presented represents in large part the original work of the Bureau of Labor Statistics but this is by no means entirely the case For instance the Bureau of Labor Statistics does not attempt to cover certain fields of interest to labor which are already ade quately covered by other official agencies Thus the Children s Bureau of the United States Department of Labor reports on child labor as well as on other phases of child welfare The Women s Bureau of the same department makes comprehensive investigations of various phases of the general subject of women in industry Since the creation of the women s and children s bureaus the Bureau of Labor Statistics has made no special studies in the fields assigned to those bureaus Also other governmental agencies outside the Department of Labor make studies and investigations of very direct interest to labor For example the Bureau of Mines of the Depart ment of Commerce regularly reports on mine accidents and the Interstate Commerce Commission makes similar compilations of E 1 2 INTRODUCTION railroad accidents The Bureau of Labor Statistics makes no at tempt to do original research on these subjects It does attempt however in its Monthly Labor Review to follow such of the activi ties of these other agencies as have a labor interest and in the preparation of this volume it has drawn upon their work Examination of this volume shows certain very definite limita tions upon the labor statistics available for the United States Certain subjects of primary interest are covered with reasonable adequacy either by the Bureau of Labor Statistics or by other official agencies There remain however other subjects of possibly equal interest which either are not covered at all or are covered very inade quately and upon which the available information is very scanty The resources of the Bureau of Labor Statistics do not permit ex tension of its activities into these fields nor indeed even to make such frequent studies as would be desirable of certain subjects which it does cover from time to time For instance wage surveys of the more important industries of the country should be made annually The best the bureau has been able to do however is to make an annual survey of union wages biennial surveys of a few large industries and occasional surveys at irregular intervals of other industries APPRENTICESHIP Types of Apprenticeship Plans HE present century and particularly the period since the end of the World War has seen a great revival of interest in apprenticeship The abrupt shutting off of immigration called attention to the fact that many of our skilled workers had received their training in their native countries and that as a Nation we were not turning out our own supply of craftsmen The period of industrial prosperity which has prevailed for the greater part of the time since 1918 has increased the demand for good workmen and emphasized the fact that the old methods were not producing them in sufficient numbers As a consequence the trade unions the em ployers organizations and to some extent the general public became interested in fostering apprenticeship and several movements were started with that end in view Nominally apprenticeship is used as a means of training workers in a great variety of trades and occupations In its report for the Wisconsin Industrial Commission gave the following list of occupations in which it had placed apprentices Bricklayer and mason carpenter painter and decorator plasterer plumber steam fitter tinsmith tile setter electric wirer machinist toolmaker pat tern maker metal pattern maker draftsman molder core maker boiler maker sheet metal worker die sinker welder blacksmith com positor pressman lithographer plate printer copper etcher power press embosser photo engraver commercial artist knitting machine adjuster dressmaker tailor weaver warper milliner auto mechanic auto electrician auto painter auto body builder baker cabinetmaker cigarmaker jewelry engraver jewelry repairer watchmaker ship builder wire weaver meat cutter shoemaker stonecutter photo graphic retoucher paper ruler stone and metal artist artificial limb maker junior engineer furrier pharmacist sign writer upholsterer and bookkeeper Also the following railroad occupations Ma chinist car repairer upholsterer electrician template maker boiler maker blacksmith and sheet metal worker In any good plan of apprenticeship there are two essentials A supervising authority to see that both sides do their part and a wellthought out and well enforced plan of training by which the ap prentice may advance from operation to operation until he has mastered all important parts of the trade Generally these essen tials require cooperation between the unions and the employers The various effective apprenticeship plans now in force have sometimes developed within a trade with little attention from outside have some times been established by the unions or the employers taking the initiative and enforcing the acquiescence of the other side and some times have been carefully worked out and adopted by the cooperation of all concerned There are three large groups of trades in which apprenticeship methods have been worked out successfully by one or T 5 6 APPRENTICESHIP all of these methods the printing trades the building and construc tion trades and the metal trades The developments in the building trades since the war have illustrated several different methods Apprenticeship Plan of the New York Building Congress A T THE close of the war the building situation was far from satisfactory and for the purpose of readjusting conditions building congresses made up of representatives of all the interested parties were formed in some of the larger cities Apprenticeship received early attention The plan worked out by the New York body is described as follows In January 1922 the congress took up the question of appren ticeship moved thereto by the increasing scarcity of skilled workers in the building trades It is a commonplace that for many years past these trades have depended for their trained workers mainly on immigration and that since the beginning of the century the supply from this source has been steadily diminishing The appren ticeship system existing in the industry has utterly failed to supply the normal demand Some of the reasons advanced for this are that there has been no systematic course of training planned to produce well rounded mechanics skilled in all branches of their trades no attempt to supplement shop and field instruction with school instruction calculated to make men more intelligent and better citizens no systematic attempt on the part of employers to provide continuous employment no certainty that the young men when trained would be admitted to union membership and thus be given an opportunity to earn their living at the trades they have learned A general committee on apprenticeship was appointed consisting of representatives of employers employees engineers and architects investment interests suppliers of materials and educational in terests Its first recommendation was that since there already existed in all the trades joint trade boards consisting of employer and labor representatives for the regulation of policies and settle ment of adjustments in relation to trade agreements the estab lishment control and operation of apprenticeship systems should be in their hands unless they wished to appoint special committees to take charge of the work Further the committee outlined for submission to these boards a plan covering the matters common to all branches of the industry but leaving the details for the several trades to be worked out by the proper joint board By the end of May an apprenticeship system for the woodworking trades had been worked out approved and adopted by the carpenters joint com mittee on trade agreement and is now in operation Under this scheme 16 years is fixed as the minimum age for begin ning apprenticeship The course of training covers four years divided into periods of six months for each of which a definite pro gram is laid down which the apprentice is expected to complete before he can be advanced to the next stage For the first six months the minimum daily wage is to be 30 per cent of the journey man s daily wage after which it is to rise at each semiannual period by alternate increases of 5 and 10 per cent to 80 per cent of the TYPES OF APPRENTICESHIP PLANS 7 journeyman s wage for the final six months The apprentice is to have a normal working week of 44 hours and in addition is to put in at least four hours a week at school During the first year he is to be paid half time rates for the time spent in school but thereafter no payment is made for this time The school attendance is obligatory and employers are to discontinue employing and unions to exclude from membership apprentices who do not dis charge this obligation Apprentices are to pay semiannually to the general apprenticeship committee a fee equal to the wage for one day of the period they are entering such funds to be used for apprenticeship development The apprentice is to be guaranteed continuous employment and a carefully worked out analysis of trade processes has been made covering the field of his trade in struction The school work is to include related mathematics trade sketching and drawing shop practice related science and general information Apprentices are to be enrolled with the general apprenticeship committee of the congress which is to keep a close oversight of their work and advancement The committee is to make the periodic examination which shall determine the fitness of the apprentice to pass on to the work of the next six months and together with the carpenters joint committee on trade agreements is to see that the apprentice receives the continuous employment guaranteed It is also to provide general supervision The apprentice shall be supervised at work and in school by highly qualified educational experts who shall report periodically to the general apprenticeship committee of the congress as to the progress and satisfaction rendered A com plete record of the apprentice performance shall be kept by the educational adviser of the congress and reported semiannually to the carpenters joint committee New York Building Congress Bulletin No 2 Apprenticeship system for the woodworking trades in the metropolitan district etc New York June 1922 p 3 On the successful completion of the four year course the appren tice is to be given a diploma containing a statement concerning his trade experience educational training journeymanship standing and wage rating regularly certified to by employer labor and educational authority and having this he is thenceforth entitled to employment on a full journeyman basis It will be seen that the apprenticeship committee of the congress cooperates closely with the carpenters joint trade board in the ad ministration of this plan and it also supplies a general organization which will be useful to other trades as they develop their apprentice ship systems An office to serve as a general apprenticeship head quarters has been provided and placed in the charge of a specialist on apprenticeship who is employed as educational adviser This the congress hopes to make a center for the apprenticeship movement maintaining a permanent staff of experts on vocational training and preparation of courses of instruction and textbooks and a force of inspectors to coordinate the work in the shop in the field and in school with whatever clerical help may be necessary This plan worked so well that it was soon extended to other trades and three years after the inauguration of the scheme the data fol lowing were given as to its growth 8 APPRENTICESHIP At the end of March 1925 the number of indentured apprentices in the several trades with which the commission is cooperating was as follows Carpentry and joinery Painting and decorating Electrical Upholstery Cement and masonry Plastering Bricklaying Total Under the plan fostered by the commission the apprentices while working at their trades are expected to attend evening vocational schools The schools have not been able to provide facilities for all but 2 240 apprentices were attending 75 classes in 1925 and it was hoped that within the year teachers and accommodations could be provided to take care of all This training requiring special teachers and equipment is expensive but the public authorities are sufficiently convinced of its usefulness to do their share toward pro viding it The board of education has set aside 60 000 in anticipation of the growth of the New York Building Congress apprenticeship work during the coming year to care for their phase of the work The industry itself now needs to do its part One interesting development in this part of the work has been along the line of training teachers A special class composed of the best workers has been organized in which instruction is given in methods of teaching In were enrolled in this class and 18 o f these were doing part time teaching in the evening classes Short Term Intensive Training rT HE plan described above involved years of training and some of the interests concerned felt that the need for workers was too pressing to permit of such delay As a consequence several plans for short term training were advocated in 1922 along two distinct lines One group took the ground that apprenticeship in the old sense is unnecessary that it is better to begin with older boys and men and that for these a short intensive training in the elements of the trade is all that is needed This program seems to have won special support in the West In San Francisco and Chicago special classes and schools based on this theory have been started as part of a campaign for the so called American plan or open shop In San Francisco early in May 1922 the Industrial Association an em ployers organization opened a school for plasterers and another for plumbers Students came from all ranks college graduates sailors artists medical students and workingmen all being included in the first classes formed The Beta tests as used in the Army during the war were utilized in passing upon the applicants The program for the two schools differed somewhat The plumbers were to receive class instruction for two weeks then to go out on jobs as apprentices at 2 50 a day for four weeks return to the class for two weeks of instruction and so on until they had completed 8 weeks of instruc TYPES OF APPRENTICESHIP PLANS 9 tion and 16 weeks of practical experience Some 60 students were enrolled in the first class and by August a second class was being formed The plasterers course required 12 weeks the students work ing a 44 hour week during which time they received no pay but were provided with tools and materials At the end of the course it was expected they would be ready for practical work and within a year should be earning full journeyman s wages In the autumn the sec retary of the General Contractors Association of San Francisco reported on the progress made The local American plan plasterers school graduated its first ap prentice July 1 and since then has furnished a total of 70 only one of whom has failed to give absolute satisfaction and several of whom are to day drawing full journeyman s wages There are at present 16 students in the school The plumbers school the students of which are formed into groups and alternate between the school and the job has a total of about 80 students all of whom are giving a good account of themselves The Constructor October 1922 p 50 In June the citizens committee of Chicago a group formed to enforce certain conditions in the building trades opened a school for plumbers conducted along similar lines although a longer time was allowed for training which was to consist both of class instruction and work on the job The course was to take one year and the aim was to turn out competent and efficient plumbers capable of laying out and supervising any plumbing job It was planned to start similar classes for each of 13 trades specified by the citizens committee In Oakland Calif a bricklayers school for youths from 18 to 22 years old was opened with the expectation of turning out competent bricklayers as a result of six months of intensive training From Texas and some other places come reports of similar experiments Such plans are looked upon with disfavor by a number of builders who maintain that their only result will be to increase the number of half trained workmen already in the trades not to turn out the skilled craftsmen so urgently needed A four years apprenticeship is none too long they say to give the worker a full knowledge of his craft in all its details and to insure the skill and power to secure desired results which characterized the old time craftsman Cleveland Plan of Building Trade Apprenticeship T H E unions do not favor the short courses preferring that the apprentice should learn his trade on the job with provision for technical instruction through courses given in schools or classes estab lished for the purpose Sometimes such schools are maintained by the unions themselves but more often they are carried on in con nection with the public educational system or by the cooperation of several bodies Cleveland offers a good example of such a system and in connection with the first graduating exercises of apprentices the following summary of its method was given For several years past training courses for building trades ap prentices have been maintained in the Cleveland public schools and in April of this year the first group of apprentices were publicly and formally presented with diplomas The formal graduation is a new departure and an elaborate commencement program was planned to 10 APPRENTICESHIP give impressiveness to the occasion The graduates numbered 150 divided among the classes in carpentry plumbing and bricklaying Courses in these three trades were the first to be established and their work has proved so satisfactory that in January 1925 courses in painting and electrical work were started The American Con tractor of March reported that approximately 1 000 ap prentices were attending the part time courses in these five trades and there was a long waiting list of boys anxious to enter as soon as places could be found for them The Cleveland plan involves the cooperation of the school authori ties the unions the contractors and the manufacturers and dealers in building materials Part of the cost of carrying on the courses is met by the Federal Government under the terms of the SmithHughes Act and the remainder is provided by the local board of education The building materials used are supplied by local manu facturers and dealers free of charge The course in each trade is under the supervision of a committee made up of representatives of the board of education and of the contractors and the unions in that trade The boy who wishes to become an apprentice must pass an exam ination by this committee to show that he is able both physically and mentally to meet the requirements of his trade I f he succeeds in this he is indentured to a contractor and thereafter for four years his trade work and school work are correlated so as to give him both the manual dexterity and the technical and theoretical training required Throughout the entire period of apprenticeship four hours each week must be given to the school work and for this his employer is to pay him the regular time rates I f a contractor finds himself unable at any time during the four year period to employ a boy indentured to him the boy is temporarily transferred by the committee to another contractor who can give him work and in this way continuous employment is insured This is considered an exceedingly important feature for where no such system exists an apprentice may find himself out of work for months at a time and may as a natural consequence lose interest in the trade look for a job at which he can be sure of steadier employment and gradually come to prefer the work he thus takes up and drop out of the build ing trades altogether Even when this does not occur he loses just so much of the time which should have been devoted to training in the trade he has chosen Under the Cleveland system on the other hand at the close of his apprenticeship the youth has had four years of steady work so planned as to give him a progressive training in the fundamentals both manual and technical of his craft Wisconsin Plan IN WISCONSIN the State undertakes to act as the supervising and coordinating authority in apprenticeship and the technical training of apprentices is made a recognized part of the public educational system The present law on the subject was passed in 1911 but was materially amended in 1915 and the main develop ment of the system has come since the close of the war The Wis consin Industrial Commission is charged with the enforcement of TYPES OF APPRENTICESHIP PLAN S 11 the law Apprentices must be indentured according to a standard form and the indenture must contain a schedule of the processes plans or methods which they are to be taught with the approximate time to be spent on each Advisory committees of employers and journeymen in the different trades cooperate with the State com mission in determining rules and regulations for apprenticeship supervisors are appointed to deal with local problems and to pro mote interest in the whole question and the law specifically requires all school officers and public school teachers to cooperate with the commission and with employers of apprentices to furnish in the public schools or in any schools supported in whole or in part by public moneys such instruction as may be needed for apprentices according to the requirements of the different trades According to recent reports the results of this system have been satisfactory In reviewing the progress of the movement the Wisconsin Ap prentice March 1926 issued by the Industrial Commission of the State notes that the past four years have been more nearly normal than any other period of the law s operation and therefore gives figures relating to them as illustrative of the advance made Four years ago 1 250 indentures were in force At the present time there are 2 545 These figures do not include special apprentices over 21 years of age During the same period 724 apprentices were graduated into journeymen To day 746 employers employ indentured apprentices as against 325 four years ago This shows that apprenticeship has grown considerably among the many smaller employers and not merely as applied to the few very large ones Emphasis is laid on the fact that the number of indentures in force is far from being a true measure of the success of the plan What really counts is the good will of employer apprentice and journeymen toward the system and their combined effort in coopera tion with the vocational school to make it function effectively In this respect the trades differ considerably The metal trades began promoting apprenticeship in a more or less organized way 20 years ago so that they naturally show more progress than some of the others These trades are thoroughly converted to the apprentice ship idea and realizing that if they want skilled workers for the future they m ust train them now they are taking apprentices numerously have apprenticeship committees that function employ apprentice supervisors and generally are cooperating vigorously with everyone who can help on the campaign The situation in the building trades is less satisfactory The charge is made by some that contractors are unwilling to hire appren tices and that the supply of journeymen comes from the smaller towns where the boys can pick up the trade without a definite training The commission holds however that the trouble is not so much an unwillingness on the part of the contractors to hire ap prentices as a reluctance to take the tro uble to keep them continuously employed and to see that they get a complete training A contractor takes an apprentice for instance and finds him an ambitious and willing worker but after a few months completes the job upon which he has been engaged and having no present work for the lad lets him go instead of taking the trouble to find a place for him with another contractor or to give him odd jobs that will keep him busy until another contract is in hand The apprentice perhaps finds work with another contractor or may take up another line of work So 12 APPRENTICESHIP he drifts about from one employer to another and either is lost to the trade altogether or has to pick up what he can for himself instead of having a systematic course laid out to give him an all round training The seasonal nature of the building industry and the custom of contract working of course have m uch to do with this attitude of the contractor but the effect is detrimental to the supply of skilled workers The trades differ in this respect the plumbers being fully awake to the importance of training new men and having over 300 apprentices indentured at the present time I f the rest of the building trades were as progressive as the plumbers there would be little else to be desired The railroad shop crafts present a very satisfactory situation in this respect with over 300 apprentices and with a larger proportion of apprentices carrying their training through to graduation than is found in any other of the trades The printing trades also are doing fairly well though they are still feeling the result of the last great strike Considering the whole situation the commission feels that the apprenticeship system in Wisconsin is being developed on a so und and systematic basis that while the progress made is slow it is evi dent and that there are encouraging evidences of a growing interest in the movement and of organized cooperation among all the parties concerned Corporation Apprentice Schools A NUMBER of large establishments throughout the country have built up schools of their own in which to give the necessary technical instruction to their apprentices In general such establish ments have an apprentice department or committee or other body charged with the supervision of the apprentice s training both on the job and in the school The work on the job is planned to give a progressive knowledge of the various operations and the technical instruction is coordinated with the practical training The practice differs among the various establishments as to whether the school training is given in the daytime or at night and as to whether the apprentice is paid for the time given to this part of the training The nature of the courses and methods of training vary according to the kind of work in which the boy is being trained but the follow ing account of methods used at one large plant may be taken as fairly typical U S Federal Board for Vocational Education Bulletin 87 Apprenticeship education Instruction a Time and nature of instruction In the shop The apprentice is under the watchful and sympathetic eye of the foreman who takes personal interest in his boys encouraging them and cooperates with the supervisor for their welfare In some de partments the foreman has an instructor or designates the assistant foreman or other assistants to look after the interest of the appren tices This instructor sees to it that the apprentices have every pos sible opportunity to learn the trade and are transferred from machine TYPES OF APPRENTICESHIP PLANS 13 to machine and from operation to operation for the purpose of giving them a training which will enable them to become all round mechanics In the classroom Class instruction on the company s time is a great factor in main taining the enthusiasm of the apprentices All week they see the practical end o f their course and on Saturday morning they are instructed in the theories relating directly to their work in the shops and the yard This instruction is given by trained teachers supplemented with talks by the foremen superintendents and gen eral manager This kind of instruction taken with regular work going on in the plant gives the apprentice a sense of responsibility which is essential to sound and lasting instruction Being paid to go to school appeals to the apprentices and affords them refreshing and at the same time inspiring and instructive diversion Apprentices are given opportunity of advancement through study other than that of the apprentice school at the plant Evening classes are conducted from October to April inclusive at the W il mington High School arrangement for same having been made by the management and city school authorities Courses are arranged for the special benefit of apprentices and the technical combined with the practical side of ship and car building are taught from every angle Evening classes from October to April inclusive are a part of the apprenticeship system and apprentices are under obli gation to attend classes of the Wilmington Evening Industrial School unless excused to attend other approved night schools or otherwise excused Credit for outside study stimulates the applica tion of an apprentice and credit is given apprentices for attendance based as follows In the case of an apprentice attending 75 per cent of the sessions the number of hours spent will be doubled and this credit deducted from apprenticeship course and shorten it accordingly Failure to attend night school will result in termination of ap prenticeship or a penalty of 160 hours a year will be added to the term of apprenticeship Instruction is given in shop mathematics science applied phys ics mechanics chemistry mechanical drawing English industrial history spelling and civics The apprentice begins with shop arithmetic and gradually ad vances to more difficult shop problems which involve practical geometry mechanics and strength of materials the examples apply ing directly to his work in the shops In drawing he is first taught to make freehand sketches with dimensions then mechanical draw ings of the various parts he is working on in the shops and to pick the various parts off of blue prints in this way he becomes accus tomed to drawings and learns to read them The study of industrial history gives the apprentice a knowledge of the industry The course in English includes letter writing written and oral descrip tions of machines processes etc Civics is taught to increase loyalty and citizenship Spelling is improved by written work in English and by spelling the terms and names of tools parts etc he will come in contact with during his apprenticeship course Apprentices are graded in the school and transferred from one classroom to another according to their ability 14 APPRENTICESHIP Type of instructor The faculty is made up of a head in structor and six competent teachers Apprentice instructors are chosen for the various trades by con sidering their practical experience in the crafts involved and their instructional ability Instructors trained in technical subjects are also chosen to teach the theory related to trades in the apprentice school In some instances the instructor in the shop is the teacher in the classroom Often the foreman in a department where there is no instructor will designate a subforeman or leading man under his supervision to look after the interests of the apprentices Supervision By supervisor or apprentices The apprenticeship system is under the industrial relations department of which the assistant to the general manager is head The supervisor of apprentices reports to the assistant to the general manager Incentives to Effort Vacations for two boys making highest marks in shop and class room work Publishing standing of pupils during the publication of plant paper as well as sending reports to parents Apprenticeship Provisions in Building Trade Agreements HE Bureau of Labor Statistics receives annually a large number of agreements made between workers and employers covering wages hours conditions of work and other subjects on which unions and employers have come to an understanding In 1925 11 important building trades were selected and a list was kept of all agreements received from these with a view to seeing what provisions they might contain as to apprenticeship In many cases the agree ments were of such an informal kind that no such references could be expected Often the unions reported a verbal agreement or a mere memorandum covering wages or hours but not taking up any thing further In other cases custom seemed to have taken the place of annual negotiations and while there was an understanding as to wages and hours it could hardly be called an agreement In every case however in which a written contract was sent in it was listed and note was made of what provisions if any it contained relating to apprenticeship The tabulation was confined to agree ments made either in 1925 or earlier but continuing into that year During the year 179 such agreements were received distributed unequally through the various trades The number of unions con cerned far exceeds the number of agreements for often a contract is signed by a district council which represents a number of unions and in other cases it may be signed for all the unions of a given trade within a specified area Thus one agreement covered certain bricklayers unions of Greater New York and Long Island another included the electrical workers of three adjoining communities and T 15 PROVISIONS IN BUILDING TRADE AGREEMENTS another was signed by five unions acting in combination The apprenticeship provisions were sometimes found in the agreement itself and sometimes in the working rules or in the constitution of the unions concerned which were considered as forming part of the agreement Leading Provisions T H E agreements differed widely in the extent to which they dealt with apprenticeship the provisions running from a mere state ment that the use of apprentices should not be prohibited with per haps an age qualification or an arrangement for progressive rates of pay up to elaborate and carefully worked out systems Twenty three 12 8 per cent might be considered as having no provisions since they contained either no mention of the subject or the mere formal statement that the use of apprentices should be allowed The others all went into the subject more or less elaborately The number of agreements considered by trades and the number containing various important provisions are as follows APPRENTICESHIP PROVISIONS IN BUILDING TRADE AGREEMENTS Num ber of agreements establishing Trade Num ber of agree ments N um ber re quiring Length Ratio of Coop tradeappren Age of ap tices to erative school limit ad on en prenminis train jour ticeing tering trance ney ship men body Painters paper hangers and decorators Plumbers and steam fitters Sheet metal workers W ood wire and metal lathers T otal Bricklayers masons and plasterers Bridge structural and ornamental iron workers Carpenters and joiners Composition roofers damp and water proof workers Electrical workers Elevator constructors H e a t a n d fr o s t in s u la t o r s a n d a s b e s t o s w o r k e r s These figures should not be taken too seriously as indicating the attitude of the unions yet they certainly have some significance Naturally the more importance the unionists in general attach to a given provision the oftener it will be found in their agreements Judged by this standard the unions contrary to common opinion do not seem to attach special importance to limitations upon the age of entering apprenticeship The only trade in which an age limi tation is included in every written agreement received is that of the elevator constructors who as their work is heavy and calls for strength provide without exception that no one under 18 shall enter apprenticeship but place no upper age limits O f the 49 agreements which impose some age restrictions 3 place the upper limit at 18 years 1 at 19 2 at 20 14 at 21 20 at 22 2 at 25 and 1 at 30 years while 6 impose a lower but no upper age limit Of the 43 which impose an upper limit 53 5 per cent set it at 22 or over while 16 APPRENTICESHIP only 14 per cent place it as low as 20 or under Thirty three of the agreements set an age below which apprentices will not be admitted 11 placing it at 16 years 16 at 17 years and 6 at 18 Four years is the commonest period set for the duration of the apprenticeship In many cases this term is so well understood that the only reference to the matter consists of setting the wages for each of the four years before the apprentice is entitled to journeyman pay The bridge and structural iron workers and the asbestos workers each in one instance set a limit of two years Seventeen agreements scattered through the various trades set a period of 3 years and 14 set 5 years The 5 year limit is found mainly among the plumbers who impose it in 11 cases In some of these agree ments the fifth year is a kind of intermediate stage in which the novice is known as a junior draws higher wages than the fourthyear apprentice and has more independence but is not yet a fullfledged journeyman In several of these agreements it is provided that an apprentice may apply for an examination at the end of the fourth year and if he passes this satisfactorily the fifth year is not required The ratio of apprentices to journeymen permitted in these various agreements varies too widely to permit of any general statement In a very few cases mostly among the electrical workers and the sheet metal workers the number of apprentices allowed is based on the number of journeymen in the local union but the general practice is to base it on the number of journeymen in the shop or on the pay roll of the employer wishing to take a beginner On this basis any number of combinations are worked out Thus in different agree ments the ratio is set at 1 apprentice to 2 journeymen 1 to the first 2 plus 1 for each additional 5 journeymen 1 to the shop regardless of size 1 to the first 5 journeymen plus 1 for each 10 additional and so on Sometimes the employer may take one apprentice each year while in one case he is restricted to one every four years The most restrictive ratio found was 1 apprentice to 20 journeymen It is perhaps significant that this appears in an agreement which was drawn up in 1922 and has been continued without change and that this is the only provision in the whole document bearing on ap prenticeship At that time the importance of apprenticeship was not appreciated either by the workers or the employers and the fact that this is the only mention of the subject in an agreement intended to cover working conditions shows that neither side was particularly concerned about the matter Administration and Technical Training A TEIFLE over one sixth 18 per cent of the agreements provide for administering the apprentice system by a joint body or in Wisconsin by the industrial commission which has charge of the State apprentice system Generally speaking the administering body is a joint arbitration board or a joint apprenticeship committee appointed for the special purpose In the vicinity of New York City the agreement sometimes indorses the apprenticeship plan of the New York Building Congress which makes careful provision for joint administration Where such a joint body is not provided PROVISIONS IN BUILDING TRADE AGREEMENTS 17 there is usually no stipulation in regard to the matter the union presumably taking full charge Very few of the agreements definitely require trade or technical instruction during apprenticeship though this is indirectly required in some instances bv a provision that the apprentice must pass an examination before becoming a journeyman Where technical train ing is required the definiteness of the provision varies In seven cases it is merely stated that the apprentice must attend a trade or technical school One agreement stipulates that educational classes are to be established for the benefit of the apprentices In one case attendance is required during the last two years in another the apprentice must attend school for five hours throughout his appren ticeship while in another case one half day s attendance weekly is required whenever the schools are in session Sometimes it is stipu lated that the school attendance is to be in the employer s time and in one case it is provided that special technical instruction may be taken at the employer s expense One agreement provides that a failure to attend school regularly will lead to the apprentice s sus pension and if it is persisted in to the cancellation of his registra tion that is to his expulsion from the trade Another provides that the time of the apprenticeship may be shortened if the school attendance is regular and the school standing good Where there are no trade schools or technical classes within reach requirements concerning such training would be useless and this may account in part for the rarity of these provisions A number of the agreements contain miscellaneous provisions designed to make the apprenticeship a period of real training Fre quently it is provided that the beginner must serve a probationary period of from three to six months and that unless he proves satis factory at this time he shall not be admitted to apprenticeship Often he must be registered with the local union and is not per mitted to change from one employer to another without the consent of the union or of the joint administrative body if there is one Sometimes it is provided that if an apprentice fails to get on satis factorily with one employer he may after a sufficient trial be placed with another but if after one or two such changes he still can not get on he is dropped from the trade On the other hand it is pro vided that the employer must give him progressive training and allow him a chance to learn all branches of the trade In some cases he is obliged to give the apprentice continuous employment unless released from the obligation by the administering body Significance of Agreements IN CONSIDEKING the extent to which apprenticeship is dealt with in these local agreements it must be borne in mind that some of the crafts have worked out through their national or international governing bodies a complete plan of apprenticeship with full details as to number allowed age duration kind of training to be given protection of both employer and trainee against possible abuses of the plan admission to journeyman status and so on and that when this has been done a local union might feel it unnecessary to take up the matter The extent to which the national plan is observed 18 APPRENTICESHIP depends largely upon the strength and character of the local union but it is entirely possible that such a plan governs the training of apprentices in a number of places where the local agreements make no mention of the subject In other localities also plans peculiar to the district may exist and a reference to these may mean co operation in carrying out an elaborate scheme of training Thus when as in a case previously mentioned agreements contain an indorsement of the apprenticeship plan of the New York Building Congress they are assenting to a comprehensive and systematic handling of the whole matter Bearing these considerations in mind the results given above seem to show that the building trades unions are giving a consider able amount of attention to the subject of apprenticeship and that where they are strong enough to secure written agreements they are quite numerously putting the matter upon a definite basis and endeavoring to secure conditions which shall make the apprentice ship a genuine preparation for the craftsman s work instead of merely a period in which the beginner works for low wages and picks up what he can for himself Union Rules and the Scarcity of Apprentices T W ILL be noticed that in most of these apprenticeship plans the unions take a full share of the responsibility for keeping up the supply of trained workers In some cases special trade schools are maintained by the unions and in others a very thorough system of instruction in the particular craft concerned has been worked out and enforced as part of the trade training Naturally the members of some trades are more interested than others in the question of training and naturally also the amount of interest shown by a given trade varies according to local circumstances The theory that trade union restrictions are responsible for the scarcity of trained workers is so frequently voiced and so many in quiries have been made of the Bureau of Labor Statistics on this point that the following compilation has been prepared by the bureau The Conference Board on Training of Apprentices made up of national associations of manufacturers founders metal trades em ployers and the like in its Bulletin No 1 issued in 1916 stated I The average employer not from necessity but because of thoughtlessness or habit still prefers to get workmen whom someone else has trained Limitation of apprentices by trade unions has helped to develop this condition of indifference on the part of employers Many however do not employ the full allowable quota of apprentices which the trade union specifies and often for professed convenience s sake and because they do not realize the investment value of apprenticeship training expense employ none whatever A detailed study of the situation in Indianapolis was made about 1918 by Thomas Larkin and its results were published under the title 44A study of apprenticeships trade and educational agree ments According to this none of the trades for which data could be secured were using their permissible number of apprentices In 1924 the University of Pennsylvania published a thesis entitled A study of existing programs for the training of journeymen mold UNION RULES AND SCARCITY OF APPRENTICES 19 ers in the iron and steel foundries of Philadelphia based on a de tailed investigation The union rules permitted one apprentice to five journeymen plus one for the shop The actual number in training fell far below this ratio The ratio in floor molding then becomes 1 18 8 as compared with 1 5 To put it differently instead of a quota of 61 floor molding apprentices there are now 22 four of whom are definitely in the sliort course group In bench mold ing a count of bona fide trainees only gives a present ratio of instead of 31 apprentices there are 6 The journal of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers in its issue for November 1923 reports a conference of the Boston Building Trades Congress dealing with the work of the congress respecting apprenticeship No complete figures are given but frequent refer ence is made to the fact that contractors are not using the number of apprentices allowed For instance the unions had agreements with over 100 bricklayer contractors Union rules allowed 3 apprentices to a contractor Instead of 300 there were 80 bricklayer apprentices in the city and of these 41 were apprenticed to their fathers not to contractors The American Contractor in its issue for May contained an account of a drive for more apprentices in bricklaying undertaken by the Mason Contractors Association of the United States and Canada They began by listing the contractors in their trade and finding how many employed apprentices An accurate survey of 58 cities and towns in 1923 showed that 714 con tractors had only 358 apprentices on the wall These figures says Mr Gillespie prove conclusively that the so palled union restrictions are not a factor in holding back apprenticeship The work to be done is to get all con tractors to take on boys at least to the limit of the rules laid down by the union As a result of this survey it was estimated that it would be possible to put 10 000 more apprentices to work without any interference with the rules of the bricklayers union Experience of Apprenticeship Commissions A T A conference of the apprenticeship commission of the Boston Building Congress reported in the Boston Transcript February the commission points out that so far there has been no dif ficulty in getting boys to enroll as apprentices but much trouble in getting contractors to employ them and that 35 to 40 per cent of the apprentices enrolled during the past year were unemployed The enrollment is done with the assistance of the building trades unions and in accordance with their rules A report of the apprenticeship commission of the New York Building Congress March 1925 summarized in the Labor Review for July 1925 p 180 states that one of the most serious difficulties confronting the commission is to persuade employers in certain trades to take their quota of apprentices There are four trades in which this difficulty is especially apparent Carpen try and joinery which with an estimated membership of over 31 000 journey men has only 1 500 enrolled apprentices painting and decorating with over 10 000 journeymen and 193 enrolled apprentices and upholstery and cement masonry neither of which has ever exceeded 75 per cent of its allowable quota of apprentices ARBITRATION AND CONCILIATION 21 Railroad Labor Act of 1926 HE outstanding event of 1926 in the field of railroad labor was the passage by Congress of the railroad labor act often re ferred to as the Watson Parker Law This act passed both Houses of Congress by large majorities and was approved by the President on May 20 A striking feature of this legislation is that the bill was an agreed measure formulated by representatives of the carriers and of the employees unions and the act as passed was thus in effect a collective agreement sanctioned by Congress The new act abolished the United States Railroad Labor Board which had been functioning for six years under the transportation act of 1920 and substituted therefor a radically different type of adjustment machinery which however incorporated many of the features of earlier Federal legislation T Provisions of the Act rT l HE four agencies described below are provided by the act two of them at least being potentially permanent while the two others may be created on occasion 1 Boards of Adjustment These may be created by agreement between employers or em ployees on one or more railroads No term is provided but appar ently such bodies may be continuing These boards are composed exclusively of representatives of the parties in interest and deal with disputes arising from grievances or from interpretations or applica tions of agreements as regards rates of pay rules or working con ditions when such disputes can not be handled in the usual manner up to and including the chief operating officer of the carrier desig nated to handle such disputes The decisions of adjustment boards shall be final and binding on both parties to the dispute 2 Board of Mediation A board of mediation is established as an independent agency in the executive branch of the Government and is composed of five members appointed by the President by and with the consent of the Senate No person in the employment of or who is pecuniarily or otherwise interested in any organization oi employees or any carrier may be a member of the board The first five members of the mediation board were appointed for terms of one two three four and five years respectively Succeeding terms will be five years ARBITRATION AND CONCILIATION Either party to a dispute may invoke the services of the board or the board may take the initiative in offering its services to the dis putants in the following cases ai A dispute arising out of grievances or out o f the interpreta tion or application of agreements concerning rates of pay rules or working conditions not adjusted by the parties in conference and not decided by the appropriate adjustment board b A dispute which is not settled in conference between the parties in respect to changes in rates of pay rules or working conditions c Any other dispute not decided in conference between the parties In the event a dispute arises as to the meaning or application of any agreement reached through mediation under the provisions of this act either party to the said agreement or both may apply to the board of mediation for an interpretation In case the board of mediation does not succeed in bringing about an amicable settlement of a controversy such board shall immediately endeavor to induce the disputants to submit their controversy to arbitration under the provisions of the act 3 Boards of Arbitration Special boards of arbitration of three members or six if the parties so stipulate may be created by the agreement of the parties in interest whenever a controversy arises between one or more rail roads and its or their employees which is not settled either in con ference between representatives of the parties or by the appropriate adjustment board or through mediation It is especially provided however that the failure or refusal of either party to submit a con troversy to arbitration shall not be construed as a violation of any legal obligation imposed upon such party by the terms of this act or otherwise The board of arbitration is chosen as follows a In the case of a board of three the carrier or carriers and the representatives of the employees parties respectively to the agree ment to arbitrate shall each name one arbitrator the two arbitrators thus chosen shall select a third arbitrator I f the arbitrators chosen by the parties shall fail to name the third arbitrator within five days alter their first meeting such third arbitrator shall be named by the board of mediation In the case of a board of six the carrier or carriers and the representatives of the employees parties respectively to the agree ment to arbitrate shall each name two arbitrators the four arbitra tors thus chosen shall by a majority vote select the remaining two arbitrators I f the arbitrators chosen by the parties shall fail to name the two arbitrators within 15 days after their first meeting the said two arbitrators or as many of them as have not been named shall be named by the board of mediation Each member of an arbitration board who is designated by either party to the arbitration shall be compensated by the party desig nating him Each arbitrator designated by the arbitrators or by the board of mediation shall receive from that board such compensa RAILROAD LABOR ACT OF tion as it may fix together with necessary traveling expenses and expenses for subsistence during his service as arbitrator Testimony before the board of arbitration shall be under oath or affirmation and the members of the board shall have authority to administer oaths or affirmations The agreement to arbitrate shall provide that the award when filed in the manner provided in the act in the clerk s office in the district court of the United States for the district in which the dispute origi nated or the arbitration was begun shall be final and conclusive upon the parties as to the facts determined by said award and as to the merits of the controversy decided Any difference however which may arise concerning the meaning or application of an award shall be referred back to the same arbitration board which made such award or to a subcommittee of that board The resultant rulings when acknowledged or filed in the same manner as the award shall have the same force and effect as the original award Arbitration awards arrived at and filed as above provided may be appealed to the courts only on the following grounds That the award plainly does not conform to the requirements of the act or that the proceedings were not in conformity with such requirements That the award does not conform or confine itself to the stipulations of the agreement to arbitrate or c That a member of the board rendering the award was guilty of fraud or corruption or that a party to the arbitration practiced fraud or corruption 4 Emergency Boards An emergency board may be established by the President if a railroad labor controversy can not be settled in accordance with the preceding provisions of the act and in the judgment of the mediation board such controversy threatens to interrupt interstate commerce to a degree such as to deprive any section of the country of essential transportation service The number of members of an emergency board is decided by the President but no appointee thereto shall be pecuniarily or otherwise interested in any organization of employees or any carrier Such an emergency board shall be created separately in each in stance and it shall investigate promptly the facts as to the dispute and make a report thereon to the President within 30 days from the date of its creation After the institution of the board and for 30 days after its report has been made no change except by agreement shall be made by the parties to the controversy in the conditions out of which the dispute arose Appropriations TH E act fixes the compensation of the members of the board of mediation at 12 000 per annum together with expenses for subsistence or per diem and for necessary traveling This board is authorized to appoint experts and assistants and make various ex penditures in connection with its operations The law also authorizes appropriations for arbitration and emer gency boards 26 ARBITRATION AND CONCILIATION Developments Under the Act of 1926 A S CONTEMPLATED by the act boards of adjustment have been created by employers and employees on various roads and groups of roads but no formal record is available regarding their number or activities The permanent board of mediation of five members was duly ap pointed by the President and began to function in July 1926 Since that time the members of this board have exercised their mediatory functions in a large but unrecorded number of cases In several important cases the board was unable to effect adjustment but secured the consent of both parties to arbitrate under the plan set forth in the act In two of these cases conductors and trainmen on the eastern railroads and the American Express Co employees the arbitrations have been held and awards made February The decisions are summarized in the section of this handbook Prin cipal arbitrations of No occasion has as yet arisen for the appointment of a special emergency board contemplated by the act as a final step in case all other means of peaceful adjustment should fail and such failure should seriously interrupt interstate transportation Federal Legislation Regarding Railroad Labor Disputes Prior to Act of 1926 HE railroad labor act of May 1926 was the culmination of a series of Federal experiments in the settlement of railway labor disputes It contains many features of previous Federal legis lation and activities in this field and its significance can be best understood by a brief review of these earlier developments T Act of 1888 N OCTOBER a law was enacted by Congress permitting the selection of arbitrators to adjust labor controversies which threatened to interfere with the movement of trains in interstate commerce and authorized the President to select temporary com missioners to examine the cause of disputes and to make recommenda tions for their settlement The use of arbitration was merely a legal privilege which might be initiated by the disputants When there was a mutual desire to arbitrate each side selected an arbitrator and the two thus chosen selected a third person but the three arbi trators were to be wholly impartial and disinterested in respect to the controversy There was no provision for appointing the neutral arbitrator in a case of disagreement The Government bore all the expenses incurred in connection with arbitrations and investigations held under this law Erdman Act of 1898 Q N JUNE 1 1898 the Erdman Act was placed on the statute books This law empowered the chairman of the Interstate Commerce Commission and the Commissioner of Labor to act as mediators in FEDERAL LEGISLATION PRIOR TO ACT OF railway labor controversies when called upon by either of the dis putants and made it the duty of these representatives of the Govern ment to propose arbitration when their efforts at mediation and conciliation were unsuccessful Upon agreement of both parties to arbitrate the carrier and the employees each selected an arbitrator and the two thus chosen selected the third but in case of disagree ment the neutral arbitrator was named by the foregoing officers of the Government Arbitration awards made under this law were to remain in effect for one year The provisions of this law applied only to employees engaged in the operation of trains Newlands Act of 1913 r lHE Newlands Act which was enacted on July was in T effect only an amplification of the Erdman Act in that it con tinued the principles of mediation conciliation and arbitration This law established the office of Commissioner of Mediation and Concilia tion and provided for the selection of an assistant commissioner also for the appointment of two other officials of the Government who together with the Commissioner of Mediation and Conciliation con stituted a board known as the United States Board of Mediation and Conciliation The members of this board not only responded to calls for assistance in the adjustment of disputes but proffered their services to the respective parties when such action seemed desirable to them When mediation failed it was the duty of the commissioners to induce the parties to submit their differences to arbitration and when this form of adjustment was agreeable arbitrators were selected in the manner provided for in previous laws The number of arbi trators however was increased to six except when the parties to the controversy preferred a board of three Upon failure to agree upon the two neutral arbitrators they were named by the board of media tion and conciliation The agreement to arbitrate was to be made in writing and stipulated among other things the period during which the award should continue in force The provisions of this law also applied only to employees engaged in the operation of trains Adamson Law IN THE fall of 1916 the train and engine service brotherhoods threatened a strike for the so called 8 hour day Mediation had failed and arbitration had been refused by the unions This strike was prevented at the last moment by the enactment of the Adamson Act This law while clearly a special arbitral proceeding of prac tically compulsory effect made no general provision for the mediation or arbitration of disputes in general it provided a basic 8 hour day for employees in tram engine and yard services and named a com mission to observe and report upon the effects of such establishment As a result of events leading to the enactment of this law President Wilson when Congress met presented the question of new legisla tion on the subject of the adjustment of railroad labor controversies and this matter was under consideration for several months until the World War and Federal control temporarily interrupted Had not the war intervened Congress in all probability would have 28 ARBITRATION AND CONCILIATION enacted a new law supplanting or substantially amending the Newlands Act Procedure under Government Control N JANUARY the Government proceeding under a war emergency act took over the operation of the railroads of the country and promulgated a new scheme of adjusting railroad wages and rules It created a wage commission of four members upon whose report the first wage order of the Director General of Rail roads was based and by whose recommendation there was created a Board of Railroad Wages and Working Conditions with authority to hear and investigate future matters affecting changes in rates of paj and revision of rules governing working conditions of service This board was also empowered to issue interpretations of such orders The application of all rules as well as the personal differ ences and disputes arising between the carriers and their employees were made by three bipartisan adjustment boards created through agreement between the managers and the employees A majority of any adjustment board could render a decision on matters referred to it but in case of a deadlock final settlement reverted to the Director General Railroad Labor Board Q N FEBRUARY the transportation bill became a law The section relating to the adjustment of labor disputes was incorporated in Title III entitled Disputes between carriers and their employees and subordinate officials The act provided for the creation of the Railroad Labor Board and made permissible the establishment of labor adjustment boards by agreement between carriers and employees In accordance with the latter provision the President under date of March requested representatives of the carriers and labor organizations to form a board for the im mediate consideration of this vast problem This was done and to the so called bipartisan board was referred the whole question After deliberation of approximately one month the conferences of this organization ended in complete failure and the whole matter was referred to the Railroad Labor Board The Railroad Labor Board was organized on April its personnel being composed of nine members three of which com prised the labor group three the management group and three the public group Appointments of each group were made by the President with the concurrence of the Senate The law provided the routine by which questions of controversy were to come before the board and the bases to be taken into con sideration by the board in making its decisions Generally speaking the first step prescribed by the law to be taken before a dispute was eligible for consideration by the board was a conference be tween the representatives of the carriers and the employees Failing of agreement it might then if it was a dispute involving grievances rules or working conditions be referred to an adjustment board organized by agreement between the employees and the carriers then if agreement could not be reached or in the absence of such board to the labor board The adjustment boards were not author FEDERAL LEGISLATION PRIOR TO ACT OF ized to handle disputes involving changes in rates of pay and such disputes had to be referred directly from conferences between car riers and employees to the labor board The labor board was directed to hear and decide disputes upon applications of the chief executives of the carriers or organizations of employees directly interested upon written petitions of not less than one hundred unorganized employees directly interested or upon its own motion in cases of disputes which it deemed likely substantially to interrupt commerce In all of its decisions respecting wages and salaries the board was directed to base its determination upon the following elements 1 The scales of wages paid for similar kinds of work in other industries 2 The relation between wages and the cost of living 3 The hazards of the employment 4 The training and skill required 5 The degree of responsibility 6 The character and regularity of the employment 7 Inequalities of increases in wages or of treatment the result of previous wage orders or adjustments 8 Other relevant circumstances The law did not give the labor board power to enforce its deci sions however in case it had reason to believe that any decision was violated by any carrier or employee or subordinate official or organization thereof it might upon its own motion after due notice and hearing to all persons directly interested in such violation determine whether in its opinion such violation had occurred and make public its decision in such manner as it might determine Wage decisions For more than three months after its organiza tion the board conducted hearings and considered voluminous data in its determination in connection with the tremendous wage con troversy inherited from the Railroad Administration On July Decision No 2 was issued retroactive to May 1 1920 providing increases for all classes of railroad employees and causing an addi tion to the operating expenses of the carriers of approximately per annum Based upon the increased operating ex penses effected by this award the Interstate Commerce Commission authorized the carriers to increase transportation rates Subsequent wage decisions made by the board until the latter part of 1922 resulted in decreases in rates of pay After July wage decisions were not general in effect but in many instances were used by employees and carriers on roads not before the board as guides in their own wage adjustments Most of the wage decisions issued after that date provided slight increases Rules decisions At the end of Federal control a good many of the groups of railroad employees were working under what were known as national agreements These agreements had all been negotiated shortly before the end of Federal control by representa tives of the Railroad Administration and of the labor organizations On April it issued Decision No 119 which terminated all rules and working conditions of all classes of employees except ing those in train and engine services effective July called upon the carriers and employees to begin conferences with a 30 ARBITRATION AND CONCILIATION view to agreeing upon just and reasonable rules and working condi tions to replace them and set up certain principles to be used as a basis for such considerations In practically all instances only minor rules were agreed to by the carriers and employees in their direct negotiations and the entire rules question was subsequently resubmitted to the board for solution Decision No 222 and addenda constituted the board s determina tion of just and reasonable rules for shop craft employees Deci sions Nos and 757 replaced the rules granted by the Railroad Administration governing the working conditions of maintenance of way employees clerks signalmen firemen and oilers and telegraphers After the early part of 1922 there were no major rules decisions issued by the board although as with decisions affecting rates of pay some of the rules decisions applying to limited numbers of carriers were used by other carriers and employees as guidances in their own negotiations Other questions considered by the oard Besides questions in b volving rates of pay and working conditions other major questions which were referred to the board for solution were of employee rep resentation and contract work both of which were highly contro versial subjects and were very difficult of disposal Other disputes referred to the board pertained to grievances resulting from inability of the parties to agree upon proper application of existing rules or practices of the application of decisions rendered by the labor board or other tribunals of competent jurisdiction and to the question of discipline of individual employees Volume of work From the date of its establishment to Decem ber disputes were referred to the board Of this number 6 006 were of a local nature affecting individual roads and their employees in one or more classes of service or possibly two or three railroads at one point and 7 935 were of a general nature affecting large groups of railroads and their employees in any or all classes of service such as general requests for wage increases or wage decreases or general revision of rules governing working conditions The board during this period disposed of 13 447 of these submissions 5 549 of which were of local nature and 7 898 of general nature Of the total number of disputes 912 did not reach the status of regularly docketed cases 1 Principal Arbitrations of 1926 HE most important industrial arbitrations of 1926 as regards the number of persons affected were those relating to the con ductors and trainmen on the eastern railroads and to the employees of the American Railway Express Co These arbitrations were of particular significance also as being the first to develop under the new railroad labor act of 1926 and to be carried on under the forms of procedure laid down by that act These two awards are presented below as are also summaries of such other important arbi T 1 Data regarding organization and activities of Railroad Labor Board are from the Report of the United States Railroad Labor Board Apr to Dec No report has been published covering the early part of 1926 prior to the board s discontinuance 31 PRINCIPAL ARBITRATIONS OP 1926 tration awards of 1926 as came to the attention of the bureau and appear to be of general interest Conductors and Trainmen on Eastern Railroads rT HE decision of the arbitrators in the eastern trainmen s case A was announced December It dealt with the wages and with certain rules governing work and pay of conductors baggage men flagmen and brakemen members of the Order of Railway Con ductors and of the Brotherhod of Railroad Trainmen employed on 50 railroads in the eastern part of the United States Demands for the increases had been submitted to the employers several months prior to the enactment of the railway labor law of 1926 and on the enactment of this law the procedure therein pro vided for was followed First an attempt to settle the controversy through the agency of boards of adjustment representing the two parties and this failing the second proviso ox mediation by the United States Board of Mediation was resorted to This in turn was not successful but an agreement to arbitrate was secured Arbi trators were selected by the two groups the neutral arbitrators se lected by these arbitrators however declined the appointment The neutral members were thereupon appointed by the board of media tion The board organized October 27 last and examined the evidence offered The men had asked for an increase in pay averaging about 19 per cent The board awarded them an increase of 7 per cent over the rates in effect November the increase to date from December The two representatives of the railroad filed a dissenting opinion in regard to the amount of increase The text of the majority report and award was as follows R eport and A w ard op A r b it r a t o r s This board of arbitration was created under and in accordance with the pro visions of the railway labor act approved May for the purpose of arbitrating questions of rates of pay and certain rules governing work and pay upon which the Order of Railway Conductors representing the conductors and the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen representing the other trainmen and the yardmen and the railroads of the eastern district were unable to agree The railroad companies were represented by a conference committee of managers duly authorized to act for them A list of the railroads so represented Is included in the agreement to arbitrate The railroads selected as arbitrators R V Massey and William A Baldwin The employees selected E P Curtis and D L Cease The United States Board of Mediation appointed William D Baldwin and Edgar E Clark The matters to be arbitrated were requests for increased rates of pay and working rules a s follows Passenger service Mile Conductors Assistant conductors and ticket collectors Baggagemen handling express dynamo and Govern ment mail Baggagemen handling dynamo and express Baggagemen handling dynamo and Government mail 0456 Baggagemen handling express and Government mail 0456 Baggagemen handling either dynamo express or Gov ernment mail Day Month ARBITRATION AND CONCILIATION Mile Baggagemen Flagmen and brakemen Day Month N ote Where flagmen or brakemen are required to handle baggage express dynamo and Government mail or either of them the same differential as ap plies to baggagemen will be added to their rates For service paid local or way freight rates under schedules now in effect the rates shall be as follows Mile Day Conductors Brakemen For service paid the through freight rates under schedules now in effect the rates shall be as follows Mile Day Conductors Brakemen Yard service Day Car retarder operator Foremen Helpers Switchtenders Other service 1 The same increases shall apply to milk mixed work miscellaneous or any service not enumerated as are applied to the service in which they are now classified Where there is a separate rate for milk mixed work miscellane ous or other service it shall be increased in the same amount of money com pared with rates in effect this date as the freight or passenger rate according to the overtime basis on which it is calculated 2 All rates of pay in excess of standard rates and all mountain desert or other differentials to be maintained that is the same amount of money now paid in excess of standard rates to be paid in excess of rates which may be agreed upon 3 The adoption of the rates suggested shall in no case operate to bring about a reduction in compensation now paid 4 Literal application of the following language In all classes of service trainmen s time will commence at the time they are required to report for duty and shall continue until the time they are relieved from duty 5 A through freight train is one that neither sets off nor picks up cars nor loads or unloads freight en route nor does station switching On all other freight trains trainmen shall be paid not less than local or way freight rates 6 Not less than one brakeman shall be assigned to every passenger train of two or more cars or on other passenger trains of less than two cars that carry either baggage mail or express matter for distribution 7 All rates and rules herein enumerated to be effective as of January except where agreements in effect have been made to a later date The board met and organized on October Hearings at which evi dence was presented and received began on October 28 and continued until and including November 10 The parties were heard in oral argument on November 12 The railroads estimate that the requests of the employees would if granted in full equal an increase of 19 per cent in their pay which would amount to per annum All facts conditions and circumstances relied upon in support of the pro posals of the employees were presented and replied to in evidence and in argument It is not contended that these railroads can not afford to bear some increase in the wages of these employees After full consideration of all of the conditions and circumstances presented in the record and of the peculiar exacting hazardous and responsible char acter of the services performed by these employees the board adjudges and awards as follows The standard rates of pay per mile per day and per month for conductors assistant conductors ticket collectors train baggagemen train flagmen and PRINCIPAL ARBITRATIONS OF brakemen in passenger service for conductors and brakemen in local or way freight service for conductors and brakemen in through freight service for yard conductors or foremen for yard brakemen or helpers and for switchtenders shall be increased 7 per cent over the rates in effect on November SO 1926 In applying the 7 y2 per cent increase the daily rates will be used as bases Mileage rates will be determined by dividing the new daily rates by 150 and 100 for passenger and freight service respectively and monthly rates will be determined by multiplying the new daily rates by 30 Car retarder operators shall be paid 80 cents per day more than the rate herein fixed for yard conductors or foremen Train baggagemen required to handle express shall be paid 34 cents per day more than the rate per day herein fixed for train baggagemen Train baggagemen required to handle United States mail shall be paid 34 cents per day more than the rate per day herein fixed for train baggagemen Train baggagemen required to handle both express and United States mail shall be paid 68 cents per day more than the rate per day herein fixed for train baggagemen Train baggagemen required to handle dynamo shall be paid 34 cents per day more than the rate per day herein fixed for train baggagemen Train baggagemen required to handle dynamo and express or United States mail shall be paid 68 cents per day more than the rate per day herein fixed for train baggagemen If required to handle dynamo and express and United States mail he shall be paid 1 02 more per day than the rate per day herein fixed for train baggagemen The extra allowance for baggagemen handling United States mail will not apply when the amount of such mail handled does not exceed in volume between any two points that provided for the minimum space that can be authorized by the Post Office Department viz 3 feet or its equivalent 54 sacks or pieces Loading United States mail into car storing it in car sorting it en route or unloading it at intermediate or terminal points will constitute handling under this rule The extra allowance for handling United States mail will not apply when storage mail is in charge of the baggageman provided he is not required to handle it The extra allowances for handling dynamo express and or United States mail by train baggagemen will apply to other trainmen who may be assigned regularly or temporarily to that work On the adoption of the above award covering rates of pay W D Baldwin Clark Curtis and Cease voted in the affirmative Massey and W A Baldwin voted in the negative On the proposed rules submitted the board adjudges and awards as follows Rule 1 shall read The same increases shall apply to milk mixed work miscellaneous or any service not enumerated as are applied to the service in which they are now classified Where there is a separate rate for milk mixed work miscellaneous or other service it shall be increased in the same amount of money compared with rates in effect on November as the freight or passenger rate according to the overtime basis on which it is calculated Rule 2 shall read All rates of pay in excess of standard rates including daily and monthly guarantees and all mountain desert or other differentials shall be maintained that is the same amount of money now paid in excess of standard rates shall be paid in excess of rates which are herein awarded Rule 3 shall read The adoption of the rates herein awarded shall in no case operate to bring about a reduction in rates now paid Rule 4 The request submitted under this head is for enforcement of a rule that is very general in the pay schedules of these railroads It is not suggested that the language of the rule is ambiguous nor is any change in the wording of the rule sought The board is not clothed with police powers to enforce this or any other pay schedule rule Rule 5 shall read Trainmen in through or irregular freight service required to pick up and or set off a car or cars at four 4 or more points during any one trip or tour of duty will be paid local freight rates for the entire service performed Stops made 1 at first point to pick up cars other than cabin or caboose and at last point to set off cars other than cabin or caboose 2 at foreign line junction 34 ARBITRATION AND CONCILIATION points not exceeding four in number when interchange cars only are picked up and or set off 3 for setting off defective cars 4 doubling hills 5 for setting out cars or picking up cars but not setting out and picking up at the same point for the purpose of adjusting the tonnage of the train to established engine ratings will not be counted as stops under this rule Except as provided in 5 a stop covers picking up and or setting off cars at one point between the time train is stopped and the entire train is coupled up and ready to start Trainmen required to load or unload freight or to do station switching will be paid local or way freight rates Switching necessary in picking up cars will not be considered station switching Switching for the purpose of placing at loading or unloading places cars other than cars loaded with livestock or highly perishable freight will be considered station switching If in order to set out car or cars clear of main line it is necessary to move from spot a car or cars that are set for loading or unloading such car or cars will be replaced on spot and so doing will not be considered station switching Rule 6 This request is denied Rule 7 The rates of pay and the rules embraced in this award shall be made effective as of December On the adoption of the rules above awarded the vote of the board was unanimous except that W A Baldwin voted no on Rule 2 Employees of American Railway Express Co A DECISION affecting 65 000 employees of the American Rail way Express Co was rendered January by arbitra tors appointed under an agreement signed by the company and its employees December Negotiations had begun January when the Brotherhood of Railway and Steamship Clerks Freight Handlers Express and Station Employees asked the express company for an increase in wages of 11 to 12 cents per hour March 27 upon the company s definitely refusing the brotherhood s request the dispute was laid before the Railroad Labor Board When that board dissolved with out having acted in the case a new demand for increase was made on the express company and this being refused the matter was brought before the newly created United States Board of Mediation The company agreed to arbitrate the question the Order of Rail way Expressmen and the American Federation of Express Workers representing other employees of the company joining the brother hood for this purpose The arbitration board consisted of Hon William B Wilson Secretary of Labor during President Wilson s administration Emory A Stedman of Chicago a vice president of the express company and John H Clarke former justice of the United States Supreme Court the last named being selected by the other two who were appointees of the employees and company respectively The board after hearing both sides rendered the following unani mous decision Upon full hearing and consideration of the questions submitted the following award is made 1 An increase in the rates of pay of 2 cents per hour shall be paid to all employees comprehended within the terms of the agreement of submission 2 The same relative increase in the rates of pay shall be applied to all employees comprehended within the terms of the agreement of submission and rated upon daily weekly or monthly bases 3 Rates of pay in effect upon December shall be the basis upon which the increased rates of pay prescribed herein shall be computed PRINCIPAL ARBITRATIONS OF The increases in the rates of pay hereinbefore provided for shall be effec tive as of January Messengers in train service required to handle baggage shall be paid 4 cents per hour in addition to the general rates hereinbefore established by this award 6 Messengers in train service required to handle United States mail shall be paid 4 cents per hour in addition to the general rates hereinbefore estab lished by this award 7 Messengers in train service required to handle both baggage and United States mail shall be paid 8 V cents per hour in addition to the general rates 2 hereinbefore established by this award The extra allowance to messengers in train service handling United States mail will not apply when the amount of such mail handled does not exceed in volume between any two points that provided for the minimum space that can be authorized by the Post Office Department viz 3 feet or its equiva lent 54 sacks or pieces Loading United States mail into car storing it in car sorting it en route or unloading it at intermediate or terminal points will constitute handling under this award The extra allowance for handling United States mail will not apply when storage mail is in charge of the messenger provided he is not required to handle it The extra allowance for handling baggage and or United States mail by messengers will apply to other train service employees who may be assigned regularly or temporarily to that work The extra allowances herein provided for handling baggage and or United States mail by messengers shall become effective as of January Newspapers Washington D C A T THE expiration of the Agreement of Typographical Union No with the newspaper publishers of Washington November the union asked for an increase in wage rates which the pub lishers at first refused altogether though later they offered an increase of 30 cents a day Finally they offered to arbitrate the matter and Justice Hitz of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia was selected as arbitrator Justice Hitz on May 12 rendered an award modifying the exist ing contract in a few respects granting in the main the requests of the union 9 per day and 10 per night increasing the day rate by 1 30 and the night rate by 1 60 the number of hours to remain at seven Washington s Birthday added to the list of recognized holi days and the provision allowing an office to work its force overtime up to four hours a week at a single price removed The remaining clauses in the award are as follows 1 The printers proposal that section 2 of the existing contract relative to rates for day work night work and day and night work and day rate on Sun day afternoon or evening papers be changed to the rates requested by the printers is granted and the amounts proposed by the printers shall be the scale of wages embodied in the new contract in effect on and after November The printers proposal relative to linotype operators when required to do mechanical work on typesetting machines other than operating the keyboard is denied 3 The publishers proposal relative to any member of the union who by reason of advanced years or other cause may not be capable of producing an average day s work etc is granted with the substitution of the president of the union in lieu of the foreman of the office as stated by the publishers proposal 4 The printers proposal that if men are required to work at such time that the seven hours fall partly in the hours during which the day rate prevails and partly during the hours in which night rate obtains they shall receive the night scale except that etc is granted to take effect on and after May 36 ARBITRATION AND CONCILIATION 5 The publishers proposal in regard to the same condition namely that if men are required to work at such time that the eight hours fall partly in the hours during which the day rate prevails and partly during the hours in which the night rate obtains etc is denied 6 The publishers request for no change in the provision governing in case of a recall after the men have left the office for the day is granted 11 It is the finding of the arbitrator that the contract should run for one year from November except as otherwise provided herein 13 Section 9 is to remain the same dealing with journeymen as it is in the present contract 14 The printers proposal to limit apprentices in the ratio of 1 to 10 journey men with the further limitation that not more than five may be employed in any one office is denied 15 The printers proposal under d paragraph of section 2 sphere of work relating to the third year of an apprentice is granted the publishers having agreed to it 16 The change requested by the publishers under section 3 with regard to substitution of an eight for a seven hour day is denied 17 The scale governing apprentices after the first year referred to in section 4 shall remain as in the present contract without change either in day work or night work Stereotypers Detroit A N ARBITRATION award by Judge Frank Murphy was issued August in a dispute between Stereotypers Local No 9 and the Detroit Free Press and Detroit Times relative to the scale of wages to be in effect from May The union demanded 9 per 8 hour day or 7 hour night with 2 bonus for double shift and 10 30 for an 8 hour Saturday night The publishers offered 7 75 per 8 hour day or 7 hour night with 1 50 bonus for double shift and 8 85 for an 8 hour Saturday night Extracts from the opinion follow It has been difficult to avoid in this dispute principles that come to all wage disputes foremost among them being tlie cost of living and conditions of in dustry In the present instance both have been given careful consideration The former question cost of living was presented in argument by both sides while the latter was largely ignored The publishers argued that this board should not take into consideration in determining the fair and reason able wage for stereotypers the financial conditions of the publishers business nor the conditions under which they operate or are likely to operate It is contended that the condition of the publishers business is not an issue and therefore should form no part in the deliberations and plans of the board However separating the two principles is easier to do in theory than in practice Experience has gone far to demonstrate that neither the cost ofliving principle nor the condition of industry if used one without the other is a completely satisfactory basis for a policy of wage settlement Both general conditions and conditions in the particular industry should be given weight in every wage dispute and the latter itself should be a primary basis of decision A study of general conditions throughout the country discloses general prosperity and high production and in local newspaper business there is an obvious prosperity In industry as in all else the present is fleeting and the future is difficult to forecast and an arbitration giving consideration to the condition of business principles must keep this fact constantly in mind In the interest of industrial efficiency and friendly cooperation between the employer and employees wages should bear some relation not only to national wealth but specifically to the product of the industry concerned In the present instance the union has a right to assume that the growing productivity of the publishers business entitles its members to a progressive standard of living Under all the proofs and having in mind the recognized present general prosperity it is fair to conclude that in the business of the publishers profits are likely to be high and on the increase Therefore generally speaking they should be able to pay higher wages PRINCIPAL ARBITRATIONS OF Great improvements have been made in recent years and still are being made by those who are engaged in industry A limit to the possibility of increasing production has not been reached and no doubt invention new methods and common sense if worked together will help increase production in the future as it has in the past This industrial progress and the standard of living of workers should constantly move forward and for this reason there is grave danger in paying wages exclusively on the cost of living principle and the living wage Economists employers and employees have in recent years directed their attention to a large extent to the question of real wages as distinguished from money wages for the reason that what dollars will buy is more important than the number of dollars received as a wage It is only by constantly raisilig real wages and not just money wages that prosperity is brought about An increase in wages may be illusory if it is an increase in name only because the pur chasing power of the money may be appreciably decreased This considera tion makes it necessary to measure with fine accuracy changes in price levels which occur from year to year and from month to month Careful examination has been made of all the exhibits introduced in con nection with price levels from the base period December 1914 to December 1925 Likewise the wage scale during the same period has been closely scruti nized This study has established the following facts First That prices in Detroit advanced from December 1914 to December per cent Second That wages of stereotypers in Detroit advanced during the same period from 24 to 48 Third That 53 1 cents in December 1914 would purchase as much as 1 would purchase in December 1925 and that the increase in real wages for stereotypers during this 10 year period was only 1 48 per week or expressed in percentage 6 1 per cent Fourth That the percentage of increase in cost of living in Detroit from December 1914 to December 1925 is greater than for any other of the 32 American cities covered in the survey No attempt is here made to draw any other conclusion from these facts than that the increase in real wages to Detroit stereotypers from December 1914 to Deceniber 1925 has been trivial that for a good portion of this time the stereo typers must have labored under conditions that made life difficult to sustain because the advance in real wages failed completely to keep pace with the ad vancing cost of living and that in comparing wages in other American cities with the Detroit scale some consideration should be given to the fact that the cost of living in Detroit has increased by a larger percentage during this period than in any other of the 32 cities considered It follows that a money wage in other cities that appears to be equal to Detroit or even less may be appreciably more depending upon cost of living hours of labor and other social and eco nomic factors The present industrial organization of society is built upon the wage system and as long as it survives it must justify itself by providing the wage earner with sufficient to live on in a manner becoming to his dignity as a man This is not accomplished by furnishing him with a mere subsistence The gulf between a mere subsistence wage and a decent and comfortable living wage should broaden and especially when the industry concerned is not imperiled or in any way embarrassed as in the present case A wage is not a living wage unless through frugality a wage earner may earn sufficient to develop within reason able limits his physical spiritual moral and intellectual faculties and in addi tion be able to set aside a reserve to provide for accident old age illness and misfortune Under the present social order the father is the natural provider for all mem bers of the family It follows that whenever the wage earner lacks the means to provide for the becoming maintenance of his wife and children marriage and home life are discouraged women and children are obliged to labor and there is brought about a steady deterioration and lowering of standards in the families affected Therefore a living wage means a family living wage Budget studies are essential and helpful in giving application to the living wage principle but can not and should not control its use completely All of the budgets submitted have been studied and compared The visiting house keeper s budget for Detroit submitted by the publishers is hardly 38 ARBITRATION AND CONCILIATION applicable to the present dispute without considerable modification upward Throughout this controversy it must constantly be borne in mind that we are seeking to determine a just wage for the members of a well established skilled craft The budget referred to was not calculated to apply to a skilled worker s family such as a stereotyper s On the contrary it was designed in the main as a guide for relief work for relief giving organizations It would be unfair to impose this budget on the families of Detroit stereotypers and would mean a recession with no good excuse from the standard of living now prevailing Acceptance of this standard would only add to the perplexing problem now existing and would have a tendency to oblige housewives and children to labor It is not necessary here either to approve of the budgets offered in evidence or to arrange one as a model However a careful study of items and costs of the California commission s budget for clerks leads to the conclusion that the present stereotyper s wage of 8 per day or 2 496 for a year of 312 working days falls short of what is necessary for the comfortable and decent support of a stereotyper s family living in Detroit It is the contention of the publishers that under the present scale the average wage of stereotypers of Detroit is 51 08 indicating an average annual income of These figures of course are built on the overtime earnings of the men and for this reason these averages should not be a deciding factor in deter mining a just wage scale Overtime work saps the physical and mental strength of the men denies them recreation and takes from them both the attention they should give to and care they should receive from home In this connection it is observed that stereotypers of Detroit have not enjoyed the general reduc tion in weekly hours of labor that has taken place in their craft throughout the country and that they still labor on an 8 hour day and 7 hour night schedule While there is no direct evidence bearing on the ability or inability of the employers to bear an increase in wages there is abundant evidence of an increase in prosperity in the business of the employers There has been no substantial change in the relation between wages and cost of living since De cember 1914 No sound reason or principle requires that the relation between cost of living and wages which prevailed in December 1914 should remain always constant and be adhered to as an ideal standard At that time for example there was little difference in wage between stereotypers and day laborers In the interest of both employer and employed a progressive increase in standard of living and improvement in the economic situation of the wage earner should accompany a general increase in prosperity and living standards It is the opinion of the board that an increase of 3 60 per week in the wages of stereotypers would not be unreasonable in view of conditions in the in dustry and would be justified by the evidence submitted and the considerations herein mentioned The following award is made 1 The minimum scale for journeymen working two consecutive full time shifts in the same office at the request of the office representative shall be paid a bonus of 2 for the second full time shift over and above his regular pay 2 Eight consecutive hours or any part thereof between the hours of 6 15 a m and 7 p m shall constitute a day s work Seven consecutive hours or any part thereof between the hours of 5 p m and 5 a m shall constitute a night s work except on Saturday when 8 consecutive hours between the hours of 2 p m and 5 a m Sunday shall constitute a night s work and the pay for that night shall be The minimum scale of wages to stereotypers shall be as follows Journey men 8 60 per 8 hour day or 7 hour night Eastern Massachusetts Street Railways A N ARBITRATION award was made September be tween the Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway Co and its employees members of 15 locals of the Amalgamated Association of Street and Electric Railway Employees of America The award was signed by John C Leggat chairman and James H Vahey A dissenting opinion was filed by Fred A Cummings Several questions were laid before the board for decision but most of them were brushed away with the statement that concerning them 39 PRINCIPAL ARBITRATIONS OF there shall be no change made in the existing contract The only changes made in the existing agreement related to wages and hours regarding which the board spoke as follows 1 Wages of all employees affected by this arbitration shall be increased 1 cents an hour 2 For all work performed over 8 hours per day men shall be paid at the rate of time and one half The 8 hour day is in force on three other systems in this State on two of which at least the conditions are fairly comparable to those on this system It was admitted by the company that so far as it concerned the operating of this system and furnishing of proper service it made no difference whether the hours of labor per day be 8 or 9 The 8 hour day is becoming more universal each year and is recognized by law in Massachusetts for public employees The request of the men for a 12 per cent increase is not warranted by the evidence introduced The present cost of living figures show that there has been little change from those of last year and then downwards about two tenths of 1 per cent Explanatory of the working of the overtime rate the board in serted the following illustration in section 12 of the agreement Runs 8 hours and less than 8 hours and 30 minutes shall be paid 8 hours and 30 minutes Runs containing 8 hours and 30 minutes and less than 9 hours shall be paid 9 hours All other runs shall be computed in 15 minute periods To prevent misunderstanding in the interpretation of this paragraph it is agreed that for work actually performed between 8 hours and 8 hours and 30 minutes employees shall receive pay at the overtime rate of time and one half and for any remaining part of the one half hour they shall receive pay at their regular hourly rate For illustration A man operating a one man car with a run of 8 hours and 10 minutes shall receive pay for 8 hours at 67 cents an hour or 5 40 He will receive time and one half for the 10 minutes at his regular hourly one man car rate For the remaining 20 minutes of the half hour he will receive pay for one third of an hour at the regular hourly one man car rate the one man car rate referred to being 62 cents plus 5 cents or 67 cents an hour If a run is 8 hours and 25 minutes and up to 8 hours and 29 minutes both inclusive he shall be paid at the rate of time and one half on 30 minutes For work actually performed between 8 hours and 9 hours em ployees shall receive pay at the rate of time and one half and for the remain ing period within this one half hour they shall receive pay at their regular hourly rate All schedule runs with total time less than 8 hours shall pay 8 hours Street Railways of East St Louis and Vicinity T H E East St Louis Suburban Railway Co and the members of Locals No 805 and No 125 of the Amalgamated Association of Street and Electric Railway Employees of America June submitted to arbitration a dispute between them concerning the wages to be paid for the period beginning April and ending April The arbitrators in this case were Frank M Slater chairman C E Smith B F Thomas jr J R McMurdo and W L Perry Under the existing agreement wage rates of motormen and con ductors were as follows Cents per hour First 6 months Next 6 months Next 6 months Next 3 months Thereafter One man car 5 cents additional 40 ARBITRATION AND CONCILIATION The wage rates asked for motormen and conductors for the period beginning May and ending April are as follows Cents per hour First 3 months Next 9 months Thereafter For operating one man cars and busses for regular hours work an additional 15 cents per hour Interurban motormen and conductors 2 cents above city rates In the course of the award the board made the following state ments The record consists of almost 500 pages of testimony together with about 100 exhibits which we have most carefully considered to arrive at a fair and just conclusion in the premises Evidence has been presented by both sides to sustain the issues both for and against an increase of the wages the condition of the employers as well as the employees the character of the work of the men as well as the character of the property of the company W e have very carefully examined and weighed the evidence submitted on behalf of the company especially that part relative to comparable wages of street car men in other communities wages of firemen policemen clerks and oher industrial employees in this community The financial status of the com pany and this evidence is very impressive However the evidence submitted on behalf of the association of merchants in all classes and kinds of business real estate men and the authority reports issued by the United Sates Bureau of Labor Statistics show that within the last year there has been an increase in the cost of living in Bast St Louis and vicinity of approximately 3 per cent This is a paramount question in fixing wages This increase in the cost of living based on the scale of wages paid conductors and motormen gives approximately 2 cents per hour and it is the finding of this arbitration board that all employees covered by these arbitration proceedings shall receive a horizontal increase of 2 cents per hour Inasmuch as this increase is based on the increased cost of living we further find there shall be no change in the differentials now paid for one man car and bus service These findings shall be in effect as of May Carpenters Denver Industrial Commission of Colorado on April ren dered a decision in the matter of the Carpenters District Council of Denver and Vicinity against the Master Builders Asso ciation and other employers in the city of Denver and vicinity The wage received by the carpenters was 9 per day A demand for 11 per day effective May 1 1926 had been refused by the employers and the case was brought before the commission by the employees March From the findings and award the following extracts are taken The said employees contend they are entitled to said increase on account of the increased cost of living that said employees are able to secure work for only a part of the time throughout the year and that their average annual earnings are not sufficient for living purposes that the other trades are receiving more wages per day and per annum than the carpenters that the carpenters are the lowest paid of any members of the skilled building trades in the city of Denver that the carpenters are required to furnish more tools than any of the other trades and that the expense of maintaining and keeping said tools is greater than the other trades The employers contend that the carpenters in Denver receive as high wages as paid in other cities of similar size and that only in four or five other cities of the United States are higher wages paid carpenters than in Denver PRINCIPAL ARBITRATIONS OF The employers further contend that the increases in wages that the carpenters have already received greatly exceed any increase in the cost of living It appears from the evidence herein that the carpenters in skill and experience equal if not excel the other building trades that said employers within the last three years by agreement with the members and unions of the other trades voluntarily increased and fixed the wages of such other crafts as follows Brick layers to 12 and 13 per day plasterers to 12 and 14 per day ironworkers to 10 per day electricians to 11 per day plumbers to 12 per day or more painters to 10 per day steamfitters to 11 per day sheet metal workers to 10 per day tile layers to 11 per day common building labor to 6 50 and around 7 per day lathers to 11 per day The carpenters insisted at the hearing that at the time wages of other crafts were raised they could have likewise obtained a similar increase and could have received a wage proportionate to that paid other crafts considering their skill and ability but that on account of strife within their own union and because of the strong influence of an entirely extraneous organization they were not able at that time to come to any arrangement or agreement among themselves and that they were deprived of the opportunity of requesting increases granted to the other crafts From the evidence introduced herein it appears to the commission that the contractors should be protected in a large measure against any increase taking effect on work contracted prior to the time that they had notice of a demand for an increase in wages and feels from the evidence herein that no such increase should take effect prior to June The commission finds from the evidence herein that the members of this craft are at this time entitled to a wage of 10 per day for the reason that the wage scales paid other members of the building trade crafts are higher than the pres ent wage scale of said carpenters Therefore it is the order and decision of the commission that commencing June 1 1926 said employees be paid a wage scale of 10 per day Ladies Clothing Industry Cleveland T H E board of referees in the ladies garment industry of Cleveland granted an increase of about 5 per cent in the wage scales of the workers in that industry basing their decision on an increase in the cost of living since 1923 This board is a permanent one for the adjustment of disputes and consists of Morris L Cooke chairman Jacob H Hollander and John R McLane The award with the omission of the detailed schedules was as follows The regular wage hearing scheduled for December 1925 was postponed under an agreement between the manufacturers and the union until April 1926 and then again postponed by mutual consent until this time Therefore in determining the wage schedule which will obtain until our next regular meeting the board is obligated to take into consideration general business conditions national and local wage levels both within and without the ladies garment industry the status of the local garment industry as well as such change as may have occurred in living costs since our last consideration of the wage scale In fixing rates the board necessarily has in mind not only the situation as it is on the specific date when the hearing is held but such varia tions in the level of prices and wages as have occurred during the interval since the present scale was established as well as the apparent trend for the period between now and the next wage hearing In this instance the union is asking for a very considerable and specific wage increase basing their request on the higher cost of living and on what appears to them to be a favorable business outlook and a betterment in the local garment industry as well as an increase in the output for individual workers due to a stiffening in the standards The employers have argued strenuously against any raise during this period of what they concede may be one of returning prosperity to the Cleveland market They have argued that due to the guaranteed 40 weeks of work and the present scale the Cleveland workers now receive higher annual returns than those of any other market The manufacturers perhaps not very strenuously argued for a reduction of present rates 42 ARBITRATION AND CONCILIATION We feel that everything considered there are not sufficient grounds for any general increase in real wages at this time Local and national business condi tions do not warrant too positive assumptions as to whither we are going or where we will be six months from now or at the time of the next wage adjust ment We are hopeful that the union s prediction may be fulfilled However it has been established that whatever have been the ups and downs in living costs since April 1923 such costs are now in the neighborhood of 5 per cent higher than they were then and we are ordering an increase in the schedule which will adjust for the change The old and new schedules follow 2 The union has asked for an award of a proportionate increase for workers receiving week work wages above the minimum because of their productive ability As a matter of practice the board has always found it impossible to do more than establish the minimum W e have in this decision raised the minimum W e can register an opinion that equity demands the adjustment in rates which have been for good reason fixed above the minimum when there is a general advance in minimums But it is not feasible to do more than this The same also applies to the case of the unclassified workers As we have provided for an increase in the minimum it seems reasonable to suppose that employers will make corresponding changes above the minimum for such un classified workers The referees however as stated above can not depart from their previous refusal to interfere in the actual wages of unclassified workers It would be inexpedient to do so We agree with the contention of the union that there should not be a group of unclassified workers falling outside the pro tection of the agreement We suggest that the union and the manufacturers make an effort to work out some mutually satisfactory scheme for bringing these workers under our jurisdiction In case of failure we request a list of such workers together with their compensations be brought before us at our next meeting for such action as may then seem wise Conciliation Work of the United States Department of Labor S ITS title indicates the work of the conciliation service of the Department of Labor is that of mediation in labor disputes The following description of the work of the division is taken from the 1926 annual report of the Secretary of Labor Experience has demonstrated that no hard and fast rules or policies can be laid down to guide commissioners in the work of mediation Nearly every strike or lockout presents distinct prob lems which require different handling This is due to the collective characteristics that are generally found and that make necessary the exercise of different methods and procedure by the commissioner Local situations markets physical conditions and the personal equa tion enter into cases of trade disputes and these elements practically make each a case unto itself The authority for the work of conciliation gives the Secretary of Labor the right to assign commissioners of conciliation whenever he believes it advisable to do so The Secretary however unless it is a dispute of unusual character or great importance believes it the best policy not to intervene unless one or both of the parties directly affected or officials or representatives of the community concerned request the good offices of the department Yery often negotiations looking toward a settlement are in progress and it would be unwise for any agency governmental or otherwise to intervene while there is a real prospect of securing a settlement A 2 These schedule are given in the Labor Review for August 1926 p 221 CONCILIATION WORK OF LABOR DEPARTMENT In these circumstances the commissioner in touch with the situa tion takes no part other than quietly to advise the committee or rep resentatives of both sides and then only when invited to do so Often he is able to give assistance at the proper moment that aids in clearing up the issue in dispute In other cases it at once becomes apparent to the contestants in an industrial dispute that an experi enced Government mediator is necessary to guide the negotiations and the record of success that has attended the different kinds of cases has been very gratifying A trained neutral Government representative generally finds both sides to a trade dispute willing to accept his services He enters a case without bias and immediately proceeds to bring about con ferences where the differences are taken up and discussed at the council table where he can by counsel and suggestion guide the interested parties in the negotiation of a satisfactory settlement The success of our commissioners in securing acceptable settle ments is more worthy of note from the fact that their services are largely required when personal feeling runs high and attempts at adjustment through other agencies have failed It must be remem bered that a break in industrial relations due to a strike or lockout is conducive to an abnormal state of mind of the disputants Incidents that would have no particular significance in times of industrial peace in time of dispute are magnified and distorted Men say things in times of conflict they would not say at other times things which distress and anger The whole atmosphere is surcharged with suspicion and resentment It is not unusual to find the economic causes of the dispute quite lost sight of in the human desire to win the struggle in order that lost prestige may be regained and wounded feelings assuaged Again stressing the fact that the department deems it wise policy not to intervene where amicable negotiations are in progress between the disputants or other agencies are successfully at work to bring about a satisfactory settlement attention should be called to the real desirability of requesting the services of our commissioners before the strike or lockout stage has been reached The efforts of the representatives of this service are directed always toward the prevention of an open break that stops production with the consequent loss in wages and profits They endeavor to have work go on while negotiations are being conducted to bring about a settlement of the existing differences I f this be impossible and a strike or lockout occurs then their task is to secure a prompt and workable adjustment having always in mind the interests not only of the employer and employees but of the public as well The success that has followed as a result of the work of this branch of the department during the fiscal year can not be definitely set forth in the records because in scores of instances employers and representatives of employees have counseled with and accepted the judgment and advice of the commissioners on matters of indus trial relationship which possibly might have resulted in serious strikes or lockouts There is no wav of recording the exact results of this important part of the work of the commissioner of con ciliation 44 ARBITRATION AND CONCILIATION During 1925 26 the service used its good offices in 551 industrial disputes and was successful in securing settlements in 377 cases In 70 cases the commissioners aided State and local agencies and civic committees in clearing up disputes In 61 cases they were unable to secure an adjustment but in a few even of these the dispute was later adjusted along lines suggested by the commissioners Data supplied to the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the concilia tion service show that since the creation of the service in 1913 it has handled 7 503 industrial disputes involving directly and indirectly approximately employees During the past five years 2 558 cases involving some workers have been referred to the conciliation service and in from 84 to 87 per cent of the cases settlements have been reached The average of cases handled per month during the five year period is 51 The service at the end of 1926 has before it for settlement 68 cases involving the relationship between men and management These cases are from 17 States CHILD LABOR Extent and Character of Child Labor HE only comprehensive figures regarding the extent and occu pational character of child labor in the United States are those of the United States census of 1920 many of which have been analyzed in publications of the Federal Children s Bureau These figures show that at the time of the census there was a total of children 10 to 15 years of age inclusive gainfully em ployed in the United States This total was distributed by occupa tion and sex as shown in Table 1 T T able 1 O C C U P A T IO N S O F C H IL D R E N 10 T O 15 Y E A R S BY S E X i Boys O F A G E IN C L U S IV E Girls Total Occupation N um ber Agricultural pursuits forestry and animal hus bandry Farm labor home farm Farm labor away from hom e Other pursuits Nonagricultural pursuits Manufacturing and mechanical industries Clerical occupations Trade Domestic and personal service Transportation Extraction of minerals Professional service P ublic service not elsewhere classified Total Per cent N um ber Per cent Number Fourteenth Census of the United States Population Less than one tenth of 1 per cent Per cent Occupations of Children It will be seen that by far the largest numbers both of boys and of girls are found in agriculture with manufacturing and mechanical industries standing second for both sexes Among boys clerical occupations and among girls personal and domestic service take third place Agriculture and most forms of personal and domestic service are exempt from the restrictions of child labor legislation and it is significant to note that 66 5 per cent of the boys and 65 5 per cent of the girls are found in these two unregulated indus tries The probability is that the number in agriculture is really larger than shown since the census figures were taken in January at which time there is little farm work available for children yet even so the table shows that child labor laws affect little more than one third of either the boys or the girls gainfully employed Not far from one sixth of the boys and over one fifth of the girls are in manufacturing and mechanical pursuits which are usually the first to be brought under legal control CHILD LABOR The statement below gives in more detail the occupational distribu tion of the children 10 to 15 years of age who wereengaged in nonagricultural pursuits in 1920 Num ber Messenger bundle and office boys and girls Servants and waiters Salesmen and saleswomen stores Clerks except clerks in stores Cotton mill operatives Newsboys Iron and steel industry operatives Clothing industry operatives Lumber and furniture industry operatives Silk mill operatives Shoe factory operatives Woolen and worsted mill operatives Coal mine operatives All other occupations All nonagricultural pursuits Per cent This shows that over one fifth 21 1 per cent of the total group are operatives in some variety of mill factory or mine 5 per cent as newsboys work under rather indefinite regulation 10 per cent as servants and waiters may or may not be under legal supervision according to whether their work is in hotels restaurants and similar places or in private homes Geographical Distribution GEOGRAPHICALLY the working children are widely distrib JL uted In 1920 the proportion of children 10 to 15 years of age inclusive who were gainfully employed ranged from 3 per cent in the three Pacific Coast States to 17 per cent in the east South Central States comprising Kentucky Tennessee Alabama and Mississippi When all occupations are taken into account the pro portion of children at work was much larger in the South than in any other section of the country but when nonagricultural occupa tions alone are considered the proportion was considerably larger for New England and for the Middle Atlantic States and slightly larger for the east North Central States Ohio Indiana Illinois Michigan Wisconsin than for any of the three southern geographic divisions i Except telegraph messengers 8 Includes clerks in stores 49 EXTENT AND CHARACTER T able 2 P E R CENT OP C H IL D R E N E N G A G E D IN G A IN F U L O C C U P A T IO N S B Y S T A T E S Children 10 to 15 years of age inclusive Engaged in gainful occupations Division and State Total Agricultural Number A ll other Percent Number Per cent N um ber Per cent United States N ew England M aine N ew Hampshire V e rm o n t Massachusetts Rhode Island Connecticut M iddle Atlantic N ew Y ork N ew Jersey Pennsylvania East North Central O h io Indiana Illin o is M ichigan W isconsin W est N orth Central Minnesota Iow a M issou ri North Dakota South D akota Nebraska Kansas South A tla n tic Delaware M aryland District of Columbia Virginia W est Virginia North Carolina South Carolina Georgia Florida East South Central Kentucky Tennessee Alabama Mississippi West South Central Arkansas Louisiana Oklahoma T e x a s M ountain M ontana Id a h o W y o m in g Colorado N ew Mexico Arizona U tah N ev a d a Pacific Washington Oregon California i Compiled from Fourteenth Census of the United States Population 1920 Children in Gainful Occu pations p 13 Less than one tenth of 1 per cent 50 CHILD LABOR Changes in Extent of Child Labor from 1910 to 1920 T H E 1920 census showed a considerable decrease in the num ber of children gainfully employed as compared with the figures for 1910 The following table gives the percentage changes T 3 R E L A T IV E C H A N G E IN N U M B E R S OF C H IL D R E N A N D O F A L L P E R S O N S 10 Y E A R S O F A G E A N D O V E R G A IN F U L L Y E M P L O Y E D 1910 T O 1920 B Y O C C U P A T IO N A N D AGE i able Per cent of increase or decrease All persons 10 years of age and over Children 10 to 15 years of age Total population Total gainfully em ployed Agriculture forestry and animal husbandry Farm laborers home farm Farm laborers working ou t Nonagricultural pursuits Extraction of minerals Manufacturing and mechanical industries Transportation Trade Public service not elsewhere classified Professional service Domestic and personal service Clerical occupations Occupation Children 10 to 13 years of age i Compiled from Fourteenth Census of the United States 1920 Children in Gainful Occupations pp Occupations Age of Occupied Persons p 378 Thirteenth Census of the United States V ol IV Population 1910 Occupation Statistics p 302 According to the United States Census Bureau a large part of the decrease in the number of children reported in 1920 as employed is apparent rather than real This is due primarily to a change in the census date from April 15 in 1910 to January 1 in 1920 a cir cumstance which largely explains the smaller number of children reported in 1920 as engaged in farm work and other seasonal occu pations in which fewer children are employed in January than in the spring Since by far the greater part 84 5 per cent of the decline in the number of children reported at work in all occupa tions is due to the large decrease 54 8 per cent in the number re ported as employed in agricultural pursuits clearly much of the total decrease reported in 1920 can not be regarded as an actual reduction in the total numbers of children gainfully employed In the nonagricultural occupations however much of the decline in the numbers of children reported as employed represents a real decrease which may safely be attributed to conditions affecting directly and especially the labor of children Chief among these are the enact ment and strengthening of legal regulations Restrictions on Industrial Employment of Children C H I L D labor has always existed in this country and in view of the modern position there is a certain irony in the fact that the earliest legislation on the subject in the colonies was passed to enforce the productive employment of children especially in cotton spinning With the industrial revolution however and the RESTRICTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN 51 growth of the factory system the conditions of child labor changed entirely and protective measures began to appear on the statute books of the various States At first these laws were intended only to secure for the working child some chance for an education and as early as 1813 Connecticut passed a law providing for the education of working children by the proprietors of manufacturing establish ments in which children were employed 3 Next came regulation of hours of work for minors and then prohibition of employment of children under specified ages Little effective legislation how ever was passed before 1860 and what might be called modern standards did not appear until near the end of the century By the beginning of the twentieth century child labor had be come an exceedingly live issue and a number of States were taking active steps to control and regulate it There was a strong convic tion however that a problem of such dimensions required coordi nated treatment by an organization of national scope and in 1904 the National Child Labor Committee was formed With other organizations it was instrumental in securing the passage of a reso lution by Congress in 1907 authorizing the Commissioner of Labor to conduct an investigation into the whole subject of woman and child wage earners with special reference to the physical and moral effects of their employment the safeguards provided for them their wages cost of living and the like The investigation thus author ized was the first general inquiry into the conditions of child labor throughout the Union and its published results played a part in bringing about the establishment of the Federal Chldren s Bureau in 1912 This bureau was not intended to supersede in any way the work of the separate State bureaus but to supplement their efforts covering a wider field aiding to establish national standards and dealing with questions such as the employment of migratory child workers or the varying conditions under which children are employed in a given industry in different parts of the country which do not fall within the province of any individual State Also it deals with matters of child welfare apart from industrial employment Age and Hours of Labor C1VERY State in the Union regulates by law the employment of children All but Wyoming prescribe a minimum age for entrance on employment and this State has a compulsory schoolattendance law effective during the time that the public schools are in session The following table presents the standards fixed for employment in factories and workshops so far as age and hours are concerned also the minimum age for employment in mines As a rule the same standard applies to mercantile establishments and to factories though there are some exceptions In some States the same stand ards also apply to all gainful occupations but inasmuch as interest centers on the subject of factory employment the table presents this topic with the fewest possible notes 3 U S Department of Labor 1926 p 4 Children s Bureau Publication No 93 Washington 52 M IN IM U M CHILD LABOR AGE AND M A X I M U M H O U R S F O R T H E E M P L O Y M E N T OF C H IL D R E N Factories and workshops W ork time limited to State mum age Hours per Age D ay Alabama Arizona Arkansas C aliforn ia Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of C olum bia Florida Georgia I d a h o Illinois Indiana Iow a K entucky Louisiana Maine M aryland Massachusetts Michigan M innesota Mississippi Missouri M ontana Nebraska N e v a d a N ew HampshireN ew Jersey New M exico N ew Y ork North Carolina N orth Dakota O h i o Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South C a r o lin a South Dakota Tennessee T e x a s U tah V e rm o n t Virginia W ashington6 West Virginia W isconsin W y o m in g Night work pro hibited 16 U i i M W eek To age U Mines minimum age Be tween p m a m i T T U for females 3 Days Employees in cotton and woolen mills no age limit Females no age limit 8 Factories no age limit W ork time and night work fixed b y order of commission 7 16 for females Educational and Other Restrictions A GE and hour limitations are the most obvious methods of regu lating child labor but other methods have been adopted in recent years the most general being the requirement of educational qualifications the establishment o f minimum conditions of health and physical development and prohibition of employment in dan IN FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNERIES 53 gerous or unhealthful occupations According to a summary issued by the Children s Bureau in 1924 its Publication No 93 an edu cational qualification for children wishing to enter employment is required by 38 States 30 of which require the completion of a speci fied school grade In 29 States physical requirements have been established and in 22 of these an examination by a physician is compulsory before an employment certificate may be issued The earlier legislation as to prohibited occupations usually forbade the employment of children in vocations injurious to health or dangerous to life or limb 4 While the language of these early provisions was so broad that 4 it would seem to have included the employment of children under the prohibited age in occupations in which they were exposed to dangerous gases poisons and other health hazards it was generally narrowly interpreted so as to include only immoral exhibitions acro batic performances and other occupations usually described as vicious in themselves About 1900 the policy of including in the child labor laws a list of machines and of certain unhealthful occupations was begun Trend and Difficulties of Regulation T H E standards of child labor regulation have been fairly well worked out by this time It is rather generally agreed that before a child begins industrial work he should have the time and opportunity to secure the beginning of a sound physical development and at least the rudiments of an education that when employed he should be guarded against the strain of overlong hours and over heavy work and night work that since a child is naturally and inevitably more heedless than adults he should be excluded from the more hazardous pursuits that he should not be allowed to work under unhealthful or demoralizing conditions and in some parts of the country it is agreed that he should have opportunities while employed for carrying on his education especially along voca tional lines at least until he reaches the age of 18 These aims have not all been attained but public opinion has been aroused to their desirability and progress is being made toward them A number of problems however still demand attention some rising from the difficulty of enforcing the laws and some due to the fact that certain industries or occupations are exempt from regulation Sometimes one industry presents problems of both kinds owing to differences in State laws An illustration of this is found in the canning industry in which children are numerously employed See article below Child Labor in Fruit and Vegetable Canneries N THE year ending June the Children s Bureau made an investigation into the extent and conditions of child labor in the fruit and vegetable canneries of six States covering the special problems o f the migratory child worker in the canning in dustry including housing sanitation and the methods of recruiting I 54 CHILD LABOR such labor The results of the study are summarized in the annual report of the chief of the bureau for the year as follows Inspections were made in 536 canneries in six States Delaware Indiana Maryland Michigan New York Wisconsin These es tablishments together employed approximately 52 000 persons of whom 3 276 employed in 473 establishments were under 16 years of age 1 120 or more than one third of these being less than 14 or under the legal age for employment in canneries in all but one of the States included in the inquiry In this State in which chil dren of 12 years of age could legally be employed in canneries during school vacations 114 children under this age were at work many of them after the opening of school in the fall In all 302 of the children were less than 12 years of age 57 of these being under 10 A number of children including some too young for legal employment in canneries under the child labor laws of their States were working in hazardous occupations or under conditions detrimental to their health or safety Hours of work were long for the majority of the children reliable information obtained from time records or other sources showing that at least 2 771 or more than four fifths of the working children undSr 16 including 966 children under 14 had worked over eight hours a day In the canning industry long work days at the peak of the season are customary and in a number of States this in dustry is exempt from the legal hour restrictions applicable to women and minors in other factory work In all six of the States included in this inquiry the hours of labor of children in factory work were regulated by law but in three of these States canneries were specifi cally exempted In the other three the maximum 8 hour day and 48 hour week for factory work covered work in canneries but though the proportion of workers under 16 employed more than eight hours a day was less in these States than in those in which there was no legal regulation as to hours 59 per cent as compared with 92 per cent their number 476 was not inconsiderable More over a large proportion of the children under 16 years of age 2 174 or about three fifths of the total worked 10 hours or more onefifth 684 worked 12 hours or more of whom were girls worked 14 ho urs or more and 62 including 9 girls worked from 16 up to 20 hours Weekly hours also were in many cases excessive A considerable number of children worked at night Almost two fifths 1 241 or 38 per cent of those under 16 including 421 under 14 years of age were found to have been employed between the hours of 7 p m and 6 a m contrary to the provisions of the former Federal child labor laws and of the laws regulating the work of children in factories in 34 States at the present time Night work is not regulated in canneries in the three States included in this study which do not regulate the maximum daily and weekly hours of em ployment although prohibited in other kinds of factory employment In the three States in which legal prohibition exists 265 or 33 per cent of the child workers under 16 were employed between 7 p m and 6 a m as compared with 976 or 39 per cent of the children in the three States in which no such legal regulation exists The study shows in general that children under 16 are very gen erally employed in the canning industry that in some States because m AGRICULTURE MIGRATORY WORKERS 55 of the exemption of canneries from the laws regulating the work o f children in other manufacturing industries many children are em ployed without adequate legal protection and that even in States where laws exist for their protection a very considerable number of children are employed in violation of these laws Children in Agriculture Migratory Workers HERE are few regulations applying to the work of children in agricultural occupations Agricultural employment for chil dren as the layman often thinks of it consists in a child s doing chores suited to his strength around his father s place gradu ally taking up one occupation after another and learning farming in a natural practical and healthful way Unfortunately the de velopment of agriculture into a large scale industry has led to the employment of children sometimes on their parents place but more often among strangers under conditions of long hours unsuitable work and sometimes hazardous occupations almost as undesirable as are found in unregulated factory industries For several years the Children s Bureau carried on special studies along this line Some of its findings are brought together in a report on migratory child workers made to the Association of Governmental Labor Offi cials at a convention held in June 1926 The following is an abstract of that report During the period the industrial division of the Chil dren s Bureau made a series of studies of children engaged in agri cultural work selecting typical farming areas in different sections of the country with the idea of giving a fairly representative picture of the work of children on farms By personal interviews detailed information was obtained regarding approximately 13 500 children under 16 years of age engaged in agricultural labor full time though usually seasonal in 14 States including sugar beet growing sections in Michigan and Colorado cotton growing counties in Texas truck and small fruit areas in southern New Jersey and in Maryland Virginia Illinois Washmgton and Oregon wheat potato raising and grazing sections in North Dakota a section in the Illinois corn belt and tobacco growing districts in Kentucky South Carolina Virginia Massachusetts and Connecticut The most undesirable conditions found during these investigations were those affecting migratory children of whom the number was unexpectedly large Approximately 3 000 migratory child workers were included in the Children s Bureau studies regarding as migratory workers those who were not living at home during the period in which they worked on the farms These children were found in the greatest numbers work ing in the beet fields of Colorado and Michigan and on the truck farms of Maryland and New Jersey and the fruit and the hop ranches of the Northern Pacific States but a few of them worked in the cotton fields in Texas and on truck iarms in the vicinity of Chicago The migratory children included in the Children s Bureau studies by no means represent the total number of such child workers even T 56 CHILD LABOR in the sections where the studies were made For example in parts of Weld and Larimer Counties in the Colorado sugar beet raising districts the Children s Bureau study included 1 073 children who were beet field workers of whom 774 or 72 per cent were contract laborers children almost all of whom were migratory workers whereas it was estimated by the judge of the Weld County court that about 2 500 children were at work in the beet fields of Weld County and if the proportion of migratory laborers children in the Chil dren s Bureau study holds good for these there were almost 1 800 migratory child workers on the beets in this one county In the study of children working on the hop ranches and in the fruit orchards of Washington and Oregon some of the largest ranches even in the districts surveyed were not visited so that the 1 000 migratory child workers interviewed were only a small proportion of the num ber at work Conditions as found by the Children s Bureau do not therefore give a complete picture of children throughout the country who migrate to the farms for seasonal work but it is believed to be a representative one The most objectionable conditions found in connection with the employment of migratory child workers in these investigations were the housing situation the long hours worked and the interference with school attendance Each of these topics is discussed at some length Housing and Sanitation A LTHOUGH farmers were beginning to realize that they could not attract and hold the better class of laborers unless they provided comfortable quarters only too often the living arrangements for migratory workers were the veriest makeshift violating every standard of decency as well as comfort Laborers families in both Colorado and Michigan occupied any kind of shelter that was available for temporary use abandoned farm houses rude frame or tar paper shacks and even tents and caravan wagons though some of the sugar companies in Michigan had provided one or two room portable cottages for their laborers The dwellings were in many cases in bad repair dark ill ventilated and far from weatherproof Overcrowding was extreme In Colo rado 77 per cent and in Michigan 60 per cent of the laborers families lived with two or more persons per room Sanitation was poor and the water supply especially in the irrigated districts of Colorado was often neither plentiful nor protected against contamination Most of the laborers occupied their 6beet shacks for five or six months a year In Anne Arundel County near Baltimore Md individual farmers maintained camps for the migratory workers Most of them con tained but one building known as a shanty which served as sleeping quarters for all workers a weather beaten or unpainted structure the windows of which usually lacked either glass or shutters or both As a rule there was but one room on each floor with stairs on the out side leading into the upper room On each side of a narrow aisle down the center the floor was divided into sections or pens by boards 10 or 12 inches in height each being about 6 feet long and from 4 to 6 feet wide and covered with straw for a mattress Each family was IK AGEK5XJLTTOE MIGRATORY WORKERS 57 allotted one of these pens At night men women and children partially clad one family separated from the next by the plank lay side by side One such shanty in one of the camps housed 95 persons More flian one half the families had no toilet facilities 12 of the 25 camps visited had no privy only one had adequate toilet arrange ments and most of the camps were located dangerously near the water supply 4Here we are like fish in a barrel many families declared describing the way in which they lived as like hogs 5 4like sheep and 6like cattle beasts In southern New Jersey the workers were generally housed in labor camps on the grower s premises varying in size from a rude building or two housing half a dozen families to large well organized settle ments villages in themselves housing 300 to 400 pickers The living quarters were either one or two room row buildings or large two story barnlike structures divided into small rooms upstairs and down and housing many families Some of the camp buildings were in good repair but even in the best camps congestion was very great 55 per cent had three or more persons per room 27 per cent at least four The amount of cubic air space was very inadequate No provision was made for disposal of garbage or of waste water and the privies were often insanitary In connection with the housing provided for migratory families in New Jersey it is interesting to note that the Mothers Assistance Fund of Philadelphia would not grant mothers pensions to families migrating to the truck farms on the ground that the crowded conditions in the country were bad for the children Conditions of Work T H E child workers in industrialized agriculture employed as they usually are for harvesting when speed is essential work ing at piece rates at monotonous and repetitive operations and under the eye of the row boss work under conditions not very different from those of factory hands except that their hours are often much longer than factory hours The Children s Bureau found that on New Jersey truck farms 41 per cent of the migratory child workers of all ages worked at least 9 hours a day and 12 per cent worked 10 or more hours The 9 or 10 hour day for children was even more common in the hopyards and fruit orchards of Washington and Oregon in the hopyards and prune orchards of the Willamette Valley district studied in Oregon 33 per cent of the migratory child workers worked at least 10 hours a day and in the Yakima Valley district in Washington where the children were employed chiefly in picking hops 87 per cent worked 10 hours or more a day The migratory children who picked cotton in Texas worked at least 8 hours a day and 68 per cent had a working day of at least 10 hours Perhaps the longest hours of all were those reported by beet field workers from 50 to 75 per cent of the contract laborers children in the Colorado and Michigan districts the proportion varying with the different operations worked 10 hours or more a day the working day in some cases running to 13 or 14 hours Almost no attempt has been made to restrict the hours of agricul tural work for children nor to fix a minimum age for farm work so 58 CHILD LABOR that children under 10 years of age and even under 8 work these excessive hours in many different parts of the country Schooling leave school in the spring to go out to the farms and it is often November or later before they return where the families have no settled home even in the winter but follow the crops the year round as do many of the migratory workers in the Pacific Coast States the children are never long enough in one place to enter school or else they are enrolled in so many different schools during the year that they are unable to make any progress The beet field workers are likely to be withdrawn from school for the exodus to the beet fields in March April or May not to return until November or December and sometimes even January In the Colorado district studied the contract laborers children who lived a few miles from the beet fields lost on an average one fourth of the school term and a study of the school attendance of Colorado beetfield workers attending school in Denver and Lincoln showed that these migratory children had attended school only from 42 to 56 per cent of the term From 47 to 78 per cent of the various groups of migratory beet field workers in Michigan and Colorado were re tarded in school Comparison of the children working in the beet fields with nonworking children based upon the school records of several thousand children showed that the percentage of retarded children was 20 to 30 per cent higher among the employed than among the nonemployed children The bean pickers and other migratory child workers on the truck farms of Anne Arundel County Md had lost from four to six weeks of the school term in Baltimore because they had withdrawn from school to go to the country and 69 per cent of these workers were below the grades which they should have been in In Washington and Oregon the beginning of the hop harvest in September coincided with the opening of schools in many places from which the migratory workers came and the strawberry season in June in some sections of Washington and Oregon began before all the schools were closed Children in families who follow the crops suffer most from irregular attendance as they either do not go to school at all in the districts where their parents find work or else go irregularly to several schools in one year Although county at tendance officers and local school boards in the Yakima Valley and Williamette Valley districts studied made unusual efforts to get the migratory children to go to school in families which move from county to county and from State to State the children s schooling was at the mercy of the parents standards Fifty three per cent of the migratory workers in these districts had missed at least one school month twice as many in proportion as local workers who had lost as much time as that from school and from 31 to 59 per cent of the migratory workers were retarded Although the actual time worked by the migratory children in southern New Jersey was seldom more than three months the work INDUSTRIAL HOME WORK OF CHILDREN 59 extended over a period beginning sometimes as early as March and lasting until after the cranberry harvest in October or November As a rule no effort was made to send the children to school during their residence in New Jersey The local school authorities assumed no responsibility on the ground that the children were not residents of the State The farmers were not usually interested in getting the children in school as they felt that they needed the children s work in order to get their crops to market Parents were for the most part primarily intent upon the money that the children s labor added to the family income which would be considerably diminished if the children of the family were compelled to spend part of the day in school Half the children included in the study in New Jersey had lost 8 weeks or more from school and about 29 per cent had lost at least 12 weeks The average absence for farm work was 43 days Almost three fourths 74 per cent of the children were retarded in school A special supplementary study of about 800 Philadelphia school children leaving school to work on farms principally in New Jersey showed that the average school attendance of these children was only between 70 and 75 per cent of the term and 18 per cent of them had attended school less than 60 per cent of the term The average absence for farm work was between 15 and 20 per cent of the school year Among these children also it was found that almost three fourths 71 per cent were below the standard grades for their ages Industrial Home Work of Children HE home work of children is hard to regulate because of the difficulty of supervising it Hours may be overlong or work unsuitable or conditions unhealthful but no inspection force can visit sufficiently often to see that the child is protected T Philadelphia Study IN 1924 a study of the industrial home work of children was made in five counties in the Philadelphia region the results of which were recently issued by the Bureau of Women and Children of the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry The following summary gives some of its findings Under the Pennsylvania law minors under 14 may not be em ployed in any industrial process and those between 14 and 16 must have employment certificates before they may be legally employed The investigation covered 1 526 families of which 1 243 had children in the home In half 621 of the families of this latter group children to the number of 1 239 were illegally employed at industrial home work The largest number 455 were working on men s clothing 104 were employed on women s and children s clothing 100 worked on knit goods 427 worked at stringing tags and 153 were engaged in miscellaneous forms of work By age the 1 235 children whose age was reported showed the grouping which follows 60 CHIU LABOR Number Per cent Under 6 years and under 8 years 8 and under 10 years 10 and under 12 years 12 and under 14 years 14 and under 16 years Total The great majority it will be seen were under the age at which they might legally be employed at any kind of industrial occupation the comparatively small group aged 14 but under 16 were old enough to be employed but had no employment certificates Stringing tags employed the largest group of very young children the next largest group being employed on men s clothing pulling out bastings and picking off ravelings Girls were employed more numerously than boys three out of every five of the employed children being girls Ninety three per cent o f the group were native born but 67 per cent had foreign born fathers In 90 per cent of the families the father was living and at home with the family 4 per cent of the fathers were reported as out of work The median earnings of the fathers in families having children illegally em ployed were between 25 and 35 a week while for the families in which no children were working they were between 15 and 25 Nearly twice as many of the fathers in families where children did not work as in families where the children were working illegally fell in the lowest paid group The economic status of the father seems therefore comparatively unimportant as a deciding factor in the illegal employment of children at home work It was difficult to get accurate information as to the time the children spent at work but data were secured as to the time at which they worked Nearly 40 per cent of the children reported after noon work only but 61 children or 5 per cent were reported as working morning afternoon and evening More than one half of this latter group were stringing tags Although no minor under 16 may be legally employed after 8 o clock at night 387 or 32 per cent of the children were reported as working after 8 o clock at night These figures relate to the time of working on school days but in addition 367 worked on Saturday 4 on Sunday but not on Saturday and 46 worked on both Saturday and Sunday It was impossible to secure the earnings of individuals but for 599 families in which children were illegally employed the earnings at home work for the week preceding the inquiry were learned Threefifths 61 9 per cent had earned less than 6 during the week 16 per cent had earned 6 but under 8 and only 13 9 per cent had earned 10 or over The findings of the inquiry furnished a basis for new regulations affecting industrial home work which were adopted by the Pennsyl vania Department of Labor and Industry in June 1925 At the time this report was prepared these regulations had been in force for six months and the great majority o f the employers affected had shown themselves ready and willing to cooperate in working out plans for insuring their observance 61 WORK ACCIDENTS TO MINORS New Jersey Study jWIOPvE recently the Federal Children s Bureau conducted an in vestigation into industrial home work of children in New Jersey Its report on the subject has not yet been issued but an advance summary in the annual report of the Chief of the Children s Bureai1 for 1926 shows some o f the conditions existing Though the State department during the last few years has given special attention to the enforcement of the laws relating to home work children as young as 5 were found to have been engaged in such work for at least a month s time during the year Almost one fourth of the children who had done industrial home work in these families were under 10 years of age and almost four fifths were under 14 the legal age for factory employment under the New Jersey child labor law Speeding up was common particularly in the highly seasonal industries Although the children as a rule work irregularly they may be kept at their tasks for long hours during the season when employers are giving out large quantities of work Even while school was in session one eighth 13 per cent of the children worked four five and six hours a day which meant night work for many of them Work Accidents to Minors HE Federal Children s Bureau published in 1926 a report its Publication No 152 bringing together the results of investiga tions of work accidents to minors in three States Massachusetts Wisconsin and New Jersey All three of these States make special efforts to protect young workers All set 14 as the minimum age for industrial employment and each forbids the employment of those under 16 in specified dangerous occupations Massachusetts and Wisconsin go further and forbid employment under 18 in cer tain occupations considered especially hazardous Yet the number of accidents was large Within 12 months 7 478 industrial injuries occurred to employed minors under 21 years of age in three States 38 resulting fatally 920 in partial disability for life and the remaining in disability lasting for more than a week for more than 10 days in case of injuries occurring in two of the States The accidents differed considerably in severity in the three States as shown in the following table T N U M B E R O F A C C ID E N T S B Y R E S U L T A N D S T A T E Accidents resulting in State Death Permanent partial dis ability Tem po rary dis ability Total accidents Massachusetts New Jersey Wisconsin Total 62 CHILD LABOR Classified as to cause the industrial injuries to minors ir the three States show the following grouping C au se o f in ju r y N um ber o f in ju rie s Machinery Handling objects Falls of persons Vehicles Hand tools Stepping on or striking against objects Falling objects Hot and corrosive substances All other and not reported Total P e r ce n t o f t o ta l It will be noticed that more accidents were due to machinery than to any other cause Most of the machines causing injury according to the report were power driven The types of power driven machines on which most of the in juries occurred were in each State those used in its chief industries In Wisconsin metal working woodworking and paper and paper products making in Massachusetts textile metal working and leather working and in New Jersey metal working rubber and composition working and textile machines were the most frequent cause of the machine injuries Operation of certain dangerous power driven machines is for bidden to children under 16 years of age in all three of the States in which the study was made and the prohibition of these occupa tions to minors under 18 years would materially decrease the num ber of injuries to young workers There were proportionately more accidents from power driven machinery to minors 16 and 17 years of age than to those under 16 who were more adequately protected by the law or to those of 18 years or over who had more experience more nearly mature judgment and better powers of muscular co ordination Moreover minors 16 and 17 years old suffered pro portionately more severe injuries than either the younger or the older workers Death or permanent partial disability resulted from 13 4 per cent of all the injuries to workers 16 and 17 years of age for workers under 16 the corresponding percentage was 10 7 and for workers of 18 19 and 20 years it was The necessity of providing legal safeguards for young workers is indicated by the severity of the injuries to Wisconsin minors em ployed under illegal conditions 4 One third of the injuries occur ring to minors at work in illegal occupations and one half of the injuries caused by violation of safety orders as compared with only one tenth of the injuries to minors employed under legal con ditions resulted in death or permanent partial disability The matter of accidents to minors who are illegally employed is beginning to attract considerable attention Pennsylvania being one of the first States to make a special investigation of the subject 4 Wisconsin is the only State of the three covered by the study where statistics are available on this point WORK ACCIDENTS TO MINORS 63 Injuries to Illegally Employed Minors in Pennsylvania IN WISCONSIN if a child is injured in an industrial accident while 1 illegally employed he is entitled to three times the compensation which would be due if his employment were legal a plan which is said to be very effective in discouraging the illegal employment of minors See Labor Review April 1923 p 128 In Pennsylvania under the same circumstances the child is expressly excluded from benefit under the workmen s compensation law No information concerning accidents to this class of young workers is available therefore on the records of the compensation commission and it has never been known how many are injured in the course of illegal employment With a view to gaining some light on this question the Pennsyl vania Bureau of Inspection made an investigation of all accidents reported as occurring to minors under 18 during the months of June and July 1925 and published a summary of its findings in Labor and Industry for February 1926 Thirty seven minors or 8 5 per cent of the group investigated had been it was found illegally em ployed and of these 25 were under 16 years of age In several in stances there had been more than one illegality in connection with the employment of the injured minor Twenty two had no employ ment certificates 16 were in prohibited occupations 4 were employed for more than the legal maximum of hours 2 were in night work 2 had a T day week and 1 was under 14 years of age As the sufferers were not under the operation of the compensation law no record was available of the loss of time through the injuries received but some of the accidents had been serious One boy of 16 had been killed while driving a truck an occupation prohibited to minors under 18 years of age Seven had had broken arms or legs 3 had fingers or parts of fingers amputated 10 had suffered severely strained or crushed limbs while the remaining 16 had suffered less serious injuries The results of the study show it is held the need for more study of noncompensable accidents to minors If the facts brought out for the sample investigated hold true for all minors under 18 years of age and there is no reason to believe that they do not 8 5 per cent of all minors injured at industrial accidents are debarred from compensation benefits This investigation emphasized above all else the fact that since with the utmost care in the enforcement of the law illegal employment of children probably can never be eliminated entirely more information must be obtained regarding accidents occurring to minors not coming under the compensation law CONVICT LABOR 65 Extent and Character of Convict Labor T is now generally conceded that a convict should be kept at work both for his own good and for the good of the State but there is difference of opinion as to what the work should be and as to the system under which the work should be done and the disposal of the product His idleness means higher taxes for his maintenance de terioration of his physical and mental well being and greater unfit ness for his reentrance into the social and industrial world On the other hand if the convict is put at productive work he produces some article that directly or indirectly comes into competition with a similar article made by the free citizen If the convict makes an article even for his own use free labor does not get the chance to make that article I f the convict makes an article that is sold in the open market there is one article less that might be made by free labor and the market price for the article is affected by the competi tion Further convict labor may be so concentrated on one particu lar kind of article that the prison article dominates the market almost to the extinction of the free labor article Again the convict has nothing to say about the price of his labor his labor is not mobile he can not strike and he can not be discharged for incompetence There is frequent demand on the part of legislators of prison boards of manufacturers and of the public in general for informa tion concerning the industrial side of prison administration To meet this call for information the Bureau of Labor Statistics from time to time has made surveys of the industrial features of convict labor The most recent of these surveys was made in the latter part of 1923 and the full report published in Bulletin No 372 The data regarding the extent and character of convict labor contained in this report are summarized below These findings as noted relate to conditions existing in 1923 Federal legislation regarding convict labor in effect January is given in detail in Bulletin No 434 of the Bureau of Labor Statistics entitled Labor Legisla tion The survey made by the Bureau of Labor Statistics covered State and Federal prisons for civilian adults only It did not include juvenile reformatories county or city institutions or Federal mili tary prisons Institutions maintained strictly as juvenile reforma tories seldom produce much that goes into the general market It is understood that a few county and city penal institutions have shops producing commercial goods but the xunds available for the bureau s study would not permit the inclusion of such institutions Their omission however is of no great importance A total of 104 institutions were canvassed 101 being State insti tutions and 3 Federal All States and the District of Columbia were covered The institutions bear various titles as prison penitentiary reformatory house of correction workhouse farm camp etc I CONVICT LABOR The report for each institution covers all of the operations during one full year It was not possible to get reports from the institutions for a year common to all because of the different times of ending of the fiscal year in the several institutions It was necessary to take the report for the last fiscal year for which figures were available In most cases the reports were for the fiscal year ending in the latter part of 1923 Special agents of the bureau visited each institution and practically all of the data were obtained from the several insti tutions or from contractors having work done therein under the contract or piece price system The average number of convicts in the institutions during the year reported was 84 761 of which 79 350 were in State prisons and 5 411 in Federal prisons Of these 84 761 convicts or 61 per cent were employed at productive labor This number does not include 25 127 convicts or 30 per cent engaged in domestic prison duties such as cooking washing cleaning etc The sick averaged 2 602 or 3 per cent and the idle 5 233 or 6 per cent Of the 51 799 convicts employed at productive labor 6 083 or 12 per cent were working under the contract system 3 577 or 7 per cent under the piece price system or 26 per cent under the public account system or 36 per cent under the State use system and 9 763 or 19 per cent under the public works and ways system The total number of convicts employed in the contract and pieceprice systems combined was 9 660 and the amount paid the institu tions for their hire was or slightly more than 340 per annum per convict This amount does not however include some money paid the convicts for extraordinary service by way of over task bonuses The lease system so frequently found in operation years ago was not reported as in effect in any institution canvassed The relative importance of the several systems is further indicated by the value of the goods produced In the year covered the value of the goods produced under the several systems was as follows Contract system Piece price system Public account system State use system Public works and ways system Total The value of the products in the three Federal penitentiaries which is included in the above statement was All goods produced under the contract piece price and publicaccount systems enter into the general competitive market The total for the three systems was Thus 62 per cent of all goods produced were destined for direct competition on the open market Systems of Employment several systems under which convicts are employed together with that of the lease system now obsolete so far as State and Federal institutions are concerned are as follows EXTENT AND CHARACTER 69 Contract system Under this system the State feeds clothes houses and guards the convict To do this the State maintains an institution and a force of guards and other employees A contractor engages with the State for the labor of the convicts which is per formed within or near the institution The contractor pays the State a stipulated amount per capita for the services of the convict supplies his own raw material and superintends the work Piece price system This system differs from the contract system mainly in method of payment for the labor of convicts The State maintains the institution and feeds clothes and guards the con victs The contractor supplies the raw material and pays the State an agreed amount for the work done on each piece or article manu factured by the convicts The supervision of the work is generally performed by a prison official although sometimes by the contractors The officials of the prison not only maintain discipline but also dictate the daily quantity of work required Public account system So tar as the convict is concerned this system does not diner from the piece price system but for the insti tution it is entirely different In the piece price system the con tractor finances the business and assumes all the chances of profit and loss In the public account system the State enters the field of manufacturing on its own account It buys the raw material manu factures and puts the product on the market and assumes all the risk of conducting a manufacturing business The State has the entire care and control of the convicts and with them conducts an ordinary factory The institution may sell the product direct or through an agent S tate use system Under this system the State conducts a busi ness of manufacture or production as in the public account system but the use or sale of the goods produced is limited to the same instition or to other State institutions The principle of the system is that the State shall produce articles of merchandise for its own con sumption alone and shall not compete directly with the business of manufacturers employing free labor Public works and ways system This system is very similar to the State use system Under this system the labor is applied not to the manufacture of articles of consumption but to the construction and repair of the prison or of other public buildings roads parks breakwaters and permanent public structures Lease system Under this system the State enters into a con tract with a lessee who agrees to receive the convict to feed clothe house and guard him to keep him at work and to pay the State a specified amount for his labor The State reserves the right to make rules for the care of the convict and to inspect the convict s quarters and place of work No institution is maintained by the State other than a place of detention where the convicts can be held until placed in the hands of the lessee and in which to confine convicts who are unable to work Conditions are not always so clearly defined as the above defini tions would indicate This is particularly true with respect to the contract and piece price systems for example a firm may have an agreement with a penitentiary whereby a stipulated amount per man 70 CONVICT LABOR per day is to be paid thus making the agreement fall under the con tract system But the agreement may further provide that a cer tain minimum task or amount of work must be performed in a day making the agreement while classed under the contract system partake to some extent of the piece price system Again the major quantity of an article produced in an institution may fall under one system with a minor surplus classed under another system For example an article may be produced pri marily for State use yet some of the commodity may be placed on the general market making the minor part fall under the publicaccount system Table 1 shows by States the average number of convicts during the year and the number employed at productive labor by systems of work Only 20 States or two fifths of all have the contract or piece price system of employing their convicts The public account system was found in all States except Ohio New Hampshire and the District of Columbia but it was inconsequential in several States The State use system appears in all States and the public works and ways system in 28 States and in the District of Columbia T able 1 N U M B E R OF C O N V IC T S E M P L O Y E D A T P R O D U C T IV E L A B O R IN S T A T E A N D F E D E R A L PR ISO N S A verage nu m b er of convicts dur ing year State Total I n d i a n a Iow a Kansas K entucky 1 596 Louisiana M aine M a ry la n d Massachusetts M ichigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri M ontana Nebraska N evada N ew H a m p sh ire N ew Jersey N ew M exico N ew Y ork N orth Carolina North D akota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania R hode Island Alabama A r iz o n a Arkansas California C olorado C onnecticut D ela w a re District of Colum bia Florida Georgia Id a h o Illinois i Less than 1 Em ployed at pro ductive labor Average number of convicts at productive labor b y system under which employed State use Public works and ways Public account Piece price Contract a e x t e n t a n d c h a r a c t er T able 1 N U M B E R O F C O N V IC T S E M P L O Y E D A T P R O D U C T IV E L A B O R I N S T A T E A N D F E D E R A L P R ISO N S Continued A vera g e n u m b er of convicts dur ing year State Total South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas U tah Verm ont Virginia Washington West Virginia W isconsin W yom ing Total Federa Georgia Kansas Washington Em ployed at pro ductive labor Average number of convicts at productive labor b y system under which em ployed State Public works and ways Public account Piece price Contract Total Grand t o ta l In the collection of data the bureau sought to ascertain the quan tity and value of goods produced during the year and the value of the goods disposed of These two items might or might not be the same depending on whether or not everything produced was disposed of during the year In some instances it was not possible to get both items Figures relating to goods disposed of were generally more readily obtainable than production figures Separate tables relating to each of these two classes of data are included in this report but in some instances it has been necessary to accept and use disposal figures in lieu of production figures and vice versa In other words in certain cases the same figures relating either to production or disposal appear in both tables Value is interpreted as wholesale market valuation Table 2 applies to production It states the kind and as nearly thereto as figures were available the market value of goods produced subdivided under system of production The grand total value of all things produced in the year in the institutions was in round numbers Under the State use system the principal articles produced in State institutions and Federal penitentiaries as shown in Table 2 measured by value are farm garden dairy and livestock products clothing all kinds auto tags and textiles Under the public account w piece price and contract systems com bined all goods produced go into the competitive market The principal articles produced were Shirts binder twine and rope shoes coal pants 72 CONVICT LABOR farm and garden products etc overalls etc brooms reed chairs children s play suits hosiery bungalow aprons Some of the articles listed though large in value of production have but little effect in the competitive market while certain other articles of less value but of a particular kind have a very appreciable effect on general market conditions Under the public works and ways system buildings were con structed to the value of and roads to the value of Of the 48 States only 15 had convicts on road work It was necessary in most instances to accept estimates o f the value of road work accomplished during the periods scheduled The total for all institutions reporting was Florida showed something over Georgia North Caro lina almost and Virginia nearly T able K IN D A N D V A L U E OF A R T IC L E S P R O D U C E D B Y S Y S T E M U N D E R W H IC H PRODU CED State institutions Articles produced Bags etc jute B akery products Baskets Box shooks knocked d ow n B rick Brooms and brushes Building Clothing A p r o n s Aprons bungalow A uto suits Children s play suits Garments m iscellaneous Overalls and jumpers Pants w ork Shirts chambray Shirts flannel Shirts work Tailored Coal Coffee roasted C oke Farm garden dairy and live stock Farm implements Flags Flax Furniture Chairs reed or fiber Chairs w ood Chiffoniers cabinets and cases w ood Desks wood or fiber Average number of convicts em ployed Value of articles produced under specified system Public works State use Piece price i Contract Total W io L Including estimated Estimated a Including 71 212 estimated 4 Including estimated 8 Including estimated 6 Including estimated 7 Including estimated 8 N ot including value of garden truck produced b y 2 inmates 9 A m ount paid for labor of convicts 1 See notes under systems for details 0 1 Including 90 000 estimated 1 12 Includes 10 fiber desks value Public account e x t e n t a n d character T able 2 K IN D A N D V A L U E OF A R T IC L E S P R O D U C E D B Y S Y S T E M U N D E R W H IC H P R O D U C E D Continued State institutions Continued Articles produced Furniture Continued Furniture other reed or fiber Furniture other wood Rockers settees and benches reed or fiber Rockers settees and benches wood Tables wood or fiber Chairs caned Handkerchiefs Harness Collars horse S e t s H ollow ware K nit goods Hosiery M ittens Underwear Laundry Leather findings Lime Linens etc Lum ber M ats Autom obile Coir and chain Mattresses and upholster ing Metgl and aluminum ware Monuments Printing Books blank Books bulletins e tc Forms circulars pam phlets etc Printing other Quarried and crushed stone Repair and shop work Roads Road signs Rugs and art w ork Sheet metal ash cans etc Shoes Shoes repaired Stoves Tags auto Tags license Textiles cotton T o b a c c o ch ew in g and smoking T o y s Traps wire Tubs butter Twine and rope W hips W ood pulp Total Value of articles produced under specified system Average number of convicts em ployed State use Public works Public account Piece price Contract Total w M io i io Estimated i See notes under systems for details 13 Includes 788 fiber tables value u Including value of 33 605 dozen pieces undershirts mittens and hosiery not reported separately 1 Including estimated 5 w Including lime and pulverized limestone valued at 929 and sand and gravel at Including lime and pulverized limestone valued at 1 208 M Including estimated 19 Amount paid b y contractor or State to institution and inmates 2 Less than 1 0 21 Estimated for labor only 74 T CONVICT LABOR able K IN D A N D V A L U E O F A R T IC L E S P R O D U C E D B Y S Y S T E M U N D E R W H IC H P R O D U C E D Continued Federal pen iten tiaries Articles produced B r ic k Brooms and brushes Building Clothing Garments miscellaneous Overalls and jumpers Shirts work Tailored Farm garden dairy and live stock Furniture wood Chairs Chiffoniers cabinets and cases Rockers settees andbenches Tables Other furniture K nit goods Underwear dozen Linens etc Printing Blank books Books bulletins e t c Forms circulars pamph lets etc Other printing Repair and shop w o r k Sand and gravel unloaded S hoes Shoes repaired Textiles Duck cotton D uck remnants and waste W ood unloaded and cut T otal Value of articles produced under specified system Average number of convicts em ployed State use Public account Public works Piece price Contract T otal Less than 1 Table 3 shows by industry or article the value of goods sold under the public aecount piece price and contract systems and a total of the three systems by States and for the United States In contrast to these figures the table also sets forth the value of goods used within the State by its own institutions This table refers only to consumption goods that is goods that are consumed in their using It does not include permanent build ings and roads constructed under the public works and ways system the data for which will be found in Table 2 The goods sold in the market under the public account system including the Federal prisons total in value under the piece price system and under the contract system making a total valuation of goods placed on the general market of The value of the goods disposed of under the State use system including the Federal prisons total 75 EXTENT AND CHARACTER T V A L U E O F GO ODS U SE D O R S O L D T H A T W E R E P R O D U C E D U N D E R T H E S T A T E U S E P U B L IC A C C O U N T P IE C E P R IC E A N D C O N T R A C T S Y S T E M S A N D A M O U N T R E C E IV E D F O R H I R E O F C O N V IC T S B Y IN D U S T R Y able State institutions Industry Bags etc jute Baking commercial Baskets Box shooks knocked down Brick Brooms and brushes Building construction Clothing Aprons Aprons bungalow Childrens play suits Garment making unclassified Overalls and jumpers Pants work Shirts work T ailorin g Coal m ining Coffee roasting Coke making Farm garden dairy and livestock Farm implements Flax industry Furniture Granite and stonecutting m onu m ental Handkerchiefs Harness H ollow ware Hosiery and underwear Laundry Leather findings L im e Linens etc making and m end ing L um ber Mats automobile Mattresses cotton and uphol stering Printing Quarrying granite and stone and rock crashing Repair and shop work miscel laneous R oad building R ug and mat weaving Sheet metal work Shoemaking Shoe repairing Soap making Stoves Sugar Tags plates signs etc Textiles Cloth cotton and w ool Duck cotton Tobacco manufacturing chew ing and smoking T oys Traps wire Tubs butter Twine and rope W hips W ood p ulp Total Value of Value of goods or produce sold b y sys Am ount goods tem under which produced paid in used pro stitution duced for hire under Public Piece of con Contract State use account Total price victs system Average num ber of con victs em ployed i r W orking for private contractors erecting prison buildings 2 Coats pants vests and overcoats 3 Value of labor only 4 Chair caning 5 Including sand and gravel Including pulverized stone for fertilizer Value of labor working for private contractor 8 Sold from previous year s production 9 Including 865 sales to another State under com petitive conditions 1 N ot including 14 convicts making auto suits not 0 sold 76 T CONVICT LABOR 3 V A L U E O P G O O D S U S E D O R S O LD T H A T W E R E P R O D U C E D U N D E R T H E S T A T E U S E P U B L IC A C C O U N T P IE C E P R IC E A N D C O N T R A C T S Y S T E M S A N D A M O U N T R E C E I V E D F O R H IR E O F C O N V IC T S B Y IN D U S T R Y Continued able Federal institutions Average num ber of con victs em ployed Industry Brick Brooms and brushes Clothing Garment making unclassi fied Overalls and jumpers Tailoring W ork shirts Farm garden dairy and live stock F u rn itu re Linens etc making and m end ing Printing Repair and shop work miscel laneous Sand and gravel unloaded Shoemaking Shoe repairing Textiles D uck D uck remnants and w aste Underwear W ood unloaded Total Value of Value of goods or produce sold b y sys tem under which produced goods used pro duced under Piece State use Public Contract Total account price system Am ount paid in stitution for hire of con victs i u Less than 1 Sale Within and Without the State IN THE collection of data an effort was made to obtain figures that would show the proportion of goods sold within and without the State where produced The total of all sales on the market was of which 42 per cent represented goods sold within the State in which produced and 58 per cent those sold outside of the State In 25 States the products were disposed of entirely within the State while in 22 States some products were sold outside the State Ohio and the District of Columbia sold no products Eighty to ninety nine per cent of all goods produced in 11 States Delaware Iowa Kentucky Maryland Nebraska New Hampshire Oklahoma Rhode Island Vermont Wisconsin and Wyoming were sold out side the State 50 to 79 per cent of all goods produced in 5 States Connecticut Indiana Tennessee Virginia and West Virginia were sold outside the State and 6 to 42 per cent of all goods produced in 6 States Maine Michigan Oregon Minnesota Illinois and Massa chusetts were sold outside the State It is interesting to note that these 21 States produced 77 per cent of the total convict made product placed on the open market e x t e n t a n d c h a r a c t er 77 Sex of Convicts Q F THE total number of convicts in the institutions studied aver aging 84 761 during the year were males and 3 057 or 4 per cent were females In 7 States males and females were con fined in separate institutions while in 37 States and in the District of Columbia both sexes were confined in the same institutions Four States show no females confined within the institutions reported The three Federal penitentiaries report only male convicts Compensation YJJT HILE primarily the bureau s objective in this study was to show the kind quantity and market value of goods produced and their disposition whether on the open market or within the State s own institutions other features of interest and of economic value were observed Probably the most interesting of these features is the compensation to prisoners The fact that institutions generally keep no specific account of the amount of daily earnings received by inmates makes it impossible to give this information any very definite character However facts of a generally comprehensive nature are available and an attempt has been made to assemble them in a few statements which may prove instructive It was found that in 53 of the 104 institutions reporting the con victs received no kind of compensation while in 51 institutions some sort of compensation was paid Considering the minimum compensation as a basis convicts in 31 institutions were paid 10 cents or less per day In 7 institutions including 1 Federal prison in which only those engaged in manu facture were paid convicts were paid over 10 cents and under 20 cents per day while in 11 institutions the convicts received 20 cents and over per day In 1 institution convicts received the free labor wage rate after the completion of a task and in 1 a bonus was paid for overtask work In most instances where contractors were con cerned overtask work was compensated at the same rate paid to the institution for the hire of inmates Certain institutions reported rates as high as follows 20 cents to 50 cents 25 cents to 50 cents 25 cents to 70 cents 25 cents to 80 cents and 25 cents to 1 50 per day Higher compensations than these are sometimes made through overtask work The compensation of convicts while incarcerated is a problem which prison boards and State authorities are coming to view with great seriousness To some extent compensation is a matter of incentive to the convict toward good work and better behavior but the far greater question is the condition of the convict s family A convict with a conscience wants to care for his family and a convict without a conscience should be compelled to care for his family As stated many States now pay a small wage to convicts and some require a part of the wages to be sent to the convict s family Some States go further in the relief of destitution by looking after and caring for dependents left in want by the loss of earnings of the imprisoned head of the family 78 CONVICT LABOR Hours of Work TH E hours of labor required of convicts is another matter of in terest This feature was difficult to summarize properly since within the same institution varying hours might be found This condition was reported in 16 of the 104 institutions reporting In some cases this variation is due to school work while in others it is simply a variation because of the line of work performed the work on the farm usually requiring longer hours than that within the shops or factories Considering the minimum hours of labor required 37 institutions reported under 8 hours as a day s work 36 reported 8 hours 26 re ported over 8 and under 10 hours and 5 reported 10 hours and over the highest number of hours worked being a range of 10 to 12 hours Each institution reporting observes some holidays Forty six per cent of all institutions reporting observe 6 to 8 holidays Fifteen per cent observe 10 holidays In only 1 institution is so small a number as 2 holidays observed while in 3 institutions 11 are ob served No work is done on Saturday afternoon in 29 of the 104 institu tions covered Historical Comparison T H E bureau had made four surveys of convict labor prior to the survey of 1923 These surveys have differed to some extent in their scope The present survey applies only to State and Federal penal institutions maintained primarily for adults while some of the other surveys particularly the survey of 1905 included county and city institutions Table 4 shows the change that has taken place in the relative importance of the several convict labor systems since 1885 Data for noncomparable institutions have been eliminated and the figures of the table relate to the same institutions or at least to the same kind of institutions as covered by the 1923 survey T P E R C E N T OF C O N V IC T S E M P L O Y E D A T P R O D U C T IV E L A B O R U N D E R D I F F E R E N T S Y S T E M S IN D I F F E R E N T Y E A R S AS SH O W N B Y R E P O R T S OF T H IS BUREAU able Year System 1885 Lease Contract Piece p r i c e Public account State use Public works and ways Total Per cent of all convicts employed at productive labor I Public account State use and public works and ways were inseparably combined 2 N ot reported In per cent of all the convicts employed at productive labor were employed under the lease system Each succeeding sur EXTENT ANEl CHARACTER 79 vey shows a drop in the percentage employed under the lease system until in 1923 the system so far as the State and Federal institutions are concerned had entirely disappeared The lease system is now looked back upon as little more than legalized and ofttimes barbaric slavery and even when in operation it was excused only by a plea that the State was too poor to build equip and maintain prisons and prison workshops Table 4 also shows a steady reduction in the extent of the contract system from 40 per cent of all convicts employed in 1885 to 12 per cent in 1923 The piece price system has not changed so materially and has been of rather small importance so far as numbers are con cerned Combining the figures for the contract system and the pieceprice system which do not differ very materially in effect it is seen that 48 per cent of all convicts at work came under these two systems in 1885 while the two systems together totaled but 19 per cent of all convicts employed in 1923 During the period covered extended growth is seen in the State use and public works and ways systems Unfortunately segregation can not be made in the figures for 1885 and 1895 Collectively the public account State use and public works and ways systems increased from 26 per cent of all convicts employed at productive labor in 1885 to 81 per cent in 1923 In this connection attention is drawn to the line at the end of the table which shows that 75 per cent of all the convicts in the several institutions were employed at productive labor in 1885 while in 1923 only 61 per cent of all the convicts were so employed Competition of Prison made Goods TV7ITH labor conditions so materially different in prison factories as compared with factories employing free labor it is evident that conflicts must arise when the products of these two types of factories meet in competition in the open market A study of the industrial side of convict labor would be incomplete without a consideration of this competition and therefore in the 1923 survey an opportunity was given free labor employers meeting competition with convict labor goods to present such evidence as they desired to give concerning the effect of competition on their sales This evidence is given in detail in Bulletin No 372 An outside manufacturer selling his goods in competition with the goods of other outside manufacturers and with convict made goods as well may see his business shrinking and he may realize that convict goods are underselling his goods A mathematical measure of his loss actually due to competition with convict goods is however difficult of measurement because of the other factors that may affect the market including possibly his own lack of manage ment or his own business judgment The evidence given by freelabor employers however is worthy of careful consideration by legis lators and boards and wardens responsible for the administration of prison labor The great cause of complaint was that prison contractors get their labor cheaper than free labor employers do and because of this lower item of production cost the prison contractors can and do undersell 80 CONVICT LABOR them Further it was charged that contractors get shop room power heat and light free or at a nominal cost No inquiry was made as to whether prison boards and wardens asked for competitive bids for the labor of convicts or whether the contract made with a contractor was one of more or less private noncompetitive negotiations A rather peculiar thing in this con nection was that certain prisons contracting the labor of their con victs neither stated clearly or frankly in their published reports the fact that there was a contract nor showed the number of convicts under contract or the day rate or the piece rate Another complaint was that the State itself under the publicaccount system may produce goods and sell them under terms of ruinous competition The State has the prisoners and if the prison industries do not support the prisoners then the taxpayers must The prison can thus make and sell goods without having to pay a free labor wage and the prison must do business regardless of selling price for the convicts must be kept at work Some taxpayers be come incensed when they see the State using their taxes to main tain a j enal institution with a manufacturing plant therein that demoralizes or destroys the taxpayers trade On the other hand some industries as for instance the manufacture of binder twines are conducted by prisons because of the insistent demand of large groups of taxpayers A third complaint was that convict labor may be concentrated not only on a particular article but on a particular kind of article to such an extent that the prison article completely dominates the market Were convict labor limited to the production of articles in which prices are governed by a world market like wheat or cotton there undoubtedly would be no complaint of convict labor competition It is not the matter of volume that counts so much in competition as the specialization of the particular type of article COOPERATION 81 Cooperative Societies in the United States HE Bureau of Labor Statistics made a statistical study of the cooperative movement in the United States in 1920 That study covered only consumers societies and the collective buy ing activities of the farmers marketing organizations In 1925 another but more inclusive survey was made covering not only con sumers societies proper but also credit housing and workers pro ductive societies Except where otherwise noted the data below are taken from the report of that study Bui No 437 The cooperative movement in this country is little developed as compared with European countries Nevertheless on the basis of the societies which have furnished reports to the Bureau of Labor Statistics for 1925 the total cooperative membership may be placed at over 700 000 and the cooperative business for 1925 at considerably in excess of It may safely be said that the cooperative movement in the United States not including agricultural organiza tions reaches several million people During the early part of this century a slight revival of interest in consumers cooperation took place This gradually increased in strength reaching its crest during the war years of high prices when nearly two fifths of the consumers societies were formed The year 1920 marked a turning point in the tide of consumers coopera tion since 1921 few new societies have been formed and the societies in existence have had a hard struggle The year 1920 also marks the beginning of a rapid development of the cooperative credit move ment Since that year with the passage of enabling legislation in State after State the idea of cooperative credit has spread widely and rapidly The greatest development of the consumers movement has taken place in the Middle West while the great majority of credit societies are at present on the Atlantic coast As however it has been only within the past few years that cooperative credit societies have had legal status in other parts of the country the indications are that the next few years will see a change in the geographical distribu tion of the credit union movement The housing societies are almost entirely confined to New York City In the majority of cases the cooperative leaven among the population is too small to be of any particular influence on the com munity as a whole A small proportion of the associations on the other hand are in places where the cooperative membership includes a very large per cent of the people and in these cases the cooperative society can be a real influence in insuring fair wages conditions and hours of labor in training the members both in business principles and in the give and take of practical democracy and in raising the general cultural level in the locality T COOPERATION Consumers Cooperative Enterprises rT lHE consumers societies have come through a period of hard times but seem now to have rallied and to be on the upward trend They are more than holding their own in point of membership real sales capital and reserves They have entered many lines of busi ness and are making good Data are at hand from 479 consumers societies distributed accord ing to type as follows Retail store societies dealing in Number General merchandise Groceries Groceries and meats Students supplies Other commodities Percent Total Wholesale societies Gasoline filling stations Bakeries Laundries Boarding houses Restaurants Water supply societies Miscellaneous societies Grand total The societies listed above dealing in other commodities include 2 organizations handling coal only 1 art supplies 1 dry goods and furniture 1 men s clothing and 4 miscellaneous articles The mis cellaneous societies include 1 milk distributing society 1 garage 1 light and power society 1 printing office and 1 undertaking estab lishment The term general merchandise covers a variety of goods such as groceries meats light hardware shoes various articles of clothing etc The farmers societies usually handle also farm supplies feed lumber and even farm machinery and in Illinois the general co operative store is likely to carry also miners supplies and equip ment Several of the general store societies of Michigan and Wis consin also deal in forest products Considerable versatility in branching out into new lines is shown by the societies studied Nine societies in addition to their regular business also handle coal one of these sells ice as well and another also operates a milk route One store society also deals in gaso line another in automobile tires another in oil and tires and two others in gasoline and oil One of the gasoline filling stations also carries tires and accessories A milk station as well as a grocery and meat business is operated by one organization three others run bakeries in connection with the store and still another has both a milk station and bakery One of the Finnish societies supplements its store business with a bakery and restaurant and another with a milk station coal yard restaurant and bakery An Italian generalstore society also has a pool room and assembly hall for its mem bers A northern society which has a general store also does a public dock and ship chandlery business and one of the older stu 85 COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES IN THE UNITED STATES dents societies in addition to the textbooks etc can supply its mem bers with clothing tailor service kitchen utensils and paints But perhaps the most varied activities are found in a New York society which has four cafeterias a bakery food shop lending library and credit union the policy of this society is to add to the services offered rather than to spread thin a single service over one new group of members after another Five of the societies are buying clubs which have no store but simply pool the orders of their members The cooperative gasoline and oil stations are a very recent devel opment in the cooperative movement The cooperative boarding houses represent an interesting phase of the cooperative idea These are mainly Scandinavian and Finnish societies composed of unmarried men who band together to supply themselves with board and lodging without profit Many of these organizations also accommodate transients In some cases the build ing is owned by the society Many of these societies are operated at cost each man paying in advance the amount estimated as needed to cover the week s expenses The boarding houses reporting have housing accommodations for 312 roomers and serve meals to an average of 1 513 persons per day The number of persons served varies considerably from season to season One northern society reports that in the summer when the ore docks in the locality are active the number of boarders runs up to as high as 80 but in the winter the number may fall as low as 10 The four restaurants which reported on the point average 4 490 meals per day A total of 534 establishments is operated by 456 societies and 447 of these societies give employment to 3 409 full time and 49 part time workers Membership and Business rT lHE table below shows by States the number o f members and the A business done in 1925 by all the consumers societies combined T able M E M B E R S H IP A N D B U S IN E S S O F C O N S U M E R S C O O P E R A T IV E T IE S IN 1925 B Y S T A T E S State Number of mem bers Am ount of business Alabam a Alaska Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Idaho Illinois Indiana Iow a Kansas K entucky Maine Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Missouri M ontana Nebraska N ew Hampshire SO C IE State N um ber of m em bers N ew Jersey N ew Y ork North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South D a k ota Tennessee Texas Virginia W ashington West V irginia W isconsin W yom ing Total Am ount of business COOPERATION The same data as above are given by types of society in the following table averages per society and per member being also shown T able 2 M E M B E R S H IP A N D B U SIN ESS OF C O N S U M E R S S O C IE T IE S IN T Y P E OF S O C IE T Y Business Membership T y p e of society N um ber of socie ties report ing Total 1925 B Y N um Aver ber of age socie per ties society report ing Amount Aver Average age per per mem society ber 1 Retail store societies dealing in General merchandise Groceries Groceries and meats Students supplies Other com m odities T otal Wholesale societies Gasoline filling stations Bakeries Laundries Boarding houses Restaurants Water supply societies Miscellaneous societies Grand total i Based on societies reporting both membership and business 2 Insufficient data The above table shows a somewhat greater average membership than was disclosed by the 1920 study 269 members but it is open to the objection that it does not cover identical societies for both years Tnerefore in order to test the accuracy of this indication of the growth of consumers cooperative societies the 214 societies which furnished membership data in both studies were taken for comparison These societies showed an increase in membership of 39 per cent from 1920 to 1925 In other words the cooperative societies which survived the depression period have more than held their own in point of membership The combined membership of the societies handling general merchandise increased from 29 413 in 1920 to 30 291 in 1925 or 3 per cent but the membership of all other types of consumers societies combined increased from 37 983 to 63 394 or 66 9 per cent The grocery societies alone showed an increase in membership of nearly 50 per cent The consumers societies which reported in both years had an average membership per society in 1925 of 438 persons nearly two fifths larger than in 1920 when it was 315 Six Year Trend of Cooperative Business 17 ACH society was requested to report as to its sales for each year from 1920 to 1925 and reports for all six years were received from 204 societies The data are shown in Table 3 COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES IN THE UNITED STATES T able A M O U N T OF BUSIN ESS OF ID E N T IC A L C O N S U M E R S S O C IE T IE S E A C H Y E A R 1920 T O 1925 B Y T Y P E OF S O C IE T Y T ype of society Soci eties report ing for all years Amount of business Retail store societies dealing in General merchandise Groceries Groceries and meats Students supplies Other commodities Total Wholesale societies Bakeries Laundries Boarding houses Restaurants Water supply societies Miscellaneous Grand total As would be expected 1920 was a year of very high sales for co operative societies as it was also the year of highest prices That year was followed by a decided drop in 1921 and a still further de cline in 1922 Business improved in the following year and still more in 1924 and in 1925 had even exceeded the 1920 mark by 5 1 per cent In 18 States also the sales for 1925 surpassed those of 1920 The sales have been affected by a number o f factors the rise and fall of prices during the six year period the fluctuations in employ ment in the trades of the members with the consequent effect upon their purchasing power strikes especially in cases where the mem bers were largely of one trade such as miners railroad men etc and general economic conditions In 1920 the general stores were doing the largest annual business of all the retail store societies while among all types the wholesale societies held the lead In 1925 however the wholesales still ranked highest in average sales but the general stores had been outdistanced by grocery and meat societies and those handling students supplies Of all types of consumers societies the wholesale societies suffered most from the depression their business falling in 1922 to less than half their 1920 sales By 1925 the sales of all societies combined had more than overcome the depression and five of the group had sales in that year more than 25 per cent in excess of their 1920 business Net Trading Profit or Loss A LTHOUGH a few societies still operate on the cost plus plan i e they set their selling prices only high enough to cover the cost of the goods plus estimated expense of operation this practice seems to be on the decrease and all but 15 of the societies reporting sell at current prices Sale at current prices not only avoids arousing 88 COOPERATION the antagonism of private competitors because of the price cutting involved in the cost plus plan but it obviates the necessity of guess ing what the overhead expense will be The difference or margin then between the cost of goods plus the overhead expense and the selling price constitutes the ordinary dealer s profit or the cooperative societies saving it is not profit in the ordinary sense in the case of the cooperative society but repre sents what the member lends the society above the cost of his goods Unfortunately only incomplete returns are available as to the net trading profit or loss and dividends paid by consumers societies on the 1925 business Only 441 societies replied definitely to the ques tion of whether a profit was made on the 1925 business Of these 317 had a profit 87 were able only to make ends meet 15 operate on the cost plus plan and so showed no profit and 22 lost money The profit for the 71 9 per cent of the societies which had a profit aggre gated more than a million and a half dollars as shown below T able 4 A M O U N T O F N E T T R A D I N G P R O F IT O R LOSS ON 1925 B U SIN E SS B Y T Y P E OF S O C IE T Y Net trading loss N um ber of socie ties re porting T y p e o f society Retail store societies dealing in General merchandise Groceries Groceries and meats Students supplies Other commodities T otal Wholesale societies Gasoline filling stations Bakeries Laundries Boarding houses R estaurants Water supply societies Miscellaneous Grand total Amount Net trading profit N um ber of socie ties re porting A mount Aver age rate Average per per society cent of profit on 1925 sales N ot including 3 societies which reported a loss but did not state amount 2 N ot including 1 society which reported a loss but di J not state amount 8 N ot including 4 societies which reported a loss but did not state amount 4 1 society only Patronage Rebates C ROM the trading surplus made by the business a fixed rate of in terest is paid on the share capital after which a certain percent age is usually set aside for a reserve to meet unexpected losses De preciation is taken care of by writing off a certain percentage of the value of buildings furniture fixtures etc Some societies also set aside money for educational work along cooperative lines Finally after provision has been made for all the above purposes the re COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES IN THE UNITED STATES 89 mainder of the profits is returned to the members in proportion to their patronage The return of purchase dividends proportioned to the amount o f the member s business with the society is peculiar to the cooperative movement This insures that the member who does the most trading at the store shall receive the highest trade rebate and the member whose business with the store is small shall receive a proportionally small return In other words the system was designed to reward the loyalty of the members in the exact degree of their loyalty Data are at hand as regards purchase dividends returned for 425 societies Of these only 172 of 317 which reported a profit on the year s business also returned a dividend The 15 cost plus societies should also be regarded as returning purchase dividends which the member obtained at the time of purchase in the form of a lower cost price The statement below shows for 165 societies the amount returned in patronage dividends Seven others not included in the table re ported that they also paid dividends but failed to state the amount so returned N um ber o f s o cie tie s Retail store societies dealing in General merchandise Groceries Groceries and meats Students supplies Other commodities Total A m ount Wholesale societies Gasoline filling stations Laundries Restaurants Water supply societies Miscellaneous Grand total Many of the societies return to nonmembers one half the rate of patronage dividends paid to the members In some cases however the nonmember s rebate is not paid in cash but is applied on the pur chase of a share of stock so that in time the customer automatically becomes a member and as such entitled to the full rate of dividend One of the most successful societies fixes the rate of nonmember dividend at 2 per cent irrespective of the rate paid to members Another returns no dividend to nonmembers earnings from their patronage are put into a permanent reserve to insure the safety and extension of the business as a consumers cooperative Fourteen societies reported that all the profits for 1925 were applied on deficits 1 N o t in clu d in g 1 s o cie ty w h ic h p a id a d ivid en d in stock b u t d id n o t s ta te a m ou n t so p aid 1 w h ich p a id a 2 p er cen t d iv id en d b u t d id n o t sta te a m ou n t so p a id a n d 1 w h ich giv es a d isc o u n t o f 10 p er cen t a t tim e o f p u rch a se on ca sh p u rch a ses 2 N ot in clu d in g 1 s o cie ty w h ic h p a id a 1 p e r ce n t a n d 1 w h ic h p a id a 7 p e r ce n t divid en d b u t d id n o t s ta te a m ou n t so p a id 8 N ot in clu d in g 1 s o cie ty w h ic h a llo w s a d iscou n t o f 3 p e r ce n t o n a ll b ills p a id every 30 days 4 N ot in clu d in g 1 s o cie ty w h ich a llow s a d iscou n t o f 2 cen ts a g a llo n on g a so lin e and 5 cen ts a g a llo n o n o il N ot in clu d in g 7 s ocieties w h ic h retu rn ed a d iv id en d b u t d id n o t s ta te a m ou n t s o returned 90 COOPERATION of previous years four societies that all the profits were placed in the reserve or surplus fund and one of these adds that no dividends will be paid until the surplus equals three societies are applying their profits on the purchase of a building to house the society seven put all the profits back into the business as share capital one society uses its profits for various social measures for the benefit of the mem bership as a whole and another is doing so this year It is sound business policy to use part at least o f the profits to build up the reserves and doubtless many of the societies which did not explain the failure to pay dividends were making the same disposition of profits as were the societies which reported definitely on this point A fourth society a boarding house provides that any profits shall go to build up a surplus to the amount of 1 000 nothing is said as to the disposal of profits after the reserve reaches the amount so set Three societies illustrate a policy not so commendable These societies sustained a loss on the year s business nevertheless all re turned purchase dividends presumably from reserves amounting in one case to nearly 7 50 per member in the second to about 10 and in the third to nearly 9 In the majority of cases the bakeries return no patronage divi dends but use any profits made for various social causes following the Belgian practice Three other societies which sell at current prices do not practice the return of patronage rebates One uses the savings to further a certain social cause and to enlarge the business the second uses all surplus not needed in the business to advance the cause of labor and the third provides that should this society through its activities yield any profits same shall be transferred un divided to the reserve fund which may also be used for enlarging and improving the enterprise or its aims As already seen more than was returned in patronage dividends on the 1925 sales What this means to the individual cooperator is shown in the table below This table gives for the socie ties which had a profit the average amount of this profit per society and for those societies which returned purchase dividends the aver age dividend per society and per member and the rate per cent of dividend on the basis of sales and of share capital In cooperative practice the dividend is never spoken of in terms of capital for a fixed rate of interest is paid on capital It has however been con sidered worth while here to calculate the dividend on the basis of capital as well as o f sales so as to afford a clearer comparison be tween private enterprises in which it is customary to figure dividends in terms of stock and cooperative societies In reading the table moreover it should be remembered that the rate of dividend shown as being returned on capital is in addition to the interest paid on stock so that if the interest figures for which are not available were included the rate would be considerably higher 91 COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES IN THE UNITED STATES T A V E R A G E P A T R O N A G E D IV ID E N D P E R S O C IE T Y A N D P E R M E M B E R A N D R A T E OF D IV ID E N D ON S A LE S A N D ON C A P IT A L B Y T Y P E OF S O C IE T Y 1926 able Average dividend Rate per cent of divi dend on T yp e of society Per society Per member Sales Capital Retail store societies dealing in General merchandise Groceries Groceries and meats Miscellaneous commodities including students supplies Total Gasoline filling stations Laundries Boarding houses Restaurants Water supply societies Miscellaneous Grand total Impossible to compute as half of the societies are nonstock associations A ll types except those grouped under miscellaneous commodities Although the dividend returned by cooperative societies averaged only 3 8 per cent on sales the rebate if calculated on the basis of the stock investment averaged nearly 30 per cent no mean return Here again gasoline filling stations took the lead The watersupply societies though having a high dividend on sales fell very low in point of capital return since the price of water sold is very small as compared with the amount invested in the plant Capital and Reserves IN PREVIOUS years high dividends have been emphasized as one of the things to be striven for by the successful society and many a failure of a supposedly strong cooperative organization has been due to the fact that all the earnings were returned to members in dividends leaving no reserves for emergencies Cooperative socie ties are more and more recognizing the value of establishing first of all from the earnings of the prosperous years adequate reserves to meet the exigencies of the lean years That this is so is evidenced by the fact that the reserves of the societies reporting average more than half the amount of paid in share capital and that as seen although over 70 per cent of the societies here studied earned a profit only a little over 40 per cent returned patronage rebates The following table shows the paid in share capital and reserve of the consumers societies at the end of 1925 and the averages per society and per member 92 T COOPERATION able 6 A V E R A G E S H A R E C A P IT A L A N D R E S E R V E P E R S O C IE T Y A N D A V E R A G E C A P IT A L P E R M E M B E R D E C E M B E R Reserve fund Paid in share capital N um ber of societies report ing T yp e of society Retail store societies dealing in General merchandise Groceries Groceries and meats Students supplies Miscellaneous com m odities Total Wholesale societies Gasoline filling stations Bakeries Laundries Boarding houses Restaurants Water supply societies Miscellaneous societies Grand total A m ount A ver N um ber of Aver age age per per societies society mem report ing ber i Aver age per society A m ount On basis of societies reporting both capital and membership 2 N ot including 5 nonstock associations 3 N ot including 1 nonstock association N ot including 7 nonstock associations 6 N ot including 2 nonstock associations 6 N ot including 16 nonstock associations 7 N ot including 21 nonstock associations The reserves per society average more than one half of the amount of share capital a very favorable situation The 1920 study dis closed an average capital per society of and per member of 59 and an average reserve per society of 5 142 Thus the 1925 figures show a gain on all three points especially as regards reserves Cooperative Federations T H E cooperative wholesale movement which appeared so promis ing early in 1920 has been largely abandoned One by one these societies have been discontinued or have failed in some cases because of lack of support by the retail societies in some cases because of inexperience difficulties in transportation etc Now only a few wholesales remain and most of these are joint consumers and farm ers organizations A new start is being made by at least two o f the district federations with the inauguration of joint purchasing of certain staple commodities in the hope of building a wholesale busi ness eventually The development of the cooperative movement throughout the country is u spotty many societies being isolated and out of touch with fellow cooperators Even in the regions where cooperative societies are relatively numerous difficulty is experienced in over coming the apathy of isolated stores toward the general movement and in bringing them into closer touch with the other organizations of the region so that all may benefit from the accumulated experi ence of the whole body of societies COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES IN THE UNITED STATES 93 A determined move toward the spread of the cooperative idea and in the closer linking o f the local cooperative societies appears in the formation of district cooperative leagues four of which are already in existence These are primarily educational and propagandist bodies but are in certain instances actively forwarding joint buying by the societies in their districts Workers Productive Societies rT HE ideal workers productive society is composed of workers A in the shop who have contributed all the capital of the enter prise and do all the work the business being managed by men elected by and from the members The worker owners work on a wage basis but receive in addition any profits made from the business these being divided among the members by various methods The workers productive movement is the least developed of all the branches of cooperation and shows the least possibilities of future expansion This type of society is subject to the special handicaps that 1 the groups forming them are usually small and to start a business generally requires more capital per member than the aver age workingman has at his disposal 6 2 even though the workermembers be skilled in their line of work they are usually inexperi enced in the sale of their product and must often resort to hiring outside assistance for marketing the output 3 the manager is as a rule chosen from among the workers themselves a feature which while democratic may lead to difficulties in discipline as the member worker is apt to feel that he is as good as the manager who holds office only by the members pleasure and to resent taking orders from him and 4 if the business is financially successful there is the temptation to restrict the number of members who must share in the profits of the business and if additional labor is needed to secure this by hiring workers instead of taking in new members The impetus to such an attitude is also all the greater in a workers productive organization inasmuch as the society represents the members liveli hood and as the matter is a serious one to them an exclusive mem bership policy is understandable and excusable In direct propor tion as this occurs however the society loses its cooperative character Some unavoidable limitation upon membership is of course im posed by the nature of the business or work carried on and this be comes greater with the degree of skill required I f the principle that all the members are to be workers in the business is lived up to then obviously in a highly specialized undertaking such for instance as the manufacture of hand blown window glass only persons skilled in the various trades can be admitted to the society as members Some of these cooperative companies are in reality more of the nature of trade union or even joint stock enterprises than of cooper ative workshops and this fact is recognized by the companies them selves Often the greater part of the capital has been furnished by the local trade union of the members craft and in a number of cases only unionists are eligible for membership in the company One of the most successful fish cannery societies has reached the point of 6 This difficulty is sometimes met where the workshop is being sponsored by a trade union by the union s furnishing a portion of the capital needed 94 COOPERATION being more nearly a profit sharing than a cooperative society as only a small proportion of the workers are stockholders and of the em ployees only the actual producers the fishermen share in the profits Of the 39 societies of this type the bureau has data for 21 These societies have been in business on an average just under 10 years The desire of the workers to better their wages or working condi tions was the main motivating factor in the establishment of these factories although several also were started as a result of a strike or lockout in the industry Employment and Wage Policies LJOW far these societies have attained the state in which the working force and the owners are one and the same is shown by Table 7 T able 7 N U M B E R OF M E M B E R S A N D E M P L O Y E E S OF W O R K E R S P R O D U C T IV E S O C IE TIE S 1925 Shareholders Society N um ber Society Society Society Society Society Society Society Society Society Society Society Society N o No No N o N o N o N o N o N o N o No N o N ot reported 2 Shareholders N um ber em ployed in fac tory N on share holder em ploy ees per cent of working force Society N um ber Society Society Society Society Society Society Society Society Society No No N o N o N o N o N o N o N o Nonshare N um ber em holder ployed em ployin fac tory T o ta l This society has not yet started operation It is seen that in only three societies are the shareholders identical with the workers One of these is not a workshop but an aggre gation of fishermen who have combined to market their catch Two other societies employ no workers outside their own membership but the business is unable to give employment to all the members Society No 10 comes very near the standard while Societies Nos 7 16 and 21 show the most pronounced trend toward the joint stock practice Society No 10 follows recognized cooperative practice quite closely in most respects ranking high among the societies stud ied The besetting temptation of the workers productive society already mentioned restriction of membership for profit s sake has evidently had little or no effect upon it A special effort is made to induce employees to become members So far as possible all the employees of the company shall be stockholders holding one share each of the capital stock 95 COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES IN THE UNITED STATES Capitalization and Business T ABLE 8 shows the paid in share capital the amount of surplus and reserve and the 1925 business of the societies reporting T able 8 P A ID IN S H A R E C A P IT A L SU R PLU S A N D R E S E R V E A N D 1925 B U SIN E SS OF W O R K E R S P R O D U C T IV E S O C IE T IE S B Y K IN D OF B U SIN ESS D O N E Number Paid in share of capital societies K ind of business done Cigar factories Fish canning and sales societies Glass window factories Laundries Potteries Shingle mills Shoe factories Veneer factories T o t a l society 2 2 societies 3 N ot reported 3 societies 21 Surplus and reserve Am ount of business u societies societies societies Amount and Division of Profits IN ADDITION to the wages received the stockholder employees are also entitled to a share of any profits made by the business In all but two cases the societies studied divide the profits on the basis not of wages but of stock just as in a joint stock company in one of the two exceptions profits are divided according to the output of each worker owner while in the other they are divided equally In 1925 however though profits aggregating were reported by 12 societies in only 4 were any returns from profits received by the shareholders These societies divided the sum of The other 8 societies retained all of the net earnings for use in the business Some of the societies even though now on a profit making basis are in debt due to deficits in previous years to losses from fire etc The shingle mills also lost money when their marketing organization and later a logging asssociation failed The statement below shows the profits reported for 1925 by the 12 societies which were able to make a profit that year Societies reporting profit or loss Cigar factories Fish canning and sales societies Glass window factories Laundries Shingle m ills Shoe factories Veneer factories Total Amount of profit reported society the other reported a loss of Loss 5 societies 1 other society reported a lo s s but did not state the amount 10 12 sopietipK 96 COOPERATION Pilots Associations IN 1924 the Bureau of Labor Statistics made a study of the pilots associations in eight representative ports of the United States 1 1 It was found that apparently with no idea of so doing the pilots had formed what are almost perfect examples of cooperative skilledlabor associations These pilots are the men who have charge of sea going vessels as they enter and leave the port The work to be done is divided among all the members the ships being taken out by the men in regular turn A pilot taking a ship to sea conducts her to a given point outside the port where he leaves her and proceeds in a small boat to the pilot ship Quarters are provided on the pilot ship for a certain number of men and the pilot stays aboard with the men who have preceded him until one by one they leave to conduct arriving vessels into port and his turn comes again Few landsmen appreciate just how interesting hazardous and necessary the work of the pilot is and probably few ships pas sengers even suspect the identity of the man who boards the ship outside the entrance to the harbor often in storm at risk of life and limb to bring her safe into her berth in port Pilotage is everywhere under public regulation New pilots are nearly everywhere recruited through the apprenticeship system the period of training varying in the different ports from six months to six years In order to obtain his license as a pilot the apprentice must pass a rigid examination both as to his practical knowledge and as to his morals and trustworthiness The associations are capital stock organizations in which each member holds a share of stock varying in amount from 2 000 in Boston to 10 000 at New Orleans None except members are al lowed to hold stock in the association and if a member resigns he must sell his share back to the association at its par value In Savannah he may hold it until death Pilots do not in most cases set their own fees In practically all ports pilotage is regarded as a public service and as such subject to public control and regulation of rates The fees are usually fixed on the basis of the draft of the vessel piloted or the net registered tonnage or both In all the ports studied all earnings of individual pilots are turned in to the association which pays from the amounts so received all expenses of operation The remainder is then divided equally each month among the working pilots in Baltimore Philadelphia and Houston In Boston New York New Orleans and Galveston the earnings are pro rated among the men according to the number of days worked a man being considered as on duty and working every day that he reports to the central office even though he is not actually engaged in handling a boat The table following gives comparative data for the various ports as of the summer of Boston New York Philadelphia Baltimore Savannah New Orleans Houston and Galveston The situation at Seattle Astoria Oreg and San Francisco was also studied but as the pilots at those ports were not organized they are not included here For a detailed account of the pilots organizations see Labor Review November 1925 pp 16 36 97 COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES IN THE UNITED STATES T able A SSE T S M E M B E R S H IP A N D E A R N IN G S OF P IL O T S A S S O C IA T IO N S Membership Association Boston New Y ork Philadelphia i Baltimore Savannah Pilots association Bar pilots N ew Orleans R iver pilots Bar pilots Houston Galveston Year of or ganiza tion Retired members Present worth N um N um ber of ber of active ap Am ount mem pren N um of bers tices m onthly ber pension Boat keepers 3 Per year widows receive 480 per year 3 Information not available Approxi mate average annual earnings o f active pilots r 3 Reorganized about 1921 Two thirds pay 6 Reorganized about 1900 Credit and Banking Organizations Credit Unions A LTHOUGH credit societies have existed in this country since about 1909 it is only during the past few years that any wide spread development has taken place for not until recently has enabling legislation been enacted Up to 1921 less than a dozen States had enacted laws authorizing the formation of cooperative credit societies at the end of 1925 24 States had done so The credit union movement has now taken root in at least 30 States although in some places there is as yet no law under which to incorporate The credit union is primarily for that small borrower whose need is greatest Its purpose as declared in many of the societies by laws is to promote thrift among its members by giving them an opportunity to save money in small amounts and to obtain loans at moderate rates for purposes which promise to be of benefit to the borrower Generally any person of good character and habits can join the credit union 1 or less will admit him to membership Only a mem ber of the society can be a borrower but once a member he can apply for a loan of whatever sum he needs secure it at a low rate of interest and use it to get a fresh start As a borrower in the credit union he is neither an exploited victim nor an object of charity but is on a strictly business footing which restores his self respect Within the credit union all are on the same level and with equal power and rights in the society The cooperative credit society is thus absolutely democratic It is filling a real need through a simple machinery and is doing this at very little cost expense of operation during 1925 averaged 1 8 per cent of total loans granted Practice as to security for loans differs but as a rule character loans may be obtained in amounts up to 50 larger loans must be 98 COOPERATION secured but the security may be in the form of a note indorsed by one or more fellow members The loans granted by the credit unions studied in 1925 averaged 381 per borrower The credit union member not only has the right to credit but also receives interest on his capital and deposits with the society and his share of any earnings made by it The study indicates that credit societies are generally successful and that losses from failure of members to repay loans are extremely small The effectiveness of these societies as poor men s banks is indi cated by the growth of the movement As part of the bureau s gen eral cooperative study data have been collected which show that although the greater part of the credit unions have been formed within the past five years already the membership of the 176 organi zations reporting numbers their share capital amounts to nearly their reserves to nearly and their loans in the single year 1925 to more than The following table shows for the societies reporting the amounts of their capital reserves and deposits at the end of 1925 T able SH ARE C A P I T A L R E S E R V E S A N D D E P O S IT S O F C R E D I T U N IO N S 1925 B Y STATES State N um ber of unions Mem ber Paid in share ship capital report ing 1 390 A rkansas California F lo rid a Georgia I n d ia n a Iow a TTprisas K entucky L ou isia n a M a ry la n d Massachusetts Minnesota N ew Jersey New Y ork North Carolina Oklahoma Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina Tennessee Texas Virginia W ashington W est Virginia Wisconsin Total societies 2 6 societies 3 Data are as of Oct societies 5 52 societies 6 51 societies 7Nonstock societies N ot including 1 nonstock society 9 63 societies w 29 societies n 7 societies 1 9 societies 2 131 society Reserve funds Num ber of Amount of depositors deposits ii H i 119 i io 4 468 i io w m u 3 societies is 2 societies 16171 societies 17 155 societies is 114 societies 1 113 societies Besides the resources shown above 98 societies which furnished financial reports show an aggregate surplus and undivided profits of The following table shows that during 1925 the 173 credit unions which reported made loans amounting to more than COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES IK THE UNITED STATES 99 nearly nineteen millions in Massachusetts and New York alone The small amounts of business in the other States are of course due to the fact that the credit union movement has just begun there and the societies in those States are as yet very new and small T able LOA N S G R A N T E D A V E R A G E L O A N P E R B O R R O W E R A N D L O A N S O U T S T A N D IN G B Y S T A T E S Loans granted in 1925 State Number Number of of unions borrowers reporting in 1925 Arkansas California F lo r id a Georgia Indiana Iow a Kansas K entucky Louisiana M aryland M assachusetts Minnesota N ew Jersey N ew Y ork North Carolina Oklahoma Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina Tennessee Texas Virginia Washington W est Virginia W isconsin T o t a l Not reported 2 Impossible to compute a Data are for year ending Oct societies Amount Average per borrower Loans out standing at end of year societies 6 174 societies 7 173 societies Interest on loans The interest that may be charged on loans is quite often limited by the credit union law A very common pro vision in both legislation and by laws is that such interest may not exceed 1 per cent per month on the unpaid balances One society studied limits the interest to 8 per cent per year and this may not be deducted in advance Other societies require the legal rate or have set specific rates such as 6 per cent 8 per cent and one 5 9 per cent Dividends After provision is made for reserve or guaranty fund or both and for interest on deposits the remainder of the profit is divided among the members in proportion to the stock held by them One society stands alone in providing that the remaining profits are to be divided among the depositors and borrowers upon their deposits and loans to the bank and upon their loans obtained from the bank Only 135 of the 176 societies reporting paid dividends on the 1925 business The amount returned by these aggregated or 5 1 per cent divided as follows 100 T able COOPERATION 12 A M O U N T A N D R A T E O F D IV ID E N D S R E T U R N E D B Y C R E D I T U N IO N S ON 1925 B U SIN ESS B Y S T A T E S State California Florida Indiana Kansas K e n tu c k y Louisiana Maryland Massachusetts Atir avgav llCW TClDvj J N ew Y ork Dividends Number returned of societies return Rate ing d iv per idends Amount cent q o O 17 A HO State Dividends Num ber returned of societies return ing d iv Am ount Rate per idends cent North Carolina Oklahoma Rhode Island South Carolina Tennessee Texas Virginia W isconsin Total i Less than one tenth of 1 per cent Losses from bad debts Reports as to losses from bad debts by the societies included in the present study show that members are gen erally honest and anxious to meet their obligations One society which has been in operation for nearly 10 years and has made loans to its members aggregating has in that time had only one borrower default on his loan the loss being 40 Another has during its term of existence paid out in loans and has had bad debts of 8 046 or one fourth of 1 per cent of its loans Of the 176 credit unions which have reported in the present study losses through failure of borrowers to repay loans have been sustained by 58 societies The losses sustained by 54 of these for the whole period of their operation have amounted to only or an aver age of 1 169 per society having such losses The sums so lost by the individual associations range from 9 to On the basis of the total number of societies covered including those which have lost no money in this way the sums so lost average 359 per society Data as to the total amount of loans granted by all the societies during their entire period of operation necessary for an accurate basis for computing the per cent of such loss are not available The losses of these societies however form only three tenths of 1 per cent of the loans made in the single year 1925 and would form a much smaller proportion of the total loans made throughout the societies existence The bright side of the picture is still further emphasized by the experience of the societies which extend loans without security Although some credit societies require security of some kind on prac tically all loans others do a large proportion of the business in unsecured loans One organization which at the end of 1925 had outstanding in loans the sum of of which or 41 per cent was in unsecured loans has been in operation 7 4 years and has never had a borrower who failed to repay his loan Another a small society in operation for three years has also lost no money through bad loans of 815 in outstanding loans at the end of or 61 per cent was unsecured A third had outstanding loans of of which or 73 per cent was unsecured this asso ciation reported that it has had some losses through this practice but 101 COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES IK THE UNITED STATES did not state the amount of the loss A fourth society had outstand ing at the end of the year all unsecured This organization has been lending money to its members for nearly six years and has never lost a cent Labor Banks THE research department of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America has furnished the following data showing the con dition of the various labor banks on December The number of banks remained at 36 throughout 1926 The Amal gamated Bank o f Philadelphia was closed in March 1926 the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers Cooperative Trust Co of New York City was sold to private interests in August 1926 and the Brotherhood Savings Trust Co of Pittsburgh was closed in October 1926 The loss of these was offset by three new banks the Labor National Bank of Jersey City the Gary Labor Bank and the Brotherhood National Bank of San Francisco During the last half of 1926 the surplus and profits of all the banks combined increased 0 4 per cent the deposits 1 per cent and the total resources 0 4 per cent T ab le 1 3 C O N D IT IO N O F L A B O R B A N K S A S O F D E C E M B E R Name of bank and location Surplus and profits Total deposits M ou nt Vernon Savings Bank Washington D C i Brotherhood of Locom otive Engineers Cooperative National Bank Cleveland Ohio United Bank Trust C o Tucson Ariz Peoples Cooperative State Bank Hammond Ind Nottingham Savings Banking Co Cleveland Ohio San Bernardino Valley Bank San Bernardino Calif Amalgamated Trust Savings Bank Chicago Jfc Transportation Brotherhoods National Bank Minneapolis M in n Amalgamated Bank of N ew Y ork Labor National Bank of Montana Three Forks M on t Federation Bank Trust C o o f N ew Y o r k Telegraphers National Bank St Louis M o Brotherhoods Cooperative National Bank Spokane W ash Brotherhood of Railway Clerks National Bank Cincinnati Ohio United Labor Bank Trust C o Indianapolis Ind International Union Bank N ew York C ity First National Bank in Bakersfield Calif Labor National Bank Great Falls M on t Farmers W orkingmen s Savings Bank Jackson M ich T he Peoples National Bank of Los Angeles C a lif Brotherhood of Locom otive Engineers National Bank Boston Mass Labor Cooperative National Bank Paterson N J Brotherhood State Bank Kansas C ity Kans Brotherhood Cooperative National Bank of Portland Oreg Brotherhood of Locom otive Engineers Bank Trust C o Birming ham Ala Brotherhood State Bank Hillyard Spokane W ash Brotherhood of Locom otive Engineers Title Trust Co Philadelphia Labor Cooperative National Bank Newark N J Brotherhood Cooperative National Bank Tacom a W ash The American Bank Toledo Ohio Brotherhood Bank Trust C o Seattle W ash Gary Labor Bank Gary Ind Labor Bank Trust C o Houston Tex Hawkins County Bank Rogersville T enn Labor National Bank o f Jersey C ity Jersey C ity N J Brotherhood National Bank of San Francisco Total 36 banks i Statement as of June 3 Statement as of Dec Total resources Statement as of N ov COOPERATION Other Banks Z IT H E R workers banks for which the bureau has data are the Workers Mutual Savings Bank of Superior Wis and the Commonwealth Mutual Savings Bank of Milwaukee The Workers Mutual Savings Bank is a nonstock association organized in October 1917 It has 52 members The bank accepts savings deposits only No commercial deposits are accepted and no commercial loans are made the funds being used to finance the con struction of homes for working people and to assist cooperative societies The bank is on a strictly cooperative basis each member having one vote only and no proxy voting is allowed The treasurer is the only paid officer The patrons profit in two ways bjr the low rate 6 per cent charged on loans and by the comparatively high rate 4 per cent paid on deposits Below are given certain of the more important data taken from the financial report of the bank as of December Number of members Number of depositors Amount of savings deposits Surplus and reserve Loans outstanding Cash on hand The Commonwealth Mutual Savings Bank is five years older than the Superior bank having been organized July This also is a nonstock organization and is owned by its 2 500 depositors Its funds are used to finance loans on working class houses at 5 per cent Dividend on deposits is paid at the rate of 4 per cent Other data as of December are given in the statement below Amount of savings deposits Guaranty fund Undivided profits Housing loans outstanding Cash on hand Building and Loan Associations T H E following table was taken from the report of the secretary of the United States League of Local Building and Loan Asso ciations to the thirty fourth meeting of the league held at Minne apolis July It shows the number of associations mem bership and assets of the local building and loan associations in the United States and of the assets the total outstanding in mortgage loans T a b l e S T A T U S O F B U IL D IN G A N D L O A N A S S O C IA T IO N S B Y S T A T E S State Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Included w ith other States N um Total ber o f associa member ship tions G Total assets Mortgage loans COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES IN THE UNITED STATES T able S T A T U S O P B U IL D IN G A N D L O A N A S S O C IA T IO N S S T A T E S C on tin u ed N um Total ber of member associa ship tions State T otal assets Delaware District o f Columbia Florida Illinois Indiana Iow a Kansas Kentucky Louisiana M aine Massachusetts M ichigan M innesota Missouri M ontana Nebraska N ew Hampshire N ew Jersey N ew M exico N ew Y ork N orth Carolina N orth Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania R hode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Verm ont Washington W est Virginia Wisconsin Other States T otal Included with other States 2 As of Dec B Y Mortgage loans l As of M a y Estimated As the table shows more than 90 per cent of the assets are invested in mortgage loans on dwellings The extent of the work of these associations in the financing of homes during the past three years is shown in the table following which was taken from the January 1926 issue of the American Building Association News Cincinnati T N U M B E R OF H O M E S F IN A N C E D A M O U N T S P E N T T H E R E F O R A N D PE R S O N S H O U S E D B Y B U IL D IN G A N D L O A N A S S O C IA T IO N S 1923 T O 1925 able Number of homes financed Year Total Estimated A mount expended number of per sons housed i Evidently computed on the basis of 5 persons per house financed Estimated Housing Societies T H E bureau has knowledge of the existence of 40 cooperative societies all but 2 of which are in Brooklyn or New York City and data are at hand for 32 Of these reporting societies 22 are in 104 COOPERATION Brooklyn within a radius of seven or eight blocks 9 in New York City and 1 in Wisconsin Especial care was taken to include only those which are genuinely cooperative in the main particulars Many apartments are being sold on the so called cooperative plan by private builders who construct them for sale just as they do single houses and sell them outright to individual buyers The buyers are allowed to resell at a profat as well as to rent their apartment or apartments for as large a rent as they can secure Voting is on the basis of stock ownership and one person may own several apartments and thus have a number of votes This is not true of genuine cooper ative societies for in such societies each member has but one vote regardless of his capital holdings in the society I f any surplus is earned by the society this is rebated in the truly cooperative society on the basis of patronage i e the amount of the monthly payment and not on stock held The affairs of the society are managed by a board of directors of varying number elected by the members The actual management of the apartment house is quite often in the hands of one person chosen for the work Most of these societies have been started in the past five years One was started in each of the years 1916 and 1919 2 each in 1922 and 1925 5 each in 1921 and in 1924 and 8 in 1920 Types of Dwellings Provided TN BOTH Brooklyn and New York the dwellings provided by all of the societies are apartments exclusively usually those of the four story walk up type the 16 dwelling building having four apart ments per floor Another and more attractive type is the court building with a simple archway leading from the street to a grassy court from which one or more entrances according to the size of the building lead into the various wings The dwellings provided by the Wisconsin society are individual houses 105 of which have been built on a tract of 28 acres The settlement includes a parked playground 250 by 600 feet This was partly a cooperative and partly a city project Cost of Cooperative Dwellings TV HEN the individual becomes a member of a housing society he subscribes for a certain amount of capital stock in the society estimated as covering the cost of the apartment or dwelling he will occupy This total cost is arrived at after consideration of a number of factors the total cost of land building and other expenses con nected therewith are taken as a basis and the cost of each dwelling is determined according to the number of rooms floor space loca tion and other points of advantage or disadvantage The cost figure so arrived at for each individual apartment is the price which the prospective tenant must pay and the amount for which he must subscribe stock in the society No profit is made in the genuine cooperative society This stock may be paid for either as a whole or in installments according to the requirements of the by laws The share capital paid in by the members in the 18 societies for which data on this point were secured aggregated or about 612 per member COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES IN THE UNITED STATES 105 Housing projects however especially in large cities require con siderable amounts of money The buildings owned by the societies studied ranged in cost from 16 000 to average for old apartment buildings mainly of the 4 story 16 dwelling type and from 75 000 to for the land and construction of new buildings The wage earners who form the great majority of the members of cooperative housing societies are therefore forced to obtain money from outside sources This is usually secured through mortgages o comrade loans from fellow cooperators or both The average cost of apartments in the buildings for which data were secured ranged in the old buildings from 2 000 to 4 313 average and in the new buildings from 3 094 to 6 750 average The apartments were generally those o f 3 4 and 5 rooms The initial payment required varied in certain of the societies covered from 100 to societies require only 100 down 4 societies from 300 to 500 5 societies from 600 to 1 000 and 1 society from 1 200 to 2 000 according to the size of the apartment In those organizations in which the initial payment varies with the number of rooms the sum per room ranges from 125 to 400 In 2 societies the payment is as low as 125 a room 2 societies require 200 a room 1 society 200 a room plus 50 for the kitchenette 2 societies 50 3 societies 300 and 3 societies 400 a room After the member takes possession of his dwelling he pays as rent each month a certain amount which is calculated to cover his proportionate share of such items as taxes insurance the general upkeep of the building repairs improvements janitor service fuel payments on the mortgage or mortgages etc In some cases the members adopt the policy of making these monthly payments large enough to cover unexpected expenses building up a little surplus for this and other purposes In others such expenses are met as they arise through a pro rata assessment on all the tenants The monthly amounts paid by the owner tenants are shown below In reading the table it should be borne in mind that these payments take no account of interest on principal already paid T able A V E R A G E M O N T H L Y P A Y M E N T S ON C O O P E R A T IV E A P A R T M E N T S O F 3 4 A N D 5 R O O M S Interest on principal already paid not included Society and location Average m onthly paym ent on cooperative apartments of 3 rooms 4 rooms 5 rooms Brooklyn N o l No No N o N o No No No N o N o N o 12 No No No i According to location Society and location Average m onthly paym ent on cooperative apartments of 3 rooms 4 rooms 5 rooms Brooklyn Con N o No No No No No New York N o l No No No No No COOPERATION As part of the monthly payment goes to pay off the indebtedness this is gradually reduced and as a consequence not only is the amount of the tenant s equity in the building increased but his monthly payments decrease When the building or buildings finally become the property of the society the only expense is that of maintenance Ownership IN THE genuine cooperative society the tenant never receives a A title to his dwelling Legal ownership remains in the society as a whole The member merely owns stock in the organization to the value of his apartment or dwelling and receives a permanent lease which he may pass on to his heirs Should he desire to give up his membership his stock must first be offered to the society and if the latter is unable to redeem it at its par value he is allowed to sell it at cost to any person who he considers would be a desirable tenant Transfers of stock must be made on the books of the society In this way speculative profit by the members at the expense of the prospec tive member is prevented It is not the purpose of cooperative building societies to enable tenants to obtain homes at bottom prices by building collectively and then to allow the individuals to own and sell them to others for profit The purpose of cooperative building societies is to provide permanent homes for the people without private profit or speculation in land and buildings collec tively controlled and administered by the tenant members 1 2 It is to be regretted that not all the cooperative housing societies studied follow this practice In most instances the member does not receive title to his dwelling in three societies however the reverse is true As regards the principle of selling at cost not so favorable a situation was found Eight societies allow the member to sell his holdings for whatever he can get though in none of these societies has any of the original members attempted to do so Cost of Property Owned THE 32 societies included in the present study control property costing more than distributed among the three localities as follows T able COST O F P R O P E R T Y C O N T R O L L E D B Y C O O P E R A T IV E H O U S IN G S O C IE T IE S Location of society Number of societies reporting N um ber of families housed Cost of building and land B rooklyn N ew York C ity Wisconsin Total societies Report of housing committee to third cooperative congress Chicago Oct COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES IN THE UNITED STATES 107 It should be emphasized that the above figures represent the actual cost not the present value In many if not all instances the value of the property has increased since the society has been holding it In one organization in Brooklyn apartments for which the original members paid 600 are now worth 1 000 and 1 100 Such an in crease however is an asset of the society as a whole and not of the individual members Cooperative Insurance COOPERATIVE insurance is a field not as yet entered upon to any considerable extent except by the farmers organizations especially in the Middle West and this has been mainly in the form of mutual insurance There are however two consumers coopera tive insurance societies the Workmen s Furniture Fire Insurance Society New York City and the New Era Association Grand Rapids Mich The Workmen s Furniture Fire Insurance Society was organized in December 1872 As its name implies it writes insurance only on household goods It is a nonstock fraternal organization doing business on the assessment plan It issues no policies The member desiring to insure his furniture makes a guaranty deposit of 1 for every 100 of insurance desired The premium assessment has for many years amounted to 10 cents per 100 annually No mem ber can take out more than 2 000 worth of insurance The society had at the end of 1926 a membership of 47 032 and insurance in force amounting to The amount received in assessments during the year was The New Era Association is a nonstock fraternal organization chartered October Its policy is that of service at cost as far as possible Its rates are reported to be from one half to twothirds those charged by the old line companies 1 This lower charge 3 it is stated is possible because of the fact that only 10 per cent of all policies ever are paid either as death claims or as matured endow ment policies The remaining 90 per cent for some reason or other never materialize 1 The 90 per cent therefore mean pure profit 4 for the companies and go to swell their resources The New Era Association however not being a profit organization gives the policyholders the benefit in the form of reduced premiums The association is democratically controlled Each member has one vote only and no proxy voting is allowed Ten per cent of the members can demand a referendum on any measure taken by the officers 1 and no increase in rates can be made except by vote of the 5 members Data furnished by the association as of March 1927 show that the organization has 34 698 members policyholders and the total insurance in force amounts to It has reserves of During the entire period of its operation the association has paid in claims Organized labor has established two companies to write life insurance for members and others Although primarily trade union 13 Cooperation New York August 1925 p Northern States Cooperative League Yearbook 1926 Minneapolis 1926 p 130 1 Proceedings of fifth cooperative congress held at Minneapolis Nov 108 COOPERATION enterprises the companies have certain cooperative features An account of these companies is given in the section Insurance and benefit plans page 340 Farmers Property Insurance rT HE Farmers Educational and Cooperative Union has been active in promoting the writing of cooperative insurance on life crops etc and at present seven States are reported to have State wide farmers union property insurance societies The following statement taken from the December issue of the Kansas Union Farmer Salina Kans shows the date of organization of the insurance societies and the total amount of in surance in force in these seven States D a te o f o rg a n iza tio n K a n sas July Colorado January 1910 Nebraska October 1918 January 1922 Oklahoma May I o w a April 1925 South Dakota Washington January 1917 T o t a l In su ra n ce n o w in f o r c e The report states that the above represents a total saving of to the insured In Washington State the National Grange in 1894 organized a fire insurance association membership in which is restricted to mem bers of the grange It has about 3 500 policyholders and some of insurance outstanding It is stated1 that the costs 6 have been less than 30 cents per 100 of insurance per year Five fire insurance companies have been organized by farmers in New York State since 1913 At the end of 1925 26 these five com panies had insurance in force 3 439 policies amounting to Losses paid during the year amounted to The United States Department of Agriculture in 19241 estimated 8 that there were at that time about 2 000 farmers mutual fire insurance companies located mainly in the East and Middle West carrying risks amounting to over The cost of insurance by these companies during the period 1917 to 1921 ranged from 6 to 51 cents per 100 with an average of 26 cents for the country as a whole 16 C oop era tion N ew Y ork Septem ber C oop era tion N ew Y ork F eb ru a ry U S D ep a rtm en t o f A g ricu ltu re Y ea rb ook 1924 W a sh in g to n 1925 p p COST OF LIVING 109 Trend in Cost of Living in the United States HE United States Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes period ically the results of surveys showing changes in the cost of living in 32 cities and also in the United States as a whole Since 1924 these surveys have been made twice a year in June and December Immediately upon compilation the results of each survey are issued in pamphlet form and are also published in the succeeding issue of the Labor Review The original price information used in compiling the cost of living figures is secured from merchants and other dealers in each of the 32 cities The prices of food and of fuel and light which include coal wood gas electricity and kerosene are furnished the bureau by correspondence in accordance with previous arrangements made with establishments through personal visits of the bureau s agents In each city food prices are secured from 15 to 25 merchants and dealers and fuel and light prices from 10 to 15 firms including public utilities All other data are secured by representatives of the bureau who visit the various merchants dealers and agents and secure the figures in person Four quotations are secured in each city except in Greater New York where five are obtained on each of a large number of articles of clothing furniture and miscellaneous items Rental figures are secured from 400 to 2 200 houses and apartments in each city according to its population The average price of each article and item is weighted according to its importance in the average family budget The various groups forming the components of the cost of living are then weighted according to their relative importance as shown in Table 6 These weights are derived from the comprehensive costof living and budgetary survey made by the bureau in This survey covered 12 096 families in 92 localities The results o f this 1918 19 survey were published in Bulletin No 357 It is extremely desirable that a new budget survey should be made as there prob ably may have been important changes in the character of family expenditures since but the very heavy expense involved has thus far prevented the bureau from undertaking this task T Changes for Country as a Whole 1913 to 1926 A S ALREADY noted the bureau s studies of changes in cost of living cover 32 cities In the case o f 19 of these cities the studies began in December 1914 and for the 13 other cities in December 1917 From the figures for these 32 cities a combined index number has been computed and this combination is assumed to be fairly repre sentative for the United States as a whole It should be noted that this index number for the United States has been based on the year 1913 inasmuch as that year has been used as a basis for many or the bureau s index numbers To bridge the gap between 1913 and December 1914 use has been made of the data regarding retail prices of certain articles and the wholesale prices of other articles As the price changes during this period were relatively small the results are believed to be substantially accurate Ill 112 COST OF LIVING Table 1 gives the index numbers for changes in the cost of living for the United States as a whole for all of the periods for which surveys are made by the bureau These figures are also presented in graphic form in the accompanying chart T a b l e 1 I N D E X N U M B E R S OF C O ST OF L IV IN G IN T H E U N IT E D S T A T E S F R O M 1913 TO D E C E M B E R 1926 Average for M onth and year Food 1913 average December December December December December June December June December M ay September December March June September December March June September December March June September December June December June December I9 IT I9 I Clothing I9 2 Q Rent House Fuel and furnish light ing goods Miscel laneous All items T TftEND IN THE UNITED STATES Changes in Individual Cities fT ABLE 2 shows index numbers for changes in the cost of living A as a whole i e all items combined for 19 cities from De cember 1914 to December 1926 The figures are given for Decem ber of each year up to 1919 and thereafter semiannually The index numbers are computed on December 1914 as the base or 100 T a b l e 2 I N D E X N U M B E R S OP C O S T O P L IV IN G IN 19 C IT IE S F R O M D E C E M B E R T O D E C E M B E R 1926 December M onth and year Balti Boston Buffa Chica more lo N Y go 111 M d December December December 1916 December December June December June December M ay December June December June December June December June December June December M onth and year December December December December December 1918 June December June December M ay December 1921 June December June December June December June December 1925 June December Phila del phia Pa Port land Me i For April Fran cisco and Oak land Calif N or folk Va Port land Oreg New York N Y Cleve Hous Jack Los land Detroit ton sonville Angeles Mobile M ich Ala Ohio Tex Pla Calif Savan Seattle Wash nah Wash ington Ga D C a For Novem ber 1919 Table 3 gives similar information for the 13 cities for which reports were begun in December 1917 this date therefore being used as the base or 100 in computing the index numbers 114 COST OF LIVING T a b l e 3 I N D E X N U M B E R S OF C O S T OF L IV IN G IN 13 C IT IE S F R O M D E C E M B E R T O D E C E M B E R 1926 December M onth and year December December Tnnfi 1919 December June December M ay December Jnnfi 1922 December June December June December June December June December M onth and year December December June December June December M ay December June December June December June December June December June December Atlanta Birming Cincin Denver Ga ham Ala nati Ohio Colo M inne apolis M inn N ew Orleans La Pitts burgh Pa Rich mond Va Indianad f Kansas City M o Memphis Tenn St Louis Scranton M o Pa Cost of Living in the United States and in Foreign Countries HE trend of cost of living in the United States and in various foreign countries since 1913 is shown by the index numbers in the following tables in so far as data are available from official sources for the several countries Only those countries are presented for which the index numbers include all or most of the items usually combined under the term Cost of living Some coun tries publish index numbers for a few items only such as food and rent These are not included here but are included in the detailed tables published in the Labor Review for February 1927 Caution should be observed in the use of these figures since not only are there differences in the base periods and in the number and kind of articles included and the number of markets represented but also there are radical differences of method in the construction of the index numbers Moreover monetary inflations in certain coun tries seriously affect of course the index numbers T 115 IN UNITED STATES AND IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES I N D E X N U M B E R S OF C O ST OF L IV IN G IN T H E U N IT E D S T A T E S A N D IN F O R E IG N C O U N T R IE S 1913 T O 1926 C ou n try United States N um ber of localities Czecho Canada Belgium slovakia Prague Den mark Finland France Ger many Ireland Italy Paris M ilan Food Food Food clothing Food Food Food clothing Food Food Food Food fuel and clothing clothing clothing fuel and clothing clothing clothing clothing clothing C om m odfuel fuel and fuel and fuel and fuel and light fuel and fuel and fuel and light ities in rent light light light light light light light rent clu d ed rent taxes rent rent rent rent houserent rent rent taxes etc sundries sundries sundries sundries furnish sundries sundries sundries etc ings etc Com Depart M in Central C o m p u t Bureau Depart istry of Office of Depart Statis mission Federal ment of M unici ment of for Statis Industry of Labor ment of pal ing agen Statis Labor tical Statis Study of tical Statis and Adm in tics L abor and c y Office tics Cost of Bureau Com istration tics Industry Living merce B ase p e riod Year and month Jan Feb M ar Apr M ay Ju n e July Aug Sept Oct N ov Dec Jan Feb M ar Apr M ay J u n e July Aug Sept Oct N ov D e c Jan Feb M ar Apr M ay J u n e July Aug Sept Oct N ov Dec i i 174 U U U July July JanuaryJune U July U JanuaryJune a Data used in the Labor R eview for February 1927 p 183 were com piled b y the Dom inion Bureau of Statistics 1 December a July 8 January June October 1913 January April and June April June 6 Quarter beginning with month 116 COST OF LIVING I N D E X N U M B E R S OF C O ST O F L IV IN G IN T H E U N IT E D S T A T E S A N D IN F O R E IG N C O U N T R IE S 1913 T O 1926 Continued C ountry N um ber of locali ties Nether lands N orway Poland The Hague 30 Warsaw Sweden Swit zerland United King dom South Africa India B om bay Food Food F ood Food Food Food Food clothing clothing Food Com m od all com clothing clothing fuel and clothing fuel and fuel clothing fuel and fuel and light fuel and ities in m odi fuel and light light light light light rent light c lu d e d rent rent ties rent rent rent rent sundries sundries sundries sundries sundries C o m p u t ing agen cy Base pe riod M unici Central Central Board Federal pal A d Statis Statis of Social Labor minis tical tical Welfare Office tration Office Office 1921 Year and month Jan Feb M ar A pr M ay June July A ug S e p t Oct N ov D ec Jan Feb M ar A pr M ay J u n e July Aug Sept Oct N ov D ec Jan Feb M ar A pr M ay J u n e July Aug Sept Oct N ov D e c January July 1914 June July July July Labor Office Office of Census and Sta tistics December July 1914 M inis try of Labor Quarter beginning w ith m onth Austra New lia Zealand Food gro ceries rent Food clothing fuel and light rent sundries Bureau Census of Census and Sta and Sta tistics Office tistics July June COST OF LIVING 117 Income and Expenditures of Workingmen s Families AM ILY BUDGET studies covering the income and expendi tures of workingmen s families are of much interest in them selves In addition however detailed knowledge of the dis tribution of family expenditures among the various items pur chased is absolutely essential to a proper determination of changes in the cost of living The total family outlay covers many objects and items some of which such as house rent constitute a large element of the budget Others such as matches or salt con stitute very small elements of expenditure In compiling figures to show comparative cost of living at different times or in different places it is necessary to know not only the prices of the several commodities but also the approximate consumption of each com modity in order that each item may be weighted according to its importance Data of this character can only be obtained by family budget studies covering a sufficiently large number of families to be repre sentative The Bureau of Labor Statistics has made three general surveys of family incomes and expenditures The results of the first survey covering 8 544 families were published in the sixth and seventh annual reports of the Commissioner of Labor in 1890 and 1891 respectively The second study covering 25 440 working men s families was made in 1901 and published as the Eighteenth Annual Report of the Commissioner of Labor The third and latest study was made in 1918 19 in cooperation with the National War Labor Board It covered 12 096 families in 92 cities or localities in 42 States For each of these families a detailed schedule was obtained regarding income expenditures and other significant factors during the period of a year Table 1 shows for these 12 096 families the sources and amounts of family incomes for one year by income groups Table 2 shows in similar fashion the amount and per cent of expenditures by principal groups Table 3 shows the number and per cent of families having a surplus or deficit or neither and the average amount of the surplus or deficit per family and income group Detailed tables showing expenditures for the various articles and items in the budget are given in Bulletin 357 of the Bureau of Labor Statistics In examining these tables it is important to note that owing to wage and price changes since the actual amounts of income and expenditures do not necessarily represent present conditions The significant figures are those showing the percentage distribution of income and expenditures by sources These are less affected by wage and price changes and may be used for weighting purposes over a considerable length of time and are so used now by the bureau in computing changes in cost of living As elsewhere pointed out how ever it would be highly desirable to have a new family budget survey made F 118 T COST OF LIVING able SO U R C E S A N D A M O U N T S OF F A M I L Y IN C O M E S IN O N E Y E A R B Y IN C O M E G R O U P S Amount F am ily income derived from earnings of Income group Num ber of families Husband Children W ife D epend ents Under and under and under and under and under and under and over A ll incomes Average income from Income group Garden Lodgers poultry etc Rents and invest ments Gifts Under and under and under and under and under and under and over A ll incomes Total average Total income average other income Other than per family sources from earnings Total Per cent Per cent of family income derived from earnings of Income group Husband Wife D epend ents Children Under and under and under and under and under and under and over A ll incomes Total Per cent of income derived from Income group Garden Lodgers poultry etc Gifts Rents and invest ments Other sources Grand total Total Under and under and under and under and under and under and o v e r All incomes i Less than one tenth of 1 per cent INCOME AND EXPENDITURES OF WORKINGMEN S FAMILIES T A M O U N T A N D P E R C E N T OF E X P E N D IT U R E S IN ON E Y E A R F O R T H E P R IN C IP A L G R O U P S OF IT E M S O F C O ST O F L IV IN G O F F A M IL IE S IN 92 IN D U S T R I A L C E N T E R S B Y IN C O M E G R O U PS able Amount Average per sons in family Income group Under and under and under and under and under and under and over N um ber of fami lies Total Average yearly expenses per family for E quiv alent adult Food males Cloth ing Rent Fuel andj light Total average yearly ex House penses fur Miscel per nish laneous family ings A ll incomes Per cent Under and under and under and under and under and under and over A ll incomes N ot 2N ot a N ot 4 N ot 8 N ot N ot 7 N ot 8 N ot U including 1 fam ily in which rent is combined with fuel and light including 43 families in which rent is combined with fuel and light including 91 families in which rent is combined with fuel and light including 80 families in which rent is combined with fuel and light including 56 families in which rent is combined with fuel and light including 21 families in which rent is combined with fuel and light including 9 families in which rent is combined with fuel and light including 301 families in which rent is combined with fuel and light T a b l e S N U M B ER A N D P E R C E N T O F F A M IL IE S H A V IN G S U R P L U S O R D E F I C IT O R N E I T H E R A N D A V E R A G E A M O U N T O F S U R P L U S O R D E F I C IT P E R F A M IL Y A N D IN C O M E G R O U P Per cent of families having Families having Surplus Deficit Incom e group Aver N um Aver N um age age ber amount ber amount Under and under and under and under and under and under and over All incomes Nei ther surplus nor deficit Aver age surplus or deficit for group Sur plus Nei ther Deficit surplus nor deficit COST OF LIVING Cost of Bringing Up a Child N ATTEMPT to arrive at the average expenditure required to bring a child through the period of infancy and adolescence when he is being fitted to take his place in the world has been made by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co 1 This appraisal of the cost of bringing up a child is based on the cost of living studies of the United Statees Bureau of Labor Statistics and on studies of the Federal Children s Bureau and other agencies In such a study in terest centers naturally in the family of moderate or average circum stances a family of five consisting of father mother and three children having an annual expenditure of 2 500 has been taken therefore as the basis upon which the estimates have been made In a consideration of the expense involved in the rearing of a child the first item to be considered is the cost of being born This first cost varies greatly according to the economic status of the parents and even among people of the same class particularly those in moderate or poor circumstances there is much difference as a result of racial customs or the degree of intelligence exercised in apportion ing expenses among the different items of the family budget Numer ical estimates of the cost of childbirth therefore represent only a rough average about which the cost in individual cases will range The minimum cost of maternity care given by a general practi tioner either in the patient s home or in a hospital ward is said to be around 150 while better care including a semiprivate room can be obtained for about 100 more The service of a specialist increases this minimum to between 400 and 500 Treatment by midwives and the outdoor hospital service cost considerably less than the minimum hospital care In per cent of the births in New York City were attended by physicians and half of these took place in hospitals In round figures therefore it is estimated that the average cost of being born ranges from 200 to 300 Although this is not a large outlay when considered in relation to the mean length of life which is about 55 years it is an item which has to be met at one point of time and does impose therefore a considerable burden upon families of moderate means The cost of food is the next most important item in building the human machine Here also conditions vary according to the economic and social status of the parents In computing the average expenditure the study of William F Ogburn which was based on the scale of relative food consumption for persons of different ages prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics has been used Com puted on the basis of a family of three children and father and mother having an annual expenditure of 2 500 it is estimated that the total cost of food for a boy from birth to age 18 would be ap proximately 2 400 and of a girl 2 330 Making allowance how ever for a somewhat higher consumption of food per adult male unit established by a similar study by Raymond Pearl the total cost of feeding a child from birth to the eighteenth birthday is placed at 2 500 or one year s total expenditure for the family as a whole A 1 M etrop olita n L ife In su ra n ce C o S ta tistica l B u lle tin N ovem ber D ecem ber 1925 a n d F eb ru a ry A p ril 1926 COST OF BRINGING UP A CHILD 121 The next item in the account is the cost of clothing and shelter The expenditure for clothing is an individual concern while that for shelter including such elements as housing fuel light household furnishings and upkeep covers joint expenses which have to be con sidered as a whole Estimates of expenditures for these items are based on the cost of living study published in 1924 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics The cost of clothing for the boy up to the age of 18 is placed at 912 after deducting 20 for clothing during the first months of life which was included in the estimate of the average cost of being born the clothing expenditure for the girl after mak ing the same deduction is estimated to be 1 002 The amount spent annually for shelter depends to a large extent upon the locality in which the family lives The estimate however is based on present conditions in large cities where rents are notori ously high and where persons of small incomes are forced either to live in homes that seem inadequate to persons living in small towns or on farms or spend too large a proportion of their income on rent The choice between these two evils will depend largely upon the social habits of the individual concerned It is probable that the man with the white collar job will choose the more expensive place to live while the artisan and skilled laborer will be more inclined to seek a cheaper dwelling As the second of these social classes is the larger it is given greater weight in estimating the expenditures for shelter It is assumed therefore that out of an expenditure of 2 500 a year from 40 to 50 per month is spent for a 4 room apart ment or fixing an average of 45 the rent bill would amount to 540 For this amount spent for rent there would be two bedrooms com bined living and dining room which might also contain a folding bed and in some cases a bathroom Apportionment of this and similar items on a satisfactory basis among the different members of the family is difficult but for want o f a better method the cost has been distributed so that in the course of 18 years each child is charged with about one sixth of the family expense for shelter The total rent for this period would be 9 720 and the share for one child 1 620 This figure does not allow for fuel and light the family cost of which is placed at 100 per annum or 300 for each child during the 18 year period On the same basis of a one sixth share in the expenses for each child the cost of furniture household equip ment and upkeep during the 18 years is estimated to be 351 The total cost or the various items included under clothing and shelter during the 18 years is 3 327 for a boy and because of the somewhat greater expense for clothing 3 417 for a girl or an average of about 3 400 for both sexes The remaining items to be considered on the cost side of the account during the formative years of the individual are the expendi tures for health recreation and sundries and for education The annual cost of putting a child through the elementary schools in New York State has been shown in a study by the American Council of Education to be 107 and through the secondary schools 200 Including 100 for a year s attendance at kindergarten the total cost of a complete grammar and high school education is 1 750 These figures are somewhat higher than for the country as a whole however owing to the lower standards in some sections All children 122 COST OF LIVING do not complete both grammar and high school but the minimum time for school is in almost all cases seven years so that the average cost of schooling is considered to be approximately 1 100 This item of course does not appear explicitly in the family budget and the parents may not even pay direct taxes but indirectly they share in the tax burdens through the sums paid for rent and in the prices paid for other necessaries While the cost of education directly borne by the parents amounts to only about 50 in the course of the school years for such items as books stationery and incidentals the whole cost of education is of interest because of the great importance of this element in the making of the citizen The cost of health items such as the services of physicians dental care medicines and hospital and nursing care is estimated to be 284 Recreation costs for the period are fixed at 130 insurance at 54 and sundries at 570 The following statement brings together the cost of all these items and shows the average cost of rearing a child to the age of 18 years Cost of being born Food Clothing and shelter Education nlinor items met by tlie individual family purse 50 Education major items cost of schooling provided by the community H ealth Recreation Insurance Sundries Total exclusive of item The difference in the amounts spent for boys and girls is consid ered to be so small that no distinction for sex has been made in this summary and the sum arrived at approximately is believed to be a fair representation of the money expended by a family of the 2 500 income class during the years when the child is being prepared to take his place in the world and become a contributor economically to the family and the community EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS 123 Sources and Character o f Existing Employment Statistics HE present status of employment statistics in this country is described in detail in the recent report of the committe on governmental labor statistics of the American Statistical Asso ciation published by the Russell Sage Foundation under the title of Employment statistics for the United States New York 1926 This committee was composed principally of representatives of State Federal and other agencies concerned in the collection of employment statistics including Canadian representatives The fol lowing brief account of the sources and general character o f exist ing employment statistics in the United States is taken from that report Statistical measurements of employment are obtained from three main sources 1 Counts or estimates of the number unemployed 2 statistics of demand for labor and applications for work as registered in employment bureaus and 3 periodic counts of the number of persons employed as shown by pay rolls T 1 Data on Unemployment TT NEMPLO YMENT data may be obtained a by general esti mates of the number unemployed in various localities 6 by estimates or counts of the number unemployed among members of trade unions c by actual enumeration of the unemployed in a house to house canvass or d through registration of unemployed persons a Estimates of Numbers of Unemployed Serious attempts to determine the number of unemployed persons have sometimes been made by responsible authorities from estimates collected at large from social workers clergymen poor relief ad ministrators employers labor leaders and others As an example the two special inquiries made by the United States Employment Service in 1921 through its correspondents in numerous cities of the United States may be cited b Trade Union Statistics Unemployment statistics obtained from trade union sources are monthly or sometimes quarterly figures commonly reported by the secretaries of various local unions and usually expressed in the form of percentage of members unemployed In this country New York and Massachusetts are the only States which have had extended experience with trade union reports of unemployment In both New York and Massachusetts their collection was discontinued soon after the current collection of employment statistics from representative manufacturing establishments was begun Trade union statistics are not representative of all classes of wage earners and for this reason they fall short of affording a compre EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS hensive measure of unemployment Unskilled workers and clerical workers for example are very inadequately represented by union figures The representativeness of these figures differs also in dif ferent parts of the country For sections and for industries in which labor is strongly organized however this objection does not hold c Enumeration of the Unemployed by Canvass No nation wide enumeration of the unemployed has been under taken recently in this country At three of the United States censuses of population efforts were made to carry out such an enumeration as part of the regular canvass but these experiments have not been repeated in recent years partly because of the ex pense involved and partly because of lack of confidence in the results on the part even of those who planned and organized the investiga tion Local enumerations of this character have been made occasionally as those made by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co and the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics in 1915 2 and by the department of economics of Ohio State University in 1921 at the request of the mayor s emergency unemployment committee of Co lumbus Ohio This latter study has been continued annually since 3 In the studies made by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co the families of industrial policyholders of the company were canvassed first in New York and later in certain other cities on the assumption which appears to have been correct that they constituted repre sentative portions of the wage earning population in the cities studied In the two studies made by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics in New York City in 19154 a complete canvass was made of the population of representative blocks In the more recent Columbus study a complete canvass was made of carefully selected sections of the city d Registration of the Unemployed Another method of obtaining data on unemployment has been the voluntary registration of unemployed persons Such registration has been attempted in several cities but nowhere has experience proved the method one to be recommended Without a compelling motive for persons out of work to register and without adequate means of preventing fraudulent registration if tie incentive is expec tation of relief data so obtained are certain to be grossly inaccurate The unemployment statistics of Great Britain although derived from actual registration of the unemployed are of quite different quality They are obtained through the administration of the law that provides compulsory unemployment insurance for manual work ers and lower paid nonmanual workers in most of the divisions of industry The insurance benefit here provides the incentive for regis 1 U S B u rea u o f th e C ensus T w e lft h Census o f th e U n ite d S ta tes O ccu p a tion s W a sh in g ton 1904 p c c x x v a U S B u i m u o f L a b o r S ta tis tics B ui N o U n em p loy m en t in N ew Y o rk C ity N Y a n d B u i N o U n em p loy m en t in th e U n ited S ta tes W a s h in g to n A re p o rt o f th e five su ccessiv e su rv ey s p rep a red b y F re d e rick E C ro x to n h a s been p u b lish ed a s B u lletin No 409 o f th e IT S B u rea u o f L a b o r S ta tis tics u n d er t h e title U nem p loym ent in C olum bus O hio 1921 to T h e p o lic e d ep a rtm en t o f N ew Y ork C ity coop era te d in th e first o f these b y m ak in g a co u n t o f th e un em p loyed a m on g the h om eless w h o w e r e fo u n d in v a rio u s te m p o ra ry lo d g in g s o n o n e n ig h t in J an u a ry SOURCES AND CHARACTER 127 tration and the labor exchange machinery established to prevent the fraudulent receipt of benefits largely excludes from the count persons who are not actually unemployed In this country of course no such data are available because employment exchanges lack the kind of machinery for registration upon which they depend 2 Statistics of Employment Offices EM PLO YM E N T offices register workers out of employment and positions vacant and keep more or less accurate records of place ments made They show to a certain extent the demand for labor and the supply of workers and thus reflect the activity of business and the intensity of changes in opportunities for employment Employment offices as a source of reliable statistics in the United States are of minor importance because of the inadequacy of the national provision for an employment service and because of varia tions in statistical methods in the employment agencies of the differ ent States Practically all public employment offices in the States in this country are now cooperating with the United States Employ ment Service which assembles and publishes monthly statistics of their operations 6 3 Employment Statistics from Pay Kolls T H E most feasible source of statistics relating to employment in A the United States is a pay roll which shows the number of persons employed Although the u volume of employment might be measured more precisely in terms of total hours of work of all employees in a specified period statistically known as man hours or employee ho urs these more significant figures can not at present be obtained promptly and accurately on a comprehensive scale Fortunately for many of the purposes for which employment sta tistics are used data on the number of workers employed approach in value those on employee hours Every pay roll contains at least some mark of identification of each employee of the concern and the wages received by him within a specified pay period It is a timely and accurate record available in almost every industrial organization of appreciable size The required figures of total number employed and total wages paid can be transcribed to a report form with very little effort and with com paratively small chance of clerical error It is practicable therefore to obtain these data at frequent intervals and by means of inquiries sent through the mail In some instances the bureaus now collecting pay roll statistics obtain only the number of persons employed More frequently both the number of employees and the total amount of wages shown on the pay roll are recorded and the statistics are thus commonly re ferred to as statistics of employment and earnings The figures for total earnings are valuable as a check on those showing the number employed They are valuable also for what they show directly con EU S Employment Service Report of Activities of State and Municipal Employment Services Washington Published monthly 128 EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS cerning purchasing power and when divided by the total number of persons at work they give average earnings per employee a figure which is worth obtaining for rough indication of changes in the rate of wages Development of Pay Roll Employment Statistics Although the current publication of employment figures from pay rolls is a development of the last 10 years only statistics of this sort are not new The United States Bureau of the Census has obtained statistics of the numbers employed monthly in manu facturing establishments for the years in which the national censuses of manufactures have been taken every five years from 1899 to 1919 and subsequently every two years In Massachusetts in 1886 the office which was then known as the Bureau of Statistics of Labor inaugurated an annual census of manufactures in which similar monthly employment figures were collected This State census of manufactures has been continued each year since thus giving Massa chusetts the longest record of employment fluctuation which is any where available Monthly employment figures were also gathered m an annual census of manufactures in New Jersey from 1893 to 1918 In Ohio monthly figures for employment in manufacturing industries were assembled each year from 1892 to 1906 and since 1914 a compre hensive canvass of employment and wages by months has been made annually covering agriculture construction service trade transpor tation and public utilities as well as manufacturing 6 In all of these records however the monthly data for each year were compiled after the completion of the calendar year to which they referred and were tabulated and made public only after an interval ranging from several months to a year or more The earliest current collection of such data in this country was made by the New York State Department of Labor The reporting establishments were selected to represent the manufacturing industry as a whole The first data were collected in June 1915 but during the first year employers were requested to furnish figures for both the current month and the corresponding month in the preceding year thus in effect the New York series of pay roll statistics for manufacturing industries dates from June 1914 The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics began to collect pay roll statistics shortly after the New York bureau but confined itself to fewer industries Beginning with October 1915 reports were obtained from employers in four industries boots and shoes cotton cotton finishing and hosiery and underwear The list was extended however so that by the end of manufacturing industries had been included Several of these series were carried back to December 1914 In July 1922 the scope of the inquiry was further enlarged establishments engaged in additional manufactur ing industries were then added and since 1922 the reports have covered about 507 industries and have been fairly representative of manufacturing as a whole 6 W h ile these la te r d a ta h a v e been co lle cte d and ta b u la te d a n n u a lly th e y h a v e been p ub lish ed o n ly f o r the yea rs and 1923 T h e U S W o m e n s B ureau h ow ever is n ow m ak in g a stu d y o f em p loy m en t flu ctu a tion s as i t h a s a ffe cte d w o m a n w o rk e rs in O h io ind ustries a n d th is re p o rt w ill con ta in fu ll series o f O h io d a ta sin ce 1914 f o r th e m ore im p o r ta n t in d u stries 7 F ifty fo u r sin ce A p ril 1926 SOURCES AND CHARACTER 129 Number and Activities of Existing Agencies The table here presented gives a list of the leading agencies in the United States and Canada engaged in the collection of cur rent monthly pay roll statistics and indicates the general scope and character of the information collected It shows that pay roll statis tics are now being collected from month to month in the United States by three Federal bureaus and by nine State bureaus In addi tion employment statistics are being collected by three Federal reserve banks and privately by a number of employers associations The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics covers the widest field In 1926 its current figures covered more than 10 000 estab lishments in 54 manufacturing industries employing approximately wage earners whose total earnings per week ran from to In collecting these figures the Bureau of Labor Statistics cooperates with the State labor departments in seven States thus avoiding duplication of work The Federal bureau s figures are now published in a special section of the Labor Review which is also issued as an advance pamphlet news releases being sent out earlier as data are available The data are given for the main industries and their subdivisions and a re capitulation by the nine geographical divisions used by the United States Census Bureau is also given It has not yet proved feasible for the Federal bureau to publish the data for each State or for Federal reserve districts which it has been suggested would make the data directly useful to the 12 Federal reserve banks All the cooperating State bureaus however now publish their own data currently for local use Extension of these national employment statistics beyond manufac turing has not yet proceeded far The Federal bureau is experi menting in the collection of data in the building trades in metalliferous mines and in coal mines Summary figures for the railroads furnished by the Interstate Commerce Commission are included in the monthly report issued by the Bureau of Labor Sta tistics but they are for earlier dates than the manufacturing statis tics The Department of Agriculture has continued experiments begun by the Wisconsin Industrial Commission on the difficult prob lem of collecting employment figures for farms but the statistics are not yet currently available Data on employment in wholesale and retail trade are not yet collected for the country as a whole though they are being obtained by certain State bureaus including Wisconsin and Illinois and also by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Thus in 1926 despite encouraging progress the great majority of States have no information regarding employment within their own boundaries although manufacturing plants therein may con tribute to the data collected by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics for the country as a whole The more rapid extension of initial collection by the State and the inclusion of a larger number of industries are the two major needs in the effort to secure adequate statistics of employment in the United States LEADING AGENCIES IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA WHICH COLLECT CURRENT MONTHLY PAY ROLL STATISTICS Date with which series begins 1 Period in month to which figures refer D ecem ber 1914 Agency M iddle Information collected Industries now being covered Name of report Employment and earnings Manufacturing M onthly Labor Review also Em ploy ment in Selected Manufacturing In dustries Wage Statistics Class I Steam Rail roads N o publication yet made M anufacturing Industrial Bulletin United States Federal bureaus W isconsin Industrial Com m ission October 1923 First Employment and wage rates Employment and earnings b y sex office and shop em ployees July d o Employment and earnings manual and nonmanual em ployees June M iddle Illinois Department of L abor August d o Employment and earnings b y sex Iowa Bureau of Labor End Employment b y sex January 1922 Employment and earnings b y Manufacturing Em ploym ent and Earnings mimeo S eptember M iddle graphed sex 1922 J a n u a r y d o Employment and ea rn in g s d o Printed table only d o Labor and Industry Massachusetts Departm ent of Labor and Industries M aryland Department of Labor and Statistics Pennsylvania Departm ent of Labor and Industry 4 Oklahoma Department of Labor California Bureau of Labor Statistics Federal reserve banks Philadelphia Chicago San Francisco 7 January 1924 M ay 1924 do d o Manufacturing mining street railways d o Manufacturing do d o d o January M ay d o June 1924 Manufacturing trade Oklahoma Labor Market California Labor Market mimeographed Bulletin Business Review Manufacturing Business Conditions M onthly Review of Business Condi tions STATISTICS Manufacturing mining com Wisconsin Labor Market munication transportation construction trade logging agriculture etc Manufacturing mining com Labor Bulletin munication transportation construction trade Manufacturing trade etc Iowa Em ploym ent Survey EMPLOYMENT do July 1921 Department of Agriculture State bureaus N ew Y ork Department of Labor v a ie ou rea u s x u m p iu y u ie iit e a iu iu g s axiu National Industrial Conference B o a r d June d o Employment earnings and do hours b y sex skilled and unskilled employees Employment hours wage January End do Cleveland Chamber of Commerce rates 1921 Em ploym ent Detroit Employers Association F e b ruary W eekly do 1920 Employment hours manBridgeport Manufacturers Association F e b r u a r y do do hours 1921 Canada D om inion Bureau of Statistics January 1920 First Employment Manufacturing mining com munication transportation construction trade logging etc Bulletin of Manufacturers Associa tion The Em ploym ent Situation mimeographe 10 AD N CHAEACTEB Cleveland Business Statistics 8 Industrial Barometer SOUECES 1 In a number of instances data for all of the industries now being covered do not extend back to this date 2 In connection with detailed reports of employees service and compensation for all Class I railroads 3 The m onthly data for M aryland are published also in the annual report of the Commissioner of Labor and Statistics 4 In cooperation with the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia e Collects data for Pennsylvania N ew Jersey and Delaware Data for each State are published separately in mimeographed reports 6 Data represent the Seventh Federal Reserve District in Illinois and Wisconsin they are obtained from State bureaus 7 Collects directly from employers in Oregon uses figures of State bureau in California 8 Contains diagrams only 8 Collection taken over from Canadian Employment Service Experimental collection was begun early in 1919 1 Also published in the Labor Gazette of the Canadian Department of Labor 0 Occasional reports on wages hours and employment C O 132 EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS Trend of Employment in Manufacturing Industries HE United States Bureau of Labor Statistics indexes of em ployment and pay roll totals in manufacturing industries are based on monthly returns from more than 10 000 establish ments in 54 of the principal manufacturing industries of the United States These establishments employ over wage earners or about one third of all the wage earners in manufacturing estab lishments of the United States and 45 per cent of the total number employed in the 54 selected industries The employment indexes derived from these data show the amount of employment for the average worker in his regular field of work and permit a comparison of the fluctuating conditions prevailing in each of the industries surveyed making possible a study of the underlying trend of employment as well as the purely seasonal variations Trend of Employment in 1926 T rTvHE trend of employment in manufacturing industries in 1926 month by month until November followed very closely the trend of employment in 1925 although from January to October employment was on a considerably higher level than in 1925 In both November and December 1926 however the index fell below 1925 Employment in 1925 reached its highest point in December while in 1926 the highest point was reached in March The lowest point in both years was reached in July Pay roll totals each month fol lowed the same general trend as employment although the improve ment in pay roll totals during each month from January to October 1926 as compared with the same month of 1925 was noticeably greater than the improvement in employment and likewise the de creases in pay roll totals in November and December 1926 from those months in 1925 were less pronounced than the decreases in employment in the same period On the whole although the levels of employment may and do vary considerably the seasonal trend of employment is much the same from year to year This fact is illustrated by Table 1 and Chart 1 In each of the last four years there has been a quick recovery in February from the regular January depression caused by inventories and repairs This has been followed by a few months of wavering with a rather sharp decline in July another stock taking month In the last half of 1923 there was a practically uninterrupted decline but in each of the years and 1926 there was a well defined upward movement beginning in August with an uncertain month or two at the close of the year Both employment and pay rolls fluctuated on higher levels during 1926 than in any year since 1923 Considering the monthly average of employment for 1923 as 100 the monthly average for 1924 dropped to 90 3 with a rise to 91 2 in 1925 and a further increase to 91 9 in 1926 Pay roll totals which dropped from an average of 100 in 1923 to 90 6 in 1924 or to almost the same level as employment have 133 EMPLOYMENT IN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES shown more spectacular increases than employment in both 1925 and 1926 the monthly averages being 93 6 and 95 8 respectively Table 1 shows by months the general index of employment in manufacturing industries and the general index of pay roll totals from January 1923 to December 1926 T a b l e 1 G E N E R A L I N D E X OF E M P L O Y M E N T A N D P A Y R O L L T O T A L S IN M A N U F A C T U R IN G IN D U S T R IE S J A N U A R Y 1923 TO D E C E M B E R 1926 M onthly average 1923 IOC Employment Pay roll totals M onth January F ebruary M arch April M a y June July August S eptem ber October Novem ber December Average Chart 1 made from the index numbers of Table 1 shows clearly the trend of employment and pay roll totals during the period January 1923 to December 1926 Charts 2 to 8 show the course of employment in each of the 54 separate industries for each month of 1926 as compared with the cor responding month of 1925 These charts are made from index num bers published in the Labor Review for August 1925 and February 1927 Employment by Industries 1923 to 1926 IN Table 2 p 142 are presented for and 1926 based on the yearly average for 1923 the general index the group indexes and the indexes for each of the component industries The relatives from which these indexes are made were published in the August 1925 and February 1927 issues of the Labor Review The weights used in combining the various relatives for individual industries into the 12 group indexes and the final general index are representative of the importance of the several industries to the country as a whole 134 EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES MONTHLY INDEXES M N H Y A E 1923a O T L V R G 100 A E EMPLOYMENT V V K i92 I Z5 90 V y S JAM FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT MOV DEC Chart EMPLOYMENT IN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES TREND o p M O NTH LY EMPLOYMENT AVERAGE CONFECTIONERY SLAUG HTERIN6 MEAT PACKING 100 N so rr V 70 IC E CREAM r L FLOUR M O v V I92 5 V X V i SU G A R BAKING R E F IN IN G N N A H O SIERY Sc K N IT GOO OS COTTON G O O D S X f 0 J t V a z z 3 a 1 4 u u Q X o V U l u o 136 EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS TREND EMPLOYMENT MONTHLY AVERAGE o f S IL K W OOLEN no W O R ST E D c GOODS too 192 m 0 mt9Z CARPETS R U G S D Y E IN G l F IN IS H IN G T E X T IL E S I9 Z 5 V V la z N s sT 80 C L O T H IN G H E N S S H IR T S COLLARS l ZS 19X 5 r C L O T H I N G W O M E N S M IL L IN E R Y L A C E G O O D S N V i l I V r N y l9 Z S E c s o u o o y a Ch a r t 3 or z n tL uj IV o U o EMPLOYMENT IN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES Ch a r t EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS TREND o EMPLOYMENT r M ONTHLY LUM BER AVERAGE SAW H ILL S LUMBER M ILLW ORK s X5 80 FURNITURE LEAT H ER n PAPER PULP BOOTS SHOES I 6 9Z V jd I9Z PAPER BOXES P R IN T IN G BOOK JOB n o N I 9Z I 5 9Z 90 60 I 1 K u i 0 O 2 O Ch art 5 ce Z r D n a b l c o o u a EMPLOYMENT IN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES CHABir EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS EMPLOYMENT IN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES Chart S T able EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS 2 IN D E X E S OF E M P L O Y M E N T A N D P A Y R O L L T O T A L S IN M A N U F A C T U R IN G IN D U S T R IE S A N D 1926 Yearly average Employment Pay roll totals Industry General index Food and kindred products Slaughtering and meat packing Confectionery Ice cream Flour Baking Sugar refining cane Textiles and their products Cotton goods Hosiery and knit goods Silk g ood s W oolen and worsted goods Carpets and rugs Dyeing and finishing textiles Clothing men s Shirts and collars Clothing w om en s Millinery and lace goods Iron and steel and their products Iron and steel Cast iron pipe Structural iron w ork Foundry and machine shop products Hardware Machine tools Steam fittings and steam and hot water heating apparatus Stoves Lumber and its products Lumber sawmills Lumber mill w ork Furniture Leather and its products L e a t h e r Boots and shoes Paper and printing Paper and p u lp Paper boxes Printing book and jo b Printing newspapers Chemicals and allied products Chemicals Fertilizers Petroleum refining Stone clay and glass products Cement Brick tile and terra cotta Pottery Glass M etal products other than iron and steel Stamped and enameled ware Brass bronze and copper products Tobacco products Chewing and smoking tobacco and snuff Cigars and cigarettes Vehicles for land transportation Automobiles Carriages and wagons Car building and repairing electric railroad Car building and repairing steam railroad Miscellaneous industries Agricultural implements Electrical machinery apparatus and supplies Pianos and organs R ubber boots and shoes Automobile tires Shipbuilding steel EMPLOYMENT IN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES 143 Proportion of Time Worked and of Force Employed T H E Bureau of Labor Statistics has collected data as to operating A time in factories in connection with employment statistics since July 1922 The earliest published report made in January 1923 was based on returns from about 3 000 establishments and showed 81 per cent of the establishments operating on a full time schedule 17 per cent on a part time schedule and 2 per cent idle The Decem ber 1926 report based on returns from over 7 500 establishments or two and one half times as many as in the first report showed 83 per cent operating on a full time schedule 16 per cent on a part time schedule and 1 per cent idle The first tabulation of the average per cent of full time worked by the operating establishments was in March 1924 when the aver age for 5 000 establishments stood at 94 per cent In June 1924 the average had fallen to 87 but by the end of 1924 it had risen to 92 The variation during 1925 was slight although for the most part there was an upward trend and by July 1926 the average per cent of full time operated had reached 96 During the remaining 5 months of 1926 the average stood at and 97 about 7 500 establishments being concerned in the reports for these months Since March 1924 the average per cent of normal full force em ployed by operating establishments has also been computed and pub lished Starting with 82 in March 1924 for 5 000 establishments the average fell to 75 in July 1924 rose to 82 in January 1925 and 85 in December 1925 The highest average appearing was 88 reached in both September and October 1926 The last two months of 1926 however fell to 87 While no direct comparison of these averages is made between months the monthly computations are almost entirely made on reports from identical plants the number varying slightly from month to month and as a rule increasing each month so that with such a large number of establishments it is likely the monthly re turns are strictly comparable These reports are made for each of the 54 industries separately and for the same industries combined in 12 groups These explanatory data form an important addition to the regular presentation of statistics of employment and pay roll totals and aid in their interpretation Employment by Geographic Divisions HTHE general trend o f employment and the fluctuations from A month to month differ widely between the several geographic divisions of the United States To illustrate these differences a chart is presented showing for each of the nine divisions the course of employment during the years 1925 and 1926 The chart is based on index numbers computed for each division using the data for April 1924 as 100 no computation of sectional employment having been made by the bureau previous to that month These index num bers are presented in Table 3 p 145 144 EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS T R E N D OF EMPLOYMENT GEOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS APRIL 1 9 2 s 1 0 0 N E W ENGLAl D vs 4 v T O T NR L R HC A l SOU rn An AH TIC H w O T E T A s U H R L V s A V a M H IN 01 TA W o i o u d Ck I k f v P C IC A IF f 90 V I O o a U Hi 145 EMPLOYMENT IN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES T a b l e 3 IN D E X E S OF E M P L O Y M E N T IN M A N U F A C T U R IN G IN D U S T R IE S IN E A C H G E O G R A P H IC D IV IS IO N IN 1925 A N D 1926 B Y M O N T H S April Geographic division M onth and year 1925 January February March A pril M a y June July A ugust September October Novem ber December January February M arch A pril M a y June J u ly August September O cto b e r N ovem ber December East N ew Middle North England A tlantic Central West East South N orth South Central A tla n tic Central West South Central M ou n tain Pacific Industries Covered Hr HE 54 industries surveyed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics include very nearly all of the most important manufacturing industries of the United States The industries included are the oldestablished industries and a large part of the reporting establish ments are likewise old established ones In this connection however it should be borne in mind that a new industry is not of necessity maintained entirely as a separate and distinct affair Invariably when a new industry or product comes into prominence old established concerns engaged in turning out a kindred article either near or remote the value or sale ox which may be affected by the newer production are likely to turn over a part of their plant to the making of the new product This may be an experimental plan only although not infrequently the entire policy of the concern may be changed at least in part by the success of the new industry for example phonograph cabinets are made to a considerable extent by furniture manufacturers rayon goods are reported as a product or cotton goods plants and a large amount of radio equipment is turned out by establishments classified under electrical machinery apparatus and supplies and still largely en gaged in such production Thus it is clear that while the 54 industries selected by the bureau for these employment statistics are per se old established industries it must not be inferred that the indexes of employment are altogether unaffected by the influence of the spectacular newer industries of to day As this study is designed primarily to show conditions in the more important manufacturing lines in the United States as a whole some industries of considerable weight to their respective local communi 146 EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS ties may in the aggregate of employment fall too far below the total which warrants giving them a place in this compilation The magnitude of the bureau s report on Employment in selected manufacturing industries is shown in Table 4 in which the data for December 1926 are presented to illustrate the distribution of establishments employees and pay roll totals among the various industries and classified groups of industries with a recapitulation by geographic divisions T able 4 E M P L O Y M E N T AND P A Y R O L L T O T A L S B Y IN D U S T R IE S G R A P H IC D IV ISIO N S AND GEO Number on Amount of pay roll D e pay roll De cember 1926 cember 1926 Industry Establish ments Food and kindred products Slaughtering and meat packing Confectionery Ice cream Flour Baking Sugar refining cane Textiles and their products Cotton goods Hosiery and knit goods Silk goods W oolen and worsted goods Carpets and rugs Dyeing and finishing textiles Clothing m en s Shirts and collars Clothing wom en s M illinery and lace goods Iron and steel and their products Iron and steel Cast iron pipe S t r u c t u r a l ir o n w o r k Foundry and machine shop products Hardware M achine tools Steam fittings and steam and hot water heating apparatus Stoves Lumber and its products Lumber sawmills Lumber millwork Furniture Leather and its products Leather Boots and shoes Paper and printing Paper and p u lp Paper boxes Printing book and jo b Printing new spapers Chemicals and allied products Chemicals Fertilizers Petroleum refining Stone day and glass products Cement Brick tile and terra cotta Pottery G lass Metal products other than iron and steel Stamped and enameled ware Brass bronze and copper products Tobacco products Chewing and smoking tobacco and snuff Cigars and cigarettes EMPLOYMENT IN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES TABLE 4 E M P L O Y M E N T A N D P A Y R O L L T O T A L S B Y IN D U S T R IE S G R A P H IC D IV IS IO N S Continued Industry Vehicles for land transportation Establish ments 1 024 Automobiles Carriages and wagons Car building and repairing electric railroad Car building and repairing steam railroad Miscellaneous industries AND GEO A m ount of Num ber on pay roll D e pay roll D e cember 1926 cember Agricultural implements Electrical machinery apparatus and supplies Pianos and organs R ubber boots and shoes Automobile tires Shipbuilding steel All industries Recapitulation by geographic divisions GEOGRAPHIC DIVISION New England M iddle Atlantic East N orth Central West North C e n tra l South A tlantic East South Central West South Central M ountain Pacific All divisions Method of Computing Employment Index Numbers HTHE basic material for these indexes is obtained from reports furnished by manufacturers in every State of the Union the great majority of the reports coming direct to the bureau although seven States collect employment data for their own use and furnish the bureau with the data in detail for each establishment Questionnaires are mailed to each establishment on the 15th of each month requesting information as to the pay roll period ending nearest the 15th day of the month The questionnaire asks for an enumeration of the concern s principal products the date of the ending of the pay roll the period covered one week two weeks half month month the amount of the pay roll and the total num ber of persons who worked any part of the period Also for veri fication purposes a request is made for the reason for any marked increase or decrease in total pay roll or number of employees and for a statement showing normal working time current operating time per cent of normal full force employed and any change made in rates of wages Each report is inspected upon its arrival and if the pay roll total is for a period longer than one week the equivalent pay roll for one week is computed Where necessary reports are returned to the senders for correction or amendment The bureau s aim has been to secure in each industry a sufficiently large number of reporting establishments to guarantee for each re port approximately 40 per cent of the employees in the industry in 148 EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS each State as recorded by the Census of Manufactures The con summation of this design brings the geographical distribution of employees in the several industries reported to an equitable basis In selecting establishments to represent each industry great care has been exercised to secure in each geographic division a propor tionate number of concerns with large small and medium numbers of employees and if there are two or more branches of an industry the same care has been exercised to maintain the ratio of representa tion from each branch The number of employees and the pay roll total for each estab lishment are entered on a separate recording card which has space for the 12 months of each of three years From these recording cards totals for each industry are made of the employees and pay roll amounts in all establishments for both the current month and the month immediately preceding Percentages of changes between the totals for the two months are then computed and with the per cent of change the link chain index for each industry for the current month is built up from the index of the previous month The index for each of the 12 classified groups of industries is reached by weight ing the relatives for each industry in the group according to the importance of the industry and the general index is obtained from the 12 group indexes Percentages of change in the separate industries and groups be tween a current month and the same month of the previous year are arrived at by comparing the monthly indexes of the two years Changes in per capita earnings are computed and tabulated by industries comparisons being made between the current month and the preceding month and between the current month and the cor responding month of the previous year wage changes also are brought together and tabulated by industries From the normal time and the current operating time reported the per cent of full time operation is computed for each concern together with an average of these percentages for each industry for each group and for all industries combined percentages of normal full force are computed on the same plan The monthly reports are presented with the industries arranged in 12 groups Food textiles iron and steel lumber leather paper chemicals stone clay and glass metal other than iron and steel tobacco vehicles and miscellaneous industries Index numbers for each industry are computed monthly and from these relatives group indexes are constructed as well as a general index which is a weighted average of relatives for the 54 separate in dustries Employment on Steam Railroads ONTHLY statistics as to the employment on Class I rail roads that is all roads having operating revenues of or over are published by the Interstate Com merce Commission and presented in summarized form in the Labor Review Table 1 and the accompanying chart show the movement pf employment for all classes of employees over the year 19263 in M 149 EMPLOYMENT ON STEAM RAILROADS comparison with the three preceding years the year 1923 being taken as a base or 100 Table 2 gives these data by principal occu pational groups and by months for the year 1926 In these tabula tions the data for the occupational group reported by the Interstate Commerce Commission as executives officials and staff assistants5 5 are omitted T a b l e 1 I N D E X OF E M P L O Y M E N T O N C LA SS I S T E A M R A IL R O A D S IN T H E U N IT E D S T A T E S M onthly average M onth 1923 January February M arch A pril M a y June July August September October N ovem ber December Average C L A S S I STEAM RAILROADS MONTHLY INDEXES MONTHLY AVERAGE JAW FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUfr SEP OCT NOV DEC EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS T a b l e 2 E M P L O Y M E N T ON CLASS I S T E A M R A IL R O A D S IN T H E U N IT E D S T A T E S B Y M O N T H S 1926 From m onthly reports of Interstate Commerce Commission As data for only the more important occupations are shown separately the group totals are not the sum of the items under the respective groups Num ber of employees at m iddle of month Occupation January February Professional clerical and general Clerks Stenographers and typists Maintenance of way and structures Laborers extra gang and work train Laborers track and roadway s e ction Maintenance of equipment and stores C a rm en Machinists Skilled trades helpers Laborers shops engine houses power plants and stores Common laborers shops engine houses power plants and stores Transportation other than train engine and yard Station agents Telegraphers telephoners and towermen Truckers stations warehouses and platform s Crossing and bridge flagmen and gatemen Transportation yardmasters switch tend ers and hostlers Transportation train and engine Road conductors Road brakemen and flagmen Y ard brakemen and yard helpers Road engineers and motormen R oad firemen and helpers March A pril M ay June T o ta l n u m b e r o f em p lo y e e s Number of employees at m iddle o f month Occupation July Professional clerical and general Clerks Stenographers and typists Maintenance of way and structures Laborers extra gang and work train Laborers track and roadway section Maintenance of equipment and stores Carmen Machinists Skilled trades helpers Laborers shops engine houses power plants and stores Comm on laborers shops engine houses power plants and stores Transportation other than train engine and yard Station agents Telegraphers telephoners and towermen Truckers stations warehouses and platforms Crossing and bridge flagmen and gatem en Transportation yard masters switch tenders and hostlers Transportation train and engine Road conductors Road brakemen and flagmen Yard brakemen and yard helpers Road engineers and m otormen R oad firemen and helpers August Septem ber October N ovem ber Decem ber T otal number of employees 151 EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS Unemployment Survey of Columbus Ohio REPORT on unemployment in Columbus Ohio from 1921 to 1925 was published in 1926 as Bulletin No 409 of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics Aside from the local interest of the report the study is of special value because there have been so few investigations made of actual unemployment Columbus has large areas of native white population and only a few negro districts Immigrant populations predominate in a compar atively small number of districts The study aimed to include a fair sample of the wage earning populations of the city but in drawing de ductions from these statistics it must be remembered that the findings for each year represent only a particular period approximately the last week in October The 1921 survey covered slightly over 10 per cent of the employed persons 18 years of age and over in Columbus The numbers included in the succeeding four years varied somewhat Approximately 50 per cent of the persons enumerated were in the manufacturing and mechanical industries over 25 per cent in the trade and transportation group 10 per cent in domestic and personal service slightly over 7 per cent were self employed and the remain der were included in other general industrial groups In the individual industries the heaviest percentages of enumerated persons were found in iron and steel and their products railway and express building trades and wholesale and retail trade A Whether the number of persons working full time part time or idle be con sidered or whether the proportion of employment and idleness in the popula tion enumerated be taken as a criterion the greatest amount of employment was present in 1923 which was followed in order by and 1921 and the largest amount of unemployment existed in 1921 with and 1923 each showing respectively somewhat less If only that idleness reported as due to slack work be considered the order of importance of the years becomes and 1922 Employment Status IN EACH of the five years for the districts included in the survey the effort was made to ascertain whether each person male or female 18 years of age or over was 4 1 working full time 2 work 4 ing part time and if so what fraction of the usual full time for the in dustry in which the individual was engaged or 3 idle and if so how long continuously at the time of the visit and for what reason The following table shows the percentage of those of both sexes on full time part time or who were idle for the five years under review T a b l e 1 E M P L O Y M E N T S T A T U S OF A L L PE R S O N S E N U M E R A T E D 1921 T O 1925 E m ploym ent status E m ployed Full t im e Part time Two thirds but less than full tim e One half but less than two thirds tim e One third but less than one half tim e Less than one third t im e Total part tim e Id le Total both sexes 152 EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS The table below shows the percentages of those unemployed from different causes slack work being the predominant cause in all the T periods covered except 1922 In that year 34 1 per cent of the unemployment was due to sickness and 28 2 per cent to slack work Even in 1923 however those unemployed because of sickness con stituted 33 8 per cent of the total idle only slightly below the 37 4 per cent idle in that year because of slack work Referring to the low percentage of unemployment in 1921 because of old age or retire ment it is thought probable that during the acute industrial situ ation in that year a number of elderly persons took temporary work because the regular wage earners in the family were unemployed T a b l e 2 C AU SE OF U N E M P L O Y M E N T OF PE R S O N S E N U M E R A T E D B O T H S E X E S 1921 T O 1925 Includes only persons reporting as to cause of unemployment Per cent of total unemployed Cause of unemployment Slack w ork Sickness Old age or retirement Total Full time employment part time employment and idleness for the five year period covered varied more for all males than for all fe males enumerated This is partly attributable to the fact that the males were not so largely engaged in salaried occupations as were the females For male heads of households however the fluctuations over the five years in the percentages of those employed part time and those who were unemployed are greater than for females The average employment status for all males enumerated for the five periods was as follows per cent employed full time 3 4 per cent employed two thirds but less than full time 3 8 per cent employed half but less than two thirds time 0 8 per cent employed one third but less than half time 0 3 per cent employed less than onethird time 9 4 per cent idle The greatest divergences from these averages of full time employment occurred in 1921 when 75 1 per cent were fully employed and in 1923 when 87 4 were on full time The record for unemployment in 1921 was 14 6 per cent while in 1923 only 6 8 per cent were idle which it will be noted is consider ably lower than the percentage for the five year period The average status of employment for all enumerated females was per cent employed full time 3 1 per cent employed two thirds but less than full time 5 3 per cent employed half but less than twothirds time 1 9 per cent employed one third but less than half time 0 9 per cent employed less than one third time 5 per cent idle The percentage of females employed on full time for the separate years differed most from the average for the five years in 1924 and 1923 being respectively 81 3 and 87 6 per cent while the unemployed females in the individual years ranged from 3 per cent in 1922 to 7 9 per cent in 1921 UNEMPLOYMENT SURVEY Of COLUMBUS OHIO 153 Employment Fluctuations in Certain Industries MOT one of the five more important industry groups exhibits throughout the five years the highest proportion of employment or the greatest amount of idleness although retail and wholesale trade was in the lead in full time employment for the first four of the five years the percentages of persons so employed being more than 89 per cent in 1921 just under 93 per cent in per cent in 1923 and 92 7 per cent in 1924 Of these five groups the indus tries showing the largest proportion of idle persons were in 1921 iron and steel 26 8 per cent in 1922 railway and express 13 2 per cent in 1923 iron and steel slightly over 8 per cent and in 1924 and 1925 the building trades with 11 8 per cent and 12 3 per cent respectively Considering all the industry groups paper printing and pub lishing which in 1922 and 1923 nearly equaled retail and wholesale trade in the percentage of persons on full time was in this respect ahead of all industry groups except professional service in 1925 with a record of 92 8 per cent of the persons in that industry on full time employment In the same year except for agriculture the building trades wage earners and contractors were reported as having the greatest relative number of idle persons 12 3 per cent In the matter of full time employment the trade and transporta tion group was more stable for the five year period than the manufac turing and mechanical group of industries the percentage of persons on full time in trade and transportation ranging from 88 3 per cent in 1921 to 93 4 per cent in 1923 and in the manufacturing and mechan ical industries group from 72 2 per cent in 1921 to 88 8 per cent in 1922 The unemployed in trade and transportation constituted 3 5 per cent in 1923 and 7 4 per cent in 1922 and in the manufacturing and mechanical group 4 6 per cent in 1922 and 13 9 per cent in the previous year Trend Toward Stabilization of Employment THE variety in the industries of Columbus has a tendency to level employment conditions affecting the city as a whole The fact also that these industries are to a great extent owned locally makes for a very definite sense of responsibility among employers and has resulted in the adoption by several important establishments of pro gressive methods for regularizing employment This policy is reflected in the notable amount of part time employment in 1924 a number of establishments having held a large percentage of their working force on a part time basis rather than a smaller percentage on full time work Value of Definite Unemployment Statistics YY7HILE it is evident that not all of the unemployment disclosed in a survey of this kind represents actual need yet the continuing study of conditions from year to year especially when the data in clude the causes and duration of idleness is a genuine social service Through such service as already suggested communities particu 154 EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS larly cities like Columbus with highly coordinated social activities may outline more intelligently their economic programs and esti mate more closely for their coming requirements Work of United States Employment Service HE expense of establishing and maintaining the public employ ment services of the several States and municipalities is borne largely by them The Federal Government however makes a small financial allotment provides the forms and extends the use of the Government frank The United States Employment Service acts as a clearing house and is able through its cooperative service to clear labor from States with an oversupply of labor to other States where a shortage exists The following table shows the placement work of the United States Employment Service and of the States cooperating with it during 1926 8 T P L A C E M E N T W O R K OF T H E U N IT E D S T A T E S E M P L O Y M E N T S E R V IC E A N D C O O P E R A T IN G S T A T E S 1926 Persons re Registrations Applications ferred to em for help ployment M onth January February M arch A pril M a y June July A ugust September October N ovem ber D ecem ber Persons placed Farm Labor Division9 TTHE farm labor division is charged with the responsibility of A recruiting and distributing men for the seasonal harvesting of all crops throughout the country During the year ending December seasonal farm laborers and general farm hands were directed to employment as follows N um ber o f m en Cotton picking Cotton chopping Wheat and small grain harvesting Land clearing mesquite grubbing Berry picking Fruit picking Other seasonal labor Total seasonal laborers General farm workers Grand total U S D ep artm ent o f L abor E m p loym en t Service M on th ly r e p o rt o f a ctiv itie s June an d D ecem ber D a ta fr o m U S D ep a rtm en t o f L abor E m p loym en t S ervice S um m ary o f a c tiv itie s o f fa r m la b o r d ivision 1926 W ash in g ton WORK OF UNITED STATES EMPLOYMENT SERVICE 155 Junior Division1 0 N COOPERATION with the regular local employment services the junior division of the Employment Service undertakes to direct and place in employment boys and girls who are entering business life for the first time There are now 26 cities in 14 States in which the division is assisting in this work The work of this division during the fiscal year 1925 26 is shown below I Registrations Referred to employment Placements Jobs registered calls for help Office interviews Collateral activities Cases of follow up Visits to employers D a ta fro m a n n u al rep ort o f th e S ecreta ry o f L a b or f o r fiscal y e a r en d ed Ju n e p 37 FAMILY ALLOWANCES AND CHILD ENDOWMENT 157 Family Allowances and Child Endowment HE term family allowances refers to the practice developed in various European countries of supplementing the basic wages by special allowances in the case of married workers thus providing for the greater need of those having dependents Such allowances are usually paid either directly by the employer or from an equalization fund maintained by a group of employers in an in dustry In certain countries however allowances to families having more than a certain number of children are made directly by the State out of public funds In such cases the system might more properly be referred to as child endowment T 1 Family Allowances in Foreign Countries A T present the interest in the subject of family allowances in the United States is mainly academic but the development in the foreign countries of the practice of making such grants seemed important enough to warrant a survey by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics The results of this investigation were published in 1926 in Bulletin No 401 of the Bureau of Labor Statistics In general the study covers conditions existing in 1924 but in cludes developments in 1925 in a few cases where authoritative data were available at the time the bulletin was prepared A summary of the findings in this report are given below Beginning of the Movement YJT HILE in certain industries and public services in some countries family allowances had been instituted before 1914 the move ment gained its impetus during and immediately following the war This was due to the unprecedented rise in the prices of the necessaries of life followed by reiterated demands of the workers for a living wage Closely allied with the living wage doctrine is the standardfamily theory namely that the normal male adult should receive a wage sufficient to enable him to support a wife and two or three dependent children Under the economic strain of war and postwar conditions many foreign governments and industries felt that such a wage was an impossibility On the other hand the result of costof living investigations emphasized the fact that the wages of adult males were utterly inadequate to meet even minimum standards of living for a standard family The fact that many families having more than the average number of dependents were subject to special hardship was also realized FAMILY ALLOWANCES AND CHILD ENDOWMENT Because of these facts recourse was often had to the practice of supplementing the basic wage by allowances to workers with de pendents Family Allowances in Public Employment rT HE study disclosed that family allowances were being paid more or less extensively in the civil service of the following 22 countries Australia Austria Belgium Bulgaria Czechoslovakia Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxemburg the Netherlands Poland Bumania Sweden Switzerland and Yugoslavia At the time of the investigation family allowances were not being granted to employees of the national Government in England New Zealand Norway Spain and Portugal During the war however England had applied the family allowance principle in certain kinds of national and local Government employment and Norway had made these supplementary grants in 1923 Family Allowances in Private Industry IN PRIVATE industry family allowances have been or are being paid in at least 18 countries In a number of these the system rests upon collective agreements between the employers and the workers Of the countries covered in the study Germany Czechoslovakia Netherlands Poland and Sweden have been the most conspicuous in the regulation of family allowances through collective agreements Although in Germany the family allowance system had a considerable setback in 1923 in 1924 familv allowances were provided for in collective agreements covering from to workers The total number of workers employed under collective contracts in Germany in January 1924 was In the Netherlands in June 1923 there were included under collective contracts granting family allowances 62 624 wage earners or 26 per cent of the total wage earners under collective agreements Family allowances were included in the various collective agree ments of Czechoslovakia in 1919 and 1920 but in 1921 the system was largely abandoned in private industry in that country although these grants are still being paid in greatly reduced degree in agri culture the metal and machine industries sugar mills the chemical industry and banking After family allowances were introduced into Poland in private industry in 1919 they were for a short period provided for in various collective agreements but when economic conditions became more normal many establishments discontinued the practice They are still being granted in certain coal mining districts in some potash mines and in the sugar industry In Great Poland in the last men tioned industry workers with two children receive a supplement of 1 grosz per hour of work while in other sections of the country family responsibilities are taken into consideration by allowances in kind Of 1 250 agreements in force in Sweden in 1921 affecting 219 984 workers and providing cost of living bonuses 443 covering 109 009 IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES 161 workers granted family allowances At present however family allowances have been almost eliminated in private industry in that country Number of Persons Employed Under Family Allowance Systems M O T quite 50 per cent of the countries reported in regard to the number of persons employed under family allowance systems and the statistics on this subject which were received were not com plete The number of persons employed under such systems in Belgium France Germany and Italy in 1924 and in the Netherlands in 1923 combined was more than Methods of Granting Family Allowances 1WIETHODS of granting family allowances are very diversified 1V1 For example there are allowances for married men regardless of number of children for both wives and children for children only but frequently including illegitimate adopted and foster chil dren and stepchildren for a certain number of children only or for all children below a specified age or for all but the first or the first two children and for children in the higher age group even up to 24 years usually under certain circumstances Moreover allow ances are sometimes granted for aged parents sisters and brothers The amounts of allowances vary greatly in different countries and in different industries or employments and frequently according to the salary grade or wage group of the beneficiaries Family Allowance Funds NE of the most important developments of the family allowance movement is the institution of family allowance funds for the pooling of the costs of family allowances among groups of employers and the prevention of discrimination in employment against workers with family responsibilities This development has been most marked in France where the first fund was established in 1918 and where there were in June such funds having a membership of 11 200 establishments employing more than persons The first Belgian fund was organized in March 1921 and in the middle of 1924 there were 12 funds in existence one of these being set up by the Christian Federation of Trade Unions In Germany the number of funds has been very restricted The mining industry the heavy metal industries and most of the chemical industries have had no family allowance funds and to the employers the necessity for the establishment of such funds did not seem great In 1922 there were 11 funds in Germany most of which have now ceased to function Both Austria and the Netherlands have funds In the former country these funds are established under the law of December In June 1922 the procedure for pooling the costs of allow ances for agricultural and certain other workers was abolished The cumbersome fund machinery is reported as being out of all pro portion to the negligible amounts of allowances for children 162 FAMILY ALLOWANCES AND CHILD ENDOWMENT The municipal government of Arnhem in the Netherlands has instituted a children allowance fund for municipal employees and for private employees in so far as private enterprises may be able to arrange with this fund for such grants Funds have also been created in the boot and shoe baking and cigar industries in the Netherlands A cost of living fund was established in the printing industry of Copenhagen Denmark in January 1917 which paid family allow ances but it was abolished in July 1921 While these funds have been created to equalize the distribution of expenses arising from the payment of family allowances and to protect the workers with family responsibilities from being thrown out of employment or from not being hired at all the methods of preventing such discrimination are not the same in all funds The three principal plans of determining the employers contributions to the French funds are based on 1 the number of days worked 2 the total number of workers employed during the month by the members of the fund and 3 the total wages bill As an outcome of the experience of French and Belgian familyallowance funds hygiene services have been organized by them for the benefit of the families of the workers At the fourth annual congress of the French funds 20 of these funds were reported as having such services some of the schemes being quite elaborate Family Allowances in Agriculture 11 HE family allowance principle is followed in agriculture in various countries particularly through payments in kind In France there is a growing movement for the creation of familyallowance funds in agriculture In February 1925 there were 15 of these funds One of the bases of computing assessments for members in some of these funds is the amount of land cultivated In Austria the procedure for pooling the cost of family allowances for agricultural workers provided for under the law of December was abolished in June 1922 In Germany family allowances are paid in agriculture to both permanent and independent workers Relation to the Population Problem M OT the least interesting aspect of the family allowance system is its alleged relation to the problem of the future labor supply and in the eyes of some militarists to the problem of future man power for the respective nations in the event of war In the case of France particularly this relation is more conspicuous than in any other country because of its grave concern over depopulation Conclusions A GREAT variety of mental attitudes with reference to family allowances is revealed in the sections of the survey which give the viewpoints of ministers of finance ministers of labor members of industrial arbitration courts and officials of national federations of employers organizations and of federated trade unions Pro IK FOREIGN COUNTRIES 163 nouncements on the system range from drastic criticism to the most sanguine indorsement Indeed so many matters concerning the family allowance systems in their present tentative existence are debatable that the drawing of definite conclusions is difficult and frequently impossible For example it would be futile to attempt any deduction as to the actual influence of these systems on the birth rate Even in France where some investigations have been made along these lines the findings are of doubtful value It is perfectly obvious however that the depopulation crisis is very much to the fore in the minds of the leaders of the family allowance movement in that country Another moot question is the effect of family allowances upon industrial production The elements influencing production are so numerous however that any sound conclusions as to what extent family allowances are to be taken into account in this connection should be the result of intensive scientific investigation and par ticularly so under the abnormal industrial conditions following the war While reports from several countries state that family allowances affect production adversely certain employers in other countries hope by such grants to reduce strikes and to lessen labor turnover and consequently to stabilize production Varying replies were made to the inquiry as to the reaction of family allowances on the basic wage This question it is realized could not properly be answered in many cases unless special indi vidual studies had been madte on the subject with due regard to the intricacies of wage adjustments Such studies would of course be rendered especially difficult by the extraordinary fluctuations in currencies rapidly changing price levels and war devised methods of payment running parallel with family allowance systems It is safe to say however that in the civil services in various countries and to a considerable extent in industry family allowances have without doubt constituted a breakwater against demands for higher wages While family allowances were being paid in 1924 in the civil serv ices of 22 of the 27 countries covered in this report the practice of making these grants in private industry has declined in almost all of the countries in which it has been tried out This decline is especially marked in Czechoslovakia Germany Switzerland and the Scandinavian countries On the other hand there has been a recent vigorous development of the family allowance system in France and Belgium under the enthusiastic leadership of private employers and a renewed interest in the question of family endowment is being manifested in England and Australia Any attempt to evaluate the various experiments with family allowances is baffling not only because of the conflicting testimony of those closely associated with such experiments and of the short period over which they have been made but also because of the con fusion of thought as to the nature and character of family allowances and the varying plans for putting them into effect On the one hand family allowances are regarded as closely tied up with wages and the newer system of payment is as it were put 164 FAMILY ALLOWANCES AND CHILD ENDOWMENT in juxtaposition with the standard family wage and is declared to be more just and more economical because it takes into consideration actual instead of hypothetical family responsibilities On the other hand there are schemes for mother or child endow ment or insurance for family responsibilities apart from the com petitive wage of the father Between these extremes there is the combination to a greater or less degree of the family allowance system with the standard family theory for example the paying of a wage which will support a man and his wife with supplementary grants for each dependent child or the payment of a standard wage and the exclusion of the first child or of the first two children from such grants There are evidences however of a trend in certain countries which are more vitally interested in the subject away from concept of the family allowance as a supplementary wage and toward proposals for State family endowment or some form of national social insurance for family responsibilities It may also be said that the experience under family allowance systems adds weight to the demand of women for equal pay for equal work and calls for a more logical response than is frequently made to that contention Furthermore the establishment of family allowance funds at least in France and Belgium has resulted in a growing solicitude on the part of employers for child welfare and a keener realization of its bearing on future citizenship 2 Recent Developments Regarding Family Allowances in Foreign Countries INCE the making of the survey summarized above certain de velopments of interest as regards family allowances in foreign countries have come to the attention of the bureau These are briefly described below Belgium1 S A T THE second congress of Belgian family allowance funds which met in Brussels November the committee for study of family allowances reported that the combined personnel of the 773 establishments affiliated with 12 industrial compensation funds one created since last year s congress 2 was and that the sums distributed by these various funds since their foundation up to dates ranging from June 30 to October aggregated approximately francs I f the industries which accord family allowances but are not affiliated with funds are included the total personnel under the family allowance system is estimated in the committee s report at from 300 000 to 350 000 workers and the disbursements at francs These figures do not include family allowance statistics for the public administration The con gress was informed that a new industrial compensation fund of the 1 C om it6 C en tra l In d u s trie l d e B elg iqu e B u lletin B ru ssels N ov p N ov pp and N ov pp C om p en sa tion fu n d fo r fa m ily a llow a n ces or th e N a tio n a l F e d e ra tio n o f th e T e x tile In d u s try w ith 145 affiliated firm s h a v in g a com bin ed person n el o f RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES 165 central region was in process of formation and that two agricultural funds have made their appearance within the last year The secretary of the committee for the study of family allowances declared that despite the grave industrial depression in Belgium in the last months no firm affiliated with the 12 compensation funds above cited had discontinued the practice of paying family allow ances Indeed the majority of the funds have made important progress in the face of adverse conditions Germany A RECENT very marked decrease in Germany of the number of collective agreements providing family allowances is reported in an article by Dr Fr Busze in the Reichsarbeitsblatt of Berlin January Of 1 496 agreements for manual workers for 1922 23 in various important industries and services 595 or 39 8 per cent carried provisions for family allowances while of 1 352 agree ments for 1924 25 for the same class of workers in the same indus tries and services only 98 or 7 2 per cent included such provisions In 1924 25 the mining chemical and paper industries were the only industries having a very large proportion of collective agree ments which included family allowances and even for the chemical and paper industries such proportion is less than half as great as it was in In various industries in which the system of family allowances was never adopted to any great extent the practice of making these grants has been almost completely abolished for manual workers France3 A T THE Sixth National Annual Congress of the family allowance funds of France which met in the Mediterranean region May various reports indicated that within the preceding year the family allowance movement in France had further expanded Among the statistics presented were the following As reported June Number of funds Number of establishments Number of workers Annual amount disbursed francs As reported May The secretary estimates that if the disbursements of private em ployers who are not members of family allowance funds are added to the above totals for May 1926 they would be increased to francs among workers It is also estimated that the inclusion of the allowances paid to the personnel of public ad ministrations would augment the annual distribution to francs over a population of persons This expansion is said to be due not only to the spontaneous attraction of the funds but also to the legal obligation to pay family allowances to those employed on public works 3La JoumSe Industrielle Paris May 12 p 1 May 15 p 1 and May 16 17 pp 1 and Franc at par 19 3 cents exchange value on May cents 166 FAMILY ALLOWANCES AND CHILD ENDOWMENT It was reported to the congress that the number of agricultural funds had increased from 16 to 27 and also that the National Asso ciation of the Notaries of France was studying with the purpose of adoption a general scheme of social insurance The first step has already been taken in the institution of family allowances by the Seine Chamber of Notaries The attention of the congress was drawn to the notable and in creasing activities of the funds for prenatal and postnatal hygiene the medical supervision of infants and adolescents and the extension of fresh air work At the general meeting of the French national committee on family allowance on December it was reported that the number of family allowance funds then functioning was 203 and that allow ance rates in certain centers had been advanced as much as 100 per cent One of the most significant developments in the social services of the funds is the growing provision for sicknesss allowances At the beginning of the summer of 1926 there were a dozen sick benefit funds in operation Less than six months later there were 22 such funds In December establishments representing 300 000 wage earners were under this new sick benefit scheme which is expected to expand rapidly in Child Endowment by the State New Zealand 1 N New Zealand in 1926 a family allowance bill was enacted into 1 law 6 The law provides that upon application by the father of three or more children an allowance of 2 shillings a week is to be payable in respect of each child of his in excess of two but that the average weekly income of the family from all sources excluding the allowance shall not exceed 4 Allowances will be paid for chil dren up to 15 years of age and for older children under certain circumstances These allowances are to be paid to the wives of the applicants ex cept under unusual circumstances Aliens and Asiatics even though naturalized citizens or British subjects by birth are excluded from the benefits of this legislation Bad character or dishonest action for the purpose of benefiting by the allowance may be considered as a basis for refusal to make such grants In order to receive allowances the parents of the children must have been residents of New Zealand for not less than one year France7 r N July a law was passed providing an annual allowance of 90 francs8 from the State for each child under 13 years of 5 La Journ6e Industrielle Paris Dec p 7 6 New Zealand Official Yearbook 1927 p 656 7 France Mi ni sre du Travail de l Hygifene de 1 Assistance et de la PrSvoyance Sociales Bulletin de la Statistique g6n6rale de la France Paris July 1926 pp I encouragement national aux families nombreuses en 1924 dans quatrevingt six Departments 8 Franc at par 19 3 cents average exchange value for August cents CHILD ENDOWMENT BY THE STATE 167 age in excess of 3 in French families In addition children up to the age of 16 are included provided they have a written contract of apprenticeship or are pursuing their studies as well as those who are crippled or are afflicted with an incurable disease unless they are being cared for in hospitals at the expense of the State the depart ment or the commtme Those persons are excluded from the benefits of the law who are subject to the income tax after the deductions on account of the f amily have been made The national allowances shall not be paid in addition to family allowances allotted to their personnel by different public services but the departments and communes may increase out of their own re sources and to any extent they choose the allowances paid by the State The allowances which were payable each half year amounted to 90 francs per year for each child who was a beneficiary An amendment to the financial law of July provides that payments shall begin with the second child when the mother is left as the head of the family and with the third child when the father is in sole charge A further amendment in the financial law of April increases the amount of the annual allowance to 360 francs beginning January Spain9 I ARGE families are to be subsidized by the Spanish Government in accordance with a royal decree published in The Gaceta Madrid of June The bonus to laborers is to begin with the eighth legitimate or legitimized child dependent upon the head of the family and is payable as follows P e s e t a s 10 per y e a r For children children children children children P e s e t a s 10 p er y e a r For children children children children or more children 1 000 Employees who have 10 legitimate or legitimized children are to be exempted from the rent and income taxes and are to have the right to pay a sixteenth class first tariff and the privilege of free matriculation in all official educational establishments Cash bonuses are also to be accorded civil or military officials on the pay roll of the State the royal house or the legislative bodies when such officials have more than 10 children under conditions set forth in the decree The bonus payable to such officials is 5 per cent of the salary for 11 children plus 5 per cent for each additional child up to and including 20 the bonus for 20 or more children being 50 per cent of the salary These allowances are to be computed on the basic salary the official receives by reason of his rank and not on extra compensation for expenses etc Attention is called to the fact that families of eight children are not unusual in Spain and that to pay these bonuses to smaller families would be a heavy burden on the State exchequer 9 R ep ort from th e con su la te gen era l a t B a rcelon a J u ly P eseta a t p a r c e n t s ex ch a n g e ra te a b ou t 16 cen ts 168 FAMILY ALLOWANCES AND CHILD ENDOWMENT The decree granting these subsidies has received favorable press comment There has been some public discussion over the adminis trative problems particularly matters of proof and the question as to which classes persons may or may not have the right to these subsidies Attention has been called to the probable hardship worked by the exclusion of shopkeepers and small landholders as many persons in these classes are as much in need of assistance as those covered by the decree 0 1 Basel Switzerland1 1 T H E Legislature of the Canton of Basel Switzerland passed a law November providing that all families having less than a specified income and four or more minor children 4 living 6 together in the same household who have resided uninterruptedly for not less than five years in the Canton of Basel shall be paid by the Government sums ranging from 10 to 30 per cent of their annual rental as a contribution toward the payment of house rent the amount of payment to be contingent upon their annual incomes Foreign residents in Basel do not receive such allowances unless they are able to show that Swiss families who reside in the native countries of such foreigners receive rental allowances from public funds The contributions to be paid under the law to families with speci fied incomes and four or more children are as follows Proportion of allowance to annual rental Income of percent Not more than 2 500 francs to 3 000 francs to 4 500 francs Maximum rental alIowance francs In computing annual income a deduction of 500 francs is to be made for each minor child For example a family with an annual income of 4 500 francs and four minor children would be allowed a deduction of 2 000 francs and a grant of 30 per cent of the annual amount paid for house rent Families who live in their own homes or in dwellings furnished by their employers receive a contribution based on the taxable rental value of the house The law stipulates that these contributions are not to be con sidered as charity Moreover such allowances can be neither seized nor attached and can only be assigned or transferred by the Government s consent It is estimated that these benefits will cost the Cantonal Govern ment 100 000 francs a year According to the latest official findings 3 544 families in the Canton have four or more minor children Many of these families however will receive no rental contribution as their incomes are in excess of the maximum at which the grants are allowed 1 Report of American Consul Calvin M Hitch at Basel Switzerland Nov HAWAII LABOR CONDITIONS 169 Labor Conditions in Hawaii ECENT official information regarding labor conditions in Hawaii is very limited The organic law of Hawaii requires that the United States Commissioner of Labor Statistics1 shall make a survey of labor conditions in the Territory once in five years The fifth investigation of the islands was made by that official in 1915 and the results published in 1916 S Doc No 432 64th Cong 1st sess Since that date however the funds of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics have not been sufficient to make such surveys In his annual report for 1925 26 the Secretary of Labor said R While I do not believe years apart is necessary the last 18 months that conditions in the Islands be made that an investigation of Hawaii at set periods five I have been convinced from various sources within the time has come when another survey of labor of Hawaii by the Bureau of Labor Statistics should The Territorial Board of Immigration Labor and Statistics al though still in existence has not functioned for a number of years and has issued no reports since that for Occupational Distribution T A B L E 1 shows the occupational distribution for Hawaii of per sons 10 years of age and over as reported in the United States Census of 1920 T a b l e 1 O C C U P IE D PE R S O N S IN H A W A II 10 Y E A R S OF A G E A N D O V E R B Y SE X Males Females Both sexes General division of occupations Number Percent N um ber Percent N um ber Percent Agriculture forestry and animal in d u stry Extraction Of minp ra ls Manufacturing and mechanical industry Transportation Trade Public service not elsewhere classified Professional service Domestic and personal service Clerical occupations All occupations i U S Department of Commerce Bureau of the Census Fourteenth Census of the United States 1920 V ol IV Population Occupations Washington 1923 p 1270 It will be noted from this table that almost exactly one half of the occupied population was engaged in agricultural pursuits Over 1 Title previous to Mar was United States Commissioner of Labor 2 Letter of June from the board to the United States Department of Labor library LABOR CONDITIONS IN HAWAII 16 3 per cent were employed in manufacturing and mechanical industries The total estimated population of the Territory in 1926 was as compared with 255 912 in 1920 Filipino Laborers in Hawaii TN 1925 the director of labor of the Philippine Islands made an in vestigation of the operation of the contract system under which Filipino laborers are employed in Hawaii and of the living condi tions of such workers The report deals primarily with Filipino laborers on the sugar plantations but inasmuch as some 70 per cent of the agricultural workers in Hawaii are Filipinos the results of this investigation are of very general interest 3 A summary of this report is given below Procedure of Labor Recruiting T H E recruiting of Filipino laborers to work outside the Philippine Islands is regulated by an act of 1915 Act No 2486 as amended by Act No 3148 This act provides that persons or corporations doing such recruiting shall be licensed by the Government that laborers recruited shall be guaranteed their return passage provided they comply with the terms of their contract or become physically incapacitated and that all contracts shall be supervised by the direc tor of labor who shall not permit the contracting of minors under 15 years or of minors under 18 years without the consent of their parents or guardians In addition the Governor General is to appoint a commissioner for service in Hawaii whose duty is to hear and adjust complaints of Filipino laborers to see that the contracts are lived up to and in general to look after the interests of such laborers The labor recruiting is done primarily through an agency estab lished and maintained by the Hawaiian Sugar Planters Associa tion This agency has its central office in the city of Manila and subagencies in various other parts of the islands The recruiting agents do not receive any salary but they receive what the director of labor calls tempting commissions s follows For each unmar ried laborer from Manila 5 pesos 4 from other Provinces 7 pesos for each laborer with a family 20 pesos Each labor applicant is submitted to a physical examination before final acceptance by doctors representing the recruiting agency Upon the acceptance of a laborer by the recruiting agency the laborer signs a general contract with the Hawaiian Sugar Planters Association Through this contract the laborer is guaranteed 1 Free transportation subsistence and clothing for himself and also his family if any from his home to the plantation in Hawaii to which he has been assigned 2 Bonus of 10 pesos to unmarried laborers and 20 pesos to married laborers 3 Free rent water fuel and medical attendance during his stay on the plantation 8 Philippine Mands Department of Commerce and Communications Bureau of Labor Labor Manila March Peso at par 50 cents LABOR CONDITIONS IN HAWAII Free return transportation to his home in the Philippines pro vided he has worked 720 days during three consecutive years 5 A minimum wage of 40 pesos per month of 26 days a day s work to consist of 10 hours in the field or of 12 hours in the factory Wives doing laboring work are to receive 28 pesos per month and children are to be paid according to the amount of work they per form The laborer thus contracts himself for a three vear period but there is no penalty for violation other than the forfeiture of the guaranties including free return transportation to the Philippines A central labor office with a statistical division is maintained by the Hawaiian Sugar Planters Association in Honolulu This office centralizes the recruiting work and keeps all the data relative to the recruited laborers Supervision by Philippine Government THE Philippine Bureau of Labor does not intervene directly in the A recruiting of laborers for Hawaii It is however that bureau s duty to inspect all contracts signed by emigrant laborers and to in vestigate to see that they are acting voluntarily and with full under standing of the terms of the contract The bureau also keeps a list of all contracts records the name residence and other details regard ing emigrants and makes periodical reports as to the number of out going and returning laborers The resident labor commissioner appointed to watch over the interests of Filipino laborers in Hawaii has his office in Honolulu His duty in general is to protect the Filipino laborer from any form of exploitation His specific duties are 1 To receive and hear complaints of Filipino laborers and to de fend their interests in the settlement of such complaints These com plaints may concern the interpretation of the contracts questions regarding free transportation home to physically incapacitated laborers and disputes over salaries and wages 2 To inspect the plantations where Filipino laborers are employed 3 To secure employment for Filipinos in Hawaii who for any reason are out of work 4 To make a semiannual report to the Governor General of the Philippine Islands relative to the condition of Filipino laborers in Hawaii Emigrants Remaining in Hawaii A CCORDING to the records of the bureau of labor Filipino labor ers emigrating to Hawaii from 1909 to 1925 inclusive num bered 74 242 including nearly 10 000 women and children The total number returning from Hawaii during the same period was only 15 601 The details are shown in the table following 174 T LABOR CONDITIONS IN HAWAII able F IL IP IN O L A B O R E R S E M IG R A T IN G T O A N D R E T U R N IN G F R O M H A W A I I Returning from Hawaii Emigrating to Hawaii Year Males Females Children Total Males Females Children Total 1909 to T otal Occupations of Filipinos in Hawaii r HE Filipino laborers in Hawaii are chiefly engaged in the sugar T fields but a considerable number are city workers The director of labor in his report estimates the number of Filipinos in Hawaii at about 40 000 of whom about 5 000 including women and children are city dwellers The remainder are engaged in agricultural labor about 25 000 not including members of their families being on the plantations of the Hawaiian Sugar Planters Association Living Conditions of City Workers A S REGARDS living conditions the director finds that in gen eral the city Filipinos are in a deplorable situation Most of them originally came to Hawaii as contract sugar laborers but for one reason or another drifted to Honolulu and the other cities of the Territory Most of the work they are engaged in such as steve doring is very irregular Commenting on the way of life of these city laborers the director says The conditions of life of the Filipino living in the cities excepting those who have permanent work may be said to be difficult and miserable because of their irregular periods of employment They find hardly enough to sustain them selves and I can affirm that a great number of them lack the necessities of life Often they live by securing shelter and aid from their compatriots who are at work and earning their living These people then become a veritable charge on those who do work and shelter them Living Conditions and Wages on Plantations CONTRASTED with the living conditions of the Filipino laborers in the city the director found conditions of the plantation laborers to be in general very good except among time workers with families with the minimum wage of not over 1 per day How ever he states that most of the laborers are employed on a contract basis and earn with certain bonuses an average of about 2 40 per day Under this contract the laborer himself acting as a contractor agrees to cultivate harvest etc a certain parcel of land and to receive an agreed amount per ton for all the clean cane harvested 175 LABOR CONDITIONS IN HAWAII Details are also entered into regarding the allocation of bonuses advances etc and the contractor is authorized to hire laborers of his own under certain conditions A comparison of the wages of Filipino sugar laborers in Hawaii with the wages paid in the sugar fields of the Philippines according to the director is extremely favorable to Hawaii In other words the Filipino laborer benefits himself financially by emigrating to Hawaii The following table compares the wage rates in the two countries for certain selected occupations in the sugar industry The cost of living in Hawaii is estimated by the director as about 25 per cent higher than in the Philippines but even allowing for this difference all the comparisons are very favorable to the Hawaiian laborer T able 3 D A IL Y W A G E S IN M IL L S A N D F IE L D S OF H A W A II A N D P H IL IP P IN E IS L A N D S Nature of work Cane carrier Unloading machines season Other m en Unloading machines off sea son Other m en Fireroom Firemen Trashmen Water tenders Boiling house samplers Juice heaters and scales Settling tanks Evaporators Lime k iln Filter presses lunas Filter presses others Vacuum pans Crystallizers mixers sweepers Engine and pum p tenders Centrifugal N o Centrifugal N o 1 during season Hawaii Philip pine Islands Nature of work Boiling house samplers Contd Sewing machine Loading sugar off season M illing department Engine tenders Oilers Cane feed ers M ill tenders M ill repair gangs Carpenter shop Car repairing gang Painters Carpenters Electricians helpers etc Machine shop helpers etc Loading cane 27 cents per ton in Hawaii average daily Cutting cane 21 cents per ton in Hawaii average daily D onkey engine Philip Hawaii1 pine Islands Including 10 per cent bonus 2 In the Philippines cutting and loading cane is usually paid for to the contractor not to the laborers and the contractor pays the workmen 2 60 pesos per week with rice and 0 10 pesos per day lor food In the foregoing table 1 peso per day is used as average wage The plantation worker according to the director s report in addition to his salary receives a so called turnout bonus of 10 per cent of his salary plus a profit sharing bonus which varies with the price of sugar When the price of sugar reaches 5 cents a pound a profit sharing bonus of 5 per cent is paid when it is selling at 6 cents a bonus of 15 per cent when the price is 7 cents a bonus of 25 per cent etc It must be remembered also that in Hawaii food costs are lessened in many cases by laborers having a home garden in which they raise some of their vegetables Also they have no house rent to pay and they have free fuel furnished them Cost of Living Budget of Filipino Laborer A CCORDING to the director s estimate an unmarried Filipino laborer can live on 18 per month the items being distributed as follows Food cigarettes 1 50 incidentals 1 80 washing m labok c o n d it io n s i n H a w a ii 2 soap 10 cents clothing etc In the case of a married laborer this estimate is increased 50 per cent for the wife and 15 per cent for each child Thus the minimum for a family with three children is 35 10 which would necessitate a daily wage of 1 35 for 26 working days per month Moreover the above estimates include nothing for recreation nor for a local tax of 5 per year on each adult worker As a matter of fact the great number of Filipino laborers in Hawaii are either unmarried or have left their families at home Indeed the great excess of unattached men and the scarcity of women is believed by the director to be a serious evil which needs to be remedied Housing Conditions U O U SIN G Supplied free by the sugar plantations includes a house valued from 900 to 1 000 with modern hygienic and sanitary conveniences including kitchen bath washhouse odorless toilets with running water wood and other fuels for cooking of their food and water The great majority of the houses are lighted with electricity at the cost of the occupant The plantations also furnish free medical service and free schools Financial Status of Departing and Returning Laborers A SUPPLEMENTARY investigation was made by the Philippine Bureau of Labor of 1 000 laborers who left the Philippines for Hawaii in 1925 and of 500 Filipino laborers who returned from Hawaii to the Philippines during 1925 Of the emigrants 996 were males of whom two thirds were married but had left their families at home Almost all were between 21 and 35 years of age About one half owned real property of an average value of 312 pesos the other half owning no property of any kind Of the 500 returning Filipinos 346 or 69 per cent were married and 312 or 62 per cent had been in Hawaii for at least three years About 20 per cent of the returning laborers took no savings back with them but the remaining 80 per cent averaged 433 pesos each Moreover the investigation showed that while employed in Hawaii almost 90 per cent of the laborers had sent money averaging 734 pesos each to relatives in the Philippines Complaints of Laborers F URING the course of his investigation the director of labor received many complaints from individual laborers regarding working and living conditions The director states that he was un able to verify the complaints and is thus unable to say whether they were justified What appear to be the principal complaints as reported by him were as follows 1 That the payment of the work for long term contract for which the worker earns more than 1 per day is made tardily and the workmen are unable to check up on the amount of work done and expenditures made under the contract system LABOlt CONDITIONS IN HAWAII That many workers who participated in the recent strike are discriminated against 3 That the labor commissioner does not inspect the majority of the plantations more than once a year and that there is often delay in handling complaints sent to the commissioner As regards the complaint that the resident commissioner of labor is tardy in inspecting and following up complaints the commissioner states that he has no assistants and some delay is therefore inevitable The director also reports that the commissioner the plantation man agers and himself agreed on a plan by which any important com plaints by the laborers will be presented by the commissioner to the convention of the Hawaiian Sugar Planters Association The plantation managers also made various complaints to the director regarding the Filipino laborers Thus while the general sentiment was that the Filipinos were satisfactory workers certain managers complained of the instability of many of them that they frequently pass from one plantation to another thus confusing the records especially as regards free return transportation to laborers fulfilling the terms of their contract and also making it difficult to train Filipinos for the more responsible positions such as camp bosses and overseers Conclusions T H E conclusions of the report may be briefly summarized as A follows 1 Some method is necessary to keep the Filipino from leaving plantation work but without any sacrifice of his liberty 2 The daily wage of 1 paid to certain laborers is too low for men with families 3 Free return passage to the Philippines should be given to laborers who were contracted for prior to 1915 when the act of the Philippine Legislature made this provision obligatory Such free passage for men arriving prior to 1915 was not furnished by the Hawaiian Sugar Planters Association as the act did not apply on the plantations of the said company when these laborers were taken to Hawaii These laborers are not given free return passages by the Hawaiian Sugar Planters Association on the ground that they do not work for the plantations belonging to the association at the time they apply for same 4 A considerable number of Filipino laborers who were dis charged from the navy yard and the public works department for not being citizens of the United States should be reinstated and if necessary the law should be amended so as not to exclude Filipinos from said work Work of Hawaiian Homes Commission 5 JULY President Harding approved the Hawaiian Homes Commission act On September the commission held its first meeting Since that time under the commission s direction former pasture and algeroba forest areas in Molokai have been settled and divided 5 U S Department of the Interior Annual report of the Governor of Hawaii for the fiscal year ended June Washington 1926 p 56 178 LABOR CONDITIONS IN HAWAII into 22 farms and 17 house lots in the Kalanianole settlement 74 farms in Palaau and Hoolahua and 2 farms in Kapaakea adding a new population to that section of nearly 700 persons More than 60 homes for workers have been set up in the Kuhio settlement of the Hawaiian home lands in the neighborhood of Hilo The majority of the homesteaders are well settled and making good headway Theirs is the old story of success resulting from enthusi astic hard work and doubtful results where indifference rules The commission s receipts from all sources have aggregated its expenditures for permanent improvement and its loans to homesteaders for the development of their tracts buildings farm equipment and livestock In addition a disburse ment of covered the purchase of certain equipment the general expenses of the commission the carrying on of certain ex perimental work and the development of natural resources The net cash balance on hand June was approximately The original Hawaiian homes act was first approved by the legis lature of the Territory and afterwards submitted to the United States Congress for action Similar procedure would seem proper in connection with a request for the extension of the law beyond the five year period The governor recommends that the Territorial legislature should come to agreement on the request to be presented in this connection to the Seventieth Congress which will meet in December 1927 HOUSING Building Permits in Principal Cities of the United States in 19261 Introduction and Summary HORTLY after January the Bureau of Labor Statistics mailed a questionnaire to each of the 319 cities in the United States which had a population of 25 000 or over according to the estimate of the Census Bureau as of July The question naire called for the number and the cost of each of the different kinds of new buildings and for the number and the cost of additions alterations and repairs to old buildings The figures here presented apply only to buildings and do not include the cost of the ground on which the building is erected Further the figures are restricted to official city limits and do not take into consideration suburban development outside of the corporate limits Prior to 1926 forms were sent annually to the 287 cities which had a population of 25 000 or over according to the 1920 census The scope of the inquiry was extended this year to include 32 other cities which according to the estimate of the Census Bureau have reached a population of 25 000 or over since the last census Full reports were received from 294 cities including 19 of the cities which have reached a population of 25 000 since 1920 Nearly 90 per cent of these cities sent in their reports by mail either direct to this bureau or to cooperating State bureaus The latter forwarded the reports obtained by them to the Bureau of Labor Statistics The States of Illinois Massachusetts New Jersey New York and Pennsylvania are now cooperating with the Federal bureau in this work A little over 10 per cent of the reports were obtained by send ing agents to compile the data from local records Table 1 shows the total number of new buildings and the estimated cost of each of the different kinds of new buildings for which permits were issued in the 294 cities from which schedules were received for the year 1926 the per cent each kind forms of the total number the per cent that the cost of each kind forms of the total cost and the average cost per building S i Earlier reports concerning building permits issued in the United States are published in Bulletins Nos and 424 of the Bureau of Labor Statistics and in the M onthly Labor Review for July 1921 April 1922 July 1923 October 1923 June 1924 October 1924 June 1925 September 1925 October 1925 June 1926 July 1926 and October 1926 Data in detail for each city from which reports were received for the calendar year 1927 w ill appear in Bulletin N o T HOUSING N U M B E R A N D C O ST O F N E W B U IL D IN G S AS S T A T E D B Y P E R M IT S ISSU E D IN 294 C IT IE S D U R IN G T H E C A L E N D A R Y E A R 1926 B Y K IN D OF B U IL D IN G able N ew buildings for which permits were issued Estimated cost Kind of building Per Number of cent of buildings total Amount Per cent of Average per building total Residential buildings Amusement buildings C h u rch es Factories and workshops Public garages Private garages Service stations Institutions Office buildings Public buildings Public works and utilities Schools and libraries Sheds Stables and barns Stores and warehouses A ll other Total Grand total One family dwellings Two fam ily dwellings One family and two family dwellings with stores combined M ulti family dwellings Multi family dwellings with stores com bined Hotels Lodging houses All other T otal Nonresidential buildings 1 Less than one tenth of 1 per cent A total of was spent for new buildings in 1926 in the 294 cities from which reports were obtained Of this amount or 63 3 per cent was spent for residential buildings and or 36 7 per cent for nonresidential buildings In 1925 reports were received from 272 cities having a population of 25 000 and over and in these cities 64 7 per cent of the total amount expended was for residential buildings and 35 3 per cent for nonresi dential buildings It should be borne in mind that the costs shown in these tables are estimated costs declared in most cities by the prospective builder at the time of applying for his permit to build Frequently the figures are under the real cost of the building Many cities charge fees according to the cost of the building and this may cause the builder to underestimate the cost Another cause of underestimation is that builders think that a low estimate may make their tax assess ment lower On the other hand a builder may overestimate the cost in order to impress prospective buyers In some cities the building commissioner checks over the cost reported and requires the builder to correct his figures In most BUILDING PERMITS IN PRINCIPAL CITIES 183 cities however the estimate given is accepted if it is apparently reasonable It should also be remembered that the data show the number of buildings for which permits were issued and that there is often some delay before work starts on the building and considerable time often elapses before the building is ready for occupancy More money was spent for the erection of one family dwellings than for any other class of building 25 9 per cent of all money spent for the erection of buildings in these 294 cities being spent for onefamily dwellings The next highest expenditure of money was for multi family dwellings apartment houses their cost comprising 21 9 per cent of the total cost of all buildings In the nonresidential group more money was spent for office buildings than for any other class in this group Stores and ware houses were the next in rank in cost in the nonresidential group In the number of buildings for which permits were issued onefamily dwellings also assumed the lead with 39 5 per cent of all buildings Private garages were the next most numerous class of buildings in these 294 cities comprising 38 9 of all new buildings The average cost of all one family dwellings in these 294 cities was 4 684 as compared with 4 567 in 1925 and 4 314 in 1924 Hotels cost more per building than any other class of building the average cost of new hostelries in 1926 being In the nonresidential group schools and libraries were the most expen sive type the average cost per building of the educational edifices being The average cost of churches was only 56 035 while that of amusement buildings was The average cost of private garages was 396 the lowest cost per building of any class of building shown In these 294 cities there were 279 857 permits issued for alterations additions and repairs to old buildings and the amount expended on these repairs was For all buildings new and repairs to old there were a grand total of 787 136 permits issued and a total expenditure of A total of 480 773 families were pro vided for in new buildings in these 294 cities during 1926 Families Provided For T ABLE 2 shows the number and per cent of families provided for by each of the different kinds of dwellings for which permits were issued in 272 identical cities in 1925 and 1926 184 T HOUSING N U M B E R A N D P E R C E N T O F F A M IL IE S T O BE H O U S E D IN N E W D W E L L IN G S F O R W H IC H P E R M IT S W E R E ISSU ED IN 272 ID E N T IC A L C IT IE S D U R IN G T H E C A L E N D A R Y E A R S 1925 A N D 1926 B Y K IN D OF D W E L L IN G able N um ber of new b u i l d i n g s fo r which perm its were issued Families provided for K ind o f dwelling Number 1925 Per cent One family dwellings Two fam ily dwellings One family and two family dwellings with stores combined M ulti family dwellings M ulti family dwellings with stores com bined m Total There were 472 586 families provided for by all classes of new dwell ings in these 272 cities in 1926 as compared with 508 147 in 1925 a decrease of 7 per cent in housing units One family dwellings which provided for 234 899 families or 46 2 per cent of all families provided for in 1925 housed only or 41 5 per cent in 1926 In contrast apartment houses which pro vided for 171 314 families in 1925 provided for 195 474 in 1926 this being 41 4 per cent of all families provided for in 1926 as against 33 7 per cent the previous year Two family dwellings provided for 77 512 families in 1925 and only 58 078 families in 1926 Table 3 shows the number and percentage distribution of families provided for in the different kinds of dwellings in the 257 identical cities from which reports were received in each of the six years and 1926 For convenience one family and two family dwellings with stores combined are grouped with twofamily dwellings and multi family dwellings with stores combined are grouped with multi family dwellings T N U M B E R A N D P E R C E N T OF F A M IL IE S P R O V ID E D F O R IN T H E D IF F E R E N T K IN D S OF D W E L L IN G S IN 257 ID E N T IC A L C IT IE S IN A N D 1926 able Number of families provided for in Year Onefamily dwellings All classes TwoM ulti family family of dwellings 1 dwellings 2 dwellings Per cent of families provided for in Onefamily dwellings TwoMultifamily family dwellings1 dwellings a Includes one family and two family dwellings with stores combined Includes multi family dwellings with stores combined The total number of families provided for in all classes of dwellings during 1926 in the 257 cities was This is a reduction of 6 per cent as compared with 1925 the peak year but is the second highest number shown in the six year period and is more than twice as many housing units as were provided in 1921 185 BUILDING PERMITS IN PRINCIPAL CITIES The figures in this table would tend to show that we are becoming a race of cliff dwellers for in the year 1926 accommodations were pro vided in apartment houses for 209 742 families or 45 4 per cent of all the families provided for during that year while one family dwellings provided for only 188 074 families or but 40 7 per cent of all families provided for This is the first year that apartment houses have provided more new family accommodations than have one family dwellings in these 257 identical cities Since 1921 there has been an increase of 105 8 per cent in the number of families provided for in all classes of dwellings During this same period however the number of families accommodated in apartment houses increased 282 6 per cent while the number provided for in one family dwellings increased only 43 7 per cent The num ber of family units provided for by two family dwellings increased 65 5 per cent between 1921 and 1926 Building Trend 1925 and 1926 T ABLE 4 shows the number and cost of the different kinds of build ings for the 272 identical cities from which reports were received in 1925 and 1926 and the per cent of increase or decrease in the number and in the cost in 1926 as compared with 1925 T N U M B E R A N D C O S T O F N E W B U IL D IN G S F O R W H IC H P E R M IT S W E R E ISSU ED IN 272 ID E N T IC A L C IT IE S D U R IN G T H E C A L E N D A R Y E A R S 1925 A N D 1926 B Y K IN D O F B U IL D IN G able New buildings for which permits were issued K ind of building Number Cost Per cent of in crease or de crease in the year 1926 com pared with the year 1925 Number Cost Number One family dwellings Two fam ily dwellings One family and two family dwellings with stores com bined M ulti family dwellings Multi family dwellings with stores com bined Hotels Lodging houses Other Amusement bu ild in gs Churches Factories and workshops Public garages Private garages Service stations Institutions Office buildings Public buildings Public works and utilities Schools and libraries Sheds Stables and barns Stores and warehouses A ll o t h e r Cost Residential buildings T otal Nonresidential buildings T o t a l Grand total 186 HOUSING There was a decrease of 11 9 per cent in the number of buildings for which permits were issued in these 272 cities in 1926 as compared with 1925 and a decrease of 6 6 per cent in the amount expended for their erection In these cities residential buildings decreased 17 2 per cent in number and 8 5 per cent in estimated cost while nonresidential buildings decreased only 6 per cent in number and 3 3 per cent in cost While there was an increase in the amounts spent for churches and amusement buildings in 1926 as compared with 1925 the in crease in expenditures for amusement buildings was at a much higher rate than that for churches The amount expended for theaters etc increased 14 7 per cent while the amount spent for places of worship increased only 1 8 per cent The only two classes of residential buildings to show an increase in the amount expended were apartment houses and apartment houses with stores combined There was a notable increase in the amount expended for service stations and for public buildings The former increased 14 5 per cent in the amount expended and the latter 29 7 per cent Per Capita Expenditure for Buildings Housing in Relation to Population IN the paragraphs following are given the total and the per capita expenditures for new buildings new housekeeping dwellings re pairs and additions and for all kinds of buildings in the 294 cities for which reports were received for the calendar year 1926 and the total expenditure for all classes of buildings for 272 cities in 1925 These 294 cities spent for new buildings of all kinds and of this amount was for housekeeping dwellings The amount expended for repairs etc was and the total expenditure for all classes of new buildings and repairs to old buildings was In 1925 the 272 cities from which reports were received spent for all classes of new buildings and repairs These 294 cities had a population of on July according to the estimate of the Census Bureau The per capita expenditure for new buildings was 84 90 of which 49 39 was for housekeeping dwellings The per capita expenditure for repairs was 8 42 and the total per capita expenditure was 93 32 The highest per capita expenditure for all classes of buildings was in White Plains N Y where the per capita expenditure was Another suburb of New York City Mount Vernon ranked second with a total per capita expenditure of The third city was St Petersburg Fla where 379 81 per capita was expended Following is a list of the five leading cities in expenditure of money for building operations from 1920 to 1926 inclusive New Y o rk Chicago Detroit Cleveland Los Angeles New York Chicago Cleveland Los Angeles Detroit LIVING CONDITIONS OF WAGE EAENEBS IN CHICAGO 1922 New York Chicago Los Angeles Philadelphia Detroit New York Chicago Detroit Los Angeles Philadelphia New York Chicago Detroit Philadelphia Los Angeles New York Chicago Los Angeles Detroit Philadelphia New York Chicago Detroit Philadelphia Los Angeles In these 294 cities housing accommodations were provided in new buildings for 480 773 families or at the rate of 112 6 families to each 10 000 of population St Petersburg Fla provided for more families according to its population than any other city in the country with a population of 25 000 or over the ratio there being 700 3 families accommodated by new dwellings to each 10 000 of the city s population Living Conditions of Small Wage Earners in Chicago HE Chicago Department of Public Welfare in 1924 25 made a study of the conditions especially as to housing which affect the small wage earner of that city 2 The study was undertaken especially to learn the conditions offered the negroes and the Mexi cans who have come in to fill the gap made by cutting off immigration from Europe The field work which was carried on from November 1924 to April 1925 covered 1 526 households divided as to the race or nativity of their heads into 668 colored 266 foreign born Mexicans 590 of different white nationalities and 2 American Indians The neighborhoods studied were in 11 wards distributed through the sections of the city in which the colored population is most concentrated T For comparative purposes especially in the matter of rentals in each neigh borhood sampled an endeavor was made to secure a sufficient number of homes which were neither negro nor Mexican so that conclusions might be possible relative to any special hardship in finding shelter to which either negroes or Mexicans were being subjected Negroes and Mexicans in Chicago THE negro population of Chicago has increased with abnormal rapidity since the outbreak of the war and it is estimated that in September 1925 it amounted to The Mexicans are 2 Chicago Department of Public Welfare Living conditions for small wage earners in Chicago by Elizabeth A Hughes Chicago 1925 188 HOUSING even newer comers and are less important numerically In 1920 according to the census there were 1 141 Mexicans resident in the city but in 1925 it was estimated that the number had risen to about 8 000 As the latest comers to Chicago both negroes and Mexicans have been obliged to find shelter in the oldest most outworn and derelict housing which the city still keeps The localities in which they are concentrated are also run down and unattractive In short the hborhood conditions are not such that they offset poor housing c tions and lack within the dwellings Composition of Households households visited showed some variations in composition according to race and nationality In the homes of the negroes children under 14 formed 20 per cent of the occupants in the homes of Mexicans they were 30 per cent among the native born whites 26 per cent and among the foreign born whites 42 per cent Among the newcomers it was not uncommon for two or more families to combine and form one household Thirty per cent of the negro and 26 per cent of the Mexican households consisted of more than one family while among the native born whites this was the case in only 13 per cent The size of the households likewise varied Among the native white homes visited 68 per cent had five or less persons per household among negroes 64 per cent among foreign born other than Mexican 54 per cent and among Mexicans 44 per cent The household of median size among native whites numbered 4 among negroes and foreign born exclusive of Mexicans 5 among Mexicans 6 Housing Conditions study of the homes showed that they were very largely in uuildings which fell far below the standards the community has approved About 8 per cent of the 770 buildings in which the families included in this study dwelt occupied the rear of the lots and had another building in front of them Almost 6 out of every 10 buildings 59 per cent had not more than two floors Fifty six per cent had only one or two dwellings in them Fully half were of frame construction though within the fire limits Ninety per cent of the total number of buildings studied had no vacancies and the percentage of vacancies in the whole group was only It has been estimated that 5 per cent represents the minimum surplus of vacant apartments which will permit a sufficient equality in bargaining power between landlord and tenant About one twelfth 8 per cent of the homes were situated in basements For all races the apartment most frequently found was one of four rooms Rooms having no opening to the outer air were found to the number of 177 Seventy one of these were being used as bed rooms I f it is to be considered that an apartment is overcrowded when there are two or more persons to each room 6 per cent of the negro and the native white households 28 per cent of the Mexican and 9 per cent of the other foreign born households were over crowded Instances of extreme overcrowding were found In South Chicago one large basement room the equivalent in size of three rooms on the first floor of the house was the home of 13 persons making up three related families Each family had children in it One end of the room LIVING CONDITIONS OF WAGE EARNERS IN CHICAGO 189 had been separated from the rest by a board partition extending only part way to the ceiling No windows were in this section of the room partitioned off and used as a bedroom for one family The larger portion of the room served as kitchen for all and bedroom for the rest of the household Other examples were two Mexican families consisting of 8 persons living in a two room shack a Mexican household of 15 living in six rooms and a negro household of 11 persons in three rooms and a closet Often other conditions were extremelv bad In a rear basement on Milton Avenue was a family oi six occupying two rooms for 10 a month The toilet was under the sidewalk light at night was from oil lamps both rooms served as bedrooms A number of the dwellings were badly off in regard to conveniences Many of the houses were old and where such modern improvements as running water bathrooms toilets and the like were provided they were often of an objectionable type or their location was in convenient and sometimes detrimental to the family health and de cency Of the 1 312 rented apartments 85 per cent were coldwater flats with no means of heating other than stoves and no provision for a hot water supply Many bathtubs were not used because there was nothing but a cold water taj in them Hall porch and basement toilets outside apartments in these unheated flats were sometimes useless for long periods in cold weather because frozen Tenure and Rentals Q F THE 1 526 households studied 214 owned or were purchasing the homes in which they dwelt No Mexicans were among these Of the native white families 17 per cent and of the negro families 11 per cent were home owners The difficulty of finding a place to rent at a figure which they could pay was instrumental in making a number of these families buy Unfortunately the same causes which made it possible to raise rents to such a figure increased the price of houses too and in some cases buying meant a long struggle ahead before the family would own their homes free of debt In the discussion of the rents attention is again called to the age of the majority of the buildings their almost uniformly poor state of repair the frequent evils due to originally poor construction and plan which have been aggravated by the years and the wretchedly in adequate plumbing The great majority of the rented homes 1 111 had no heat furnished and were warmed by stoves at the tenants expense This was the strongest factor affecting rent Among apartments with heat furnished rentals ranged from 22 50 for two rooms to 120 for eight rooms with a median monthly rental of 65 to 70 Thirty eight per cent of the heated apartments cost 70 or more per month Three per cent of the unheated apartments rented for less than 10 a month 5 per cent cost 50 or more each month The median rental in unheated flats was 20 to 25 for native whites 15 to 20 for foreign born and 25 to 30 for negroes As a group negroes are paying much more for shelter than other classes in the community The question of what rent a family may reasonably pay depends on the family income Budgetary studies are quoted as showing that generally one fifth of the income is looked upon as the proper pro portion to spend for rent From 886 of the households data were 190 HOUSING secured as to both the total income during the month preceding the visit of inquiry and the rent paid The report calls attention to the fact that over two fifths of these families are paying less for rent than they could reasonably afford The families paying out less than 20 per cent of their earnings in rent could afford to live in better houses if any were available for them The fact that they could afford to pay more in rent alters not one whit this other fact that the old and insanitary houses they occupy are too costly at any rental however small the sum The significant thing for the community is that apparently it is compelling a goodly proportion of its small wage families to dwell in houses less good than they can afford to rent A rental market for better homes for wage earners exists in Chicago to day However exclusive of the native whites well over one half of the families and over three fourths among the negroes were paying in rent a larger proportion of their earnings than they should In addition a study of the family earnings showed that a large number of the families really could not afford to pay much Paying high rentals is clearly out of the question for the majority of these families Only one family in 10 should afford a rental of 40 or more for an unheated apartment One in three ought not to spend as much as 16 for rent without heat While it is a hazard to these families to have to live in the out worn houses and tenements they occupy it will nevertheless be a misfortune for them to have the old buildings pass unless newer and better ones are made available at rentals which are within their economic grasp Of the 1 244 families reporting the total income for a month the father was the sole breadwinner in 43 per cent in 24 per cent he earned nothing at all and in 47 per cent mothers and wives were gainfully employed Women s earnings were not large as a rule More than one fourtli of the woman earners 28 per cent added less than 20 to the family income in the month 60 per cent made less than 50 while only one woman in five 20 per cent earned 80 or more Yet in about one fifth of the families on the basis of the amount of their earnings mothers were the chief breadwinners in the month reported upon The month s earnings were secured for 1 115 male breadwinners Of these two thirds of the Mexicans and a trifle over one half of the other foreign born and of the negroes had earned less than 100 and 91 per cent of the whole group had earned less than 150 The pursuits in which the men of the families were engaged varied widely Those in business for themselves varied from 15 per cent among other foreign born to 2 per cent among Mexicans Seven per cent of the negroes were work ing on their own account not for wages Of the Mexican wage earners 23 per cent were employed at the stockyards 20 per cent were in the employ of the railroads and 27 per cent labored at the steel mills Among negroes 15 per cent were employed on the railroads more of them as porters or waiters than in any other occupations 12 per cent worked in the stockyards 8 per cent were in city or Government employ 7 per cent in the building trades a like number in foundries 6 per cent in the steel mills 4 per cent worked on automobiles 3 per cent were waiters cooks etc 3 per cent were employed in laundries and 2 per cent in tanneries The three industries stockyards railroads and steel mills which together employed 70 per cent of the Mexican men and 33 per cent of the negro had 25 per cent of the rest of the men on their pay rolls Industries and occupations were most diversified among the native or European born white least varied among the Mexicans with the negroes occupying a mid position between the other two groups NEW YORK HOUSING LAW 191 As a result of the study it is strongly urged that the city should adopt some plan for housing small wage earners The demand is great for homes at a rent of 40 or less a month and private enter prise is not meeting the need The time is opportune for improving the situation Under the zoning plan the city is turning over to industry and commerce some of the oldest tenement districts where conditions are worst With this movement there should be corre lated some comprehensive plan for supplying suitable houses at rents which the small wage earner can pay in sufficient numbers to meet the needs of the situation With this should be worked out a program for determining when houses are really too old to dilapi dated alid too insanitary to be fit for habitation and for retiring them when this stage has been reached Particular attention should be given to providing for the negroes and Mexicans who have come in to meet the labor shortage due to the restriction of immigration New York Housing Law HE 1926 session of the New York Legislature passed a bill intended to facilitate the provision of low rental housing which was signed by Governor Smith on May 10 of that year The law provides for a State board of housing and for the formation of public limited dividend corporations the former to plan and super vise and the latter to undertake actual building projects The State board is to consist of five members appointed by the governor and serving without salary though receiving actual expenses They are to study housing needs throughout the State investigate alleged monopolies of building materials prepare plans for housing projects supervise the activities of limited dividend corporations appoint one member of the board of every such corporation and exercise oth r T supervisory and consultative functions The public limited dividend corporations must consist of at least three members The rents for housing erected by them must not exceed in New York City 12 50 a room per month the bathroom not being counted as a room Outside of the city the maximum is less running down to as low a figure as 9 per room per month Their dividends are not to exceed 6 per cent per annum Should returns reach a figure which after proper allowance for maintenance depreciation etc would justify a higher dividend the rents are to be lowered proportionately In order that these corporations may secure the land needed for the large scale operations necessary in order to reduce costs they are given the right of eminent domain This power is not to be exercised except upon the specific authorization of the State board which is not to give the authorization unless after public hearings on the plan proposed by the corporation it is apparent that there is urgent need tor the accommodations which the corporation intends to provide and that the condemnation is in the public interest Public limited dividend corporations are required to furnish through the actual sale of stock for cash one third of the total cost of any project undertaken the remainder being secured through 192 HOUSING bonds bearing 5 per cent interest on first mortgage and 5 per cent on debenture bonds No project may be undertaken without the approval of the housing board The corporations are to be exempt from the payment of any and all franchise organization income mortgage recording and other taxes to the State and also from all fees to the State or its officers The bonds and mortgages of such corporations together with the interest thereon and the dividends on the stock are exempt from State taxation The State can not exempt the corporations from local taxes on the buildings and improvements but it empowers municipalities to do so and provides that whenever a municipality takes advantage of this permission the buildings and improvements shall be to the same extent exempt from State taxation Provision is also made for the formation of private limited dividend housing corporations which are not to have the power of eminent domain but whose buildings and improvements are to be tax free so long as they remain in the hands of the corporation Public limited dividend corporations are not permitted to dispose of property once acquired nor to make any real estate transfers Private corporations organized under this law will however have this privilege Under date of December the State board of housing pro vided for in this act handed in a preliminary report containing the results of a survey of land values in Manhattan and Brooklyn and a study of various types of buildings covering different proportions of the ground sites In the most congested parts of the city the board found about 950 assessment blocks or about 1 250 ordinary blocks suitable for housing of the kind contemplated Including all costs of condemnation proceedings compensation and the like the costs of these blocks range from less than 6 up to 14 a square foot With land costing 6 a square foot it is estimated that the various types of tenements could be erected to rent at from 9 25 to 12 29 per room per month the bathroom not being counted as a room in fixing the rent With land at 14 a square foot the range of rentals would be from 12 09 to 16 91 Considerable reductions from these rents might be made possible by letting the ground floors for stores IMMIGRATION AND EMIGRATION 193 Immigration Movement in 1926 HE immigration laws of the United States are administered by the Bureau of Immigration of the United States Department of Labor Data regarding the immigration movement are com piled monthly by the Bureau of Immigration and published cur rently in the Labor Review of the Bureau of Labor Statistics The annual reports of the Commissioner General of Immigration give similar data in more expanded form and for a period of years The figures and text in this section are summarized from the abovementioned sources In the fiscal year ending June immigrant and 191 618 nonimmigrant aliens were admitted a total of Aliens who departed this year numbered 76 992 emigrants and 150 763 nonemigrants a total of The increase of admissions over departures for the past year was as compared to 232 945 for the previous fiscal year About three fourths of the present day immigrant aliens are in the prime of life 16 to 44 years old In the fiscal year 1925 26 only 16 per cent were under 16 years of age and less than 10 per cent 45 years and over While the immigrant aliens coming luring this period numbered 170 567 males and 133 921 females the present out ward movement of emigrant aliens is very largely one of males the men exceeding the women by nearly 2y2 to as com pared with only 22 003 females Of the 76 992 emigrants departed this year about 75 per cent were from 16 to 44 years of age and 20 per cent were 45 years and over while less than 5 per cent were children under 16 years old These data show that the outward movement is essentially one of individuals rather than families and that the individuals are for the most part of the working age That the alien emigration movement from the United States during the year considered was composed for the most part of recent immigrants is shown by the fact that of the 76 992 leaving 66 per cent or 50 701 of the total reporting length of residence had been here not over five years and 77 per cent or 59 046 had resided here not over 10 years Common laborers predominate among the out going aliens Fifty eight per cent or 33 107 of the total emigrants leaving the country during the fiscal year 1926 and reporting occupa tions were of this class Skilled workers numbering 9 680 rank second among those having an occupational status and servants 4 446 are third in number Less than one third of the 496 106 aliens admitted during the fiscal year 1926 were immigrants charged to the quota under the immigration act of 1924 The number so charged was or about 95 per cent of the annual quota of an increase over the previous year when 145 971 quota immigrants or 89 per cent of the annual quota were admitted With few exceptions most of the T im m ig r a t io n a n d e m ig r a t io n European countries exhausted their quotas during the past year but those with the largest quotas did not reach their maximum until the latter part of June Natives of nonquota countries principally Canada and Mexico admitted during the fiscal year 1925 26 numbered returning residents of the United States visitors on business or pleasure and persons passing through the country Other classes admitted this year included 5 666 Government officials their families attendants servants and employees 11 154 wives and children of United States citizens 1 920 students 1 551 ministers and professors and their wives and children 1 155 wives and children born in quota countries of natives of nonquota countries and 904 aliens to carry on trade under existing treaty There were also admitted during the past fiscal year 83 veterans of the World War and their wives and children 67 of these being natives of Italy 7 of England 3 of France 2 of Russia and 1 each of Canada Poland Germany and Syria Of the 496 106 aliens admitted in the fiscal year were bom in European countries Germany leading the list from that continent with 62 980 and followed by England with 37 175 Irish Free State with 32 737 Italy with 31 739 and Scotland with 23 100 the other countries in Europe sending less than 20 000 each Natives of Canada numbered 91 894 Mexico other America Asia Africa 1 025 and Australia and the Pacific islands 4 397 Mexican Immigration T H E total Mexican immigration to the United States during the fiscal year ending June was 59 785 comprising immigrant aliens or newcomers for permanent residence in this country and 17 147 nonimmigrants aliens of the temporary class either coming for a visit of less than a year or returning after a short absence from the United States During the same period 5 337 Mexican aliens left the United States practically all going to Mexico 3 158 being of the emigrant class and 2 179 of the nonemigrant class The net increase contributed by Mexico to the alien population of the United States in the year just ended was 54 448 This is 9 430 more than for the preceding fiscal year when the excess of the Mexi can aliens admitted over departed was 45 018 While the real immigration of Mexicans immigrant aliens dur ing the last fiscal year exceeded that of the preceding fiscal year by 10 260 or nearly 32 per cent it was less than one half the number of the same class admitted in the fiscal year 1924 and about two thirds of that for the year 1923 The number of Mexican immigrant aliens admitted during these four years was 42 638 in in in 1924 and 62 709 in 1923 The fundamental reason for the flow of Mexican immigrants to the United States is the same one which for nearly a century has attracted European aliens to our country higher wages better living conditions and greater opportunity The immigration act of 1924 has curtailed the supply of common laborers thereby increas ing the demand and the Mexican laborer favored by the nonquota provisions of the act is profiting by the situation thus created An IMMIGRATION MOVEMENT IN other potent factor inducing Mexican immigration is the proximity of the United States a circumstance which makes for an especially large movement from the border States of Mexico to the United States The immigration statistics also show that approximately twothirds of the Mexican immigrants admitted during the past year were over 21 years of age and that more than four fifths of these were males The ratio of all minors and adult females to adult males is approximately 4 to 5 Only one person out of every four was going to join his immediate family or other relatives already established in the United States and in addition the male married were over three times the number of female married These facts indicate that many of the Mexican wage earners are coming alone leaving their families in Mexico Of the 42 638 Mexican immigrant aliens admitted in the year the unskilled workers predominate 26 199 being classed as common laborers 367 as farm laborers and 564 as servants The professional class numbered only 408 while 2 785 were skilled 840 miscellaneous and 11 475 had no occupation including women and children As to the sex age and conjugal condition of these Mexican immigrants 33 304 were male and 9 334 female 4 856 were under 16 years of age 9 694 were from 16 to 21 years old and 28 088 were adults The male single numbered 17 974 and the female single 4 326 the male married and the female married 3 948 the male widowed 497 and female 1 049 There were 5 male and 11 female divorced The 59 785 Mexicans recorded in the immigration statistics as admitted during the past fiscal year do not by any means represent the alien movement over the southern land border as during the year in round numbers or an average of over one half million aliens a month went back and forth over the Mexican border The census repbrt shows that in 1890 the foreign born population of the United States included 77 853 persons born in Mexico Based on this figure at 2 per cent the annual quota for Mexico would be 1 557 if Mexico were to be limited by quota as European countries are under the present law During the fiscal year 1926 a total of 60 620 natives of Mexico was admitted to the United States Practically all 98 per cent of these were Mexicans Approximately 96 per cent of this total were ad mitted as nonquota immigrants under section 4 c natives of Mexico A total of male and 565 female aliens of the Mexican race was debarred from entering the United States The principal causes for these rejections were Without immigration visa 726 likely to become a public charge 395 mentally or physically defec tive 131 unable to read 86 and criminal and immoral classes 63 In the same year the number of Mexican aliens deported from the United States after entering was 2 567 According to the Fourteenth Census of the United States the number of persons born in Mexico who resided in the United States in 1920 was Since then the net increase of Mexicans through immigration was making a grand total of 855 898 Mexicans 198 IMMIGRATION AND EMIGRATION now in the United States In view of the very considerable number of Mexican aliens presumed to be illegally in this country it is safe to say that over a million Mexicans are in the United States at the present time and under present laws this number may be added to practically without limit Oriental Immigration THE number of Japanese aliens admitted for the year 1926 was While this figure is greater than the number of Japanese entering the country in the year 1925 there were 84 fewer newcomers for permanent residence or immigrant aliens than were admitted in the previous year The excess admissions of this race during the past year over the preceding one were largely returning residents 3 254 Japanese of this class having been admitted in 1926 compared with 2 010 in 1925 Aliens of the classes ineligible to citizenship admitted during the fiscal year ended June are shown by classes under the immigration act of 1924 as follows T a b l e 1 A L IE N S IN E L IG IB L E T O C IT IZ E N S H IP A D M I T T E D U N D E R T H E IM M I G R A T IO N A C T OF 1924 B Y CLASSES Y E A R E N D IN G JU N E Class Chinese East Indian Japanese Korean Pacific Islander Government officials their families attendants servants and employees Tem porary visitors In continuous passage through the United States T o carry on trade under existing treaty Total nonim m igrants Residents of the United States returning from a visit abroad Ministers and professors and their wives and children Students Total nonquota immigrants Grand total admitted With special reference to Chinese cases the situation has some what clarified during the past year During the fiscal year 1925 26 there was admitted to the United States a total of 8 622 Chinese aliens as against a total of 9 551 admitted during the fiscal year 1924r 25 These figures include 5 583 persons passing through the country 393 temporary visitors and 1 757 resident Chinese returning from temporary visits abroad during the year 1926 as against 6 336 persons passing through 422 temporary visitors and 1 975 returning resident Chinese during the year 1925 The largest class of Chinese admitted to this country consists of citizens of the United States 2 396 having been admitted in the fiscal year 1925 26 as against 3 023 in 1925 This is a surprising con dition in view of the fact that Chinese can not be naturalized and the number of Chinese women in this country is small so that it is physically impossible for any considerable number of Chinese to have been born here 199 IMMIGRATION MOVEMENT IN Although it is probable that many Chinese succeed in gaining ad mission on fraudulent claims the Chinese population of the United States is decreasing and the number who secure admission is neg ligible compared to the number who would undoubtedly arrive if the present restrictions were removed The smuggling of Chinese over the land boundaries which was a vexatious problem in the past has been greatly reduced through the vigorous and effective campaign of the border patrol The problem now presented is the detection of the fraudulent cases among the applicants for admission at the ports of entry In the cases of sons of citizens and the minor children of merchants the question of relationship may be determined only through long involved examinations covering family history relationship village life and other matters which should be of common knowledge to the applicant and his witnesses Immigration and Emigration by Months TTABLE 2 shows the inward and outward passenger movement by months for the fiscal year ending June and also for the last six months of 1926 In considering this and later tables it is important to note the distinction between the terms immigrant and nonimmigrant and similarly between emigrant and nonemigrant In general the term immigrant refers to persons who come to the United States with the declared intention of staying here a year or more When such persons later leave the United States without having become naturalized citizens they are classed as emigrant aliens departed The terms nonimmigrant and nonemigrant refer to persons who come to the United States for business education or other purposes but who do not intend becoming permanent residents Practically all discussion of immigration as a problem 5 and of restrictive legisla 5 tion on the subject is concerned with the immigrant alien T a b l e S IN W A R D AND O U T W A R D PA S S E N G E R M O V E M E N T J U L Y D E C E M B E R Inward Period 1925 July August September October N ovem ber Decem ber TO Outward Aliens Aliens de de Aliens admitted Aliens departed United United barred ported States States from after citi citi Total land enter zens Total in g 1 N on zens ing a Em i N on Immi immi Total ar emi Total de grant grant grant rived parted grant These aliens are not included among arrivals as they were not permitted to enter the United States These aliens are included among aliens deported they having entered the United States legally or illegally and later being deported 200 T IMMIGRATION AND EMIGRATION 2 I N W A R D able AND O U TW A RD PASSENGER M O VE M E N T D E C E M B E R Continued JU LY TO Outward Inward Aliens Aliens de de Aliens departed Aliens admitted United United barred ported States States from after citi citi enter land N on zens Total zens Total N on ing ing Emi emi Im m i immi ar de Total Total grant grant grant grant parted rived Period 1926 January February M arch April M a y June Total fis cal year July A ugu st September O ctob er N ovem ber December T otal Country of Birth Race Sex and Age of Immigrants and Emigrants 1926 TTABLE 3 gives the net increase or decrease of population by A admission and departure of aliens for the fiscal year according to race or people sex and age periods Table 4 gives similar information by country of last residence in the case of immigrants and of future residence in the case of emigrants T 3 N E T IN C R E A S E O R D E C R E A S E OF P O P U L A T IO N B Y A D M IS S IO N A N D D E P A R T U R E OF A L IE N S F IS C A L Y E A R E N D IN G JU N E B Y R A C E O R P E O P L E S E X A N D A G E P E R IO D able Admitted Departed Race or people Immi grant African black Arm enian Bohemian and M oravian Bulgarian Serbian and Montenegrin Chinese Croatian and Slovenian Cuban Dalmatian Bosnian and Herzegovinian D utch and Flemish East Indian English Finnish French German Greek H ebrew Nonim migrant Total Em i grant Nonemi grant Total Increase 4 or decrease IMMIGRATION MOVEMENT IN 1926 T N E T IN C R E A S E O R D E C R E A S E OF P O P U L A T IO N B Y A D M IS S IO N A N D D E P A R T U R E OF A L IE N S F IS C A L Y E A R E N D IN G JU N E B Y R A C E O R P E O P L E S E X A N D A G E P E R IO D Continued able A dmitted Race or people Italian north Italian south Japanese Increase or decrease Total Emi grant Im m i Nonim grant migrant Lithuanian M agyar Mexican Pacific Islander Polish Portuguese Rumanian Russian Ruthenian Russniak Scandinavian Norwegians Danes and Swedes Scotch Slovak Spanish Spanish American Syrian Turkish W elsh West Indian except Cuban Other peoples Total Sex M ale Female Departed Nonemi grant Total Age Under 16 years to 44 years years and over T able 4 NET IN C R E A S E OR D E C R E A S E OF P O P U L A T IO N B Y A D M IS S IO N A N D D E P A R T U R E OF A L IE N S F IS C A L Y E A R E N D IN G JU N E B Y C O U N T R Y Aliens admitted Country of last or intended future permanent residence A lbania Austria Belgium Bulgaria Czechoslovakia Danzig Free City of Denmark Estonia Finland France including Corsica Germany Great Britain and Northern Ireland England Northern Ireland Scotland W a le s Greece Hungary Irish Free State Italy including Sicily and Sardinia Latvia Lithuania Luxemburg Aliens departed Total Im m i grant Nonim migrant Nonem i grant Increase or decrease Emi grant Total IMMIGRATION AND EMIGRATION 202 T a b l e 4 N E T IN C R E A S E O R D E C R E A S E O F P O P U L A T IO N B Y A D M IS S IO N A N D D E P A R T U R E OF A L IE N S F IS C A L Y E A R E N D IN G JU N E B Y C O U N T R Y Con Aliens admitted C ountry of last or intended future permanent residence Aliens departed Increase or decrease Im m i grant N onim migrant Total Europe Armenia China India J ap a n Palestine Persia Syria Turkey in Asia Other Asia Netherlands N orw ay Poland Portugal including Azores Cape Verde and Madeira Islands Rumania Russia Spain including Canary and Balearic Islands Sweden Switzerland Turkey in Europe Yugoslavia Other E urop el Total E m i grant N onem i grant T otal Total Asia Canada Newfoundland M exico Cuba Other West Indies British Honduras Other Central America Brazil Other South America United States Other A m erica Total America E gypt Other Africa Australia including Papua Tasmania and appertaining islands N ew Zealand including appertaining islands Other Pacific islands All countries Comprises Andorra Gibraltar Iceland Diechtenstein Malta Monaco and San Marino 2 Includes Afghanistan Arabia Bhutan Iraq Mesopotamia Muscat Nepal Siam Siberia and Asia not specified United States under nonimmigrants covers aliens returning to this country to resume residence therein after a temporary stay abroad and under nonemigrants covers aliens departing for a visit abroad with the intention of returning within one year to renew permanent residence in this country Comprises Greenland and the islands of St Pierre and M iquelon Comprises Nauru N ew Guinea Samoa Y ap and Pacific islands not specified 203 IMMIGRATION MOVEMENT IN 1920 Occupations of Immigrants and Emigrants 1926 ABLE 5 gives in detail the occupations of aliens admitted and departed in the fiscal year T able O C C U P A T IO N S OF A L IE N S A D M I T T E D A N D D E P A R T E D F IS C A L Y E A R E N D IN G JU N E B Y CLASS Adm itted Occupation Im m i grant A ctors Architects Clergy E d ito rs Electricians Engineers professional Lawyers Literary find scientific parsons Musicians Officials Government Physicians Sculptors and artists Teachers Other Total professional N onim migrant professional Bakers Barbers and hairdressers Blacksm iths Bookbinders Brewers Butchers Cabinetmakers Carpenters and joiners Cigarette makers Cigar makers Cigar packers Clerks and accountants Dressmakers Engineers locomotive marine and sta tionary Furriers and fur workers Gardeners Hat and cap makers Iron and steel workers Jewelers Locksmiths M ach in ists Mariners Masons Mechanics not specified Metal workers other than iron steel and 432 142 tin Millers Milliners Miners Painters and glaziers 35 100 Pattern makers Photographers Plasterers Plumbers Printers Saddlers and harness makers Seamstresses Shoemakers Stokers Stonecutters T a ilo rs Tanners and curriers Textile workers not specified Tinners Tobacco workers Upholsterers W atch and clock makers Weavers and spinners Wheelwrights Woodworkers not specified Other skilled Total skilled Departed Total E m i grant Nonem i grant Total IMMIGRATION a n d e m ig r a t io n T a b l e 5 O C C U P A T IO N S O F A L IE N S A D M I T T E D A N D D E P A R T E D F IS C A L Y E A R E N D IN G JU N E B Y C LASS Continued Admitted Departed Occupation Im mi grant Bankers Draymen hackmen and teamsters Farmers Farm laborers Fishermen Hotel keepers Laborers Manufacturers Merchants and dealers Servants Other miscellaneous Total miscellaneous Nonim migrant Total a E m i grant Nonem i grant Total N o occupation including women and children All occupations Immigration Quotas of 1924 and Number of Aliens Admitted Thereunder T JNDER the immigration act of 1924 the total immigration of aliens from quota countries is limited to Tables 6 and 7 show the quota allotments by individual countries and also the num ber admitted from each country in the fiscal years 1924 25 and 192526 respectively T a b l e 6 I M M IG R A T IO N Q U O T AS A C C O R D IN G T O N A T IO N A L IT Y P R O C L A IM E D IN P U R S U A N C E OF T H E IM M IG R A T IO N A C T OF 1924 A N D N U M B E R OF A L IE N S A D M I T T E D A N D C H A R G E D A G A IN S T SUCH Q U O T AS F IS C A L Y E A R S E N D IN G JU N E A N D 1926 N um ber admitted Country or area Albania Arabian Peninsula Arm enia Australia including Papua Tasmania and islands apper taining to Aus tralia A ustria Belgium Bulgaiia Cameroon French China Czechoslovakia Danzig Free City of Denm ark E gy p t Estonia F i n l a n d France Germ any Great Britain and Northern Ireland Greece Hungary Iceland India Annual quota Fiscal year 1925 Fiscal year N um ber admitted Country or area Iraq Mesopotamia Irish Free State I t a ly in c lu d in g Rhodes Dodekanesia and Castellorizzo Japan Latvia Liberia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxemburg M onaco M orocco Netherlands New Zealand in cluding appertain ing isla n d Norway P a le s tin e w ith Trans Jordan Persia Poland Portugal Rum ania Russia European and Asiatic Annual quota Fiscal year 1925 Fiscal year IMMIGRATION INTO UNITED STATES T I M M I G R A T I O N Q U O T A S A C C O R D IN G T O N A T I O N A L I T Y P R O C L A I M E D IN P U R S U A N C E O F T H E I M M I G R A T I O N A C T O F 1924 A N D N U M B E R O F A L IE N S A D M I T T E D A N D C H A R G E D A G A IN S T S U C H Q U O T A S F IS C A L Y E A R S E N D IN G JU N E A N D 1926 Continued able N um ber admitted Annual quota Country or area Samoa western San M arino South Africa Union o f Southwest Africa Sweden Switzerland Fiscal year 1925 Fiscal year N um ber admitted Conntry or area Annual quota Fiscal year 1925 Fiscal year 1926 Syria and the Leba non T u r k e y Yugoslavia All others T otal Includes Afghanistan Andorra Bhutan Cameroon British Ethiopia Abyssinia Muscat Oman Nauru British N epal N ew Guinea Ruanda and Urundi Siam Tanganyika British Togoland British Togoland French and Y ap and other Pacific islands under Japanese mandate with an annual quota of 100 each T I M M IG R A T IO N Q U O T AS A L L O T T E D T O S P E C IF IE D A R E A S A N D T H E N U M B E R OF A L IE N S A D M I T T E D A N D C H A R G E D A G A IN S T SUCH Q U O T A A L L O T M E N T S F IS C A L Y E A R S E N D IN G JU N E A N D 1926 able Aliens admitted Annual quota Per cent of allot ment Num ber Area Number allotted Per cent of total Northwestern Europe Southern and eastern Europe and Asia Africa Australia and N ew Zealand and other Pacific islands T otal Immigration into United States 1820 to 1926 ECORDS of immigration into the United States began with the year 1820 Table 1 shows the immigration by periods from 1820 to 1927 and by certain important geographical divisions and countries Over the whole period of 127 years the total immigra tion was of which approximately one half came from northern and western Europe The great influx from southern and eastern Europe came in the years 1901 and 1921 since which time the immigration from southern and eastern Europe has been greatly reduced Table 1 just referred to deals solely with immigration Cor responding data for emigration and net increase of population is not available for years earlier than 1908 Table 2 and the accom panying chart gives this information by years from 1908 to 1926 R 206 T IMMIGRATION AND EMIGRATION IM M I G R A T I O N T O T H E U N IT E D S T A T E S F R O M N O T H E R N A N D W E S T E R N E U R O P E S O U T H E R N A N D E A S T E R N E U R O P E A SIA C A N A D A A N D N E W F O U N D L A N D M E X IC O W E S T IN D IE S A N D O T H E R C O U N T R IE S B Y S P E C IF IE D P E R IO D S able N um ber from Period or year Total number of immi grants Europe Northern and western i Southern and eastern 1 Canada and New found M exico land 2 Asia Total W est Indies Other coun tries Total G ran d tota l Per cent from Europe Period or year Northern Southern and and western 1 eastern 1 Asia Total Canada and N ew found land 2 Mexico West Indies Other coun tries G ran d t o t a l T ota l 1 Northern and western Europe comprises Belgium Denmark France Germany Luxemburg in 1925 and 1926 Netherlands Norway Sweden Switzerland and United Kingdom England Ireland Scotland Wales and United Kingdom not specified Southern and eastern Europe comprises the other countries on that continent 2 From 1820 to 1898 includes all British North American possessions 3 Prior to 1925 includes countries not specified IMMIGRATION INTO UNITED STATES 207 NET INCREASE OF POPULATION BY ADMISSION DEPARTURE OF ALIENS 208 T IMMIGRATION AND EMIGRATION able 2 N E T IN C R E A S E OF P O P U L A T IO N B Y A D M IS S IO N A N D D E P A R T U R E O P A L IE N S F IS C A L Y E A R S E N D IN G JU N E T O 1926 Departed Admitted Period or year Increase Immigrant Nonim migrant Total Emigrant Nonemi grant Total Total Total Grand total Quota Restriction Laws HE quota laws restricting the number of immigrants entering the United States from any designated locality are the most recent stage of legislative control on the subject of immigra tion The development toward restriction has been a gradual one In the Colonial and early national period there was absolute freedom of entry into the United States Then followed State regulations for some 50 years during which however some Federal laws affecting the transportation of immigrants were passed Later certain restraints were imposed based on conditions of health morals or at least criminal records mental capacity and economic con dition The act of 1917 adopted the literacy test while the subject of the importation of labor under contract had received attention at a considerably earlier date In 1921 the system of a prescribed quota was adopted act of May Stat 5 fixing the rate for aliens of any nationality at 3 per cent of the number of foreign born persons of such nation ality resident in the United States as determined by the United States census of By its terms this act was to continue in force from 15 days after its enactment until June On May this act was extended to the end of the fiscal year June Stat 540 On May the present law was enacted 43 Stat 153 reducing the ratio to 2 per cent and adopting the census period of 1890 as the basis but fixing a minimum of 100 for any nationality T QUOTA RESTRICTIONS LAWS 209 Beginning with July this basis may be still further modi fied by a provision that the annual quota for any nationality for that and each succeeding year shall be a number which bears the same ratio to 150 000 as the number of inhabitants in continental United States in 1920 having that national origin ascertained as hereinafter provided in this section bears to the number of inhabitants in con tinental United States in 1920 but the minimum quota of any na tionality shall be 100 Provision was made for the immediate determination of the num ber of inhabitants to which each nationality was entitled the act directing a determination by the Secretaries of State Commerce and Labor acting jointly the result to be proclaimed by the President The committee acted with great promptness as regards the inaugura tion of the law beginning work through the designated committee on May The report of the committee thus constituted was made to the respective Secretaries June and on June 30 the Secretaries transmitted their report to the President who on the same day issued a proclamation establishing the determined quotas for the various nationalities As regards the quotas to be admitted under the terms of the clause effective July the same officials are directed to make a joint report announcing the quotas determined upon the same to be pro claimed by the President on or before April Various exemptions exist as to the application of the law pro vision being made for relatives students travelers etc Further more nearly all of the American hemisphere is not subject to the quota law The naturalization law applies only to aliens being free white persons and to aliens of African nationality and to per sons of African descent Aliens of other races are not eligible to citi zenship therefore and are with certain exceptions debarred from admission to the United States as immigrants The normal quota of 100 for certain countries consequently applies only to such per sons as are eligible for naturalization 1 Senate Joint Resolution No 152 approved Mar postpones these dates one year INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS 211 Present Status of Accident Statistics HE United States Bureau of Labor Statistics has issued four bul letins bringing together as far as possible the important records of industrial accidents on a national scale 1 Two of these were prepared by Dr Frederick L Hoffman and were issued in 1908 and 1914 The third prepared by the bureau staff was published in 1923 and brought the data for the most part up to the year 1920 The latest one was issued in January 1927 and covers the period up to 1925 In the introduction to the second bulletin the following comment was made At the present time there are no entirely complete and trustworthy industrial accident statistics for even a single important industry in the United States The most reliable data are for the iron and steel industries mining and the railways As time has gone on the three Federal agencies concerning themselves with accident statistics namely the Interstate Commerce Commission the Bureau o f Mines and the Bureau of Labor Statistics have so improved their methods of collecting and handling accident data that what they offer may fairly claim to be trustworthy though in the nature of the case it would be beyond reasonable expectation that they should be entirely complete As compensation legislation spread rapidly over the several States there rose necessarily a new and insistent demand for accident statistics which would shed light on the various problems of com pensation administration In response to this demand there has been immense accumulation of the raw material of statistics It would appear to be a rather simple matter to combine the records of the several States and so produce a national compilation of much interest and utility Unfortunately the States have adopted pro cedures sufficiently different to make it difficult and in many cases impossible to combine these records in a general exhibit The primary reason for this is that the State agencies have found them selves so involved in the multiplied problems of compensation that they have been quite unable to give adequate attention to the really more important problems of accident prevention Ultimately it will be necessary for all States to do what some have already done namely to grapple with the matter of accident prevention In addition to the above mentioned public agencies a number of private agencies have also concerned themselves with the work of accident prevention and accident reporting Among these the National Safety Council occupies an outstanding place having been active in fostering all kinds of safety work over a period of years and assembling and publishing accident records of very great value T 1U S Bureau of Labor Statistics Buis Nos and 2X3 214 INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS Importance of Accident Rates HTHE purpose of accident statistics is the very practical one of finding out where and why accidents occur and whether they are increasing or decreasing To do this the statistics must show clearly not only the number but also the rate of accidents Present day prac tice is to show two kinds of rates frequency rates and severity rates The steps by which such rates are determined as well as certain other factors which it is essential to know about accidents in order to make accident statistics of practical value are briefly described below 2 1 Exposure to hazard A very large part of the statistical effort regarding accidents has been devoted to the mere sorting and record ing of cases That this gives little information which can be utilized for the purpose now under consideration may be established by a few illustrations When the accidents for a six year period in Penn sylvania are grouped by industries it appears that coal mining has 300 524 accidents while metals and metal products have A hasty inference from this result would be that the production of metals and metal products is more dangerous than coal mining A little reflection will show the inaccuracy of that conclusion While metals and metal products have more accident cases it may be that there are many more people employed therein than in coal mining In other words exposure to hazard in metals and metal products may be much greater both because more people are employed and because they work longer hours Clearly to understand the rela tion of these two groups something more is necessary than merely to know the number of accidents occurring in each This raises the question of an appropriate method of expressing this element of exposure to hazard The Germans were the first to attack the problem Their solution was to note the number of days during which each workman was employed The sum of the days worked by all the workmen was then divided by 300 on the suppo sition that the usual working year was one of 300 days of 10 hours each The quotient thus derived gave the number of 300 day or full year workers The number of accidents was then divided by this base and the quotient multiplied by 1 000 to avoid small decimals The use of this theoretical 300 day worker as a base for calculating accident rates was adopted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics when it began its accident studies There were however troublesome difficulties in the use of this base and the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions finally determined at the instance of its committee on statistics and accident insurance cost to cut loose from the idea of the number of workers and use instead the hours of employment It was agreed that accident frequency rates should be expressed as number of cases per hours of exposure while accident severity rates should be expressed as number of days lost per 1 000 ho urs of exposure The method of determining severity rates and days lost is discussed in a succeeding paragraph 2 For full account of standard method of computing frequency and severity rates see U S Bureau of Labor Statistics Bui No 276 p 68 PRESENT STATUS OF ACCIDENT STATISTICS 215 The importance of exposure as an element in the study of industrial accidents has become more and more recognized with the passage of time The Bureau of Labor Statistics was the first to utilize it an extended scale For some years now the Bureau of Mines and the Interstate Commerce Commission have presented their facts on this basis and many sections of the National Safety Council develop their accident data in this way 2 Number of accidents Having secured information regarding exposure to hazard the next step is to secure a record of the number of cases of injury A serious difficulty presents itself at once in the fact that the definition of an accident varies in the different States The most widely used definition is that of a tabulatable accident This definition is an accident causing death permanent disability or temporary disability beyond the day or turn in which the accident occurred The differences between the State definitions arise in respect to temporary disabilities Some States exclude cases of one day s duration others of two days duration still others of seven days duration This lack of uniformity impairs the value of the record as an index of the changes taking place It is not greatly important what definition is used but until a uniform definition is established it will remain impossible to compile satisfactory national statistics from the State records 3 Severity of accident When items 1 and 2 exposure and number of accidents are known it is possible to compute accurate frequency rates i e the number of accidents per hours of exposure It is evident however that in frequency rates a death influences the accident rate to the same extent as does temporary disability for one day and thus a true and complete picture of conditions is not presented The first effort to meet this difficulty was the separation of the accidents into three groups according to their results namely death permanent disability and temporary disability This did make possible a separate comparison of fatalities in different indus tries but still did not afford comparability of the permanent and the temporary disabilities with each other and with the fatalities What was needed was to translate the different casualties into common terms This was accomplished by means of a schedule of fixed time allowances3 for death and for permanent disabilities beginning with 6 000 days for death the loss of an arm being given 4 000 days the loss of an eye 1 800 days and so on through the list The application of these constants gives for each sort of casualty a value in terms of days somewhat proportional to its economic importance The tem porary disabilities are evaluated by the actual days of recorded disability The value of the severity rate is evident In considering frequency rates alone it is hardly possible to avoid the impression that the numerically larger figure of temporary disability is important in proportion to its size As a corrective to this impression we need the severity rates in which all injuries including death are weighted according to their severity The frequency rate fails to tell the whole story because in it units are combined which are not comparable See U S Bureau of Labor Statistics Bui No 276 p 77 216 INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS The severity rate corrects this condition through the use of a pro cedure which reduces these units to approximately common terms 4 Classification by industries In order to have information use ful for accident prevention the classification of the injuries must extend to industries and if possible to departments and occupations Departmental and occupational rates however present a difficulty in that such detailed analysis is likely to render the numbers in the groups so small that they lose statistical significance 5 Causes of accident An industrial classification indicates where remedial effort is called for but does not suggest what needs to be done This information must come so far as statistical treatment can give it from a study of accident causes Here as in the case of occupations there is constant danger of subdividing the material until the portions are too small to have any meaning This however is a risk well worth taking since here if anywhere the statistician can be of real service to the cause of saiety In addition to the five items listed above as essential a certain value attaches to information regarding nature of injury and location of injury though these items are of much less practical importance than are accident causes State Accident Records HE extent to which most of the existing accident statistics fall short of meeting the requirements as to good reporting set forth in the preceding section is indicated by Table 1 which gives the nature of information as to accidents reported by all report ing States in 1924 The table shows Number of States recording number of accidents 39 number classifying by industries 16 num ber classifying by cause of injury 14 number classifying by nature of in jury 8 number classifying by location of injury 7 and number determining exposure 1 T T a b l e 1 N A T U R E OF IN F O R M A T IO N AS TO A C C ID E N T S IN 1924 S E C U R E D F R O M T H E SEV E RA L STATES States reporting accidents b y Num ber Industry 39 Cause of Nature of Location of injury injury injury Ariz Ariz 1 Calif Calif 2 Calif K Colo Conn Del Ga Idaho Idaho Ind Iowa Kans Kans Kans Ariz Calif 2 Calif 2 Ky Ky Ky Ky Ky Me Md Md Md 16 14 1Mines only Expo sure Source of information 1 Report of State M ine Inspector for 1924 Response to special request Report of Industrial Commission for Response to special request D o D o D o D o Report of Industrial Commission for 1924 Response to special request Report of Court of Industrial Relations for 1924 Report of W orkm en s Compensation Board for 1924 Response to special request Report of State Industrial Accident Com mission for 1924 a Sis months 217 STATE ACCIDENT ItECORDS TABLE 1 N A T U R E O F IN F O R M A T I O N AS T O A C C ID E N T S IN 1924 S E C U R E D F R O M T H E S E V E R A L S T A T E S Continued States reporting accidents b y Location N um ber Industry Cause of Nature of of injury injury injury Mass M ich M i n n M in n M in n M on t N ebr N ev N ev N H N N Y N Dak M in n N H N H N J N J N Dak Ohio Okla 3 Okla Oreg P a Pa R I S D ak Tenn T ex U ta h Tenn T en n V t Vt V t W a sh Tenn U ta h Utah V a W a sh W a sh W ash W V a W V a W Va W V a W is W is W yo 7 E xpo sure Source of information 1 Response to special request Do Report of Industrial Commission for Report of Industrial Accident Board for 1924 Report of Labor and Compensation Com missioner for 1924 N ev Report of Industrial Commission for State report of Bureau of Labor for 1924 Report of Department of Labor for 1924 Response to special request Report of W orkmen s Compensation Bureau for Report of Department of Industrial Rela tions for 1924 Report of State Industrial Commission for Okla 1924 Response to special request Report of Bureau of W orkmen s Compensa Pa tion for 1924 Response to special request Report of Industrial Commissioner for 1924 Report of Department of Labor for 1924 Report of Industrial Board for 1924 Bulletin N o 3 of Industrial Commission for 1924 Report of Commissioner of Industries for Response to special request Summary of Accidents 1924 Department of Labor and Industries sheet Report of State Compensation Commis W V a sioner for 1924 Report of Industrial Commission of W iscon sin 1924 and Wisconsin Labor Statistics N ovem ber 1925 Report of W orkm en s Compensation Depart ment for 1924 M in n 3 Fatal and nonfatal combined Table 2 gives the available record of fatal and nonfatal accidents in the respective States from 1921 to 1925 It is not complete since some industries are not covered by the compensation law and some States do not record cases of less than seven days disability T a b l e 2 N U M B E R OF F A T A L A N D N O N F A T A L A C C ID E N T S AS R E P O R T E D B Y T H E S T A T E S 1921 T O 1925 B Y Y E A R S State Fatal Nonfatal Fatal Nonfatal A labam a California C o lora d o Connecticut Delaware Idaho i Illin ois Indiana Io w a Kansas rizon a2 374 A Georgia M ines only Fatal Nonfatal Fatal Nonfatal a Estimated Fatal Nonfatal March to December T INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS able 2 N U M B E R O F F A T A L A N D N O N F A T A L A C C ID E N T S AS R E P O R T E D B Y T H E S T A T E S 1921 T O 1925 B Y Y E A R S Continued Fatal Nonfatal Fatal Nonfatal Fatal Nonfatal State Fatal Nonfatal Fatal Nonfatal Kentucky M aine M aryland Massachusetts M ichigan M in n e so ta M ontana Nebraska N evada N ew Hampshire N ew Jersey N ew M exico N ew Y o r k N orth Dakota Ohio O kla h om a Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island 1 South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Verm ont Virginia Washington West Virginia 429 Wisconsin W yom ing U S Compensa tion Commission i i T o t a l i Compensable cases 8 Covers 10 months only 6 Coal mines only 7 N ot reported Classification by Industries IN TABLES 3 and 4 an effort has been made to compare the State accident data by principal classification groups and by individual States for the years 1920 and 1924 In those cases where 1924 data were lacking the latest available data have been used As already noted some of the States make no accident reports and very few classify their data at all completely Table 3 gives for the years 1920 and 1924 respectively the num ber of accidents for the States which classify their accidents according to industry An attempt has been made with a fair degree of suc cess to use a uniform classification The 1920 compilation records 602 053 accident cases and the 1924 compilation The States covered however are not abso lutely the same The 1920 compilation relates to 21 States while the 1924 compilation covers only 20 States and includes the important State of New York which was not included in 1920 Therefore no inference can be drawn that the increase in accident cases represents an increasing hazard On the whole indeed this table gives no definite answer to the question Is accident hazard increasing Nor can an answer be expected until the factor of employee exposure is more exactly known than is at present the case 219 STATE ACCIDENT RECORDS TABLE 3 N U M BE R OF ACCIDEN TS IN SPECIFIED STATES IN 1920 AN D 1924 i BY INDUSTRIES California Industry A la Arbama kan Idaho 4 Clay glass and stone Clothing Construction JanJune Agriculture F ood products in cluding beverages Leather and rubber Lumber and its remanufacture Lumber L ogging L u m b e r Logging railways M aryland Massa chusetts 589 Minnesota 4 Industry 1920 Mercantile Metals and metal products Mines coal M ines not coal and quarries M unicipal K entucky Food products in cluding beverages Leather and rubber Lum ber and its re manufacture Lumber Logging Lumber Logging railways T otal Agriculture Chemicals Clay glass and s to n e Clothing Construction Oil and gas Paper and products Printing and pu b lishing Public service Shipbuilding Textiles Unclassified Indiana Mercantile Metals and metal products Mines coal Mines not coal and quarries M unicipal Illin ois M on tana Neva da Where 1924 data were not available the latest available data are given 2 Compensable cases 3 Tabulatable accidents 4 Compensation claims allowed Claims filed 6 Includes shipbuilding 68 INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS 220 T able 3 N U M BE R OF ACCIDEN TS IN SPECIFIED STATES IN 1920 A N D 1924 BY INDUSTRIES Continued Kentucky Massa chusetts M aryland Minnesota M on tana Industry 1920 Oil and gas Paper and products Printing and pub lishing Public service Shipbuilding Nevado T otal New N e vada Hamp shire Pennsylvania Industry South D a kota 1921 Textiles Unclassified Agriculture Chemicals Clay glass and stone Clothing Construction F ood products Leather and rubber Lumber and its re manufacture Lumber LoggingLumber Logging railways Mercantile Metals and metal products Mines coal Mines not coal and quarries M unicipal Oil and gas Paper and p rod u cts Printing and pub lishing Public service Shipbuilding Textiles Unclassified N ew Jersey I f Wisconsin West Vir ginia W y o m in g Total Ten nessee Washington Agriculture C h em ica ls Clay glass and stone Clothing Construction Ore gon Total Industry Oklahoma N ew York i com pila tion com pila tion Compensable cases 4 Compensation claims allowed 7 Compensable cases closed 8 Includes also data for Montana for 1915 to 1920 and f or South Dakota Tennessee and Washington for 1921 9 Includes also data for Indiana for 1921 for Alabama and Minnesota for 1922 for Illinois Massachusetts and N ew York for 1923 and for California for first six m onths of 1924 STATE ACCIDENT RECORDS 221 T a b le 3 N U M BE R OF ACCIDEN TS IN SPECIFIED STATES IN 1920 A N D 1924 BY INDUSTRIES Continued Washington Industry F ood products Leather and rubber Lum ber and its re manufacture Lum ber Logging Lum ber Logging railways Mercantile Metals and metal products Mines coal Mines not coal and quarries M unicipal Ten nessee Wisconsin West Vir ginia 1924 W yom ing 1920 Total com pila tion 1924 com pila tion T o t a l Oil and gas Paper and products Printing and pub lishing Public service Shipbuilding Textiles Unclassified 667 Cause of Injury IN THE 1920 compilation there were 18 States whose accidents were recorded according to a cause classification The number of the accidents so classified was For 1924 such a classification could be made for 17 States and four others were available for the years 1922 and 1923 The total accident cases for 1924 so classified are 647 495 and for 1922 and 1923 are making a grand total of 838 042 for the later period The handling of tools and objects gives rise to the greatest number of accidents shown in Table 4 there being a total of 472 805 cases in the two periods Machinery comes next with a total of In this table hoisting apparatus is considered as a form of machinery Not giving cranes and other hoisting and carrying apparatus a sepa rate classification tends to obscure the continued importance of machinery as a cause of accident I f it were possible to show these cases on a severity basis the high importance of machinery as an industrial hazard would be still more strikingly evident INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS 222 T a b l e 4 N U M B E R O F A C C ID E N T S IN T H E S P E C IF IE D S T A T E S 1920 A N D 1924 B Y C AU SE OF IN J U R Y Accidents due to State Hot M a sub chinery stances Han Falling Falls of dling objects persons tools or objects Vehi cles Unclas sified Total 1920 California Idaho i Illin ois Indiana K en tu ck y M aryland i Massachusetts Minnesota i N ew Jersey N orth Dakota Ohio Oregon Pennsylvania Tennessee Verm ont Washington W isconsin W y o m in g T otal A labam a Arizona California Illinois Kansas Kentucky M arylan d Massachusetts Minnesota N ew Hampshire New Jersey N ew York North D a k ota Oklahoma Pennsylvania Tennessee U ta h V erm on t West Virginia i Wisconsin u Total Ohio Compensation claims allowed 2 Compensable cases only Data for year ending June Data for 1921 6 Data for 1922 compensable cases only 6 Data for mines only 7 Data for first six months of 1924 s Data for 1923 compensable cases Compensation claims filed data does not include 13 fetal cases Data for 1923 compensable cases only u Compensation claims filed 1 Data does not include self insured 2 1 Data does not include 43 fatal cases 3 m Compensable cases closed Accident Rates from State Reports T HE State records presented above deal solely with numbers of 1 accidents Such records have an informative value but fail entirely to afford any hint regarding relative hazard and conse quently give no suggestion regarding the place where accident j revention methods may be profitably applied For example the fact 223 STATE ACCIDENT RECORDS that Indiana had 506 casualties in the manufacture of agricultural implements in the year 1925 while Ohio had 194 may mean simply that the production of such implements is on a larger scale in Indiana than in Ohio or it may mean that danger of casualty is much greater in Indiana It is entirely impossible to determine the significance of the facts without further investigation as to rates based on actual man hours of exposure In view of the fact that rates have been so little used in accident studies outside of railways mines and the iron and steel industry the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics has sought to encourage the development of accident rates and has published such as were available from time to time Recently the bureau has sought to utilize the information contained in the State accident reports by relating such data for selected establishments to data regarding the number of man hours worked by such establishments The accident data were obtained through the cooperation of the various State agencies The employment data were obtained directly from the establishments The selection of the establishments was as follows For some time the bureau has obtained monthly reports of volume of employment from some 10 000 concerns This list had been carefully chosen to cover adequately the various important industries and to include plants of both large and small size Fifty two industrial groups are covered by the employment studies From these 24 were selected as having the greatest significance from the standpoint of accident study A small amount of additional information from each con cern made possible the determination of a close approximation to the man hours of exposure The combination of these items namely exposure and accidents gave the rates presented in Tables 5 and 6 Table 5 records both the number of cases and the frequency and severity rates for the years 1924 and 1925 for the only States for which the necessary data were available for the two years Ohio Illinois and Minnesota T able A C C ID E N T F R E Q U E N C Y A N D S E V E R IT Y R A T E S F O R S P E C IF IE D IN D U S T R IE S IN O H IO IL L IN O IS A N D M IN N E S O T A 1924 A N D 1925 N um ber of cases Industry Fullyear work ers Per ma Death nent dis abil ity A c c i d e n t frequency rates per hours exposure Tem Per ma po rary T o Death nent dis dis tal abil abil ity ity Accident severity rates per 1 000 hours ex posure Tem Per po ma rary T o Death nent dis tal dis abil abil ity ity Tem po rary T o dis tal abil ity 1924 A g r i c u l t u r a l im p le ments Automobiles Automobile tires Boots and shoes Brick Electrical machinery Flour Foundry and machine shops Furniture Glass Lumber planing mills i T able INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS A C C I D E N T F R E Q U E N C Y A N D S E V E R I T Y R A T E S F O R S P E C IF IE D IN D U S T R I E S IN O H IO IL L IN O IS A N D M IN N E S O T A 1924 A N D 1925 Continued A c c i d e n t frequency rates per hours exposure N um ber of cases Industry Fullyear work ers Per ma nent Death dis abil ity Per Tem po ma rary T o nent dis tal Death dis abil abil ity ity T em po rary dis abil ity Accident severity rates per 1 000 hours ex posure Per ma Death nent dis abil ity T em p o rary T o dis tal abil ity 1924 Continued Machine tools Paper and pulp P ottery Slaughtering and meat packing Steam fittings appara tus and supplies Stoves Structural iron work A g ricu ltu ra l im p le ments Automobiles Automobile tires Boots and shoes Brick Electrical machinery Flour Foundry and machine Furniture G lass Lumber planing mills M achine tools Paper and p u lp P o t t e r y Slaughtering and meat packing Steam fittings appara tus and supplies Stoves Structural iron work According to this table the frequency rates range in 1924 from 4 96 for boots and shoes to 98 64 for automobile tires In 1925 the range is from 12 39 for boots and shoes to 89 36 for glass In 12 industries there is a decline in the rate from 1924 to 1925 while 6 industries show a rising rate Two cautions are pertinent regarding conclusions to be drawn from these figures 1 In several of the industrial groups the exposure is not large enough to be as authoritative as could be desired 2 Percentages of increase and decrease are not comparable with each other Increases can be compared with increases and declines with declines but a per cent of increase is not comparable with a per cent of decline In the case of the three States from which data have been secured for the years 1924 and 1925 it was possible to compute severity rates and these are also shown in the table They are expressed in terms of days lost per 1 000 man hours of exposure death and permanent disabilities are given a fixed time allowance in terms of days 225 STATE ACCIDENT RECORDS When these severity rates are examined it appears that in 12 indus tries there was a decline in severity and in 6 a rising severity rate The relation of the two rates to each other is indicated by the fol lowing In 8 industries both frequency and severity declined in 2 industries both rose in 4 industries frequency declined and severity rose and in 4 industries frequency rose and severity declined Table 6 summarizes the information for 1925 regarding 24 indus tries located in the 11 States for which the necessary data were avail able It is interesting to note that the rates of the three States shown in Table 5 are closely similar to those for the 11 States for 1925 in which the three are included It is not under present circum stances possible to consider securing information regarding the industries with the same completeness that has been done in iron and steel but it is hoped that a sufficiently large sample can be secured so that it may be regarded as fairly typical It is thought that an exposure of 10 000 full year workers for each industry will afford such a sample T a b l e 6 A C C ID E N T F R E Q U E N C Y A N D S E V E R IT Y R A T E S F O R S P E C IF IE D IN D U S T R IE S IN 11 S T A T E S 1925 N umber of cases Industry and State N um ber N um ber of estab lish ments Fullyear workers Death Per ma nent disa bility T em porary disa bility Total Industry Agricultural implements Automobiles Automobile tires Boots and shoes Brick Carpets Chemicals Electrical machinery Flour Foundry and machine shops Furniture Glass Leather Lumber planing m ills Lumber sawmills Machine tools Paper and p ulp P o ttery Slaughtering and meat packing Stamped and enameled ware Steam fittings apparatus and supplies Stoves Structural iron work W oolen goods State Illinois Indiana Io w a M aryland Michigan Minnesota N ew Jersey New Y ork O h i o Pennsylvania W isco n sin Total States S Indus tries J INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS T a b l e 6 A C C I D E N T F R E Q U E N C Y A N D S E V E R I T Y R A T E S F O R S P E C IF IE D IN D U S T R IE S IN 11 S T A T E S Continued Accident frequency rates per hours exposure Industry and State Death Per ma nent disa bility Tem porary disa bility Total Accident severity rates per 1 000 hours exposure Death Per ma nent disa bility Tem porary Total disa bility Industry Agricultural implements Automobiles Automobile tires Boots and shoes Brick Carpets Chemicals Electrical machinery F l o u r Foundry and machine shops Furniture Glass Leather Lumber planing mills Lumber sawmills Machine tools Paper and p ulp Pottery Slaughtering and meat packing Stamped and enameled ware Steam fittings apparatus and supplies Stoves Structural iron w ork W oolen goods ia State Illinois Tnriianq Iow a Maryland Michigan M innesota N ew Jersey N ew Y o r k O hio Pennsylvania Wisconsin Total This rate is too low since the industry is located so largely in Michigan which does not report tempo rary disabilities terminating in the first week 2 Does not include temporary disabilities terminating in the first week 3 Data for temporary disabilities not available Accidents in the Federal Government Service HE table below gives accident frequency rates in the various departments of the Federal Government The tabulation was made by the United States Employees Compensation Commission T ACCIDENTS IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SERVICE 227 N U M B E R OF A C C ID E N T S A N D A C C ID E N T F R E Q U E N C Y R A T E S IN T H E G O V E R N M E N T S E R V IC E 1921 T O 1925 B Y D E P A R T M E N T S A N D Y E A R S Based on number of employees shown b y the Civil Service Commission s yearly reports and on num ber of accidents reported to the United States Employees Compensation Commission Frequency rates per hours exposure N um ber of accidents Year Num ber of employees Fatal Nonfatal IS onfatal i Fatal accidents accidents Total Total AU Government services Total Department of Agriculture Total Department of Commerce a Total Government Printing Office Total Department of the Interior Total Department of Labor T otal INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS N U M B E R OF A C C ID E N T S A N D A C C ID E N T F R E Q U E N C Y R A T E S IN THE GOVERN M E N T S E R V IC E 1921 T O 1925 B Y D E P A R T M E N T S A N D Y E A R S Continued Frequency rates per hours exposure N umber of accidents Year N um ber of employees Fatal Nonfatal Total Fatal Nonfatal accidents accidents Total Department of the Navy Total G Post Office Department Total Department of the Treasury Total Department of War T otal All other Government services T ota l Accident Record by Industry Building Construction ABLE 1 presents several interesting phases of hazard in build ing construction The rates for Group A illustrate the effect of accident prevention effort directed primarily toward severe accidents In this group there was marked improvement in the sever T 229 ACCIDENT RECORD BY INDUSTRY ity rates while frequency rates were practically at a standstill The rates for Group B show what can be accomplished by intensive effort applied to the reduction of both frequency and severity of accidents Data for Groups Cl and C2 illustrate the fluctuating and very high rates which thus far have appeared in every record of experience in fabrication and erection T a b l e 1 N U M B E R OF F U L L Y E A R W O R K E R S N U M B E R OF A C C ID E N T S A N D A C C ID E N T F R E Q U E N C Y A N D S E V E R IT Y R A T E S IN B U IL D IN G C O N S T R U C T IO N 1919 TO 1925 B Y Y E A R S Hours of exposure thou sands Year Group A general contractors i Group B general contractors Group C l fabricators and erectors 1922 i Group C2 fabricators and erectors Fre quency Full year Number rates per of acci workers dents hours ex posure Severity rates per 1 000 hours ex posure National Safety News July 1923 p 48 2 Idem July 1924 p 42 Idem July 1925 p 40 4 Idem August 1921 p 23 Idem M ay 1926 p 10 Coal Mines TTHE data presented below regarding accidents in coal mines are A derived from the publications of the United States Bureau of Mines Rates in these tables are given in terms of hours ex posure This is an approximation since it was impossible from the data available to determine exactly the number of hours worked The relations of these rates among themselves are correct but they are not perfectly comparable with similar rates found in other portions of this bulletin It will be noticed that in Table 2 there are two methods of pre senting the facts namely the rate per hours exposure and the rate per tons mined It is desirable to consider both of these rates That based on hours of exposure gives a meas ure of the hazard of fatal injury encountered by the men The rate by quantity mined measures the cost of coal in terms of fatal acci dents It may be regarded as a satisfactory condition when both these rates are declining with reasonable rapidity From 1907 to 1924 fatalities per hours exposure declined 23 6 per cent while fatalities per tons mined declined 38 5 per cent This more rapid decline of cost as compared with hazard is undoubtedly related to the introduction of machinery and im proved methods While a more rapid decline might fairly be expected it is gratifying that the movement is in the right direction 230 INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS T a b le 2 M E N E M PL O Y E D AVERAGE PRODUCTION PER M AN M EN K ILLE D AND FA TA L IT Y RATES IN COAL MINES IN THE U NITED STATES 1907 TO 1925 B Y YEARS Average production per man tons M en employed Tons mined short tons Year Actual number Full year Per workers year Per day M en killed Fatality rate per hours exposure Produc tion per death short tons Fatali ties per tons mined Table 3 summarizes the facts regarding the place of occurence and the cause of accidents in coal mines from 1916 to 1924 The underground occupations have much the larger share of fatalities and nearly or quite half of the underground fatalities result from falls of material from roof or face Attention has perhaps been too much directed to those startling major casualties in which by explosion of gas or dust many hundreds of lives may be suddenly brought to a close Inspection of the rates in Table 2 will show that such explosions stand third in order of importance It would be advantageous if the underground and surface exposure could be separated The underground rates would doubtless be higher and surface rates lower than those of the table which are based upon the entire exposure it not being possible from the data at hand to make this separation T a b le 3 F A T A L IT IE S IN C O A L M IN E S IN T H E U N IT E D S T A T E S 1916 T O 1925 B Y Y E A R P L A C E OF O C C U R R E N C E A N D CAU SE Place and cause Num ber of fatalities Underground Falls o f roof or face Cars and locomotives Explosions gas or dust Explosives E lectricity M iscellaneous Total underground Shaft Surface Haulage Machinery Miscellaneous Total surface Grand total ft r 231 ACCIDENT RECORD BY INDUSTRY T a b le 3 FATALITIES IN COAL M INES IN THE U N ITED STATES 1916 TO 1925 B Y Y EAR PLACE OF OCCU RREN CE AN D CAUSE Continued Place and cause Fatality rates per hours exposure Underground Falls of roof or face Cars and locomotives Explosions gas or dust Explosives Electricity Miscellaneous Shaft Surface Haulage Machinery Miscellaneous Total underground Total surface Grand total Coke Ovens A CCIDENT rates in coke ovens as compiled from data published by the United States Bureau of Mines are shown in Table 4 A striking feature of the table is the very great falling off in the number employed in the beehive ovens the number employed in 1925 amounting to only about 40 per cent of the number of em ployees in 1916 This of course means the discarding of a waste ful and inefficient method but apparently the increased use of machinery gives accident rates rather higher in by product ovens than in beehive ovens The rates in both the beehive ovens and the by product ovens show a reduction for both fatalities and injuries in 1924 and 1925 although the average for the years 1921 to 1925 in beehive ovens is higher than in the preceding five year period T a b le 4 N U M B E R OF M E N E M P L O Y E D A N D A C C ID E N T S A N D A C C ID E N T R A T E S IN B E E H IV E A N D B Y P R O D U C T C O K E O VEN S 1916 T O 1924 B Y Y E A R S M en employed M en killed Year Actual number Beehive ovens M en injured Frequency rates p e r hours exposure M en killed Full year workers M en injured Average 5 years Average 5 years 232 INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS T a b le 4 N U M BE R OF M EN E M PLO Y E D A N D ACCIDEN TS AN D A C C ID E N T RATES IN BEEHIVE AN D B Y PROD U CT COKE OVENS 1916 TO 1924 B Y YEARS Continued M en employed M en killed Year M en injured Actual Full year number workers B y product ovens Frequency rates per hours exposure M en killed Average 5 years Average 5 years Average 5 years A ll coke ovens Average 5 years M en injured Explosives Dyes and Chemicals Industry T H E first part of Table 5 records the experience to and including the year 1920 of one large company engaged in the manufacture of explosives dyes and chemicals The second part covers the experi ence of several companies which are members of the chemical section of the National Safety Council The table is not extended enough in some particulars to warrant conclusions but the general impression is of a very decided declining tendency both in frequency and severity T N U M B E R OF F U L L Y E A R W O R K E R S N U M B E R OF A C C ID E N T S A N D A C C ID E N T F R E Q U E N C Y A N D S E V E R IT Y R A T E S IN T H E M A N U F A C T U R E OF E X P L O S IV E S D Y E S A N D C H E M IC A L S 1908 T O 1924 B Y Y E A R S i able Year Hours of exposure i National Safety News Feb p 4 Full year workers Frequency rates per hours exposure Fatal accidents Nonfatal accidents Total ACCIDENT RECORD BY INDUSTRY T able 5 N U M B E R OF F U L L Y E A R W O R K E R S N U M B E R OF A C C ID E N T S A N D A C C ID E N T F R E Q U E N C Y A N D S E V E R IT Y R A T E S IN T H E M A N U F A C T U R E OF E X P L O S IV E S D Y E S A N D C H E M IC A L S 1908 T O 1924 B Y Y E A R S Continued Hours of exposure Year Full year workers Num ber of accidents Frequency rates per hours exposure Severity rates per 1 000 hours exposure Explosives Dye manufacture 1924 a Chemicals Idem June 1925 p 31 Iron and Steel Industry T H E Bureau of Labor Statistics annual study of accidents in the iron and steel industry for the year 1925 showed a decline in accident rates as compared with 1924 This decline has been almost constant during the whole period of 16 years during which the bureau has been compiling such statistics There is however a marked difference between the experience of those plants in which energetic and continuous safety work has been carried on and those in which safety work has not been given such prominence In the former group the reduction in accident fre quency since 1913 has been approximately 86 per cent while the reduction in the case of those plants in which safety work has not been so stressed has been only about 15 per cent The records of the Bureau of Labor Statistics now cover the experience of the iron and steel industry for the period from 1910 to 1925 To illustrate what has happened in this interval and also to show the results obtained by intensive accident prevention effort Tables 6 and 7 are presented Table 6 shows the accident experience of a group of plants in the iron and steel industry which produce approximately 50 per cent of the output and which were not only among the first to undertake accident prevention but have continued a safety campaign with great energy and persistence Table 7 shows the accident experience of all the plants covered by the study including the plants of Table 6 as well as another group in which safety work has been less emphasized The two tables are not identical in form but in a general way they are comparable Table 6 is on an annual basis while Table 7 is for periods of five years 234 INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS I f the rates in the total column of Table 6 for the year ending with December 1913 be compared with the rates for all departments in Table 7 for the 5 year period ending with 1913 it will be noted that the frequency rates are 60 3 for Table 6 and 62 1 for Table 7 That is to say up to the time indicated the results in the section repre sented by the selected plants in Table 6 were but slightly more satisfactory than in the industry at large including those special plants Computing the rate for that half of the industry not included in Table 6 it is found to be 63 9 This compared with 60 3 the rate for plants grouped in Table 6 gives an idea of the progress made at that time by concerns most actively engaged in accident prevention as compared with those which had more recently and in some cases not yet undertaken an effort for safety I f the figures for the year ending December 1925 and the 5 year period ending with 1925 are compared it will be found that Table 6 shows a frequency of 8 2 while a computation for the portion not included in Table 6 gives a frequency of 54 4 In other words the portion of the industry which has devoted most attention to accident prevention has made an 86 per cent reduction while the portion of the industry not included in Table 6 has made a 15 per cent reduction The fact that one table is on an annual and the other on a 5 year basis makes this comparison somewhat unfair to the plants shown only on the 5 year basis It is safe to say however that in the companies which have undertaken the task of accident prevention most seriously the results have been the most striking The impor tant thing is that a similar result is possible to any plant which is willing to make a corresponding effort T able 6 A C C ID E N T F R E Q U E N C Y R A T E S P E R H O U R S E X P O S U R E F O R A G R O U P OF IR O N A N D S T E E L P L A N T S IN W H IC H S A F E T Y W O R K H A S B E E N S T R E S SE D B Y P R O D U C T S A N D B Y Y E A R S 1913 T O 1925 Year ending Fabrica tion Sheets Wire Tubes Miscellaneous steel products Total Group A Group B December June December June December June December June December June December June December June December June December June December June December June December June December ACCIDENT RECOBD BY INDUSTRY Table 7 C C ID E N T A Period R A T E S IN T H E IR O N A N D S T E E L IN D U S T R Y B Y D E P A R T M E N T S A N D B Y 5 Y E A R P E R IO D S All depart ments Blast furnaces Bessemer convert ers Open hearth Foun dries Heavy rolling mills Plate mills Sheet mills Frequency rates per hours exposure 1907 to 1908 to 1909 to 1910 to 1911 to 1912 to 1913 to 1914 to 1915 to 1916 to 1917 to 1918 to 1919 to 1920 to 1921 to Severity rates per 1 000 hours exposure 1907 to 1908 to 1909 to 1910 to 1911 to 1912 to 1913 to 1914 to 1915 to 1916 to 1917 to 1918 to 1919 to 1920 to 1921 to Table 8 is derived from information regarding the group of iron and steel plants included in Table 6 and gives accident frequency rates per hours exposure by causes from 1913 to 1925 There is not a single case in which the rate for 1925 is not lowerthan that for 1913 usually very much lower The important role still played by machinery in accident experience is indicated by the first line of the table In every such compilation the frequency of accidents due to handling is in excess of that from any other cause The percentages of decrease from 1913 to 1925 for the main groups of the cause classification are as follows Machinery 78 per cent vehicles 87 per cent hot substances 89 per cent falls or persons 76 per cent handling 87 per cent unclassified 91 per cent Table 8 ACCIDENT FREQUENCY RATES PER HOURS EXPOSURE IN A PORTION OF THE IRON AND STEEL INDUSTRY 1913 TO 1925 BY YEARS AND CAUSES Accident cause Machinery Working machines Caught in Breakage M oving material i n i Less than one tenth of 1 per cent A to INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS T a b l e 8 A C C ID E N T F R E Q U E N C Y RATES PE R HOURS EXPOSU RE IN A PORTION OP TH E IRON AN D STEEL IN D U STRY 1913 TO 1925 B Y Y E A R S AND C AU SE S C ontinued A ccident cause Machinery C ontinued Cranes etc Overhead Locom otive Other hoisting appa ratus Vehicles H ot substances Electricity H ot m etal Hot water etc Falls of persons From ladders From scaffolds Into openings Due to insecure footing Falling material not other wise specified H andling Dropped in handling Caught between Trucks Lifting Flying from tools Sharp points and edges T ools Miscellaneous Asphyxiating gas Flying not striking eye Flying striking eye Heat Other to l l Grand total Less than one tenth of 1 per cent The causes of accidents in the iron and steel industry for three selected departments by years are shown in Table 9 on the basis of both frequency rates and severity rates In both frequency and severity rates there are examples of remark able declines over the period shown The severity rates are rather irregular as should be expected as the exposure is not large enough to smooth out these irregularities T able 9 A C C ID E N T F R E Q U E N C Y A N D S E V E R IT Y R A T E S IN S E L E C T E D D E P A R T M E N T S 1910 T O 1914 A N D 1920 T O 1924 B Y Y E A R S A N D A C C ID E N T CAU SES Blast furnaces Accident cause Aceid ent frequency rates per hours exposure T otal M achinery Vehicles H ot substances Falls of persons Falling o b je c ts Handling Unclassified ACCIDENT RECORD BY INDUSTRY T able 9 A C C I D E N T F R E Q U E N C Y A N D S E V E R I T Y R A T E S IN S E L E C T E D D E P A R T M E N T S 1910 T O 1914 A N D 1920 T O 1924 B Y Y E A R S A N D A C C I D E N T C A U S E S Con Blast furnaces Continued Accident cause A ccident severity rates per 10 000 hours exposure M achinery Vehicles H ot substances Falls of persons Falling objects Handling Unclassified Total Open hearth furnaces Accident frequency rates per hours exposure M ach in ery Vehicles H ot substances Falls of persons Falling objects Handling Unclassified T o t a l Accident severity rates per 10 000 hours exposure M achinery V ehicles H ot substances Falls of persons Falling objects H andling Unclassified T otal h 2 0 Plate mills Accident frequency rates per hours exposure Machinery Vehicles H ot substances Falls of persons Falling objects Handling Unclassified Total Accident severity rates per 10 000 hours exposure M achinery Vehicles H ot substances Falls of persons Falling objects Handling Unclassified T otal i Not separately shown included in Unclassified INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS Metal Mines n r ABLE 10 shows the accident rates for all metal mines from 1911 1 to 1924 as published by the United States Bureau of Mines The rate for injuries tends to rise This is due in considerable measure to better reporting rather than to increased hazard This appears when the fatality rates are considered These decline for underground workers from 1 83 in 1911 to 1 62 in per cent Since fatalities are always more completely reported than are minor injuries this change may fairly be taken as an index of the shift in hazard during this period Inspection of the items of the table will convince that there has been a real though not very great downward tendency in fatality frequency T able N U M B E R OF F U L L Y E A R W O R K E R S A N D A C C ID E N T F R E Q U E N C Y R A T E S F O R M E T A L M IN E S IN T H E U N IT E D S T A T E S P E R H O U R S E X P O S U R E 1911 T O 1924 B Y Y E A R S Accident frequency rates per hours exposure Full year workers M en killed Year Under ground Surface Total Under ground Surface M en injured Total Under ground Surface Total Metallurgical Works TABLE 11 records the accident experience from 1913 to 1924 in metallurgical plants as compiled by the United States Bureau of Mines Neither fatal nor nonfatal rates show any regular trend T able A C C ID E N T S A N D A C C I D E N T R A T E S IN M E T A L L U R G IC A L P L A N T S IN T H E U N IT E D S T A T E S 1913 TO 1924 B Y Y E A R S M en employed M en killed Kind of plant and year Actual number Ore dressing plants i i i Full year workers i Not including auxiliary works such as shops yards etc M en injured Frequency rates p e r hours exposure M en killed M en injured ACCIDENT RECORD BY INDUSTRY T able 11 A C C ID E N TS A N D A C C ID E N T R ATES IN M E TA L L U R G IC A L PLA N TS IN TH E U N IT E D STATES 1913 TO 1924 B Y Y E A R S Continued M en employed M en killed K ind of plant and year Actual number Ore dressing plants Continued i i i i i Smelting plan ts i i i i i i i M en injured Full year workers Frequency rates p e r hours exposure M en killed M en injured Auxiliary works s N ot including auxiliary works such as shops yards etc 2 N ot including iron blast furnaces Included under ore dressing and smelting plants Paper Mills Hr HE figures in Table 12 show the experience of the firms that are A members of the paper section of the National Safety Council In the interval from 1920 to 1924 frequency declines from 46 34 to 41 58 or 10 per cent and severity from 2 60 to 2 07 or 20 per cent T able 1 3 N U M B E R OF F U L L Y E A R W O R K E R S N U M B E R OF A C C ID E N T S A N D A C C ID E N T F R E Q U E N C Y A N D S E V E R IT Y R A T E S IN P A P E R M IL L S 1920 T O 1924 B Y YEARS i Hours of exposure thousands Year Full year workers Number of accidents Frequency rates per hours exposure Severity rates per 1 000 hours exposure i National Safety News June 1925 p 30 Portland Cement Industry T ABLE 13 is drawn from the publications of the Portland Cement A Association This organization was among the first to compile statistics on a satisfactory basis and their annual studies are models of statistical presentation 240 in d u s t r i a l a c c id e n t s The table shows a very steady decline in both frequency and severity T N U M B E R OF F U L L Y E A R W O R K E R S N U M B E R OF A C C ID E N T S A N D A C C I D E N T F R E Q U E N C Y A N D S E V E R IT Y R A T E S IN T H E M A N U F A C T U R E OF P O R T L A N D C E M E N T 1918 T O 1925 B Y Y E A R S i able Year Hours of exposure thousands Full year workers Number of Number of accidents deaths Frequency Severity rates per rates per hours hours ex exposure posure i Portland Cement Association Study of accidents 1918 Accident Prevention Bulletin SeptemberOctober 1920 July August 1921 May June 1922 May June 1923 M arch April 1924 July August 1925 and May June 1926 Quarries r ABLE 14 records the facts regarding quarry accidents from T 1911 to 1924 as published by the United States Bureau of Mines Fatality rates show a slight decline especially noticeable in the last four years The nonfatal injuries have a rising rate T able N U M B E R OF M E N E M P L O Y E D N U M B E R OF M E N K IL L E D A N D I N JU R E D A N D A C C ID E N T F R E Q U E N C Y R A T E S F O R Q U A R R IE S IN T H E U N IT E D ST A T E S 1911 T O 1920 B Y Y E A R S Men employed M en killed Year Actual number M en injured Full year workers F req u en cy rates p e r hours exposure M en killed M en injured Average 5 years Average 5 years Average 10 years ISO Railways Electric HTHE American Electric Railway Association has published figures A regarding accidents on electric railways for the years 1923 and 1924 There were 105 companies which reported fully on the items included in the inquiry Table 15 presents the results 241 ACCIDENT RECORD BY INDUSTRY It will be noted that in nearly every comparison possible to make the year 1924 was more satisfactory than 1923 This is particularly true in cases of injury per passengers carried the figures being 6 48 for 1923 and 5 53 for 1924 T able 1 5 A C C ID E N T E X P E R IE N C E OF 105 A M E R IC A N E L E C T R IC R A IL W A Y S IN 1923 A N D Item 1924 Item Car miles operated Passengers carried Accidents per car miles Continued B y collision with cars T o employees T o passengers T o other persons N um ber of accidents to Employees Passengers Other persons T otal Total Num ber of fatalities Accidents to passengers per passengers carried Accidents per car miles B y collision with m otor vehicles Railways Steam T H E available records for American railways cover a longer period and are more inclusive than those of any other industry The Interstate Commerce Commission publishes accident bulletins con taining very detailed information The data in the tables which follow are derived from these bulletins Table 16 presents summary figures showing the number killed and injured during the period from 1888 to 1925 The greatly lessened hazard is shown very conclusively by the figures for passenger casualty The peak ot passenger fatality was in 1907 when 610 were killed The high year for passenger injuries was 1913 with 15 130 cases From this point there has been an irregular decline until 1925 when 171 passengers were killed and 4 952 injured The data for employees show the peak of fatality 4 534 also in 1907 the peak of injury being in 1916 By 1925 fatalities had declined to 1 594 and injuries to T able 16 N U M B E R OF P A S S E N G E R S E M P L O Y E E S A N D O T H E R PE R S O N S K IL L E D O R IN JU R E D IN R E P O R T A B L E S T E A M R A IL W A Y A C C ID E N T S T H E U N IT E D S T A T E S 1888 TO 1924 B Y Y E A R S 1 Passengers Employees OF A L L K IN D S IN Other persons Total Year ending Killed June June 30 1889 June June 30 1891 June June June 30 1894 June June Injured Killed Injured Killed Injured Killed Injured Figures for years 1911 to 1915 include industrial and other nontrain accidents to employees only and for years 1908 to 1910 do not cover switching and terminal roads otherwise the statement covers all reportable accidents 242 INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS T able 16 N U M BE R OP PASSENGERS EM PLOYEES AND OTH ER PERSONS K ILLED OR INJURED IN REPO RTA B LE STEAM R A ILW A Y A C CIDEN TS OP ALL KINDS IN THE U N ITED STATES 1888 TO 1924 B Y YEARS Continued Passengers Employees Other persons T otal Year ending Killed June June June June 30 1900 June 30 1901 June June 30 1903 June June 30 1905 June June June June June June June June June June June Dec Dec Dec Dec Dec Dec Dec Dec Dec Dec Injured Killed Injured Killed Injured Killed Injured Table 17 is drawn from Accident Bulletin Nos 93 and 94 of the Interstate Commerce Commission p 114 and relates solely to trainmen on class I roads i e roads whose annual operating reve nues are above The figures in the table have been re arranged to permit comparisons which are somewhat difficult to make in the original form The rates have also been recalculated on the basis of hours exposure rather than of 1 000 men employed This renders them fairly comparable with rates com puted for other industries It is an important step toward general comparability that the Interstate Commerce Commission has in re cent years required exposure to be reported in terms of man hours The table is of particular interest in view of recent discussion of the question Are accidents increasing In the course of such discussion it has become quite evident that our accident statistics are as yet neither sufficiently extended nor sufficiently precise to make possible a general answer to this question There is a strong tendency to draw conclusions from current experiences and if the present year shows higher rates or greater cost than the preceding year to suspect that this is an indication of a general tendency The showing of the railway accident statistics is accordingly im portant because they have been kept long enough and are of such a degree of accuracy as to justify regarding their indications as de pendable They afford an opportunity for testing the immediate impression by the trend disclosed by a longer interval 243 ACCIDENT RECORD BY INDUSTRY In this case as always the really informative figures are those of rates for fatality and for injury I f the number of trainmen of fatalities and of injuries be considered separately it will be difficult if not impossible to see clearly what the figures indicate It is only when it is possible to unite the exposure with the number of cases or with the loss of time expressed in days and so to produce frequency or severity rates that the significance becomes evident In this railway group it is not possible to determine severity rates The following observations regarding accident frequency on the railroads are suggested by inspection of the tables 1 There was a marked drop from 1916 to 1925 this downward tendency being evident in each of the occupational groups The fatality frequency for all trainmen declined 49 per cent and the injury frequency 40 per cent 2 There are two years during the period 1920 and 1923 in which there was a decided upward tendency as compared with the preceding years For all trainmen fatalities rose 19 per cent from 1919 to 1920 and 14 per cent from 1922 to 1923 Rates for injury rose 23 per cent from 1919 to 1920 and 9 per cent from 1922 to As a rule there was a drop from 1916 to 1920 and a further drop from 1920 to In fatalities the lowest rates are found in 1924 while the lowest year in injuries is 1921 These figures are quite conclusive that whatever may be true of other industries American railways have maintained a successful fight against conditions which tend toward increased accident rates T able 1 7 F A T A L IT IE S A N D IN JU R IE S A N D F R E Q U E N C Y R A T E S T H E R E F O R A M O N G R A IL R O A D T R A IN M E N 1916 T O 1925 B Y Y E A R A N D O C C U P A T IO N Number of trainmen Occupation Yard service Engineers F irem en Conductors Brakemen T otal Road freight service Engineers Firem en Conductors Brakemen T otal Road passenger serv ice Engineers Firem en Conductors Brakemen Baggagemen T otal All train m en 244 INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS T a b l e FATALITIES AND INJURIES AND FREQU ENCY RATES T H E R E FO R AM ONG RA ILR O A D T R AIN M E N 1916 TO 1925 B Y Y E A R AND OCCUPATION Continued Fatalities Occupation Number Yard service Engineers Firemen Conductors Brakemen T otal R oad freight service Engineers Firemen Conductors Brakemen Total Road passenger serv ice Engineers Firemen C onductors Brakemen Baggagemen T otal A ll trainmen Frequency rates per hours exposure Y ard service Engineers Firemen Conductors Brakemen T otal R oad freight service Engineers Firemen Conductors Brakemen T otal Road passenger serv ice Engineers Firemen Conductors Brakemen Baggagem en T otal A ll trainm en 245 ACCIDENT RECORD BY INDUSTRY T a b l e 1 7 F A T A L IT IE S A N D IN JU R IE S A N D F R E Q U E N C Y R A T E S T H E R E F O R A M O N G R A IL R O A D T R A I N M E N 1916 T O 1925 B Y Y E A R A N D O C C U P A T IO N Continued Injuries Occupation Num ber Yard service Rnginfiprs Firemen Conductors Brakemen T otal Read freight service Engineers F irem en Conductors Brakemp n T otal R oad passenger servvice Engineers F irem en Conductors Brakemen Baggagemen T otal A ll trainm en Frequency rates per hours exposure Yard service Engineers Firem en Conductors Brakemen Total R oad freight service Engineers Firemen Conductors Brakemen Total R oa d passen ger service Engineers Firemen Conductors Brakemen Baggagemen Total A ll trainm en Rubber Industry T 1 HE rubber section of the National Safety Council has main tained a very carefully worked out statistical presentation of their experiences for the past five years The rates are somewhat irregular with no definite trend 246 INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS T a b l e N U M BER OF FULL YEAR W ORKERS NUM BER OF ACCIDENTS A N D A C C I D E N T FREQUENCY AN D SEVERITY RATES IN RU BBER INDU STRY 1921 TO 1925 i BY YEARS Year Hours of exposure Full year workers Num ber of accidents Frequency Severity rates per rates per hours hours ex exposure posure i National Safety News March 1923 p 15 August 1923 p 39 Novem ber 1923 p 40 and February 1925 p 20 Textile Industry T H E records of the textile section of the National Safety Council have not been maintained long enough to warrant any very positive conclusion beyond the confirmation of the idea that the textile industry is relatively of rather low hazard When however accident frequency in such mills is greater than that in some of the best steel mills it is obvious that there is opportunity for improve ment The intrinsic hazard of the steel and iron concerns is ob viously much greater than that in textile establishments and accident prevention effort if undertaken with anything like the energy shown in the steel mills should markedly influence the rates T a b l e 19 N U M B E R OF F U L L Y E A R W O R K E R S N U M B E R OF A C C ID E N T S A N D A C C ID E N T F R E Q U E N C Y A N D S E V E R IT Y R A T E S IN T E X T IL E S 1923 A N D 1924 Year Hours of exposure i National Safety News October 1924 Full year workers Num ber of accidents Frequency Severity rates per rates per hours ex 1 000 hours exposure posure Idem August 1925 p 39 Dust Explosion Hazards in Industrial Plants HE widespread extent of the dust explosion hazard together with measures for preventing this type of accident were dis cussed by David J Price in an address at the Industrial Acci dent Prevention Conference held at Washington D C July and by Hylton R Brown in an article in the September 1925 issue of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry The following ac count is based on these two sources At least 28 000 industrial establishments in the United States it is stated are subject to the hazard of dust explosions and dust fires These plants employ approximately persons and manu facture products of an annual value in excess of At T DUST EXPLOSION HAZARDS IN INDUSTRIAL PLANTS 247 least 281 explosions of this character have been reported to the De partment of Agriculture In 70 of these explosions 459 persons have been killed an average of 8 and in 92 of them 760 have been injured an average of over 8 The property loss in 144 cases amounted to more than an average of nearly for each explosion These statistics of losses do not of course take into consideration the interruption to production loss of time and general disturbance of manufacturing operations as a result of explosions and fires of this character Investigations by the United States Bureau of Chemistry have shown that practically all combustible dusts and some dusts not gen erally considered combustible will explode with violence under favor able conditions when mixed with the proper proportion of air and ignited by a flame spark or other source of ignition Although there is much experimental work yet to be done to show the exact conditions under which various dusts will or will not explode it is certain that dust from practically any material which will burn or be readily oxidized when fine enough and dry enough to form a cloud or be thrown into suspension in the air will explode if it conies in contact with a flame or spark sufficiently hot to ignite it A tem perature as low as 540 C F which is considerably below dull red heat will ignite some dusts while for some of the more explosive dusts an explosive mixture is formed by 7 milligrams of dust in a liter of air There is no record of a spontaneous dust explosion but a spark flame or other cause is necessary to ignite the dust The extent of the hazard of dust explosions it is said is not yet recognized by manufacturers since there is often a false feeling of safety caused by the fact that in their experience no dust explosions have ever occurred in their particular industry During 1924 dust explosions and the resulting fires caused the death of 45 persons the injury of 28 others and the destruction of about worth of property These explosions occurred in starch and woodworking plants leather grinding mills feed mixing plants and grain elevators and in 1923 explosions were reported of lignone dye aluminum bronze dried wood pulp spice dust paper dust wood flour powdered milk cork dust and hard rubber dust A flame of any kind including sparks from static electricity and the breaking of lighted electric lamps may start an explosion when ever enough dust to form an explosive mixture is in the air The plants in which steps should be taken to eliminate the dust explosion hazard are classified in three groups Plants handling dusty or pow dered material in package form those in which it is handled in loose form and plants manufacturing or producing explosive dust In all these classes of industries general cleanliness throughout the plant is a requisite in the prevention of dust explosions and dust should not be allowed to accumulate overhead or where a jar or con cussion would throw the dust into suspension Cleanliness is the principal precaution necessary in warehouses or shipping rooms where the material is handled in packages or bulk lots and the chief danger of dust in sufficient amounts to propagate a flame is from the accumulation of dust from packages which are accidentally broken 248 INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS open In plants handling dust in loose form as in packing mixing sifting etc there are more opportunities for dust clouds to be formed as the machinery creates drafts which stir up the dust and tend to keep it in suspension An electric spark or arc may occur in many places about an industrial plant causing an explosion if there is sufficient dust present In dusty places it is advisable to install electrical apparatus motors switches etc in a separate dust proof room All electric lamps should be protected with heavy dust proof globes and strong guards and drop cords and extension lights should not be used The danger from static electricity is shown by the large number of explosions and fires on threshing machines and in cotton gins Charges of more than 50 000 volts of static electricity have been measured on threshing machines and on moving belts in industrial plants Various methods of eliminat ing static electricity are used but they are not always effective I f the charge is present on the machinery grounding the frame may eliminate it and if it is present on moving equipment brushes combs and wipers resting on the moving parts may be effective while maintaining a high humidity around the equipment may remove the hazard Mechanical causes of dust explosions which may be largely elimi nated by care in the maintenance and use of machinery are metallic sparks friction fires and hot bearings While the open flame for lighting industrial plants has been generally superseded by electric lights lanterns are often used when the power goes off or the plant is shut down for repairs and the use of blowtorches and metalcutting or welding name creates a hazard when used in making repairs In plants in which the dust or powdered material is produced or manufactured plant cleanliness is of even more importance than in those in which it is handled in loose form and dust collecting and dust removing equipment of the best type is an absolute necessity while every attempt must be made to remove the various sources of ignition The high speed grinding equipment used in these plants is a frequent source of fires and explosions through the production of metallic sparks The entrance of foreign material into the grinding machine which may strike sparks and ignite the dust within the machine is difficult to control Screens and separators will partially remove it but in plants where grinding is the major part of the process it may be necessary to introduce an inert gas into the grinding machines to prevent the formation of an explosive mixture of dust and air It has been shown by tests that it is impos sible to produce an explosion in most of the dust now considered explosive if the oxygen in the air in which the dust is carried in suspension has been reduced to 12 per cent This requires replacing 21 per cent of the oxygen in the air with an inert gas such as nitrogen or carbon dioxide A greater reduction is necessary in a few cases as sulphur dust requires a reduction of the oxygen content to 8 5 per cent A thorough study is however necessary in cases where the use of inert gas is considered essential to determine the amount of gas necessary to prevent explosions INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS 249 Eye Conservation in Industry HE importance of the use of goggles in the prevention of serious eye accidents is the subject of an article on 4 Saving 6 eyes and eyesight by Joshua E Hannum in Industrial Psy chology October 1926 Such accidents are among the most serious which can happen to industrial workers as they entail not only suf fering loss of time and expense but also permanent disability and decrease or loss of earning power In the prevention of eye accidents cooperation between the man agement the foreman and the workman is necessary It is gener ally accepted that it is the duty of managers to furnish protection to workmen but in the matter of safeguarding the eyes the objection of the workmen to wearing goggles frequently has to be overcome and this often requires great resourcefulness patience and perse verance One of the most important reasons for the reluctance of workers to wear goggles is defective vision which is often unsuspected both by the management and by the individual himself Goggles must of course be fitted so that they are comfortable to wear but unless they correct defects of vision their function is only partially ful filled After the proper corrective lenses have been provided and the goggles properly fitted to the face the problem becomes primarily educational and calls for persistent and painstaking education of workman gang boss foreman and executive In order to carry on an effective eye safety campaign it must be planned both for per manency and efficiency as temporary drives are not so successful in accomplishing lasting results as persistent and unremitting efforts Preventive measures include elimination of eye hazards at their source through the use of various types of mechanical safeguards engineering revision as for example changing a manufacturing process redesigning a machine or tool rearranging the physical equipment changing the method of work or replacing handoperated with automatic machines and education In organizing an eye protection program it is necessary first to make a careful survey of operating conditions noting the various hazards after which mechanical safeguards should be installed or engineering changes made Educating the worker in eye protection should include meetings by departments and mass meetings in which employees should be warned of the special hazards to which they are exposed and the policy of the company in regard to the care of eyes should be stated Intensive drives for a No eye accident week should be made frequently and it is important in such a campaign to see whether goggles are furnished for the various jobs where they are necessary to examine each employee s goggles to see if they fit properly and give adequate protection and in cases where employees object to wearing goggles to investigate each case promptly and carefully One man in each safety organization should be instructed in the use and care of goggles and should be in charge of their distribution repair adjustment and sterilization The cooperation of the foreman in the effort to make the men wear the goggles should be secured and it should be their constant duty to see that they are worn by the men T 250 In d u s t r ia l a c c id e n t s Each new employee when employed on a job for which goggles are needed should be given an eyesight test and if correction is needed the corrective lenses should be used in the goggles and the goggles should be fitted to give as much comfort as possible D if ferent styles of approved types of goggles should be provided by the company from which selections can be made There are four dif ferent methods which may be followed in supplying goggles to the employees They may be furnished to the men without charge the workmen may be required to pay for them either partially or en tirely on the assumption that they will then be better appreciated a deposit may be required when they are issued and returned when they are turned in or a charge may be made if gfoggles are carelessly lost or broken Adjustment of the goggles to the face should include proper fitting of the nose piece avoidance of tension in the adjustment of the headband which should not be worn around the middle of the head as it frequently causes headaches and avoidance of pressure on the temples Metal cases for the goggles should be provided and should be sterilized as well as the goggles before being given out Employees should not be allowed to exchange goggles unless they have been sterilized because of the danger of spreading infectious diseases Frequent inspection of goggles is necessary in order to make sure that they are in good condition in some plants a daily inspection being desirable If after all such measures have been taken employees still refuse to be careful the only alternative is discipline the penalty for not wearing goggles in hazardous occupations or places being immediate discharge or a temporary lay off without pay for a first offense Fatal Accidents in Various Countries COMPILATION of fatal accident rates in various countries including the United States in 1911 and the latest years for which data are available is contained in a report of the com mittee on public accident statistics of the National Safety Council issued in 1926 4 The following statements are taken from this report A During the year 1925 there occurred in the United States according to the estimate of the committee nearly 90 000 deaths from accidents of all kinds The significance of this heavy toll may be seen clearly when comparison is made with the figures available for other countries of the world The latest available figures for the United States which can be compared with data for other countries are those for 1924 In that year in the United States registration States there occurred 76 2 fatal accidents per 100 000 of population In England and Wales during the same year the death rate for all accidents was only 34 1 per 100 000 of population This means that fatal accidents in the United States occur nearly two and one quarter times as frequently as they do in England For Scotland the death rate for all accidents combined was 45 2 per 100 000 in 1924 and for Australia the rate in that year was 48 The latest available data for other countries relate to the years 1922 and 1923 In New Zealand the rate for fatal accidents in 1923 was 46 1 per and for Canada 56 5 per In 1922 Belgium showed a fatal accident rate of National Safety Council T he toll of public accidents Chicago INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENT EXPERIENCE 28 3 per and Norway a rate of 39 6 per These international figures show the tremendous margin which exists between the accident death rate in this country and the rates prevailing in other civilized countries of the world A comparative review of the latest available facts for the several countries is shown in the accompanying table W e show also similar data for the year 1911 An item of interest in this table is the substantial decline shown in the death rates for accidental falls burns drowning steam railroad accidents and acci dents arising out of the operation of street cars Safety campaigns in industry for the protection of life on steam railways and in the operation of street cars have shown substantial results in lowered death rates in the principal countries of the world But for automobile accidents the death rate has risen and this item in the accident record now assumes first importance In the United States the death rate for automobile accidents and injuries in 1924 was more than seven times that which prevailed in 1911 in England and Wales the automobile accident death rate of 1924 was nearly four times that for 1911 While the automobile accident death rates for the year 1911 in both the United States and England and Wales were almost the same there was a very wide divergence in 1924 in the United States the rate was 15 6 deaths per 100 000 and in England and Wales only 6 5 deaths per D E A T H R A T E S P E R 100 000 P O P U L A T IO N F O R S P E C IF IE D A C C ID E N T S IN C E R T A IN C O U N T R IE S Accidents caused b y Total acci dents Country and year United States registration States England and Wales Scotland Belgium N ew Zealand Australia Canada N orway i Includes conflagration 2 Falls Steam Burns Drown rail ings roads Auto m o biles Street cars includes scalds a Data not available Industrial Accident Experience of American Industry in 1925 HE National Safety Council in a report on industrial accident experience for 1925 Nationial Safety News October 1926 has for the first time attempted to compute accident rates for American industry as a whole The computations are based on the statistical tabulations compiled by the industrial sections of the council with the exception of the cement and the mining industries T 252 INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS for which statistics furnished by the Portland Cement Association and the United States Bureau of Mines respectively have been used The reports which cover 1 231 establishments or locations show an average frequency rate of 30 60 per hours worked and an average severity rate amounting to 2 02 days lost per 1 000 hours worked Since the majority of the companies for which data were secured are more or less actively engaged in accident prevention it can be assumed however that the rates for the United States as a whole are somewhat higher It is impossible to make a fair com parison between the various industrial groups because of varying occupational risks but it is of interest to note that in the textile section 35 251 employees worked hours with only 1 acci dental death The detailed record sheets of the council show that accident fre quency and severity rates have been reduced through the organized safety work in different industries This reduction is considered to be due to a considerable extent to the fact that employees have been impressed with the importance of reporting minor injuries promptly the installation of adequate first aid facilities and the cooperation of industrial physicians The report stresses the importance of a uniform method of keeping plant records and also of making yearly reports in order that the statistics may more accurately represent the accident experience of each industry The following table shows the accident experience of companies in 13 principal industries throughout the country for the year 1925 I N D U S T R IA L A C C I D E N T E X P E R IE N C E IN A M E R IC A N IN D U S T R Y IN 1925 Num ber of cases of Num ber of estab lish ments or loca tions Total number of em ployees Autom otive Cem ent Chemical Construction M etals M ining Packers and tanners Paper and pulp Petroleum Q u a rry R ubber Textile W oodw orking T o t a l Industry 3 Total hours worked Death Perma Tem nent porary disa disa bility bility 1 N ot available 2 This total is reported to be correct figures for details were not given in every case 3 N ot including 3 industries Total INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENT PREVENTION CONFERENCE 253 I N D U S T R IA L A C C I D E N T E X P E R IE N C E IN A M E R I C A N IN D U S T R Y IN 1925 Continued N um ber of days lost on account of Industry Death Perma nent disa bility Tem po rary disa bility Total Fre quency rates per hours expo sure Severity rates per 1 000 hours expo sure A utom otive Cement C h em ica l Construction M etals M in in g Packers and tanners Paper and pulp Petroleum Quarry R u b ber Textile W oodworking l T o t a l N ot available This total is reported to be correct figures for details were not given in every case Industrial Accident Prevention Conference Washington D C HE industrial accident prevention conference held in Washing ton D C July 14 16 was called by the United States Secretary of Labor for the purpose of developing more effective coopera tion among different organizations interested in accident prevention Approximately 270 delegates were present from 33 States the District of Columbia Canada and Argentina including State officials having to do with accident prevention and reporting and representatives of safety organizations of the large casualty insurance companies and of industrial enterprises which have led in the development of the safety movement The general subject of the conference was the value of statistics for accident prevention and its purpose was the formulation of a program by which uniform and comparable acci dent statistics could be collected and compiled on a national scale The imperative need in any accident prevention program which was stressed by the Secretary of Labor in his address and by many of the other speakers is a knowledge of the full extent of the accident problem This he believes can be secured through the establishment of a safety division in the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics which would cooperate with other agencies in bringing together com plete accident statistics regarding industries not now covered and which would provide for the prompt publication of accident data and the transmission of these data to American industry The value of a national museum of safety to be located in Washington as an adjunct of the Bureau of Labor Statistics was also pointed out by the Secretary of Labor In summing up the purposes for which the conference was called Ethelbert Stewart United States Commissioner of Labor Statistics stated that all the Bureau of Labor Statistics desires to do is to serve T 254 INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS as a clearing house for the information the States are gathering the most important consideration being the furnishing of these reports so that the accident rates can be computed on a man hour or day basis Resolutions passed by the conference recommended a unified standard system of reporting and distributing information and the enactment by the different States of such legislation as shall be nec essary to provide for reports by employers which will allow the compilation of accident frequency and severity rates Rock Dust as a Preventive of Coal Dust Explosions HE use of rock dust in coal mines to prevent or limit coal dust explosions has been advocated by the United States Bureau of Mines since its establishment in 1910 although at first it was suggested only as an alternative to watering Much experi mental work has been necessary to determine the relative expansi bility of different kinds of coal the best kinds of rock to use for dusting the amount of rock dust necessary to extinguish an explo sion and the best methods of dusting A recent study5 of the meth ods and costs of rock dusting coal mines published by the Carnegie Institute of Technology contains a summary of the principal facts regarding coal dust explosions established by this and earlier investigations Prior to 1924 the report states no companies had done any real rock dusting and only a few roek dust barriers had been erected The long series of tests conducted by the Bureau of Mines have deter mined however the best methods of application of rock dust to secure the greatest efficiency and considerable progress has been made in the past two years in rock dusting In September 1925 it was reported that 102 companies in 12 States had instituted rock dusting in 211 mines 6 while the rock dusting of a number of mines by other companies was contemplated These companies produced approximately 11 per cent of the tonnage reported by all bituminous mines in the United States in 1924 In July 1924 the State Industrial Commission of Utah adopted regulations making rock dusting compulsory following the disas trous explosion at the Castlegate mine in that State The move ment has also been accelerated by the fact that in many States addi tional credit for rock dusting has been allowed by the compensationrating bureaus The Bureau of Mines tests have shown that it is necessary to cover the ribs roof and floor with sufficient rock dust to render the coal dust inert to explosibility As proof of the efficacy of rock dusting one of the most recent cases in which an explosion was stopped when it reached the rock dust barriers is cited in the report T 5 C arn egie I n s titu te o f T e ch n o lo g y M ethod s and co sts o f r o c k d u s tin g b itu m in ou s co a l m in es by C W O w in gs a n d C H D odge P ittsb u rg h T h e A m erica n A ss o cia tio n f o r L a b or L eg isla tion has kept a re c o rd d u rin g th e p a st th ree a n d a h a l f yea rs o f co a l com panies u sin g rock d u st t o p re v e n t co a l d u s t e x p lo sion s I t is rep orted in th e A m erica n L a b or L eg is la tion R eview June 1926 p th a t on M a y com p a n ies in 16 S tates a n d in C an ad a h a d equipped o n e o r m ore o f th e ir m in es w it h th e rock d u st sa feg u a rd o r h a d begun t o in s ta ll it e o c k d u s t a s a p r e v e n t iv e o f coal d u s t EXPLOSIONS 255 This explosion occurred in a mine of the West Kentucky Coal Co in June 1925 A miner drilled into a strong gas feeder in an entry which had not yet been rock dusted The gas was ignited by his open flame cap lamp and an explosion followed which killed the 17 men in the entry The explosion was stopped however when it reached the rock dusted entries and the lives of about 130 men work ing in other parts of the mine were saved There have been numer ous other instances both in this country and in Europe in which explosions have been stopped or limited by rock dust though this is one of the most recent and the most definite Coal dust explosions are caused by the rapid burning of coaldust particles suspended in air The degree of explosibility is di rectly affected by the size and quantity o f coal dust present and the ease with which the coal dust is raised in a dense cloud Dry pulver ized dust is the most explosive as it is easily raised to form a cloud and contains a maximum amount of particles and surface Tests at the Pittsburgh Experiment Station have shown that 0 0312 ounce of pure 200 mesh Pittsburgh coal dust per cubic foot of entry would propagate flame if ignited There is usually a large excess of coal dust present in mines but before an explosion can occur there must be an advance wave sufficiently strong to produce a dust cloud and the more thoroughly the dust and air are mixed the greater will be the force of the explosion This factor is frequently overlooked especially if an explosion originates in rooms or near an area where the pressure is reduced by passing into wide spaces An explosion may die out therefore through failure of the dust to be thrown into the air in a sufficiently dense cloud to propagate the explosion But this fact is often disregarded and credit given to the absence of coal dust or to efficient sprinkling when the absence of a dust cloud is the real cause of the explosion being stopped Limiting or preventing coal dust explosions involves the preven tion both of heat being carried from one particle of the combustible material to another and of the formation of a dense cloud The most efficient means of preventing the first condition has been found to be the use of rock dust The fine rock dust particles blown into the air by the advance wave of an explosion surround the coal dust and insulate it and also by cooling the mixture of air and dust below the ignition point of the coal extinguish the flame This condition obtains if the rock dust is dry which is usually the case during the winter months During the summer particularly in the shallow mines both the coal dust and rock dust may become damp and in that case the dust will not rise into suspension so that an incipient explosion will be stopped by the lack of material upon which to feed The use of water at the face where the most coal dust is made is of great value as a measure supplementary to the use of rock dust and the use of water on the cutter bar of mining machines which is being done by several companies is advocated in the report The coal shot down by the miner should also be wet thoroughly before loading and all loaded cars should be wet before leaving the work ing face An automatic sprinkler installed at the parting to wet the top of loaded cars and another located near the tipple or shaft to wet the empty cars before they are returned into the mine further reduce the amount of coal dust usually carried through the mine 256 INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS These precautionary measures the report states have been used successfully in Alabama and in several of the Western States In addition to the efficiency of rock dust in limiting explosions it has the advantage that it readily reflects light and increases the illumination As coal absorbs 90 per cent of the light the re flected light given by rock dust reduces the number of accidents due to poor illumination and the number of haulage accidents will be decreased especially where the roof has fallen on the track as the dark mass will show against the white background or where the roof is weak and cracks the rock dust immediately directs attention to the crack Rock dust because of its incombustible character may also be utilized in fighting mine fires and one case is reported in which a fire was extinguished by it In this fire rock dust taken from the V trough barriers was thrown toward the fire the dust cloud effec tively cooling the air so that the men steadily advanced until the fire was reached when the rock dust was thrown on the burning coal This smothered the flame and cooled the burning mass so that it could be loaded into mine cars and carried outside Development of National Safety Codes NE of the most significant accident prevention developments of recent years has been the movement to formulate safety codes for various industries of such authority that they might be accepted as definitive by the various States as well as by the indus tries themselves The Bureau of Labor Statistics has contributed to this develop ment in the following ways 1 a The Commissioner of Labor Statistics has represented the Department of Labor on the American Engineering Standards Committee and b Has been a member of the safety code correlating committee on behalf of the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions 2 A member of the bureau staff has had a consulting relation to all the codes and has participated in the formulation of 12 codes which have been approved or are nearly ready for approval 3 The bureau has printed and widely distributed the approved codes Before outlining the steps by which the safety code program reached its present status it is desirable to explain the origin and purposes of the American Engineering Standards Committee Five national engineering societies namely the American Society of Mechanical Engineers the American Society of Civil Engineers the American Institute of Mining Engineers the American Institute of Electrical Engineers and the American Society for Testing Ma terial had each been doing a considerable amount of standardizing in the interest of safety A notable instance was the Boiler Code of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers While most of this work was done by single societies in their own particular field there O DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONAL SAFETY CODES 257 were constant instances of overlapping and disagreement To avoid this and bring to bear on the problems needing solution the com bined knowledge of the entire group of societies these five engineer ing societies agreed to form a body the American Engineering Standards Committee composed of representatives of each of the five societies which should serve as a clearing house for standardiza tion projects It was determined that this American Engineering Standards Committee should not itself undertake the production of standards but should supervise the procedure and place the stamp of its ap proval on the standards when satisfactorily completed The later modifications of the original plan made to accommodate the safety code program are indicated below When the United States entered the World War there was an immediate and intense speeding up of the manufacturing operations carried on in the navy yards and arsenals This was iaccompanied by increased casualty In view of the situation Mr Lew R Palmer then president of the National Safety Council suggested a survey of these establishments for the purpose of determining what could be done to safeguard the workers The survey was conducted by some 40 safety men under the general supervision of Mr Arthur H x oung As a result a considerable number of changes were suggested and carried out Safety directors were engaged for the several Govern ment plants and a series of safety codes were prepared Much of the work of preparing these codes was done iat the Bureau of Standards Dr E B Rosa then chief physicist became inter ested and was instrumental in bringing together on January at the Bureau of Standards a representative conference After full discussion it was decided to put the question of the plan to be fol lowed to letter ballot The plan apparently favored by the confer ence was that the codes should be developed under the procedure of the American Engineering Standards Committee provided that committee would modify its constitution in such a way as to admit to membership other national organizations besides the five engineer ing societies which were the original members Later the constitution was amended and other organizations ad mitted making the present membership 35 national bodies At a second conference in December 1919 three organizations namely the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions the National Safety Council and the United States Bureau of Standards were empowered to designate the members of what was at first called the national safety code committee and later the safety code correlating committee This committee assembled immediately after the conference and drew up a list of codes thought to be of immediate importance This list contained some 36 titles but was subsequently enlarged to more than 40 The steps in developing a national safety code may be summarized as follows 1 A national conference or some national organization indorses the proposition as desirable and suggests a sponsor or sponsors 2 The scope of the code is determined 3 The sponsor organizes a sectional committees 258 INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS 4 Sponsor reports personnel of sectional committee to American Engineering Standards Committee 5 American Engineering Standards Committee transmits report to special committee which considers the representative character of proposed sectional committee 6 Special committee returns list of sectional committee with ap proval or suggestions for modification 7 American Engineering Standards Committee approves sectional committee 8 Sectional committee formulates code 9 When completed the committee takes a letter ballot and reports results to sponsor 10 Sponsor transmits code to American Engineering Standards Committee and asks approval as Recommended American Prac tice or as American Standard 11 American Engineering Standards Committee approves code This is a rather tedious process but is necessary to insure that all persons interested should have an opportunity to express them selves Of the upward of 40 codes projected some 17 have reached the point of approval These codes while not adopted unchanged in many States have had a large influence in determining the form and content of the rules adopted by those States which have prepared codes At the present time there is under way a project closely connected with this program of safety codes For a number of years the com mittee on statistics and insurance cost of the International Associa tion of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions devoted much time and energy to the preparation of directions for the treatment of statistical data regarding industrial accidents The results of this labor were published as Bulletin 276 of the Bureau of Labor Statistics These standard methods have been employed by the bureau in its accident studies and have also been used by the sections of the National Safety Council It now seems desirable to review the standards to determine whether they need modification to adapt them to present conditions and to fit them for more general use A sectional committee of American Engineering Standards Com mittee is now in process of formation and will proceed to the con sideration of the statistical standards as promptly as possible INDUSTRIAL DISEASES AND POISONS 259 Recent Studies of Industrial Diseases and Poisons HE work of the Bureau of Labor Statistics on the subject of industrial health has included a number of studies of special hazards connected with industrial processes and of the effects of poisonous substances used in different industries These have been published as separate bulletins or in the Labor Review During recent months four such bulletins have been issued Hygienic condi tions in the printing trades Bui No 392 Phosphorus necrosis in the manufacture of fireworks and in the preparation of phos phorus Bui No 405 Deaths from lead poisoning Bui No 426 and Health survey oi the printing trades 1922 to 1925 Bui No 427 In addition to these original studies developments in the field of industrial health are followed in the Labor Review in which are published from month to month digests of investigations by scientific organizations such as the United States Public Health Service ana of articles appearing in the various medical and scientific journals So many requests are received by the bureau for information on these subjects that summaries have been prepared and are given below of what appear to be the more important articles and bulletins thus published by the bureau of such recent date that their contents have not yet been incorporated in standard textbooks and publications T Abrasive Industry Dust Hazard in the Manufacture of Artificial Abrasive Wheels1 T H E results of a study of the effect of the inhalation of dust from A artificial abrasive wheels were given in the Journal of Industrial Hygiene for August 1925 The use of artificial abrasives in industry has increased to such an extent in the past 10 years that the natural sandstone wheel which is known to cause silicosis is now used only in the manufacture of cutlery and axes and even in these industries is being gradually replaced by the artificial abrasive wheel The extent oi the use of artificial abrasives is shown by the fact that in an average year about pounds of artificial grinding wheels are produced in this country The artificial abrasives most used are aluminium oxide and silicon carbide each having hard tough crystals which when divided are wedge shaped in form and have a cutting power almost as great as that of a diamond Reference is made by the writers to a study of the dust hazard in the abrasive industry made in 1919 by Winslow Greenburg and Greenburg in which it was found that the inorganic dust in the air of abrasive factories included coke crude aluminium hydroxide 1 J ou rn a l o f In d u s tria l H yg ien e A u gu st T h e d u st h a zard in th e abrasive in d u s try b y W Irv in g C lark M D a n d E d w a rd B Sim m ons M D STUDIES OF INDUSTRIAL DISEASES AND POISONS a fused aluminium compound aloxite or alundum and carbor undum silicon carbide The last two materials are extremely hard and both possess the property of fracturing in very irregular particles and there is every reason to suspect that such dusts would be very deleterious to health The present study which is clinical in character represents 14 years experience in the largest single abrasive and grinding wheel factory in the world The average number of employees during this period has been 2 100 about one fifth of whom have been exposed to the inhalation of large quantities of dust The departments in which the processes are very dusty are the abrasive department where the lumps of abrasive are crushed into grains and sized the shaving department where the dry wheels still in clay form are shaped on a special type of potter s wheel the truing department where the vitrified wheels are cut to exact size on spe cially constructed lathes and the clay department which is the dustiest of all where the clays which make up the bond in the wheels are weighed and mixed In all these departments very complete dust removal systems have been in operation for years the amount of dust so collected daily being at present 12 000 pounds Complete physical examinations are given all applicants for em ployment and employees working in dusty departments are re examined as frequently as seems necessary After 10 years exposure to the inhalation of dust employees are examined annually In addition the factory health department studies their working con ditions and every effort is made to reduce the dust hazard The majority of the employees in the dusty departments are of Swedish descent and the next largest group is Italian Physical examinations and X ray pictures of the chests of 79 men employed 10 years or more in the dusty departments showed that there were signs of silicosis in only one case and this was in the incipient stage This worker was employed in the clay plant where there was no artificial abrasive dust but where an analysis o f the clay showed that it contained 9 per cent of pure silica in the form of feldspar so that this was probably a case of true early silicosis The pictures of the lungs of the workers exposed to artificial abrasive dust did not show any typical signs of silicosis although in four cases there was evidence that the lungs were working hard to keep themselves clear of dust The specialist who examined the pictures considered that if these were the lungs of granite workers they would represent a perfectly safe risk for an indefinite period and it was also his opinion that none of the men with the exception of the man exposed to clay dust would develop active symptoms of pneumoconiosis X ray pictures of the chests of seven men at two plants of the company where the crude artificial abrasive is made who had been exposed to the dust for periods of from 5y2 to 18 years showed no evidence of the presence of dust disease An analysis of the causes of all the deaths reported by the benefit association since 1892 showed that 6 per cent were due to pul monary tuberculosis the rate for the city as a whole was 5 per cent As babies and very young children were included in the latter figure however it seems that there is probably little difference in the ARSENIC TRICHLORIDE 263 death rates for the two groups During the past 10 years 31 cases of pulmonary tuberculosis had occurred among the employees Twenty cases occurred in the nondusty departments where there was an average of 1 868 employees and 11 in the dusty departments where the number of employees averaged 332 While the percentage of cases was slightly higher in the dusty departments the risk does not seem to be great as the percentage of the total force developing tuberculosis each year during the 10 year period was only 0 014 per cent The following conclusions are reached by the writers as a result of the 14 years observation and of the data presented in the paper 1 In factories which provide proper methods of dust removal the continuous inhalation of artificial abrasive dust extending over many years does not pro duce the symptoms or present the X ray findings of pneumoconiosis 2 The number of cases of pulmonary tuberculosis occurring in the artificial abrasive industry does not greatly exceed the number normally present in the community 3 Workers who habitually use grinding wheels will run but slight risk of developing pneumoconiosis if they use artificial abrasive rather than sand stone wheels for all grinding operations and if the machines upon which the artificial abrasive wheels are mounted are properly hooded and excessive dust removed by suction fans Anthrax Cases in Various Industries GTATISTICS on anthrax morbidity and mortality in the United States compiled by a committee appointed by the American Public Health Association were published in the American Journal of Public Health New York City January 1926 The study shows that State reports in regard to the number of anthrax cases are in many instances very incomplete and very few States are able to give definite information as to source of infection More or less complete reports from 34 States show that during the period from 1919 to September there were 632 anthrax cases with 177 deaths Of these cases 147 occurred in the leather industry 17 in the wool industry 40 in the hair and brush industry 68 came from animal contact 49 from shaving brushes and for 311 the cause was not stated The reports indicate that anthrax is indigenous in a number of areas in the United States and that the time may come when we shall be obliged to consider as suspicious and needing disinfection all hides skins hair and wool from certain districts in the United States as we do now from many foreign countries Tannery anthrax appears to fluctuate with changes in industrial conditions but shows no indication of decreasing At present practically all industrial anthrax is due to handling foreign raw materials Arsenic Trichloride Effects of Exposure on Workers T H E results of a study of the conditions under which arsenic trichloride is manufactured and of the hazards to which the workmen are exposed were published in the Journal of Industrial Hygiene Boston December 1922 and January 1923 The study which involved extensive laboratory research and factory investiga tion dealt with the local caustic action of arsenic trichloride the 264 STUDIES OF INDUSTRIAL DISEASES AND POISONS absorption of the poison through the skin the results of inhaling its vapor and measures for avoiding risks to the workers The particular circumstance leading to this study occurred in England during the war when a workman employed upon the com mercial production of arsenic trichloride died following the acci dental spilling of some of this fluid over his right leg A post mortal examination revealed a large amount of arsenic indicating that a soluble form of it had been freely distributed through the body probably by the blood and lymph The presence of a considerable amount m the lungs which can not be explained in the same way indicates that shortly before death the patient had inhaled air laden with arsenic It was impossible to determine how much was absorbed through the skin although the patient s death was due to acute arsenicism The general condition of the organs however indicated that those engaged in the same work were exposed to very material danger even in the absence of a similar accident Commercial arsenic trichloride which is formed by distilling a mixture of arsenic trioxide with sulphuric acid and sodium chloride is an oily very mobile fluid which emits fumes and evaporates very rapidly when exposed to air It is highly poisonous and has wellknown caustic properties Animal experiments proved that the arsenic is absorbed by the tissues and is widely distributed throughout the body in a very short time When it is applied to the skin it kills the tissues very rapidly this action being somewhat retarded by washing the part affected within one minute of the time of application although the final result is not affected Within a few hours after such applica tion arsenic can be recovered from most of the tissues or organs of the body there being a tendency to accumulation in such organs as the brain liver and kidneys Inhalation of 1 part of arsenic trichloride to 40 000 parts of air killed mice in 5 minutes while an air stream which distributed the mixture unequally affected the animals variously some dying after a few hours while others ap peared to recover completely All the animals which died from the effects of the inhalation gave marked evidence of respiratory affection Experiments in regard to the evaporation of arsenic trichloride showed that it is very diffusible and enters readily into various com binations forming visible particles where the air contains moisture There is also evidence that when the air is unsaturated with water there are invisible vapors present The study of actual factory conditions was made in a plant in which the retorts and condensers were housed in a shed open on all sides The openings through which the retorts were filled were located on a long upper platform and slightly below this was an other platform on which arsenic trioxide and chloride o f sodium were mixed The retorts and furnaces were located below the upper platform and a conduit leading from the bottom of each retort carried the residue from the retort to trucks A large tank was used for storing the arsenic trichloride aad close to this tank there were rows of iron drums filled witk theafsenie trichloride which were ready for shipping BENZOL POISONING 265 The salt and the arsenic trioxide were mixed just before being shoveled into the retorts each of the men wearing a handkerchief over the mouth and nose to protect himself from the dust Irritating fumes escaped in considerable amounts from various places about the retorts Test plates were placed in different positions and at various distances from the retorts The deposits on the plates showed that a material amount of arsenic could be obtained from the air near any of the retorts Experiments as to protective measures showed that special ventilating arrangements are needed to remove fumes which arise when arsenic trichloride is necessarily exposed to the air in the filling of drums or the sampling of their contents Air containing fumes so removed could be purified by a fine water spray before being discharged in the atmosphere All persons employed on this work should wear some impervious general clothing and only expe rience can show whether they should not also wear suitable gas masks The persons conducting the experiments were subjected to acci dental local and general exposure both in the laboratory and at the factory and the following effects which confirmed the conclusions arrived at from the experiments were noted On two occasions small necrotic lesions of the epidermis were expe rienced which resembled those obtained experimentally with animals Expo sure to fumes was followed by pharyngeal and laryngeal irritation headache giddiness nausea alternating with feelings of excessive hunger gastric irri tation abdominal discomfort pains in the thighs legs and feet and edema of the feet At the same time the urine which normally contained as a maximum 5 mg of arsenic trioxide per 100 c c was found to contain 20 mg Benzol Poisoning Final Report of National Safety Council Committee 2 T H E final report of the special committee appointed by the 1922 National Safety Congress to study the benzol problem covers the chemistry and industrial uses of benzol acute and chronic benzol poisoning the physiological effect of benzol the extent of the hazard in American industry a study of conditions in selected industries with respect to the exposure to benzol and the results of various tests showing the toxicity of benzol 3 Benzol or benzene C6 6 is a colorless liquid obtained from the H distillation of coal tar and from the strippings of coke oven gas Benzol was discovered in 1825 and in 1869 a process for recovering it from illuminating gas was patented It did not play a really im portant part in industry however until it began to be produced from coke oven gas between 1884 and 1887 The commercial uses of benzol grew steadily from 1890 to 1915 and the large production of benzol during the war in connection with the manufacture of explosives led to a rapid broadening of the field for the industrial uses of this substance Benzol is highly insoluble in water and slightly soluble in alcohol but can be completely mixed with ether acetic acid carbon disul 2 N a tion a l S a fe ty C ou n cil C hem ical a n d R u b ber S ection s C om m ittee o n B enzol F in a l rep ort C h ic a g o N a tion a l B ureau o f C asu a lty a n d S u re ty U n d erw riters M ay See L a b o r R ev iew M a y 1924 f o r th e firs t re p o rt o f th is com m ittee 266 STUDIES OF INDUSTRIAL DISEASES AND POISONS phide and a large number of organic substances There are a num ber of substances known commercially as benzol some of which con tain benzene while others do not All of course should be clearly distinguished from benzine which is a petroleum product There are two very distinct types of processes involved in the use of benzol in industry In the first which includes such industries as the production of benzol through the distillation of coal and coal tar the blending of motor fuels and the chemical industries includ ing oil extraction dye and dye intermediates and the manufacture of paints varnishes and stains and paint and varnish removers benzol is used in large quantities but because of the amounts used it is necessary that it be kept in a closed pipe line system since any openings represent a loss of valuable vapors and a corresponding financial loss The second group of processes involves the use of benzol as a solvent or vehicle and as a part of the process it must be removed so as to leave the originally dissolved substances in place The industries in which it is used in this manner are the rubber in dustry the artificial leather industry manufacture of sanitary cans in dry cleaning and in the handling of paints varnishes and stains The benzol is removed through evaporation and in most cases this is done in the cold but the compound may be warmed in which case the benzol is naturally removed with greater rapidity Poisonous Effects of Benzol D ENZOL is ordinarily introduced into the body through the inhalation of its fumes It exerts three more or less distinct toxic effects It acts as an anesthetic or narcotic leading to dizziness faint ness and coma or death it acts as a nerve irritant producing char acteristic spasmodic movements with actual damage to nerve tissue which may result in coma and death and it possesses a definite and destructive power for the blood cells and the organs which produce them Like many other toxic substances used in industry benzol may produce either acute or chronic poisoning depending upon whether the exposure is brief and intense or moderate and prolonged Acute Benzol Poisoning Acute poisoning is usually caused either by the sudden discharge of vapors through the failure to regulate a condensing apparatus or through a leak in the piping or by the entrance of workmen into tanks or other confined places where benzol has been stored or used The symptoms of acute poisoning are dizziness faintness and drow siness culminating in unconsciousness and coma pallor of the face and blueness of the lips and finger tips feeble and rapid pulse breathlessness and a feeling of constriction in the chest which may end in immediate death from respiratory paralysis visual disturb ances tremors and convulsions and occasionally mania or delirium hemorrhages into the tissues causing red spots on the skin and in ternal surfaces and if the substance has been swallowed symptoms of acute gastrointestinal irritation Death may result within a few minutes after the exposure or the patient may apparently recover BENZOL POISONING 267 and then die several days later There seems to be decided varia tion in individual susceptibility and the effects of the fumes appear to be increased by vigorous muscular exertion as a man rendered unconscious by benzol vapors may recover while those overcome while rescuing him may die The treatment of acute benzol poison ing requires first of all prompt restoration of the respiratory func tion through artificial respiration Chronic Benzol Poisoning Chronic benzol poisoning is most liable to occur in the group of industries in which benzol is used as a solvent and is evaporated into the air of the workroom resulting in continuous or repeated exposure to the fumes As the fumes are in concentrations too low to produce marked nar cotic effects the condition is much more obscure and the cause is more likely to be overlooked The more common symptoms of chronic poisoning are general systemic disturbance resulting in head ache dizziness weakness loss of appetite and loss in weight pallor which is shown by blood examination to be true anemia marked reduction in white blood cells as shown by microscopical examina tion bleeding from mucous membranes with purpuric spots caused by hemorrhages within the tissues sore and spongy gums and burn ing sensation in eyes and throat and shortness of breath and tight ness in the chest There may be also abdominal pains nausea and vomiting and sometimes slight tremors visual disturbances and abnormal sensitiveness to touch Rarely there are rashes and skin eruptions or convulsions and delirium I f chronic benzol poisoning is detected in it s early stages and the person removed from exposure to the fumes complete recovery usually takes place but in seve P 1 soning part of exposure has these symptoms may persist ceased and about one in five of the cases reported in the literature has ended fatally The most universal and the most characteristic effect of chronic benzol poisoning is the destructive effect on the blood and the bloodforming centers affecting first the white blood cells and later the red cells and producing a pronounced anemia The decrease in the number of white blood cells generally precedes any other symptoms and with a history of exposure to benzol the diagnosis of benzol poisoning may be made on this basis with reasonable accuracy The seriousness of this condition is also shown by the observations of a number of investigators that it greatly reduces the resistance to pneumonia and other bacterial infections Extent of the Hazard and Conditions in Factories Using Benzol r HE industries using the largest amounts of benzol were found to T be the chemical industries the can seal industry the rubber in dustries and the manufacture of artificial leather In the chemical industries however the number of employees exposed is small as the material is usually used in inclosed processes During the time the committee was carrying on the study 22 fatalities and more than 268 STUDIES OF INDUSTRIAL DISEASES AND POISONS 100 nonfatal cases of poisoning were reported in various types of in dustries showing that the hazard is a serious one and forms one of the major problems of industrial hygiene A field study was made in 12 plants to show the extent of the benzol hazard under different working conditions The majority of these were rubber factories manufacturing different kinds ox arti cles but dry cleaning sanitary can manufacture and artificial leather factories were also included The conditions under which the benzol was used and the type of exhaust ventilation were studied in the different plants visited and analyses made of the air under both sum mer and winter conditions When small amounts of benzol were used without special ventilation the average concentrations were found to vary from 100 to 1 860 parts of benzol per million parts of air while under similar conditions with large amounts of benzol in use the averages ranged from 220 to 1 800 parts per million Plants using large amounts of benzol but with inclosed systems or local exhaust ventilation had averages of only between 70 and 500 parts per million while the plant with the most efficient exhaust system had an average of only 70 parts in summer and 90 parts in winter Some of the workrooms studied however had concentrations of benzol approximating the amounts which have been found to cause acute poisoning In a compound mixing room the amount of benzol present in the air was 2 640 parts and in a dry cleaning establishment 4 140 parts It has been shown that 4 700 parts may produce con fusion in an individual in half an hour while 550 parts have been found to be associated with clinical poisoning However by the use of efficient local exhaust ventilation and the safeguarding of all the details of the processes it has been shown to be possible to use benzol in coating and mixing rooms and in sanitary can manufacture with a degree of air pollution of less than 100 parts of solvent vapors per million parts of air Extent of Early Benzol Poisoning Under Different Working Conditions A N EXAMINATION was made of workers exposed to benzol under different conditions the white blood cell count being taken as the index of early poisoning Eighty one workers were examined the test showing clear evidence of blood cell destruction in 26 or 32 per cent as indicated by a white count of 5 500 or less In 10 cases the number of white cells was below 4 000 and in 3 cases below 3 000 Examination of a control group of about 50 workers not exposed to benzol failed to show any abnormal blood condition among them Complete medical examinations were obtained in only 9 instances but of these 5 gave a history suggestive of chronic benzol poisoning with two or more of the characteristic symptoms The results of these examinations were regarded as decidedly disturbing not only because about one third gave evidence of chronic poisoning but also because the evidence of poisoning was clear in a number of cases where there was good exhaust ventilation and a small amount of air contamination The results of the tests and examinations showed therefore that the control of the benzol BENZOL POISONING 269 hazard in all except completely closed systems is extremely diffi cult that there were few systems of exhaust ventilation capable of keeping the concentration of benzol in the air of the workroom below 100 parts per million and that even when this is done there is a decreased but nevertheless a real hazard of benzol poisoning Protective Measures ETROM the evidence obtained in the investigation it appears that in the type of industries in which benzol is used in inclosed systems with proper care in the construction maintenance and operation of these systems the use of benzol can be made sufficiently safe to warrant its use Serious accidents may occur but the danger may be controlled by proper attention to safeguarding these proc esses The principal methods of protection which should be enforced in this type of industry are regular and systematic inspection of apparatus to insure against breaks or leakage thorough removal of all traces of benzol from tanks or other receptacles which have contained the substance before they are entered for cleaning or repairing and the protection of persons entering inclosed spaces which may contain benzol fumes by the use of positive pressure air helmets or hose masks all such work to be done by two or more men who are familiar with the dangers involved The danger of chronic poisoning from benzol used as a solvent may be minimized by the installation of proper safeguards and examina tion of workers at regular intervals to detect incipient poisoning In these processes exposure may be diminished by using inclosed systems wherever possible and effective local exhaust ventilation In most instances where benzol is evaporated at room temperature local exhaust ventilation with down draft is recommended but where localized heat is applied in the evaporation of the benzol the ventilation system should be provided with upward draft which should be of sufficient intensity and applied so closely to the point of origin of the evaporation as to insure the complete removal of the benzol fumes A thorough physical examination before employment and reex amination with systematic blood counts once a month thereafter is considered a necessary precaution for all workers engaged in proc esses where there is exposure to benzol fumes No worker should be employed on such a process who shows signs of organic disease of the heart lungs or kidneys hemorrhagic tendencies or anemia or any unusual blood picture Any worker should be removed from these processes who shows upon reexamination such symptoms of benzol exposure as hemorrhages from mucous membranes decrease of more than 25 per cent in either white or red blood cells or hemoglobin below 70 per cent An experimental study of the comparative toxicity of benzol and its higher homologues toluol xylol and Hiflash naphtha which was carried out on animals showed that although the narcotic effects of the latter group of solvents are greater than that of benzol they are almost without effect on the central nervous system or on the bloodforming organs both of which are seriously damaged by benzol 270 STUDIES OF INDUSTRIAL DISEASES AND POISONS As the boiling points of toluol and xylol are relatively high they would never be present in concentrations of over 1 000 parts except as the result of some temporary accident and in this case their irri tant action would serve as an immediate and automatically effective danger signal The laboratory investigations show therefore that the higher homologues of benzene are relatively harmless and the committee urges that manufacturers give serious attention to the possibility of substituting one of these substances in the place of benzol wherever the conditions of the manufacturing process make it possible to do so Brass Foundries Health Hazards A STUDY o f the health hazards of the brass foundry trade by the United States Public Health Service included field investi gations covering 22 foundries both large and small establishments and laboratory experiments of the effects upon animals of the inhalation and ingestion of zinc oxide The 22 plants visited in the course of the investigation employed approximately 340 men The foundries were of both modern and old fashioned construction and the working conditions were con sidered typical of the trade generally at the present time The metals used in making brass castings are an alloy of copper and zinc in varying proportions with sometimes other metals such as phosphorus copper manganese lead tin iron aluminum and anti mony depending upon the type of casting to be produced The principal hazards present were found to be exposure to dust inadequate illumination and glare poor ventilation the presence of fumes gases smoke heat cold and dampness and in some instances unsatisfactory personal service facilities The dust hazard in the foundry rooms comes mainly from sand during its preparation for molding and in knocking out the castings while a considerable quantity of dry sand accumulates on the floor and is stirred up by the men s feet The metallic dusts present in the foundry rooms consist usually of cadmium oxide copper man ganese iron antimony tin and lead and are formed during the melting casting and cleaning processes Zinc oxide which is always present in the air of foundries but is present in enormous quanti ties during the casting is particularly important in its effect upon the workmen There are also the parting dusts which are trade products and contain either singly or in combination such sub stances as ground bone lycopodium flour sand fuller s earth graphite and lampblack These dusts are sifted over the surfaces of the molds and are inhaled to some extent by the workers during the sifting It was the general impression among th workers that the parting dusts were harmful and it was claimed that they caused an irritation of the nose and throat resulting in a hacking cough An analysis of the dust in air samples obtained from several foundries showed that in the rooms in three foundries where there was an appreciable amount of zinc dust from 33 to 64 per cent of 4 United States Public Health Service Public Health Bulletin No 157 Health hazards of brass founders by Dr John A Turner and Dr L R Thompson Washington HEALTH HAZARDS IK BRASS FOUNDRIES 271 the men had been affected at various times by the zinc while in one case all the men examined gave histories of frequent attacks of zinc intoxication During the melting and pouring of the alloy in the molding room of a foundry dense white clouds composed chiefly of zinc oxide escape from the crucibles and ladles These fumes which rise first to the ceiling spread through the room unless sufficient exit is pro vided for them at the top of the room In bad weather the increased water saturation of the air also interferes to some extent with the escape of the fumes from the room In the cleaning department the dust to which the workers are exposed is chiefly siliceous in character Sand blasting is an ex tremely dusty process and workers can not remain at this work for more than a year or two without serious detriment to health unless the work is done in an inclosed sand blasting chamber Chipping the rough and uneven surfaces of castings exposes the worker to injury from metallic particles which are too large to be classed as dust but which may be injurious especially to the eyes while in grinding workers are exposed to both siliceous and metallic dust as well as to particles from the grinding wheels In the foundries studied physical examinations were made of 212 workers of whom 102 were exposed to zinc oxide during the melting and pouring of brass and had suffered from brass foundry men s ague 68 had been exposed but were not affected and 42 had not been exposed The workers who gave histories of zinc oxide poisoning were shown to be in somewhat poorer physical condition than those who were exposed to the fumes but not affected by them but on account of the small number of workers examined it was not possible definitely to relate these conditions to their exposure to zinc Of the 102 men giving a history of attacks of the ague 26 per cent had an average of one attack a week 11 per cent had two a week and 2 per cent three a week while the frequency of the attacks varied in the remainder from an average of one per month to one or two a year The majority stated that the attacks occurred only during the winter months and that in inclement weather an attack was almost certain while symptoms were generally said to be milder during the summer than during the winter months An appreciable degree of toleration that is less severe symptoms was said to have been developed by 18 per cent of the men O f 84 men reporting on the length of employment before ill effects of the zinc oxide were produced 25 per cent reported that the first symptoms occurred within periods varying from one day to less than one month 25 per cent from one month to less than three months 6 per cent from three months to less than six months 5 per cent from six months to one year 14 per cent from one to two years and the remainder from two to five years Those men who had been employed for years without experiencing any ill effects considered that their escape was due to the good ventilation in the shops in which they were employed as well as to acquired immunity Premonitory symptoms of the attacks were experienced by 75 per cent of the men either in the middle of the afternoon upon leaving work and coming in contact 272 STUDIES OF INDUSTRIAL DISEASES AND POISONS with the cold outside air or later in the evening In the majority of cases no disabling effects were present the day following the attack The premonitory symptoms are a general feeling of illness followed by a chilly sensation and sometimes accompanied by a stiffening of the back and arms Other symptoms frequently present are dull headache metallic taste irritation of the throat coughing burning of the eyes and thirst After the development of the premonitory symptoms the chilly sensation may develop into a severe chill after which there is a fever with more or less profuse sweating the other symptoms gradually subsiding Sixty six of the men reported that they felt no ill effects on the morning following the attack while the remaining 36 stated that the effects lasted part or all of the following day Supplementing this study in brass foundries 19 workers who were exposed to zinc oxide dust in a zinc oxide plant were examined Twelve of these men gave a history of oxide chills the similarity in the symptoms and the severity of the attacks being so constant in all stages that there seemed to be no question that the basic causative factor was the same in both industries The symptoms among brassfoundry men however were present only in acute attacks while among the oxide workers they were fairly constant due to the fact that the oxide workers work in an atmosphere heavily laden with the oxide dust Carbon Monoxide Physiological Effects of Low Concentrations A CONTINUATION of the study by Dr Yandell Henderson and his coworkers on the effect of low concentrations of carbon monoxide for short periods under normal air conditions which was carried out for the New York and New Jersey Tunnel Commis sions was made by officials of the Public Health Service and the Bureau of Mines 5 The correctness of the findings of Doctor Hen derson which resulted in the recommendation that the Hudson vehicular tunnel should be so ventilated that persons passing through should not be exposed for a longer period than 45 minutes to more than 4 parts of carbon monoxide in 10 000 parts of air was confirmed by the subsequent study In these latest experiments which were carried out at the Pittsburgh Experiment Station in a specially con structed gas tight room the effect of long exposure the effect of strenuous exercise and the effect of high temperature and humidity in low concentrations of carbon monoxide were studied The tests showed that with the subject at rest exposure for 6 hours to 2 parts of carbon monoxide in 10 000 parts o f air caused saturation of 16 to 20 per cent of the hemoglobin of the blood with very mild subjective symptoms and no noticeable aftereffects Ex posure to 3 parts of carbon monoxide caused saturation of 22 to 24 per cent in 4 hours and 26 to 27 per cent after 5 hours while the symptoms and aftereffects were moderate after 5 hours exposure The exposure to 4 parts of carbon monoxide caused a saturation of 15 to 19 per cent of the hemoglobin with carbon monoxide at the end 5 United States Public Health Service Physiological effects of exposure to low con centrations of carbon monoxide by R R Sayers F V Meriwether and W P Yant Reprint No 748 from Public Health Reports May CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING 273 of 1 hour and 21 to 28 per cent at the end of 2 hours with moderate to marked aftereffects With the subject exercising strenuously for 1 hour exposures with from 2y2 to 4 parts of carbon monoxide showed mild to moderate symptoms of poisoning and aftereffects while with the subject at rest but with temperature and humidity high exposure for one hour to 3 1 parts of carbon monoxide gave a 16 per cent saturation of the hemoglobin mild symptoms of poisoning and mild to moderate aftereffects The conclusions drawn from the study are summarized as follows 1 The combination of CO with hemoglobin takes place slowly when the sub ject is exposed to low concentrations and remains at rest many hours being required before equilibrium is reached 2 The rate of combination of CO with hemoglobin takes place much more rapidly during the first hour of exposure than during any succeeding hour with the subject remaining at rest 3 Strenuous exercise causes much more rapid combination of CO with hemo globin than when the subject remains at rest The symptoms of CO poisoning are emphasized by exercise 4 High temperature and humidity with a given concentration of CO cause more rapid combination of CO with hemoglobin than do normal conditions of temperature and humidity All symptoms and effects described in this paper are called acute in charac ter None of the subjects has shown any permanent deleterious effects from the exposure to CO Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Diagnosis REPORT of the Bureau of Mines Serial No in addition to reviewing the results of much of the investigative work re lating to carbon monoxide poisoning 6 gives a list of symptoms caused by various percentages of carbon monoxide in the blood and announces the development by scientists of the bureau of a method and an apparatus for testing the blood for carbon monoxide hemo globin The general symptoms of poisoning from carbon monoxide which are divided into two stages and the predominating symptoms which accompany the various percentages of blood saturation are given as follows S ta g e 1 Tightness across forehead dilatation of cutaneous vessels headache frontal and basal throbbing in temples weariness weakness dizziness nausea and vomiting loss of strength and muscular control increased pulse and res piration rates collapse All of these are greatly increased and accelerated with exercise on account of the additional need of oxygen in the tissues Men at rest have often been exposed to carbon monoxide all day without noticing any marked ill effects but on walking home or exercising have experienced severe symptoms even to unconsciousness It is seldom that all of these symptoms are experienced by the same indi vidual Also in some cases the poisoning may proceed to the stage of syncope without the victim feeling any of these symptoms this frequently occurring if the poisoning has been rapid S tage 2 Increased pulse and respiration fall of blood pressure loss of muscular control especially sphincters loss of reflexes coma usually with intermittent convulsions Cheyne Stokes respiration slowing of pulse respira tion slow and shallow cessation of respiration death 6 See Labor Review August 1917 pp 76 78 February 1919 pp Novem ber 1919 pp February 1922 pp March 1922 pp December 1922 pp 274 STUDIES OF INDUSTRIAL DISEASES AND POISONS SYM PTOM S CAUSED B Y VARIOUS PERCENTAGES OF CARBON MONOXIDE IN T H E BLOOD Percentage of blood saturation No symptoms Tightness across forehead possibly slight head ache dilatation of cutaneous blood vessels Headache throbbing temples Severe headache weakness dizziness dimness of vision nausea and vomiting collapse Same as previous item with more possibility of collapse and syncope increased respiration and pulse Syncope increased respiration and pulse coma with intermittent convulsions Cheyne Stokes respiration Coma with intermittent convulsions depressed heart action and respiration possibly death Weak pulse and slowed respiration respiratory failure and death The diagnosis of carbon monoxide poisoning is usually made from the symptoms and because of the fact of possible exposure Since the symptoms produced are common to other causes however and since carbon monoxide is sometimes present in unexpected places an accurate diagnosis on such a basis is not always possible The only reliable test is an examination of the blood for carbon monoxide hemoglobin An apparatus and method called the u Pyro tannic acid method for the quantitative determination of carbon monoxide in blood and air has been developed By the use of this apparatus which is pocket size and which permits even unskilled users to make an accurate diagnosis a small amount of blood which can be ob tained from a puncture wound in the finger can be quantitatively examined in a few minutes for carbon monoxide and an accurate diagnosis made Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Treatment7 T H E serious nature of carbon monoxide asphyxia and the possi bility of poisoning from this gas in so many industries and under so many conditions has resulted in much experimentation among certain scientists for the purpose of determining the best treat ment in these cases The results of experiments made by Dr Yandell Henderson and Dr Howard W Haggard who were appointed a subcommittee of the Commission on Resuscitation from Carbon Monoxide Asphyxia to conduct both field and laboratory investiga tions in the treatment of carbon monoxide asphyxia were given in the Journal of the American Medical Association Chicago for September It has been well established by this and previous investigations that carbon monoxide has no direct toxic action on the brain other organs or tissues of the body but that it acts wholly through its com bination with the hemoglobin or red coloring matter of the blood By this combination the hemoglobin is for the time deprived of the power to carry oxygen from the lungs to the tissues of the body 7 See Labor Review August 1917 pp 76 78 February 1919 pp Novem ber 1919 pp February 1922 pp March 1922 pp CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING 275 developing a condition of asphyxia or oxygen deprivation The investigation also confirmed previous findings that this combination is reversible that is that the oxygen transporting power of the blood may be completely restored through displacing the carbon monoxide by mass action of oxygen The principal treatments advocated for carbon monoxide poisoning have been bleeding transfusion artificial respiration and inhalation of oxygen Bleeding is considered by the writers to tend still further to deplete the oxygen carrying power of the blood while transfusion to be effective must take place within one hour or two at the most and this is rarely possible Artificial respiration preferably by the prone pressure method is frequently necessary to start spontaneous breathing but plays a less important part than in resuscitation from drowning or electric shock where the victim is practically saved when natural respiration has been restored While oxygen inhalation is theoretically the proper method for displacing carbon monoxide from the blood in practice it has been found that it needs some auxiliary agent The ineffectiveness of oxygen alone has been found to be due to several causes Among them are the lack of efficient apparatus for administering oxygen and the delay which usually takes j lace before the application of treat ment Asphyxia does not terminate with the removal of the victim from the presence of the gas as the carbon monoxide comes off from his blood so slowly in the first two or three hours that although his lungs may be filled with fresh air the brain continues to be asphyxi ated If however the carbon monoxide is not eliminated within four or five hours it does very little good to administer oxygen after that time as the brain probably becomes edematous swollen and degenerative processes set in Continued coma seen frequently in hospitals is probably due therefore to the brain edema and not to the asphyxia The third reason advanced for the relative ineffective ness of oxygen inhalation even when an efficient inhaler is used is that in partial accidental asphyxiations or in those performed experi mentally on investigators by themselves they have largely retained the ability of their circulation and respiration to eliminate the asphyx iant unaided while in more profound asphyxia oxygen inhalation often fails as it is not a respiratory stimulant Normal breathing is largely regulated by carbonic acid or carbon dioxide produced in the muscles and organs and carried to the res piratory center in the brain by the blood Owing to the oxygen deficiency an abnormal and excessive action is produced on this center in asphyxia so that the carbon dioxide is rapidly exhausted leading to subsequent subnormal breathing or even to respiratory failure Since an accessory factor seems to be necessary it has seemed logical to supply enough carbon dioxide to stimulate the patient to vigorous breathing in order that he may draw the oxygen in and thus wash out the carbon monoxide An experiment carried out upon animals in which all were asphyxiated almost to the point of death showed by the blood tests an approximately complete elimination of carbon monoxide from the blood in from 20 to 25 minutes when oxygen containing 10 per cent of carbon dioxide was used while treatment with inhalation with oxygen containing a small amount of carbon dioxide and with oxygen alone 276 STUDIES OF INDUSTRIAL DISEASES AND POISONS showed progressive increases in the time necessary for less complete elimination Animals which were given no treatment showed a very slow rate of elimination especially in the first hour A similar exper iment performed by the writers and some of their associates on themselves differed from the first in the use of higher concentra tions of carbon monoxide but with shorter periods o f exposure The amount of carbon dioxide used in the treatment was reduced to 5 per cent as this was found adequate to stimulate respiration and was free from the disadvantages such as headache and labored breathing which were felt with higher concentrations of the carbon dioxide By the use of oxygen plus this amount of carbon dioxide breathing was increased from 300 to 500 per cent with a propor tional acceleration in the removal of carbon monoxide a blood satu ration of from 40 to 50 per cent a dangerous amount being reduced in half an hour to only 10 or 12 per cent an amount which is quite harmless Further investigations of actual eases o f gas poisoning were carried out in New York City in cooperation with the Consolidated Gas Co and the health department The use of the inhalational treatment showed that all the patients except one made uncomplicated and complete recoveries within a few days none of the patients developing pneumonia as a result of the gassing In fact in regard to pneumonia the results seem to indicate that the inhalational treatment may have a distinctly prophylactic effect For some years work has been under way on an improved inhaler and various improvements have been devised including a siphon bellows reducing valve said to be the most perfect device of its kind which has been patented by the Government for general use The authors warn against the use of the common artificial respiration devices such as the pulmotor in place of their special inhaler as it is considered that the pulmotor may do serious harm to the patient The article concludes with the following summary 1 Manual artificial respiration by the prone pressure method should be em ployed when respiration has stopped to start spontaneous breathing This object may be assisted by administering oxygen C 02 simultaneously 2 Inhalation of oxygen and 5 per cent carbon dioxide by causing a very full ventilation of the lungs rapidly eliminates carbon monoxide from the blood and thus terminates the condition of asphyxia This treatment is highly effective inducing rapid and complete recovery if applied early enough It requires merely general medical supervision and may be safely and efficiently carried out by intelligent men of the type composing the emergency crews of a city gas company 3 Until more definite knowledge has been obtained regarding the conditions in the lungs brain and elsewhere subsequent to gassing and until treatment can be based on such knowledge and has been tested experimentally it is inadvisable to apply any specific treatment in postasphyxial gassing cases The evidence here reported indicates that oxygen C 03 inhalation and rapid elimination of carbon monoxide greatly decreases the liability to nervous and pulmonary asphyxial sequelae Chemical Poisoning Effects and Treatment T HE effects on workers of various poisonous chemicals were de scribed in an article in the Boston Medical and Surgical Jour nal October by Dr William F Boos the facts brought out being based on his experience as a consultant in the diagnosis and CHEMICAL POISONING 277 treatment of chemical and medical injuries sustained in a variety of industrial occupations The cases referred to him include many in which the cause of the injury is not definitely known or in which there are certain possible causes but the symptoms are not sufficiently like those seen in the past to warrant a definite diagnosis as well as cases which have not responded properly to the treatment used by the plant physician or the insurance company doctor The lack of chemical training on the part of the physicians treat ing these cases is the principal reason for the failure to obtain satis factory results That is the recognition of a chemical injury and the subsequent treatment of such an injury require a knowledge of the chemical behavior of the substance producing the injury While it is probably impossible to secure for plant work physicians who are well rounded chemists still it is possible for the physician in charge in a given industrial plant to become familiar with the chemical agents with which he has to contend as usually they are quite limited in scope In a chemical manufacturing plant how ever in which a variety of corrosive and poisonous products are manufactured it is important that the physician shall be really well trained in chemistry or if the physician is not so trained intelligent cooperation between the plant physician and the chemical expert of the plant will bring about satisfactory results In order to emphasize the importance of cooperation between doctor and chemist or engineer the writer gives his experience with a number of industrial poisonings which were referred to him largely as a result of the lack of such cooperation One example is that of repeated and serious chrome burns which had occurred among the employees of a chrome tanning plant where the plant doctor had as is usual with practitioners in such cases applied boric ointment bandaged the parts and sent the men home with instructions to report daily to have the dressings renewed When chrome acid is spattered on the skin it penetrates very slowly and does not at first produce symptoms but after about 24 hours there is a sensation of itching and burning which grows steadily worse When ointment is applied and the part bandaged as was done in the plant in question the removal of the chromic acid is effectually prevented the latter continues to penetrate into the lower layers of the skin and at the end of a week the employee is suffering agonies from multiple deep chrome burns In a chrome tanning plant the employees subject to these burns are those who remove the skins from the chrome bath a mixture of dilute hydrochloric acid and bichromate of potash placing them first in the washing machine and later in the hypo sodium thiosulphate bath Replying to a question as to whether men who handled the skins after they had been thro ugh the hypo bath ever developed chrome burns the superintendent of the plant answered in such a way as to indicate that he knew that the hypo solution immediately neutralizes the chromic acid rendering it harmless It had not occurred to him however to tell the doctor about it and the hypo solution the most efficient neutralizer known when the burns are in the early stages was not used because chrome burns were thought to be a medical injury In the later stages however 278 STUDIES OF INDUSTRIAL DISEASES AND POISONS when the burn is deep painful and very tender other treatment is required Nitro us fume poisoning in munitions plants was frequently met with during the war The active principle of nitrous fumes is N 02 an acid gas which when first inhaled causes coughing choking pain in the chest and the expectoration of yellow tinged sputum These symptoms subside after the exposure stops but after a short time there are sudden violent symptoms of respiratory disease followed by progressive edema of the lungs with a probable fatal outcome In some instances there is recovery from the initial edema but pneu monia develops within 24 to 36 hours Many of the pneumonia cases die the outcome being a matter of individual resistance as there is practically nothing which can be done in the way of treatment after the edema begins However it is said that if the condition is recognized at the start and the person is made to inhale ammonia gas recovery will take place in almost every instance The present method of treatment with the inhalator and oxygen is said to be useless as it is necessary to provide an agent which will stop at once the action of the nitric and nitrous acids which are formed in the mucous membrane of the respiratory tract and ammonia gas is the only agent which will do this This treatment should be used for poisoning from most acid gases and vapors such as chlorine bromine iodine and sulphur dioxide It should not be used for poisoning from hydrocyanic acid the effects of which are not due to any irri tant acid properties but to specific action on the respiratory center which causes paralysis of respiration In case of poisoning from this chemical artificial respiration should be used as long as the victim is still breathing Eemoval to fresh air and artificial respiration should also be used in cases of benzol poisoning Turpentine poisoning is said to be an important form of industrial poisoning because it is so frequently diagnosed as lead poisoning Two cases of poisoning occurred in a plant manufacturing automo bile bodies the symptoms being extreme pallor nausea vomiting abdominal cramps and a form of neuritis These men were em ployed in spraying a black varnish or finish on the automobile bodies and because of this fact their cases had been diagnosed as lead poisoning although the most typical signs of lead poisoning were not present Analysis of the materials used by the men in spraying showed that there was no lead in the spraying material and it de veloped later that the superintendent knew that the spraying material was lead free and had been much puzzled to know how the men came in contact with lead although he had accepted the diagnosis without question The lack of a knowledge of chemistry is particularly serious in cases of acid and alkali burns as they grow steadily worse under the usual treatment of carron oil or boric ointment Either of these preparations forms a coating which prevents the removal of corrosive poisons with the result that the destructive penetration of the skin continues In these cases questioning of the laborers is of little use as they frequently work with both acids and alkalies and do not even know the names of the reagents It is therefore necessary for the doctor to find out for himself what caused the burn and this can be done by applying bits of moist litmus paper both red and blue to CHEMICAL POISONING 279 the wo und I f the paper turns red the injured part should be bathed or soaked in a 5 per cent solution of bicarbonate of soda and if it turns blue a 3 per cent solution of acetic acid is used When the neutralizing wash has thoroughly penetrated the wound the bandage and ointment should be used Alkali wounds are more apt to give trouble than acid wounds be cause the natural alkilinity of the tissues tends to neutralize the action of an acid agent then too the acid albuminate which is formed is soluble only with difficulty and in time checks the further progress of the acid into the tissues while alkalies form very soluble alkali albuminates which do not interfere with the con tinued penetrating action of the alkali into the defenseless tissues For this reason alkali wounds must be bathed a very long time and preferably with occasional change of the dilute acetic acid When the latter is not available equal parts of vinegar and water will do just as well Dermatitis in a very persistent form which resembles eczema is fre quently found among polishers and finishers of leather shoes This is due to alkaline agents which are present in the finish or dressing the one used for patent leather shoes being the worst A dilute solu tion of acetic acid should be used occasionally as a wash for the hands of such workers Oxalic acid which is often present in dressings and bleaching fluids produces a dry scaly dermatitis of a very persistent character As it is practically as injurious for canvas and leather as for the human skin the writer believes that its use should be discontinued altogether Cyanide solutions used in the jewelry and watchmaking trade and in silver plating cause localized burns but more frequently an eczema like eruption of the skin of the hands arms and even of the face The involvement of the face is due to rubbing the face when the hands have been in the solution and it is likely to produce a very persistent dermatitis This condition is usually diagnosed as eczema and the usual method of treating the lesions with an alkaline wash tends to intensify the action of the cyanide As in all cases of alkali burns dilute solution of acetic acid should be used to neutralize the cyanide Phenol burns require prompt attention but there is nothing which will neutralize the action of the phenol Washing the affected parts with water has no effect on account of its slight solubility in water but as it is very soluble in alcohol this can be used to advantage in removing the phenol Phenol is absorbed readily by the skin and if a large area has been covered death may result from its action on the central nervous system though the local action on the skin in euch cases may be very slight Trade anaphylaxis may develop in a variety of trades the symp toms being similar to those of hay fever The cause of this condition is the sensitiveness of certain workers to the proteids in the material with which they work Millers and bakers may be sensitive to the dust from wheat or rye flour leather workers to the dust from some special kind of leather carpenters and cabinetmakers to the dust of various kinds of wood mattress makers to the horse dandruff in the horsehair and wool sorters to the sheep s dandruff in raw wool In 280 STUDIES OF INDUSTRIAL DISEASES AND POISONS cases where such symptoms develop among workers in a dusty atmosphere trade anaphylaxis should always be considered as a possible cause Dusts See Abrasive industry Dust hazard in the manufacture of arti ficial abrasive wheels Brass foundries Health hazards Fur cutting and felt hat manufacture Occupational hazards Lead poisoning Report of cases among motor car painters in New South Wales Mer cury poisoning Manganese poisoning Report of six cases Mining industry Tanning industry Occupational disease hazards Eye Diseases Symptomatology in Occupational Diseases8 THE eyes of a high percentage of industrial workers have proved from extensive investigation to be defective The proportion thus involved has varied from 50 to 90 per cent as reported from widely different types of industry As a result of publicity subse quent to these striking findings a conception has become prevalent that industry itself has caused these defects To those better ac quainted with the problem it is patent that many persons in industry exhibiting poor eyes possessed the same defects actual or potential prior to their entry into industry and a large portion of the responsi bility for the causation of poor eyes may thus be shifted from the shoulders of industry But associated with industry there exist divers conditions of work conducive both to the initiation and the aggravation of eye defects The types of work particularly linked with eyesight impairment or eye injuries are those involving 1 Dust abrasives and flying par ticles 2 splashing metals 3 gases fumes and irritating chemi cals 4 glare 5 radiant energy chemical and heat rays 6 de fective posture 7 poor lighting The items of this group are commonly regarded only as eye injury hazards These same con ditions however may be considered the sources of many eye occu pational diseases and any attempt to demarcate eye injuries from eye occupational diseases does nothing more than erect an artificial barrier between two similar sets of affections It may with propriety be held that every eye impairment attributable to industry is in a sense an occupational disease Nystagmus may be found among those workers who year in and year out subject their eyes to abnormal and unaccustomed motions The miner develops a nystagmus due to constant imperfect fixation of his eyes on poorly illuminated objects the chauffeur acquires nystagmus by the constant watching of traffic without complete fixa T tion the compositor by watching the type which he is setting the paper hanger and painter by following their brushes the position of the body often thrown out of a vertical position thus causing more strain on the visual apparatus For like reasons locomotive engineers draftsmen jewelers typists textile workers and others may acquire a nystagmus 8 T h e N a tio n s H ea lth C h ica go O ctob er E ye sy m p to m a to lo g y in o cc u p a tio n a l d isea ses by D o n a ld J L y le M D and C arey P M cC ord M D EYE DISEASES 281 Occupational Nystagmus T H E short rapid continuous involuntary movements of the eyeball characteristic of nystagmus may develop in a coal miner af fected with carbon monoxide poisoning the eyes responding to irri tation or disease in the central nervous system When however nystagmus in a coal miner is due to poor illumination or faulty visual fixation of objects on the black coal face the effect is produced by direct action on the ocular apparatus A variety of occupations produce practically the same symptom complex Miner s nystagmus the best known and the most thoroughly investigated example of occupational nystagmus occurs usually between the ages of 35 and 40 years among men who have engaged in mining for many years Predisposing factors in miner s nystagmus are 1 Errors of refraction the percentage of affected persons presenting errors of refraction is between 75 and 85 persons with astigmatic errors are more seriously affected 2 unbalanced extrinsic ocular muscula ture and 3 neurotic tendencies The factors which excite or produce the condition are 1 Poor lighting 2 working where an upright position can not be main tained and 3 lowered physical state including injuries The most severe and most common subjective symptoms are Headaches and dizziness dancing and dazzling of objects especially lights failure of sight especially at night if above ground photo phobia intolerance of ligh t general fatigue The objective symp toms include 1 Rotatory lateral indefinite or mixed movements of the eyeball their frequency being in the order mentioned and their severity and duration indicating the degree of lack of coordina tion 2 general condition of depression 3 increased nervous irritability 4 blepharospasm excessive winking 5 spasms of brow head neck and sometimes shoulders Treatment involves a discontinuance of work at coal face rest correction of refractive errors general building up of patient both physically and mentally Preventive measures need to include 1 correction of refractive errors and muscular instability 2 adequate illumination without glare 3 whitewashing of extensive portions of mine passageways timbers etc 4 arrangement of working hours so that there may be opportunity tor recreation in daylight 5 thorough medical supervision and the maintenance of high physical standards among workers 6 proper mine sanitation par ticularly with reference to humidity cooling power of air absence of carbon monoxide etc Carbon Monoxide Poisoning A R B O N monoxide poisoning is found as acute chronic or de layed poisoning It is to be recognized that serious and lasting harm to various systems and organs of the body may follow exposure to carbon monoxide A small percentage of persons thus poisoned present eye involvement It is noteworthy that the eye changes show little constancy The list of eye manifestations definitely associated with carbon monoxide poisoning includes the following Color blindness contracted visual fields diplopia double vision 282 STUDIES OF INDUSTRIAL DISEASES AtfD OISOKS scotoma a dark spot on the visual field hippus spasmodic pupil lary movement impairment of pupillary light reflexes irregular pupils unequal pupils diminished vision engorgement of retinal ves sels retinal exudate sectional blanching of optic discs edema of optic discs optic neuritis optic nerve atrophy and complete ophthalmo plegia paralysis of the ocular muscles with marked protrusion of the eyeballs Carbon bisulphide is commonly taken into the body through the lungs after exposure to its vapors In chronic cases the vision is gradually lessened beginning with a retino bulbar neuritis and pro gressing slowly to nerve atrophy The prognosis is never good In advanced cases vision is seldom recovered Both soluble and insoluble arsenic preparations are capable of producing external and internal injury of the eyes More fre quently the manifestations are late due to slow absorption of a small amount of arsenic which has entered the system through the alimen tary and respiratory tracts The chief complaints from the patient center about 1 pain in the eye with itching burning and irrita tion 2 painful vision blepharospasm lachrymation and photo phobia and 3 loss of vision as nerve becomes affected Both eyes are usually affected often unequally In animal experiments a degeneration in the medullary sheaths of the optic nerve fibers has been found The action of arsenic on the external eye leads to edema and pigmentation of the eyelids chemosis swelling of the conjunctiva and sometimes hemorrhage of the conjunctiva The conjunctivitis may arise either from direct or systemic poisoning Ocular Lead Poisoning TTHE eyes are involved in about 1 2 per cent of all lead cases Although the eyes may be the only source of complaint careful examination will ordinarily lead to evidence of systemic lead poison ing Ocular manifestations of lead poisoning vary widely Usually the patient complains of headaches vertigo blurred vision constric tion of the visual field central color scotoma perverted color vision or diplopia The physical findings include any or all of the follow ing symptoms Ptosis drooping of the upper eyelid conjuncti vitis paralysis of the extrinsic ocular muscle especially those erfervated by the third nerve retinal edema neuro retinitis retinitissaturnine optic neuritis and optic atrophy The damage from lead may be transitory due to an ischemia local anemia or permanent through the action on the optic tract or to perivasculitis inflamma tion of the vessel walls Since lead may induce a chronic nephritis some difficulty may arise in differentiating between ocular lead pois oning and albuminuric retinitis No measures of prevention or treatment apply specifically to the eyes I f systemic lead poisoning is prevented no instance of ocular lead poisoning will appear Methyl Alcohol A LTHOUGH the greater number of cases of wood alcohol blindness has in the last few years developed from the use of this poison internally a considerable number still arises as the result of EYE DISEASES 283 intoxication following exposure to wood alcohol used for industrial purposes Methyl alcohol may act as an acute or chronic poison the chronic form being most insidious and many times not easily diagnosed In either case the ocular symptoms arise as a part of the general sys temic poisoning The affected worker complains of decreased vision and lessened visual fields Upon examination there is found in an early case a retrobulbar neuritis inflammation in the orbital part of the optic nerve or pallor of the discs with constricted retinal vessels Atrophy of the optic nerve is a later development Opinion is that the chronic poisoning first destroys the axis cylinders later attacking and destroying the ganglion cells Blindness is reported to develop in 6 per cent of all persons poisoned by methyl alcohol The chances for restoration of vision are very poor Most of those affected remain permanently blind To avoid wood alcohol poisoning denatured ethyl alcohol should be employed wherever possible where the substitution is not possible wood alcohol should be utilized in closed circuit wherever compat ible with the trade process Adequate exhaust together with good factory ventilation is essential At all times workers should be acquainted with the harmful properties of wood alcohol and the conditions under which poisoning may arise Anilin A NILIN and many of its related chemical compounds are capable of inducing eye lesions The eyes may be affected externally by anilin vapors especially hot vapors For the most part however the eyes are harmed by anilin which is absorbed through the skin or taken into the body through the respiratory or alimentary tracts Acute anilin poisoning is likely to involve the eyes by external irritation with a temporary blurring of vision On examination of workers long exposed to anilin the external eye may be found to be uniformly pigmented The corneal epithelium is roughened and pigmented A conjunctivitis with ciliary injections is frequently encountered In the more advanced case scotoma and amblyopia are to be found Retinoneuritis has been observed Prognosis in such cases is good provided the source of intoxication is removed Occupational Cataracts CLOW DEVELOPING cataracts frequently exist among workers whose occupations involve continual exposure to intense light and heat These cataracts are especially associated with workers in molten glass but are known to arise in such other industries as chain making smelting tin plate making welding acetylene and oxyhydrogen cutting Both heat and light are factors in causation of occupational cataracts Intense light without pronounced heat will produce opacity of the lens in experimental animals The period of cataract formation is long For many years a progressive opacity of the lens usually in both eyes goes on without any knowledge of the victim In the glass industry the left side of the blower s face 284 STUDIES OF INDUSTRIAL DISEASES AND POISONS is held closer to the oven and often the left eye is involved before the right Other than the gradual loss of vision no subjective symptoms are complained of by exposed workers Often the vision is reduced to one tenth normal before medical advices are sought Provided no other lesions or complications interfere the operative risks in occupational cataract are good This is contrary to the usual posterior or cortical cataract As a rule on account of loss of all accommodation operated employees can not resume their former work Protection against occupational cataract is to be found through the continuous use during the exposed period of goggles that absorb or disperse both the heat and chemical rays Such goggles lend themselves to use containing a plain glass or a glass correcting the workman s refractive error Great difficulty in securing protection from the development of occupational cataract arises from the dis inclination of workers to wear these protective glasses continuously through the long period in which cataracts are insidiously developing The participation of the eyes in chronic occupational disease is by no means limited to the foregoing conditions To this group may with propriety be added many such lesions as immobile pupils nystagmus corneal opacities following long exposure to benzene paralysis of ocular muscles resulting from picric acid keratitis inflammation of the cornea found among harvesters retinal and papillary edema followed by fatty degeneration presented by workers in phosphorus divers chronic eye lesions arising among workers in pharmacy and amblyopia occurring among tea tasters and tobacco w rorkers Fireworks Manufacture Phosphorus Necrosis DECAUSE of the intense suffering and often shocking deformity resulting from chronic phosphorus poisoning almost every civ ilized country has taken measures to abolish the use of poisonous phosphorus in the match industry where phosphorus necrosis was most preval ent The present day hazard of phosphorus poisoning occurs among bone black makers brass founders fertilizer makers fireworks makers insecticide makers phosphate mill workers phosphor bronze workers phosphorus compound makers and phosphorus extractors An investigation has been made by the Bureau of Labor Statistics covering three industries which offer exposure to phosphorus poison ing the manufacture of phosphorus fireworks and of vermin exter minator and the phosphorus extracting industry the results of which were published in Bulletin No 405 In the manufacture of rat paste possibly because of the intermittent character of the industry no case of phosphorus necrosis was found to have occurred Of the two phosphorus extraction plants studied one which has been shut down for five years had over a long period of years four cases of chronic phosphorus poisoning the other plant had only one minor case in 20 years having given special attention to the teeth of em ployees in furnishing free dental care and inspecting the teeth of all workers in phosphorus at frequent intervals The study demonstrates that there is a real industrial hazard from phosphorus in the phosphorus fireworks factories even though th s k in Dis e a s e s am ong em plo yees in c a n n e r ie s 285 number of workers exposed to the hazard is small In the 3 plants manufacturing phosphorus fireworks 366 people were employed 181 men and 185 women The workers engaged in the phosphorus processes numbered 71 of whom 56 were women Among the employees of these three factories there had occurred 14 definite cases of phosphorus necrosis 2 of which were fatal In addition to the paramount hazard of chronic poisoning phos phorus fireworks presents two collateral hazards that of explosion and that of acute poisoning In the last 15 years 18 fires or ex plosions due to phosphorus fireworks have been reported The danger of acute phosphorus poisoning is not likely to be an industrial hazard since the cases are mostly those of children who sometimes swallow the lozenges thinking they are candy Only passing atten tion was paid to it in the investigation and no effort was made to secure the total number of such accidents The American Museum of Safety reported the deaths of 9 children with ages ranging from 2y2 to 7 years Fourth of July 1925 as a result of eating phosphorus fireworks One State Louisiana has prohibited the sale of such fireworks in the State and a large distributer of fireworks has refused to handle the phosphorus type and has so notified its customers The hazards inherent in the manufacture of phosphorus fireworks are fully realized by the manufacturers themselves and they have been experimenting for some time to find a less dangerous substitute for the poisonous phosphorus Since the investigation above was made an agreement was reached with the manufacturers by the Department of Labor whereby the manufacture of all types of fireworks containing white yellow phosphorus was to be eliminated on or before August Fruit Canneries Skin Disease Among Employees CM PLO YEES engaged in preparing the fruit for canning in the fruit packing plants of the Pacific Northwest have been subject for several years to a dermatosis which has been referred to by those affected as fruit poisoning A variety of remedies chiefly anti septics which are ordinarily used in treating bacterial infections had been used without much success but an examination of some of these cases showed that a yeastlike organism was the causative factor and that this organism was destroyed by certain volatile oils 9 An employee in one of the packing plants who had had a lesion between the fingers which had persisted for several months in spite of the use of various prescribed antiseptics was examined and scrap ings from the lesion showed budding spore forms which were believed to be responsible for the inflammatory condition Rapid improve ment and healing followed the use of a 10 per cent alcoholic solution of the oil of cinnamon the cinnamon being tried because it has been found efficacious against mold growth in certain medical preparations The canning plant in which the case of skin disease had originated was visited during the next pear canning season cases of fruit poisoning having been particularly severe at the time pears were 9 J ou rn a l o f th e A m erica n M ed ica l A ss o cia tio n C h ica go J une The fu n g icid a l a c tiv ity o f ce r ta in v o la t ile o ils a n d stea rop ten s b y H a ro ld B M yers M D a n d C lin ton H T hien es M D STUDIES O f INDUSTRIAL DISEASES AND POISONS handled in previous years Many similar cases of infection wer found which healed rapidly with the use of spirit of cinnamon and the manager of the plant and the chemist reported that the use of cinnamon water as a prophylactic measure was found to be useful in preventing a greater number of infections The good results obtained by the use of the oil of cinnamon on these lesions led to a study of the comparative fungicidal power of certain volatile oils on the yeastlike organism which caused the so called fruit poisoning It was found that there was considerable variation in the effect of the various oils Thymol destroyed the yeast in 60 seconds or less while the most efficient volatile oils were found to be cinnamon and cloves which required approximately 30 and 90 min utes respectively to kill the organism The majority of the oils tested did not prevent the growth of the yeast in 100 minutes As a result of the experiments a mixed spirit of 5 per cent thymol and 2 per cent cinnamon was decided to be the best curative agent and this solution painted on sites of infection found on employees in the canning plant resulted in the speedy relief of discomfort and the promotion of healing Fur Cutting and Felt Hat Manufacture Occupational Hazards T HE various hazards present in the manufacture of felt hats were studied by several investigators and the results published in a series of articles appearing in the August to December 1922 issues of the Journal of Industrial Hygiene 1 0 The principal hazards incidental to the trades of hatter s furriers or fur cutters and of hat makers and finishers as summed up in the first article of the series are the use of mercuric nitrate in the preparation of the fur for felting and the presence of organic and inorganic dust The fine hairs of the skin of hares muskrats beavers etc used in the making of felt which are smooth resilient and straight are made rough and pliable for the felting process by the use of acid nitrate of mercury This chemical is now used for carrotting the fur in all countries with the possible exception of Russia In addition to the danger of mercurialism in most of the processes there is much animal dust present This dust consisting of fine fur particles and harder hair particles is present in large quantities in the earlier processes and after the hat is formed and shaped smaller quantities of fine silicon dust are produced by rubbing the hat with emery paper to smooth it In some of the processes there is direct contact with the mercury and in others the mercury is volatilized by heat while excessive heat and moisture are present in most of the hat making operations In the process of hat finishing the hazards include volatilized mercury naphtha fumes silicon dust and fine fur dust with the minor hazard of carbon monoxide from gas jets 10J ou rn a l o f In d u s tria l H yg ien e B o sto n A u gu st T h e in d u s tria l hygien e o f f u r c u ttin g a n d fe lt h a t m a n u fa c t u r e b y D r A lic e H a m ilt o n Septem ber In d u s tria l d isea ses o f fu r cu tte rs an d h a tte r s b y D r A lic e H a m ilt o n O ctob er E stim a tion s o f m ercu ry in h a tte r s fu r a n d in fe lt b y A n n ie S to n e M i n o t N ovem ber A clin ic a l stu d y o f fu r cu tters a n d fe lt h a tte r s by D r W a d e W r i g h t D ecem b er T h e p re p a ra tio n o f h a tte rs f u r A ch em ica l stu d y o f th e c a r r o ttin g p ro ce s s b y J o h n H J oh n son HEALTH HAZARDS IN FUR DYEING INDUSTRY 287 Poisoning from mercury among hatters is slow in attack and in development There is little salivation but inflammation of the gums is common and there is blackening and erosion of the teeth especially among carrotters Tremor is the most typical symptom Emery dust produced in finishing is a recognized occupational hazard but the question of the harmfulness of the animal dust is still in dispute and can not be settled it is stated until there is a much more thorough examination of men and women employed in these processes Analyses of felt in different stages of hat manufacture to de termine the processes in which the greatest amount of mercury is lost by vaporization or by treatment with hot water show that the greatest loss occurs in forming blocking shaping and press ing with hot irons and that these operations may be regarded therefore as the most dangerous from the standpoint of mercurial poisoning A clinical study of 100 hatter s fur workers and felt hatters was made in Danbury Conn in 1921 Of the 100 men examined 43 had undoubted signs of mercurialism Salivation was present in 17 of these cases dryness of the throat in 8 pyorrhea or gingivitis in 21 a blue line on the gums in 2 tremor in 40 and psychic irrita bility in 37 Various other symptoms such as abnormally high blood pressure albuminuria sore tongue weakness of the muscles of the forearms dizziness and insomnia were also noted Five of these 43 men were considered to be severely affected 14 moderately and 24 only slightly while there were 10 others who presented cer tain symptoms of poisoning although their symptoms were not considered to be sufficiently defined to warrant their inclusion as cases of mercurialism The results of a chemical study of the carrotting process made in an effort to find a nonpoisonous compound which could be substituted for the acid nitrate of mercury forms the subject of the fifth paper of the series The felt obtained by the substitution of lead for mercury although of an inferior quality was the best of the non mercury carrotted specimens The poisonous character of lead salts however prevents any attempt to perfect a lead carrot Of the other solutions copper dissolved in nitric acid and zinc oxide dissolved in nitric acid gave the best results in yellow and white carrot and although these results were not equal to those obtained with ordinary mercurial carrot it was considered that they were promising enough to warrant further experimentation Fur Dyeing Industry Health Hazards in the Use of Intermediate Dyes T H E extent to which paraphenylene diamine1 is used as a dye 1 intermediate and the dangers attending its use are shown in an article by Carroll M Sails in the Industrial Hygiene Bulletin November 1925 published by the New York State Department of Labor Paraphenylene diamine is known in the trade under the German name of ursol black the American made product being sold as 31 S ee L a b o r R eview F eb ru a ry 1919 p M ay 1924 pp 288 STUDIES OF INDUSTRIAL DISEASES AND POISONS universol black It is still widely used as a hair dye although for the past 10 years it has been reported as being displaced by less poisonous substitutes The total production of para per year in the United States for all uses is 350 000 pounds valued at In regard to the toxic properties of the substance the following is quoted from a statement of the United States Public Health Service Paraphenylene diamine is an aniline derivative which by oxidation becomes black or brown The poisonous qualities of this chemical are well known The large number of cases of fur dermatitis which occurred in London in 1922 23 paused much agitation and many cases of derma titis in furriers have been reported to the New York State Depart ment of Labor The processes of dyeing dressing cutting making up into garments and merchandising all bring the workers into con tact with the dye or the dyed fur According to one authority asthma and eczema are the diseases found most frequently among fur and hide workers who come in contact with dyes containing paraphenylene diamine and there is an occasional case of acute dermatitis with swelling of the neck and head and loss of hair fol lowed in rare cases by death After once having been poisoned there is a tendency to become hypersensitive to the poison so that even the finished products dyed furs can not be handled The most hazard ous working conditions occur during the drying of the dyed pelts and when they are removed from the drums in which they have been treated with sawdust or sand In the latter case the operation is accompanied by clouds of dust containing paraphenylene diamine and its oxidation products Until satisfactory substitutes for paraphenylene diamine are found the writer recommends that in the dyeing process as weak solutions as practicable should be used that a mordant which helps to develop and fix the dye should be used first when the dip process is employed and when the brush process is used the brushed skin should be given from 12 to 24 hours to develop the dye The dyed skins should be washed thoroughly with running water preferably in a paddle and the washed and dried skins should be thoroughly drummed in a revolving drum containing sawdust or clean sand for several hours Gases and Fumes See Arsenic trichloride effects of exposure on workers Benzol poisoning final report of National Safety Council Committee Brass foundries health hazards Carbon monoxide poisoning Chemical poisoning effect and treatment Eye diseases eye symp tomatology in occupational diseases Fireworks manufacture phos phorus necrosis Fur cutting and felt hat manufacture occupational hazards Hydrofluoric acid effect of fumes Hydrogen sulphide gas poisoning Irritant gases action on respiratory tract Mercury poisoning Photo engraving industry health survey Tetraethyl lead gasoline Heat and Humidity See Steam laundries effect of working conditions upon health of workers EFFECT OF EXPOSURE TO HYDROFLUORIC ACID FUMES 289 Heart Disease Industrial Aspects THE importance of heart disease as a cause of death was emphasized in a paper on the statistical aspects of the problem of organic heart disease read by Dr Louis I Dublin at the 1925 meet ing of the Medical Society ox the State of New York Heart disease in its various forms stands first in the order of causes of death and probably first also in the amount of damage it does through invalidity and invalidism There are now nearly 200 000 deaths annually from this disease in this country and if present conditions continue it is estimated that one in every five of the population living at the age of 10 will eventually die of organic heart disease The problem is not only a general one but is also industrial as heart disease takes its toll from the ranks of the workers generally and particularly from the colored people whose mortality rates from this disease during the main age period of life are twice that for whites at the corresponding ages The death rates per 100 000 for organic diseases of the heart among industrial policyholders of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co in 1923 were 113 6 for white males 122 1 for white females 190 8 for colored males and 217 4 for colored females for all ages 1 year and over while between the ages of 35 and 44 and 45 and 54 the rates were respectively for white males 86 6 and 253 3 for white females 70 7 and 184 9 for colored males 180 3 and 424 6 and for colored females 184 7 and 470 4 per 100 000 of the population That the situation is even more serious than this is shown by the fact that as yet only the merest beginnings have been made in the collection of information on the incidence of heart disease in the community and it is only recently that through the work of the cardiac clinics there has been an effort to gather the information needed on the morbidity of heart disease Study of the findings of the life insurance companies in their routine examinations of appli cants for insurance shows that approximately 2 per cent of the total population are suffering from definite organic heart disease The importance of more systematic and complete study of cases of organic heart disease and a more general compilation and analysis of the records were stressed by Doctor Dublin Hydrofluoric Acid Effect of Fumes T HE hazard from exposure to hydrofluoric acid fumes was dis cussed in the Industrial Hygiene Bulletin September 1924 published by the New York State Department of Labor Anhydrous hydrogen fluoride is a clear liquid boiling at 67 F which fumes strongly in the air It is highly poisonous forming an ulcerated sore if a drop comes in contact with the skin and accidental breathing of the concentrated vapor of the acid has caused death Exposure to the fumes produces intense irritation of the eyelids and conjunctiva coryza bronchial catarrh with spasmodic cough ulcera tion of the nostrils gums and oral mucous membrane painful ulcers of the cuticle erosion and formation of vesicles and suppuration under the finger nails 290 STUDIES OF INDUSTRIAL DISEASES AND POISONS Hydrofluoric acid is used to produce opaque and transparent etch ing on glass and poisoning from it has occurred in chemical works where it is prepared in glass factories in laboratories of the pottery industry in the extraction of fluorides of antimony substitute for tartar emetic in dye works in fertilizer factories extraction of phosphorites for manufacture of phosphorus in bleaching and in the extraction of silicates To produce opaque etching the glass is dipped in a solution of hydrofluoric acid an alkali fluoride and other salts A case is cited of a plant manufacturing opaque glassware where such a high percentage of hydrofluoric acid was used in the solution that a dangerous amount of fume was given off It was obvious that workers who stood constantly over the dipping bath must have been seriously affected as all the windows of the large room containing the bath were deeply frosted and the glass front of a large wall clock had been broken out in order to see the hands of the clock It was admit ted by the manufacturer that conditions were bad but he could see no remedy It was suggested that the desired degree of opacity might be obtained by decreasing the concentration of hydrofluoric acid in the solution and increasing the concentration of the neutral components After some experimentation a neutral water soluble viscous substance was discovered Avhich practically eliminated the discharge of hydrofluoric acid fumes into the room and in addition to the improved health conditions thereby secured an opaque etching with a finer texture was produced Hydrogen Sulphide Gas Poisoning TT HE toxicity of hydrogen sulphide gas the symptoms of poisonA ing and the method of treatment in acute and subacute cases are dealt with in a report of the United States Bureau of Mines Serial No 2491 The gas which is extremely poisonous is sometimes present in mines railroad tunnels sewers and marshes It is also present at different stages of the manufacture of sulphuric acid and in the distillation of petroleum particularly the oils known as highsulphur crudes as well as about gas wells gas plants and smelters In mines it may be present in the coal or rock strata as occluded gas or it may be formed by decomposition of sulphides in the presence of moisture Hydrogen sulphide is a colorless gas somewhat heavier than air and has the odor of rotten eggs It burns with a bluish flame and in seven parts of air a mixture is formed which explodes with violence when ignited The danger of poisoning is always present wherever hydrogen sul phide exists and its toxicity is similar to that of hydrocyanic acid gas prussic acid Cases of poisoning from the gas may be divided into two distinct types acute or asphyxiation and subacute In acute poisoning there is almost immediate unconsciousness and fre quently death results before the victim can be rescued In cases where rescue can be accomplished the victim usually recovers almost immediately with no permanent aftereffects although headache and nausea may persist for a few hours In subacute cases irritation of ACTION ON RESPIRATORY TRACT BY IRRITANT GASES 291 the eyes and respiratory tract occur varying in degree according to the concentration of the gas present and the length of exposure Experiments conducted at the Pittsburgh Experiment Station of the Bureau of Mines on animals and in a few cases on men using low percentages of hydrogen sulphide showed that in animals both acute and subacute types of poisoning could be produced Death in acute cases was found to be due to respiratory failure followed by cardiac failure and in subacute cases to irritation of the respiratory tract followed by edema of the lungs The approximate concentration of hydrogen sulphide which will cause subacute symptoms in man was found to vary from 0 01 to 0 06 per cent while in the production of acute symptoms it ranged from 0 06 to 0 1 per cent the latter amount producing immediately fatal results The aftereffects of severe subacute poisoning were found to be worse than those from acute poisoning In subacute cases when death did not occur diabetes nephritis pneumonia and degeneration of the nervous system were among the effects recorded It was found that many acute cases could be saved even when the respiration was completely paralyzed and there were signs of begin ning cardiac failure Removal to fresh air and the use of artificial respiration usually resulted in recovery while the use of oxygen facilitated the return to consciousness and lessened the bad effects of the poisoning The treatment of subacute cases depends upon the seat of irritation and in most cases the patient should be under the care of a physician These cases include conjunctivitis pharyn gitis bronchitis and pneumonia A general knowledge of the extreme toxicity of the gas the report says is necessary for the prevention of poisoning Mechani cal devices have been designed for care of these fumes in different industries and the use of canister masks hose masks and oxygenbreathing apparatus have proved of value The results of the study are summed up as follows 1 Hydrogen sulphide is an industrial poison the toxicity of which has not been fully realized Cases of poisoning have occurred in relatively large num bers Constant vigilance is required in order to prevent accidents 2 The poisoning by hydrogen sulphide is of two types namely acute and subacute causing asphyxiation and irritation conjunctivitis bronchitis pharyngitis and depression of the central nervous system respectively Death from asphyxia is caused by paralysis of the respiratory center while death from subacute poisoning is associated with edema of the lungs The exact low limit of hydrogen sulphide concentration at which it ceases to act as a poison has not as yet been determined but is evidently below 0 005 per cent 3 Hydrogen sulphide in low concentrations produces symptoms of headache sleeplessness dullness dizziness and weariness Pain in the eyes followed by conjunctivitis is fairly constant while bronchitis and pains in the chest are frequent Further poisoning produces depression stupor unconsciousness and death Spasms clonic and tonic in character are present and death occurs following paralysis of the respiratory center Irritant Gases Action on Respiratory Tract A MONG the gases and vapors found in industrial processes there is a large group of the so called irritants which produce symptoms which are due not so much to the difference in their 292 STUDIES OF INDUSTRIAL DISEASES AND POISONS chemical properties as to the difference in their physical properties An account of the effect of these gases on different sections o f the respiratory tract was given by Dr Howard W Haggard in an article in the Journal of Industrial Hygiene Boston February An irritant gas or vapor is one which produces inflammation in those tissues with which it comes in contact This action is direct upon surface tissues notably the mucous membrane of the eye and the respiratory membranes and the effects are of the greatest severity on those surfaces which are most easily penetrated The irritant gases act in such extreme dilution that gross chemical corrosion is not usually involved I f it is involved it causes almost instant death The different gases affect different sections of the respiratory tract Ammonia produces intense congestion of the upper respiratory passages and immediate death from spasm or edema of the larynx while phosgene and nitrogen peroxide have little effect on the upper respiratory tract but induce pneumonia or edema of the lungs Chlorine is intermediary in its action between ammonia on the one hand and phosgene and nitrogen peroxide on the other The fact that the selective action of the various irritants is due to their physical rather than their chemical properties is especially true of solubility A gas which is very soluble in water and is readily diffused in its solution is taken out of the inspired air by contact with the first moist tissue it touches The result is that the upper respiratory passages are the parts most affected the concentration of the irritant reaching the lungs being greatly reduced In the case of a gas which has a very low solubility in water there is little of the gas absorbed in the upper respiratory passages and the principal damage is done deep in the lungs The degree of concentration of an irritant gas is of great impor tance In the case of the volatile irritants the severity of the action does not vary according to the amount and duration of the applica tion but a high concentration for even a short time has an intense effect The inhalation of an irritant gas exercises an immediate effect on the nasal passages and the larynx causing them to become acutely painful and a series of reflexes is set in motion such as coughing constriction of the larynx and bronchi closing of the glottis and inhibition of respiration which tend to prevent the penetration of the irritant to the deeper and more delicate parts of the respiratory tract Coughing is caused by even slight irritation but this response to an irritant in the air varies in different individuals Persons whose throats have been rendered sensitive by the use of tobacco or from infection cough more readily than normal persons while those with chronic mild inflammatory or catarrhal conditions because of de creased susceptibility cough less readily While coughing is of course no protection it serves as a warning of the presence of these substances in the atmosphere The physiological efforts of the different parts of the respiratory tract for self protection are of great importance as the delicacy of ACTION ON RESPIRATORY TRACT BY IRRITANT GASES 293 the respiratory membranes and their susceptibility to injury increase in passing from the upper to the lower part of the tract Although the nose and pharynx may be stripped raw they may receive little permanent damage while the injury to the larynx and bronchi may result in the general systemic effects which are present in cases of acute laryngitis and bronchitis which develop from any cause The lungs when directly acted upon by an irritant receive serious injury and edema or pneumonia may develop with a possible fatal outcome I f death is not an immediate result of lung edema the usual symp toms of severe membranous bronchitis and tracheitis may last for several days after which regeneration of the mucous membrane be gins to take place although there is almost always infection of the bronchi In cases of severe inflammation of the upper respiratory tract there may be an edematous swelling of the larynx sufficient to close the opening of the trachea in which case death may result from acute asphyxia This is the common cause of fatalities occurring during or soon after severe exposure to the class of gases that affect this part of the respiratory tract I f death does not result at once from swelling of the larynx or spasm of the glottis lung edema may develop reaching the climax in from 12 to 24 hours when if death does not occur inflammation tends to subside in from two to three days The effect o f the action of the gas on the lungs is to interfere with the respiratory exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the air and the blood and to obstruct the flow of blood through the lungs thus placing a strain on the right side of the heart Irritation of the lungs does not cause severe pain as does irritation of the upper air passages The principal symptoms of lung edema are those of asphyxia which is not however associated with air hunger in its early stages The patient may be an ashy gray color but with no difficulty in breathing although he may be in danger of death especially on making the least exertion In the later stages the skin may be of a blue color and there may be intense air hunger In nonfatal cases of pulmonary edema no medicinal measures are effective in affording relief with the exception of oxygen which however has no markedly beneficial effect on the progress of the disease The mortality from the pneumonia following gassing is high death occurring in from four days to two weeks An exposure which is not sufficient to cause the acute symptoms of lung irrita tion may cause pneumonia and under industrial conditions the infections thus induced constitute a greater cause of death than primary pulmonary edema Many observers feel that irritant gas or vapor even in extreme dilution is to be regarded as predisposing to the development of pneumonia The only exception to this statement is afforded by chlorine which in low concentrations seems to exert a bactericidal action without appreciable irritation Severe irritation of the lower respiratory tract may result in a chronic inflammatory condition and cause a long period of ill health In some cases there is little evidence upon physical examination of persistent changes in the lungs and the subject at rest may appear normal although he is in reality capable of only very moderate 294 STUDIES OF INDUSTRIAL DISEASES AND POISONS exertion In such cases an individual may be unjustly suspected of malingering Prolonged exposure to gas in quantities insufficient to cause death may result in chronic poisoning evidenced by a moderate inflamma tion of the upper respiratory tract associated with a sharp cough I f the exposure is incidental to regular working conditions the inflammation passes into a catarrhal state and the coughing becomes less marked While the worker appears then to have acquired a degree of tolerance for the gas this is not the case the protective reflexes having simply become less active and the effect of the catarrh is to leave the deeper respiratory tract more exposed to the action of the gas In addition chronic poisoning affects the general health causing loss in weight and increased liability to acute infec tion and to the development of tuberculosis Most of the irritant gases act in such a way upon the respiratory tract that they are destroyed or neutralized and therefore are not absorbed into the body in their original form As a rule there is no systemic poisoning following absorption of these products Hydro gen sulphide and nitrogen peroxide are exceptions to this rule how ever Hydrogen sulphide is absorbed and neutralized in the respira tory tract to sodium sulphide and the absorption of this alkaline sulphide into the blood stream produces a profound systemic poison ing Nitrogen peroxide when inhaled forms sodium nitrite and may cause nitrite poisoning although the symptoms may be obscured by the much more acute pulmonary irritation Organic substances such as alcohols ethers aldehydes volatile petroleum and coal tar products which are generally classed as irri tants are absorbed from the respiratory tract without change Their systemic effects are in general more severe than their action as pul monary irritants The local action of these substances differs from that of the more common irritants in two respects 1 The mucous secretion which results from their action upon the respiratory passages does not serve to form a protective coating against their action the secretion neither neutralizes nor alters these sub stances but rapidly becomes saturated with the gas at the tension inhaled 2 The greater part of the irritant action occurs in the upper respiratory passages bronchi and bronchiolea while the lung alveoli and atria are relatively little affected Such amounts of the gas as reach the lungs themselves are absorbed unchanged This location of action is quite exceptional for the solubility of these substances is usually quite low The sparing of the deeper portion of the lungs is the result of the active absorption into the blood which keeps the con centration of the irritant in the alveoli constantly at a low level The following table summarizes the effects of the different irritant gases their solubility and the concentrations which cause dangerous symptoms after exposure of one hour LEAD EXCRETION BY NORMAL PERSONS 295 R E L A T IO N B E T W E E N T H E P H Y S IC A L P R O P E R T IE S OF I R R I T A N T S A N D T H E I R S IT E OF A C T IO N IN T H E R E S P I R A T O R Y T R A C T A N D S U B S E Q U E N T S Y M P T O M A T O L O G Y Approxi mate solubility in water by volume at 40 C i Site of main action upon respiratory tract Amm onia gas 444 ex trapo lated Upper respir at or y tract Irritant H y d r o c h lo r ic acid gas Form aldehyde Very sol d o uble Sulphuric acid E ncoun do tered as droplets Sulphur dioxide Upper respi ratory tract and bron chi Nature of local action Alkaline ca u stic A cid action Neu tralizes alkali of tissues and alters the reaction Combines with proteins and al ters them A cid action Concen tration dangerous to breathe for 1 hour parts per million of air 2 Sym ptom atology 2 000 Elicits immediate and vio lent respiratory reflexes coughing and arrest of respiration 1 500 Death from edema or spasm of larynx Upper respira tory tract inflamed Chlorine Elicits respiratory reflexes Rarely causes death from edema of the larynx Trachea and bronchi in flamed Lung edema rare Both upper Oxidizing action and lower respiratory tract d o do Bromine A cid and oxidizing action 60 Elicits respiratory reflexes Inflammation of entire res piratory tract Edema of lungs after severe exposure Does not elicit marked respi ratory reflexes M a y be fatal in concentrations which cause no reflexes at a ll U p p e r respiratory tract inflamed only after very severe exposure Usually no immediate symptoms Delayed death from lung edema Lower respi Liberated HC1 has Phosgene Decom poses ratory tract acid action Nitrogen perox do do Liberated HNOa and H N O j have ide acid and oxidiz ing action Landolt Bornstein Physikalisch Chemische TabeUen Berlin Julius Springer 1905 p C 104 F 2 Kobert R Kom pendium der praktischen Toxikologie Stuttgart F Enke 1912 p 45 The toxicity of phosgene is greater than that of nitrogen peroxide for the reason that a portion of the peroxide is decomposed into the relatively weak nitrous acid Lead Excretion by Normal Persons TH E fact that the excretion of lead in the urine and feces of ap parently healthy normal men is a matter of almost uniform occurrence has been established by a study by Dr Robert A Kehoe and his associates the results of which were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Chicago December This fact is of great importance as the excretion of lead was for merly considered a reliable test in establishing a diagnosis of lead poisoning The persons examined were workmen taken at random as they appeared at an employment agency and included farmers common laborers skilled workers sailors chauffeurs and clerks most of whom were youths or in middle life and all parts of the United States were represented in their former homes Each subject re ceived a careful physical examination including an analysis of urine and a hemoglobin determination and was given careful instructions and maintained under supervision during the hours of employment while the tests were being made Sixty five men were obtained for 296 STUDIES OF INDUSTRIAL DISEASES AND POISONS the experiment and each man was questioned carefully as to his oc cupation over at least the five preceding years Part of these men had been employed in occupations in which there was exposure to lead occasionally or during some part of the five year period but 25 had no history of lead exposure The tests details of which are given in the article were carried out with every attention to accuracy and no other work than these analyses was done in the laboratory during the time they were being made All subjects were found to be excreting lead either in the urine or feces and in most instances in both although careful con sideration of the subjective symptoms and the results of the physical examinations failed to show evidence of lead poisoning in any of the subjects The fact of the presence of lead in all the persons examined when coupled with the variation in occupation mode of living and the places in which they had lived over a considerable period of time suggests the writer says that there is an important source or sources of lead absorption as yet unknown but which may be con cluded to be fairly general The question is raised as to whether such a general exposure could be the result of anything less widely distributed than food materials as the drinking water in the average American community does not contain lead in sufficient quantity to produce this result and analysis of the water in the community in which these subjects were studied showed no lead was present In many of the cases studied there was no history of exposure to the usually recognized sources of lead absorption and furthermore the writer says there is no constant relationship to be found be tween quantity of exposure and rate of excretion It is well to point out that the diagnostic value of qualitative determinations of lead excretion fails completely in face of the facts demonstrated herein Nor will quantitative determinations avail anything until a quanti tative significance is experimentally and clinically established Lead Poisoning Deaths r THE results of a statistical study of deaths from lead poisoning by Dr Frederick L Hoffman are published in Bulletin No 426 of the Bureau of Labor Statistics The figures presented cover re ports of chronic lead poisoning secured from various sources in cluding data from the division of vital statistics of the United States Bureau of the Census for the United States registration area various State and city reports and statistics secured from certain of the State industrial accident boards as well as foreign reports The figures show that during the period there was a progressive decrease in the number of deaths from this cause for the registration area the death rate per million of the population being 2 5 in 1910 and 1 4 in 1924 These figures are confirmed by data covering a large group of insured wage earners which show a corre sponding decrease during the same period and by the other records As a part of the study the death certificates in the division of vital statistics were examined in detail for the 11 years There were 1 592 deaths from lead poisoning during this period and a LEAD POISONING 297 classification of the cases by occupation brings out the startling fact that a considerable proportion ox the deaths were nonindustrial or not directly connected with lead using industries Among such deaths were those of 48 women and 61 farmers very few of whom had had any industrial exposure to lead but who it was shown had been poisoned in a majority of the cases by drinking water which had been contaminated by passing through lead pipes Among occupational groups painters led all others with 841 deaths or more than half the total number while there were 67 deaths among printers 85 among metal workers and lead workers and 25 among plumbers Lead Poisoning Report of Cases Among Motor Car Painters in New South Wales1 2 A N INVESTIGATION of lead poisoning among employees in the motor car painting trade in Sydney Australia in 1924 covered 100 of the 120 members of the coachmakers union in that city Complete medical examinations were made of each man including a record of the blood pressure hemoglobin estimation examination of the blood for punctate basophilia or stippling of the red cells and chemical or microscopical examination of the urine As a result of the examinations and the various tests a positive diagnosis of lead poisoning was made in 14 of the 100 men examined while 12 were considered to be slightly affected by lead poisoning and 17 had symp toms which were suspicious but not sufficient to justify a positive diagnosis of lead poisoning In the examination of these workers the lead line was found in 11 cases Of these men a diagnosis of lead poisoning was made in 6 of slight lead poisoning in 4 and of no disability in 1 The significance to be attached to the blue line is the same as that of lead in tirine but it relates to the recent past while lead in the urine shows present absorption The blue line shows that active transportation of lead has taken place in the body and that the tissues have been exposed to its harmful effects A blue line therefore is an indication for examination for punctate basophilia to see if the blood forming tissues have been poisoned and for granular casts to determine whether the kidneys have been affected A blue line is a particularly suspicious symptom in the otherwise healthy gum A fatal case of lead poisoning in which a blue line on the gum was practically the only symptom came under the observation of the writer of the report The case was that of a man engaged in repair ing wine casks which had been painted with kn exceedingly dangerous mixture of white lead and turpentine In handling the casks this mixture came off as fine dust The man who was 33 years old had been engaged at this work for two years His only complaint of ill health was of muscular pains but examination of the blood showed marked basophilia and anemic changes and examination of urine and feces showed a considerable elimination of lead He was advised to change his work and did so but died in a few weeks of rupture of a blood vessel in the brain Australia New South Wales Director General of Public Health 1924 Section i c Industrial Bygiene Sydney 1926 Annual report 298 STUDIES OF INDUSTRIAL DISEASES AND POISONS Only recently has the significance of finding lead in the urine of workers exposed to any form of this element received a satisfactory explanation Recent researches have shown that the presence of lead in the urine or in the majority of the body tissues indicates that lead is being actively transported by the blood and therefore absorp tion has recently taken place or else considerable amounts have just been liberated from the bones Therefore if a person is engaged in a process in which there is a known exposure to lead or its compounds and lead is found in his urine it is certain this is the result of recent absorption There is no definite knowledge however of the amount of lead excreted daily by individuals either poisoned or not affected by the lead taken in but it is considered probable that a large amount is more generally associated with severe cases of poisoning than a small amount I f through intensive study the amount excreted in the urine could be correlated with the intake it might help to do away with the term lead absorption which although it is used in its legitimate sense to mean merely the presence of lead in the body is often used to cover up or belittle signs or symptoms of poisoning The tests showed that lead was being excreted by 62 of the men examined and lead in amounts of 0 05 milligram per liter or more was found in the urine of 9 of the 14 men diagnosed as affected by lead poisoning in 6 of the 11 men diagnosed as having slight lead poison ing and in 21 of the remaining painters Three of the men whose cases were pronounced lead poisoning had been away from work for some time Although punctate basophilia are present in practically all cases of lead poisoning they may be absent or present only intermittently They were found to be present in 18 of the men examined 6 of these were among those diagnosed as being affected by lead poisoning and 5 among those considered to be only slightly poisoned Degenera tive changes were indicated by granular casts in the urine and by increased blood pressure in a considerable number of the men exam ined In summing up the study it is stated that the incidence of lead poisoning was sufficiently grave in this industry to call for the suppression of all processes creating lead dust for periodical exami nation of employees and for better ventilation of the paint shops and that to forbid the use of lead compounds in any painting process done indoors is an obvious remedy Manganese Poisoning Report of Six Cases A STUDY of six cases of poisoning among workers in a manganese grinding plant in Virginia was reported by R Finley Gayle jr M D in the Journal of the American Medical Association Chi cago December The first case which came to the attention of the writer was that of a man who had been employed in the manganese plant who was suffering with a disease obviously of the central nervous system but the symptoms of which did not fit any well recognized symptom complex Because of his employment the possibility of manganese poisoning was considered and the descriptions of the disease avail able agreed so well with the symptoms of the patient that this diagnosis was made M an gan eS e p ls o N IN G 299 A review of the medical literature showed that remarkably few cases of manganese poisoning had been recorded and comparatively little had been written about the disease 1 The first cases were 3 reported in 1837 the poisoning having occurred among workmen who handled manganese dioxide in the manufacture of chlorine for bleaching powder The symptoms in these cases and in those subse quently described in medical journals and other works were similar and in all but nine of the cases reported at various times the cause of the poisoning was inhalation of the manganese dust in grinding plants or swallowing it with the saliva The six patients included in the present study had been employed for periods varying from 3 to 10 months in an atmosphere heavily laden with fine manganese dust No attempt had been made to protect the workers from the dust until several cases of suspected poisoning had developed and then the workmen were provided with masks but as they were uncomfortable they were seldom worn The dust collection system in the mill was entirely inadequate to collect the dust produced in grinding the ore The symptoms of chronic manganese poisoning are said to be so striking as to differentiate them from other diseases of the central nervous system and the symptoms present in these cases which are typical of the disease are described by Doctor Gayle as follows The initial symptom in 3 of my 6 patients was disturbance of gait and in 2 of the remaining patients this was the second manifestation In each of the patients the following symptoms were invariably found Nervousness weak ness and fatigue disturbed gait with retropulsion on arising and propulsion on walking and causeless laughter with silly conduct and expression Paresthe sias1 were noted as an early complaint in 4 cases intention tremor of the 4 hands in 5 monotonous speech in 5 awkward clumsy movements of the ex tremities with loss of the finer movements of the hands in 4 masked expres sion in 4 a loose hanging lower jaw in 3 an infrequent deep inspiratory sigh in 3 and lethargy in 2 Abnormal mental symptoms were observed in every patient mostly of personality and in only one case were intellectual aberrations observed Irritability lack of sociability tearfulness and mild exaltation were the outstanding changes Two of the patients became sus picious without cause of their families and friends The organic neurologic findings were almost uniform the gait was altered in every case the station was unsteady and the deep tendon reflexes were increased over the normal in the majority Intention tremor of the hands and increased muscle tone were found together with masked expression and monotonous speech None of the patients showed pathologic plantar reflexes objective sensory changes atrophy or edema The pupils were not altered in size shape or reaction The fields of vision were normal as well as could be detected by a rough ex amination Intraocular examination showed definite pallor in one case and a very reddened vascular retina in another No involvement of the cranial nerves was noted except suspicious weakness of the facial nerve in one patient and the drooping lower jaw in 3 Peripheral neuritis is a frequent symptom of poisoning from various metals and it is possible that there may be some neuritie involvement in these cases This may be suspected in view of the fact that 4 of the patients examined complained of paresthesias of the extremities and in 2 of them actual pain was described Against this belief is the activity of the tendon reflexes the absence of objective sensory changes and muscular atrophy and the character of the pain The ages of these workers varied from 17 to 47 and all but one had been rather heavy drinkers The operators of the plant and some 1 See Labor Review October 1919 pp Morbid or perverted sensation such as numbness crawling sensation pins and4 needles 300 STUDIES OF INDUSTRIAL DISEASES AND POISONS others in the community were of the opinion that the symptoms were caused by the drinking of corn whisky and fermenting cider but the symptoms of either acute or chronic alcoholism do not agree with those in these cases and also the one patient who was not a drinker developed symptoms of poisoning in a shorter period of time about three months after being in contact with the manganese dust than any of the others There appears to be a gradual progression in the symptoms of persons susceptible to manganese poisoning as long as they are sub jected to absorption of the manganese dust the symptoms remaining at the maximum for varying lengths of time followed by improve ment up to a certain point Because of the well grounded belief however that there is a destruction of cerebral tissue the writer believes that in all but the mildest cases there will be permanent disability Preventive measures consist of the provision of face masks the wearing of which should be rigidly enforced and the installation of an efficient dust collecting system It is also considered essential that shower baths should be provided and that a bath and a change of clothing should be compulsory at the end of the day s work The treatment which has been suggested for the condition is massage corrective exercises warm baths and various types of hydrotherapy together with stimulation of the excretion o f the poison by general elimination The results of the study are summarized as follows 1 Manganese more often than is recognized causes symptoms in workmen handling this ore 2 That certain persons are not susceptible to the poisoning effects of man ganese is demonstrated by the fact that many workmen in this plant have been in contact with manganese dust for several years with no apparent ill effect 3 Mental symptoms have been described by some investigators and denied by others Mental changes were found in each of the patients of this series 4 No record could be found of other investigators having detected manganese in the urine in clinical cases Experimentally it has been found in minute amounts In this series it was present in three of the five specimens of urine examined Mercury Poisoning D OISONING from mercury is a common occurrence both in the mining and the smelting of this metal although by far the greater number o f cases occur among the employees about the reduction works according to a study of mercury poisoning by Dr R R Sayers Bureau o f Mines Reports of Investigations May 1922 Serial No 2354 Modern methods of mining and recovery of the metal have greatly reduced the frequency and severity of cases but further reduction is possible the report states and much can be done by both workmen and operators by taking proper precautions The cases of mercury poisoning occurring about mines and reduc tion works are usually chronic although there is occasional develop ment of acute symptoms when workers are exposed to excessive amounts of mercury vapors dust or soot The chief symptoms of the disease are stomatitis inflammation of the mouth frequently with salivation tremors and a peculiar timidity There are organic degenerative changes in the digestive system the circulatory system and the kidneys ASPECTS OF DUST ELIMINATION IN MINES 301 The principal causes of poisoning are poor ventilation and failure to prevent the escape of mercury vapor from furnaces condensers and retorts and uncleanliness on the part of the workmen In addi tion to these causes there is a wide variation in the susceptibility of different persons The use of alcohol and tobacco seem to increase both susceptibility and the severity of symptoms while women and children and tuberculous individuals are considered to be most susceptible Mercury poisoning is caused by the absorption and retention of small quantities of the metal or its compounds over an extended period of time It may enter the body through the skin the gastro intestinal tract or the respiratory tract and is more readily absorbed by the skin if the person is perspiring or if the mercury is impure or dirty Metallic mercury vaporizes at low temperatures being notice able at 8 5 F and the amount vaporized increases with the heat The vapors fumes and dusts enter the body therefore through the skin they are breathed into the lungs or are swallowed with food or other substances taken into the mouth While the effects of the mercury are cumulative only a portion of the amount absorbed is retained in the body elimination taking place slowly through the kidneys large intestines and the bile and saliva Because there are usually only small amounts absorbed in any one day by a worker in a reduction plant the development of symptoms is usually slow The usual course of symptoms is first loss of appetite stomatitis and intestinal disturbances followed at varying lengths of time by the development of tremors which progress until the whole body is more or less involved While this stage is not supposed to be dangerous to life if exposure to mercury continues the brain may become affected with death as the probable result Persons suffering from industrial mercurial poisoning usually re cover the report states if they are removed from contact with the poison during the early stages or even after tremors develop though recovery may take several months but if paralysis delirium or in sanity are present the recovery is doubtful Measures recommended in the report for the prevention of poison ing include adequate general and exhaust ventilation provision of respirators one shower bath for every 10 employees and one wash basin for every 5 employees individual lockers lunch rooms physical examination of applicants for employment excluding drinkers those having tuberculosis or those in poor physical condition and persons under 18 years of age periodic physical ex amination at least every six months instruction of employees as to the dangers of mercury poisoning and methods of avoiding it The necessity for strict personal cleanliness and for keeping in good physical condition is einphasized Mining Industry Engineering Hygienic Aspects of Dust Elimination in Mines rT HE conclusions reached from an intensive study of the effect of mine dusts on health and safety made through the United States Bureau of Mines and the United States Public Health Service were reported by Daniel Harrington in the Journal of Industrial Hygiene Boston May 1925 302 STUDIES OF INDUSTRIAL DISEASES AND POISONS The study was carried on in more than 100 coal and metal mines and mining communities in 25 States while a more limited amount of underground observation was made in about as many more mines and their camps From this study and many other investigations it appears that any mine dust either in coal or metal mines which is insoluble or soluble with difficulty in the fluids and tissues of the respiratory organs will in time affect the health of underground workers if it is present in the air in minute form and in large quantities and is breathed during a large part of the working time Some soluble dusts are also harmful In general it appears that the quantity of dust breathed more or less continuously together with its lack of solubility determines the hygienic harmfulness much more than the specific physical or chemical qualities of the dust itself although a large quantity of finely divided flint dust or similar hard sharp insoluble material is more harmful than a similar quantity of fine limestone coal or shale dust The dust of free silica which is probably the most harmful is not always equally so as some ores such as siliceous schist with a free silica content of 60 to 80 per cent have dust which is much less sharp and probably more soluble than ores such as flint or chert which have about the same percentage of silica but in which the dust is very hard and sharp In metal mines the sources of air dustiness in the order of their importance are Dry drilling of holes for blasting particularly those from about 70 to vertical blasting shoveling or mucking very fine dry material at the working face where the ventilation is usually poor loading cars from chutes dumping loaded cars into chutes and timbering In metal mine mills dry crushing and other occupations are dangerously dusty The most dangerous occupation in coal mines from the point of view of the dust hazard is cutting dry coal by mining machines more dust usually being produced by electric machines than by compressedair machines Enormous quantities of very fine dust are thrown into the air by both the u n d e rcu ttin g machines and the shearing center cutting or overcutting machines this being particularly harmful when the cutting is done largely in dry clay or shale In addition to the hazards of possible explosions and of poisonous fumes from blasting coal while the shift is in the mine this practice has the very bad feature of throwing into the air large quantities of very fine dust to be breathed by workers Shoveling or loading dry coal into cars is also a very dusty occupation particularly when pillars are being extracted Certain methods of drilling also are very dusty resulting in very bad conditions particularly if the air circulation is sluggish Although the quantity of dust breathed by the miner is of great importance it is difficult to determine the sare limit in the air dusti ness of working places In South Africa a limit of 5 milligrams or particles per cubic meter of air was set but according to recent reports from that country the average air dustiness of working places is only 1 3 milligrams per cubic meter of air The writer states that there is not one dry coal or metal mine in the United States where the average air dustiness is as low as the South African standard or even as low as 10 milligrams the standard set by Higgins and Lanza in their study of miner s consumption in the Joplin Mo ASPECTS OF DUST ELIMINATION IN MIKES 303 district in 1915 The average amount of dust in dry metal mines in this country is over 20 milligrams while many are over 50 milligrams per cubic meter of air Dry drilling of the upper holes sometimes results in as high as 7 000 milligrams of highly siliceous dust or one thousand four hundred times the maximum allowed in South Africa The average dust content of the air resulting from dry drilling the upper holes those above 60 is from 150 to 200 milligrams per cubic foot of air those below 60 about 50 milligrams while wet drilling produces from 5 to 20 milligrams The weight of dust in the air is usually not so high in coal mines owing to the lower specific gravity of coal but in some cases the num ber of particles reaches an enormous figure In one case in which coal was shoveled in a confined poorly ventilated very dry place there were approximately particles per cubic meter of air while in numerous other places in the same mine there were from one to five billion particles in each cubic meter of air Similar con ditions were found in another coal mine where an undercutting machine was being used without the use of water on the cutting chain the air breathed by the workers having nearly particles per cubic meter of air Physical examination of these workers disclosed much miner s consumption among them The harmfulness of insoluble dust present in large quantities and in finely divided form in the air breathed by mine workers may be increased by other factors tending to depress the workers vitality such as high temperature or humidity and air depleted of oxygen or high in gases such as carbon monoxide carbon dioxide etc The writer believes that the dusts most harmful to the lungs are from 0 25 micron1 possibly as small as 0 1 micron up to 10 microns in 5 size Dust particles which result in bronchitis are probably larger in size up to 50 or even 100 microns These larger particles if they get to the lungs do not seem to remain there but cause con siderable irritation and clogging of the respiratory passages Although the dust of free silica is probably the most harmful of the insoluble dusts X ray and other physical examinations of miners who have worked in the dust from coal and shale as well as in the dust from ores such as iron oxide limestone and other essentially nonsiliceous material show definite amounts of lung involvement Examination of coal miners reveals the fallacy of the idea held by m ny that breathing of coal dust is harmless as not only are throat or bronchial troubles found frequently but also the usual symptoms of miner s consumption including extreme shortness of breath and hemorrhage The harmful effects of the dust are intensified by local conditions such as a high carbon dioxide or low oxygen content of the air which cause more rapid respiration and therefore breathing in a maximum amount of dust and by high temperature and hu midity especially when the dusty air is stagnant The very fine dust from 10 microns down when once suspended in the air by any mining operation remains in suspension for long periods of time and unless there are continuous currents of fresh air at all work places the miner is forced to breathe this dust laden air J Micron one millionth of a meter 5 304 STUDIES OF INDUSTRIAL DISEASES AND POISONS The following statement by the writer gives an idea of the preva lence of respiratory diseases due to dust among miners in the United States In one metal mining locality with siliceous ore formation an insurance com pany reports mortality as over 500 per cent of the expected mortality the excess deaths being due chiefly to lung disease in another metal mining locality with limestone formation death expectancy was exceeded by 50 per cent and again lung disease was held responsible for the excess In another metal mining dis trict physical examination showed that at least 20 per cent of all mine workers had silicosis and of the men who were examined physically and had worked only in that district less than 5 per cent were free from the effect of dust in the respiratory organs In a metal mine in hematite ore with a very low silica con tent about 60 per cent of those examined physically had dust involvement although only a small number were so severely affected as to be incapacitated In another hematite ore region physical examination of miners was not per mitted by the company but a miner whose health broke down and who threatened suit alleging miner s consumption was given compensation in pref erence to fighting the suit In a metal mining district with ore in calcite limestone gangue considerable miner s consumption was found although the mining company alleged that it was brought in from other camps by those who were afflicted Mortality statistics of the coal mining counties of one State over a five year period showed deaths of coal miners from respiratory disease as 36 per cent of the total deaths if accidental deaths were excluded farmers had 25 per cent and all other males about 30 per cent of deaths due to respiratory diseases In another State the coal mining mortality record excluding accidental deaths showed that 36 per cent of coal miners died of respiratory disease against 20 per cent for farmers and 26 per cent for all other males In a large coal mining locality about 25 per cent of the old time miners were given physical examination 25 per cent of those examined had definite lung trouble and nearly 37 per cent additional had slight lung involvement In another coal mine with totally different conditions and in a different part of the United States about 25 per cent of the underground employees were given physical examination and about 40 per cent of these showed definite lung involvement In a number of instances especially in the western coal mining States machine runners have been so seriously affected by breathing coal dust that they had to leave the mines and in several cases death ensued within a few years in one case in less than one year after leaving the mine the cause being lung and throat trouble this trouble due to dust in the lungs of machine runners in coal mines has been known since about 1913 in Wyoming and Utah and the remedy then applied and now largely used is the spraying of water on the cutting chain when the machines are working Exact figures as to the mortality and morbidity rates from respira tory diseases among miners are not available but the writer states that there can be no doubt that dust diseases are directly responsible for the death of several hundred coal and metal miners annually in the United States and indirectly responsible for the death or disa bility of several thousand others The lack of information on the subject is said to be due to incorrect diagnosis on the part of physi cians in some instances but mainly to the fact that usually in the regions most afflicted there is a concerted effort to minimize the dan gerous conditions Opposition to measures for improving condi tions is found among the workers themselves who object to physical examinations and oppose the use of wet drills and ventilating sys tems and among reactionary mine bosses and operators State laws regulating working conditions in mines are either nonexistent the writer states or if there are such laws they are not well enforced and there is a general lack of knowledge of and interest in the situa tion Specific remedial measures recommended for metal mines are Adequate mechanical ventilation use of water in drilling and h ea lth hazards IN m i n in g in d u s t r y 305 sprinkling of all places where dust collects blasting to be done when possible after a shift and where this can not be done enforcement of strict regulations as to wetting the region of blasting before and after firing the shots and removal of all explosive fumes by adequate air current and strict physical examination of mine workers before employment and at intervals of not more than six months during employment Mining Industry Health Hazards THE principal health hazards in the mining industry are listed by R R Sayers chief surgeon of the United States Bureau of Mines in a brochure published as serial No 2660 as those due to abnormal conditions o f the air improper sewage disposal bad drink ing water poor illumination and local mechanical irritation The last two hazards while important in England and on the continent are not of importance in this country Miner s nystagmus spas modic movement of the eyes resulting from poor illumination has not been reported in this country due to the better illumination found in American coal mines and beat knee beat hand and beat elbow caused by local mechanical irritation are of rare occurrence here owing to the fact that the coal seams are thicker and usually not inclined and undercutting by machines instead of by hand is almost universal The effects of high temperatures and humidities in metal mines in this country have been studied recently by the Bureau of Mines It was found that in temperatures above 90 F with almost saturated air the ill effects are much less when the air is moving than when it is still At temperatures of saturated air from 98 6 to 100 however moving the air even at high velocities had no good effect and there was apparently some disadvantage It was further found that the exhaustion and weakness following exposure to a very high tempera ture and humidity for a short period is not so severe as that follow ing exposure to a moderately high temperature and humidity for a longer period There were changes in the blood pressure in high temperatures and humidities the systolic blood pressure rising and thus increasing the pulse pressure The pulse rate rather than the rise in body temperature seemed to determine the extent of the dis comfort experienced Persons on whom the experiments were made became very uncomfortable after the pulse rate exceeded 135 pulsa tions per minute and showed very severe symptoms of distress when the pulse exceeded 160 per minute The principal poisonous dusts met with in mining are those from lead mercury zinc and arsenic ores and the more soluble the dust the more dangerous it is In mining carbonate or oxide ores of lead men are often badly poisoned while in mining galena lead sul phide lead poisoning is of rare occurrence In the mining and smelting of mercury especially when the ore contains free mercury or the more soluble salts there are some cases of poisoning espe cially in poorly ventilated underground workings but the number of cases is much greater among employees in reduction plants Poisonous dusts are seldom if ever present in coal mines The various irritating dusts produce different forms of pneumo coniosis fibrous inflammation of the lungs When the disease is 306 STUDIES OF INDUSTRIAL DISEASES AND POISONS caused by breathing rock dust especially fine silica it is called 4 silicosis when it is caused by coal dust 4 anthracosis and when 4 4 caused by iron dust 4 siderosis Silicosis is present in most of the 4 hard rock mining districts of the world It is found among the miners in the gold and lead silver mines of Australia the gold mines of New Zealand and South Africa the tin mines of Great Britain and in many of the mining districts of the United States Because of the growing use of rock dusting in coal mines to pre vent explosions it is important to determine the suitability of different kinds of dust for this purpose Tests have been carried out by the Bureau of Mines on the basic types of coal dust to which the men will necessarily be exposed and on quartz dust as well as on lime stone dust shale and kaolin dust practically a pure silicate It has been determined from these studies that limestone dust has no more effect than coal dust in the production of fibrous tissue in the lungs but that the silicate dust has an effect similar to that of quartz dust Although some experiments seem to show that shale dust which contains from 50 to 55 per cent silica may be inhaled in large quantities the reaction of live animal tissue to shale dusts varies with different specimens of shale As most of the specimens produce marked fibrous tissue formation however it is considered by the bureau officials that they should be regarded as definitely harmful Dr J S Haldane in a study of the effects of dust inhalation in English mines states that 4 the material for stone dusting ought to 4 be most carefully selected in the light of existing knowledge exclud ing any sort of dust which when inhaled by itself has a doubtful record or is likely to irritate the air passages or eyes by its grittiness It is fortunate that suitable material is abundant and is also as a rule the easiest to disintegrate into dust Dr E L Collis said that if he were asked to name the dusts which are physiologically safe to use in dusting coal mines he would at present only be pre pared to name dusts composed of calcium salts such as limestones his opinion in regard to shales being as jet undecided The Bureau of Mines has listed in tentative specifications as preferable for rock dusting pure limestone dolomite gypsum and anhydrite The presence of gases is another hazard of air conditions in mines These gases include carbon dioxide which causes deeper and more rapid respiration The rapidity of respiration varies from a very slight increase when one half of 1 f er cent is present up to 5 per cent with which amount breathing is laborious Ten per cent can be endured for only a very few minutes Methane is ox importance in coal mines and it may also be present in metal mines This gas has no harmful effects when breathed but it may accumulate in suffi cient quantities to make an explosive mixture with the oxygen in the air Hydrogen sulphide is usually found only in very small quantities and has a very repulsive odor which may serve as a warning It is highly poisonous 0 06 to 0 1 per cent being sufficient to cause serious symptoms within a few minutes Sulphur dioxide is very irritating to the eyes and respiratory pas sages and causes choking when breathed It is occasionally present in the mine atmosphere in sufficient concentration to be dangerous but it is easily recognized by its characteristic odor TREATMENT OF 61 NICKEL RASH Carbon monoxide which is responsible for a great many deaths among miners and workers in the mineral industries is without odor color or taste and its effects are often unnoticed by the victim until it is too late In regard to the hazard from the various gases the report states that It can not be emphasized too strongly that efficiency comfort and good health depend to a large extent on pure air and that ill effects or symptoms arising from variations in the composition of the air either by lowering of the oxygen or by addition of gases such as hydrogen sulphide carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide are best treated by 1 Getting the victim to pure fresh air in the quickest time possible 2 Administering pure oxygen for at least 20 minutes 3 Using the Schaefer method of artificial respiration when the victim has ceased to breathe or is breathing slowly irregularly and shallowly 4 Keeping the victim warm and at rest Nickel Refining Control and Treatment of Nickel Rash T H E methods of control and treatment of nickel rash have been studied in a nickel refinery in Canada The refinery treats matte consisting of approximately 55 per cent nickel 25 per cent copper and 20 per cent sulphur the matte being processed to fine nickel and copper in five different buildings in which the men are exposed to variable heat conditions and to varying quantities of nickel and nickel salts The rash appeared generally on exposed surfaces of the body as the forearms wrists neck forehead and the upper part of the chest but was of two distinct types depending on the character of the work Among the men who worked around the furnaces where it was very hot and dusty the rash started as small papules which seemed to occur at the mouths of the pores and was accompanied by severe burning and itching The irritability was increased by ex posure to heat especially if sweating occurred In the milder cases the skin surrounding the eruption was apparently healthy but in the severe cases the skin became greatly inflamed and swollen In these cases the exudation was such that the condition resembled a severe acute weeping eczema The other cases occurred in the building in which the final refining took place by an electrolytic process where the employees were exposed to a hot moist atmosphere The rash started with the occurrence of reddened patches of skin which were characterized by burning and itching Unless such cases received early treatment they developed the features of the first type and there was a marked tendency among these patients toward relapse after apparent cure Various animal experiments were carried out to determine the effect of handling the nickel or nickel salts and of the ingestion of the nickel and the influence of various factors such as the diet the severity of the work personal cleanliness and the heat of the work places were also studied It was determined that an insufficient cooling power in the at mosphere was the most important single factor in the incidence of the disease and that increased skin temperature allied with an alkaline sweat lowers the resistance of the exposed parts and increases their 1 The Journal of Industrial Hygiene Boston December Studies in the control 0 and treatment of nickel rash by Frederic M R Bulmer and E A Mackenzie 308 STUDIES OF INDUSTRIAL DISEASES AND POISONS susceptibility to irritation Attention to ventilation and the main tenance of a suitable cooling power in the air may be expected there fore greatly to reduce the incidence of nickel rash and its cure can be hastened by large doses of calcium chloride which counteract the tendency toward the elimination of the excess amount of alkali in the sweat which excessive heat produces The writers suggest that other occupational skin diseases may be produced by conditions similar to those which are of importance in the causation of nickel rash Phosphorus Necrosis See Fireworks manufacture phosphorus necrosis Photo Engraving Industry Health Survey TTHE variety of the hazards connected with the photo engraving industry is shown in an article in the American Federationist1 7 in which an accpunt is also given of the health and the working conditions among the photo engravers of New York City Practically one third of all the photo engravers in the United States and Canada are said to be located in about 100 establishments in New York which is the center of the printing and publishing business of the country Photo engraving is the process of making the printing plates from which pictures and illustrations are printed in one or more colors all matter except straight type being printed from these plates or engravings A great many cliemicals and acids for etching in various forms are used and part of the photographic development has to be done in rooms absolutely dark with the consequence that the provision of proper ventilation is a problem The special hazards aside from poor ventilation result from the use of inflammable substances high speed machines chemicals acids and various gases The trade is highly organized and many questions relating to the welfare of the workers are dealt with by a joint industrial council composed o f an equal number of representatives of the employers and the workers organizations A sanitary survey of the industry has recently been made1 and a sanitary code established by the 8 Board of Health of the City of New York at the request of the council As a preliminary to the survey a physical examination was given to all workers in the industry who would volunteer and a detailed and uniform report was kept of all examinations About two thirds of the workers volunteered for the examinations which were given at the various plants by the staff of four physicians assigned by the board of health for the purpose The findings were confidential but each individual was notified of any condition disclosed by the examination which needed attention and was urged to consult his family physician It is expected that the results of the examination will be a guide in the future in the selection of applicants for appren ticeship For the past five years records have been kept of the 17American Federationist Washington D C July Health in the photo engraving industry by E J Volz 18 A complete report of the survey was published in The American Photo Engraver St Louis Mo June 1926 HEALTH SURVEY OF PRINTING TRADES 309 physical examination of apprentices as each applicant is examined prior to being indentured and these records it is considered will be of increasing value in the future in determining whether any specific disease is of an occupational origin Photo engraving is divided into a number of distinct processes photography etching engraving etc which are carried on under varying conditions and which supposedly involve special hazards A classification of the results of the examinations by the occupation or the department in which it was carried on seemed to show how ever that the exposure to the various hazards was fairly general throughout the establishment As the photo engraving process has been in use only about 40 years and has developed rapidly in recent years the men employed are comparatively young The average age of those examined was 34 5 years although the range was from 16 to 74 years From the nature of the work it was expected that diseases of the nose throat teeth eyes and skin would predominate and the find ings did show a high percentage of such diseases Sixty four per cent of the workers were found to have throat affections and a com parison of the death rate in the industry from various causes with the general death rates showed a higher rate from pulmonary diseases among these workers than among the general population Among the chemicals and acids used in the industry which consti tute a hazard to the workers are glacial acetic acid wood alcohol ammonia ammonium bromide ammonium chloride anilin benzine benzol ammonium bichromate sodium bichromate copper bro mide cadmium bromide potassium carbonate carbolic acid chloro form potassium chloride silver chloride chrome alum chromic acid caustic potash potassium cyanide sulphuric ether sodium fluoride formalin muriatic acid hydrochloric acid ammonium iodide potas sium iodide lye bichloride of mercury mercuric oxalic acid pyrogallic acid ammonium sulphide sodium sulphide sulphuric acid and verdigris collodion A sanitary survey of the plants showed that in addition to these hazards the men were exposed to glare from unshielded lights and to ultra violet and infra red rays from open arc lights dust from grind ing cylinders carbon monoxide from gas stoves and gas driers ovens etc dust from dragon s blood and other powders excessive heat irom rheostats chips from filings and routings of metal on machines operated at a high speed and hazards from unguarded machinery As a result of the survey about 40 general recommendations were made providing for the mechanical ventilation of all plants and all dark rooms exhaust systems for all acid machines etching tubs chemical sinks gas stoves boiling pots sensitizing pads dragon sblood cabinets etc and the use of indirect or semi indirect lighting and the inclosure of arc lights in glass to filter the dangerous light rays Printing Trades Health Survey 1922 to 192 A SURVEY of the health conditions in the printing industry covering the years 1922 to 1925 made by Dr Frederick L Hoff 310 STUDIES OF INDUSTRIAL DISEASES AND POISONS man at the instance of the representative organizations of the em ployers and the various printing trades unions and with the cooper ation of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics has been pub lished as Bulletin No 427 The purpose of the survey was to secure as far as practicable an impartial up to date scientific appraisal of health conditions in the industry with the object of correcting conditions which need to be improved The printing industry which employs some 300 000 workers and is represented in practically every community however small is one in which the great variety of processes and plant conditions defy stand ardization Such an industry therefore naturally presents many difficulties as to thoroughness and completeness in matters of detail in making a health survey In general the smaller printing plants were found to be typical of the past rather than the present and the labor conditions affecting the health and welfare of the workers differed greatly from those in the large and modern establishments In many of these plants the mechanical equipment was such as to prevent satisfactory methods of lighting ventilation and use of floor space although this type of plant is rapidly passing In addition to personal inspection of many plants questionnaires were sent to employers and to labor organizations The returns received from 2 096 employers with approximately 100 000 employees represented in their reports showed a surprisingly low rate of sickness in general while only 34 cases of lead poisoning 78 cases of tuberculosis and 67 cases of eye infections were reported Inquiry as to the number of plant inspections showed that broadly speak ing the printing plants throughout the country are subject to a reasonable measure of inspection by authorities more or less qualified for the purpose The replies to the questionnaire sent to labor organizations con firmed the reports by employers as to the low sickness rate in the industry as well as to the low incidence of lead poisoning although they showed occasionally that sanitary conditions were in need of improvement The conditions of health of aged workers was one of the subjects of special inquiry and returns were secured concerning 728 men and women between the ages of 60 and 86 part of whom had retired from active work The present health of these persons was reported to be good in the great majority of cases only 3 4 per cent being reported to be in bad health indicating the report states that the occupational hazards in the industry are at the present time of rela tively minor effect in producing serious consequences traceable in prolonged sickness or incapacity in old age In summing up the results of the survey Doctor Hoffman states that in general health conditions in the printing trades were decid edly more satisfactory than had been anticipated as shown by the low rate of sickness incidence reported by both employers and labor organizations and confirmed by the vital statistics of these trades and that in a general way the satisfactory state of health of the workers is suggestive of very material progress in sanitary condi tions in these trades and the control of conditions likely to give rise to objectionable features bearing upon health and longevity EFFECTS OF USE OF RADIOACTIVE SUBSTANCES 311 Printing Trades Hygienic Conditions TH E results of an investigation by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics into the hygienic conditions in the printing trades are embodied in Bulletin No 392 of this bureau Approxi mately 1 000 plants in the printing industry in 21 cities of the United States were personally inspected and detailed reports were made on 536 establishments having 81 314 workers There are 35 000 establishments in the printing industry and 600 000 workers The six main subdivisions of this industry com position photo engraving stereotyping electrotyping presswork and binding cover altogether 50 skilled trades Practically all of the hazards in these various trades can be prevented by sensible pre cautions and there need be no more menace to the health of workers in the printing trades than in any other indoor employment One of the most important matters in the hygiene of the printing industry is ventilation The majority of the printing plants depend mainly upon window ventilation yet each process in the industry has its own ventilation problems The larger and the very small establishments were usually kept very clean The medium sized plants however presented the most insanitary appearance Washing facilities were greatly neglected in many cases and lunch room provisions called for considerable improvement Filtering and cooling systems for drinking water and bubbling fountains were usually installed in the large modern plants but the greater number of the other establishments had tank coolers fre quently with the ice placed in the water The medical equipment in a few cases included a dental clinic In some establishments the workers exposed to lead fumes were examined monthly The principal occupational diseases in the printing trades are tuberculosis and lead poisoning Only 29 cases of tuberculosis in five years were reported for the 536 establishments covered a sur prisingly small number of cases but doubtless due to the fact that other cases were withheld or not known to the employers because the disease did not result fatally Of the 14 cases of lead poisoning recorded for the same period 12 were reported by employers of the 536 establishments Two additional cases were found which evi dently originated in one of the newspaper establishments studied and these were therefore included in the summary Fifteen other occupational diseases were found including 4 cases of carbon monoxide poisoning 9 cases of chromium poisoning and 2 cases of eczema Radium Effects of Use of Radioactive Substances on Health of Workers 1 9 TH E occurrence of an unusual number of cases of necrosis among young women who had been employed in a plant in New Jersey engaged in the manufacture of luminous watch dials prompted the investigation of these cases during 1924 and 1925 by a number of 19 See L a b or R eview M a y 1926 pp 312 STUDIES OF INDUSTRIAL DISEASES AND POISONS different agencies Early in 1925 a preliminary survey of radiumusing establishments was made by the Bureau of Labor Statistics It was intended at the time this survey was started to make a com plete study of the plant conditions and of the effects of the use of the radioactive substances on the health of the workers It developed however that properly to carry through such a study would require greater technical resources than were at the disposal of this bureau and the study was therefore discontinued In the radium using plant above referred to six deaths from necrosis of the jaw and aplastic anemia occurred during 1924 and 1925 among the young women engaged in painting numerals on watch and clock dials the latest death occurring December The chief chemist of the company also died in 1925 the doctor who performed the autopsy giving the cause of death as aplastic anemia of the pernicious type In addition to these deaths at least seven other cases of varying degrees of severity have been reported The period of employment of the women affected by the poison ranged from one to seven years The luminous paint used in the New Jersey plant consisted of zinc sulphide rendered luminous by activation with a minute quan tity of radioactive substance consisting of about 20 per cent radium and 80 per cent mesothorium Although a number of dial painting plants use this or a nearly identical luminous composition cases of poisoning have been reported only from the New Jersey plant In addition to the survey by the bureau studies of these cases and of conditions in the plant have been made by Dr Cecil K Drinker and his assistants of the Harvard School of Public Health and by Dr Frederick L Hoffman while the results of the observa tions of Doctors Martland Conlon and Knef who attended some of these cases and the results of various experiments conducted by them have also been made public All of the investigators have ascribed the necrosis of the jaw with which these young women were afflicted to the practice of pointing the brushes in their mouths by which minute quantities of the sub stance were continually absorbed into the system The physical examination by Doctor Drinker of 22 individuals from various parts of the plant 13 of whom were employed in the painting room showed that in no case was the blood entirely normal while in many of the blood films examined the results characteristic of excessive exposure to radium or X rays were present The investigation by Doctor Hoffman included visits to the plant and investigation of the facts connected with the sickness and death of several of these patients and as a result of his study Doctor Hoff man concluded that the radium necrosis occurred not from the fact of general exposure to radioactive substances or nearness thereto but as the direct result of introducing such substances in minute quantities into the mouth through the insanitary habit of penciling the point of the brush with the lips From the experiments and the clinical studies of these cases by Doctor Martland and his associates it was concluded that for the first time the anemias from which these patients suffered were actually proved to be due to the ingestion of radioactive elements SKIN DISEASES OF OCCUPATIONAL ORIGIN 313 and that the necrosis of the jaw which forms an important lesion in this disease is due to local irritative radiation caused by clinging particles of the radioactive substances on the gums teeth and roof of the mouth Skin Diseases Defects Caused by Various Substances A PAPER on skin diseases of an occupational origin by Dr R Prosser White which was read at the Fourth International Congress of Industrial Accidents and Diseases Amsterdam Sep tember 1925 was published in the September 1926 issue of the Journal of Industrial Hygiene Boston It is an interesting fact the writer says that the majority of industrial physicians do not realize tHat occupational skin diseases present a greater variety of lesions than those of syphilis and tuberculosis combined and that some of these diseases also have a longer latent or incubation period than those having a syphilitic origin In cases of occupational dermatosis it is said to be important to determine whether or not the patient has a normal skin because in the case of a hereditarily tender or weak skin the period of recovery will be prolonged secondary infections which are common com plications must be prevented in the treatment of these diseases and consideration must be given to any tendency the irritant has to pro duce sensitization A dermatitis or eczema is idiopathic if it is inborn in the individual or is acquired as a result of indiscretions in diet through a hereditary peculiarity of the blood or tissues or from numerous unknown reasons while it is traumatic if it is a reaction due entirely to the agent used in the industrial process On the other hand there may be a biologic or chemical correlation between the skin and the agent which will result in an excessive cutaneous reaction or other unusual features showing that the agent has caused sensitization As sensitization can change the type and features of an eruption as well as alter the duration and severity of the disease it is evident that in such a case it is not advisable for a person to follow work involving exposure to the sensitizing agent The symptoms of idiopathic and traumatic eczema are practically identical but the former often runs a tedious and prolonged course while the latter unless there are complications has a definite limit In making a differential diagnosis therefore the history and dura tion of the disease and the exact nature and kind of materials worked among must be considered Individual tendencies and weaknesses often make it difficult to determine to what extent the condition is due to the unhealthy condition of the skin and how much to the material used Many of these individual weaknesses or defects pro long the period of convalescence and complicate recovery and for this reason physical examination on entrance is important both for the industry and for the individual in eliminating those suffering from any skin complaint or physical disability which might dis qualify them later In a plant with which the writer is connected where there is a constant risk of exposure to noxious dust 10 per cent of the applicants are rejected as a result of the physical ex amination the majority because of some cutaneous disability 314 STUDIES OF INDUSTRIAL DISEASES AND POISONS Substances Affecting the Skin A LL materials which destroy the horny layer of the skin pro duce a prompt effect examples of materials having an immedi ate solvent action being the alkalies and alkaline earths lime soda and the sulphides These substances produce sores which are super ficial rather than deep and there is always risk in working with them if they are handled in sufficient strength Other harmful substances such as chrome have little effect on the horny layer of the skin but as soon as this is broken oxidation or other chemical action starts The time taken by a traumatic sore to heal depends upon the extent and depth of the lesion There is no danger of malignancy from certain substances such as chrome although the irritation from it may be lifelong while other substances such as tar and soot may cause malignant growths The malignancy can not be brought about solely by the irritation of acute or chronic inflammation but depends upon specific peculiarities one of which is special to the tissues and the other depends on the specific activity of the agent It is not until recently that the latent effects of some of these cancerproducing substances have been realized such materials as soot tar and spinning oils producing cancerous growths in many cases only after many years of exposure or long after the exposure has ceased Arsenic The fumes of arsenic were recognized as a cause of cancer among copper smelters as early as 1820 Following that discovery malignant growths were found among workers in factories making Paris green and in sheep dip factories and in recent years cancer has been produced experimentally from arsenic by external applica tion alone In industry the growths do not appear until after 20 to 30 years contact with the arsenic Although arsenic is not known to cause cancer in any of the tissues of the body except the skin the writer questions whether in industries where fine arsenical dust is diffused through the atmosphere and is absorbed by the lungs and stomach this absorption is not likely to have a greater effect in causing cancer of the skin than the local irritative effects on the skin Petroleum and shale oils The danger to workers in the petroleum industry depends aside from the length of exposure on the kind of oils handled and the heat used in distilling them Oils from certain sections are not important as a cause of new growths but in general hazards connected with the use of bituminous coal and oil products are increased according to the temperature at which the products have been evolved one investigator having turned a noncancerproducing oil into a cancer producing one by submitting it to great heat More than 500 cases of cancer occurring in the cotton spinning industry have been reported by British investigators These cancers have been shown to have been caused by the lubricants used The spinning oils are supposed to consist ox the more refined products and are carefully clarified but the danger is probably due to adul teration or mixture with some of the cruder distillates The petro leum oils are less likely than coal tars to produce cancer The pros pect of developing cancer among shale oil workers has been found to be 0 5 per cent and although shale oil is obtained at a temperature of 700 C there is less danger from it than from tar and soot SKIN DISEASES OF OCCUPATIONAL ORIGIN 315 Tar and fitch These substances are agents in the causation of cancerous growths in industry an examination of men in one tar dis tillery showing that a serious proportion had evidences of some precancerous activity Cancer has been produced experimentally in white mice after a four month interval following a single painting with tar Primary Lesions A LL of these substances have a practically identical action on the skin any modifications depending on the dose and the length of contact The earliest effect is a redness of the skin as any re peated and continuous action of the irritant whether arsenic oil or tar must eventually cause a permanent dilatation of the skin capil laries so that in time the skin becomes dusky and congested Another primary lesion is the scaly papule which is often itchy at first until it is broken by scratching The mouths of the hair follicles are closed in the oil and coal series by the materials handled which form black dots while in arsenical dermatitis the follicles are blocked by horny plugs These three types of lesions apparently precede all further troubles Cancerous skin growths it is said invariably follow exposure to tar arsenic anilin and certain petroleum and tar products and to radiations if the exposure is sufficiently protracted or repeated Experiments with sensitive animals have shown that exposure to these agents need be neither long nor frequent in order to induce cancer and if this holds good for the human skin it can reasonably be assumed the writer says that even a casual or occasional contact with these substances may have serious consequences Skin Diseases Lime Dermatitis LINICAL reports of several cases o f lime dermatitis inflamma tion of the skin four of which occurred among tunnel miners were given in an article by Dr W J O Donovan in the Lancet London March These cases are cited as show ing the influence of lime in causing serious dermatitis in various oc cupations in which the cause of the trouble might not be suspected The men working as tunnel miners are employed in digging tunnels with or without the aid of compressed air shields In one case in which the worker had had recurrent attacks of lime dermati tis over a period of 15 years during which time he had been in a hospital with it three times the dermatitis had been diagnosed as seborrhea functional disease of the sebaceous glands and the oc cupational cause of the dermatitis had not been suspected It was discovered that in each case he had been employed at sealing the space between the iron shields and the brickwork of the tunnels with slaked blue lias lime a lime containing so much silica that it would be regarded as a hydraulic cement This lime which was emptied from the sacks into receptacles by the worker and carried by him with a hand scoop to a tank of water was forced into the place to be cemented under air pressure of from 12 to 27 pounds per square inch the high pressure increasing the amount of dust The three other tunnel workers all of whom were suffering from lime 316 STUDIES OF INDUSTRIAL DISEASES AND POISONS dermatitis had had severe disabling attacks of it all but one case however having cleared up under treatment without the general health being affected Several cases of dermatitis among building workers working in cement were also reported and one case of housewife s lime dermatitis caused by using chloride of lime in washing clothes In the editorial notes in the same issue of the Lancet the fact that new causes of dermatitis are constantly arising owing to the invention of new chemical processes is pointed out and the following comments on the difficulty of diagnosis are made That a dermatitis is one of occupation may be easily missed in diagnosis because many different agents produce a dermatitis superficially similar or one resembling some common skin condition not regarded as due to an external irritant witness the first case of lime dermatitis quoted in Doctor O Donovan s article where in the original attack the patient s trouble was diagnosed as seborrheic Secondary infections with staphylococci or streptococci are fre quently superimposed on a dermatitis originally due to occupation and still further confuse the issue Some types of trade dermatitis are however well marked and easily recognizable when once known to the observer such are chrome sores lime holes pitch skin tar acne and mule spinner s cancer whose names suggest their origin The agents causing trade or occu pation dermatitis are numerous and many attempts to classify them satis factorily have been made by different authors They may for instance be divided into physical chemical and parasitic groups The physical would in clude such causes as mechanical injury wind light X rays extremes of heat and cold of dryness and moisture The chemical group is by far the largest and requires much subdivision it includes both organic and inorganic chem icals and the toxins of certain plants and trees The parasitic group includes infections due to bacteria and fungi and the attacks of animal parasites such as mites Causes coming under two or more of these headings may act to gether The points of attack of the chemical irritants are almost invariably in the first instance the mouths of the hair follicles the sebaceous glands and the sweat pores with in addition the natural furrows on the skin and a n y accidental abrasions The maceration of the epidermis by the action of alkali materially increases the danger of attack by chemicals Attention is also directed to the fact that certain workers seem to be naturally immune to such risks while others acquire immunity although this immunity may break down under temporary ill health or excessive exposure to the irritant Treatment consists essentially of removal of patients from exposure to the irritant and protective and antiseptic treatment of the lesions the possibility of the develop ment of malignant disease being always kept in mind Skin Diseases See also Fruit canneries skin diseases among employees Tanning industry occupational disease hazards Steam Laundries Effect of Working Conditions upon Health of Workers V7 ORKING conditions in the steam laundry industry and their effects upon the health of workers were investigated by the division of industrial hygiene of the New York Department of Labor 2 The study was carried on from October 1923 to February 0 20 N ew Y o rk D ep a rtm en t o f L a b or S p ecial b u lle tin N o A stu d y o f h y g ie n ic c o n d itio n s in s tea m la u n d ries a n d th e ir e ffe c t u p on th e health o f w ork ers A lb a n y pp HEALTH OF WORKERS IN STEAM LAUNDRIES and included the 208 establishments in the boroughs of Man hattan and the Bronx excluding 73 laundries located in and operated by hotels A large proportion of the workers in laundries are women but men are employed in the wash rooms as drivers and as operators of the old style gas heated cylinder body ironing machines and occasionally as sorters and checkers A surprising number of older women were found to be employed and a large number of the women were married The work is especially attractive to married women of the unskilled class who have home duties in addition to their work as while the hours of work are long the work frequently starts as late as 11 o clock on Monday morning and there is often no work on Saturday and Sunday Although no special study was made of wages inquiries made in the course of the physical examinations showed that wages of girls range from about 9 per week for shakers to 24 per week for the more skilled type of work although there is great variation between the different establishments in the wages paid For piecework on various types of body ironing machines and presses 40 or more per week is paid and men in the wash rooms are paid from 20 to 32 per week In the laundry industry the features which at once suggest prob able harmful bodily effects are the high temperatures and humidities which prevail throughout the industry Temperatures which are high under the best conditions tend to rise not only in the summer months but also in the very cold weather when doors and windows are kept tightly shut in order to keep out the drafts to which laundry workers are peculiarly sensitive because of the dampness of the rooms The data secured by the study were considered to represent the minimum harmfulness of the industry however as the winter months included in the study were particularly mild and consequently temperatures in the workrooms were at their best The temperatures in the workrooms were found to range from 65 F and a relative humidity of 52 per cent to 105 F and a relative humidity of 32 per cent The average temperature in the wash rooms of 41 laundries was found to be 79 2 F and the highest was 95 F The highest rela tive humidity was 91 per cent In the ironing rooms the average temperature was 83 6 F In general the wash room temperatures were not considered particularly high but the prolonged strenuous work in combination with the heat was found to show its effect in evidence of cardiac overstrain The workers in the wash rooms are a washer who fills the machines with the soiled clothes and attends to washing them a puller who goes from one machine to another all day transferring the clothes from the washing machines to the trucks in which he rolls them to the extracting machines and an extractor who puts the clothes into the machines and superintends the process of wring ing It has been estimated that in an ordinary working day a puller may tranfer 5 tons of clothes from the washing machines into the trucks Work in the wash rooms of many of the laundries lasts from 13 to 14 hours a day on Monday 12 to 13 hours on Tuesday 9 to 10 hours on Wednesday and a few hours on Thursday there is usually no work for the rest of the week In the better class laundries the work is more evenly distributed and the men work usually 6y2 instead 318 STUDIES OF INDUSTRIAL DISEASES AND POISONS of Sy2 days An examination of 110 men working in the wash rooms who formed a partially selective group in that those having certain diseases were excluded showed that 52 had blood pressure above the limit regarded as within the normal range for the age and 29 of these were more than 25 per cent above normal The nature of the work and the working conditions showed the report states that the work as at present organized constitutes without doubt a severe strain upon the hearts and cardio vascular systems of the workmen employed in the wash rooms The public is said to be primarily to blame for these conditions since there is a general demand that the work especially from wetwash laundries shall be returned early in the week but it is con sidered that laundries should be compelled to start and stop work at a reasonable hour that washing machines which eliminate part of the heavy work should be more generally used and that lockers and proper facilities for changing to street clothes should be provided The ironing department usually though not always occupies a separate floor and contains the dry room in addition to the various ironing machines While more attention is usually given to working conditions in this department than in the wash room there were few laundries visited in which the lighting could be regarded as in any sense adequate In some cases there were too many unshaded lights which produced a distinctly uncomfortable glare but usually the rooms were dingy and dark and there was also a conspicuous lack of cleanliness The great problem in this department however is the ventila tion The large number and variety of heat producing machines collected in a single room and the proximity of the dry room from which much heat escapes make the question of proper ventilation a difficult one Heat and vapor are constantly given off in different amounts by the different machines so that numerous air currents are produced The installation of hoods over the mangles and insulation of the dry room while an improvement do not solve the problem which is one for the ventilating engineer of experience It was found that a large percentage of the girls even those at the mangles where temperatures rarely fall below 80 to 85 degrees wear sweaters practically the year round to protect themselves from the drafts to which they are peculiarly sensitive because of the high temperatures and humidities The physical examination of 150 women in 23 laundries showed various diseased conditions but correlation between these conditions and specific laundry processes was difficult to establish except in connection with the general environmental conditions such as high temperature and humidity and long hours of standing Seven opera tors six men and one woman on gas heated body ironing machines were specially examined for carbon monoxide poisoning and in every case carbon monoxide was found in the blood the amounts ranging from 10 to 25 per cent While these amounts are theoretically suf ficient to cause discomfort no symptoms were found among the men but the woman complained of such symptoms of the poisoning as indigestion a metallic taste in the mouth headache and profuse sweating which lasted through the night OCCUPATIONAL DISEASE HAZARDS IN TANNING INDUSTRY 319 The general results of the complete examination of the 150 women and partial examinations of 253 others show that atmospheric con ditions in the ironing department seem to predispose the workers to atrophic conditions of the nose and throat conjunctivitis due prob ably to drops of sweat falling into the eyes and dizziness and head ache due to the heat The latter two conditions appear only with a temperature of 90 and over The long hours of standing working of treadle machines and carrying heavy stacks of folded linens seem to be responsible to some extent for the number of cases of flatfoot and varicose veins A slight rise in body temperature was present in many cases which was not sufficient to indicate a pathological condi tion but which was of interest because it was apparently due to the atmospheric conditions The industry as a whole was not found to present many accident hazards as most mangles and presses were adequately provided with finger guards collar ironing machines and gas heated body ironing machines presented the greatest source of danger from burns and the body ironing machines presented the hazard of poisoning from carbon monoxide as it was shown to be absorbed in injurious amounts Fatigue so generally resulted from the different operations that the investigators recommended that for the industry in general hours of work should be reduced the work should be better dis tributed throughout the week rest periods should be introduced and an adequate time allowed for lunch It was also considered that proper equipment including satisfactory seating arrangements which were almost wholly lacking rest rooms drinking fountains and general installation of more up to date mechanical equipment would result in greatly lessening the ill effects of the industry Tanning Industry Occupational Disease Hazards A LIST of the occupational disease hazards in the tanning in dustry published in the Journal of Industrial Hygiene2 sug 1 gests the extent of the hazards in the industry and also serves to demonstrate the probable presence of a similar number of hazards in other industries Because of the lack of standardization in the industry no attempt was made to list the occupational disease hazards process by process although a division of processes into stages of manufacture was made While some of these hazards are only potential many of the substances used have caused definite occupational disease The hazards met with in handling the hides include anthrax and poisoning from sulphureted hydrogen cyanide arsenic mercury and dermatitis or salt burns The majority of cases of anthrax occur in the early processes of the industry such as unloading stor ing and sorting but cases from handling hides are less frequent than formerly owing to the regulations as to killing curing and im portation The decomposition of organic matter on green hides may form sulphureted hydrogen and poisoning therefrom may occur among men unloading such hides from box cars or working 21 T h e J ou rn al o f In d u s tria l H ygiene B oston J u ly F o rty tw o o cc u p a tio n a l d isease ha zard s in on e in d u stry T h e ta n n in g in d u stry a s an exa m p le o f th e m u ltip le h a zard s in in d u s try b y D o r o th y K M in ster 320 STUDIES OF INDUSTRIAL DISEASES AND POISONS where they are stored Imported goat skins are generally arseniccured and arsenic poisoning may result from handling them while mercury dermatitis may follow the handling of hides soaked in bichloride of mercury The almost universal method of curing hides now however is salt curing and though the effects are not so severe as from the poisons mentioned above workers handling salt cured hides frequently develop either a dermatitis or salt burns The processes used in preparing the hides consist of soaking and dehairing Caustic soda and sulphurous acid are used in soaking but as they are in rather dilute form the hazard exists in the prepa ration of the soak waters rather than in the handling of the hides After soaking the hides are dehaired either by sweating the hairs loose so that they can be scraped off or by soaking the hide in lime In the latter process burns are frequent and there is a definite der matitis called rossignol among the workers who have to keep their hands constantly in the caustic lime which is characterized by loss of substance and bright red shining finger tips Sulphide of soda used either as a substitute or in addition to the lime may cause a dermatitis or burns and arsenic sulphide which is frequently added to the lime to hasten the dehairing process may cause a dermatitis as well as present the usual arsenic hazard The sweating method of dehairing which is not used so much as formerly depends largely upon bacterial action and any slight injury to a worker exposes him to the risk of virulent infection In this connection it is noted that there is an unusually large propor tion of infections in the tanning industry Parasitic fungi are also a hazard in the sweating process particularly in the handling of sheepskins Ammonium sulphide develops as a result of the high temperature in the sweat chamber process In the process of delim ing there is again danger of lime burns and the use of lactic acid in this process results in a mild dermatitis in some of the workers Red arsenic which is often used in deliming soft leathers and the arsenious acid formed from it present a very serious hazard Another process used in deliming is called drenching The bacteria in the drenching mixture which is an infusion of bran in hot water lead to the formation of lactic acid sulphureted hydrogen methane and carbon dioxide A case is cited of a man engaged in cleaning a vat who was found dead as a result of the excess of carbon dioxide Various substances are used in tanning the vegetable tannins including parts of plants such as sumac oak bark chestnut que bracho myrobalan etc Myrobalan causes deep sores on the hands of tanyard workers Sumac used in tanning in finishing sole leather etc causes a definite dermatitis and the sulphites with which quebracho is dissolved also cause a skin eruption In the chrome tannage processes chromic acid hydrochloric acid and sulphuric acid all present hazards and chrome sores result from the chromic acid liberated in this process or from direct contact with the chromates In the finishing processes the principal chemical substances used are sulphuric acid and caustic soda Fish and mineral oils used to render the hides more pliable after bleaching because of impurities chiefly of a bacterial origin are a cause of furunculosis boils In TETRAETHYL LEAD GASOLINE 321 the process known as currying workers are subjected to dust from the leather which irritates the mucous membranes and also may cause a definite skin reaction as certain workers become sensi tized to proteins in the leather Other dust hazards are those from hair and from tanbark I f leather is dyed japanned or enameled an entirely new set of hazards is introduced including exposure to poisoning from a lead bleach and to anilin and mercury colors for which amyl acetate butyl acetate benzol naphtha turpentine butyl alcohol and ethyl alcohol are used as solvents Potassium ferrocyanide is also used in the dyeing process to form Prussian blue in the skins introducing the hazard attendant on all cyanides Tetraethyl Lead Gasoline Report of Columbia University Laboratory A SERIES of experiments to determine the health hazard presented by the use of ethyl gasoline was made at the laboratory of industrial hygiene of Columbia University at the request of the Ethyl Gasoline Corporation and the results were published in the Journal of Industrial Hygiene Boston February 1926 At the time the laboratory at Columbia University was asked to make the study the ethyl gasoline mixture contained 1 part of lead compound to 1 000 parts of gasoline However after the accident at Bayway N J 2 by which a number of men lost their lives the 2 Ethyl Gasoline Corporation decided to lessen the risks to the general public and to garage workers by delivering only a 1 to 1 300 mixture to the filling stations Because of the fact that the United States Bureau of Mines had been studying the possible hazard to the public from the lead in the exhaust gases of engines for some time it was decided that the Columbia University study should be limited to the consideration of the possible hazards to those cojning directly in contact with the material The possible hazards considered were those to the tank or garage man or to anyone who might get a few drops of the concen trated mixture on his clothes or person the possible hazard from splashing the ethyl gasoline 1 to 1 000 mixture on the person from the use of the gasoline by the mechanic or housewife to clean hands or clothing or from contact with it while adjusting the automobile carburetor or cleaning out the tank and the possible danger from inhaling the fumes when ethyl gasoline was spilled either in the garage or other place where evaporation might take place The tetraethyl lead used in the Columbia University experiments was furnished by the Ethyl Gasoline Corporation and the gasoline mixture was made up by the investigators Various experiments were made on different animals to show the extent of the absorption of lead through the skin by ingestion and by inhalation of fume These experiments showed without doubt that animals exposed to skin application of ethyl gasoline will store lead and that the rate of excretion does not equal the rate of absorp tion while absorption of lead was also proven in the experiments in 22 See Labor Review May 1925 pp 322 STUDIES OF INDUSTRIAL DISEASES AND POISONS which the animals were dosed with the lead and those in which they were exposed to the fumes While it can not be concluded that all the animals that died during the experiments did so because of the lead it was observed that if for any reason an animal which appeared sick was not exposed for several days there was a marked improve ment in its condition This agrees with medical experience in cases where patients have been exposed to lead It is possible that this accounts for the fact that so far no cases of lead poisoning have been found at garages or filling stations since the time between exposures may be long enough to prevent the development of symptoms although an individual may be storing lead in his system In this case it might take years before there would be a sufficient accumula tion to cause symptoms of lead poisoning In summing up the results of the study the writer states thaf while it is difficult to apply animal experiments to human beings owing to the fact that it is not possible to make the conditions of exposure exactly identical the findings seem to indicate that there is a potential hazard in the use of ethyl gasoline by the public without some educa tional campaign Tetraethyl Lead Gasoline Report of Committee Appointed by United States Public Health Service2 3 HTHE occurrence of a number of casualties in connection with the manufacture of tetraethyl lead for use in gasoline motor fuel led to the appointment of a committee by Dr H S Cumming Surgeon General of the United States Public Health Service in May 1925 to study the question of the health hazards involved in the retail distri bution and general use of tetraethyl lead gasoline motor fuel This committee which consisted of seven members scientists and physi cians reported the results of its investigation at a conference called by the Surgeon General January at which Government officials scientists the manufacturing companies and labor were represented The occurrence of a number of casualties in 1924 in chemical fac tories where tetraethyl lead was being manufactured2 led to the 4 calling of a conference by the Surgeon General May at which time it was decided that an investigation of the hazards con nected with its use should be made The sale of ethyl gasoline was voluntarily discontinued May and the corporation concerned in its manufacture and distribution agreed at this conference not to resume production and distribution until the further study of its effects had been made Prior to the holding of the first conference experiments in regard to the substance had been made by the United States Bureau of Mines by investigators at Columbia University and by others but it seemed that the crucial test of the situation must be derived from actual experience in the use of ethyl gasoline under practical conditions of operation The scope of the investigation was made as extensive as was pos sible in the time allowed and was carried out in Ohio as ethyl gaso 23 U n ited S ta tes P u b lic H ea lth S ervice R ep ort o f com m ittee o n use o f te tr a e th y l lead g a s o lin e W ash in g ton J a n u a ry pp M im e o g ra p h e d 24 See L a b o r R eview F eb ru a ry 1925 pp and M ay 1925 pp TETRAETHYL LEAD GASOLINE 323 line had been in constant use as a motor fuel in certain parts of the State for several years In the region selected a supply of ethyl fluid was in the hands of certain customers at the time its manufac ture was discontinued and its continued use therefore offered the opportunity of studying a fairly large group of individuals who had been using and handling ethyl gasoline The actual work of the in vestigation was carried out by a corps of workers under Dr J P Leake surgeon United States Public Health Service The investigation covered 252 individuals all adult males who were divided into five groups Group A a control group consisted of 36 men employees of the city of Dayton who drove cars during the working day The gasoline used in these cars contained no lead Group B a test group consisted of 77 men employees of a publicservice corporation of the city whose duties were similar to those of Group A but in whose cars ethyl gasoline had been in constant use since July 1923 Group C a control group consisted of 21 men employed either as garage workers or as gasoline fillers at service stations or on trucks delivering gasoline where the gasoline used or handled did not contain lead Group D a test group consisted of 57 men employed on work similar to that of Group C except that ethyl gasoline was handled in the garages stations and trucks Group E a control group consisted of 61 men employed in two in dustrial plants in which there was known to be a serious exposure to lead dust The industrial history was taken and careful clinical examinations were made of these men The blood examinations were made by skilled persons and in each case were checked by several workers The examination of the feces for lead was made by chemists who had been specially trained in the technique of the method A number taken at random was assigned to each person at the first examination and none of those making the subsequent examina tions or the laboratory tests knew whether or not the individual had been exposed to ethyl gasoline or to which group he belonged The clinical examinations failed to give any decisive indication of lead poisoning among either the chauffeurs or workers in garages in which ethyl gasoline was used as a motor fuel The only injury noted was a few cases of acute irritation of the eyes due to getting gasoline in them This occurred with ordinary gasoline and ethyl gasoline but was more severe in one case caused by the ethyl gasoline The time of exposure of these men to the effects of the gasoline approximated two years The workers in Group E on the other hand who were exposed to a serio us lead hazard in an industrial plant showed definite clinical symptoms of lead poisoning although they had been exposed for a shorter period of time than the garage workers The laboratory tests showed that in both groups of drivers the excretion of lead was practically identical showing that the exhaust gas from motors in which ethyl gasoline was used had caused no increased absorption of lead The results of the examination for stippled cells in the blood showed no noticeable increase in stippling in Group B as compared with Group A Both the elimination of lead and stippling of cells was more marked in the two groups of garage workers the percentages of those show 324 STUDIES OP INDUSTRIAL DISEASES AND POISONS ing definite stippling being slightly greater among the workers in the garages in which ethyl gasoline was used Over 90 per cent of the workers in Group E showed distinct stippling and in most of these cases it was relatively very abundant So far as the committee could discover all the reported cases of fatalities and serious injuries from tetraethyl lead have occurred either during the manufacture or in the processes of blending and ethylizing It seemed desirable therefore to find out whether any cases of poisoning had developed in this section of the country where ethyl gasoline had been in use as a motor fuel for the longest time All the workers examined were questioned as well as local health officers physicians public health workers and labor leaders and the few clues obtained were investigated but with negative results Some investigation was made also in regard to the dust in the air and in the garages and workrooms and while this study was not so extensive as desired owing to the shortness of time allowed it showed that some lead was present both in the dust and in the air irrespective of whether the gasoline used contained lead The amount of lead in the sweepings ranged from 0 82 mgs to 22 31 mgs per gram of dust It seems probable therefore that in all garages in which automobiles are being handled and repaired the workers are constantly exposed to lead dust and the importance of adequate ventilation in such rooms and of keeping both the floors and benches as free as possible from the accumulation of dust is pointed out In view of these results the committee concluded that at present there are no good grounds for prohibiting the use of ethyl gasoline of the composition specified as a motor fuel provided that its dis tribution and use are controlled by proper regulations Although the conclusions reached were based on painstaking in vestigations the committee felt that they are subject to the criticism that the study covered a relatively small number of individuals who had been exposed to the effects of ethyl gasoline for a time compara tively short considering the possibilities in connection with lead poisoning It is considered possible that if the use of leaded gasoline becomes general conditions very different from those studied may arise which would render its use more of a hazard than appears now to be the case The final report2 of the investigation which contains detailed 5 accounts of the methods followed and of the results of the clinical examinations of the different groups studied also gives the final recommendations of the committee which it is proposed should be adopted by the several States in order to secure uniformity of control of the hazard The proposed regulations provide that all workers shall be in formed of the hazard and of the precautions to be taken to prevent poisoning for periodic examination of workers for possible lead absorption for separate ventilation systems for the manufacturing apparatus and for the rooms in plants where the product is manu factured and daily inspection of such equipment for labeling of all 25 U n ited S ta tes P u b lic H ea lth S ervice B u lletin N o T h e u se o f te tr a e th y l le a d g a s o lin e in its re la tio n t o p u b lic h ea lth W a sh in g ton pp TETRAETHYL LEAD GASOLINE 325 containers of ethyl fluid or tetraethyl lead as to the exact content and danger containers to be closed tight after emptying and sent back to the plant without cleansing and all containers to be cleaned or filled by means of a closed system with air vent from the container to the outside air and for the addition of a dye to ethyl fluid in sufficient amount to deter individuals from using it for cleaning or similar purposes It is also recommended that monthly reports shall be made to the proper State official giving the number of workers employed at the beginning and end of each month the number of new workers the number of workers separated from tetraethyl lead work as a result of the physical examination the number of definite cases of poisoning and the condition of cases of poisoning previously reported so far as known Watch and Clock Dial Painting Industry See Radium effects of use of radioactive substances on health of workers INSURANCE AND BENEFIT PLANS 327 Types of Insurance and Benefit Plans N A number of foreign countries very comprehensive insurance plans have been established or fostered by the Government for the protection of the working people against various industrial and physical hazards such as sickness accident unemployment old age and death In the United States such matters have been made a matter of State legislation in any important degree only in the case of industrial accidents The protection of the workers against the other contingencies of life and employment if taken care of at all is left entirely to voluntary action either through actual insur ance or through benefit plans of various kinds The following is a very brief summary of the present status of certain of the more im portant phases of this subject in the United States I State Systems A S ALREAD Y noted the only social insurance systems estab lished by State legislation in this country are those covering the subject of industrial accident insurance usually referred to as work men s compensation Almost all of the States as well as the Federal Government have established comprehensive plans for compensation for injuries due to industrial accidents including in some cases occupational diseases These are described in detail in the section Workmen s compensation page 679 In a few States old age pensions have been provided for by State legislation this relief however being extended to the indigent aged without reference to industrial employment This subject is covered in the section Old age pensions and relief page 431 Establishment Plans A VE RY large number of industrial establishments now make provision for their employees in case of death sickness or other misfortune Sometimes this provision is made on an insur ance basis sometimes through benefit associations welfare organiza tions etc The most interesting recent development along this line has been the extension of the group insurance idea At first group insurance was limited to life insurance but has since been extended to other forms of insurance The subject of establishment insurance and benefit plans including group insurance was included as part of the investigation of plant personnel activities recently made by the Bureau of Labor Statistics The material on this part of the investigation had not been as sembled in form for publication at the time this bulletin went to press except the section on sick leave practice which is given on page 330 In a limited number of cases industrial establishments have made provision to assure a certain regularity of employment to their em INSURANCE AND BENEFIT PLANS ployees A description of these systems is given in the section Unemployment insurance and stabilization of employment page 601 Trade Union Benefit Plans W AEIOUS trade unions make provision for the payment of fixed benefits to their members in case of death sickness etc In ad dition the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers two years ago started the Union Cooperative Insurance Association and the American Federation of Labor has recently established a co operative insurance company known as the Union Life Insurance Co Descriptions of the trade union benefit plans and insurance companies are given on page 334 Collective Agreement Plans IN A limited number of cases collective agreements between emA ployers and trade unions provide for certain insurance or benefit features In the clothing trades there are several instances in which this method has been used to provide a form of unemployment in surance This practice is closely allied to the practice o f guaranteed employment and is discussed in the section entitled Unemployment insurance and stabilization of employment page 596 It is also interesting to note that certain recent street railway agreements provide for the establishment o f a sick insurance plan The practice is described in an article on page 341 Sick Leave with Pay STUDY by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the various per sonnel activities carried on by industrial establishments the field work of which was finished in the summer of 1926 in cluded the collection of information as to the extent to which sick leave with pay is granted to factory workers or other workers on hourly rates of pay by the companies visited in the course of the investigation Factory Workers A YV7HILE sick leave with pay is quite generally granted to office workers and often very generous provision is made in cases of protracted illness it is not usual to pay other workers during in capacity because of sickness In a large number of establishments provision is made through the benefit association or in connection with the group ins urance plan for payment for sickness and non industrial accidents In a number of cases however firms were found to have a definite plan covering allowances for sickness which was independent of the insurance or benefit plans Quite a number of employers report that cases are treated on their merits and that liberal compensation is paid in certain cases but there were 14 companies which reported that a definite policy was fol lowed in providing payment in case of sickness These included seven SICK LEAVE WITH PAY 331 manufacturing companies five public utilities one building operat ing company and a marble quarry The last company grants sick leave with pay to employees after three years service the proportion of the wages paid varying from 35 to 50 per cent according to length of service with a maximum of 15 per week The length of time for which payments are made was not reported A building operating company on the west coast allows six weeks wages during the year to all employees to begin after the third day of sickness An establishment manufacturing pharmaceutical supplies pays average earnings for 200 hours after five years service A company manufacturing electrical supplies grants sick leave to piece or hourly workers in meritorious cases but the payments may not exceed 100 in any 12 month period and a large meat packing plant gives employees with from 2 to 15 years service one fourth of their wages ior four weeks during which period they are carried on the plant pay roll for the next 12 weeks the payments are made by the social service division and after that if the case is meritorious it is referred to members of the company After 15 years service sick employees of this company are kept on half pay and in the case of employees who have been with the company 20 years or over full pay is given for an indefinite period A company manufacturing straw hats gives one half pay for four weeks after the first week s sickness and one third pay for four weeks longer after 5 years employment 10 weeks pay at the same rate after 10 years service and one half pay for 10 months after 30 years service A canning company in the Middle West which has a very pro gressive policy of industrial relations and in which all regular em ployees are on a salary basis pays the salaries of all sick and injured employees in full until the employees sickness committee or the nurse reports them able to return to work In the case of chronic illness full salary is paid for 8 weeks half pay for 4 weeks and quarter pay for another 4 weeks One company with many properties in different sections of the country has a general plan of annuities and benefits which is main tained entirely by the company The company pays for sickness and accidents not incurred in the line of duty one half wages vary ing from 6 weeks after 1 year s service to 52 weeks for employees whose term of service has been 10 years and over A machine shop in the South with a large number of colored em ployees pays for cases of sickness and injury of its employees which are not covered by the workmen s compensation law Payments are made upon recommendation of the plant physician or of a physician approved by the company amounting to half the wages with a maximum of 1 35 per day The payments begin after 6 days and may not exceed 90 days for one illness nor more than 180 days in any calendar year It is required that employees receiving these payments obtain proper medical and surgical attention A number of electric light and power companies in different sections of the country pay their hourly employees during absence from work because of sickness the usual rate being half pay and the period varying according to the length of service One of these companies pays 10 per cent of annual earnings to employees in the 332 INSURANCE AND BENEFIT PLANS service of the company 1 year and less than 2 years the amount paid increasing to 65 per cent of yearly earnings after 12 years employment with the company I f an employee has received from the company during any 12 month period 65 per cent of his annual salary while absent from work on account of illness his case may be referred to the pension committee for investigation and recom mendation to the president of the company A general plan of sickness disability benefits covers the opera tions of another public utility company in its different branches throughout the country According to the provisions of the plan payments are made alter two years employment The payments are based on the employee s rate of pay exclusive of overtime at the time the disability began and amount to full pay for 4 weeks and half pay for 9 weeks if the term of employment has been 2 to 5 years full pay for 13 weeks and half pay for 13 weeks for employ ment of 5 to 10 years and full pay for 13 weeks and half pay for 39 weeks if the term of employment has been 10 years and over New York Office Workers A SURVEY of the practice in New York City in the treatment of office employees absent because of illness was made in 1925 by the Merchants Association of New York 1 Seventy two representa tive concerns replied to the questionnaire IT large insurance com panies 20 banks and 35 large wholesale manufacturing engineer ing advertising and publishing offices In only 14 cases were there fixed rules as to the payment of salary for absence due to sickness while 22 firms reported that each case is treated on its merits 5 that the treatment depends on the length of service 2 on the position held and 11 on a combination of these and other factors Fourteen establishments reported that all employees are treated alike in cases of illness without regard to length of service position etc while four others stated that all but the very new employees receive the same treatment two of these firms stating that employees having a long period of service to their credit are given special con sideration In general these establishments reported payment in full for a reasonable length of time or except in cases of protracted illness One firm requires a doctor s certificate after two days absence and three firms are planning to establish some restrictions as to the length of time for which full pay will be allowed in one case to eliminate malingering in another because the office force has become so large that some check on the amount of sick leave has become necessary and in the third case because the employees insist on being paid xor all overtime Usually employees are given full pay during sickness but 13 firms reported that after full pay has been allowed for some time part wages are paid Among these a bank reported that clerks who have given satisfactory service for a number of years are allowed full pay for from six months to a year and thereafter half pay for a reasonable time Only a few firms make any deduction from the regular vacation periocl because of time lost on account of illness 1The Merchants Association of New York Greater New York New York June GROUP LIFE INSURANCE IN METAL TRADES 333 Only one of the 14 firms which have established rules governing absence due to illness has made a rule of nonpayment of salary This was a shoe factory in which many of the office workers are on a piecework basis Even this company makes frequent exceptions to this rule in cases of the protracted illness of old employees allow ing not only full pay but in some cases paying the physician The plans of the other 13 firms in this group vary but in general the amount of sick leave granted depends upon the period of service One insurance company gives no salary for absence because of illness during the first year of employment except in special cases but after 1 year s service 1 month s sick leave is allowed in creasing up to 6 months full pay and 6 months half pay after 15 years service Another insurance company pays during the first year only when the sickness is of an acute nature but thereafter allows the full salary and in cases where the illness lasts for more than two weeks an additional sickness allowance not to exceed 50 per cent of the salary or a maximum of 25 per week certain allowances are also made for surgical operations A cumulative plan is in force in another company by which employees are credited with accrued sick leave Benefits previously allowed therefore are de ducted from the total amount earned by reason of length of service I f an employee s absence exceeds the time for which full salary benefits are allowed further payments are made at a pension rate This amounts to 20 per cent of the salary if the employee has worked for the company 5 years and increases 1 per cent annually until 15 years of service have been given and thereafter 2 per cent annually until after 25 years service the maximum pension of 50 per cent of the salary rate is paid Experience With Group Life Insurance in the Metal Trades HE department of industrial relations of the National Metal Trades Association in 1926 made a study of the extent to which group insurance plans are in force among its members 2 The study was carried out by means of a series of questionnaires arid by individual plant studies From the returns received from the first questionnaire it was found that 135 companies belonging to this association had group insurance in force while 17 companies had tried it but had given it up The field study covered 64 plants which had had experience with group insurance 8 of these having abandoned it It is estimated that the total amount of group insurance carried by all companies in the United States in 1925 was in excess of this protection being provided for approximately employees and their dependents Under the group insurance plan a master policy is issued to the employer covering all the eligible employees but the individual policy may be either a fixed amount for each employee an amount based upon the annual wages of the employee or an amount increas ing with the employee s length of service up to a fixed maximum T 3 National Metal Trades Association Committee on industrial relations with group insurance Chicago 122 S Michigan Avenue 1926 Experience 334 INSURANCE AND BENEFIT PLANS This insurance may be paid for entirely by the employer or the employees may contribute a part of the cost The reasons for taking out group insurance as reported by 75 of the companies were either humanitarian motives or such economic reasons as the reduction of labor turnover or the general promotion of the employees good will The results of the plan were said to be satisfactory by 57 of the 82 companies reporting on this point while 10 reported that it was only partially successful and 15 declared that it had not produced the results hoped for at the time it was started Only two of the companies which adopted group insurance for the purpose of reducing turnover reported that it had had the desired result the general opinion seeming to be that there can be no very decided effect upon the turnover since the class of workmen known as floaters are usually not covered In almost all cases employees are not eligible for group insurance until they have been on the pay roll for a stated period usually six months thus eliminating the most unstable part of the force from participation in the plan The effects on production can not be measured with any exactness but it is believed in some instances to exert some effect while it is con sidered by some of the firms reporting to promote good will among the employees The attitude of employees toward group insurance in 60 plants having had it in force for five years was said at the end of that period to be more favorable in 22 cases and favorable in 24 while in 7 plants the employees were less in favor of it in 1 plant they were indifferent and 6 plants had given up the plan In general it is said the cost of group life insurance may be esti mated at slightly more than 1 per cent of the pay roll varying how ever with the scale of benefits and the average age of the employees covered The average net cost to 46 companies which had a non contributory plan was 14 10 per year per employee covered while of 22 companies having a contributory plan the average net yearly cost per employee was 7 36 In reply to the question as to the advantages of group insurance to the company several firms stated that it helped to stabilize the working force and that it improved the general morale and a few considered that its value lay in the oppor tunity it furnished to provide for the employees dependents in a nonpaternalistic manner The cost of the plan was mentioned most frequently by those firms replying as to the disadvantages of the plan and a few companies stated that it led the men to neglect personal insurance that the men would rather have the money in the pay envelope and that the real effect was uncertain Trade Union Benefits HE report of an investigation of trade union benefits by George W Perkins and Matthew Woll published in 1925 by the American Federation of Labor shows the varied services of this nature maintained by the unions and the amount spent for the protection of their members The data cover only unions affiliated to the American Federation of Labor and do not include there fore the independent unions some of which such as the railway brotherhoods have a very large membership T 335 TRADE TJNION BENEFITS Six classes of insurance are provided by the different unions in cluded in the study death sickness disability old age strike and lockout and unemployment and a number of unions provide for assistance in various other contingencies these special benefits in cluding payment of insurance in case of the death of the wife of a member weekly benefits to widows of relief members tool insurance and the payment of a definite sum to a member who has been victimized Death Benefits r E A T H benefits paid by 80 of the 107 national and international unions affiliated to the American Federation of Labor are shown in Table 1 In the majority of cases it appears that the funds are administered by the national or international unions but in eight instances the payments are made from the funds of the locals T able 1 T R A D E U N IO N S P A Y IN G D E A T H B E N E F IT S A N D A M O U N T S OF B E N E F IT S P A ID IN 1925 Organization Bakerv workers BarbenP Blacksmiths Boiler makers Bookbinders Boot and shoe workers Bricklayers masons and plasterers Brick and d a y workers Bridge and structural iron workers Broom and whisk makers Railway carmen Carpenters Carvers wood Cigar makers Clerks post office Clerks railw ay Clerks retail Cloth hat cap and millinery workers Conductors sleeping car Coopers Diam ond workers Electrical workers Engineers steam and operating Engravers photo Firemen and oilers Foundry employees Fur workers Garment Workers U nited Glass bottle blowers Glass workers flint Glass workers window Granite cutters Hatters H od carriers Hotel and restaurant employees Iron steel and tin workers Jewelry workers Lathers Leather workers Letter carriers Am ount of benefit Organization Am ount of benefit Lithographers M achinists Maintenance of w a y Meat cutters Metal workers sheet M ine mill and smelter workers M ine workers M olders Musicians Oil field gas well and refinery workers Painters Paper makers Pattern makers Paving cutters Piano and organ workers Plasterers Plumbers Polishers metal Potters operative Printers p la te Printing pressmen Quarry workers Railway employees street and electric Railway mail association Roofers Seamen Signalmen railroad Stage employees Stereotypers Stonecutters Stove m ounters Switchm en Tailors Teamsters Telegraphers railroad Telegraphers commercial Textile workers Tobacco workers Typographical union Wall paper crafts Districts pay additional benefits ranging from 200 to 400 2 Life insurance plan a Local N ot reported 5 Apprentices and female members one half Voluntary group insurance also in operation 7 Insurance for death and disability in sum of 500 provided Assessment 50 cents per member 9 Maximum Funeral benefits of 300 to members over age limit or unable to pass physical examination W io INSURANCE AND BENEFIT PLANS Sick Benefits D ENEFITS in case of sickness are paid by 31 of the unions reporting in this study in nearly half of the cases the local unions pay their own benefits so that the amounts vary among the different branches In addition to the unions which pay a definite benefit in case of sickness the locals of the Roofers Union pay benefits in case of accident the Operative Potters pay 18 weekly for treat ment in a sanitorium for tuberculosis and members of the Paving Cutters Union are exempt from dues during sickness The bakery workers limit the amount which any member may receive during life to 600 and the tailors limit the amount to 200 Table 2 shows for 1925 the unions reporting that sick benefits are paid the amount of the benefits and the number of weeks for which payments are made T a b l e 2 T R A D E U N IO N S P A Y IN G S IC K B E N E F IT S A M O U N T OF B E N E F IT A N D P E R IO D F O R W H IC H B E N E F IT IS P A ID IN 1925 Organization Num ber of weeks Amount for of which benefit benefits are paid 10 Bakery workers Barbers B oot and shoe w orkers Carpenters Cigarmakers Clerks post office Cloth hat cap and millinery workers 7 M ale Female Engravers photo Garment Workers U n it e d 4 M ale Female Glass bottle blowers Glass workers flint Iron steel and tin workers Leather workers 7 Letter carriers Local 2 5 first week 3 N ot reported Organization Lithographers Machinists Maintenance of w a y Mine mill and smelter workers M ine workers Molders Musicians Painters Pattern makers Piano and organ workers Plumbers Railway employees street and electric Seamen Signalmen ra ilroad Tailors Teamsters Tobacco workers N um ber of weeks Am ount for of which b en efit f enefits are paid l 0 0 C Under life insurance plan per week to honorary beneficial members 6 Exempt from dues Disability Benefits HTWENTY THREE unions pay either a lump sum or make weekly or monthly payments to disabled members while one union exempts such members from regular dues another pays death benefit dues and printing pressmen are taken care of in their home for the aged Postal clerks and other organized Federal employees are provided for in case of disability under the Federal retirement law Table 3 shows for 1925 the unions reporting the payment of dis ability benefits and the amount of the payments 337 TRADE UNION BENEFITS T able 3 T R A D E U N IO N S P A Y IN G D IS A B IL IT Y B E N E F IT S A N D B E N E F IT 1925 Am ount of benefit Organization Lum p sum Boiler makers B oot and shoe workers Bricklayers masons and plas terers Bridge and structural iron workers Carmen railway Carpenters Cigar makers Cloth hat cap and millinery w orkers Conductors sleeping c a r Engravers photo Granite cutters Per week i Per month 100 funeral expenses to be withheld 3 For tuberculosis For tuberculosis or sanitarium care T o be deducted from death benefits AMOUNT OF Am ount of benefit Organization L um p sum M achinists Maintenance of w ay M ine workers O M olders Painters Pattern makers Railway employees street and electric Seamen Signalmen railroad Stage employees Sw itchm en Typographical union Per week Loss of eyes 7 Local 8 Maximum amount 9 Under life insurance plan 1 Or care in home for the aged 0 Old Age Pensions HTHE reports received from the various unions show that seven organizations have an old age pension system while one union which had tried two different systems has abandoned them The bridge and structural iron workers pay pensions to those members who have reached the age of 60 and who have been members of the organization for 15 years The pension amounts to 25 per month but pensioners report each month to the financial secretaries of their locals and any one whose total income exceeds 60 in any one month is not entitled to the pension for that period The inter national union sets aside 15 per cent of the monthly revenue from dues for the maintenance of the pension fund The typographical union pays a pension to members who are 65 rears of age and who have been members of the organization for at east 25 years if they are totally disabled for work at the trade or are unable to secure sustaining employment in another occupation The pension which amounts to 8 per week is not paid to members residing in the Printers5Home The Amalgamated Association of Street and Electric Railway Employees pays a lump sum of 800 to members 65 years of age who have been members of the union 20 years The union formerly had a monthly plan but substituted the plan of paying a lump sum in order to permit a member to take up some other line of business Pensions amounting to 7 per week are paid to members of the bricklayers union who have reached the age of 60 and who have been in good standing in the union for 20 years if they are unable to secure employment in any industry because of disability and have no other means of support In 1924 there were 2 500 members receiving pensions the expenditure for which amounted to 338 INSURANCE AND BENEFIT PLANS The printing pressmen s union pays a pension of 7 per week to members 60 years of age who have been in continuous good standing for 20 years Members not working at their trade but employed in positions paying a sustaining salary are not eligible for pensions and all members able to and who can obtain work are expected to do so Each member of the union is required to pay 25 cents per month to the old age pension fund The granite cutters union pays 10 per month for six months in the year to any member 62 years of age or over who has been a mem ber for 25 years withQut taking out a withdrawal card and who has been in good standing for 17 consecutive years prior to his receiving the pension A member receiving this benefit is released from future payment of dues or assessments A sum of 50 which is deducted from the funeral benefits is paid to members of the quarry workers union who have reached the age of 60 years and who have been in good standing without taking out a withdrawal card during the preceding 10 years while members of the paving cutters union upon reaching the age of 60 are if they have been in good standing for three years granted an old age certificate which entitles them to full benefits and all privileges of the union by the payment of 25 cents per month Federal employees who are members of unions affiliated to the American Federation of Labor are pensioned in accordance with the terms of the Federal retirement law These organizations include the National Federation of Federal Employees the National Association of Letter Carriers the National Federation of Rural Letter Carriers the National Federation of Postal Clerks and the Railway Mail Association T able 4 T R A D E U N IO N S P A Y IN G O L D A G E P E N SIO N S A N D A M O U N T OF P E N S IO N Organization Bricklayers masons and plasters Bridge and structural iron workers Carpenters Granite cutters Oil field gas well and refinery workers Paving cutters Printing pressmen Quarry workers Railway employees street and electric Stage employees Typographical union Amount of pension or other provision for superannuated members 7 per week 25 per month Home for aged 60 per year Dues exempt 25 cents m onthly maintains all benefits 7 per week or home for aged 50 taken from death benefits 800 in lum p sum Locals pay from 7 to 25 per week for total disability and old age 8 per week or home for aged Strike and Lockout Benefits G TRIKE and lockout benefits are paid by 77 of the unions reporting on this subject Very few report the length of time for which strike benefits are paid but three unions report that the period dur ing which members may receive such benefits is limited to 8 weeks and one union each limits the time to and 16 weeks Table 5 shows the unions reporting strike benefits and the amount of benefits paid in 1925 TRADE TJNION BENEFITS 339 T able 5 T R A D E U N IO N S P A Y IN G S T R IK E A N D L O C K O U T B E N E F IT S A N D A M O U N T OF B E N E F IT IN 1925J Benefits per week Organization Asbestos workers Bak ery workers Barbers Blacksmiths Boiler makers Bookbinders Married men Single m en W om en B oot and shoe w orkers Brewery flour e t c Bricklayers masons and plasterers Married Single Brick and clay workers Broom and whisk workers Married Single Carpenters Carvers w ood Cigarmakers Clerks railway Cloth hat cap and millinery workers M arried Single Coopers Married Single Diamond workers Draftsmen Electrical workers Elevator constructors Engineers steam and operating Engravers p h oto Apprentices Foundry employees Fur workers Married Single Garment Workers U nited Glass bottle blowers Glass workers flint Glove workers Granite cutters Hatters Married Single W om en Horseshoers Hotel and restaurant employees Iron steel and tin workers Jewelry workers Married Single Apprentices Laundry workers Leather workers Married Single W omen and apprentices GO Organization Lithographers Longshoremen M achinists Maintenance of w ay Marble slate and stone polishers M eat cutters Metal workers sheet M ine workers Molders Musicians Oil field gas well and refinery workers Married Single Painters Pattern m akers Pavers M arried Single Paving cutters Piano and organ makers Married Single Plasterers Plumbers Polishers i etal Potters operative Powder and high explosive workers Printers plate Married Single Printing pressmen Married Single Pulp sulphite and paper mill workers Quarry workers Railway employees street and electric R o o fe r s Seamen Signalmen railroad Married Single Stereotypers Journeym en Apprentices Stonecutters Stove mounters T a ilors Teamsters Textile workers Tobacco workers Tunnel and subway constructors Typographical union Married Single Upholsterers Journeymen Apprentices and seamstresses Wall paper crafts Benefits per week A 10 00 l o oo i o s o Per day 3 For first 16 weeks 4 for next 16 weeks 4 Determined b y executive officers or emergency committee 15 for 3 weeks 20 for 3 weeks 25 thereafter N ot reported 7 Exempt from dues s One half minimum wages for 15 weeks For 16 weeks 3 a week thereafter Unemployment Benefits T H ERE are comparatively few cases in which an unemployment fund is maintained or unemployment benefits are paid by the unions the usual practice being to exempt the members from pay 340 INSURANCE AND BENEFIT PLANS ment of dues during unemployment because of strikes or from other causes Unemployment benefits are paid as a result of collective agreements in three cases The cloth hat and cap makers union has an agreement by which an unemployment fund is maintained by the employers the ladies garment workers union and the em ployers in the industry maintain a joint fund and the United Wall Paper Crafts of North America has an agreement in 14 cities by which members of the union are guaranteed a certain minimum amount of employment Unemployment benefits are paid by two international unions the diamond workers and siderographers while some of the locals of five national organizations bakery workers wood carvers photoengravers stereotypers and lithographers pay benefits to their unemployed members Details in regard to the various types of unemployment insurance plans and other measures of assistance in case of unemployment are given in the section on Unemployment insurance and stabilization of employment page 593 Seventeen unions reported that their members are exempt from dues while unemployed This exemption is important as it often amounts to many thousands of dollars in the individual unions during the year Table 6 shows the unemployment provisions in effect in the different unions in 1925 T a b l e 6 T R A D E U N IO N U N E M P L O Y M E N T PR O V ISIO N S 1925 Organization Nature of provision B lack sm ith s Boiler makers Carmen railway Cigar makers Cloth hat cap and millinery workers Coopers Diamond workers Draftsmen Electrical workers Engravers photo Garment workers ladies Granite cutters Leather workers Machinists Maintenance of w ay M olders Oil field gas well and refinery workers Paper m a k e rs Pattern makers Piano and organ workers Polishers metal Siderographers Stove mounters Textile workers Dues exempt 3 months 25 cents thereafter Dues exempt Do Do 7 10 per week agreement w ith manufacturers Dues exempt after one month per day Dues exempt Do Exempt assessments Local benefits a week for 12 weeks tn year One half dues Dues exem pt D o D o D o D o D o D o D o Do 5 per week for 26 weeks dues exempt Dues exempt 13 weeks Dues exempt Insurance by Organized Labor RADE UNIONISTS now have in operation two insurance com panies the Union Cooperative Insurance Association and the Union Labor Life Insurance Co The Union Cooperative Insurance Association was organized in November 1924 by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers The association has a paid up capital and surplus all of which is held by the international of the local unions affiliated to it T CHICAGO STREET RAILWAY INSURANCE PROVISIONS 341 It writes participating and nonparticipating policies for individual and group life insurance and has in force policies aggregating Probably the first group insurance issued to labor unions was written by the association previously such insurance was writ ten only for employees of individual establishments It also issues special home protection policies to cover mortgages on policyholders homes which decrease in amount and premium as the mortgage is paid off At the forty fourth annual convention of the American Fed eration of Labor held at El Paso Tex November 17 to the entrance of the trade unions into the insurance field was strongly urged It was stated that 39 unions were already paying some kind of death benefit or insurance but as most of these were based on the assessment plan the results were not altogether satisfactory Although no definite action appears to have been taken at the time the subject was not allowed to drop and progress in the matter was reported at the 1925 meeting It was decided that while joint action by the various unions was desirable it was preferable that the Federation itself should not undertake the work Accordingly a separate company the Union Labor Life Insurance Co was organized in the fall of 1925 with an authorized capital of Stock ownership in the company is limited to trade unions and their members affiliated to the American Federation of Labor or approved by it Unions are limited to 40 000 each and individuals to 250 The books were closed to stock subscriptions on January with more than paid in and the company expects to begin writing policies in the very near future The company will write life insurance specializing in group in surance Dividends on stock are limited to 6 per cent and the profits remaining after provision is made for the surplus are to be returned to the policyholders All policies are to participate in the dividends Insurance Provisions of Chicago Street Railway Agreement NSURANCE provisions were inserted in the agreement of Sep tember beween the Chicago Rapid Transit Co and the Amalgamated Association of Street and Electric Railway Em ployees as a result of the decision of the two arbitrators appointed to represent respectively the company and the union in their recent contract controversy While group insurance has had a rapid development in recent years both the contributory and noncontribu tory plans having been widely put into effect by employers this is one of the few instances in which it has been made a part of a tradeunion agreement According to the Union Leader Chicago of Sep tember only one other division of the Amalgamated Asso ciation of Street and Electric Railway Employees a small one at Newburgh N Y had up to that time been able to secure such a provision in a contract The award provides for the usual standard group insurance poli cies given without medical examination the entire cost to be borne I 342 INSURANCE AND BENEFIT PLANS by the company The policies cover both sickness and death service ox one year with the company being required for eligibility for the sickness insurance and of three months for the life insurance The payments for sickness amount to 20 per week for 26 weeks during the year and the amount of the life insurance policy is 1 000 The employees in submitting their contract provisions for the year had asked for a general wage increase of 5 cents an hour and the provision of group insurance by the company Failure to secure an agreement through conferences between the company and the trade union officials resulted in the appointment of the arbitrators with the result that the company conceded the demand for the establishment of the insurance provisions but the demand for in creased wages was denied INVENTIONS BY EMPLOYEES 343 Rights of Employees to Their Inventions1 T IS a frequent occurrence that employees engaged on the general work of an employer in immediate contact with the machinery and processes of the establishment discover improvements that may be made in the process the mechanical devices used or in some other phase of the undertaking In such cases the question arises as to the ownership of the invention or discovery i e whether the employee is entitled to hold in his own name and for his own financial advantage the title to any patent that he may secure or to retain for his own private use the process that he may have discovered or on the other hand whether the employer in whose service he was with whose instrumentalities he is in contact and who pays him the wages that are his inducement for service becomes the proprietor There readily occur to one s mind a variety of conditions as where the employee is a mere general workman who is engaged without any thought of his inventive capacity and from whom nothing is expected except what might be classed as routine service A second group would be those employees who are engaged in view of their mechani cal ability and are under contract to use their best endeavor to make any improvements general or special that they may be able by their skill or genius to hit upon A third class would include individuals to whom an inventor having an idea which he is unable or disinclined to develop and reduce to a concrete form imparts his general concep tion and whom he employs to build the machine or to demonstrate the feasibility of his idea as a practical invention It is clear that the same rule could hardly apply to these three groups also the groups have grades and variations giving rise to the conclusion expressed in one case that the right of the employer to a license for the use of an invention of his employee is a mixed question of law and fact so that each case must be decided on its own merits Patents are of course governed by Federal law but no legislation has been enacted in the United States specifically relating to patents by employees in private employments though as will appear em ployees of the Government of the United States are affected by statutory provisions I General Employees IN THE first group indicated above may be found employees who though deriving their wages from the contracts of their employ ment develop the idea of an invention outside the establishment and the working hours of their employment It is a general rule that unless the nature of one s employment or an express contract forbids outside work the employee s time outside of his hours of service may be occupied with other work not incompatible with his duties to his 1 Somewhat abridged from an article appearing in the Labor Review of June 1926 where legal citations are given INVENTIONS BY EMPLOYEES employer or as said by Mr Justice Clifford in a case involving this question Persons employed as much as employers are entitled to their own independent inventions The general rule is subject to modification however by the facts in any particular case Thus the inventor of a stop valve useful in the construction of hydraulic elevators manufactured by his em ployer was held by his conduct to have licensed the employer to use the invention which had been made while employed by the company using its tools and patterns The employee had made numerous ex periments in this direction as was well known to his employers but when the satisfactory invention was made it was immediately put into use by the company with the knowledge of the inventor such use continuing for several years with no suggestion that he should receive remuneration therefor though he had taken out the patent in his own name The positive basis for denying the claim subsequently made for compensation was a presumption that a license had been granted citing in this connection an opinion of the United States Su preme Court which seems to have been the first involving the making of an invention by a general employee experimenting at the expense and in the factory of his employer and permitting the employer to use the device without asking any return There was said to be a presumption of a license granted the employer although the employee obtained the patent by his own action so that an assignee took the patent subject to the legal consequence of his con duct amounting to consent and allowance granting a right to the employer to the continuous use of the invention It was further held that there was basis for a presumption that the inventor had recognized an obligation resulting from his em ployment by the partnership and its successor corporation citing an earlier case in which the inventor was an employee of the Treas ury Department of the United States who conceived the idea of a useful invention of a self canceling stamp The necessary machinery was constructed by employees of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing of which the inventor was chief using Government prop erty in the work A patent was obtained by an assignee of the in ventor who thereupon notified the proper officer of his ownership of the patent and sought an arrangement for compensation for the use of the patented stamp by the Government In default of any reply a claim was entered in the Court of Claims to recover the sum demanded in payment for the use of the stamp The findings of the Court of Claims were adverse whereupon the case was taken to the Supreme Court where the findings of the Court of Claims were sustained The fundamental right of the employee as inventor to the results of his invention was asserted but qualifying circum stances modified the abstract rule Mr Justice Brewer who de livered the opinion of the court formulated certain statements which while not in every aspect necessary to a decision and in that degree classifiable as obiter have nevertheless been adopted in subsequent decisions so that they may be regarded as established law Follow ing are the essential portions of his opinion An employee performing all the duties assigned to him in his department of service may exercise his inventive faculties in any direction he chooses with BIGHTS OP EMPLOYEES TO THEIR INVENTIONS 347 the assurance that whatever invention he may thus conceive and perfect is his individual property There is no difference between the Government and any other employer in this respect But this general rule is subject to these limita tions If one is employed to devise or perfect an instrument or a means for accomplishing a prescribed result he can not after successfully accomplishing the work for which he was employed plead title thereto as against his employer That which he has been employed and paid to accomplish becomes when accom plished the property of his employer Whatever rights as an individual he may have had in and to his inventive powers and that which they are able to accomplish he has sold in advance to his employer So also when one is in the employ of another in a certain line of work and devises an improved method or instrument for doing that work and uses the property of his em ployer and the services of other employees to develop and put in practicable form his invention and explicitly assents to the use by hisi employer of such invention a jury or a court trying the facts is warranted in finding that he has so far recognized the obligations of service flowing from his employment and the benefits resulting from his use of the property and the assistance of the coemployees of his employer as to have given to such employer an irrevocable license to use such invention Affirmation and application of the rule in the foregoing case are found in a somewhat later case in which a machinist in Government employ conceived the idea of an improvement in the machine which he was operating and suggested it to his superior The construction of a machine involving the proposed improvements was authorized the work being at the cost of the United States according to designs furnished by the inventor It was satisfactory and the construction of others was authorized the work being done also under the im mediate supervision of the inventor as a part of his routine service A patent was then sought and subsequently another machine con structed under the immediate supervision of the patentee with no suggestion of remuneration The court held that since the invention was made while the inventor was drawing pay as an employee since he had used materials and mechanical assistance furnished by the Government and had raised no objection to the use of the invention by the Government there was no basis for a recovery of any sum as royalty for the use of the machines so invented constructed and used Such license as was here presumed to exist does not however inter fere with the right of the inventor and owner of the patent to grant to others similar rights for such compensation as may be agreed upon and the employer s license is merely personal and is not transferable Effect of Formal License Still more certainly would recovery be impossible where there was a formal licensing for the use of inventions patented by an employee nor could a contract fully stated in writing and subsequently carried out by both parties be varied by alleged collateral oral agreement inconsistent with the terms of the written contract The license so granted continues as long as the employer remains in business even though the employee inventor has left the service Similarly it was held in a recent case that the employer had an irre vocable license where the superintendent of his mill invented a de vice for use therein using materials and employees of the employer in perfecting and procuring a patent and the instrumentality was used in the mill as long as the inventor remained in service How ever where an employer ceases operations as in a case of bank 348 INVENTIONS BY EMPLOYEES ruptcy the right to the invention remains with the former employee the employer having had nothing but a shop right which would not pass under a sale of the assets Government Employees Though it is repeatedly said that the status of an employee of the Government is the same as that of an employee of a private estab lishment special legislation provides that any officer ox the Govern ment except officers and employees of the Patent Office may obtain a patent without the payment ox any fee where the invention is used or is to be used for the public service a stipulation to be embodied in the application to the effect that such use shall be without payment of any royalty therefor A later provision covers inventions gener ally an act of 1910 amended 1918 providing a method for reimburs ing patentees whose inventions have been used or manufactured by or for the United States without license of the owner thereof or law ful right to use or manufacture the same In such case the owner has a remedy by suit in the Court of Claims to recover a reasonable and entire compensation for such use and manufacture It was provided however that the benefits o f this act shall not inure to any patentee who when he makes such claim is in the employment or service of the Government of the United States or the assignee of any such patentee nor shall this act apply to any device discov ered or invented by such employee during the time of his employ ment or service Employees Under Contract to Make Improvements A N EXAMINATION of the cases in which employees are under contracts based on their mechanical skill and inventive ability rather than on their capacity to render routine service discloses two general forms of agreement One in which the employer specifically reserves to himself the right to any inventions improvements or discoveries made by the employee hired to effect the same and one in which the contract merely calls for the application of skill and inventive talent toward perfecting and improving the devices in use by the employer or the products in the manufacture of which he is engaged Thus it is said that a manufacturing corporation which has employed a skilled workman to take charge of its works and devote himself to improvements in the articles to be produced is not entitled to an assignment of the patents obtained for his inventions in the absence of an express agreement to that effect while in a similar case the employer was held to have only an unassignable license However an agreement providing for the vesting in the employer o f all inventions made by his employee during the term of his con tract of employment is held to be capable of specific performance enforceable in proper proceedings being not unreasonable or against the public interest and if the essential principles of the invention were developed during the term of the contract the contract governs even though the invention was perfected only at a later date substan tial completeness being sufficient to fix the date of the invention RIGHT S OF EMPLOYEES TO THEIR INVENTIONS 349 Where a general manager retained his right to inventions gen erally but contracted nevertheless that any invention or device made or perfected by him on the request of his employer pertaining to instrumentalities then being used or manufactured should vest in the employer the nevertheless provision was held valid and though the drawings were made at night the contract was held to cover an invention conceived in the time of the business of the employer conferences taking place with officers of the corporation and work being done with the materials and men of the company The inventor was here obligated to carry out his contract and take the necessary steps to vest the title to the patent in the company even though the term of his employment had expired but the com pany must do equity and pay the expenses incurred in procuring the patent So where the contract calls for an assignment of all inven tions and devices to be used in connection with the employer s busi ness the agreement was held to cover other devices secretly worked on at home not of the kind to be used in the manufacture of the articles desired to be marketed by the employer but of the same character The contract was said to call for the best endeavor of the employee in behalf of his employer and its specific enforcement in line with the foregoing interpretation was held to be possible and not unconscionable The character of the improvements invented outside the immedi ate line of employment in the foregoing case seems to have been such as to lead the court to its conclusion of inclusiveness How ever a slightly earlier decision by a circuit court of appeals drew a line between devices applicable to the particular product of the employer and other instruments Here an employee hired as in ventor by a manufacturer of organs agreed to assign a half interest in all inventions made during the term of his contract in connection with the product of his employer and an invention applicable also to pianos was held to be subject to the contract only so far as its use with organs was concerned as the contract related only to the latter An important decision under this head is one recently handed down by the Supreme Court in which it is said that the invention of a specific thing can undoubtedly be made the subject of a bar gain and pass in execution of it Continuing the opinion reads By the contract Peck the employee engaged to devote his time to the development of a process and machinery and was to receive therefor a stated compensation Whose property was the process and machinery to be when developed The answer would seem to be inevitable and resistless of him who engaged the services and paid for them they being his inducement and compensation they being not for temporary use but perpetual use a provision for a business a facility in it and an asset of it therefore contributing to it whether retained or sold This right vested so completely in the employer that it was trans ferable by sale to another corporation free from any claim or con tention of ownership on the part of the inventor It may be noted that the final statement of the opinion was necessary to dispose of a contention of the inventor that the employer had only a shop right not capable of assignment or transfer so that the inventor retained a right to dispose of the same privilege of manufacture to others for use in competition with the one who engaged him and paid him a contention to which the court refused to give assent 350 INVENTIONS BY EMPLOYEES Following this decision a contract with a workman to devote his entire time and attention to his duties as chief engineer of the em ployer s establishment and agreeing also to assign to the employer any ideas patents or patentable features that he may develop or invent pertaining to their line of product was held binding though the employee claimed that he developed his invention at night The court ruled this of no import as the hiring was either by the month or by the year and what time of day or night the idea might reach its development was of no significance and the agreement to assign must be complied with Contract Covering Subsequent Inventions A somewhat further development of the idea of ownership was found in a case in which a machine operator was compelled to sign a contract that if he made any improvements in the machinery while in the employment of the said company or at any time thereafter the same shall be for the exclusive use of the said company Here again was found a contract that was not unreasonable unconscion able or contrary to public policy In this case the employee was sent abroad to sell machines and there got a suggestion for an im provement of which he told the company and was encouraged by it to undertake its development the company furnishing a room power and materials but no current compensation On the perfecting of the invention the employee claimed it but the court held that the contract gave it to the employer with the duty however of paying the expenses and such an amount as compensation as a master in chancery might determine Employment to Develop Employer s Suggestion NLY a brief statement need be made of the third general head of the subject of the inventor s rights i e where a person lacking technical skill or for other reason desires the assistance of another to develop an invention which he has conceived Indeed ordinary good faith would seem to require a single answer to the question of ownership but the cases are proof of contests on this point In a fairly early case before the Supreme Court while recognizing the right of employees to their own independent inven tions the court drew the following distinction But where the employer has conceived the plan of an invention and is en gaged in experiments to perfect it no suggestions from an employee not amount ing to a new method or arrangement which in itself is a complete invention is sufficient to deprive the employer of the exclusive property in the perfected improvement But where the suggestions go to make up a complete and perfect machine embracing the substance of all that is embodied in the patent subse quently issued to the party to whom the suggestions were made the patent is invalid because the real invention or discovery belonged to another Common justice would forbid that any partial aid rendered under such circum stances during the progress of experiments in perfecting the improvement should enable the person rendering the aid to appropriate to himself the entire result of the ingenuity and toil of the originator This principle found application a few years later in a case in which both methods and materials were involved and rival claims were submitted The court held the rule to be that where the sug RIGHTS OF EMPLOYEES TO THEIR INVENTIONS 351 gestion was fundamental and the employee simply works out and improves on the original plan such ancillary discoveries as he may make become the property of the discoverer of the original principle and may be embodied in his patent as part of his invention A recent application of this rule was in a case in which the court held that there was a relation between one disclosing an invention and employing another to work out its details so that if the em ployee obtained a patent under cover of being the inventor the court would look into the question of original invention and make the award on the basis o f such priority since the working out of the mechanical features by the employee must be held as merely ancillary and inuring to the benefit of the employer Summary l E E PIN G in mind the statement that questions of law and of fact may both be involved in any particular case so that the general principle might be subject to variation it appears that the law secures to a general employee not engaged for purposes of improvement or invention the unqualified right to his inventions I f engaged for the accomplishment of the specific purpose of making improvements with no iurther specification the title to the patent would vest in the employee making the invention but a shop right or license for use would be implied for the benefit of the employer Such implication might also arise in the case of a general employee if the circumstances of the improvement of his idea were such as to warrant it Where an employee is hired to make improvements and it is specifically provided that the right and title to discoveries inven tions and patents therefor shall vest in the employer such contract can be specifically enforced And finally where an inventor dis closes his idea to one more mechanically skilled or whose assistance is desired for other reasons the employee has no right in the results of the working out of mechanical details or the application of ancil lary improvements such accruing to the benefit of the original dis coverer but if the employee develops an entirely new agency or hits upon an idea sufficiently distinct to amount to a new device he may hold it as his own property LABOR ORGANIZATIONS 353 Organization and Membership of American Trade Unions 1926 HE basic data in this article are taken from Bureau of Labor Statistics Bulletin No 420 Handbook of American trade unions This bulletin is a compendium of the organiza tion form of government and jurisdictional boundaries of existing American trade unions and in addition gives for each union a brief account of its origin and history an outline of its benevolent activi ties and the most recent and accurate membership figures obtainable The study covers all bona fide labor organizations functioning nationally a bona fide labor organization being defined as a group of wage or salaried workers organized for the purpose of employing economic or political pressure to improve their material condition It is a settled policy of some unions not to divulge their member ship However in the case of an organization affiliated to the Ameri can Federation of Labor approximate membership can be determined from its voting strength in the annual conventions of the federation its voting strength being based upon the number of members in good standing for whom the union pays per capita tax to the federation Where more definite figures have not been reported by the union itself the figure recognized by the American Federation of Labor as representing the number in good standing is used in the bulletin as the total membership of the organization In the present study 156 organizations coming within the defined scope which have national entity and significance were found Of these 107 are affiliated to the American Federation of Labor and 49 function entirely outside the federation Some of the unions which are independent of the American Federation of Labor have never been identified with it in any way and the field in which they operate has never been entered to any appreciable extent by the American Federation of Labor unions This is especially true of railroad operation in which the Big Four brotherhoods have always main tained separate existence and exclusive control Except for the rail road brotherhoods some of the organizations in the United States Post Office and the Loyal Legion of Loggers and Lumbermen the unions not affiliated to the American Federation of Labor are seceders from or 6 dual to some organization within the federa 4 tion These dual unions are found to some degree in all industries except the printing trades Building Trades R A F T lines are strictly drawn in the building trades organiza tions and subdivision into craft unions is carried to a fine point The oldest organizations of building craftsmen are the Operative Plasterers and Cement Finishers International Association estab LABOR ORGANIZATIONS lished in 1864 and the Bricklayers Masons and Plasterers Inter national Union organized in 1865 The Operative Plasterers became part of the American Federation of Labor early in the history of that organization while the Bricklayers and Masons remained out side of it for many years affiliating as recently as 1916 The en trance of the Bricklayers Masons and Plasterers International Union into the federation necessitated readjustments which affected the jurisdiction of several other American Federation of Labor unions Marble setters who had been organized in the International Association of Marble Workers were transferred to the Bricklayers and Masons and the International Association of Marble Workers became an organization of marble stone and slate polishers and sawyers Later this organization resumed some of its former juris diction in building operation by admitting to membership at the request of the Bricklayers and Masons the marble and tile setters unskilled he At about American Brotherhood of Cement Workers was dissolved the skilled men going to the Operative Plasterers Union which then became the Operative Plasterers and Cement Finishers International Association and the cement mixers and unskilled workers being absorbed by the International Hod Carriers Building and Common Laborers Union The history of the carpenters union has been one of absorption rather than of division The organization which grew into the pres ent United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners became a national one in 1881 by consolidation of scattered groups of organized house carpenters throughout the country Shop carpenters had an older organization the International Furniture Workers Union founded in 1873 In 1895 that organization joined with the Machine Wood Workers International Union to form the Amalgamated Wood Workers International Union which affiliated with the American Federation of Labor As the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners grew in numbers it extended its field to shop and mill work a move which involved it in a jurisdictional conflict with the Amal gamated Wood Workers which lasted for nearly 20 years and ended in 1912 by the absorption of the shopmen by the United Brotherhood and the dissolution of the Amalgamated Wood Workers A branch of the Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners of Great Britain was in existence in the United States when the United Brotherhood was founded and for many years both organi zations held membership in the American Federation of Labor The United Brotherhood however was militant for the policy of one trade one union and secured the suspension of the Amal gamated Society from the federation in 1912 While never arriving at any agreement with the Amalgamated Society looking toward a merger the United Brotherhood has gradually absorbed its mem bership To provide for the unskilled building trades workers who were not eligible to membership in the craft unions the American Federa tion of Labor organized the International Hod Carriers Building and Common Laborers Union in 1903 At first it was composed only of building trades men but later expanded its jurisdiction and its name to include common labor in any field In 1918 the Compressed ORGANIZATION AND MEMBERSHIP 357 Air and Foundation Workers International Union merged with the Hod Carriers The Brotherhood of Painters Decorators and Paperhangers of America originated in 1887 as an organization of house painters and decorators later adding paper hanging to its jurisdiction Its scope has been extended to all kinds of painting and decorative art work absorbing in the process a number of craft unions among them the National Paperhangers Association the National Union of Sign Painters and the union of stained glass workers known as the Amalgamated Glass Workers International Union The present organization holding jurisdiction over roofing the United Slate Tile and Composition Roofers Damp and Waterproof Workers Association is an amalgamation effected in 1919 of two international unions the International Slate and Tile Roofers Union and the International Brotherhood of Composition Roofers Damp and Waterproof Workers There is only one dual or independent organization in the build ing trades That is the International Brotherhood of Steam Shovel and Dredge Men which was organized in 1896 and in 1915 amal gamated with the Associated Union of Steam Shovelmen The Inter national Union of Steam and Operating Engineers claimed juris diction over the steam shovel and dredge men and in the resulting dispute the International Brotherhood of Steam Shovel and Dredge Men was expelled from the American Federation of Labor in 1918 for refusing to merge with the steam engineers It has functioned independently since that time The membership of the building trades organizations is distributed as follows Asbestos Workers International Association of Heat and Frost Insu lators and Bricklayers Masons and Plasterers International Union of America Bridge Structural and Ornamental Iron Workers International As sociation of Carpenters and Joiners of America United Brotherhood of Electrical Workers International Brotherhood o f Elevator Constructors International Union of Engineers International Union of Steam and Operating Granite Cutters International Association of America Hod Carriers Building and Common Laborers Union of America International Lathers International Union Wood Wire and Metal Marble Stone and Slate Polishers Rubbers and Sawyers Tile and Marble Setters Helpers and Terrazo Workers Helpers Interna tional Association of Painters Decorators and Paperhangers of America Brotherhood of Plasterers and Cement Finishers International Association of the United States and Canada Operative Plumbers and Steamfitters of the United States and Canada United Association of Journeymen Roofers Damp and Waterproof Workers Association United Slate Tile and Composition Steam Shovel and Dredge Men International Brotherhood of Stone Cutters Association of North America Journeymen Total Voting strength 358 LABOR ORGANIZATIONS Metals and Machinery jV l OST of the organizations in the metal trades date from the incep tion of the labor movement in the United States one of them the International Molders Union having been a pioneer in the move ment That organization has been in continuous existence since 1859 and was the first international union extending its jurisdiction to Canada in 1861 Structural changes within the metal trades unions have been chiefly in line with developments within the industry and have not been important The tendency is toward absorption of the smaller craft bodies by the larger unions The International Molders Union absorbed the Core Makers International Union and the brass molders holding membership in the old Metal Polishers Buffers Platers and Brass Workers Union Various jurisdictional readjustments lim ited the field of the latter organization to metal polishing and electro plating and it became in 1917 the Metal Polishers International Union Metal engravers are organized separately One small craft union operates in the limited field of stove mount ing and unskilled and common labor in foundries is controlled by the International Brotherhood of Foundry Employees Independent organization in the metal and machinery industry tends toward industrial unionism There are two independent unions the Amalgamated Metal Workers and the United Automo bile Aircraft and Vehicle Workers The former is a secession move ment of machinists from the International Association of Machinists Shortly after it was organized a similar group of industrial unionists organized as the Brotherhood of Metal Workers merged with it The Amalgamated Metal Workers did not report its membership but it is known to be only a small organization The United Auto mobile Aircraft and Vehicle Workers was originally the Interna tional Union of Carriage and Wagon Workers affiliated to the Amer ican Federation of Labor It was an industrial union from the first its chartered jurisdiction extending to all kinds of work involved in the making of wagons and carriages When the industry changed from carriage making to automobile manufacture the union under took to expand with it However the many craft organizations involved protested against encroachment on their various jurisdic tions and the American Federation of Labor repeatedly upheld the principle of craft organization as applied to automobile manufacture The International Union of Carriage Wagon and Automobile Work ers was ordered to release its craft men to their respective organiza tions and to drop the word automobile from its title It refused to do so and was expelled from the federation in 1918 It reorganized under its present title on a platform of industrial unionism The membership of the metal trades unions is as follows Automobile Aircraft and Vehicle Workers of America United Blacksmiths Drop Forgers and Helpers International Brotherhood o f Boilermakers Iron Shipbuilders and Helpers of America Interna tional Brotherhood of Draftsmen s Unions International Federation of Technical Engi neers Architects and Engravers Union International Metal ORGANIZATION AND MEMBERSHIP Firemen and Oilers International Brotherhood of Foundry Employees International Brotherhood of Iron Steel and Tin Workers of North America Amalgamated Asso ciation of Machinists International Association of Metal Workers of America Amalgamated Metal Workers International Association Sheet Molders Union of North America International Pattern Makers League of America Polishers International Union Metal Stove Mounters International Union of North America Total Transportation Q F THE many organizations of transportation workers broadly speaking those covering operation and administration are independent unions while the American Federation of Labor unions cover maintenance and shopwork In both the last mentioned fields and in train dispatching however there are independent unions dual to the American Federation of Labor unions The American Brotherhood of Railway Track Foremen and Allied Brotherhood of Railway Track Laborers organized independently in 1916 and in 1919 amalgamated with the American Federation of Labor union holding that jurisdiction the United Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Five years later it withdrew and reorganized as an independent rival union The American Federation of Railroad Workers is a secession union formerly the International Association of Car Workers While it is avowedly an industrial union its membership is chiefly among car shop workers Jurisdiction of train dispatching is claimed by an affiliated union the Order of Railroad Telegraphers and by the independent Ameri can Train Dispatchers Association Leaving out of consideration the Big Four brotherhoods most of the independent railroad unions are small groups duplicating each other in the same field There are three organizations of express workers the largest of which the Brotherhood of Railway and Steamship Clerks Freight Handlers Express and Station Em ployees was until January 1926 affiliated to the American Federa tion of Labor It was because the brotherhood was organizing express wagon drivers over the protest of the International Brother hood of Teamsters that its charter was revoked by the federation Station employees have two organizations in addition to the clerks brotherhood to which they are eligible and yardmasters have two one of which split off from the other Colored railroad workers have two general organizations and one union of sleeping car porters Most of the small railroad unions sprang up after the establishment of the United States Railroad Labor Board and functioned chiefly in hear ings before that body The railroad brotherhoods are among the oldest organizations of labor in the country the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers 2 N ot reported 3 Not including one union for which membership was not reported 360 LABOR ORGANIZATIONS dating from 1863 and the Order of Railway Conductors from 1868 Originally both of these organizations and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen founded in 1873 were benevo lent and temperance societies rather than labor unions They fell into line with the general trend of the labor movement however and the youngest of the brotherhoods the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen organized in 1883 has been an economic organization from the first These organizations have always maintained their position inde pendent of the American Federation of Labor and have so thor oughly controlled their field that no question of jurisdiction or dual unionism has arisen In water transportation there are three affiliated and three inde pendent unions The International Longshoremen s Association and the International Seamen s Union both affiliated to the American Federation of Labor are the only unions in their jurisdictions The third affiliated union the National Organization of Masters Mates and Pilots has a rival organization among the independents in the Neptune Association The other two independent unions the National Marine Engineers Beneficial Association and the Ocean Association of Marine Engi neers are dual organizations the latter having seceded from the former The National Marine Engineers Beneficial Association was at one time affiliated to the American Federation of Labor but with drew because of lack of sympathy with the federation s opposition to ship subsidy Thereafter the jurisdiction of the International Union of Steam and Operating Engineers was extended to cover marine engines Listed according to their relation to the American Federation of Labor the transportation unions and their respective memberships are Affiliated Carmen of America Brotherhood of Railway Conductors Order of Sleeping Car Longshoremen s Association International Maintenance of Way Employees Brotherhood of Masters Mates and Pilots of America National Organization of Seamen s Union of America International Signalmen of America Brotherhood of Railroad Street and Electric Railway Employees of America Amalgamated Association o f Switchmen s Union of North America Teamsters Chauffeurs Stablemen and Helpers of America Inter national Brotherhood of Telegraphers Order of Railroad Tunnel and Subway Constructors International Union of North America Total Independent Agents American Railway Clerks Freight Handlers Express and Station Employees Brother hood of Railway and Steamship Conductors Brotherhood of Dining Car Conductors of America Order of Railway Voting strength ORGANIZATION AND MEMBERSHIP Independent Continued Engineers Beneficial Association of the United States of America National Marine Engineers Grand International Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers Ocean Association of Marine Firemen and Enginemen Brotherhood of Locomotive Expressmen Order of Railway Express Workers American Federation of Neptune Association Porters Brakemen and Switchmen Association of Train Porters Brotherhood of Sleeping Car4 Railroad Supervisors of Mechanics International Association of Railroad Workers American Federation of Station Employees and Clerks Brotherhood of Railroad Track Foremen and Allied Brotherhood of Railway Track Labor ers American Brotherhood of Railway Train Dispatchers Association American Trainmen Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen Association of Colored Railway Yardmasters of America Railroad Yardmasters of North America Railroad Total Paper Printing and Bookbinding Paper nrHERE are three organizations in paper manufacture all affiliated to the American Federation of Labor One of these the United Wall Paper Crafts of North America is confined to wall paper manufacture the jurisdiction of the other two specifically excluding that product The International Brotherhood of Pulp Sulphite and Paper Mill Workers originated by secession from the Inter national Brotherhood of Paper Makers For three years it was an independent dual union antagonistic to and drawing membership from the parent body but in 1909 a jurisdictional adjustment basing jurisdiction partly on skill and partly on processes was arrived at which made it possible for both organizations to function amicably within the American Federation of Labor The membership of the unions in the paper industry is Paper Makers International Brotherhood of Pulp Sulphite and Paper Mill Workers International Brotherhood of Wall Paper Crafts of North America United Total Printing and Bookbinding While in most industries the highly specialized craft unions are passing in the printing industry just the reverse has taken place Organization has proceeded from the original comprehensive indus trial union established in 1852 to individual unions in the various crafts and even for special processes The printing pressmen started the movement toward crait division by seceding from the Inter national Typographical Union in 1889 and establishing the Inter 2 Not reported 4 Negro organization 5Not including three unions for which membership was not reported 362 LABOR ORGANIZATIONS national Printing Pressmen s Union later extending jurisdiction to the assistants and changing the name of the union accordingly Their example was followed by the bookbinders who organized separately in 1892 and thereafter by the remaining crafts in rapid succession which by agreement with the International Typographical Union were chartered by the American Federation of Labor with clearly defined jurisdictional divisions There are now eight unions in the printing industry In 1925 a merger of the International Steel and Copper Plate Engravers League with the International Plate Printers and Die Stampers Union of North America eliminated one of the process unions Included among the eight printing unions is the International Asso ciation of Siderographers a union covering one process in plate printing The process is used almost exclusively in the printing of paper money and all the operators engaged in the work are members of the union Hence while it is probably the smallest interna tional union in the world it is a 100 per cent organization The membership of the printing trades unions is as follows Bookbinders International Brotherhood of Engravers Union of North America International Photo Lithographers of America Amalgamated Pressmen and Assistants Union of North America International Printing Printers Die Stampers and Engravers Union of North America International Plate Siderographers International Association of Stereotypers and Electrotypers Union of North America InternationalTypographical Union of North America International Total Textiles and Clothing r U A L unionism reaches its greatest strength both numerically and economically in the textile and clothing industries Seces sion movements as a rule are actuated by the philosophy of industrial unionism the revolt of radical elements against the principle of craft organization However in the textile industry and in boot and shoe manufacture organization is industrial in character and the unions affiliated to the American Federation of Labor holding juris diction over those fields are specifically chartered as industrial unions In both fields secession has frequently been along craft lines and while to a great extent the seceding craft unions have been reabsorbed into industrial unions some of the dual textile unions are still craft unions Textiles The United Textile Workers of America is the largest organization in the industry and is affiliated to the American Federation of Labor It was organized in 1901 and was the second attempt to bring to gether into one body the scattered small craft unions in textile mills While it is chartered as an industrial union it is more accurately a federation of craft divisions within the industry since its organiza tion is subdivided into crafts and processes One division within the ORGANIZATION AND MEMBERSHIP 363 United Textile Workers the American Federation of Full Fashioned Hosiery Workers is essentially a separate entity Two textile unions were in existence and affiliated to the American Federation of Labor at the time of the organization of the United Textile Workers the International Mule Spinners Union which dates back to 1858 and the Chartered Society of Amalgamated Lace Operatives founded in 1892 In 1919 the United Textile Workers sought to enforce its jurisdictional claim to the industry by absorb ing the older unions Both organizations refused to yield their autonomy and were in consequence expelled from the American Federation of Labor They have continued since as independent bodies Secession movements from the United Textile Workers have been numerous and frequent Sometimes a craft division such as the loom fixers or carders has withdrawn at other times the workers in the industry in a certain locality such as Lawrence Mass have seceded and started a new industrial union In 1916 these various scattered and somewhat sporadic groups came together and organized the American Federation of Textile Operatives an organization identical in structure to the United Textile Workers that is a federation of craft unions which function more or less autonomously More recently this organization has joined with the International Mule Spinners Union the Chartered Society of Amalgamated Lace Operatives and a small local union of tapestry carpet weavers in the city of Philadelphia to form the Fed erated Textile Union The United Textile Workers does not permit public statements of its total membership Its membership as represented by its voting strength in the American Federation of Labor is 30 000 The membership of the Federated Textile Union is not definitely reported but is approximately 21 000 of which 11 000 is in the American Federation of Textile Operatives 8 000 in the Interna tional Mule Spinners Union and 1 600 in the Amalgamated Lace Operatives Boots and Shofes Organization among shoe workers is almost as old as the country itself and shoe workers unions have had a marked influence upon the labor movement particularly in connection with woman workers A national organization of shoe workers known as the Knights of St Crispin antedates the Knights of Labor Shoemakers went from the former into the latter and became a strong factor there in forming their own national trade assembly in 1884 They followed the move ment into the American Federation of Labor but kept their entity as an industrial union Secession movements of craft groups began about 1900 and con tinued intermittently for 10 years From time to time these seceding craft unions have come together to form industrial federations each new one absorbing its predecessor in the field In this wise the United Shoe Workers and the Amalgamated Shoe Workers of Amer ica have come and gone both now being part of the Shoe Workers Protective Union which is the independent rival of the Boot and Shoe Workers Union 364 LABOR ORGANIZATIONS A number of local craft unions exist in New England independent of both the national organizations and an industrial union called the American Shoe Workers Union operates in the shoe factories in New York owning its headquarters and claiming a membership of 6 000 The Boot and Shoe Workers Union does not divulge its member ship Based on its voting strength it has 36 200 members in good standing The Shoe Workers Protective Union gives 16 000 as its total membership Garment Trades In their early history the structure of unions in the garment trades was determined largely by developments within the industry Tailors had a substantial organization at the beginning of the nine teenth century and the Knights of Labor movement was inaugurated by garment cutters The oldest of the present organizations is the Journeymen Tailors Union organized in 1883 It was a prime mover in organizing the American Federation of Labor and is one of the few remaining strictly craft unions of skilled workers As a matter of fact the many organizations which succeeded the Jour neymen Tailors Union in the industry came into being largely because of the attitude of the tailors toward the factory system of production Determined to keep their organization one of skilled workers in the custom trade they refused to admit to membership the skilled and semiskilled factory operatives even after factory production had begun seriously to threaten the custom trade The factory men organized separately into two unions both of which held membership in the American Federation of Labor as did the Journeymen Tailors Union Out of the various groups of craft workers who organized from time to time according to the kind of work performed or the product made grew in 1891 the United Garment Workers of America In 1900 an independent union in the women s garment industry called the United Brotherhood of Cloak Makers of New York and a number of local unions of the United Garment Workers the mem bers of which were making women s clothes organized a third union in the industry the International Ladies Garment Workers Union Secession from the United Garment Workers in 1914 produced the fourth union in the garment trades the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America This is an industrial union independent of the American Federation of Labor and is the largest and most pow erful of the so called dual unions The three other garment trades unions are affiliated to the American Federation of Labor The membership of the garment trades unions is Clothing Workers of America Amalgamated Garment Workers Union International Ladies Garment Workers of America United Tailors Union of America Journeymen Total Other Clothing Trades The hat making trade has two organizations the United Hatters of North America and the Cloth Hat Cap and Millinery Workers International Union both affiliated to the American Federation of ORGANIZATION AND MEMBERSHIP 365 Labor The jurisdictional boundaries are vague but are based principally upon the kind of fabric used in manufacture Jurisdic tional disputes over millinery work women s hats resulted in 1918 in the expulsion from the federation of the Cloth Hat and Cap Makers It continued to function successfully however and in 1924 was readmitted to the American Federation of Labor by agreement with the United Hatters These organizations are practically equal in numerical strength the United Hatters claiming 11 500 and the Cloth Hat Cap and Millinery Workers International Union Other unions in the clothing industry are the International Fur Workers Union of the United States and Canada with 12 000 mem bers and the International Glove Workers Union of America with a voting strength of 300 Neckwear workers while having no central organization are organ ized into six local unions in direct affiliation to the American Fed eration of Labor with an approximate membership of 1 000 An other needle trade pocketbook making is organized in the Inter national Pocketbook Workers Union with a membership of 6 000 Leather workers not connected with clothing trades are organized into two small unions one of which while calling itself an interna tional does not extend beyond Massachusetts This is the Interna tional Union of United Leather Workers of America composed of workers in the Massachusetts tanneries it is unaffiliated and has a membership of about 2 000 The other organization in the leather industry United Leather Workers International Union of Amer ica is the result of a merger effected in 1917 of two unions in the industry the United Brotherhood of Leather Workers on Horse Goods and the Travelers Goods and Leather Novelty Workers In ternational Union The United Leather Workers International Union is affiliated to the American Federation of Labor and has 2 000 members Food Liquor and Tobacco JEOOD and liquor In this group classification are six organi zations affiliated to the American Federation of Labor and two independent industrial unions One of the affiliated unions the Industrial Union of United Brewery Flour Cereal and Soft Drink Workers is definitely an industrial union having waged a long and victorious struggle within the American Federation of Labor for control of the various craftsmen employed in the brewing industry Prohibition resulted in structural changes within the organization as well as in loss of membership Although so far it has not met with much success the union is trying to shift its field from brew ing to certain branches of the food industry Extension of juris diction to soft drink and yeast manufacture was followed by an effort to secure control of flour and cereal mills and grain elevators The Bakery and Confectionery Workers International Union is one of the old organizations Starting in 1886 with journeymen bakers it has extended its field to candy and ice cream manufacture The German bakers of New York City withdrew from the Bakery and Confectionery Workers Union and after several years of inde pendent activity they joined with another independent group the Hotel Restaurant and Caterer Workers Federation in 1921 to form 366 LABOR ORGANIZATIONS the Amalgamated Food Workers of America This is an industrial union which aims at control not only of the manufacture and dis tribution of food but of its service as well a field which among the American Federation of Labor unions is covered by the Hotel and Eestaurant Employees International Alliance and Bartenders Inter national League As at present organized the Amalgamated Food Workers encroaches to a limited degree on the chartered jurisdic tions of three American Federation of Labor unions the Bakery and Confectionery Workers the Hotel and Restaurant Employees International Alliance and the Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen The last mentioned is an organization of work ers in slaughter and packing houses which also claims jurisdiction over meat cutters and sausage makers in wholesale and retail shops The membership of these organizations is as follows Bakery and Confectionery Workers International Union of America Brewery Flour Cereal and Soft Drink Workers of America Inter national Union of United Food Workers of America Amalgamated Hotel and Restaurant Employees International Alliance and Bar tenders International League of America Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of North America Amalgamated 12 200 Total Tobacco The Cigar Makers International Union has been in con tinuous existence since 1864 and was largely responsible for the estab lishment of the American Federation of Labor It began as a strictly craft union of skilled hand workers but the introduction of machin ery into the industry has materially changed the make up of the union although it still limits its field to the manufacture of cigars and tobacco cigarettes There are two other small organizations in the tobacco industry one inside and one outside the American Federation of Labor The affiliated union the Tobacco Workers International Union has jurisdiction over the manufacture of smoking and chewing tobacco and paper cigarettes The Amalgamated Tobacco Workers is an industrial union organized in 1921 which so far is composed chiefly of machine workers in cigar factories The Cigar Makers Interna tional Union has 24 000 members the Tobacco Workers Interna tional Union about 2 000 and the Amalgamated Tobacco Workers Mining Oil and Lumber r PHE only organization in the field of coal mining is the United Mine Workers of America the largest labor union in the United States It was founded in 1890 and is an industrial union It is affiliated to the American Federation of Labor In the field of metal mining such organization as is in opposition to the affiliated union the International Union of Mine Mill and Smelter Workers comes from the mining branch of the Industrial Workers of the World Like the United Mine Workers the Inter national Union of Mine Mill and Smelter Workers is an industrial union covering all workers in and about the mines It was formerly the Western Federation of Miners a radical organization ORGANIZATION AND MEMBERSHIP vuhich held various affiliations having at one time withdrawn from the American Federation of Labor and identified itself with the Industrial Workers of the World After a reorganization along conservative lines it returned to the American Federation of Labor and dropped its old title With the adoption of the new name it also extended its jurisdiction to smelters refineries and blast furnaces Timber workers are variously organized in branches of the Indus trial Workers of the World in local unions directly affiliated to the American Federation of Labor and in the Loyal Legion of Loggers and Lumbermen The last mentioned is an independent organi zation composed of both workers and employers in logging and lumber manufacture It was organized in 1917 and confines its activities to Oregon Washington and Idaho There was at one time an American Federation of Labor union in this jurisdiction the International Union of Timber Workers It collapsed as an inter national however and such of the field as is controlled by the Amer ican Federation of Labor is organized in local unions chartered by the federation A small organization of oil well workers was founded in 1917 and affiliated to the American Federation of Labor as the Interna tional Association of Oil Field Gas Well and Refinery Workers of America The membership of the national organizations in this group is as follows Loggers and Lumbermen Loyal Legion of Mine Mill and Smelter Workers International Union of Mine Workers of America United Oil Field Gas Well and Refinery Workers of America International Association o f Total Quarry workers are organized in the Quarry Workers Interna tional Union of North America an affiliated union with a member ship of 4 000 Glass and Clay Hr HERE are six national organizations in the glass industry four affiliated to the American Federation of Labor and two inde pendent One union covers bottle making another flint glass manu facture and the remaining four cover window glass factories The window glass organizations are dual so far as the craft is concerned but there is a division of processes and of establishments which limits the activities of each Two of them the National Window Glass Workers and the Window Glass Cutters and Flatteners Association are affiliated to the American Federation of Labor membership in the second organization being confined to machine operators The two independent unions of glass cutters and flatteners the Window Glass Cutters and Flatteners Protective Association and the Win dow Glass Cutters League of America restrict their respective activi ties to the plants of certain manufacturers 1 Voting strength 6 Employee members 368 LABOR ORGANIZATIONS Union membership in the glass industry is as follows Glass Bottle Blowers Association of the United States and Canada Glass Cutters and Flatteners Association of America Inc Window 2 Glass Cutters and Flatteners Protective Association of America Window Glass Cutters League of America Window Glass Workers National Window Glass Workers Union of North America American Flint Total The United Brick and Clay Workers of America formerly the International Alliance of Bricky Tile and Terra Cotta Workers holds jurisdiction over clay mining and the manufacture of brick tile and terra cotta for whatever purpose used It is affiliated to the American Federation of Labor in which its voting strength repre sents 5 000 members The National Brotherhood of Operative Potters holds jurisdiction over the pottery industry and is the only union in that industry It is an affiliated body with a membership of 7 900 A small affiliated union with a membership of 2 400 the Interna tional Paving Cutters Union of the United States of America and Canada exercises jurisdiction over the cutting of all stone used for paving purposes Woodworking Y O O D WORKING and kindred trades are covered by four or ganizations besides the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners which controls cabinetmaking and the Loyal Legion of Loggers and Lumbermen which includes sash and door mills in its jurisdiction These four organizations are small and are affiliated to the American Federation of Labor The International Wood Carvers Association of North America is a craft organization of highly skilled artisans numbering 1 100 The Coopers International Union of North America has suffered from loss of trade due partly to prohibition and partly to the substitution of other material in the manufacture of barrels It now has a membership of 1 215 The International Union of Piano Organ and Musical Instru ment Workers holds a charter for the entire industry but the in dustry is practically unorganized The union has 600 members The largest organization in the group is the Upholsterers Inter national Union of North America Its jurisdiction is comprehensive and varied including factory production of window and wall hang ings and awnings and their installation mattress and box spring making furniture and automobile upholstering and laying floor coverings The membership of the organization is Public Service and Amusements O FAR as organization of white collar workers and the profes sions exists at all it is to be found chiefly in the theatrical field and in public service in which 417 431 workers are organized in national bodies S 2 Not reported 9 Not including one union for which membership was not reported ORGANIZATION AND MEMBERSHIP 369 The theatrical profession is represented in the American Federa tion of Labor by the Associated Actors and Artistes of America an organization embracing all public entertainers except musicians with a membership of 14 000 One of the most powerful and thoroughly organized unions in the federation is the American Federation of Musicians the jurisdiction of which covers professional players of musical instruments It has a membership o f The third organization in the theatrical field is not professional Stage hands and moving picture machine operators are organized in the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and Mov ing Picture Machine Operators of the United States and Canada a union with 22 000 members affiliated to the American Federation of Labor In the public service there are the American Federation of Teach ers an affiliated union with a membership of 3 500 public school teachers the International Association of Fire Fighters also affili ated with 20 000 members the National Federation of Federal Em ployees an American Federation of Labor union which includes Government clerks in the departmental service to the number of 37 000 and the many organizations in the United States Post Office including three organizations of clerks three of letter car riers and five of postmasters and other executive and supervisory officials Four of the organizations in the Post Office are affiliated to the American Federation of Labor and nine are independent The affiliated group contains one organization of railway mail clerks the Kailway Mail Association one of the two unions of post office clerks the National Federation of Post Office Clerks one of the two unions of rural letter carriers the National Federation of Rural Letter Car riers and the only organization of city carriers the National Asso ciation of Letter Carriers Dual organizations in the ranks of the independents are the United National Association of Post Office Clerks a rival of the National Federation of Post Office Clerks and the National Rural Letter Car riers Association from which the affiliated union seceded in 1920 A second organization in the Railway Mail Service is the National Alliance of Postal Employees an independent union of colored rail way mail clerks who are ineligible for membership in the Railway Mail Association because of their race The other postal organizations in the following list are either of postmasters of the different classes or supervisory officials or are in the mechanical branch of the service The organizations in the United States Post Office are as follows Letter Carriers National Association of Mail Association Railway F Mail Service National Council of Supervisory Officials of the Railway 330 Postal Employees National Alliance of Postal Supervisors National Association of Postmasters of the United States National Association of Postmasters of the United States National League of District Postmasters Association of the United States Service Post Office Clerks National Federation of Membership reported as 35 000 to 40 000 370 LABOR ORGANIZATIONS Post Office Clerks of the United States United National Association of Post Office Laborers of the United States National Association of Rural Letter Carriers Association National Rural Letter Carriers National Federation of Total Two other organizations of public service employees may be listed the International Union of Pavers Rammermen Flaggers Bridge and Stone Curb Setters an affiliated union with a membership based on its voting strength of 2 000 and the International Association of Police Women an independent organization established in 1915 embracing policewomen jail matrons and social service agents in public employ It has 300 members There are 34 local unions of State county and city employees library attendants sanitary inspectors etc which are chartered directly by the American Federation of Labor and have no national organization Other White Collar Unions TTO THE white collar list may be added the Retail Clerks International Protective Association an American Federation of Labor union covering the selling force of mercantile and mail order establishments It does not permit publication o f its exact membership As represented by its voting strength in the American Federation of Labor it has about 10 000 members Another organization bordering on the professional class is the American Registered Pharmacists an organization of drug clerks and licensed pharmacists founded in California in 1901 It is an independent union and while it is national in scope so far as its aims and form of organization are concerned it has not yet extended beyond California where it has 2 500 members Organization of stenographers typists bookkeepers and office clerks is confined to local unions chartered directly by the American Federation of Labor Miscellaneous T JNIONS in miscellaneous manufactures not subject to classifica tions in the foregoing industrial groups are Broom and Whisk Makers Union International Diamond Workers Protective Union of America Jewelry Workers Union International Powder and High Explosive Workers of America United Sawsmiths Union of North America Wire Weavers Protective Association American Total Of these the Sawsmiths Union is the only one outside the Ameri can Federation of Labor It was affiliated until 1924 The American Wire Weavers Association though small numeri cally is really a closed union embracing all journeymen in the trade which is the manufacture of the Fourdrinier wire used in the 1 Voting strength 7 Membership reported as 35 000 to ORGANIZATION AND MEMBERSHIP 371 paper making industry It has rigid regulations governing the ad mission of apprentices and a very high initiation fee for foreign workers Various unclassified occupations are represented by the following organizations all of which are affiliated to the American Federation of Labor Barbers International Union of America Journeymen Bill Posters and Billers of America International Alliance of Building Service Employees International Union Horseshoers of the United States and Canada International Union of Journeymen Laundry Workers International Union Telegraphers Union of America Commercial Total Industrial Workers of the World r THE Industrial Workers of the World organized in 1905 now A claim 30 000 members with active branches in the following industries Agriculture lumber metal mining oil general construc tion roads bridges etc building construction machinery food stuffs marine transportation and railroads and a group classed as small unions which includes textile workers Knights of Labor DEGAUSE of the policy of secrecy still practiced by the Order of the Knights ox Labor accurate data are not obtainable The best information which can be secured indicates that the only re maining organizations of the Knights of Labor which are actually functioning as labor unions are in various branches of the municipal service in Boston Mass and two locals in the shoe industry in Ohio Information dealing with total membership is not given out by the order Aggregate Membership THE aggregate membership of all organizations covered by the study is in the American Federation of Labor and in the independent organizations and the In dustrial Workers of the World 8 These figures include the Canadian membership of the inter national unions The Department of Labor of Canada gives the following figures of Canadian membership in international unions for the calendar year in the American Federation of Labor unions and 67 527 in independent unions including 11 500 in the Industrial Workers of the World a total of Voting strength 8 The above figures regarding the aggregate membership of all trade organizations exceed the sum of the membership of the individual unions reporting membership This is because the aggregate membership reported includes the membership of several organizations which reported confidentially and also 50 400 workers organized into local trade and Federal labor unions chartered directly by the American Federation of Labor and haying no connection with the international organizations 372 LABOR ORGANIZATIONS Collective Agreements ROM the labor standpoint the primary purpose of collective or trade agreements is to prevent competition between the indi vidual workers in fixing the terms of employment To this end the union as a whole makes agreements with employers of labor either singly or in associations stating what the wages hours of labor and other conditions of work shall be requiring employers to employ union workers and promising in so far as possible to furnish employers with first class labor alone Such agreements however are not always reduced to writing many of them are unwritten and are observed simply as a matter of tradition or custom There is no requirement or practice in the United States regarding the filing of local agreements with a central agency Therefore there is no central depository where such agreements may be found The Bureau of Labor Statistics attempts to secure copies of agree ments as they are consummated to note certain of the more impor tant ones in the Labor Review and to present a summary compila tion each year in bulletin form The most recent bulletin on the subject is No 419 entitled Trade agreements Because of the difficulty of locating and also of securing copies of all new agreements the bureau s compilation is by no means com plete The fact however that about 2 000 agreements are secured annually indicates the wide extent of the field and also the impossi bility of summarizing such agreements in a brief space Collective agreements began to be common immediately after the Civil War with the increase in the number of unions Since the opening of the present century however there has been a rapid increase in their number At first most of the agreements were oral but in order to prevent misunderstanding the practice is now to reduce the more important of them to writing The length of the written agreements varies greatly Some of them contain barely 100 word others occupy upward of 100 pages Some are confined mainly to wages and hours of work Others con tain extended provisions relative to arbitration apprenticeship dis charge holidays overtime rates and the like The form of these agreements also varies The officers of each national and international union work out general provisions satis factory to themselves and their members and such provisions ap pear very generally in the local agreements of the respective unions With the exception of the agreements made by the glass pottery and wall paper unions and provisions regarding the use of the label few agreements binding the locals are made by the national officers though the national officers of many unions demand the right to approve agreements made by the local unions In addition to the provisions relative to wages and hours the agreements frequently contain clauses relative to the recognition of the union Since the agreement is between the union and the em ployer it is but natural that a clause should be inserted obligating the employer to employ union members exclusively Further to assure the observance of this rule a clause is frequently inserted requiring employers to obtain their workers through union officials In some instances where employers are unwilling to be bound so F COLLECTIVE AGREEMENTS 373 closely the clause provides that as between two applicants for a job one of whom is a union and the other a nonunion worker the em ployer is to give preference to the union man other things being equal Foremen and superintendents are generally considered as repre sentatives of the employer and therefore as not eligible for member ship in the union but some agreements require membership in the union especially if these employees do any journeyman work Some unions notably those of the painters specifically forbid their mem bers assuming the role of contractor The hours of work are always stated in the agreement The 8hour day is very generally observed The 44 hour week is prac tically the rule of the building clothing metal printing and stone trades for daywork While in many instances 40 hours work only is required o f night workers There are indeed some cases where but 40 hours a week are required from day workers also Very seldom do collective agreements provide for a 7 day week Sunday is the general day of rest but in continuous occupations any day may be so observed State holidays are generally observed by unions and except in the building trades these are frequently paid for There are a few cases where provision is made that employees shall be given a week or two of vacation with pay Work done outside the regular working hours is considered over time Many efforts have been made by the unions to reduce the amount of such work In some cases no overtime work is allowed until the consent of the union officials has been obtained In other cases the amount of overtime is limited to one or two hours a day or a few hours a week As a rule the workers are paid time and a half or double time for overtime In continuous operations and in trades where there is regular night work or the employees work in shifts overtime rates do not apply Instead a separate wage scale is made which often calls for either a slight increase in wages over the day scale or a decrease in the number of hours worked per shift A number of agreements make some provision for arbitration and forbid strikes during the term of the agreement The form of arbi tration is similar in nearly all cases a board of one two or three appointed from each side to the controversy with one impartial member chosen by the members appointed by the two sides Some of the provisions relating to arbitration are very elaborate and con tain minute directions for procedure Both sides agree beforehand to observe the decision of the board Many agreements contain provisions relating to apprenticeship showing that the apprenticeship system is far from passing into disuse Apprenticeship matters are under the direction of a joint committee of employers and employees which articles apprentices to employers examines them periodically in regard to their progress sees that they attend school for the required length of time each year and on the completion of the apprenticeship period varying from six months to five years examines them and admits them into the union if found qualified The matter of unemployment is variously handled The usual method in time of slack periods is to discharge all unnecessary help 374 LABOR ORGANIZATIONS and keep at work only as many as may be needed in which case the agreements generally provide that the employees older in point of service shall be retained and those with shorter periods of service shall be discharged first Other agreements forbid discharges under such circumstances and require an equal distribution of work Of late there has been tried in the clothing industries a system of un employment insurance whereby a fund is created by contributions from the employers and employees and is used to make payments to employees during the period of unemployment Seniority in the public utilities and the check off in the mining industry are other matters referred to in agreements Not infre quently the agreements prescribe the working conditions such as pro visions relative to the comfort and safety of employees proper sani tary arrangements toilets wash rooms dressing rooms and lockers Some agreements require employers to carry liability insurance As a rule agreements are made for one year though the term may be for as short a period as six months or for as long as five years Agreements running for more than a year generally contain a pro vision allowing wages to be revised yearly Many agreements are for an indeterminate period Collective Bargaining by Actors STUDY of trade unionism among performers of the Englishspeaking legitimate stage in America i given in Bulletin 402 of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics issued in 1926 Prior to 1913 business relations between manager and actor were of a purely individual character and their dealings were far from satisfactory Contracts were in many cases entered into by both parties with a mental reservation that they would not be bound by the terms should self interest intervene Although several unions had been formed none had been strong enough to have any appreciable success in remedying the abuses in the industry The first step toward the formation of a live associa tion of actors was taken December and the Actors Equity Association was formally constituted at a general meeting held May with a charter membership of 112 The first five years of the life of the association were spent in an only partially successful effort to secure the general and peaceful adoption of a standard contract The indifference of the producing managers however forced the organization to take steps toward affiliation with the American Federation of Labor Although no affiliation was effected at the time the fact that negotiations to that end were in progress had its effect upon the managers and a standard contract was approved by the managers and actors associations on October It soon appeared however that the managers had accepted the contract only in theory In January 1918 although all but four of the recognized producing managers in New York City had agreed to accept the new contract it was actually being used by only about one fifth of them A COLLECTIVE BARGAINING BY ACTORS 375 During the spring of 1919 a new association of managers was formed which refused to recognize the right of the actors to bargain collectively through the Equity Association The actors therefore struck on July to maintain this right In this struggle they were assisted by the American Federation of Labor to which they had finally succeeded in becoming affiliated only 11 days before the strike was called By the end of August the managers realized that the fight was lost on September 3 negotiations were opened and on September 6 an agreement was signed The most vital provisions of this agree ment from the point of view of the actors were the following 1 It definitely recognized the right of the Actors Equity Association to represent its members in their dealings with the managers 2 It provided for the use by all members of the Producing Managers Association of a standard minimum contract 3 It agreed to submit to arbitration all questions of dispute between man ager and actor or between their respective associations In the fall of 1921 the union succeeded in introducing the socalled 4 Equity shop providing for a closed shop but also a wide4 open union which any person playing on the speaking stage may join This had a highly stimulating effect upon the membership of the union sending it to 12 308 nominal membership by Decem ber of that year with a paid up membership of 5 668 Several attempts have been made to break the power of the union but without success At present its contracts provide for an 80 per cent Equity shop for the signatories outsiders or independents must have 100 per cent Equity casts O f the actors some 7 400 or about 97 per cent of the total now belong to the Actors Equity Association approximately 100 are members of the Actors Fidelity League and the remainder probably less than 50 in all are not connected with either organization but are allowed to work under the 80 20 agreement contributing to the Equity Association the same amounts as though they were members On November the Actors Equity Association had a paper membership of 11 007 with a paid up membership of 7 379 The officials of the association believe that fully 97 per cent of American dramatic and musical comedy actors are now members of the Actors Equity Association and that the membership will show substantial increase if at all only as the field of theatrical production expands The union has done much to improve the condition of the actor Through its efforts he is guaranteed a season of at least two weeks or salary therefor He is assured that his work will be continuous from opening to close of the season however short the season may be except for possible lay offs during Holy Week and the week before Christmas He is protected against sudden loss of employment by one week s notice if the play is to close and by two weeks if he indi vidually is to be dismissed He has witnessed the obsequies of the 44satisfaction or 4 joker clause which permitted summary dis 4 missal at the will of the manager He is required to give only four weeks of unpaid rehearsals if engaged for a dramatic production or five weeks if the play is musical comedy or revue He is paid full salary for all time played He receives a stated salary for a standard week of eight performances and is paid extra on a pro 376 LABOR ORGANIZATIONS rata basis for extra performances He is guaranteed full trans portation back to the starting point if the production goes on tour He is required to supply in the way of costume only conventional clothes of modern style and if the actor be a woman all stage clothes are paid for by the manager The actor is permitted to call for arbitration of any disputed point of contract or of any claim which he may have against a manager The remarkable fact is that even among the former enemies of the Equity there can be found no genuine opposition to the working con ditions summarized above There is criticism of the methods by which these conditions were achieved and especially of affiliation with the American Federation of Labor and the introduction of the Equity shop policy But the fairness of the personal working rela tions which Equity has set up is attested by the managers themselves upon whom it upon any one these conditions would work a hard ship The author of the report sums up the successful operation of the association as follows In so far as the business interests of the legitimate actor can be handled collectively they come within the scope of the Actors Equity Association This organization in its existence of 12 years has witnessed the dissolution of two managerial groups and the gradual decline of a rival actors association It has adopted and enforced a policy which virtually insures it against loss of membership It has won the good will of the public and to a remarkable degree the good will of the managers as well Thus intrenched it would seem to be safe against attack so long as it continues the policy of moderation which has characterized it in the past Labor Relations in the Lace and Lace Curtain Industries STUDY of labor relations in the lace and lace curtain indus tries in the United States is presented in Bulletin No 399 of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics published in 1926 These industries while small are of interest because of their importance in international trade and American tariff problems and because of certain outstanding features of their labor relations The industries are of comparatively recent growth having been trans planted from Europe and encouraged by tariff protection Of the 12 lace curtain mills 8 are in Pennsylvania in the lace industry Rhode Island is credited with having 215 o f the 590 ma chines in the country According to the 1920 census there are over 7 000 wage earners in the cotton lace industry The lace curtain plants have no trade association but cooperate in labor matters meeting to discuss labor problems and to negotiate with the union The employees in the industries are organized in a federation of a number of crafts and occupations divided into three sections two of which are composed of skilled operatives while the other is composed of the semiskilled and unskilled workers and each is an independent self governing unit The organization is thus partly a craft and partly an industrial union As the industries are affected greatly by changes in styles which makes for irregular employment and as the skilled workers predomi nate in the industries the labor policies of the union have naturally A WORKERS HEALTH BUREAU 377 centered in security of employment effective control of the labor supply being secured through 1 high initiation fees if the cir cumstances warranted restriction 2 length of service requirements in accepting transfer or traveling cards from European lace workers trade unions 3 regulation of apprenticeship with respect to num bers allowed age limits and length of term to be served 4 semi official and official action on importation of lace weavers by American employers under the alien contract labor law and 5 attainment of the closed shop As a result of these policies the skilled workers in the industries have occupied a strategic position in bargaining with their employers because of the scarcity of trained labor and the necessity of importing men or of training apprentices A piecework wage scale adopted in 1900 which developed from the old English piecework price lists established in the early years of bargaining over machine rates is the basis of the collective bar gaining as to wages In the scale an average size and gauge of machine is fixed as the standard with fixed differentials for addi tional equipment and variations in width and gauge Percentage increases or decreases of this scale are made in times of prosperity or depression in the trade price conferences being held semiannually and a joint technical committee deciding disputed points The union secured a 9 hour day in 1907 but has not as yet obtained the 44 hour week for which it has been striving An elaborate code of shop regulations has been evolved for the handling of grievances and settling of disputes which has brought comparative stability to the industry A shop committee composed of a shop steward and two committeemen and the foreman handle disputes in th 8 first instance those not so settled being referred to the branch trade committee and a higher authority in the manage ment and then if still unsettled to the executive board of the union and the highest authorities in the management of the firm Most cases are now settled by the shop committee and the foreman To offset the losses due to irregular employment because of the seasonal nature of the industry and the style changes the lace workers have striven for higher wages and unemployment insurance A contributory plan for unemployment insurance which would obviate the necessity of continually demanding higher wages has been proposed by the lace curtain weavers and while not yet adopted on a national scale is being gradually adopted in the various local branches Thus in these industries in which security of employment is de pendent on tariff protection and style changes and highly specialized skill is required of most of the workers the labor policies adopted through collective bargaining have made for assurance of tenure in the job and a satisfactory settlement of grievances Workers Health Bureau HE Workers Health Bureau located in New York City has affiliated to it 160 trade union organizations in 22 States and British Columbia according to the annual report9 of the T 9 Steam Shovel and Dredge Magazine August 1926 pp 378 LABOR ORGANIZATIONS organization submitted by its officials to its trade union advisory council in 1926 The bureau s services have been extended to 17 trades and in addition to the local unions 4 international unions and 5 State federations of labor are affiliated with it Health agreements prepared for its affiliated unions during the year included the painting stonecutting glass beveling and mirrormaking industries and surveys of working conditions were made in bakeries stonecutting and glass beveling establishments Assistance was also given in States in which attempts were being made to im prove compensation laws and the bureau has assisted organized labor by supplying health arguments to be used by strikers in winning their demands The furriers union in New York City was supplied health data in support of its fight for a 40 hour week and a study is being made of the health hazards in the textile industry based on medical examinations of 404 men women and children for the benefit of the textile workers in Passaic N J The following resolutions were adopted by the advisory council as the policies of the bureau Resolution No 1 Urging local unions throughout the country to take ad vantage of the health facts prepared by the bureau to support the campaign for the 40 hour week now under way in many parts of the country Resolution No 2 Supporting tlie efforts of Federal employees unions to make the present law more liberal by reducing the age at which workers are retired increasing the pension and giving preference to workers in hazardous occupations Resolution No 3 Favoring an aggressive campaign to gain the adoption of national health regulations in dangerous trades with Federal control of poison ous and dangerous work methods Resolution No J Calling on international unions to adopt a national health y program for the control of dangerous working conditions to protect the health and life of their membership Resolution No 5 Announcing that the Workers Health Bureau is prepared to place at the disposal of unions information on dangerous working conditions in unorganized trades for use in organizing the great mass of unorganized workers Resolution No 6 Urging labor organizations to avail themselves of the bureau s research material for use in time of strikes At the third annual convention 1 held in New York City in Janu 0 ary 1927 the bureau adopted a constitution and elected a trade union council of 17 members an executive committee of 7 who are also members of the council and an administrative staff of 3 replacing the former advisory council and 2 directors This form of organ ization is designed to give the widest possible representation to the affiliated groups and territories and establishes a basis upon which the bureau may better meet the demands of a growing membership and a wider range of activities Union Health Center New York1 1 HE Union Health Center New York City was organized about 13 years ago by the International Ladies Garment Workers Union to take care of the health of the members of the union The services of the medical and dental departments were made avail T 10The Painter and Decorator March 1027 p 12 1 Union Health Center News New York February and May UNION HEALTH CENTER NEW YORK 379 able also to members of other trade unions on the same terms as to its own members A complete medical clinic is maintained at the health center which provides for general medical care physical examinations electric baking and light treatments eye examinations and refraction nose adenoid and tonsil operations and also contains a laboratory and a fully equipped X ray department The dental clinic which has recently been enlarged at an expense of is said to be the largest in the world It now occupies 10 000 square feet of floor space with 22 chairs or dental units and has a capacity of 500 patients a day Since the clinic was established nine years ago nearly 20 000 patients have been treated All kinds of dental work extractions X rays prophylaxis fillings children s work and mak ing of plates bridges etc are done in the department The charges are based on the actual cost of the services rendered but show a small deficit During 1925 the actual cost of every hour s work in the clinic was 4 12 while the income per hour was 4 08 Patients treated during the year totaled 4 611 The medical clinic had an attendance of 21 963 during the year 1925 and 23 362 examinations and treatments were given In this department also there was a deficit amounting to about 4 200 due to the fact that while the charge for the physical examination is 1 the actual cost of the examination is 1 49 The attitude of this organization toward self help by trade union organizations in securing better health conditions and in providing insurance against sickness and accident is shown in the following statement from the Union Health Center News Labor unions should extend their activities to workers health and health education The function of labor unions was and is to improve the economic conditions of the workers and the members of their organizations By economic conditions are meant a living wage reasonable hours of labor decent working conditions and an American standard of living Decent working and living conditions imply also safe and fire protected build ings to work in clean and sanitary shops safeguarded machinery and the pre vention of accidents elimination of occupational diseases a working day short enough to prevent fatigue good food decent housing time for recreation insur ance against accidents unemployment sickness and old age Lately the unions have extended their activities to banking and to the care of the savings of the workers I f the care of the monetary savings of the work ers is of importance how much more important is it for the union to take care of the health of the workers and save their lives I f the unions are beginning to introduce insurance for unemployment why not also inaugurate insurance for accidents and for sickness and other hazards of the worker s life in his trade and in his home There is a big project among the workers for their own life insurance institu tion Why not also inaugurate an insurance against sickness Is not sickness many times a cause of unemployment and of the general misery of the workers The time has come for a broader conception of the care of the workers by their own organizations There is no reason why workers should be compelled to depend upon charity or philanthropic organizations for care during sickness The unions should enlarge their scope to include health as well as bread and butter Just as it is important to educate workers in their economic problems it is equally important to spread the gospel of health education among the workers to make them healthier and stronger union members and to furnish them with health facts about themselves and their industry LEGAL AID 381 Legal Aid Work in the United States AGE earners and others of low income are at a serious dis advantage before the courts because of the heavy expense usually attaching to the prosecuting or defending of a case at law Various measures have been devised in the effort to remedy this evil such as special small claims courts for the inexpensive handling of cases involving only small sums of money the employ ment by the State of lawyers to defend persons who are without means of their own and the establishment of free legal aid societies A report of the Bureau of Labor Statistics published in 1926 Bulletin 398 entitled Growth of legal aid work in the United States traces the origin development and present status of the several types of remedial agencies The report was prepared by Reginald H Smith of the Boston bar and John S Bradway of the Philadelphia bar A preface by Mr Chief Justice Taft of the United States Supreme Court points out the vital importance of the problem The following is a brief summary of the facts developed in this report W Small Claims Courts A SMALL claims court is a court of law having a quick simplified and inexpensive procedure and jurisdiction over small cases such jurisdiction in most States being over matters involving on an average 50 or less Its decisions and judgments are as binding and as enforceable as those of any other court in the country The penalty for refusing to obey the summons of a small claims court is a default The cases are heard by a judge whose decision is founded on the rules of substantive law The hearings are public Sometimes the judge of the small claims court acts as a conciliator in which case the court is for the time being transformed into a conciliation tribunal The first small claims court was set up in Cleveland in 1913 In 1915 the small claims department of the District Court of Multnomah County Portland Oreg was provided for by law the plan being extended in 1917 t o all counties of that State In 1916 the Chicago Municipal Court established a special division for small cases In 1920 the Philadelphia Municipal Court inaugurated a small claims department and Spokane instituted a small claims court Before the beginning of 1924 California Idaho Massachusetts Nevada and South Dakota had created state wide systems of small claims courts Iowa had also passed a law giving the judges in the lower courts power to regulate the procedure in small claims and Minnesota having tried the small claims court experiment in Minne apolis had extended the scheme to St Paul and Stillwater Thus in various localities in seven States and in four large cities in other States the small claims court is an established fact LEGAL AID WORK IN THE UNITED STATES It is not rare for a judge of a small claims court to dispose of 100 cases in a day According to the authors of the report these courts are a success because for the pressing need that exists they provide a perfect answer The Massachusetts law and procedure for a state wide system of small claims courts are in various respects the best yet worked out Some of the principal features of this act are given below S e c t i o n 21 The justices or a majority of them of all the district courts except the municipal court of the city of Boston shall make uniform rules appli cable to said courts and the justices of the municipal court of the city of Boston shall make rules applicable to that court providing for a simple informal and inexpensive procedure hereinafter called the procedure for the determination according to the rules of substantive law of claims in the nature of contract or tort other than slander and libel in which the plaintiff does not claim as debt or damages more than 35 and for a review of judgments upon such claims when justice so requires The procedure shall not be exclusive but shall be alternative to the formal procedure for causes begun by writ S e c 22 The procedure shall include the beginning of actions with an entry fee of 1 but without writ and without requirement except by special order of court of other pleading than a statement to the clerk or an assistant clerk who shall reduce the same to concise written form in a docket kept for the purpose The procedure shall include notice by registered mail instead of the mode of service heretofore required and shdll include provisions for early hear ing The procedure may include the modification of any or all rules of pleading and practice anything contained in other chapters sections or acts notwith standing and may include a stay of the entry of judgment or of the issue of execution The rules for the procedure may provide for the elimination of any or all fees and costs and that costs shall be in the discretion of the court In causes begun under procedure the court may on application for cause shown issue writs of attachment of property or person as in causes begun by writ Conciliation Tribunals T H E small claims court plan however is at present inapplicable in A numerous cities and judicial districts as there are States which have no courts between the justice of the peace and the circuit courts except the probate courts and the special courts in the cities and larger towns It is suggested that in these localities conciliation may afford the most practicable solution for settling differences between individuals wage claims rent debts property damages breach of contract and particularly those small cases which fall within the scope of conciliation tribunals At present there are only a few of these tribunals in the country The North Dakota experiment is the only one in the United States from which one may hope to secure at pres ent any practical notion of the nature and accomplishment of concil iation tribunals The attorney general of that State reports that the results of conciliation have not justified the expectation of those who drafted the law providing for the appointment of conciliators Although the history of this form of conciliation in the United States has not been encouraging it would be unwise the authors think to disregard it altogether in plans for improving the administration of justice Industrial Accident Commissions rT HE legislation which established the workmen s compensation principle practically eliminated all costs and fees for claimants provided for a summary procedure and in order to do away with the LEGAL AID WORK IN THE UNITED STATES 385 necessity for counsel placed the administration of workmen s com pensation laws in the hands of quasi judicial industrial accident boards or commissions The Connecticut compensation law even provided that in the event a case was appealed from the commission there should be no charges in the supreme court Even stenographic expenses are taken care of by most of the commissions The commissions have also had an encouraging record in the prompt adjustment of claims According to a statement of the late Mr E H Downey an expert on workmen s compensation published in at least 95 per cent of all compensation claims are settled by direct agreement between the parties without reference to any tribunal The contested cases are also handled with much greater promp titude than ordinary court cases Thus the 1917 report of the California Industrial Accident Commission shows that over 86 per cent of such cases were decided within 62 days The average time for the completion of court action in common law personal injury suits is 2 years and 5 months according to a statement of an actuary of the Ohio commission The industrial accident commissions have also done a great deal to aid injured persons to prepare their cases In the judgment of the authors of this report the need for an attorney to represent the injured workers in contested cases will grow more and more apparent In this connection the assistance of legal aid organizations is sug gested Already the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions and the National Association of Legal Aid Organizations have appointed a special committee to consider how far such a cooperative arrangement may now be feasible and workable or may be made to be Wage Payment Legislation IN THE matter of wage claims the workers have found the legal machinery in this country most inadequate State after State has realized this and undertaken to institute remedies The first legislative experiment along this line was the Massa chusetts act passed in 1879 which required the weekly payment of wages Some States have sought to compel wage payments by imposing a penalty for nonpayment as by making the wages run till paid leaving however the unpaid wage earner to collect the penalty through an ordinary suit in the ordinary courts Other States have tried to aid the worker by providing that if he wins his suit the defendant must pay the lawyer s fee The most interesting legislative attempt in this connection is declared to be the creation of an administrative official and placing in his hands the duty of enforcing wage payment laws as has been done in California Massachusetts Nevada Utah Washington and Wyoming In 1886 Massachusetts corporations in specified industries were made liable to criminal proceedings and to fines for nonpayment of wages Later the act was extended to all employers in every important line of business 386 LEGAL AID WORK IN THE UNITED STATES In California and in Washington the administrative officials may arbitrate seasonal labor wage claims and all of the officials have ac quired a sort of de facto jurisdiction to hear complaints and to adjust them partly by arbitration and partly by conciliation But the com missioner can not enforce a decision against an employer who re fuses to comply In such case he must proceed in court Judging from the experience in connection with the collection of wage claims the best scheme would seem to be to enact legislation requiring the weekly payment of wages making their nonpayment a criminal offense and intrusting the enforcement of this law to an administrative official generally a labor commissioner This is the present Massachusetts system which seems to be more effective than that followed by any comparable States This scheme will probably prove satisfactory for the collection of the great majority of wage claims but there will no doubt be some disputed cases in which the claimant should be represented by coun sel It is suggested that in these cases labor commissioners cooperate with legal aid organizations The Association of Governmental La bor Officials of the United States and Canada and the National Asso ciation of Legal Aid Organizations have each recently appointed a committee to devise practical methods for such cooperation The Defender in Criminal Cases r T H E defender in criminal cases is a lawyer who represents persons in straitened circumstances who are accused of crime He may be paid by a private organization or by the State The plan of assigning counsel for poor defendants operates best in capital cases because the dramatic character and publicity of such cases tend to arouse the interest of the assigned counsel and to urge him to his best efforts Furthermore he is paid for his work Even in noncapital cases when assigned counsel are paid the plan does serve to provide adequate representation for the defense although this is accomplished in an unnecessarily ex pensive and cumbersome manner But in at least 35 States the indigent defendant unless he is charged with murder must rely on unpaid assigned counsel or go without any representation at all unless some individual or organization affords him relief As a result of this situation varied experiments with defenders in criminal cases have been tried in Chicago through the bar associa tion of that city in Minneapolis Omaha and San Francisco through municipal defenders and in Cleveland and Los Angeles through defenders in connection with the inferior courts The Connecticut public defenders are county officers There are also two important defender organizations the Voluntary Defenders Committee in New York City and the Public Defender of Los Angeles County At present there are 12 defenders offices in the United States It is estimated that the 1924 volume of work of defenders offices approximated 6 000 cases and it seems fair to conclude that since the establishment of these offices they have extended their aid to about 45 000 persons in criminal cases In large communities the public defender system is preferable to the paid assigned counsel system not because the former better LEGAL AID WORK IN THE UNITED STATES 387 protects innocent defendants but because it serves them equally well and is also more economical and efficient This is due to the centralization of all the cases of indigent persons in one office and also to the concentration of responsibility in that office These conditions result in rapid expert service Whether a private or public defender organization is preferable in thickly populated centers is a moot question One of the leading arguments advanced in favor of the public defender is that his position is official and his financial backing more solid On the other hand the private defender has the advantage of greater freedom from political interference It seems quite certain how ever that the trend will be toward the establishment of public defenders offices In the smaller communities where the number of cases is not suffi cient to demand the setting up of a public defender s office the assigned counsel plan can be made to work very well Legal Aid Organizations IN 1876 in New York City the first legal aid organization came into existence In the beginning this movement for the legal protec tion of the poor made slow progress At the close of the nineteenth century legal aid work was being done in only 3 cities in the United States Chicago Jersey City a id New York From 1900 to 1909 the movement steadily extended Boston New ark Philadelphia Cleveland Denver Brooklyn Cincinnati Pitts burgh and Detroit being among the centers in which legal aid organi zations were established The outstanding development in the period was the creation of the first municipal legal aid bureau in Kansas City Mo Prior to this all legal aid organizations were sup ported by charities the bar associations or the general public as philanthropic corporations In this period also legal aid activities were begun in Baltimore Rochester St Louis Akron Buffalo Colorado Springs St Paul Duluth Minneapolis Louisville and some efforts were made along this line in Birmingham and New Orleans From 1913 to 1917 there was a further expansion followed by a setback due to the war In a few years however the work advanced with revived momentum In 1921 a new scheme of legal aid organization particularly adapted to smaller communities was devised which was to be worked out by the Illinois Bar Association in cooperation with the local bar associations of that State This scheme approved in 1922 called for an infor mal series of legal aid committees to which the social service agencies in their respective communities could refer persons needing legal advice and assistance Previous to this time legal aid services had been mainly available in the larger cities The Illinois plan constituted a simple and practicable system for the extension of such services to smaller communities where the need for legal aid is not sufficient to justify the setting up of a formally organized bureau or society By 1922 there were about 48 legal aid organizations in this country and by 1925 they numbered 72 In 1912 a national alliance of legal aid societies was formed which in 1923 was superseded by an improved national association of legal 388 LEGAL AID WORK IN THE UNITED STATES aid organizations with defined duties and powers for the guidance of legal aid work to cooperate with the judiciary the bar and all organizations interested in the administration of justice Existing legal aid organizations annually assist over 125 000 clients They collect about half a million dollars in amounts aver aging a little over 15 a case This work as carried on at present costs annually almost a third of a million dollars averaging approxi mately 2 50 a case MINIMUM WAGE 389 Minimum Wage Laws and Their Operation N SEVERAL countries legislation has been enacted to fix a minimum rate below which employers may not go in the payment of wages to their employees In the United States such legisla tion has been limited to the employment of women and minors I Minimum Wages for Women and Minors l l INIMUM wage legislation for women and minors originated in the United States with the Massachusetts law of 1912 Thereafter the movement spread rather rapidly and by 1923 leg islation of this character had been enacted in the following jurisdic tions Arizona Arkansas California Colorado District of Columbia Kansas Massachusetts Minnesota Nebraska North Dakota Oregon Porto Rico South Dakota Texas Utah Washington and Wisconsin In two other States Louisiana and Ohio constitutional amend ments authorizing such legislation were adopted but no legislation was enacted With the exception of the Massachusetts law all these laws were compulsory in character and in consequence all were adversely affected by a series of court decisions beginning in 1923 when the United States Supreme Court held unconstitutional the minimum wage law of the District of Columbia Prior to that time the validity of legislation of this class had been upheld by the supreme courts of five States 1 and the principle seemed quite thoroughly established until a test was made of the act of Congress prescribing a minimum wage law for the District of Columbia It was then 1923 held by the Supreme Court of the United States that such legislation was an unwarranted inter ference with the freedom of contract guaranteed by the due process clause of the fifth amendment and the protective provisions as to life liberty and property of the fourteenth amendment to the Constitution Adkins v Children s Hospital 261 U S Sup Ct 394 Subsequent to the decision above noted the law of Wisconsin was declared unconstitutional by a Federal court in so far as it applied to adult females Folding Furniture Works v Industrial Commis sion Fed 991 the Supreme Court of Minnesota sus tained the law of that State in its application to children only Stevenson v St Clair N W 629 and the Supreme Court of Kansas declared its law unconstitutional in its application to adult women Topeka Laundry Co v Court of Industrial RelaiArkansas State v Crowe Ark S W 4 Massachusetts Htflcombe v Creamer Mass N E 354 Minnesota Williams v Evans Minn N W 495 Oregon Stettler v O Hara Oreg Pac 743 Simpson v O Hara Oreg Pac 158 Washington Larsen v Rice Wash Pac m in im u m w age tions Topeka Packing Co v Same Pac 1041 Each of these decisions had in view the effect of the rule of the Supreme Court in the Adkins case the Kansas court being divided on the point of whether the decision controlled as establishing a general principle or whether it was limited simply to the local condition of an act of Congress passed solely for the District of Columbia This question was put at rest by the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Murphy v Sardell Sup Ct 22 which sustained the judgment of the United States District Court District of Ari zona declaring unconstitutional the minimum wage law of that State which was applicable only to women Of like tenor w as the T more recent decision in the case Donham v West Nelson Mfg Co Sup Ct 343 in which the Arkansas law was held void This strongly points to the conclusion that all laws of a com pulsory nature are practically nullified as regards women by the rule laid down by the Supreme Court at least so far as penal en forcement is concerned The recommendatory law of Massachu setts is unaffected and the laws of the other States in so far as their application to children is concerned may continue to function so far as is indicated by any judicial pronouncement yet made In this connection it will be of interest to notice the action of the Legislature of Wisconsin in May 1925 i e subsequent to the de cision in the Adkins case and that in the case Folding Furniture Works v Industrial Commission already noted but prior to that in the Arizona case by the Supreme Courts amending the laws as to adult females by declaring that 66No wage paid or agreed to be paid by any employer to any adult female employee shall be oppres sive Any wage lower than a reasonable and adequate compensa tion for the services rendered shall be deemed oppressive and is hereby prohibited The commission is given power to make rules permitting substandard workers to receive less than a standard rate also to license employers to pay less i they are unable to pay the standard wage but the inefficiency of the employer is not to be ground for a license The payment of wages in violation of any order of the commission is a violation of the section Separate provision is made for the wages of minors which shall be not less than a living wage unless license is granted on account of inability to earn such wage It seems apparent that the purpose of these amendments is to open the way for a continued operation of the law certainly as to minors and if possible to adult females as well Operation of Massachusetts Law IN VIEW of the questionable constitutionality of the various compulsory minimum wage laws it seems unnecessary at this time to give details regarding the character and operation of such laws The Massachusetts law however as already noted is in a different category It is not compulsory and therefore is unaffected It resembles the majority of the laws of the other States in its creation of boards for the investigation of the cost of living and the recom mendation of rates to the administrative department but differs as indicated in omitting the penal features for noncompliance As enacted the law contained a provision requiring newspapers to LAWS AND THEIR OPERATION 393 publish the names of noncomplying employers but this provision was held unconstitutional as interfering with the rights of publishers to make their own contracts and to refuse business judged undesir able Commonwealth v Boston Transcript Co Mass N E 400 In practice this has not affected the activities of the minimum wage commission since an adequate number of papers have accepted the advertisements as offered Under the Massachusetts law minimum wage rates for women and minors have been determined and made effective for a number of industries The following is a list of decrees now in force with the minimum weekly wage rates established for experienced woman workers This list was published in mimeographed form by the Massachusetts Department of Labor and Industries M um inim w ly eek Industry D effectiv ate e ra te Corset Mar Men s clothing and raincoat Feb Knit goods July Office cleaning Feb Paper box May Women s clothing do Muslin underwear June Men s furnishings do Retail store do Laundry July Brush Mar Druggists preparations and proprietary medicines Jan Canning and preserving minor confec tionery and food preparation Apr Bread and bakery products May Millinery July Stationery and envelope Jan Candy Mar Jewelry and related lines Jan Toys games and sporting goods Mar According to the reports of the minimum wage division of the State department of labor and industries minimum wage decrees have been very generally observed by employers Thus the report for the year ending November says The firms where publication has been necessary represent a very small pro portion of those inspected under the decrees in question In the case of retail stores the firms advertised represent 2 9 per cent of all of the firms inspected employing women in the case of laundries 5 3 per cent paper box factories 3 1 per cent and in the case of the other decrees under which it has been necessary to publish from 0 3 to 2 5 per cent Minimum W age Laws for Men A S A L R E A D Y pointed out there has been no legislation in the United States attempting to fix the minimum wages of adult males In a number of foreign countries notably in certain of the British colonies the principle of a legal minimum for the wages of all workers including men has been well established and the recent developments in Canada along this line are of peculiar interest to the United States because of the general similarity in industrial conditions in the two countries 394 MINIMUM WAGE As early as 1919 the Legislature of British Columbia had enacted a law authorizing a minimum wage board for coal miners but no action had ever been taken thereunder In Alberta too it was enacted that no person shall be employed by any employer in any factory shop office or office building at a wage less than 1 50 per shift except in the case of apprentices who may be paid a wage of not less than 1 per shift Sec 24 ch 20 Acts of 1917 How ever such a rate was too low to affect adult males On December the Legislature of British Columbia enacted a law entitled The male minimum wage act applicable to male employees in general but farm laborers fruit pickers and packers fruit and vegetable canners and domestic servants being excepted The law is compulsory when standards have been fixed by the admin istration board which is a permanent body The first application of the act was to the lumber industry the order fixing a minimum rate of 40 cents per hour effective November It was estimated that this would raise the wages of some 8 850 of the approximately 40 000 persons in the industry This act has been held constitutional in its specific application to the occupations and industries affected by the order The Select Standing Committee on Industrial and International Relations of the Canadian House of Commons had before it in 1926 a resolution to establish a legal minimum wage for employees without regard to sex The committee reported that in adopting the peace treaties at the close of the World War the country had accepted the principle of the minimum wage law incorporated in the treaty It found that the method as applied to women was working satisfac torily and that there was no reason why it should not be extended to men at least to some classes of men s wages not as fixing a standard for wages generally but only as a device for protecting the low paid workman for protecting the subsistence level However enactment of the necessary laws the committee believed would rest with the Provinces rather than with the Dominion Government 2 2 C anada H ou se o f C om m ons S elect S ta n d in g C o m m itte e o n In d u s tria l a n d In te r n a tio n a l R e la t io n s M in u tes o f p roceed in g s and evid en ce se ssio n 1926 O ttaw a NEGRO IN INDUSTRY Migration of the Negro1 URING the past decade a considerable movement of negroes from the South to the North and West especially to northern cities has taken place with the result that the negro has be come more of an industrial factor than previously This northward movement had been under way for some time before anyone thought of collecting statistics relating thereto To some extent indeed this northward movement has been going on ever since the Civil War principally from Virginia to the States of Pennsylvania New Jersey and New York With the beginning of the World War period however the movement began to increase in volume growing in intensity until by 1917 the question had become one of great importance to the South especially to the landowners who began to have difficulty in securing sufficient labor to man the farms By 1920 the census shows the total number of southern born negroes in the North was and there were also 43 371 in the West Data collected by the United States Department of Labor show that during the year ending in September 1923 alone the negro migration from 13 Southern States reached a total of D Reasons for Migration TTHE reasons for the exodus from the South were many The main reason was doubtless the much higher wages offered in the North War industries were booming and the need of men was great At the same time the South was experiencing a depression Floods in some regions crop failures the inroads of the boll weevil and for a while the glut of the cotton market and the growers inability to dispose of the crops at a fair price created a situation which made it difficult to pay living wages In such circumstances the high wages and greater equality of treatment in both the economic and educational field offered in the North were an increasing inducement to the negroes Those who went North wrote glowing accounts home One observer said Every negro that makes good in the North and writes back to his friends starts off a new group The migration resulted in a serious labor shortage in some sections of the South but had the good effect of bringing to the attention of southern whites in a most striking manner the causes of the exodus and the necessity for remedying them if the exodus were to be checked 1 D ata a re fro m U n ited S ta tes D ep a rtm en t o f L a b or Office o f S ecreta ry D iv is io n o f N egro E con om ics N egro m ig ra tion in W a sh in g ton R e ce n t n o r th w a rd m ig ra tio n o f the n e g ro b y J osep h A f l i l l L a b o r R eview M a rch an d N egro m ig ra tio n in L a b o r R ev iew A p ril L a b o r R eview A p ril a n d p ress releases o f th e U n ited S ta te s D ep a rtm en t o f L a b o r f o r S ept a n d Jan NEGRO IN INDUSTRY The Negro Migrant as an Industrial Factor I N THE spring of 1923 the Federal Department of Labor made an effort to learn where the migrants were going and what propor tion of skilled workers were included in their ranks Pay roll data were secured from 273 employers of negro labor in California Con necticut Delaware Illinois Indiana Kansas Kentucky Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Missouri New Jersey New York Ohio Oklahoma and Wisconsin A special study was made of a group of 19 747 negroes among the whole number of 60 421 employed on April particularly as to the number whom employers could posi tively identify as having moved northward into employment during the past year It was found that 4 702 or 23 8 per cent had come direct from the South during the year Taking the whole group and allowing for those who could not be definitely assigned the con clusion was reached that the distribution of migrants among the States listed can be approximately indicated by the following per centages P e r ce n t Ohio Pennsylvania Michigan New Jersey New York Missouri Illinois Kentucky Connecticut Maryland Wisconsin California Oklahoma Nondistributable Total It will be noticed that several of the States in this list are dis tinctly southern and that one or two appear in the list of States from which migration was in progress The department called at tention to the fact that the migration is a continuous process Immi grants from the far South move northward work in their new loca tion for a time and then move on until they reach the North while new migrants fill their places as they move on This is particularly noticeable along the border The reports indicated that migrants frequently come to border States and after working a while use a portion of their earnings to remove to points of vantage farther north This particular feature is perhaps largely productive of causes of turnover which was not strongly noticeable in the States farthest north The 273 employers listed with the department had 60 421 colored workers on their pay rolls on April An effort to learn what proportion of these were migrants led to the following conclusions P er cen t o f m ig ra n ts a m on g w o rk e rs stu died New Jersey Oklahoma Michigan v 27 Ohio 399 INDUSTRIAL EMPLOYMENT OF THE NEGRO P e r ce n t o f m ig ra n ts a m o n g w o rk e rs stu died California Pennsylvania Connecticut Missouri Wisconsin Kentucky Maryland New York Illinois Unfortunately the employers in Delaware Indiana Kansas Mas sachusetts and West Virginia did not furnish reports on this point so these States are omitted from the list The department feels that the distribution of migrants as shown above points to two con ditions which strongly influence the migration wages and types of employment available in Northern States and geographical location No doubt direct touch of trunk lines from southern points and the amount of railroad fare required have their effect upon these workers who desire to move northward and on the other hand distinctive T types of work with attractive wages form another inducement The classification of the workers as skilled or unskilled showed the following results A p r A pr Skilled workers Unskilled workers Total This shows an increase during the year of 38 5 per cent for the skilled and 44 per cent for the unskilled workers High marks were reached in the increase of negro skilled workers who ad vanced by 186 86 per cent in Maryland 90 48 per cent in Connecticut 70 73 per cent in Michigan 68 97 per cent in Kansas 68 04 per cent in Ohio 60 per cent in California 43 68 per cent in Pennsylvania 39 94 per cent in Illinois 33 33 per cent in Wisconsin 30 per cent in New York 18 18 per cent in Indiana and 13 93 per cent in Kentucky New Jersey and Oklahoma showed respective in creases of 12 96 and 3 85 per cent in the number of negro workers taken on in the skilled occupations during the year while West Virginia showed a loss of 1 82 per cent The percentage increase during the year in the number of unskilled colored workers ranged from 15 69 per cent in Oklahoma to 102 86 per cent in Indiana with Connecticut and New Jersey both showing increases of between 80 and 90 per cent Industrial Employment of the Negro Cleveland Ohio HE New York Economic World reprinted in its issue of May an article published by the Union Trust Co of Cleveland Ohio giving the experience of manufacturing concerns of that city with the southern migrants The article written by John B Abell was based on an inquiry carried on among industrial employers of the Greater Cleveland district T 400 NEGRO IN INDUSTRY Migration from the South constantly increased until in 1923 there were more than 43 000 southern negroes who settled in Cleve land alone as against 2 000 for the year To a large extent the negroes came from the southern cities not from the agricultural regions They were a mixed group including the good and the bad the industrious and the lazy the capable and the inefficient much as any other cross section of the population would show They were however stated to compare favorably with the average of immigrant races From the employer s point of view they have one great advantage over the foreign immigrants in that they understand the language and the basic ideals of the country The survey on which the article was based covered 75 of the larger employers of the district and the findings of this inquiry were checked up by an investigation of conditions in 20 large factories of the city The questions of the steadiness of the negro as a worker and his fitness for skilled work are particularly dwelt upon As to steadiness the first and most persistent complaint against the colored worker is that he is unreliable and shiftless prone to be absent on slight occasion and fond of changing from one employer to another Investigation however fails to show that this charge is generally true To be sure there has been a large turnover in some of the plants where these colored men have been employed In some instance firms report that where 25 per cent of their workers are negroes the turnover among them has sometimes been as high as 75 per cent of the turnover for the entire plant On the other hand an equal number of firms state that the turnover has never even at the start been greater than for other racial groups It is suggested that where the turnover is large there are several reasons quite apart from the character of the colored workers to account for it The newcomer has often been obliged to take the first job he could get and naturally if this does not suit him he leaves it as soon as he can get something better Also the employers it is said have in general taken little pains to try to fit the colored migrant into the place for which he is qualified They have taken on negroes when they were hard pressed for help and put them a t what might be termed turnover work work not fitted to the man s train ing and upon which there would be a constant change of employees under any circumstances As an incidental proof of the tendency of the negro worker to hold on to his job the results were cited of an inquiry made by a local manufacturer who employed both races Picking 200 colored and a like number of white workers at random he found that 150 of the negroes had savings accounts while only 35 of the other em ployees had such reserve resources This condition he asserts shows that the colored man must have been fairly regular at work in order to lay aside weekly earnings In another plant employing 445 colored people out of a total of a little more than 1 000 it was found that 140 colored men were putting money in shop sav ings accounts Many of them reported that they were doing this in order to purchase homes here in the North or in other words that they might establish themselves permanently as a part of the community The actual situation as to turnover for 15 plants was found to be as follows 401 INDUSTRIAL EMPLOYMENT OF THE NEGRO P E R C E N T OF E M P L O Y E E S W H O A R E C O L O R E D A N D P E R C E N T OF T O T A L T U R N O V E R D U E T O C O L O R E D W O R K E R S IN 15 C L E V E L A N D P L A N T S Nature of plant Metal working Chem ical Railroad labor Foundry Chem ical Steel mill M a ch in ery Foundry Per cent of total em ployees who are colored Per cent of total turnover due to colored workers Nature of plant Paints Castings Foundry D o Machinery castings Foundry D o Per cent Per cent of total of total turnover em due to ployees colored who are colored workers The experience of these 15 firms is typical of those included in the survey of the 75 plants Accepting these plants as typical of general conditions in Greater Cleveland we find the average factory employment among them for the negroes is 32y3 per cent of the total while the average per cent of turnover among them is 36 per cent Thus in spite of the fact that the negro in industry is a com paratively new factor in this territory he is but slightly more responsible for the shifting of jobs than is the native of the district or the foreign born who on the whole has had a longer time to adapt himself to local conditions The greatest number of the southern negroes went into foundry mills and machine working plants A number of them were taken T on as war emergency help and many of these were dismissed at the close of the special need though in some plants the foreign workers were dismissed and the negroes retained as being more desirable Twelve foundries or plants primarily engaged in foundry work report that from 10 to 60 per cent of their plant employees are colored The average for these plants is 33 per cent negro workers An equal number of important machinery factories report but a slightly smaller average of all employees as being colored migrants In all but one of the foundries it was found that the negroes have advanced from labor to semiskilled work and finally to skilled positions One such plant reports that there is no opportunity for the negro beyond semi skilled work This is not due so much to his inability to qualify but rather to a distaste of other workers to working alongside of him Practically all of the machine working plants stated that the negro is finding his place in nearly all factory jobs from common labor up through foremanships and mechanical maintenance work They say that while some of the migrants have not made good on certain skilled work that it is not due to racial traits but rather to lack of fitness of the particular individual The suggestion is advanced that the one place in production work to which the negro does not seem to be so well fitted as the white is the semiskilled or routine machine work In Cleveland at least the newcomers have landed in large numbers and for longer times on either straight labor work or the highly skilled trades Several examples are given of the ability which negroes have displayed on skilled work and in what might be called professional lines such as industrial chemistry for instance On the whole the conclusion is reached that the negro is likely to be a permanent and an impor tant factor in the industries of Cleveland While it would be pure guess to state now what positions may or may not be efficiently handled in the future by the southern negro experience thus far has 402 NEGRO IN INDUSTRY established the fact that they have not as a race failed in any class of work upon which they were given a fair trial Although during the last five years their range of opportunity has been greatly widened their field is still limited because of lack of understanding by both employer and employee and in some instances because of the color prejudice It is almost unanimously agreed that during the time they have been used to any great extent in northern industry the negroes have made as rapid progress to better jobs as have immigrants who came in on the same footing It is generally acknowledged the negro is no longer an emergency factor in industrial employment but that he is here to stay with the probability that his numbers will increase as years go by Pennsylvania TWO studies of the industrial employment of the negro in Penn sylvania have appeared one made by the Department of Labor and Industry of Pennsylvania and the other by the executive secre tary of the Pittsburgh Urban League The results of the first were given in the January 1926 issue of the department s official publica tion Labor and Industry Questionnaires relating to the period from January to September were sent to 1 478 employers including manufacturers railroad companies coal mining companies and general construction companies or contractors Hotels restaurants dining cars and other places in which colored workers are customarily and frequently employed were omitted Replies were received from 1 075 employers of whom 559 reported that they did not employ negroes 55 had formerly employed them but did not do so during the period covered and 461 were employing them in numbers varying from 5 or fewer in the case of 157 em ployers to 50 and over in the case of 97 The general reason assigned for not employing them was that they were scarce in the employer s particular neighborhood or not to be found there at all In only a few instances so few as to be practically negligible does there appear to be any racial prejudice or antagonism Colored women were practically not found in these industrial employments but the num ber of colored men was large 6 During this period the railroads 4 report a gross employment of over 1 700 the coal mining com panies a gross employment of over 3 400 contractors a gross employ ment of over 5 400 and general industries a gross employment of nearly In general the employers stated that the greatest increase in the employment of colored workers had occurred in 1923 being caused by a period of business prosperity coupled with a shortage of white labor either native or foreign In 1924 there was a marked falling off due to industrial depression In building construction the varia tions in the employment of colored labor were seasonal the lowest point being reached in the winter of 1925 The employment of colored labor followed closely the movement of other employment Questions as to the dependability and adaptability of colored workers brought varying replies ranging from the statement that they require constant supervision to keep them active to their dependability compares favorably with that of other groups No tabulation is given of opinions on this point but replies quoted which are said to be typical give rather a favorable impression of both the dependability and the adaptability of the group Questions as to their health and their aptitude brought much the same kind INDUSTRIAL EMPLOYMENT OF THE NEGRO 403 of answers Employers for the most part thought either that there was no noticeable difference between the colored and other workers or that the balance inclined slightly in favor of the colored Steel Industry The second study referred to appeared in the March 1926 issue of Opportunity the journal of the National Urban League This survey made by John T Clark deals with the employment of negroes in the steel industry in the vicinity of Pittsburgh and covers approximately the same period as the more general inquiry made by the department of labor and industry Negroes have entered this field in large numbers The ease with which they made their entry here is attributed by the writer to two facts The cutting off of the almost unlimited stream of immigrants upon which the industry had depended for certain types of workers and the open shop character of the steel industry which had prevented the development of estab lished customs or conventions interfering with the employment of workers of any race creed or color As in the wider study so also in the steel industry it was found that the highest point of negro employment occurred in 1923 that there was a falling off in 1924 and a gradual increase in 1925 this movement being due to the general industrial situation rather than to local causes In 1923 it was reported that 23 steel mills in the Pittsburgh district employed 16 000 colored workers 21 per cent of their entire working force A period of industrial depression set in at the close of 1923 and by December 1924 the mills had reduced their output to from 30 to 60 per cent of their normal capacity At this time a check up was made to see how the colored workers were faring in the general reduction of forces and rather unexpectedly it was found that they had been retained more generally than the white workers The terse reply of one employer that we are responsible for output not color sums up the general attitude of employers throughout the mills in this district during this period while depleting their labor forces In one plant the A M Byers Co the entire force of negroes was retained although the plant s output was reduced to 60 per cent by letting out white workmen The assist ant superintendent stated that they had retained the men upon whom they could rely the most In the Clark Mills of the Carnegie Steel Co the per centage of negroes during peak times in 1923 was 42 per cent and at the lowest point in 1924 they were 56 per cent of the total working force It is suggested that several causes besides the quality of their work may have contributed to this greater retention of colored workers It is easier for white men to find other work and so when the mills began working short time they would be more likely than colored employees to leave in order to get jobs elsewhere Again numbers of the colored workers are single men living in boarding houses and bunks and these if laid off would be likely to leave the district Thereiore to lay them off would mean losing them completely and when business improved the managers would have the expensive task of building up their colored force again from outside districts And again there are evidences that employers have felt some responsi bility toward these newcomers who have not quite had a sufficient opportunity to entrench themselves in the communities 404 NEGRO IN INDUSTRY In December 1925 after the industrial revival had begun another check up showed nine of the largest mills in the district averaging 82 per cent output and employing 22 per cent negroes o f their total working force of 29 560 men It appears that in the larger mills which employ and retain men more on a basis of the workman s actual efficiency than the smaller mills more negroes in proportion are found at work which leads us to believe that negro steel workers have made good notwithstanding any reports to the contrary Another reason for reaching the same conclusion is found in the gradual increase in the number of colored workers in minor super visory positions In 1923 the largest number of straw bosses found in any mill was 35 We found in December 1925 in one mill employing 1 500 negroes 53 straw bosses These men are gang foremen who determine the personnel of their gangs These negro leaders of gangs composed largely of negroes eliminate some of the causes for such heavy negro labor turnover which has been the greatest complaint against negro workmen Foremen naturally are appearing out from the ranks of straw bosses In 7 out of the 9 mills investigated from 2 to 10 negro foremen each were found in complete control of certain processes There are admittedly difficulties about the coming in of colored workers Landlords and business men are inclined to raise prices when they appear and as these increases are carried over to the whole community the workers already on the spot object to the influx of newcomers Housing is a serious difficulty The sections in which negroes may find homes are unsightly and very far from satisfying to the colored workers In a steel town of 19 000 inhabitants employ ing about 1 400 negroes only three negroes have bought property during the last five years The steel companies have talked of build ing homes for the colored workers but practically none have done anything for the last seven years and housing conditions grow worse instead of better On the other hand the Ku Klux Klan movement seems in these communities to have died down and it is to the interest of the mill concerns who find the colored workers practically indis pensable to see that no such movement becomes effective The gen eral conclusion reached is that the negro is in the steel industry to stay and that conditions in the mill communities are being gradually adjusted to his presence West Virginia T T IE report of the West Virginia Bureau of Negro Welfare and Statistics for the biennium presents a wide range of facts concerning the situation and activities of the negro population Unlike most of tlie Southern States West Virginia is gaining instead of losing population through the negro migration and unlike most of the Northern States it finds that the newcomers tend to settle in rural districts instead of congregating in the large cities Data in the possession of the bureau lead to the conclusion that during the two years covered there was a net increase of between 6 000 and 7 000 in the colored population of the State The figures as to employment seem to show that the negroes of West Virginia are a body of workers Of the negro males aged 10 years and over 83 8 per cent are gainfully employed among the native whites of native parentage the corresponding figure is 74 INDUSTRIAL EMPLOYMENT OF THE NEGRO 405 among the native whites of foreign or mixed parentage it is 72 3 and among the foreign born 93 4 per cent Foreign born whites are the only group in West Virginia with a higher percentage gainfully em ployed than negroes The prosperity which this indicates is reflected in the situation of the women While a higher percentage of negro males are employed in West Virginia than in other States it is noteworthy that West Virginia has the lowest percentage of negro females employed of any State in the United States W e account for this condition by citing the fact that approximately 75 per cent of the male negroes of this State over 16 years of age are employed in the coal mining indus try which pays the highest wages of any unskilled occupation in which negroes are engaged in large numbers which makes it economically possible for negro men to support their women dependents The coal mining industry is the largest employer of negro labor the bureau s data showing that 22 421 are engaged in it The manu facturing and mechanical industries employ approximately 5 000 transportation somewhat over 3 000 domestic and personal service 2 834 and trade public and professional service and miscellaneous clerical occupations somewhat over 1 400 The bureau has worked steadily to extend the field of employment for negroes and has se cured their employment in several industries in which they had not previously been employed The results have been satisfactory though sometimes a little care was necessary to secure proper adjust ments In the beginning of negro employment in some industries the turnover was greater than among the old employees of other races and many of the negroes recently brought in from the South would not work Saturdays or the day fol lowing pay day A process of careful selection of married men or single men over 25 years of age in some cases with motherless and younger brothers and sisters to support brought into the industry a group of workers who remain on the same job as long as work lasts and after a few months most of the new arrivals settle down to punctual regular everyday work In the coal mines the number of negroes has increased steadily for a period of years Moreover they are winning positions which require skill and training Negro foremen bosses and inspectors are becoming more common and few occupations are closed to the race The thousands of negro miners and laborers hundreds of skilled workmen and scores filling positions of responsibility in the coal industry are daily demon strating their fitness for any position in the coal industry from trapper to man ager and the operators are realizing more and more that the negro is a valuable asset in the production of coal One fortunate feature of this situation is that the negro penetration of the coal fields has been accomplished without racial friction The United Mine Workers of America admits negroes to its unions with out discrimination of any kind and while negroes have been con cerned in certain strikes it was as workers not as negroes The strikers are composed of members of both races and where strike breakers have been used they were men of both races The same lack of race antagonism has been apparent throughout the industries of the State The bureau attributes this partly to the character of the whites and negroes in West Virginia before the migration began partly to the character of the newcomers and their dispersion throughout the State so that there is no massing of the 406 NEGRO IN INDUSTRY colored population in one location and partly to the careful and de liberate effort of the leaders of both races to prevent any develop ments of the kind During the last two years a campaign has been carried on to in crease farm ownership among the negro workers Many who come for mining own farms in other States to which they return when em ployment is poor in mining If instead they owned farms in West Virginia they would be spared the expense of the trip they would be at hand when needed and they would be adding to the taxable values and the food supply of the State One difficulty is that small holdings of cultivated land are not available to any extent and usually when a negro buys land he must take an undeveloped plot clear it make it ready for cultivation build the house and outbuild ings and generally do pioneer work Nevertheless progress has been made This bureau during the past two years has been directly responsible for 82 negroes buying farm tracts in this State of from 10 to 135 acres and 17 of the purchasers are working their farms themselves or have relatives working them Others will go to their farms when they have paid in full for them and still others are earning money at the coal mines to erect homes equip and stock their farms before beginning farm operations Home ownership is handicapped by the difficulty of financing building projects It is a slow business to save enough to pay for a house outright and the negro worker usually finds it difficult to borrow To meet this situation the organization of building and loan associations is encouraged and thrift campaigns have been pro moted Two building and loan associations owned by negroes have already been organized and are doing so well that two more are being planned A campaign is under way to wipe out illiteracy According to the census of 1920 the percentage of illiteracy among all negroes in West Virginia aged 10 years and over was 15 3 The percentage varied according to age and place of residence among the urban population it was 10 8 and among the rural negroes it was 17 among those aged 10 to 14 it was only 2 2 per cent but rose to 59 7 per cent among those aged 65 and over It is evident from these figures that illiteracy is found mainly among those who either through age or remoteness from educational facilities have no oppor tunity to learn To meet this situation night schools have been established in the counties having large numbers of negroes In 1924 there were 43 such schools with an enrollment of 953 If proper night school facilities are provided it will be only a few years before there will be practically no negro illiterates in the State under 55 years of age except those constantly coming here from the South and they will remain here but a short time before they catch the fever to learn As to day schools it is pointed out that there is much need of better buildings and equipment that many schools are greatly over crowded that sanitary arrangements are too often of the poorest and most objectionable kind and that the teachers are poorly paid On the other hand salaries are better than they were in the past new schools are being added to those already existing since 1922 the number of first class high schools has been increased from six to nine and over 7 per cent of the colored pupils of the State are found in high schools INDUSTRIAL EMPLOYMENT OF THE NEGRO 407 Throughout the report emphasis is laid on the fact that negroes can understand and work with their own race better than whites can This principle is already recognized to some extent the State having colored workers in the health department a colored field agent for the board of children s guardians and a number of coun ties and municipalities having colored officials of different grades The recommendations with which the report closes stress the desira bility of extending this practice The appointment of more negroes as constables policemen and prohibition officers is advised It has been found wherever tried that officers of a given race are more successful than others in discovering and preventing crime among the members of that race and there is every reason to believe that this holds true with the colored people Negro probation officers to work among colored juvenile delinquents are especially urged Three counties already have such officers and the results there are held to be the strongest possible argument for installing them else where The appointment of more negro physicians and nurses for public health work and the provision of negro physicians in indus tries employing large numbers of negroes and contracting for the medical care of their employees is urged Railroads and Other Industries IN THE fall of 1924 a study was made by the United States De partment of Labor of the employment of negroes on railroads The study disclosed that there were 136 065 colored persons in the employ of the railroads Negro railway employees are usually thought of as being porters and the study did indeed show that some 20 224 negroes nearly 15 per cent of the total of whom 23 were colored women were so engaged The other occupations showed however that the colored workers were by no means confined to porter work 2 Officials and superintendents Telegraphers Conductors Engineers Firemen Inspectors of way and structures Telegraph and telephone linemen Baggage and freight agents Switchmen and flagmen Foremen and overseers Boiler washers and engine hostlers Brakemen Laborers Miscellaneous Other industries entered by negroes in considerable numbers in clude the laundry iron and steel foundry and machine shop con struction and coal mining industries and domestic service An enameling plant at Palmyra N J is owned and operated en tirely by negro workers It has a capital of and has been in operation for four years Twenty five skilled workers are em ployed at the plant which is said to demonstrate industrial effi ciency as well as the stability and adaptability of negro workers 408 NEGRO IN INDUSTRY Adaptation of Negroes to Northern Industrial Conditions HE research director of the National Urban League in an article in Industrial Psychology for June 1926 on How the negro fits in northern industries reviews the history and causes of the northward migration of the negro and gives a brief summary of the good and bad features of the present situation The migration is fundamentally an economic movement he con siders and he points out that the same causes produced among the white population of the South even a greater tendency than among the colored to seek new fields Actually their rate of mobility was calculated by the census at 20 per cent as compared with 16 per cent for the negroes Other conditions offered strong inducements to the negroes for their mass move to the North but these were after all only secondary motives Their entrance into industrial employment could hardly have been brought about but for the shortage of white labor due first to the war and later to the restriction of immigration At first their unfamiliarity with the conditions of northern industry put them at a disadvantage but they soon proved themselves sufficiently adapt able to make their way and of necessity they are being advanced to fill the gaps in semiskilled and skilled positions created by promo tion retirement and death The negro s ability to speak and understand English has been one point to his credit in the large plants his strength and general docility have added to his accept ability and the fact that in general he has not been unionized has counted in his favor Of the problems precipitated by the arrival of the migrants in large numbers the article dwells especially upon housing health and unions The difficulties of the housing situation are much the same whatever the particular locality under consideration The newcomers are generally crowded into former residence sections near what have become the business parts of the city Because of the location the property is too valuable for the negroes to be able to purchase it to any extent and because of the probability that the houses will soon have to give way to the encroachments ox busi ness the owners do not care to go to the expense of keeping them in repair so that the tenants suffer from a double disadvantage Moreover any attempt on their part to move into other residence districts meets with keen hostility and they find themselves with increasing numbers confined to a strictly limited area with the natural results that rents are raised lodgers are taken to meet the cost of the higher rents congestion grows greater and normal family life is seriously disturbed In regard to health the situation is hopeful The greater severity of the climate and the change from rural to urban conditions at first told heavily on the newcomers but they seem to have adapted themselves very quickly to the change Under the better sanitary regulations of northern cities with the benefit of hospital treatment which they could not get in the rural South and with the improved standards of living which they have quickly adopted the mortality T ADAPTATION TO NORTHERN INDUSTRIAL CONDITIONS 409 of negroes is now actually showing a decrease The studies of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co which has more than a million and a half of negro policyholders show that between 1911 and 1922 there was a decrease of 22 per cent in the death rate In Chicago while the population increase was 182 per cent between 1910 and 1920 the death rate declined 17 per cent and in New York 12 5 per cent In regard to the unions the situation is dubious Some unions definitely exclude colored workers some permit the formation of separate negro locals some give them a qualified form of member ship and some admit them on precisely the same terms as white workers Where this last is the case the negroes seem to take to unionization very readily Of the 5 886 negro longshoremen in New York City about 5 000 are organized Of the 735 negro carpenters 400 are members of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners Of the 2 275 semiskilled clothing workers practically all are members of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union The musicians are 50 per cent organized The great preponderance of negro jobs is still in lines which are not organized The porters laundresses outside of laundries and servants have no organization The negroes listed as painters are not in the painters union many of them being merely whitewashers The tailors are in large part cleaners and pressers The waiters and elevator tenders except female are poorly organized In considering the outlook for the future the author points out as one of the most promising features that the breaking up of the black belt in the South will by weakening the fear of negro domination lessen the violence of prejudice and lead to better relations between the races The creation of more than 800 interracial bodies in counties of the South is an evidence of altered sentiment in the section Moreover it will also mean the breaking up of the planta tion system and should benefit both white and negro tenants by making available large fertile tracts of land for more intensive indi vidual cultivation as small farms As other probable developments the author sees an increase in the number of skilled workers among the negro migrants as they gain industrial experience The housing problem may improve through the tendency of some industries to desert the large cities and to carry their workers with them The cultural contacts to which the new comers are daily exposed when they do not merely live in trans planted southern colonies have already raised the standard of living and this process is apt to be cumulative The rapid growth of north ern industries demands workers at a rate beyond the capacity of the native born white population to supply so that the migration from the South to satisfy this need will probably contiriue for years to come to the advantage of both sections The realignment of relations with the white population will doubtless be accompanied at first with conflicts more or less severe as for example in the seven or eight riots which developed around the first sudden contacts of South and North but the ultimate relations there is warrant for believing will be both more permanent and more mutually tolerable 410 NEGRO IN INDUSTRY Vocational Education in Agriculture for Negroes VOCATIONAL program in agriculture for negroes is dis cussed in a report2 of the United States Federal Board for Vocational Education issued in 1926 Some of the findings in this report are summarized below The 1920 census shows that in the 17 Southern States 57 per cent of the employed male negroes are in agricultural work while over 46 per cent of the whites are so occupied also that the improved farm land operated by the negro farmers averages 50 2 acres per capita while the average area of such land operated by whites is 119 4 acres Slightly above 76 per cent of the negro farmers are renters while only a little less than 40 per cent of the whites are in this class The negro farmer raises 39 per cent of the cotton produced in the United States 21 per cent of the sweet potatoes 10 per cent of the tobacco 9 per cent of the rice and 1 per cent of the white potatoes There are good opportunities for negro farmers to acquire acreages in various parts of the South but these agriculturists need managerial training another drawback is that they have too low a standard of living In most instances according to the report they could pro vide themselves with improved living conditions at little cost other than their own labor They are free and careless spenders but frequently are willing to sacrifice necessaries to get things they wish to have In recent years the negro migration from the country to the cities has been very considerable in fact 200 to 500 per cent greater in the decade from 1910 to 1920 than in any previous decade since the Civil War The number of rural elementary schools for negroes is increasing and these schools offer excellent facilities for vocational departments of agriculture Few rural negroes avail themselves of the facilities of the village high school or county training school The number of all day agricultural schools has increased from 39 departments in 1917 18 to 264 departments in The enrollments in these schools have increased from 1 025 to 6 374 in the same period Other types of schools as day unit evening and part time have shown proportionate increases although so far the all day school has dominated the program in point of numbers The returns from courses of supervised farm practice by negroes in various Southern States indicate that there are considerable differences in labor incomes The proportion of those who complete their course ranges from 50 to 92 per cent while the average is 83 per cent In three of the Southern States Tennessee Arkansas and Oklahoma more rural negroes than rural whites on the basis of population are receiving vocational agricultural instruction In the remaining Southern States the proportion of negroes to whites receiving such instruction on the basis of population is much lower Funds to promote negro education in the South are being con tributed by five private agencies Much of this expenditure is for facilities and equipment for vocational agricultural instruction 2United States Federal Board for Vocational Education education in agriculture for negroes Washington 1926 Bui No I l l s Vocational VOCATIONAL EDUCATION IN AGRICULTURE FOR NEGROES 411 Both the United States Bureau of Education and the Federal Board for Vocational Education have certain responsibilities in connection with negro land grant colleges the former with reference to the technical agricultural curricula and the latter with regard to the professional teacher training courses The agricultural courses of the negro land grant colleges originally included only one or two essentially high school subjects taught from textbooks The present courses are more numerous and are of recognized college grade The Southern States have manifested a tendency to provide ade quately for agricultural teacher training for negroes Since 1917 there has been a notable increase in the registration in agricultural college courses of the negro land grant institutions This is probably the result of the operation of the Federal vocational education act The systematic training of vocational teachers of agriculture followed the passage of this law Of those trained in agricultural teaching under the Federal voca tional education act 60 per cent were occupied in agricultural work in per cent being actually engaged as vocational teachers In all of the agricultural teacher training institutions for negroes provision has been made for the trainees to do some practice teaching under supervision although in several instances such provision is inadequate In most of the agricultural teacher training departments for negroes the physical equipment is inadequate The agricultural teacher training faculties have a higher than average pro fessional training as compared with other teachers in the institution but about one third need more special training In order to improve teachers already in service itinerant training and conferences are being resorted to in all States with large negro populations and certain of these States have also provided extensive courses and summer sessions Among the many recommendations made in the report are the following Continued encouragement should be given to day school programs and particular attention to the development of the part time schools and evening schools Where it is not possible to establish vocational departments an effort should be made to provide an itinerant teacher for several rural schools It is suggested that the farm facilities in the locality might be utilized to greater advantage in connection with agricultural schools It is important that the agricultural teacher s schedule be so arranged as to facilitate his conduct of different types of agricultural schools or classes The content of agricultural instruction should include the activities of the farm occupation studied and the ideals governing these activities Some things which should be specially emphasized in the instruction is the use of improved ma chinery modern credit facilities how to spend money effectively managerial ability and how to raise one s standard of living by direct production and one s own labor The opportunity for supervised farm practice should be provided for in many instances by agreements with landlords and by carefully worked out programs for supervised practice including projects and other farm work In general follow the suggestions set forth in Federal Board Bulletin No Supervised practice in agriculture including home projects The instruction of the agricultural teacher should be organized and presented on the basis of occupational requirements The instructor 412 NEGRO IN INDUSTRY should also provide when practicable definite opportunities for the placement of his students completing their courses The courses in agriculture at the negro land grant colleges as well as the farm practice facilities of these institutions should be adapted to the purpose of training for productive farming operations Agricultural teachers should be encouraged to attend intensive summer school courses which do not cover more than three weeks Proper provision must be made however for the supervision of the farm practice for which such teachers are individually responsible OCCUPATIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION 413 Occupational Distribution of the Gainfully Employed HE data given below regarding the occupations of the gainfully employed persons in the United States are taken from the United States census as summarized in the abstract of the Fourteenth Census published by the United States Bureau of the Census The latest census covering occupations was for the year 1920 The figures cited relate solely to the continental United States T Number and Proportion of Persons Gainfully Employed Each Census Year r lABLE 1 shows for each of the census years from 1880 to 1920 the T number and proportion of persons over 10 years of age gain fully employed by sex The term gainful workers includes all workers except women doing housework in their own homes and children working at home merely on general housework or chores or at odd times on other work Table 1 U M B E R N A N D P R O P O R T IO N OF P E R SO N S G A IN F U L L Y O C C U P IE D B Y S E X F O R T H E U N IT E D S T A T E S Persons 10 years of age and over en gaged in gainful occupations Sex and census year Total population Population 10 years of age and over Num ber Males i Females B oth sexes Per cent of total popula tion Per cent of popu lation 10 years of age and over Figures for 1890 are exclusive of persons in Indian territory and on Indian reservations area especially enumerated at that census but for which occupation statistics are not available Corrected figures for explanation see Occupation Report for 1900 pp L X V I L X X I I I Distribution by General Divisions of Occupations 1910 and 1920 TABLE 2 shows the distribution of occupied persons by sex and general divisions of occupations for 1910 and 1920 for conti nental United States The classification is occupational rather than industrial The occupations are grouped however under nine large OCCUPATIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION industry or service units Since the occupation classification used at the 1920 census differs somewhat from that of the 1910 census a few occupations are here presented under different general divisions from those under which they were presented in 1910 Such trans fers have changed slightly for 1910 the total number of persons in certain general divisions of occupations As the Census Office points out the change in the census date from April 15 in 1910 to January 1 in 1920 doubtless had a pronounced effect on the number of workers returned as pursuing those occupa tions which are seasonal or largely seasonal A comparison with the 1910 statistics for the respective agricultural pursuits indicates strongly that especially in the case of farm laborers the marked decrease from 1910 to 1920 probably was due in large part to an underenumeration in 1920 because in most sections of the United States agricultural work especially the work of field laborers is at or near its lowest ebb in January In some measure the decrease in farm laborers is believed to be apparent only and due to an overenumeration in 1910 especially of children engaged in this occupa tion The large increase from 1910 to 1920 in the number of labor ers and semiskilled operatives in fruit and vegetable canning etc probably resulted to a considerable extent from changing the census date to a time nearer the latest harvest season for fruits and vege tables The World War brought about drastic and rapid changes in many of our industries To meet war needs new industries sprang into existence and some existing industries because not needed to further the war efforts of the Nation rapidly declined in importance Along with these industrial changes went corresponding changes in the occupational activities of the people the number of workers declining rapidly in some occupations and increasing rapidly in others Large numbers of workers were drawn from the fields to the factories and from factories producing nonessentials or luxuries to those producing munitions or essentials The readjustment to a peace time basis was only partially completed at the date of the census Hence it is believed that many of the changes from 1910 to 1920 in the number of workers in the respective occupations may properly be ascribed in large part to the changes brought about by the World War T able 2 T O T A L P E R S O N S 10 Y E A R S OF A G E A N D O V E R E N G A G E D IN G A IN F U L O C C U P A T IO N S D I S T R I B U T E D B Y S E X A N D G E N E R A L D IV IS IO N S O F O C C U P A T IO N S F O R T H E U N IT E D S T A T E S 1910 A N D Sex and general division of occupations Number Males All occupations Agriculture forestry and animal husbandry Extraction of minerals Manufacturing and mechanical industries Transportation Trade Public service not elsewhere classified Professional service Domestic and personal service Clerical occupations Per cent i 964 075 i i Figures corrected to conform to 1920 classification N um ber Per cent TREND OF OCCUPATIONS T able 2 T O T A L P E R S O N S 10 Y E A R S OF A G E A N D O V E R E N G A G E D I N G A IN F U L O C C U P A T IO N S D IS T R IB U T E D B Y S E X A N D G E N E R A L D IV ISIO N S O F O C C U P A T IO N S F O R T H E U N IT E D S T A T E S 1910 A N D 1920 Continued 1910 Sex and general division of occupations Num ber Females A ll occupations Agriculture forestry and animal husbandry Extraction of minerals Manufacturing and mechanical industries Transportation Trade Public service not elsewhere classified Professional service Dom estic and personal service Clerical occupations Per cent i i i il Num ber Per cent jBoth sexes All occupations Agriculture forestry and animal husbandry Extraction of minerals Manufacturing and mechanical industries Transportation Trade Public service not elsewhere classified Professional service Dom estic and personal service Clerical occupations i Figures corrected to conform to 1920 classification Less than one tenth of 1 per cent Trend of Occupations in the Population HE purpose of this analysis is to determine to what extent the occupations of the people of the United States have changed in character over a long period of years to what extent the so called skilled trades are increasing or decreasing and what has been the effect of the great extension of machinery upon the character of the human labor required in the operation of the machinery The main study can not be carried later than the date of the most recent occupational census that of 1920 but additional information for some few industries is available from the censuses of manufactures of 1921 and 1923 The general results of the study seem to show that some of the skilled trades of 1850 either no longer exist or are fast disappear ing due to the changes in the customs and desires of the people as well as to the introduction of machinery Others however have ex panded and new trades have arisen in many cases to take the place of those no longer needed Also a large part of the machinery used in manufacturing establishments is not entirely automatic and requires operators who in many cases are more skilled than were the hand employees whom the machines replaced T Data from Censuses of Occupations T H E information upon which the main part of this study is based was compiled from the decennial reports of the occupational census of all persons 10 years of age and over in the United States The purpose has been to assemble all the reasonably comparable 418 OCCUPATIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION data available covering significant occupations both skilled and unskilled and to present the figures in sufficient detail for further analysis The first attempt to classify the people of the United States by occupations was made in 1850 While some occupational data had been accumulated for years as far back as 1820 it had quite generally been thought that not much could be made of statistics of this sort and consequently little effort was made to use them Growing interest in social and industrial problems however brought about the classification of 1850 While some mistakes were made in this first attempt as is usually the case in pioneer work of any sort the importance of a reliable occupational census was demonstrated Unfortunately the occupations of males alone were published in 1850 and apparently no inquiry was made as to the occupations of the female members of the family The number of male and female wage earners was shown separately however in the manufacturing census of 1850 These occupation statistics have since become an important part of each population census and are available for each 10 year period from 1850 to 1920 The occupations of women were reported as well as those of the men for 1860 and each succeeding census Before entering into any discussion of the material presented attention must be called to the fact that many of the trades or occupa tions of the present day are not strictly comparable with the same trade or occupation in 1850 New tools new methods different products all tend to change the trade as well as the number employed in it 4For example the carpenter of the present day uses many tools similar to those which were in use in 1850 but he no longer makes his own window frames doors and door sash etc These are now almost all made in factories For the purposes of this study however occupations of the same name have been assumed to be comparable Also it should be stated that these figures should be accepted only as representative of the general trend of the occupations and not as absolutely accurate measurements of the number o f people em ployed in any occupation The difficulties of enumeration are greater for occupation statistics than for almost any other statistics gathered by the Census Office part of this being due to the great complexity of modern industrial establishments and processes Also it must be remembered that these statistics are taken at 10 year intervals and many changes take place between censuses The relative impor tance of occupations is continually changing and unfortunately the occupations have not received the same treatment in each decennial census report Different occupational terms and combinations thereof are used and some occupations which are shown separately for a few years have drifted into the all other group in other years rendering comparison impossible Another thing which should be remembered is that the census for any year is taken as of one day in that year and the same date has not always been used During the years 1850 to 1900 it was the custom to take the census as of June 1 but in 1910 April 15 was chosen The date of January 1 was used in 1920 These changes in census dates affect the comparisons to some extent in the more or less seasonal occupations 419 TREND OF OCCUPATIONS The occupations for which figures are presented below have been arranged under seven industrial groups Figures are shown for each occupation for each census period for which fairly comparable information is available It was not possible to include all of the occupations reported by the census as in many cases they are of no particular significance in any year and also many of them could not be traced on a comparable basis through the various reports The occupational terms used in the table are mostly general ones designed to cover the material for all years although they may not be the exact terms used in any census report Wherever necessary com binations have been made in order to maintain the comparison from year to year While employees in most o f the trades have increased in actual numbers from one census period to another when compared with the changes in population many of them show relative decreases The population increased from in 1850 to in 1920 and it is only by considering the changes in the occupations with relation to this increase in population that the real significance of the changes becomes apparent The table below shows the number of employees per million of population 1 N U M B E R OF E M P L O Y E E S P E R M IL L IO N O F P O P U L A T IO N E N G A G E D IN V A R IO U S T R A D E S A N D O C C U P A T IO N S AS S H O W N B Y T H E O C C U P A T IO N C EN SU S F O R E A C H T E N Y E A R P E R IO D 1850 T O 1920 T able Num ber of workers per million o f population in Occupation Agriculture forestry and animal husbandry Agricultural laborers Farmers and planters Fishermen and oyster men Gardeners nurserymen florists vine growers etc Lumbermen raftsmen w ood choppers etc Stock raisers drovers herders etc Extraction of minerals Quarry operatives Miners coal and metalliferous well o p e r a t i v e s Oil and gas Manufacturing and mechanical industries Apprentices Bakers Blacksmiths Boiler makers Brick and stone m a son s j Plasterers Boot and shoe workers Cabinetmakers Carpenters and joiners Coopers Electricians Engravers Glassworks operatives Harness and saddle workers Iron and steel workers including blast furnace rolling mill foundry etc employees Laborers general Machinists Marble and stone cutters Millers and mill workers grain flour and feed Painters glaziers and varnishers Paper and pulp mill operatives i Includes a few whitesmiths Estimated by Bureau of Genius in 1020 420 OCCUPATIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION 1 N U M B E R OF E M P L O Y E E S P E R M IL L IO N OF P O P U L A T IO N E N G A G E D IN V A R IO U S T R A D E S A N D O C C U P A T IO N S AS SH O W N B Y T H E O C C U P A T IO N CEN SU S F O R E A C H T E N Y E A R P E R IO D 1850 T O 1920 Continued T able N um ber of workers per million of population in Occupation Manufacturing and mechanical industries Con Paper hangers U pholsterers Pattern and model makers Plumbers gas and steam fitters Potters and pottery workers Printers compositors pressmen lithographers bookbinders etc Roofers and slaters Rubber factory operatives Steam engineers and firemen stationary Structural iron workers bu ild in g Tailors tailoresses seamstresses dressmakers milliners etc Tanners curriers and tannery workers Textile workers Tinsmiths and tinware workers and coppersmiths Tobacco and cigar factory operatives W agon and coach makers Wheelwrights S W Transportation Chauffeurs Draymen hackmen teamsters drivers etc Conductors brakemen and other railroad em ployees not clerks Locom otive engineers and firemen Motormen conductors and other street railway employees not clerks Sailors and deck hands Professional service Architects Chemists assayers and metallur gists Clergymen Photographers and daguerreotypists Dentists y Lawyers judges and justices Physicians and surgeons j Domestic and personal service Barbers hairdressers and manicurists Servants housekeepers stewards stewardesses e t c ft Clerical occupations Clerks stenographers typewriters bookkeepers accountants etc Clerks and salesmen and saleswomen in stores l Reported under another designation N ot shown as males only were reported 5 Including spinners weavers warpers loom fixers scourers bleachers dyers knitters etc of cotton wool worsted silk linen and hosiery 6 Includes sheet metal workers Building Trades The table shows that building trades have undergone a consider able change since 1850 This is not surprising when one stops to think how vastly different the buildings of to day are from those of 75 years ago In the early days lumber was the easiest as well as the cheapest material to get with which to build and as a result most buildings were made of wood To day however almost all of our large buildings are constructed with brick concrete steel and TttEim OF OCCUPATIONS 421 to some extent stone with probably an inside finish of wood These materials are also growing in favor among home builders especially in the larger cities The use of steel for framing has accounted for the new trade of structural iron worker This was shown separately for the first time in the census return for 1910 when 124 workers per million of population were reported in this trade They had in creased to 178 per million in 1920 The bathroom a luxury enjoyed by few families in 1850 has become almost a necessity Only 81 plumbers per million of popula tion were employed in 1850 but almost 25 times that relative number were needed in 1920 Electric lights were unknown in 1850 while now practically all of the large buildings and a large proportion of homes are equipped with electricity for lighting Thus 2 014 electricians per million of population were reported in 1920 as com pared with 667 in 1900 the first year for which a separate report was made for them Most of the other trades when measured by the change in population increased rapidly from 1850 to about 1890 or 1900 and then began to fall off in some cases even more rapidly Notwithstanding the changes in building construction however carpenters and joiners have increased in almost the same proportion as the population during the 70 year period but brick and stone masons plasterers and marble and stone cutters have decreased perceptibly when compared with population Brick and stone masons and plasterers combined numbered 2 733 per million in 1850 as compared with 2 525 masons and 620 plasterers in 1890 but de creased to 1 314 masons and 362 plasterers in 1920 Marble and stone cutters are only about one fifth as numerous as they were in 1890 and one third as numerous as in 1850 Stone is now to a large extent cut at the quarry by machinery only the finer work being done by hand The result of the introduction of these machines was first noticeable in the census returns for 1910 The huge increase in quarry operatives reported for that year however would seem to indicate that probably some marble and stone cutters have been included under that head for that year Painters glaziers and varnishers increased steadily from 1 215 per million in 1850 to 3 635 in 1910 but decreased to 3 017 in 1920 Through the period there has been an increase in factory painting and varnishing and most of the glazing is now done at the factory Commercially upholstered furniture was included among the furnishings of but a few homes in 1850 and most of the families that did indulge in the luxury of wall paper did not incur the expense of a paper hanger The two trades combined upholsterers and paper hangers numbered only 112 employees per million of population in 1850 As the homemade furniture of the early years began to be replaced with the new factory made upholstered product the trade of upholsterer became more important Wall paper also became less and less of a luxury and the custom of employing professional paper hangers became more general By 4900 more than 400 upholsterers per million of popula tion were employed and paper hangers had increased to 287 per million Both trades have declined somewhat since then there being only 280 upholsterers and 177 paper hangers per million of population in 422 OCCUPATIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION Woodworking Crafts The principal woodworking shop crafts have decreased amazingly since 1850 Coach and wagon makers an important trade at that time have decreased from 673 to 182 factory operatives per million of population in 1920 Wheelwrights have almost faded from the picture Only 35 per million were employed in 1920 as compared with 1 323 in 1850 Wheels are no longer made by hand as in the early days machines having replaced this trade almost entirely The identity of some wheelwrights employed in factories has prob ably been lost in the group of factory operatives but this would not materially affect the number shown The cooper s trade a very necessary one in 1850 is also fast disappearing Steel drums pails sacks and other containers have been substituted for the old wooden barrel The decrease of cabinetmakers from 1 611 per million of popula tion in 1850 to 431 in 1920 is due more to the change to the factory system of manufacturing than to the introduction of machinery More desks tables chairs etc are probably made to day than ever before but most of them are now made in the factory Owing to the occupational classification used for the census it was impossible to include these factory operatives with the hand cabinetmakers Thus the decrease shown in this occupation represents the decrease of hand cabinetmakers and not the decrease in the trade generally Metal Trades In the metal working trades machinists have increased to more than seven fold during the 70 years 1 039 per million of population to 7 586 more than half of this increase occurring in 1910 and 1920 the automobile era Boiler makers and pattern and model makers also have increased Blacksmiths however have decreased greatly Back in 1850 the blacksmith was a very important individual in any community He made all the metal parts of the wagons except the axle thimble welded the broken parts of almost any kind of machin ery or made new parts made his own horseshoes and horseshoe nails and many other things Now new parts for most machines may be obtained for less than it would cost to have the blacksmith repair the old ones The automobile and motor truck are crowding the horse drawn wagons off the roads literally as well as figuratively and those that are used are made in factories There is little left for the blacksmith to do and as a consequence he is rapidly disap pearing even from the rural communities The workers in automobile factories were shown separately under iron and steel industries in the censuses for 1910 and 1920 While the automobile is made mainly of iron and steel yet wood leather and many other things also enter into its manufacture For this reason these figures have not been included in this study as they represent only a part of the industry Printing Trades The printing trades have increased slightly less than twofold in the last 75 years This increase seems at first to be too small when TREND OF OCCUPATIONS 423 we consider the number of newspapers magazines and periodicals printed to day as compared with 1850 but machinery is the answer Steam Engineers and Firemen Stationary steam engineers and firemen have grown from 510 per million of population in 1850 to 3 651 in 1920 All we need to do is to look around and see the thousand and one uses to which the steam engine is now put in order to understand this increase Locomotive engineers and firemen were shown separately for the first time in 1890 when 1 104 per million of population were employed This number had increased to 1 904 in 1920 Bakers The increase in bakers is due largely to the substitution of store5 5 bread for the home made variety Shoe and Leather Workers The effect of the introduction of machinery into our manufacturing establishments is cleary illustrated in the occupation of boot and shoe workers The boot and shoe industry has grown by leaps and bounds since 1850 although the number of workers per million of population has decreased steadily Back in the early days a boot and shoe maker made a pair of shoes completely He did his own cutting lasting sewing pegging in other words actually began and finished the shoes At the present time practically all shoes are made in the factory Men operating high grade machines do the lasting sewing etc In some factories a machine does even the cutting One man seldom performs more than one operation on a pair of shoes The 982 harness and saddle makers per million of population in 1850 had been reduced to 189 factory operatives in 1920 The advent of the automobile and motor truck has of course had a great deal to do with this reduction Iron and Steel Workers The tremendous increase in the use of machinery steel frames for building steel rails etc is reflected to a large extent in the increase of iron and steel workers Beginning with 528 blast furnace and foundry employees per million of population in 1850 the industry has increased to 8 006 employees per million in blast furnaces rolling mills foundries etc in 1920 Textile Workers Textile workers increased from 1 925 spinners and weavers per million of population in 1850 to 9 097 factory operatives in 1920 Spinning and weaving are still the most important occupations in the textile industry even though the cloth is made in factories but the operation of the modern looms and spindles is so different from the old hand processes of 1850 as to make spinning and weaving almost entirely new occupations 424 OCCUPATIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION Teamsters etc There were more than twice as many draymen hackmen teamsters etc in 1920 per million of population as in 1850 although the relative decrease since 1900 has been tremendous Here again the effect of the introduction of the automobile and motor truck is apparent The new occupation of chauffeurs sprang into being to take the place of a large number of teamsters and drivers This occupation was reported separately for the first time in 1910 and increased from almost 500 per million of population in that year to 2 697 in 1920 Sailors Sailors and deck hands have grown fewer with the relative decline in American ships Our shipping industry was quite important in 1850 and 3 044 sailors per million of population were employed By 1920 this number had shrunk to only 519 per million Professional and Personal Service Chemists increased more than fifteenfold in relation to population during the 70 year period There were relatively eight times as many photographers in 1920 as in 1850 The relation between clergymen and population has remained fairly constant as is also the case with lawyers and judges but the number of physicians and surgeons was greater in 1850 per million of population than at any time since and was less in 1920 than in any other census year of the period covered The ever increasing amount of training necessary for the doctor s profession is largely responsible Dentists have increased from 126 per million of population in 1850 to 531 in 1920 Barbers hairdressers and manicurists have increased relatively almost sevenfold during the period covered but domestic servants decreased considerably During the war large numbers of domestics left their former employers for more congenial employment at better wages and when the war closed they continued in other lines of employment Clerks It was not possible to separate clerical employees from clerks and salesmen in stores for all years but wherever possible the separation has been made Strictly clerical employees increased a great deal more than clerks sales people in stores but both types have in creased enormously Farm Labor The changes which have taken place in the occupation of agricul tural laborers are better understood when considered in connection with the changes in farmers and planters The limits of these occu pations have not been sufficiently definite in all years to allow for en tirely separate consideration In 1850 no farmer laborers were re ported but it is evident from the large number of farmers and plant ers shown that no separation was made between the farmer and his helper for that year Slaves who performed a large part of the farm labor in the South in 1850 and I860 were not of course TREND OF OCCUPATIONS 425 included This accounts for the large increase in the farm laboring class in 1870 Farmers and planters and agricultural laborers com bined were fewer in 1920 per million of population than in any other census year This large decrease which is more noticeable in the occupation of farm laborers than in that of farmers and planters was due in part to the fact that many who served in the World War had not returned to their homes in time for the 1920 census while others never returned to farming in part to the increased use of farm machinery and in part to the date of the census enumeration Fishermen Fishermen and oystermen were only a few more per million of population in 1920 than in 1850 and considerably less than in any other year of the period Miners The expansion of the coal and iron industries increased the num ber of miners employed from 3 338 per million of population in 1850 to 8 351 in 1920 and the increased amount of gasoline used in auto mobiles and trucks raised the number of employees of oil and gas wells from 99 per million of population in 1870 the first year in which separate returns were made for them to 809 in 1920 Data from Censuses of Manufactures While the occupation census reports from which the above figures were compiled afford the only measure of the proportion of the sev eral occupations in the population additional data bearing on the subject are available from the census of manufactures which con tains among other things a report of the average number of wage earners employed in the various industries by the manufacturing es tablishments of the country Occupations however are not con sidered These reports are available by 10 year periods from 1850 to 1899 and by 5 year periods from that time to 1919 The first bi ennial census was taken in 1921 and figures for 1921 and 1923 are included in the present study Before attempting any explanation of the material contained in Table 2 it should be noted that the manufacturing census is a census of factories with more attention given to product and investment than to producers These statistics are compiled primarily for the purpose of showing the absolute and relative magnitude of the various branches of industry covered and their growth and decline How ever in addition the number of wage earners is reported and when the various industries are being studied without regard to occupa tions these figures are probably preferable to the occupation statis tics In the occupation census for example a carpenter is reported under the head of carpenter regardless of where he may be employed while in the manufacturing census he would be included only as a wage earner under the industry in which he works In presenting the following data compiled from the census o f manufactures only four of the principal industries in the United States have been chosen Three of them are industries having occu 426 OCCUPATIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION pations that are included in the occupation table In no case how ever are the figures in this table comparable with those in the other as the method of collecting data is entirely different The method of enumeration used in the occupation census is the house to house canvass the occupation of each individual being reported regardless of whether or not he is actually employed at the time of the census Every person 10 years of age or over engaged in productive labor is included in the occupation information Reports prepared by man ufacturing plants are used for the census of manufactures and only those persons employed in manufacturing plants with annual prod ucts of a value of 500 or over are included in the data The figures shown in the table below while not comparable with those for the same industries in the occupation data serve a dis tinct purpose and have been included in this article as supplemental or additional information and not with the idea of comparison In the case of boot and shoe workers for example in the occupation table the effort has been made to trace the boot and shoe makers from 1850 to 1920 Census designations have changed in the 70 year period and the shoemaker has given way to the shoe factory oper ative In the manufacturing census the wage earners while mainly operatives engaged in the manufacture of shoes include a few gen eral occupations in the plants as those of carpenter machinist engineer fireman etc In date the enumeration of population does not coincide with the manufacturing census To illustrate the population count was made as of June while the manufacturing census covered the year 1899 and gave the average number of wage earners during that year These two numbers however are used together in computing the proportion per million of population as in point of time they speak for nearly enough the same date The population count of 1920 was as of January 1 The estimates of population which the Census Office made for the years and 1923 have been used however as the census of population is taken at 10 year periods only T a b l e 2 A C T U A L N U M B E R OF W A G E E A R N E R S A N D N U M B E R OF W A G E E A R N E R S P E R M IL L IO N OF P O P U L A T IO N E M P L O Y E D IN V A R IO U S IN D U S T R IE S AS SHOWN B Y T H E CEN SU S OF M A N U F A C T U R E S 1850 TO 1923 Industry Iron and steel Blast furnaces Wage earners Wage earners per million population Steel works and rolling mills Wage earners Wage earners per million population Textiles Cotton goods Wage earners Wage earners per million population Woolen goods Wage earners Wage earners per million population Silk goods Wage earners Wage earners per million population Hosiery and knit goods Wage earners Wage earners per million population I i N ot reported separately this number is an es timate 427 TREND OF OCCUPATIONS T a b l e 2 A C T U A L N U M B E R OF W A G E E A R N E R S A N D N U M B E R OP W A G E E A R N E R S P E R M IL L IO N O F P O P U L A T IO N E M P L O Y E D IN V A R IO U S IN D U S T R IE S A S S H O W N B Y T H E C E N SU S O F M A N U F A C T U R E S 1850 T O 1923 Continued Industry Boots and shoes 2 Boots and shoes including repairing Wage earners Wage earners per million population Boots and shoes not including repairing Wage earn ers Wage earners per million population Motor vehicles8 W age earners Industry Iron and steel Blast furnaces Wage earners Wage earners per million population Steel works and rolling mills Wage earners Wage earners per million population Textiles Cotton goods Wage earners Wage earners per million population W oolen goods Wage earners Wage earners per million population Silk goods Wage earners Wage earners per million population Hosiery and knit goods Wage earners Wage earners per million population Boots and shoes2 Boots and shoes not including repairing Wage earners W age earners per million population Motor vehicles 3 Wage earners Wage earners per million population Including cut stock and findings 3 Including bodies and parts N o data covering bodies and parts 2 241 wage earners for motor vehicles OLD AGE PENSIONS AND RELIEF 429 State Old Age Pension Laws Importance of Problem of Old Age Dependency HE problem of caring for the aged poor in the United States is becoming more and more urgent as the country gets farther away from its early conditions It is not definitely known how large the group of the aged and dependent poor is The re search director of the Pennsylvania Old Age Pensions Commission in a study recently issued 1 estimates that there are approximately dependent aged persons aged 65 years and over in the country to day of whom from 5 to 6 per cent are cared for through the medium of pensions received from private employers thus leav ing a body of well over a million and a half who must be cared for in some way by public or private charity Neither this nor any other estimate for the country as a whole can be more than a rough approximation for no complete survey has ever been made Never theless it is evident from the partial information available that the problem of old age dependency in the United States is one of great proportions A number of State commissions have studied this subject and their reports agree in general as to the character of this group Two reasons are pointed out for the increasing size of the problem Medical science is increasing the span of life while at the same time the rapid pace of modern industry is lowering the age at which a man ceases to be a desirable employee so that the period of unem ployability on account of age is increasing The worker of to day as compared with his grandfather may count on a longer period of life but a shorter period of industrial availability Again the reports stress the fact that the majority of aged dependents come from the ranks of the lower paid workers whose earnings have not been suffi cient to support their families and also to make provision for their own old age They point out that dependency in old age can not be regarded as proof o f thriftlessness or individual maladjustment but that among its leading causes are impaired physical condition and the lack of family connections that for the great majority of those thus reduced to want the poorhouse is the only refuge and that this form of care is inadequate antiquated and very costly consid ering the returns made for the sums expended As a substitute there is a growing tendency to recommend some form of pension to be regarded not as charity but rather as an honorable recognition of past services to be paid under careful supervision and to be suffi cient to enable the recipient to remain among his own friends instead of obliging him to become an inmate of an institution with all which that implies in the way of loss of self respect comfort per sonality and interest in life T 1Pennsylvania Old Age Pensions Commission The Problem of Old Age Pensions in In dustry Harrisburg 1926 p 4 OLD AGE PENSIONS AND RELIEF Progress of the Movement in the United States T ITTLE attention was paid to this question in the United States 4 until the present century The first active step in connection therewith seems to have been the appointment of a commission by Massachusetts in 1907 to investigate and report on the subject No action resulted from that report In the report of an investigation of the subject eight years later by another Massachusetts commis sion occurs this statement No general system of old age insurance or pensions has been established by the United States Government or by any of the individual States although there are in operation special pension systems covering certain classes of public employees such as veterans retired Army and Navy officers State employees in Massachusetts and certain other municipal employees No very considerable portion of the population of this country or of any of the States is yet covered by any system of old age insurance or pensions Report of a special inquiry relative to aged and dependent persons in Massachusetts 1915 p 94 A year earlier however Arizona had made an attempt to provide such a system In 1914 an initiative act was passed Arizona Acts 1915 Initiative measures p 10 abolishing almshouses and establish ing old age and mothers pensions The act was so loosely worded that before it could come into effect it was pronounced unconstitu tional on the ground of its vagueness the constitutionality of its pension provisions if properly expressed being left undiscussed Alaska followed suit with a law passed in 1915 providing a pension of 12 50 a month to those aged 65 and upward who met certain requirements as to residence need and character This law has been amended several times but is still in operation The effects of the war renewed interest in the idea of provision for the aged and within the last decade a number of State commissions have been appointed and in some cases action has followed their reports In 1923 Nevada Montana and Pennsylvania enacted oldage pension laws In Ohio in the same year the question of estab lishing an old age pension system was submitted to a referendum vote and was decided adversely by a vote of almost two to one In 1924 the Pennsylvania law was declared unconstitutional the deci sion being based largelv on a clause in the constitution which pro hibits the legislature from making appropriations for charitable benevolent and educational purposes The year 1925 saw much activity in regard to old age pensions with varying results in different States In both Nevada and Mon tana bills were introduced repealing the old age pension laws and in Nevada the repeal was accomplished A number of State commis sions brought in favorable reports and by the middle of the year bills were pending in Michigan Illinois Minnesota Ohio Maine New Jersey and Indiana In Texas and Kansas bills were reported favorably but failed to pass either house of the legislature In New Jersey and Indiana they passed the lower house but were not acted upon by the upper chamber In Colorado and Utah commissions to study the subject were appointed In Pennsylvania the legisla ture created a new commission to study the question further and passed a resolution providing for a constitutional amendment to permit appropriations for old age pensions In Nevada a new law STATE OLD AGE PENSION LAWS 433 was enacted differing in some respects from the former one Wis consin passed an old age pension law which was signed by the gov ernor and California passed one which was vetoed The year 1926 showed no diminution of interest in the subject In January the Legislature of Washington passed an old age pension act but it was vetoed by the governor Early in the year the Vir ginia State Commission brought in a report recommending the adop tion of an old age pension system but the legislature failed to take final action upon it In Massachusetts a commission on the subject handed in a divided report the majority strongly recommending a bill establishing a pension not to exceed 1 a day to needy citizens aged 70 or over The pension committee of the legislature voted to postpone action upon this report for a year In April the New York Legislature appointed a commission for the purpose of investigating the condition of the aged poor in the State with a view to devising a State policy and presenting recommendations for legislation to make the policy effective As yet this commission has not reported The Legislature of Kentucky passed an old age pension law which was signed by the governor and became effective in June 1926 The close of 1926 therefore found pension legislation in effect in four States and in Alaska with the subject on the list of matters to be considered in a number of the legislatures meeting in 1927 Provisions of Existing Laws T H E Nevada law as passed in 1925 authorizes the county com missioners to pay pensions to the aged poor when they consider this method desirable Applicants must be at least 65 and must have been residents of the State for 10 years and citizens of the United States for 15 years The pension must not exceed an amount which when added to the applicant s other income from all sources will bring the total income to 1 a day Funds are to be raised by a special tax of 2y2 mills on each 100 of taxable property in each county Under the Montand law the pensions are strictly county matters The law contemplates the establishment in each county of an old age pension board or commission which may receive applications from persons who are 70 years of age and have been citizens of the United States and residents of the State of Montana for at least 15 years The amount of benefits may not exceed 25 a month and may be less than that according to the conditions in each case The Wisconsin law Acts of 1925 ch 121 also throws upon the county the primary responsibility for pensions but gives the State a measure of supervision based upon its contribution of one third of the amount thus paid out County boards may decide by a twothirds vote to establish a pension system which after a trial of a year or more may be given up if the board so wishes Applications for pensions must be made to the county judge who shall promptly make or cause to be made such investigation as he may deem neces sary I f he approves the application the judge issues to the appli cant a pension certificate stating when payments are to commence and the amount of the installments which may be paid either monthly or quarterly Applicants must be at least 70 and must have 434 OLD AGE PENSIONS AND BELIEF been citizens of the United States and residents of the county in which application is made for 15 years besides meeting certain re quirements as to character and need The amount of the pension plus the applicant s income from all other sources may not amount to more than a dollar a day A county establishing the system must appropriate annually enough to meet its demands and from this the county treasurer must pay out the pensions upon the orders of the judge of the county court This is to be repaid by the local units which are responsible for the pensioner each city town and village reimbursing the county for all amounts of money paid in old age pensions to its residents less the amounts received by the county from the State Each city town or village shall annually levy a tax sufficient to meet such charges which shall be collected as are other taxes and paid into the county treasury Each year the county treasurer is to certify to the secretary of state and the State board of control the amount paid out in old age pensions during the preceding year and if the board of control ap proves the report the State gives the county a credit of one third of the amount paid in pensions against the State taxes next due from it To meet this provision the State appropriates annually an amount not to exceed I f this is not enough to meet all the credits due the counties it is to be prorated among them according to the amounts paid out The State also appropriates annually 5 000 for its administrative expenses in connection with old age pensions The Kentucky law resembles that of Wisconsin in that the county is the unit of administration and that it is optional with each county to accept or reject the plan I f adopted the plan is to be ad ministered by the county judge The maximum pension is 250 a year The applicant must be aged 70 or over must have been a citizen of the United States for 15 years and a resident of the county for 10 and must meet certain requirements as to need Wisconsin and Montana Laws in Operation M ONE of these laws are of sufficiently long standing for their real effect to have become apparent and for Nevada and Ken tucky no data concerning their operation are as yet available For Wisconsin and Montana however some facts have been made public The Wisconsin State Board of Control has compiled the data relat ing to the operation of the Wisconsin law up to June Five counties had accepted the plan two in December 1925 one in Janu ary and two in February 1926 Applications had been received from 301 persons and of these 261 had been granted The average pension for the entire group was 79 cents a day but 104 persons received the maximum amount permissible 1 a day Ox those receiving pensions 161 are men and 100 women No very recent information is available regarding the working of the Montana law However in the summer of 1924 the Massa chusetts Commission on Pensions sent questionnaires to the 55 counties in Montana and replies received showed that 31 counties were then paying pensions According to the answers received 378 persons were in receipt of old age pensions in the summer of 1924 at a total cost of approximately 6 500 a month STATE OLD AGE PENSION LAWS 435 Eighty six of the pensioners or 22 per cent received the maximum of 25 a month the amount of pension being fixed at the discretion of the county com missioners No almshouses were closed through the application of this law several counties had none to close Of the counties however in which pensions were being granted more than a majority reported that the law was working advantageously 17 answering in the affirmative and 11 in the negative Report on old age pensions by the Massachusetts Commission on Pensions November 1925 p 216 In 1925 the Associated Industries of Montana issued a memo randum on the working of the law in which figures are quoted from reports made by the county auditors showing that in 1923 the year in which the law went into effect 29 counties paid pensions to 349 pensioners the amount paid out being or an average of 65 53 per pensioner In 1924 the number of counties using the sys tem increased to 36 the total number of pensioners rose to 521 and the amount paid in pensions to an average of 151 74 per pensioner Criticisms of Old Age Pension Systems Now in Force T H E opponents of old age pension legislation base their objections upon several grounds They claim that a noncontributory system the only kind which has been adopted in this country saps self reliance discourages thrift and energy and promotes pau perism by relieving it of some of its more unpleasant features They object because of the expense and because pensions act to weaken the sense of responsibility for their own aged relatives which decent people should feel They fear a tendency toward increasing reliance upon Government aid rather than on private resources and they claim that wherever the system has been tried there has been a disposition to make pensions increasingly large and the conditions of granting them increasingly easy The friends of such legislation look with apprehension upon the present situation from entirely different motives The real purpose of old age pensions they say is to make it possible for those reduced to poverty by age to spend their declining years in self respecting privacy free from the anxieties of want and the stigma of pauperism living independently in their own surroundings instead of being massed together in an institution The mere sub stitution of outdoor for indoor relief although perhaps a step in the right direction is far from accomplishing this end At present they say the pension is not sufficiently differentiated from poor relief The Montana law sets up old age pension commissions composed of the boards of county commissioners who are also generally in charge of county poor relief with no central State supervision whatsoever That this in prac tice is merely an extension of the principle of outdoor relief and fails even to remove one of the main objectionable features the stigma of pauperism is evident from the fact that the State auditor s report for 1924 shows an aver age allowance per applicant of 151 74 as against the maximum of 300 allowed under the law Obviously these grants are not based on the principle of ade quate pensions and are hardly more than the accustomed poor relief given prior to the enactment of the so called pension law But at least under the Montana law the county commissioners are required to act as old age pension commissioners The law is made compulsory The new Nevada law eliminates even that and provides for old age pension boards made up of the county commissioners who are also the poor relief officials 436 OLD AGE PENSIONS AND RELIEF who may authorize this pension if they decide to do so It is but natural that they should continue to look at this as merely poor relief under a new name National Conference of Social Work Proceedings 1925 p 333 Notwithstanding these criticisms from both sides the subject is attracting an increasing amount of attention and it is certain that in some form or other the provision of pensions for the aged poor will be before a number of State legislatures during the current year Industrial Old Age Pension Plans N 1916 the Bureau of Labor Statistics published a survey of indus trial old age pensions then in effect In 1925 it made another survey of the field giving the results in the Labor Review for January 1926 Except when credit is given to other sources the following article is based on these two investigations The industrial old age pension system is largely a growth of the present century and especially of the 15 years between 1910 and 1925 Only four or five of the systems now in force were established before 1900 In 1916 the bureau listed 117 plans as then being car ried on by private employers the investigations of 1925 disclosed more than double this number while a still later survey made by the research director of the Pennsylvania Old Age Pensions Commission puts the number in 1926 at about 370 2 In addition a number of employers have informal plans under which pensions are paid to elderly or incapacitated employees in individual cases although they maintain no general system I Pension Plans Defined A N INDUSTRIAL old age pension plan is a system under which an employer engages to provide for all employees who meet certain requirements as to age length of service satisfactory conduct and the like an annual pension beginning when the employee reaches a specified age In a few cases the employee is required to make definitely specified contributions from his salary or wages to a fund from which this pension is to be paid but this is not common Among over 200 pension plans concerning which information was received there were only 13 of these so called contributory systems In some cases pensions for disabled or incapacitated employees are included in the system but this is not an essential feature Purposes of Pension Plans most obvious purpose of a pension plan is to make it possible to discharge an aged employee who is becoming inefficient or incapable without subjecting him to the hardships of complete destitution It is widely recognized that there are large numbers of workers who can not from their earnings meet their necessary family expenses and also provide for their own old age Humanity 2Pennsylvania Old Age Pensions Commission The Problem of Old Age Pensions in Industry by Abraham Epstein Harrisburg 1926 p 21 INDUSTRIAL OLD AGE PENSION PLANS 437 forbids turning them adrift when they have become too old for em ployment elsewhere and efficient business management forbids retaining them after they have become more or less incapable There are various subsidiary purposes Many employers state that they established the plan to promote good feeling between the workers and the management and to secure loyal and enthusiastic cooperation in advancing the business Some mention a reduction of labor turnover as one of the benefits to be gained through estab lishing a pension system Frequently the plan is intended to act as a deterrent to labor troubles and especially to hinder employees from joining in strikes The contributory plans are sometimes used as a kind of insurance against dishonesty it being provided that if the employee leaves or is dismissed any amount which he may owe the employer shall be deducted before his contributions to the pension fund are returned to him Other purposes may enter in but in general the humanitarian impulse the hope of securing more permanent and whole hearted service and the desire to reduce labor troubles are the main reasons for initiating pension systems Leading Features of Pension Plans Inclusiveness ENERALLY pension plans apply to all employees of a company but where they are designed for only one class they are more apt to be for the wage earners than for the salaried employees It is not unusual to exclude the executive officers of the company and sometimes the plan is confined to those who earn less than a specified sum a year Methods of Determining Amount of Pensions The commonest method of determining the benefit is to fix the pension at a certain percentage of the average salary for a specified period multiplied by the number of years of service The period over which the salary is averaged is usually 10 years and while the usual custom is to take for this purpose the 10 years immediately preceding retirement in a few instances it is specified that the 10 consecutive years of highest salary shall be used The percentage varies from 1 to 2y2 Sometimes the initial percentage is increased in proportion to the length of service Sometimes the salary is divided and different percentages are used for the different parts while in other cases all of the salary above a given amount varying from 4 000 upward is omitted from the calculation While this method is common it is not universal Some plans provide for the payment of a flat rate or for a certain percentage of the final salary and other variations may be found in individual cases Minimum Maximum and Average Pensions Yery commonly in connection with the method of calculating the amount the plans set a minimum and a maximum for the pension In the plans studied by the bureau in 1925 the minima range from 438 OLD AGE PENSIONS AND BELIEF to 50 a month 20 and 25 a month appearing more frequently than any other amounts while the maxima range from 25 to 500 a month Sometimes the maximum is set as a percentage of the average salary for the last 5 or 10 years or of the salary at time of retirement These percentages range from 30 up to 100 the latter being found in only one instance There does not seem to be any close relation between these limits and the average amount actually received When the pension is calculated as a percentage of the average salary over a period of years multiplied by the number of years of service it is evident that at even the most liberal rate which in these plans is 2y2 per cent few workers would have salaries sufficient to bring their pensions up to the higher maxima The United States Steel and Carnegie Pension Fund which has published very full reports of the working of its pension plan affords an illustration of this The maximum pension allowed under this plan is 100 a month but in 1924 the average pension received was 41 50 a month and this was the highest average paid since the fund began operation in 1911 Compara tively few companies publish these figures but data were secured from a number concerning the average pension paid during their latest fiscal year from which the following table was compiled Number of Average pension P lans Under 20 a month and under and under and under and under and under and under and over A study of these plans shows that there is much variation in the average pension even when the same maxima and minima are set Five of those included had maxima ranging from 200 a month up ward and the average pensions paid during the latest fiscal year were respectively and 110 a month Six had maxima ranging from 125 to 175 inclusive the average pensions paid under these were in two cases 40 in one 47 in one 37 in one 55 and in one 57 a month Four had maxima of 100 a month and paid average pensions of and 60 a month and two with a maximum of 75 paid average pensions of 40 and 41 On the whole these data showed that the average pension tended to approximate the minimum more closely than the maximum limit but the approach was seldom close in either direction A ge and Service Requirements Practically all the plans call for age and service qualifications The length of service demanded ranges from 10 to 45 years but both of these limits are exceptional 20 and 25 years being the periods commonly set Sometimes a plan sets a service period with an age requirement but gives also a longer period with the proviso that the worker may retire after having completed such a term of service regardless of age Thus one company whose plan places the normal age of retirement at 65 after 15 years service permits INDUSTRIAL OLD AGE PENSION PLANS 439 retirement at any age after a service of 45 years More often a longer period of service is linked with retirement at an early but specified age Thus the plan of one company provides that men may retire at 65 after a service of at least 30 years but at 60 if by that time they have served 40 years There is a good deal of elasticity about the age requirements Generally the plans provide one age at which retirement is expected the so called compulsory age and another at which it is permitted but neither of these is absolutely fixed Usually the employers reserve the right to continue the employee in service after the com pulsory age is reached if in their discretion that seems best and usually retirement at the optional age depends upon the consent or approval of the pension committee or the directors or some other official body In a few plans no age limit is fixed but the whole matter is left to the discretion of the officials In a few others com pletion of a certain term of service qualifies the employee for a pen sion without regard to age In the majority of plans however definite limits are set Sixty five and seventy are the ages usually set for compulsory retirement while the age for optional retirement ranges from 50 upward Not infrequently the retiring age for women whether compulsory or optional is placed at from 5 to 10 years earlier than for men Usually however no similar reduction is made in the required period of service Contributory Pension Systems Contributory systems usually provide that employees shall con tribute a certain percentage oi their salary rarely exceeding 3 per cent to a fund from which pensions are to be paid I f the employee dies before reaching pensionable age his contribution is usually re turned to his dependents with interest I f he resigns or is dismissed before reaching the age limit his contribution is returned but the plans differ as to whether or not he receives any interest As stated before contributory plans are few Of 98 plans adopted since 1920 only 5 have put into effect the compulsory contributory principle says Epstein 3 Miscellaneous Provisions The commonest of these deal with the employer s liability and the restrictions upon the employee Generally speaking the plans ex pressly disclaim any responsibility upon the employer s part and assert his entire freedom to operate or annul the system as he may choose A typical provision runs as follows This pension plan is a voluntary act on the part of t h e Company and is not to be deemed or construed to be a part of any contract of employment or as giving any employee any enforceable right against t h e Company The board of directors of the company reserves the right to alter amend or annul or cancel the plan or any part of it at any time The right of the company to discharge any employee at any time shall not be affected by this plan nor shall such employee have any interest in any pension after such discharge It is commonly assumed that a pension once granted is to continue during the recipient s lifetime but often this duration is conditioned 3 Pennsylvania Old Age Pensions Commission The Problem of Old Age Pensions in In dustry by Abraham Epstein Harrisburg 1926 p 46 440 OLD AGE PENSIONS AND RELIEF upon the employee s observance of certain restrictions Thus the pensioner s right to take up any business after his retirement is often discussed Sometimes this is authorized provided the business en tered upon is not prejudicial to the interests of the pensioning com pany Sometimes the pensioner is permitted to engage in business provided it is not of the same nature as his former employer s and sometimes he is warned that entering upon any business of any kind may 4 in the discretion of the company be deemed sufficient cause 4 to terminate such pension allowance Very commonly it is stipu lated that the pensioner must secure the consent of the pensioning company before he may undertake any business activity The suspension or termination of a pension is another matter on which there is considerable diversity One of the commonest pro visions is that the pension may not be assigned and that any attempt to evade this prohibition will be considered grounds for its annul ment Another provision almost equally common is that the pension may be revoked in case of gross misconduct on the part of the recipi ent the employer being the judge of what constitutes such miscon duct Bankruptcy of the pensioner conviction of any felony or misdemeanor or the entry of any judgment or decree or order of any court of law or equity are also rather commonly given as grounds for suspending or revoking the pension Sometimes it is provided that the pension shall be forfeited if the pensioner engages in con duct inimical to the interests of the company and sometimes the whole matter is left to the discretion of the administering body which is given wide powers For example one plan states that pen sion payments may be suspended or terminated at any time by the directors if in their judgment the conduct of the pensioner may seem unworthy of this bounty and another provides that a pension may be refused suspended or terminated at the discretion of the executive committee for such reasons as it may deem sufficient and its judgment in that regard shall be conclusive Objections to Pension Plans ROM the employer s standpoint one of the most serious objec tions to a pension system is its cost a feature which is seldom fully realized at the time a plan is inaugurated The number added to the pension roll each year bears some relation to the size of the force at the time when the length of service period began to run I f a system is started in 1920 with a service period of 80 years those who are pensionable the first year will be the survivors of the force in 1890 in 1925 they will be those remaining from the force of 1895 and so on Within the last few decades there has been a tremendous increase in industrial activity with a corresponding expansion of the pay rolls of many industries which in turn means a greatly in creased basis for pensions Also wages have risen and since pen sion allowances are frequently calculated as a percentage of the average wages for the last 10 years of service multiplied by the total years of service the pensions which are now becoming due are apt to be much larger than those paid when the systems were first inaugurated Again those who are once on the pension roll usually stay there until they die and since few if any systems have reached INDUSTRIAL OLD AGE PENSION PLANS 441 a point where the annual removals by death equal the annual addi tions to the pension roll the cumulative cost o f the system increases rapidly For all these reasons the costs mount at a rate which makes the maintenance of a system a very serious burden One company whose plan calls for a service qualification of 25 years and a pension of 1 per cent of the average earnings of the final 10 years multiplied by the number of years of service presented figures covering the first 12 years during which the plan was in oper ation which show how rapidly the annual payments increased A n n u al p aym en ts A nnual p a ym en ts It will be seen that not only has the annual cost of the system in creased more than fivefold but that it is steadily rising with the constant load not yet in sight Unsound Financing The cost however is not so serious an objection as the uncertain basis on which many of the plans are established A pension system involves definite commitments for the future and if it is adopted without full provision for meeting the coming demands it is a very unsafe proposition In many of the plans studied the actuarial basis on which the system should have been established has been ignored In some cases a considerable reserve fund was set aside at the begin ning to meet pension costs in others the corporation appropriates year by year what is found to be necessary in others an initial re serve fund is supplemented by annual appropriations not to exceed a fixed amount In general the reserve funds and annual appro priations appear to have been determined rather arbitrarily without reference to the age distribution of the employees at the time the plan was established or any study of the prospective rates of retire ment the rates of withdrawing before becoming pensionable the death rate both for those in active service and on the pension roll and other factors which go to determine the future demands on the pension fund In some instances employers have recognized the insecure position o f their funds and have taken steps to put their plans on a sound actuarial basis more often they have preferred to go on meeting the present difficulties as they rise and shutting their eyes to future possibilities The danger of the situation is recognized by all who have studied the pension question Several plans have already been given up and in one very large system the terms of the plan were changed the age limit being advanced and the period of service lengthened on account of the rapid rise in costs The wording of the plans usually protects the employers against any legal liability to carry on the systems longer than they find convenient but the failure of a pension plan means severe hardship to those who have worked 442 old age p e n s i o n s a n d r e l ie f long and faithfully and then find their hopes disappointed when it is too late for them to make other provision Objections from the Employees Standpoint The workers objections may be summed up under three heads First such plans reduce the mobility of labor tend to make the worker submit to poor conditions without vigorous resistance and to tie him to one job especially as he grows older The acceptance of a lower wage scale than could be secured by fighting for in creases is prominent among the effects to which they object Second pension systems may be used to keep the worker from taking part in strikes or other action intended to secure an improvement or pre vent a worsening of conditions and may even be used as a strong lever to force him into strike breaking Third even after fulfilling every condition set the worker has no legal right of any kind to a pension but receives it purely as a gratuity which may be sus pended reduced or revoked at the employer s option As to the objections grouped under the first head it will be noted that they are for the most part the very purposes frequently cited as grounds for establishing the systems To lessen labor turnover to promote loyal and faithful service and to induce cordial and efficient efforts on the part of the employees to forward the plans of the employer are often given in the outline of pension systems as ends to be obtained by their establishment Whether or not the noncontributory systems tend to keep down the wage level is perhaps open to argument but it is a view accepted by many who study the theory of pensions and the workers themselves hold it strongly As to the second point that pension systems may be used to pre vent collective action on the part of labor the wording of many of the plans confirms the charge A very common provision is that in order to qualify for the pension a worker must give continuous serv ice and the definition of 4 continuous is such as to bar any one who 6 takes part in a strike Voluntary withdrawal from the service constitutes a breach of continuity and if the worker is reinstated he comes in so far as pensions are concerned as a new employee or may forfeit his pensionable status altogether Some plans put the matter more explicitly One limits pensions to employees who have not been engaged in demonstrations detrimental to the com pany s best interests Another states that employees who leave the service of their own volition or under stress of influences inimical to the company or who are discharged by the company thereby lose all benefits of the benefit and pension system while another states flatly that employees who leave the service under strike orders forfeit all claims to pension benefit Under such provisions a man who has worked all his days for one company and is on the verge of retiring with a pension may find himself forced to choose between giving up all hope of the pension he has earned or as he sees it being false to his fellows and to his own lifelong principles as a union man The possibility of being called upon to act as a strike breaker is not so common but exiSs under some of the plans A number contain clauses giving the company power to revoke pensions at their discretion or in case the conduct of the pensioner may seem INDUSTRIAL OLD AGE PENSION PLANS 443 unworthy of this bounty or if the pensioner displays a decided lack of appreciation of the company s liberality in granting the pen sion It is evident that a refusal to come back to the service in the event of a strike might easily be construed as lack of appreciation or unworthy conduct or as justifying the company in using its dis cretion to revoke the pension A few plans distinctly provide that a pensioner must come back whenever called Such clauses are by no means universal however and at least one company distinctly provides against a retired employee being forced into service against his will by stipulating that while the company has the right to continue pensioners in service if it wishes no pen sioner shall be compelled to accent such employment and if he refuse it shall in no wise affect his rights to a pension Naturally enough the plans which provide for recalling pensioned employees to the service are found mainly in industries in which labor troubles have played a considerable part and in which the existence of a body of potential strike breakers may be of value to the employers Organized labor cites cases in which employers have exercised this right and superannuated workers have found them selves obliged to accept service against their comrades or to forfeit in old age the pensions for which they have qualified by long and faithful service The third objection the worker s lack of any contractual right to a pension is considered by many to be an almost fatal objection to the system The worker has no rights whatever in the matter even when he has fulfilled every condition laid down in the plan The plans are frequently explicit on this point The following provision is only a trifle more outspoken than those of numerous other plans This pension system is established voluntarily by the company and may be amended suspended or annulled and any pension granted under the same may be revoked at any time at the pleasure of the company it being expressly understood that every pension allowance hereunder will be granted only at the discretion of the company and continued only at its pleasure Even in the case of a contributory system the courts have ruled that the employees have no right to anything beyond the return of their contributions The worker s moral right to a pension which he has earned by fulfilling the conditions laid down is generally rec ognized but his legal right is nonexistent Deferred Annuity Systems T O AVOID the disadvantages of the pension system as generally conducted and yet to retain its good points various schemes have been advanced of which the one most generally approved by financial experts is some form of deferred annuity handled through an insurance company Such a plan involves the purchase of an annuity for each employee payments being made for each employee annually and each account being kept separate from all others The annuity is to be purchased through some well established insurance company and its cash surrender value naturally increases with each year for which payments are made The employer may bear the whole cost or the employee may be required to contribute The plan may be optional or obligatory for the individual employee he may have a right to the cash surrender value of the policy at any time 444 0LD AGB PENSIONS AND RELIEF or may be unable to realize anything from it until he reaches the age at which the annuity is to begin or other variations may be introduced The outstanding advantages of the plan are that it puts the whole matter on a business basis instead of making it a matter of the employer s liberality that it is fair to the employees as among themselves since each receives his own amount and one who leaves the employment before retirement gets back what he has earned by his period of service instead of having contributed for the benefit of those who remain that it gives the worker a contractual instead of only a moral right so that he may plan his future with more assur ance that it can not be used as the pension system may for dis ciplinary purposes and that since the annuity is written by a strong insurance company even the employer s failure or withdrawal from business does not affect the worker s surety From the employer s standpoint it secures the great advantage of a pension system in that it enables him to retire employees who are becoming less efficient without undue hardship to them while at the same time it enables him to calculate his costs accurately and it involves him in no future obligations The payments of each year are a completed transaction and if at any time he should find it necessary to give up the system each worker would still receive the full benefit of all payments made on his account up to that time In other words there is no pension fund which must be maintained unless old employees are to be dis appointed in their legitimate expectations and which may come to grief if the employer fails dies or retires Moreover it meets the complaint that the pension is really deferred pay which the man who withdraws before reaching retiring age never gets since every worker under such a plan gets his own deferred pay his return being greater or less as his period of service varies Against such a system as this it is sometimes urged that as the years go on the increasing cash surrender value of the policy becomes an inducement to the employee to leave his employer s service in order to secure the lump sum at once One company which has recently adopted the general principle underlying this plan varies its operation in such a way as to eliminate this possibility For each employee who has been in its service for five years or more the company purchases annually a bond providing an annuity of 1 a month commencing at the normal retirement age which is set at 65 for men and 60 for women These bonds remain the property of the company until the employee either retires or completes 30 years of service when they are delivered to him I f he continues in the service after 30 years the company continues to buy an annual bond on his account which is delivered to him on purchase The employee can not at any time get a cash surrender value on these bonds and if he leaves the service before he has either reached the retiring age or completed the 30 year period he receives no benefit whatever from the plan This modification of the system does not meet the issue of deferred pay i e if the worker leaves before the set period he receives nothing for the time he has served but it does insure his getting the pension if he remains to the end regardless of what may befall his employer s business OLD AGE PENSIONS AND BELIEF 445 Cost and Conduct of American Almshouses HE almshouse or poorhouse or poor farm as it is variously known has been the long established method of taking care of aged dependents in the United States Until comparatively recently these institutions were accepted more or less as a matter of course During the past few years however discussions of old age pension and retirement plans have led to more critical examination of the conduct and cost of the almshouse system Recently the United States Department of Labor through the Bureau of Labor Statistics made a study of poor farms and alms houses in each of the 48 States Cooperating with the department various fraternal organizations throughout the country supplemented the scope of the Government investigation The department found the value and extent of public property used or intended for poor farms and almshouses and the cost of operating these institutions over a period of one year while the fraternal societies studied the physical and social conditions surrounding almshouse inmates To put it differently the Department of Labor covered the financial side and private agencies cooperating with it and to a certain extent under its direction studied the social and humanitarian side of in stitutional pauper relief The report of the department was pub lished as Bulletin 386 of the United States Bureau of Labor Statis tics Cost of American almshouses the report of the studies of the fraternal societies was issued in 1926 under the title The American poor farm and its inmates by Harry C Evans published by Loyal Order of Moose Mooseheart 111 and other fraternal organiza tions A summary of the bureau s report is given below T Cost of American Almshouses T HE report on the cost of American almshouses made by the A Department of Labor and published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in Bulletin 386 presents the results of an investigation made in 1923 and 1924 and covers data for the latest available fiscal year the fiscal year varying in the several States The report covers 2 183 almshouses or 93 per cent of the public pauper institutions of the country These 2 183 almshouses have 345 480 acres of land of which 184 087 acres are cultivated The value of the land and farm equipment is and that of the buildings and furnishings representing a combined investment of The average cost of maintaining 85 889 paupers 28 201 of whom are females in almshouses was 334 64 each for the year The average number of acres of institutional land per inmate was 4 02 over half of which was being cultivated The total property value per inmate was The income per pauper from the sale of farm prod ucts was 33 91 The maintenance cost per inmate varies greatly from State to State for example the average cost of maintenance per pauper in Alabama was 187 53 and in Nevada it was 446 OLD AGE PENSIONS AND RELIEF Acreage Value of Property Income and Maintenance T A B L E S 1 and 2 show the number of institutions reporting the average number of inmates the total acreage and the acreage under cultivation and the value of land and farm equipment and of buildings and furnishings by State Table 1 gives aggregate amounts while Table 2 shows the average per inmate giving also separate averages for land for farm equipment for buildings and for furnishings T a b l e 1 N U M B E R OF A LM S H O U SE S A V E R A G E N U M B E R OF IN M A T E S A C R E A G E A N D V A L U E OF L A N D A N D F A R M E Q U IP M E N T A N D OF B U IL D IN G S A N D F U R N ISH IN G S B Y S T A T E State Alabama Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Colum bia F lo r id a Georgia Idaho Illinois Indiana I o w a Kansas K entucky Louisiana M aine M aryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri M ontana Nebraska N evada New Hampshire N ew Jersey New Y ork North C arolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South D a k ota Tennessee Texas U t a h Verm ont V irginia W ashington West Virginia W isconsin W y o m in g T otal N um Average number of inmates ber of in stitu tions re Fe Total port Males males ing Land Acres Total in cul acreage tivation Value of property Land and farm equip ment Buildings and fur nishings Total COST AND CONDUCT OF ALMSHOUSES T a b l e 2 A V E R A G E A C R E A G E OF A L M S H O U SE S A C R E A G E IN C U L T IV A T IO N A N D V A L U E OF L A N D A N D F A R M E Q U IP M E N T A N D OF B U IL D IN G S A N D F U R N IS H IN G S P E R IN M A T E B Y S T A T E State Alabama Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Onnnfifitimit Delaware District of C olum bia Florida Georgia Tdaho Illinois Indiana Iow a Kansas Kentucky Louisiana M aine Maryland Massachusetts M ichigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri M n nt ana Nebraska N evada N ew Hampshire New Jersey N ew Y ork North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Virginia Washington West Virginia W iscon sin W yom ing Land per inmate N um ber of in stitu Acres tions Total in re acre cul port age tiva ing tion Land Verm ont T otal Value of property per inmate Land and farm equip ment Farm equip ment Buildings and furnish ings Grand total Total Build ings Fur nish ings Total Table 3 shows the annual income of the institutions from all sources and the total annual expenditures Table 4 gives the same data per inmate and also detailed data as to pay roll expenditure per inmate The income of institutions is divided under three heads 1 The amount received directly from the tax funds of the political unit operating the almshouse whether county township or municipality 448 OLD AGE PENSIONS AND BELIEF This amount is credited to the institution either as a direct appro priation out of which all expenses must be met or by means of paying through the local treasury all bills contracted by the superintendent 2 The amount of money earned by the farm in the sale of surplus produce Generally money thus earned is available to the superin tendent for the maintenance of the institution and the amount of money required from the tax fund is decreased that much In Massachusetts however and in many counties in all the States all money earned by the institution reverts to the local treasury and is reappropriated ior almshouse use through official channels When ever this custom prevails the amount appropriated is given as the total income of the institution the portion of that amount earned by the institution also being shown Hence the net cost to the com munity is the difference between the amount appropriated and the amount earned For example in Massachusetts was paid out of tax funds for the support of the various almshouses The institutions themselves however earned of that amount leaving a net cost to the public of In all such instances the amounts earned but not used directly by the institu tion have been shown in the proper columns of the table but are not included in the amount shown under Net annual income 3 Income from other sources includes money received from paid for inmates from rent of part of the land belonging to the poor farm and in the case of a large number of contract farms the rent of the farm itself and such other occasional sources of revenue as the insti tution may have The section of Table 4 showing the amount of salaries and wages of employees per inmate requires no explanation except in the case of the large institutions Employees in these large institutions have been arbitrarily grouped under the simple divisions sufficient for all but a few Thus the engine room staff electricians etc in the very large establishments are included under laborers etc while clerks and other executive employees other than the superintendent are included as administrative officers under superintendents etc The item All other expenditures under Annual maintenance cost is a comprehensive one including all operating costs exclusive of pay roll It includes all the food not raised on the farm cloth ing drugs medical attendance except for those institutions in which a staff doctor is included among the employees burial expenses fuel lighting upkeep and repairs for the institution and all the expenses incidental to the cultivation of the farm It has been impossible to secure reliable data on the value of pro duce raised on the farm and consumed by the inmates and staff From such material as is dependable 75 is a fair estimate of the value o f farm produce consumed per person in a year assuming a reasonable degree of farm cultivation 449 COST AND CONDUCT OF ALMSHOUSES T a b l e 3 A N N U A L IN C O M E A N D M A IN T E N A N C E C O S T OF A L M S H O U S E S B Y S T A T E State N um ber of in stitu tions re port ing Alabama Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Idaho Illinois Indiana Iow a K a n s a s K entucky Louisiana Maine M a ry la n d Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hamphsire New Jersey New Y ork North Carolina North Dakota O h io Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas U t a h Verm ont V irginia Washington W est Virginia W isconsin W y om in g Total Public funds Sale of farm produce Other sources R e fund Net annual income Annual mainte nance cost i i Includes N ew Y ork C ity pay roll Annual income from OLD AGE PENSIONS AND BELIEF T able 4 A V E R A G E A N N U A L IN C O M E A N D M A IN T E N A N C E C O ST OF A LM SH O U SE S P E R IN M A T E B Y STATE Annual income per inmate from Annual maintenance cost per inmate Pay roll Net Re annual All fund income Sale of other Public farm Other Super M a Cooks L abor expen funds pro sources intend trons domes ers ditures duce ents and tics etc etc nurses etc State Alabama Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Colum bia Florida Georgia Idaho Illinois Indiana Iow a Kansas K entucky Louisiana M a in e M aryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Total M issouri M ontana Nebraska Nevada N ew Hampshire N ew Jersey N ew Y ork N orth Carolina N orth Dakota O hio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South C arolina South D akota Texas U tah V erm on t Virginia W ashington West V irginia W isconsin W yom ing i i Total U Exclusive of New Y ork City Comparative Cost of Large and Small Institutions T H E report gives detailed comparisons between the cost of oper ating the larger and more efficiently operated institutions and the smaller and less efficiently managed Table 5 makes such a com parison between a group of 333 institutions having from 26 to 50 inmates each and a group of 16 institutions having from 501 to 2 000 inmates each COST AND CONDUCT OF ALMSHOUSES 451 T able 5 C O M P A R IS O N OF IN V E S T M E N T A N D C O ST OF M A IN T E N A N C E O F S M A L L A L M S H O U SE S W IT H T H A T OF L A R G E A LM S H O U SE S Item Small alms Large alms houses 26 to houses 501 to 60 inmates 2 000 inmates Num ber of almshouses Num ber of inmates Value of land and farm equipm en t Investment per inmate Value of buildings and furnishings Average per institution j Average per inmate Total investment land buildings and farm and home equipm ent Average per inmate Num ber of acres embraced in institutions Num ber of acres under cultivation Num ber of acres per inm ate Number of acres cultivated per inmate Employees in service of institutions Ratio of employees to inmates to 10 24 1 to 6 24 Total wages and salaries of employees Annual cost of wages and salaries of employees per inmate Annual maintenance cost per inmate It will be seen from the table that 333 institutions on 58 699 acres of land representing a total investment of cared for 11 959 paupers at 335 66 per capita for the year covered while 16 other institutions with 90 per cent less land and less in vested maintained their inmates at 281 72 per head Attention is also called to the probable superiority of institutions and equipment averaging approximately a million dollars in value to those averaging a little less than Moreover 333 institutions necessitate 333 superintendents and staffs and of the 1 918 em ployees in the first group only about 800 can properly be considered as ministering directly to the inmates The other 1 118 are farm laborers on the immense acreages unskilled workers and domestics in the 333 separate dining rooms and kitchens For this whole group of 333 almshouses only 135 nurses are reported one to each 89 paupers and only 9 of these institutions had staff doctors Each of the 16 institutions in the second group has a resident physician and the number of nurses orderlies and other persons directly concerned in caring for the paupers is 566 Although a large percentage of the employees in these 16 institutions are skilled professional men and women the service cost per inmate is 6 38 less per annum than in the first group in which the labor overhead covers twenty one times as many almshouses Manifestly it is reasonable to assume that the 11 959 indigents who are housed in institutions constructed and equipped to care for them in illness or in health and who are in the care of trained persons are better off than are the 11 959 scattered throughout 333 institutions with 333 different standards o f treatment and efficiency in manage ment Institutions Without Inmates NE hundred and thirty seven poor farm properties comprising acres were reported as having no inmates Fifty eight of these are wholly idle apparently abandoned 44 are leased to tenant farmers 12 are maintained as almshouses with superin 452 OLD AGE PENSIONS AND BELIEF tendents and other employees but having for the time being at least no inmates and 23 are worked by private individuals on a crop share basis or are let for pasture Rent on the leased farms ranges from 60 to 1 500 a year and totals averaging 270 The amount returned to public funds from sale of produce pasturage hay etc is The total earnings of the 19 968 acres of land are or 1 60 an acre However more than half that amount is paid out again in salaries to superintendents retained in the unused almshouses for caretakers repairs upkeep insurance and so on The expendi ture for salaries and wages is 7 347 The valuation of these 19 968 acres of public land is given as With publicly owned equipment amounting to the value of these unused poor farms is over a million dollars The buildings valuation with 7 646 worth of furnishings is Most of the almshouses are large ranging from 8 to 30 rooms unused except for those occupied by tenants and their families Aside from the inadequate returns from the farms which are yield ing any revenue at all it must be borne in mind that not only they but the 58 unproductive properties are public land and hence nontaxable Accordingly we find an unproductive investment of more than a million and a quarter dollars in nearly 20 000 acres of taxfree land which yields less than a dollar an acre to the communities whose property it is Self Supporting Institutions A SIDE from those farms which are leased to tenants in exchange for the full support of paupers committed to them and which are maintained without actual money cost to the community 18 almshouses scattered throughout the country were reported as being self supporting These 18 farms embrace 4 208 acres of which 2 432 are in cultiva tion The aggregate value of the land and the publicly owned equipment and stock is The total amount earned by these farms in the sale of farm pro duce stock etc was of which was expended in the maintenance of the institutions The number of paupers cared for was 115 One large county farm in Virginia returns a substantial revenue to the county each year after all the expenses of a well managed institution are met The Maine State almshouse inspector comment ing on one of the town farms in that State say that it is a financial asset to the community as well as being one of the few in the State which would meet with public approval A county farm in Kentucky is operated in conjunction with a ferry the concession for which is given the man who runs the farm The ferry operated by almshouse inmates earned 2 000 of the 2 500 which the institution cost for the year reported Public Control IN MOST States the governing body of the county whether known as county commissioners trustees or supervisors constitutes the controlling responsible factor in almshouse management In New COST AND CONDUCT OF ALMSHOUSES 453 England control is vested in the town with the overseers of the poor as the immediately responsible officials California Michigan and New York have an elected county official usually called the county superintendent of the poor who is the administrative head of public poor relief including the county almshouse In Louisiana the police jury is the controlling body and in Arkansas Missouri Oregon and West Virginia the almshouses are under the jurisdiction of the county courts In States which have official bodies in the field of public charity and social work such as State departments of public welfare public welfare commissions State boards of charity and the like some degree of centralized control or at least supervision obtains In only one however has the State body actual authority over the local man agement The Michigan State Welfare Department has power to enforce its recommendations for the improvement of physical condi tions in county almshouses and to administer State laws with regard to poor relief But in most States the State body merely has the right to inspect local institutions and to recommend changes and improvements Operation TWO different systems of operation of almshouses are found in practically every State These are 1 direct management by the county officials or in States not organized on the county basis the poor officials through a hired superintendent or keeper and 2 the contract system The first prevails in 88 per cent of the institutions Under it the public officials responsible for the care of paupers and the adminis tration of the poor laws employ a superintendent on a stated salary to run the almshouse This superintendent either has a definite appropriation on which to operate as is the case in the large institu tions or he charges the needs of the institution to the county or town and the treasurer pays all bills The produce of the farm belongs to the institution What is not consumed by the inmates and staff is sold the proceeds in some cases reverting to the local treasury and in other cases being available to the superintendent for almshouse use Other employees are hired by the officials the number depend ing on the size of the farm the number of inmates and the funds available The hired manager thus becomes the immediately responsible party Theoretically he is held accountable by the public through its selected officials for the successful economical and humane administration of the almshouse The degree of supervision over him maintained by county and town officials depends of course on the interest which those officials take in their local institutions and the conscientiousness with which they discharge their duties Under the contract system responsibility is even less definitely fixed By this scheme the farm and almshouse are leased to an operator Jor the care of the poor There are several different ways in which this plan is used One is on a full maintenance5 contract 5 under which the lessee operates the farm and takes entire care of the inmates feeding and clothing them and furnishing necessary med ical attention for a stipulated sum per inmate per month paid by 454 OLD AGE PENSIONS AND RELIEF the community This sum is usually or 35 per month Produce of the farm is consumed in the institution and generally the lessee is entitled to the proceeds of the sale of the surplus after almshouse needs are supplied More frequently however the lessee is paid a much smaller amount ranging from 7 to 20 and averaging about 12 per month for the board of each inmate the county or town furnishing in addi tion clothing bedding fuel tobacco medical service and drugs Under this arrangement the lessee generally pays a nominal rent for the farm 75 to 150 a year furnishes his own farm implements and is entitled to all produce This system is quite extensively used throughout the South It should be understood that 4 contract as here used refers to 6 contracts leasing public almshouse property There is of course another form of contract for the care of paupers used in many coun ties and communities which do not maintain almshouses That is the system by which an individual farmer undertakes for a certain amount of money to board and care for paupers on his own farm and in his own home This expenditure would have to be included in any complete survey of the entire expense of maintaining paupers But inasmuch as no capital investment of public money is involved this form of pauper maintenance as well as outdoor relief does not enter into the present study of the subject PHILIPPINE ISLANDS LABOR CONDITIONS 455 Labor Conditions and Relations in the Philippine Islands LTHOUGH there have been few comprehensive studies of labor conditions in the Philippine Islands considerable infor mation on certain phases of this subject is available in various recent official reports among which the following are of particular interest and from which except where otherwise noted the present article was compiled A War Department Annual Reports of the Governor General of the Philippines Washington 1925 report mimeographed Philippine Islands Department of Commerce and Communication Bureau of Commerce and Industry Statistical Bulletin Manila annual Philippine Islands Bureau of Labor Bulletin issued irregularly Manila Philippine Islands Bureau of Labor Principal activities of Bureau of Labor 1925 Manila 1926 Typewritten Occupations and Earnings T H E total population of the Philippine Islands in 1918 according to the census of that year was of whom were reported as being engaged in some gainful occupation The occupational distribution was as follows T able 1 I N D U S T R IA L D IS T R IB U T IO N OF P O P U L A T IO N OF P H IL IP P IN E IS L A N D S 1918 Occupation group Males Females Total Agricultural Ind u strial Commercial Professional Domestic service Unknown T otal Per cent Wages and Hours of Labor T A B L E 2 shows the average wages in various industrial establishments in the city of Manila in 1925 Table 3 gives the daily hours of labor in 1 154 establishments The wages are shown in pesos a peso being equivalent to 50 cents in United States money T able 3 A V E R A G E W A G E S OF L A B O R E R S IN V A R IO U S E S T A B L IS H M E N T S IN T H E C I T Y OF M A N IL A B Y O C C U P A T IO N 1925 Peso 50 cents Establishment and occupation Aerated water brewery and dis tillery Machinists Machine tenders Temperers Labelers Firemen Purifiers Per day Per month Pesos 3 50 Pesos Establishment and occupation Automobile repairing and car riage shops Mechanics Blacksmiths Painters Carpenters Carriage makers Electricians Per day Pesos Per month Pesos LABOR CONDITIONS IN PHILIPPINE ISLANDS T a b l e 3 A V E R A G E W A G E S OF L A B O R E R S IN V A R IO U S E S T A B L IS H M E N T S IN T H E C I T Y O F M A N IL A B Y O C C U P A T IO N Continued Establishment and occupation Establishment and occupation Per day Automobile repairing and car Pesos riage shops Continued 2 30 V ulcam zers Welders Bakfirifis confectioneries 1 50 Bakers Ovenirifvn TFCneaders Confectioners Grinders Caramel cutters P ackers Beds trunks furniture and car pentry shops 3 00 Carpenters Vamishers Rattan weavers Cur vers Sawyers Box makers Bicycles nickel plating type writing and repairing shops 2 00 Nickel platers Mechanics Bottle and mirror factory 2 10 Blowers Amalgamators Cutters Building construction and elec trical installation Carpenters Masons Tinsmiths Electrical installers Blacksmithing 2 25 B lacksm iths Hammerers Cigar and cigarette factories 2 00 Cigar makers Cigarette makers Wrappers Strappers Packers Stem strippers Machinists Ring m akers Cutters tobacco Choosers Labelers C old storage plants 3 25 Machinists Chauffeurs Ice cutters Drydocks and stevedoring 3 37 Machinists Foundrym en Carpenters Boiler makers Blacksmiths Checkers Embroidery shops 2 1 37 Embroiderers Ironers Cutters Ribboners Hemstitching Gas works 2 10 Stockers Gas makers Fitters Hat making and repairing Hat makers M old ers Ribboners i Per week Per month Pesos a W om en only Per day Hem p pressing Pressers Classifiers Hem p cleaners B alers Jewelry watch repairing etc Silversmiths W atch repairers Engravers Lumber yards and mills Laborers Sawyers Carpenters Machinery and foundry shops Turners Apprentices Mechanics Boiler makers C om positors Musical instrument manufactur ing and repairing Compositors Carpenters Printing and binding Compositors Minerva operators Bookbinders L inotyp ists Machinists E ngravers P rin te rs Folders Pressmen Lithographers Oil factory Machinists Firemen Grinders Copra makers Feeders Painting shops and photo studios Painters Designers Photographers R etou ch ers Picture and window framing and glassware Frame makers Carpenters Amalgamators Rope factory Machine tenders Rope binders Railway and tramway transporta tion Boiler makers Machinists Firemen Electricians Carpenters Riveters M otorm en Conductors Inspectors Ticket sellers Sculptures marbleworks and engraving Sculptors Engravers Masons Shoes and leather goods Shoemakers Slipper m akers Harness makers Per month Pesos Pesos ao Free food and lodging LABOR CONDITIONS IN PHILIPPINE ISLANDS TABLE 2 A V E R A G E W A G E S OF L A B O R E R S IN V A R IO U S E S T A B L IS H M E N T S IN T H E C I T Y OF M A N IL A B Y O C C U P A T IO N Continued 1925 Shoes and leather goods Con Trunk makers B ra ziers Soap factory C onfectioners Molders Tailoring and shirt making Tailors Cutters Sewers Tannery Cutters Confectioners Telephone and telegraph Automatic sw itchboard Cable splicers Establishment and occupation Establishment and occupation Per day Per m onth Pesos Pesos Per day Per m onth Telephone and telegraph Con Pesos Groundmen Installers Linemen Operators Miscellaneous Bag sewers Candle makers Dairymen Plumbers Rice cleaners Rubber stamp makers Tile makers Umbrella makers Pesos W om en only 3 Free food and lodging T able 3 H O U R S OF L A B O R IN V A R IO U S IN D U S T R IA L E S T A B L IS H M E N T S I N T H E C I T Y OF M A N IL A 1925 i Number of establishments Hours o f labor Food and kindred products Textiles and clothing Metal mechanical and electrical Home construction and furniture making Leather and allied products Printing and allied industries Liquors beverages and tobacco Chemical and allied products Clay stone and glass products Cars and carriages and allied industries Works of art Lumber and wood manufactures Miscellaneous K H 9 8M 10 Sh Total Industrial group N um ber of laborers i Data cover only establishments inspected b y the Bureau of Labor Agriculture The total number of agricultural laborers in 46 Provinces in 1924 was The distribution of these workers by sex and average daily wages are shown in Table 4 T able 4 A G R IC U L T U R A L L A B O R E R S IN 48 P R O V IN C E S OF T H E P H IL IP P IN E S 1924 Peso 50 cents Class of workers Adults M a le s Females Minors Males Females Total Num ber of workers Average daily wages pesos LABOR CONDITIONS IN PHILIPPINE ISLANDS According to the 1918 census of the islands only 12 5 per cent of their area was cultivated land commercial and noncommercial forests covered 63 5 per cent and the remaining 24 per cent was grass and open land 18 8 per cent mangrove swamp 0 9 per cent and unexplored territory 4 3 per cent Embroidery industry 1 In 1925 the United States imports of Philippine embroideries amounted to over Although the concerns in and around Manila which are engaged in the supervision of the embroidery industry are called factories in none of them is the embroidering done on the premises the industry being very largely a household art Practically all of the embroidery work is done in remote places and by people of the poorest classes As a part of her training in the public schools every girl pupil studies the art of embroidery from about the third grade through the seventh The so called factories maintain from 5 to 100 employees in the Manila headquarters and from 10 to 100 agents who deal directly with the pieceworkers The factories distribute the stamped cloth to the embroiderers or their agents and upon the completion and acceptance of the material it is laundered in the factory or on con tract and prepared for export In many of the newer factories another practice has been inaugu rated Native agents or contractors called cabicillas contract with the factory to embroider large lots of cloth The cabicillas distribute these lots among subcontractors or direct to the embroid erers This system is based on credit the factory crediting the contractors who in turn credit the subcontractors and embroiderers The factories may be classified as follows Those developed by Manila concerns which sought a market in the United States and those developed because of the desire of American distributors for an independent source of supplies The first group includes most of the factories making ladies undergarments and infants and chil dren s wear and the second those working almost exclusively on ladies underwear Sixty per cent of the output of one of the largest and oldest factories has been on popular priced undergarments but it has con tinued the manufacture of high grade embroideries comparing favorably with the best that Europe can turn out Wages for embroidering are paid on a piece rate basis varying from 0 75 to 1 peso2 for simple designs and from 2 50 to 5 pesos for a better grade of work while special designs are paid for by agreement Although pieceworkers average from 1 50 to 3 50 pesos per day in some cases as much as 15 pesos is paid for the embroidery on one piece Most of the employees at headquarters in Manila work on a salary basis and are engaged in cutting sewing trim ming ribboning ironing and packing the goods for export Adults doing the ironing packing etc are paid from 1 50 to 2 50 pesos a day while boys doing similar work receive from 0 80 to 1 peso Unskilled sewers generally girls just learning receive a daily wage 1Data are from the United States Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce Trade Information Bulletin No pp Peso 50 cents 461 LABOR CONDITIONS IN PHILIPPINE ISLANDS of about 0 80 to 1 peso Cutters are paid about 0 80 to 1 peso and skilled woman workers receive from 1 50 to 2 50 pesos per day Notwithstanding a resumption of the manufacture and export of embroideries from Europe after the war investigations indicate that Philippine hand embroideries have attained a permanent place in the American market and it is expected that the industry will be extended and the yearly exports further increased Wholesale and Retail Prices THE average retail prices of various articles of food in city of A Manila markets for the years 1921 to 1925 inclusive are given in Table 5 and index numbers for the various food groups are given in Table 6 T a b l e 5 A V E R A G E R E T A I L P R IC E S OF F O O D S T U F F S IN T H E M A R K E T S OF T H E C I T Y OF M A N IL A Article Unit F F TO Cereals and grains Liter P0 84 do Rice Ganta Fish and other sea products 51 Bafigos One Candole d o C r a b s d o Shrimps Hundred Fowls 63 Chickens One Ducks d o Hens d o Roosters d o W ild ducks d o Fruits 1 62 Bananas la tu n d a n H u n d red 08 Coconuts One L e m o n s H undred Native oranges One Papayas do Meat 1 37 Beef fresh K ilo Beef frozen d o do Pork Vegetables 09 Amargoso One Beans native Atado Eggplants H u n dred 33 Onions Bom bay Kilo Peas Liter Peppers red Hundred 20 Potatoes K ilo Red squash One Sweet potatoes S ack Tomatoes Hundred 33 W hite squash One Miscellaneous foodstuffs 51 Condensed rn ilk Can Eggs 4 90 C h in ese H undred 6 02 D uck do N a t iv e d o Flour Liter S u g a r 37 Brown Kilo Refined d o Vinegar Liter White salt d o T able LABOR CONDITIONS IN PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 6 IN D E X N U M B E R S O F R E T A I L P R IC E S O F F O O D S T U F F S B Y Y E A R S A N D G R O U P S Average prices in Cereals and grains Year Fish and other sea products Fowls Fruits Meat Vege tables Miscel laneous food stuffs Average wholesale prices and index numbers of wholesale prices of important staple products from 1921 to 1925 are shown in Table 7 T able 7 A V E R A G E W H O L E S A L E P R IC E S OF S T A P L E P R O D U C T S A N D I N D E X N U M B E R S T H E R E O F Rice per cavan Year F Manila hemp per picul Fie Sugar per picul F Coconut oil per kilo Copra per picul F F T obacco per quintal M aguey per picul F Index numbers T h ese a re a vera g e p rice s based on a ll cla sses o f e a ch sta p le q u o te d in th e M a n ila m arket Activities of Philippine Bureau of Labor T H E director of the bureau of labor of the Department of Com merce and Communications of the Philippine Islands has fur nished the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics with an account of the functions of his office and an analysis of the work done by it during 1925 The following is a summary of that report The work of that bureau whether prescribed by law or merely un derstood is to see to the enforcement of existing laws relating to labor and capital and to promote the enactment of new legislation for the benefit of the workers to collect and publish statistical data relating to labor to inspect all workshops and other labor centers and take proper legal steps to insure the protection of the lives and health of the workers to assist the workers to secure just compensation for their services and the indemnity prescribed by law for injuries resulting from accidents to bring about the settlement of labor disputes or avert them if possible to organize free public employ ment agencies to promote interisland migration and the distribu 463 LABOR CONDITIONS IN PHILIPPINE ISLANDS tion of the population of the Philippine Islands so as to colonize unoccupied land and to supervise contracts of laborers for service abroad Under instructions from the government or upon the request of the interested parties the bureau also intervenes in con flicts between agricultural landowners and their tenants making the necessary investigations and arranging settlements In connection with its supervision of contracts with laborers for service abroad it is the duty of the bureau to prevent the making of contracts with minors under 15 years of age and with minors of 18 years of age without the consent of their parents or guardians Attention is given to the clothing supplied to contract laborers especially if they are going to a climate requiring heavier clothing than is worn in the Philippines and also to the sanitation of the ships in which these laborers travel In September 1925 the di rector made an investigation of the operation of the contract system and of the living conditions of Filipino contract laborers in Hawaii A resume of his report on this subject is published in this Handbook p 172 Since 1913 the island legislature has been allotting funds for the purpose of establishing and maintaining agricultural colonies and the encouragement of interisland migration in order to make a just and proper redistribution of population to encourage the possession of small landholdings among the greatest number of people by means of homesteads and to increase the production of foodstuffs such as rice corn and other cereals The amount of money made available for this purpose is said to be inadequate but according to the director the systematic propaganda campaign carried on by the bureau of labor to induce people in the densely populated regions to migrate to unoccupied public lands has met with enthusiastic response from the working classes and large numbers of them have migrated to these lands at their own expense and without seeking the assistance of the bureau During the five year period 1921 to 1925 the bureau recruited and shipped to sparsely populated regions 6 846 emigrants the expense incurred being 92 000 pesos Factory Inspection T HE factory inspection activities of the Philippine Bureau of Labor for the 5 year period 1921 to 1925 are shown in Table 8 T a b l e 8 F A C T O R Y IN S P E C T IO N W O R K OF T H E P H IL IP P IN E B U R E A U OF L A B O R Factories and industries Mercantile Plantations or haciendas Total Year N um ber W ork ers N um ber W ork ers N um ber W ork ers N um ber W ork ers T o ta l 464 LABOR CONDITIONS IN PHILIPPINE ISLANDS Wage Claims and Complaints N E of the most important duties of the bureau of labor is the settlement of complaints of employers and employees These adjustments entail a large amount of work as the disputants have to be brought together and the requisite witnesses interviewed Table 9 indicates the extent of this activity for a five year period Table 9 A D J U S T M E N T S OF W A G E C L A IM S A N D C O M P L A IN T S Peso 50 cents Number of claims and com plaints Year L Total Adjustments Number of claim ants 3 203 Favorable Amount collected Unfavor able Pesos Employment Offices TTHE work of the four free employment agencies in Manila Cebu A Iloilo and Albay for the five year period is recorded below R eg is tratio n s P lacem eats Total Industrial Accidents INDUSTRIAL accident reports to the bureau of labor are sum marized in Table 10 for the years 1921 to 1925 inclusive Table IN D U S T R IA L A C C ID E N T S IN T H E P H IL IP P IN E S Number injured Year Number of acci dents Tem por arily T otal Perma nently Fatally Adjustment Total Indem nified Unin demni fied Amount collected in pesos LABOR CONDITIONS IN PHILIPPINE ISLANDS Strikes TTEIE statistics of strikes in the Philippine Islands from 1921 to 1925 are reported by the bureau of labor as shown in Table 11 T a b l e 1 1 IN D U S T R IA L D IS P U T E S Strikes and other in dustrial disputes Adjustment in favor of Causes of conflict Year Number Workers involved Wages Other than Workers Total Employers Labor Organizations and Unemployment r lHE number of labor organizations in the islands is 129 There T are also 87 mutual benefit associations A membership of 44 228 was reported voluntarily by 43 unions in Manila and 26 unions in the Provinces stated they had a membership of 17 957 No information was received from the other unions The Philip pine director of labor reports for 1925 that 4 the tendency to union 4 ism and collective bargaining continues Although the labor organizations reported approximately 33 per cent unemployed the director states that 4 the unemployment prob 4 lem has not given any cause of great alarm He points out that the population has been moving cityward which has temporarily dislocated the labor market and resulted in unemployment On the other hand however certain new industrial undertakings have drawn rather heavily upon the surplus labor supply Immigration and Emigration NE of the sections of the annual report of the Governor General of the Philippines for the year ending December makes the following statement regarding the immigration of Asiatics into the Philippine Islands 4 Immediately prior to and during the 4 World War some 12 000 Japanese were in the Philippine Islands Most of them were located about the Gulf of Davao and engaged in the growing of hemp Shortly after the close of the war many Japanese left the islands and returned to their own country and their numbers were eventually reduced to somewhat less than 4 000 Recently Japanese have again commenced to come to the islands and they number now in the neighborhood of 5 000 prac tically all of them are located near Davao along the shores of the gulf Chinese immigration is prohibited by the exclusion act Nevertheless a con siderable number manage to enter the islands each year When detected they are arrested and deported but some succeed in returning usually through the southern islands Were Chinese permitted to come freely they would flood 466 LABOR CONDITIONS IN PHILIPPINE ISLANDS the islands in a very short time Although the number of Chinese in the archipelago is not over 65 000 they control upwards of 70 per cent of the retail trade of the islands They are frugal industrious and commercially aggressive and the Filipinos find successful competition with them very difficult Col Carmi A Thompson in his recent report on conditions in the islands 3 states that Philippine labor is without sufficient em ployment and is emigrating to Hawaii the United States and other countries Cooperative Movement Hr HE activities of the Philippine rural agricultural credit coopera tive societies are of considerable importance as indicated in the statistics given in Table 12 The data are derived from the Philippine Statistical Bulletin 1925 T a b l e 1 2 S U M M A R Y OF O P E R A T IO N S OF R U R A L A G R IC U L T U R A L C R E D I T C O O P E R A T IV E A SS O C IA TIO N S Peso 50 cents Year Number Total num of asso ber of ciations members Paid in capital stock Total re sources in cluding loans interest and deposits T Loans to members Estimated 3 U n ited S tates C ongress Senate C on d ition s in th e P h ilip p in e Isla n d s M essage fro m th e P resid en t tra n sm ittin g a rep ort b y C ol C arm i A T h om p son W a sh in g to n 1926 p 2 S D oc N o th C ong 2d s e ss PHYSICAL EXAMINATION OF WORKERS 467 Physical Examination of Workers N RECENT years there has been a rapid development of the prac tice of physical examinations of employees The initiative has come largely from the employers but interest in the subject is also active among a number of labor organizations as indicated for example by the establishment of a trade union health clinic in New York see p 378 I Extent and Character of Physical Examinations in Industrial Establishments rT HE extent importance and general character of the present day physical examinations of employees carried on by various large companies was described in an article in the Labor Review April 1926 by Frank L Rector M D secretary of the American Associa tion of Industrial Physicians and Surgeons and editor of the Nation s Health This article somewhat condensed is as follows Purpose of Examinations THE physical examination in industry is but one aspect of the larger subject of physical examinations of the general popula tion although the object in view is more directly related to a specific activity In general such examinations are carried out for the sole purpose of fitting the worker to his employment with the least danger to his physical or mental health It may be true that in years gone by before the modern conception of the relation of medicine to industry took form the medical department and physical examination procedures were prostituted to unworthy motives in that they were used at times to eliminate undesirable workers from an organization This was because some employers did not have suffi cient courage to state their true reason for discharging a worker and because the physician who would lend himself to such procedures was of a servile and dishonorable type who would fail in honest medical practice But those days have passed and the motives behind the practice of physically examining workers and applicants for employment to day are such that they are of equal benefit to the worker and the em ployer Physicians engaged in this work are often among the most prominent in the community and are well trained and capable men The enactment of workmen s compensation laws threw uj on the employer the entire responsibility for the care of workers injured while in his employ and in order to protect himself and to see that potential injury cases were safeguarded as far as possible physical examinations were introduced Through physical examinations workers are not denied employment but are selected on the basis of their ability to do the work for which they apply PHYSICAL EXAMINATION OF WORKERS The guiding principle in the application of physical findings has been epitomized by the Conference Board of Physicians in Industry in the declaration that providing there are positions to be filled in the organization no one should be denied employment for physical rea sons unless if employed he would become a danger to himself to others or to property To the application of this principle of physical examinations no one be he employer or employee can take honest exception The worker who for reasons of disability such as contagious disease tuberculosis etc should not be employed in a given industry certainly can not object to his lack of acceptance for employment I f such an individual should be employed not only would he aggravate his existing condition but his fellow work men might become infected as well and further if such an indi vidual were suffering from epilepsy heart disease high blood pres sure or similar conditions in which he was subject to fainting or irrational seizures he would not only be a danger to himseli by physical injury due to falls into machinery but would also endanger the safety of his fellow workmen and possibly endanger property in the form of machinery or equipment which he was supervising at the time his disability took an acute form Also if an individual were affected with some mental abnormality which at times made him difficult to manage the refusal of employment would be justified Frequency of Rejections such cases as those just described are few is seen from the experience of those industries which have employed physicalexamination procedures for many years In the average industry probably not over 2 per cent of the rejections are traceable to the results of physical examinations In some selected cases of slight defects in vision or hearing or cases where marked dexterity or mental alertness is required the rejection rate would run higher In a recent study of industrial medical practices made by the writer for the National Industrial Conference Board 20 of 255 plants re ported that they rejected no worker for physical reasons These were obviously large concerns with many varieties of jobs for workers of different capacities The State frequently contributes to the rejection rate for workers by workmen s compensation decisions which hold employers respon sible for disabilities or aggravation of existing disabilities for which they are not to blame As long as this continues certain workmen will be unemployed through no fault of their own or of the employer Employment of Physical Defectives question is sometimes asked What is to become of those re jected for employment on account of their physical condi tion I f the principle laid down by the Conference Board of Physi cians is adhered to there will be very few unemployable workers The problem of their care becomes one of family responsibility or if this is inadequate one of community responsibility As the princi ple of physical examinations is accepted more and more there will be fewer derelicts in the industrial world the number of the families PHYSICAL EXAMINATION OP WORKERS 471 now dependent in whole or in part upon organized charity for assist ance will be much reduced and the care of those in the unemploy able class will add little ir any to the burden now being borne in the care of those partially dependent The care of the unemploy able is a community problem not an industrial problem just as is the care of the blind the insane the feeble minded and other unfor tunates In practically every industry there are positions which can be filled by those who are partially disabled Even totally blind work ers are employed in certain industries and there are many positions where the loss of one eye a hand or a foot or partial deafness would be no bar to efficient employment Here however industry meets with the problem of its responsibility under the various workmen s compensation acts for injuries sustained and in the case of injuries to employees already partially disabled the danger of permanent total disability is much greater than in the case of similar injuries to normal individuals Until the compensation laws and procedures are changed to relieve the employer of the whole responsibility for permanent and total disability of such cases it will be difficult to find proper employment for them When a defective worker has been placed in remunerative employ ment he is usually more appreciative of his work than is a sound worker His work is usually of a high quality and his output meas ures up favorably with that of others It has been the experience in certain cases that during times of depression when reduced working forces were necessary defective workers were retained while physi cally sound employees were laid off the choice being made on quality and quantity of output alone An argument sometimes heard against physical examinations is that as they are made by the company physician the information disclosed is always held against workers for purposes of discipline In this connection it should be said that the findings of examina tions are in the vast majority o f cases held strictly confidential by the physician making the examination and the employer knows only in general terms whether the one examined is fitted to do the work for which he applied The examination findings should always be kept as confidential between the worker and the physician as would be the case if the worker were examined by the physician in his own private office There is an opportunity however in the analysis of mass figures of physical examinations in which individuals are in no way identified to throw considerable light upon the question of the physical status of certain groups o f members of a given com munity In other words the examination of industrial workers furnishes a cross section of the physical condition of a given group of people and next to the statistics collected by life insurance com panies oners one o f the best sources of public health statistics of this kind As heretofore stated the physical findings should never be used for purposes of discipline and no physician worthy of the name would to day consider lending himself to such purposes Rejec tion for employment and discharge from employment should rest with the employment office or the plant superintendent or other 472 PHYSICAL EXAMINATION OF WORKERS executive never with the medical department The prostitution of the medical department to such purposes will effectually destroy its usefulness for any purpose and confidence once shaken can not easily be restored Advantages to Employer and Employee HT HE advantages which industry may derive from physical exami nations are a healthier working force greater freedom from injury and illness reduced compensation expenses less labor turn over and greater efficiency The advantages which the one examined derives are of much greater importance as they affect not only him self but his dependents and indirectly the community in which he lives It has been shown over and over again that the first indication a worker had of disability was when he underwent a physical ex amination for employment Cases of unsuspected heart disease tuberculosis kidney disease eye disabilities and similar conditions have been found times without number and through the free advice and cooperation of the examining physician corrective treatment has been instituted and what would soon have developed into a per manent disability has been corrected and the danger obviated Men have been saved months and even years of suffering and misery by learning from the examining physician just what to do with their disabilities A timely minor operation a change in habit of living a change in diet and exercise and similar matters have brought about a return to full health and efficiency whereas if the employee had continued without medical supervision and particularly without the physical examination he would sooner or later have been forced to relinquish his employment and have become a charge upon his family or the community That physical examinations pay has been demonstrated in many instances by a reduction in accidents among workers who have under gone such examinations as compared with groups of workers who have not been examined While the differences are not great they are sufficiently important to merit the earnest consideration of all workers In two investigations made approximately five years apart it was found that in the first investigation covering over 200 plants workers in 98 plants with physical examinations sustained an aver age of 1 56 injuries per worker per year as compared with 1 92 in juries per worker per year for workers in 105 plants without examina tions and similar figures for the later investigation among more than 400 plants were 1 66 injuries per worker per year in 217 plants with physical examinations as contrasted with 1 72 injuries per year in 225 plants without The time consumed in making the physical examination will de pend both upon the skill of the examining physician and upon the type of employment the worker is seeking It is the experience in industry that from 5 to 15 minutes is usually occupied in each exam ination This of course is insufficient to give a thorough examina tion but it should be borne in mind that certain types of disability have no bearing whatever upon a worker s capacity to do the work for which he is being hired and therefore need little or no consider ation at such a time As compared with the thorough physical ex amination by a private practitioner it may be said that in the case PHYSICAL EXAMINATION OF WORKERS 473 of the worker we are dealing with a person who is well or thinks he is well and who is being examined for an estimation of his fitness for doing a particular kind of work while on the other hand the individual who receives an examination by his private physician is frequently either ill or thinks he is ill and asks as complete an exam ination as that physician s ability permits By this contrast the impression should not be created that industrial physical examina tions are in any way superficial for long practice in this work en ables the physician by his fairly rapid survey to weed out those cases demanding further detailed examination such cases being subjected to a more searching examination as soon as opportunity offers Attitude of Workers IT HAS been frequently said that labor unions and similar organiza tions are opposed to the principle of physical examinations for employment While at one time there may have been grounds for this opposition the development of high class medical work in indus try has eliminated such practices as complained of and there is seldom objection on the part of anyone at this time to the physical examination practice When the matter has been explained to individual workmen and union leaders it has been an easy matter to convince them of the desirability of the physical examination practice and their consent has been obtained In 250 plants employing over 800 000 workers there are practically no objections Physicians in indus try report that when an examination alone stands between a man and a job he usually waives any objections he may have to the procedure That physical examinations in industry are proving their worth is seen from a survey recently made of some 500 plants in approxi mately 50 per cent of which physical examinations were in use Of this number only 10 had discontinued the practice Among the reasons given were change of management scarcity of labor war conditions reduction of working forces and lack of sympathy of the management for such procedures 1 Physical Examination of Street Railway Employees T H E results of the examination of 900 men ranging from 50 to 76 years of age employed in the operating department of the Bos ton Elevated Railway are given in an article by Dr B E Sibley in the Electric Railway Journal of October The company has recently adopted the policy of annual physical examinations for car and train operators when they reach the age of 50 as after this age the appearance of changes in arteries heart and kidneys necessitates a change in personal habits and hygiene if the effects of these changes are to be minimized or retarded The yearly physical examination has been found to stimulate the interest of the men and to impress them with the importance of following the advice given Without the regular follow up the advice given by the doctor is often forgotten and nothing is done until somQ serious con dition causing disability develops The experience of the company 1A partial list of firms baying physical examinations is given in the Labor Review for April 1926 474 PHYSICAL EXAMINATION OF WORKERS has been that the spirit of appreciation and cooperation is growing among the men and that there is an increasing number who return each year with pathological conditions corrected This is partly due to the realization by the men that the examination is not given for the purpose of laying them off but to keep them in health and on the job longer Each man examined is told the results of the examina tion and if treatment is needed he is referred to his own physician He is given a report form covering heart urine and blood pressure to be filled out by his doctor so that a further observation and check up on whether medical aid has been sought is obtained The examination is not a long one but includes a test of eyes and ears and the condition of the teeth heart lungs blood pressure and urine and hernia and varicose veins are noted In cases where a condition is found which makes it unsafe to run cars or trains men are laid off and given other work until in better condition while men who are not really unfit but who nevertheless are not good risks are kept under observation and are reexamined at frequent intervals Of the 900 men examined 25 per cent had bad teeth many more poor teeth and nearly all showed almost complete neglect of the teeth Next to high blood pressure bad teeth present the most important pathological condition because it is the most prevalent and is a factor in causing derangement of the digestion heart and arterial trouble and rheumatism Twenty one per cent of those examined had varicose veins which however were not in any case causing disability 16 per cent had hernia 7y2 per cent had heart trouble 8 per cent had some bronchial affection and 3 per cent had albumin and 2 per cent sugar in the urine High blood pressure that is systolic pressure of 180 or over was present in 9 per cent and of these hypertension cases 23 per cent showed pathological heart conditions 4 per cent heart conditions and albumin and 9 per cent albumin with no heart pathology This group therefore had a considerable number of cases in which sclerotic changes in the arteries the heart and the kidneys were the cause of the high blood pressure On the other hand many in this group owed their hypertension to faulty habits of diet and resulting overweight and to the excessive use of tobacco tea or coffee in which case the high blood pressure could readily be helped The latter group it was considered received probably the greatest service from the yearly examination as it prevented the development of later chronic and incurable organic changes The employees suffering from high blood pressure are the most important from the standpoint of safe operation of the cars especially since many of the older men who were formerly conductors have become one man car operators Two years ago 76 men who had systolic blood pressure ranging from 200 to 250 and diastolic from 120 to 140 were selected for observation These men were under treat ment by their own doctors during this time At the end of the two years one fourth of the men had either died or been retired on a pen sion part of the deaths being due to shock or heart failure A serious risk is involved in any group which loses 25 per cent of its personnel in so short a time if they are engaged in operating streetrailway cars or trains as it is only a matter of chance whether some of these men will not die while running their cars PHYSICAL EXAMINATION OF WORKERS 475 Although it is not easy to fix a hard and fast rule as to blood pres sure limits since the condition of the heart kidneys and the general health should be considered certain limits have been fixed by the company as a sort of rough working standard No man with di astolic pressure of 120 or more is permitted to operate a car or train nor with a systolic pressure of 200 or over unless he has a diastolic below 120 More stress is laid upon the diastolic than upon the sys tolic pressure as the men who have died have had high diastolic readings while none of those with high systolic but relatively low diastolic pressures have died PORTO RICO LABOR CONDITIONS 477 Labor Conditions in Porto Rico O FIRST HAND investigation of labor conditions in Porto Rico has been made by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics since the surveys embodied respectively in its Bul letin No and Bulletin No In 1919 however the United States Employment Service issued a report on labor con ditions in Porto Rico and in 1923 the United States Children s Bureau a report entitled Child welfare in the insular possessions of the United States Part I Porto Rico In 1924 Public Health Bulletin No 138 Tuberculosis survey of the Island of Porto Rico October to April was issued by the United States Public Health Service The annual reports of the Governor of Porto Rico and of the island commissioner of agriculture and labor contain important current information The latest available report of the commissioner of agriculture and labor is for N Industrial Distribution of the Population HPHE population of Porto Rico in 1920 was The occuA pational distribution in that year of gainxully employed per sons 10 years of age and over is shown in Table 1 T able 1 O C C U P I E D PE R S O N S IN P O R T O R IC O 10 Y E A R S OF A G E A N D O V E R B Y S E X 19201 Male General division of occupations Number Female Per cent Number Total Per cent Num ber Per cent Agriculture forestry and animal in d u stry Extraction of minerals Manufacturing and mechanical industries Transportation Trade Public service not otherwise classified Professional service Domestic and personal service Clerical occupations il All occupations U S Department of Commerce Bureau of the Census Fourteenth Census of the United States 1920 Vol IV Population Occupations Washington 1922 p Less than one tenth of 1 per cent The great majority of the workers are unskilled agricultural laborers According to an estimate made by the Commissioner of Agriculture and Labor of Porto Rico in his annual report for there are approximately 190 000 unskilled agricultural workers on the island as follows 85 000 in the sugar section 35 000 in the coffee section 22 000 in the tobacco section and 48 000 in the fruit and general farm section LABOR CONDITIONS IN PORTO RICO Wages Sugar Industry T H E report o f the commissioner of agriculture and labor for presents the prevailing rates of wages on the sugar cane plantations and in the sugar factories There is a great lack of uniformity in these rates even in the same occupations in the same sections of the island some water boys receiving as little as 35 cents and others as much as 85 cents per day Avhile the prevailing rates for overseers on plantations ranged from 1 to 5 In sugar factories prevailing rates run from 50 cents the lowest rate reported for stablemen to 6 33 the highest compensation listed for mechanics Table 2 gives the highest and lowest prevailing rates in certain occupations on sugar plantations and in sugar factories inspected by agents of the Porto Rican Bureau of Labor T able 2 H IG H E S T A N D L O W E S T D A IL Y W A G E R A T E S P R E V A IL IN G IN S P E C IF IE D O C C U P A T IO N S ON S U G A R P L A N T A T IO N S A N D IN S U G A R F A C T O R IE S P O R T O R IC O D aily wage Daily wage Occupation Occupation Lowest Highest Plantations Foremen Guards O verseers Timekeepers Plowing Furrowing Chopping and lopping Cross p low in g Harrowing Hilling D itch in g Hole digging Hauling seeds P lanting Replanting Fertilizing W eed in g Cleaning stem s Cane cutting Cane hauling Filling cars and wagons Water b o y s Y ok e drivers Lowest Highest Factories M echanics Electricians Overseers Foremen Machinists Stokers Weighers Defecators Crystalizers Stablemen A t the molasses boilers A t the sugar boilers T rip le rs Centrifugalers B oilers A t the pumps Track repairing A t the crane Painters A t the filters A t the furnaces Lime workers Grinders Table 3 shows the sliding scale of wages continued in force the whole season in a sugar district of eastern Porto Rico and being considered for other sections T able 3 S L ID IN G W A G E S C A L E IN S U G A R D IS T R IC T OF E A S T P O R T O R IC O Sugar price per 100 pounds Harvesting per day i Cultivation per day LABOR CONDITIONS IN PORTO RICO Coffee Industry r lHE officials of the island bureau of labor investigated 217 coffee T plantations employing 5 581 of whom 2 851 were men 2 635 women and 95 children There was a very great variation in the daily wages of these workers the lowest paid among the men being 28 cents a day and the highest being 1 while the women s wages ranged from 18 cents to 1 and the children s from 15 cents to 57 cents The inadequate half pay for the six hours work during dull seasons is causing alarm among the laborers on most of the coffee farms Laborers and their families anxiously looking for better opportunities move to the near towns and cities where drawn work lace and needlework industries operate and may give employment no matter how low the salary is to women and girls who can not earn wages up in the rural district Tobacco Industry T H E 216 tobacco plantations visited by the inspectors of Porto A Rican Bureau of Labor employed 3 566 men 2 442 women and 158 children a total of 6 166 workers Wages paid to men per day for this labor in 1924r 25 ranged from 30 cents to 1 to women from 25 cents to 1 and to children from 25 to 60 cents Free lunch is furnished in addition to wages The number of stripping shops on the island is reported as 142 and the number of cigar shops as 501 In 1915 in the cigar factory the average wage for men was 1 13 and for women 47 cents in for men and 70 cents for women The average wages for 1924 25 in cigar manufacture as shown by the records of the Porto Rican Bureau of Labor were Men Women Leaf selecting Leaf drying Leaf curing Cigarettes Taking the first three occupations as representative of the industry the commissioner of agriculture and labor concludes that the aver age wage for men has not risen while the average wages of women have increased from 47 cents in 1915 to more than 72 cents in 1925 as a result of the greater working skill of women in certain tasks Other Industries growing crnd packing Wages for unskilled men and wumen in 1924 ranged from 50 cents to 1 per 8 hour or 925 hour day for children permitted gainful employment from 20 to 26 cents per 7 hour day and slightly more for packing Building industry In San Juan and certain other cities where building operations have been particularly active masons received in or 68 4 per cent more than in 1916 and carpenters 2 79 an advance of 87 8 per cent as compared with 1916 In certain m unicipalities the minimum for masons and carpenters has been fixed at 3 and 3 50 Buttons artificial flowers hamdherchiefs laces drawn work under shirts waists hats suits dresses m d candies In these industries 482 LABOR CONDITIONS IN PORTO RICO in woman and girl workers were being paid from 25 cents to 1 per day while men except agents and employees in managing sections are reported as receiving from 1 to 2 per day During 1916 and 1917 the needlework industry developed enormously over 20 000 women being employed with the main centers of work being Ponce and Mayaguez The wages paid ranged between 0 70 and 0 80 on an average although some skillful work ers averaged 1 25 and In 1919 the Porto Rican Legislature fixed the minimum wage for women at 4 a week for those under 18 years of age and at 6 a week for those over that age This minimum wage did not apply to woman labor employed in agri culture or agricultural industries This act however was declared unconstitutional in 1924 but long before this the law was made in effectual by carrying on the needlework as task work in the indi vidual homes Fully 25 000 women who were paid 1 had to abandon the shops to work in their homes for ridiculously low wages In partial justification of employers who declared they could not pay the 1 minimum the commissioner calls attention to the sharp competition the Porto Rican needlework exporters had to meet with after the armistice in the reopening of the French and Italian markets During the fiscal year however marked improvements have been reported both in wages and general prosperity of the industry In this year more than 30 000 women were working in 291 shops the average daily wage for the year being 77 9 cents about double that of Wage Claims FNURING claims for unpaid wages were filed at the Porto Rican Bureau of Labor the sums involved totaling Of these claims 144 were amicably adjusted through the bureau the successful collections amounting to No settle ment was effected in 95 claims aggregating while 65 cases were still pending at the close of the year Cost of Living rT HE approximate daily cost of maintenance of an agricultural laborer s family of five in 1924 25 in the coffee section of the island is estimated as follows in the report of the Commissioner of Agriculture and Labor of Porto Rico Cents i y 2 lbs of rice second class y2 lb of red beans y2 lb of codfish second class lb of corn flour y lb of sugar third class y8 lb of coffee second class Native viandas root crops Lard and bacon Total daily cost It is stated that a family of five is a conservative average also that such a family in the sugar section consumes double the amount LiABOE CONDITIONS IN PORTO RICO 483 of coffee and sugar and that its allowance for root crops costs 12 cents instead of 5 cents that a double quantity of lard and bacon should be included and likewise 2 cents for wood lena bringing the total estimate to 55 4 cents In this connection the Porto Rican commissioner points out that while the wage of a sugar laborer has been increased 26 5 per cent since 1915 the cost of his family s diet has increased 48 6 per cent during the same period of time Coffee labor has had a somewhat similar experience wages having increased 32 2 per cent which did not balance a 36 9 per cent increase of cost in the diet In his annual report for 1924 25 the commissioner of agricul ture and labor attributes the low standard of living and low wages to the island s overpopulation We have an evident excess of labor The main articles of food for the poor rice and codfish have very low vitamin content and vegetables meat milk or eggs are luxuries for our peasant popu lation This underfeeding combined with uncinariasis hookworm and malaria through many generations have made the jibaro a type of human species worthy of compassion and care on the part of the Government Child Labor INVESTIGATION of the employment of children under work ing age by the Porto Rican Bureau of Labor in 1924 25 re vealed the fact that there were 2 000 children gainfully occupied the greater number of them in the sugar cane industry but seeming violations of the child labor law could not be prosecuted as in the majority of cases the evidence of parents relatives and fellow work ers resulted adversely It has been estimated that four fifths of the child workers in agricultural undertakings could not get seats in the public schools In the year covered by the report 1924 25 there was a notable increase in the number of working permits for children over 14 to 16 years during school vacations and in the number of age certificates for children above 16 years of age Parents who were questioned in the matter claimed to be without funds or that children were forced to work because there were no school facilities Housing nrH E report of the commissioner of agriculture and labor for contains a most drastic criticism of housing both in the rural and urban districts of Porto Rico It states that it is not possible to call the peasants homes houses as their huts lack all the conditions necessary to the life of civilized men and may not be compared to the housing of any other workmen in progressive countries The living conditions of the rural families visited by the com missioner s inspectors were reported as very deplorable Eight ten or twelve members of a family were found herded together with out furniture sleeping in hammocks field beds catres and on the floor covered with their day garments Furthermore the huts were found infested with pests The commissioner declares that in the urban zone the housing of the laborers is unhealthful and utterly out of harmony with the 484 LABOR CONDITIONS IN PORTO RICO development of the cities He also accuses the landlords of having taken advantage of the dearth of houses to advance rentals in an unreasonable way Government Aid to Housing A N ACT of March created a homestead commission in Porto Rico consisting of the commissioner of the interior and two other persons appointed by the governor for the purpose of providing for the sale to laborers of certain lands of the people of Porto Rico for dwelling and farming purposes Due to lack of funds this act was never put into effect On November however another act was passed authorizing the issuing of bonds to the amount of for the purpose of constructing houses for artisans and laborers providing for the leasing of the same with a certain right to the ownership thereof improving sanitary condi tions of certain lands of the people of Porto Rico promoting the creation of farms to be leased to farm laborers and to grant them title thereto and for other purposes The law also provided that the commission was to be composed of the commissioner of the interior as chairman ex officio the treasurer of Porto Rico the com missioner of health the commissioner of agriculture and labor and three other persons representing the three principal political parties in the island to be appointed by the governor with the consent of the senate On July the Legislative Assembly of Porto Rico approved a law No 53 which embodied all previous legisla tion on the subject and provided the means by which the poor inhabi tants of towns and the industrious farmers are able to obtain com fortable housing as well as holdings of fertile land on a part payment plan A report1 of the homestead commission shows its activities for the period from 1915 to 1924 from which the following resume was made Houses for City Workers A part of the municipality of San Juan known as Puerta de Tierra was made uninhabitable by dredging operations of the har bor large numbers of persons being compelled to leave their places of abode and find new locations The homestead commission then proceeded to establish a workingman s settlement at Martin Pena in the environs of San Juan and obtained a 62 acre plot of land This was divided into 1 050 lots of about 200 square meters 2 each with avenues 15 meters wide cross streets 10 meters wide and a recrea tion park of over 2 acres The location of this area is one of the best of San Juan being situated on a sloping plain which affords the proper drainage of the whole area A modern system of electric lighting sewers and water supply was provided at a cost of and 50 frame houses of a standard type were built Each house con tained a parlor two bedrooms kitchen and balcony The houses cost approximately 250 each and the tenants paid about 3 per 1 Porto Rico ComisiSn de Hogares Seguros San Juan s q u a re m e t e r s 10 764 s q u a r e fe e t Memorial de los Trabajos LABOR CONDITIONS IN PORTO RICO 485 month and had a right to the ownership of the house they occupied that is the house became theirs when their monthly payments equaled the cost of construction The commission then successively ordered the construction of 60 houses similar to those already built but more solidly constructed and costing about 500 each for which the inhabi tants pay 5 per month and of 100 houses of double capacity and still better construction which cost 1 000 each and sold at the rate of 8 a month This was followed by the erection of 150 houses of reinforced concrete at an approximate cost of 2 500 each for which tenants pay 12 a month By June houses had been constructed 310 of which were frame and 150 were reinforced concrete Under the plan in 10 or 15 years the lessee becomes the owner of the property he occupies Such is the demand for these small sani tary houses that the Government has never had resources to satisfy it During the fiscal year ending June payments averaged 4 275 per month while the receipts for the year amounted to In addition to the dwellings the commission built a schoolhouse and acquired an administration building where two of the rooms are fitted out as classrooms Through the efforts of the commission the services of a doctor a surgeon and several nurses were secured A dispensary for first aid care was also established An inspector for the supervision of sanitary work has been assigned by the department of sanitation Also a number of commercial buildings have been established by private interests and a church has been erected According to the report of the commission the whole group gives the appearance of an industrious and prosperous little town Homestead Allotments for Small Farmers One of the most interesting activities of the commission is the establishment of homestead farms on public lands in Porto Rico Under the provisions of the law public lands are subdivided into small farms and sold or leased to those who are willing to build a small house on the land within 12 months at a cost of not less than 100 within two years to have under cultivation one third of the land and keep it under cultivation for 10 years within five years to live personally on the farm Upon completion of full payment of appraised value the purchaser becomes the owner of the land which is not subject to attachment or mortgage The occupants pay as rental and part payment 10 per cent each year At Yega Baja a tract of land consisting of 320 acres was sub divided into small farms of from 2 to 5 acres One hundred and five families are now living and working on this property At Bayamon a tract of 94 acres was divided into eight small farms which are now all taken In the rural district near Cayey a 262 acre tract has been divided into 14 small farms and two other small tracts have also been subdivided and are now occupied Two tracts of land measur ing 11 and 15 acres respectively situated in the rural district called Beatriz in the municipality of Caguas have been divided into 22 small farms A tract of land consisting of 2 069 acres near LABOR CONDITIONS IN PORTO RICO Utuado land near Guayama amounting to 881 acres and land near Morovis and Manati amounting to 2 080 acres are being sold under similar conditions Other lands will also be opened to homestead purchase as soon as the necessary surveys and arrangements are made Commenting on the accomplishments of the homestead commission the Governor of Porto Rico in his annual report for the fiscal year ending June makes the following statement The plans of the department for securing small farms by rental payments and of securing homes in or adjoining the cities and towns of the island by the workingmen with families is proving a great boon to these people who would otherwise never be able to acquire a farm or home of their own No other work of the Government is more greatly appreciated by the laboring classes of both the city and country than this and no other is more successful It will be extended as rapidly as the resources of the Government will permit At the close of the fiscal year homestead farms were occupied Twenty fifth Annual Report of the Governor of Porto Rico p 56 Emigration POURING the year a corporation in Hawaii a large California employer and the Government of the Dominican Republic made appeal to Porto Rico for unskilled labor A substan tial number of men and women have requested the bureau of labor to register them as emigrants generally expressing a desire to leave Porto Rico regardless of destination or distance The bureau states that it will not accept or recommend any emigration plan unless the interests of the emigrants are protected and their welfare looked after There are more than a million acres of land available for agri cultural purposes It is the hope of the bureau that by efforts directed toward the cultivation o f all the agricultural land in the country public and private with sharing crop contracts in opera tion and the selling to laborers plats of land on the installment plan we will ultimately find the way to prevent the exodus of our laborers to far and unknown lands Recommendations A MONG the recommendations made in the annual report of the commissioner of agriculture and labor f o r are the following 1 Federal legislation on minimum wages for women and minors of working age and for the restriction of home work 2 Congressional appropriations for the education of children for the elimination of adult illiteracy and for the foundation and upkeep of seven well equipped industrial schools 3 An extension of the benefits of the Federal safety appliance act of Porto Rico 4 A local legal measure providing for compulsory sanitary and comfortable housing for laborers in the rural district 5 Further encouragement of embroidery and handwork activities Local legislation providing for an appeal to the principal financial centers of the United States for capital to establish new industries LABOR CONDITIONS IN PORTO RICO A wide extension of the fruit industry an expansion of the cotton growing industry legislation for the proper enforcing of the cultivation sharing crop contract 7 Congressional legislation to provide that United States trans ports may carry Porto Rican high school and university graduates who can not afford to pay their passage to the United States so that they may secure profitable positions in that country Provision for transportation facilities for workers willing to settle and become landowners in the Dominican Republic PRICES WHOLESALE AND RETAIL 489 Retail Prices in the United States Retail Prices of Food in 1926 ETAIL prices of most foods averaged somewhat higher in 1926 than in the preceding year This was particularly true of fresh beef and pork bacon ham hens rice and potatoes Butter cheese eggs flour lard corn meal sugar and coffee on the other hand were cheaper than in 1925 Prices of fresh beef including sirloin and round steak rib and chuck roast and plate beef steadily increased in the early months of the year but declined after July Chuck roast and plate beef increased again in fall and winter Pork chops were highest in fall months while bacon ham and lard reached high levels in mid summer Prices of most meats at the end of the year averaged slightly higher than at the beginning Butter prices receded steadily from January to May rising there after and attaining a high level in December Eggs showed strong seasonal fluctuations slumping from January to March and rising rapidly thereafter Prices in December were 69 per cent higher than in March Prices of bread were uniform throughout the year while flour declined appreciably Corn meal also showed some decrease in early months but was stationary after April Rice also showed little price variation Potato prices were erratic declining from January to March increasing steeply in April and declining again to August when they were 46 per cent cheaper than in April Some reaction was shown in the last four months Sugar increased steadily during most of the year while coffee declined slightly Tea showed little price variation All com modities as measured by the weighted food index declined from January to March increased in April declined again from May to August and increased again to December The general price level for December was 2 per cent lower than the level for December 1925 Table 1 shows for the United States average retail prices of speci fied articles of food for the years 1913 and 1926 and for each month of 1926 R T a b l e 1 A V E R A G E R E T A I L P R IC E S OP S P E C IF IE D F O O D A R T IC L E S IN T H E U N IT E D S T A T E S B Y Y E A R S 1913 A N D 1926 A N D B Y M O N T H S F O R 1926 Unit Article Sirloin steak Round steak R ib roast Chuck roast Plate beef P oun d do do d o do 1926 A v er age for pr M a y June July Aug Sept Oct N ov D ec year Jan Feb Mar A A v er age for year 1926 Cts Cts Cts Cts Cts Cts Cts Cts Cts Cts Cts Cts Cts Cts WHOLESALE AND RETAIL PRICES T able 1 A VERAGE R E TA IL PRICES OF SPECIFIED FOOD ARTICLES IN TH E U N ITED STATES B Y YEARS 1913 A N D 1926 A N D BY M ONTHS FOR 1926 Continued Article A vAvererage age for Jan Feb Mar Apr M ay June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec for year year U nit P ou n d Pork chops Bacon sliced d o Ham sliced d o L am b d o do H am s Salmon canned d o red M ilk fresh Q u art M ilk evaporated Butter P ou n d Oleomargarine all d o b u t t e r substi tutes Cts Cts Cts Cts Cts Cts Cts Cts Cts Cts Cts Cts Cts Cts Cheese L a r d Vegetable lard sub stitute Eggs strictly fresh Eggs storage d o d o Bread Flour C om meal Rolled oats Corn flakes Wheat cereal Macaroni R ic e Beans navy P otatoes Onions C a b b a g e Beans baked Corn canned Peas canned Tomatoes canned Sugar granulated T e a Coffee Prunes Raisins Bananas Oranges D o z e n d o P ou n d d o d o d o P oun d d o d o d o i 7 5 8 d o 5 9 d o P ou n d d o d o d o d o D ozen d o ounce can ounce package 3 28 ounce package N o 2 can The figures in Table 2 show the per cent of increase in the average retail price of each of 22 important food articles in 1926 compared with the pre war year 1913 arranged according to increase T able 2 P E R C E N T OF IN C R E A S E IN R E T A I L P R IC E S OF 22 A R T IC L E S OF F O O D IN 1926 C O M P A R E D W IT H 1913 Article Per cent of increase in 1926 com pared with Article Potatoes H am Pork c h o p s B acon H ens Flour Coffee C om meal Per cent of increase in 1926 com pared with Article Bread C heese Sirloin steak Round steak M ilk R ib roast Tea Chuck roast Per cent of increase in 1926 com pared with 191 3 Eggs Butter Lard Rice S u g a r Plate beef RETAIL PRICES OF FOOD Monthly Price Changes of Food 1916 to 1926 ID ETAIL price movements during the period 1916 to 1926 for the United States as a whole are shown in Table 4 1 The year 1918 forms the base period and average prices in all years ana months are measured in terms of average prices in that year To aid in the comparison there is also shown the per cent of increase or decrease in prices for each year or month as compared with the preceding year or month As will be seen the retail cost of food reached the peak in July 1920 when prices were 119 2 per cent above the 1913 TREND OF RETAIL PRICES OF FOOD 1913 s I O Z no HO JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG S t R OCT NOV PEC level In March 1922 prices had fallen to 38 7 per cent above the 1913 level but they increased to 64 3 per cent above that level in January 1926 The accompanying chart and Table 3 show by index numbers the trend in the retail cost of food in the United States from 1890 to 1926 The percentage increase in the cost from 1925 to 1926 was 2 while the percentage increase from 1890 to 1926 was 131 This means that the cost of food in 1926 was more than two and a third times as much as it was in 1890 1 Comparable information for the months of 1913 to 1915 inclusive will be found in Bui No 396 p 12 494 T able WHOLESALE AND RETAIL PRICES 3 IN D E X N U M B E R S S H O W IN G T H E T R E N D I N T H E R E T A I L C O S T OF F O O D I N T H E U N IT E D S T A T E S B Y Y E A R S 1890 T O Average for year Year Relative price Year Relative price Year Relative price Year Relative price i The number o f articles included in the index number for each year has not been the same throughout the period but a sufficient number have been used fairly to represent food as a whole From 1890 to articles were used from 1907 to 1913 15 articles from 1913 to 1920 22 articles and from 1921 43 articles The relatives for the period have been so computed as to be comparable with each other T a b l e 4 I N D E X N U M B E R S OF R E T A IL C OST A N D P E R C E N T OF IN C R E A S E OR D E C R E A S E IN A L L A R T IC L E S OF FO O D C O M B IN E D F O R T H E U N IT E D S T A T E S 1913 T O D E C E M B E R 1926 Year and month Per cent of in crease or decrease Index each specified number year as average cost for compared with year preceding and month with month preceding 1913 Average for year Average for year Average for yea r Average for y e a r 1917 Average for year January February March April M ay June July August September October November December I Average for year January February M arch A pril M ay June July August September October November D ecem ber Average for year January February M arch A pril M a y June July August i N o change Year and month Per cent of in crease or decrease Index number each specified year as average compared with cost for year preceding and month with month preceding 1919 Continued September October Novem ber December l Average for year January February M arch April M a y June July August September October Novem ber December Average for year January February M a rch A p r il M a y June July August September October Novem ber December Average for year January February M arch April M a y June e RETAIL PRICES OF FOOD T able 4 IN D E X N U M BERS OF R E TA IL COST A N D PER CEN T OF INCREASE OR DECREASE IN A LL ARTIC LE S OF FOOD COM BINED FOR THE U N ITED STATES 1913 TO D E C E M B E R Continued Per cent of in crease or decrease Index each specified number year as average cost for compared with year preceding and m onth with m onth preceding Year and m onth 1922 Continued July August September October Novem ber December Average for year January February M arch April i M a y June July August September October N ovem ber December Average for year January February M arch A pril M a y June J u ly August September Year and month Per cent o f in crease or decrease Index number each specified year as average cost for compared with year preceding ana month with month preceding 1924 Continued October Novem ber December Average for year January February M arch A pril M a y June July August September October N ovem ber December tl Average for year January February M arch April M a y June July August September October N ovem ber December a Index numbers showing changes in the retail prices of 22 impor tant food articles for the years 1920 to 1926 are contained in Table 5 All index numbers are based on average prices in 1913 as 100 T able 5 I N D E X N U M B E R S OF R E T A IL P R IC E S OF P R IN C IP A L A R T IC L E S OF FO O D B Y Y E A R S 1913 A N D 1920 T O 1926 A N D B Y M O N T H S F O R 1925 A N D 1926 Average for year Year and month Sirloin Round R ib Chuck Plate Pork steak steak roast roast beef chops Ba con Ham Hens M ilk But Cheese ter January February M arch April M a y June July August September G 496 WHOLESALE AND RETAIL PRICES T able 5 I N D E X N U M B E R S OF R E T A IL P R IC E S OF P R I N C I P A L A R T IC L E S OF F O O D B Y Y E A R S 1913 A N D 1920 T O 1926 A N D B Y M O N T H S F O R 1925 A N D 1926 Continued Year and month Sirloin Round R ib Chuck Plate Pork steak steak roast roast beef chops 1925 Continued October N ovem ber December January February M arch April M a y June July August September October N ovem ber December Year and month Lard Ba H am H ens M ilk B ut Cheese ter con Bread Flour Corn meal Rice Pota toes Tea January February M arch April M a y June July August September October Novem ber December January February M arch A pril M a y June July August September October November December j i Coffee All arti cles articles in articles in articles articles Food Prices by Cities HANGES in the retail prices of food in each of the 51 cities cov ered by the bureau s reports are shown in Table 6 Comparisons for each month of 1926 are made with the base year 1913 with the corresponding month of 1925 and with the last preceding month Increases are denoted by the plus sign and decreases by the minus sign 497 RETAIL PRICES OF FOOD T a b l e 6 CHANGES IN THE R E T A IL PRICES OF FOOD SINCE 1913 IN 12 MONTHS A N D IN 1 M ONTH B Y CITIES AND BY MONTHS 1926 Per cent of change in specified city and period in C ity and period Jan Atlanta Since In 12 months In 1 m onth Baltimore Since In 12 months In 1 month B ir m in g h a m Feb Mar Apr M a y June July Aug Sept Oct N ov Dec Since In 12 months In 1 month Boston Since In 12 months In 1 m onth Bridgeport In 12 months In 1 month Buffalo Since In 12 months In 1 m onth Butte In 12 m o n th s In 1 m onth Charleston S C Since In 12 months In 1 m onth Chicago Since In 12 months In 1 m onth Cincinnati Since In 12 months In 1 m onth Cleveland Since In 12 months In 1 month Columbus In 12 m onths In 1 m onth Dallas Since In 12 months In 1 month Denver Since In 12 months In 1 m onth f Detroit Since In 12 months In 1 m onth Fall River Since In 12 months In 1 m onth Houston In 12 m onths In 1 m onth Indianapolis Since In 12 months In 1 m onth Jacksonville Since In 12 months In 1 month Kansas City Since In 12 months In 1 month 498 WHOLESALE AND RETAIL PRICES T able 6 CHANGES IN THE R E TA IL PRICES OF FOOD SINCE 1913 IN 12 M ONTHS A N D IN 1 M ONTH B Y CITIES AN D BY MONTHS 1926 Continued Per cent of change in specified city and period i n C ity and period Jan Little Rock Since In 12 months In 1 m onth Los Angeles Since In 12 months In 1 m onth Louisville Since In 12 months In 1 m onth Manchester Since In 12 months In 1 m onth Memphis Since In 12 months In 1 m onth Milwaukee Since In 12 months In 1 m onth Minneapolis Since In 12 months In 1 m onth M obile In 12 months In 1 month Newark Since In 12 months In 1 month N ew Haven Since In 12 months In 1 month N ew Orleans Since In 12 months In 1 month N ew York Since In 12 months In 1 month Norfolk In 12 months In 1 m onth Omaha Since In 12 months In 1 month Peoria In 12 months In 1 month Philadelphia Since In 12 months In 1 m onth Pittsburgh Since In 12 months In 1 month Portland M e In 12 months In 1 m onth Portland Oreg Since In 12 months In 1 m onth Feb Mar Apr M ay June July Aug Sept Oct N ov Dec l J RETAIL PRICES OF FOOD T able 6 CHANGES IN T HE R E TA IL PRICES OF FOOD SINCE 1913 IN 12 MONTHS A N D IN 1 M ONTH BY CITIES AND BY MONTHS 1926 Continued Per cent of change in specified city and period i n C ity and period Jan Providence Since In 12 months In 1 m onth R ichm ond Since In 12 months In 1 month Rochester In 12 months In 1 month St Louis Since In 12 months In 1 month St Paul In 12 months In 1 month Salt Lake C ity Since In 12 months In 1 month San Francisco Since In 12 months In 1 m onth Savannah In 12 months In 1 m o n t h Scranton Since In 12 months In 1 month Seattle Since In 12 months In 1 month Springfield HI In 12 months In 1 month Washington Since In 12 months In 1 m onth Feb Mar Apr M a y June July Aug Sept Oct N ov Dec l f How Food Prices Are Obtained D E T A IL prices of food are collected from retail dealers through monthly reports of actual selling prices on the 15th of each month The stores are selected by agents of the bureau from those patronized largely by wage earners Prices are secured from every type of store the neighborhood store the downtown store the de partment store and the chain store provided a large part of the patronage comes from wage earners Some of the stores are credit and delivery some are cash and carry and some are cash and de livery No fancy stores are included The number of firms is apportioned according to the industrial importance of each city For the larger cities reports are obtained from 25 to 30 stores and for the smaller cities from 10 to 15 stores The total number of firms furnishing prices on one or more articles of food each month is now ap firms are not another firm 500 WHOLESALE AND KETAIL PRICES the wage earning population of a city shifts stores are selected in the new localities to preserve the representative character of the prices At the beginning of the year 1913 retail prices of food were being collected by the bureau from 39 cities as follows Atlanta Ga Baltimore Md Birmingham Ala Boston Mass Buffalo N Y Charleston S C Chicago 111 Cincinnati Ohio Cleveland Ohio Dallas Tex Denver Colo Detroit Mich FaU River Mass Indianapolis Ind Jacksonville Fla Kansas City Mo Little Rock Ark Los Angeles Calif Louisville Ky Manchester N H Memphis Tenn Milwaukee Wis Minneapolis Minn Newark N J New Haven Conn New Orleans La New York N Y Omaha Nebr Philadelphia Pa Pittsburgh Pa Portland Oreg Providence R I Richmond Va St Louis Mo Salt Lake City Utah San Francisco Calif Scranton Pa Seattle Wash Washington D C The following cities were added to the list on the dates named St Paul Minn June 1913 Springfield 111 May 1914 Butte Mont January 1915 Rochester N Y May 1916 Columbus Ohio June 1916 Bridgeport Conn October 1916 Mobile Ala April 1918 Norfolk Va April 1918 Houston Tex May 1918 Peoria 111 May 1918 Portland Me June 1918 Savannah Ga January 1920 Retail prices are shown therefore for 39 cities from the beginning of 1913 and for the remaining 12 cities from the dates given above For most of the cities retail prices of certain articles from 1890 to 1903 were published in the Eighteenth Annual Report of the Com missioner of Labor and were continued in subsequent bulletins Effort is made to secure quotations on similar grades of commodi ties in the different cities There are however some local customs which must be considered when any comparison is made of the prices in the different cities For example the method of cutting sirloin steak in Boston Mass Manchester N H Philadelphia Pa Providence R I and Portland Me differs from that in other cities The cut known as 4 sirloin in these five cities would be known in 4 other cities as 4 porterhouse There is in these cities owing to the 6 methods of dividing the round from the loin no cut that corresponds to that of sirloin in the other cities There is also a greater amount of trimming demanded by the retail trade in these cities than in others This is particularly true of Providence R I In any com parison of prices in one city with those in another due consideration should be given to the following facts 1 The trade demands and is furnished more expensive grades of articles in some cities than in others 2 The cities for which prices are shown in this report are widely separated some are in localities near the source of supply while others are a Considerable distance from it making it necessary to include in the prices a greater charge for transportation 3 Methods and costs of doing business vary greatly in different localities due to the demands of customers and to rents wages and other fixed charges or expenses 501 RETAIL PRICES OF FOOD Method of Constructing Index Numbers of Food Prices IN CONSTRUCTING the index numbers of retail food prices issued A by the bureau average annual prices for the United States have been computed for each of 43 articles by dividing the sum of all prices for an article in the 51 cities by the total number of reporting firms The average price of each article was then multiplied by a figure denoting the average annual family consumption of that article in the United States as shown by an investigation conducted by the bureau in 1918 2 The products for the several articles thus obtained were next added giving the cost of a year s supply of these foods when purchased by a family at the retail prices shown The result was then reduced to a percentage of the corresponding result for the year 1913 taken as the base Monthly index numbers have been constructed in the same manner as the yearly index numbers by using average monthly prices instead of average yearly prices the year 1913 being the base period in all cases For the years 1913 to 1920 the index numbers were uniformly com puted from the prices of 223 food articles In 1921 when the number of articles was increased to 43 4 the following plan was adopted It was assumed that the total cost of the 43 articles if this information had been obtained would have shown the same percentage of change from 1913 to December 1920 as was shown by the 22 articles There fore the index number for the 22 articles in December 1920 which was found to be 177 85 was accepted as the index number for the 43 articles The money cost of the 43 articles in December 1920 was found to be The ratio of the money cost to the relative cost in December 1920 was therefore 461 51 to 177 85 or 1 to 0 3854 For each month since December 1920 the index number has been obtained by multiplying the money cost of the 43 articles by 0 3854 The resulting index numbers are comparable with the index numbers for years and months prior to January 1921 on 22 articles The average annual family consumption of the 43 articles is here given for geographical sections and for the United States as a whole as shown by the bureau s cost of living study of 1918 T a b l e 7 F O O D W E IG H T S A N N U A L C O N S U M P T IO N P E R F A M I L Y Article Unit Sirloin steak R ound steak R ib r o a s t Chuck roast Plate b e e f Pound d o do d o d o Pork chops B acon Ham Lam b H ens d o d o d o do do North Atlantic South Atlantic North Central South Central United States Western 2 See U n ited S ta tes B u rea u o f L a b or S ta tistics B ui N o 357 8 T h ese a re s ir lo in steak rou n d steak rib roa st ch uck roa st p late b e e f p o rk ch op s b a con ham la rd hens flour c o m m eal eggs b u tter m ilk bread p o ta to e s sugar cheese rice coffee a n d tea 4 A rtic le s a d d ed in 1921 a re lam b cann ed salm on eva p ora te d m ilk o le o m a rg a rin e n u t m arga rin e v eg etab le la rd substitu te rolled oa ts corn flakes w h e a t cereal m acaron i n a vy beans on io n s cabbage baked beans cann ed corn cann ed peas ca n n ed to m a to e s prun es raisin s ban anas an d ora n g es 502 WHOLESALE AND RETAIL PRICES T a b l e 7 F O O D W E IG H T S A N N U A L C O N S U M P T IO N P E R F A M I L Y Continued Article Unit United States N orth Atlantic South Atlantic North Central South Central Western P ound Quart P ound d o Oleomargarine d o Cheese Lard Vegetable lard substitute Eggs strictly fresh d o d o d o d o Dozen Bread Flour Corn meal Rolled oats C om flakes Poun d d o d o d o d o Wheat cereal M a ca ron i R i c e Beans n a v y Potatoes d o d o d o d o d o Onions Cabbage Beans baked Corn canned Peas canned d o d o d o d o d o Tomatoes canned S u ga r Tea C o ffe e d o d o d o d o P ru n es Raisins Bananas Oranges d o do Dozen l d o Salmon canned M ilk fresh M ilk evaporated In cities where most of the sales on bananas are b y the pound rather than b y the dozen the weightings as given in the above table have been multiplied b y 3 and have then been applied to the prices on the pound By giving to each article a weighting equal to its relative importance in the consumption of the average family the total expenditure for food on a given date forms a proper basis of comparison with the ex penditure for the same articles of food on any other date For the purpose of showing the movement in retail prices it is assumed that this relative importance remained the same through the whole period under review The average family expenditure in each city m the year 1913 has therefore been taken as the base for that city and index numbers have been computed for each year from 1913 to 1926 and for each month of 1925 and 1926 following the same method used for the United States as a whole These index numbers show the trend in the retail cost of all foods combined in each individual city as compared with the average cost in that city in the year 1913 Retail Prices of Coal HTABLE 8 shows for the United States both average and relative A retail prices of Pennsylvania white ash anthracite coal stove and chestnut sizes and of bituminous coal in January and July 1913 to 1924 and for each month of 1925 and 1926 An average price for the year 1913 has been made from the averages for January and July 503 RETAIL PRICES OF COAL of that year and the average price for each month has been divided by this average price for the year 1913 to obtain the relative prices shown T a b l e 8 A V E R A G E A N D R E L A T IV E P R IC E S OF C O A L I N T H E U N IT E D J A N U A R Y 1913 T O D E C E M B E R 1926 Pennsylvania anthracite white ash Stove Year and month Average price 1913 Average for year January July January J u l y January J u l y January J u l y January July January July January J u l y January J u l y January July January J u l y January July January July January February M arch April M a y Ju n e J u l y August September October Novem ber December January February M arch A p ril M a y June July August September October Novem ber December i Insufficient data STATES Bituminous Chestnut Relative price Average price Relative price Average price Relative price WHOLESALE AND RETAIL PRICES Retail Prices of Gas TH E net price per 1 000 cubic feet of gas for household use in A each of 51 cities is shown in the following table In this table the average family consumption of manufactured gas is assumed to be 3 000 cubic feet per month In cities where a service charge or a sliding scale is in operation families using less than 3 000 cubic feet per month pay a somewhat higher rate than here shown while those consuming more than this amount pay a lower rate The figures here given are believed to represent quite closely the actual monthly cost of gas per 1 000 cubic feet to the average wage earner s family Prices for natural gas have been quoted for those cities where it is in general use These prices are based on an estimated average family consumption of 5 000 cubic feet per month For Buffalo and Los Angeles prices are given for natural and manufac tured gas mixed T a b le 9 N E T P R IC E P E R 1 000 C U B IC F E E T OF GAS B A S E D ON A F A M I L Y C O N S U M P T IO N OF C U B IC F E E T IN S P E C IF IE D M O N T H S F R O M A P R IL 1913 T O D E C E M B E R 1926 B Y C IT IE S Manufactured gas C ity Apr Apr Apr Apr Apr Apr Apr Apr M ay Mar Mar Mar June June June Dec Atlanta Baltimore Birmingham Boston B ridgeport B uffalo B utte C h a r le s t o n S C C hicago Cleveland L05 Denver Detroit Fall R iver H ouston Indianapolis Jacksonville Manchester M em phis Milwaukee Minneapolis M obile Newark N ew Haven N ew Orleans N ew Y ork Portland M e Portland Oreg Providence Richm ond Rochester St Louis St Paul Salt Lake C it y San Francisco Savannah Scranton Seattle Springfield W ashington D C T Norfolk Omaha Peoria Philadelphia Pittsburgh IrEfAIL PRICES Of ELlCfRiiCITl T able 9 N E T P R IC E P E R 1 000 C U B IC F E E T OF GAS B A S E D ON A F A M I L Y C O N S U M P T IO N OF C U B IC F E E T IN S P E C IF IE D M O N T H S F R O M A P R IL 1913 T O D E C E M B E R 1926 B Y C IT IE S Continued Natural gas Apr Apr Apr Apr Apr Apr Apr Apr M ay Mar Mar Mar June June June Dec C ity Buffalo Cincinnati Cleveland C olum bus Dallas Houston Kansas City M o Little R ock L ouisville Pittsburgh Manufactured and natural gas mixed B u f f a lo Los Angeles j j i From the prices quoted on manufactured gas average prices have been computed for all of the cities combined and are shown in the next table for April 15 of each year from 1913 to 1920 and for May 15 September 15 and December March 15 June 15 Sep tember 15 and December and 1924 and June 15 and December and 1926 These prices are baseA on an estimated average family consumption of 3 000 cubic feet Relative prices have been computed by dividing the price of each year by the price in April 1913 The price of manufactured gas in December 1926 showed an in crease of 28 4 per cent since April 1913 From June 1926 to December 1926 there was a decrease of eight tenths of 1 per cent in the price of gas T able 1 0 A V E R A G E A N D R E L A T IV E N E T P R IC E P E R 1 000 C U B IC F E E T OF M A N U F A C T U R E D GAS B A S E D ON A F A M IL Y C O N S U M P T IO N O F C U B IC F E E T IN S P E C I F IE D M O N T H S OF E A C H Y E A R 1913 T O 1926 Date Apr Apr Apr Apr Apr Apr Apr Apr M ay Sept Dec Mar June Sept Average net price Relative price Date Dec Mar June Sept Dec Mar June Sept Dec June Dec June Dec Average net price Relative price Retail Prices of Electricity T H E following table shows for 51 cities the net rates per kilowatt A hour of electricity used for household purposes for specified months in and 1926 For the qities having more than 506 WHOLESALE AND RETAIL PRICES one tariff for domestic consumers the rates are shown for the schedule under which most of the residences are served The consumption per month is expressed in hours of demand for several of the cities from which prices for electricity have been ob tained Since the demand is determined by a different method in each city the explanation of these methods is given on pages 508 and 509 T N E T P R IC E P E R K IL O W A T T H O U R F O R E L E C T R I C I T Y F O R H O U S E H O L D USE IN D E C E M B E R 1913 A N D JU N E A N D D E C E M B E R 1925 A N D 1926 F O R 51 C IT IE S able C ity A tlanta Baltimore Measure of consumption per month First First Next First 100 kilowatt hours hours use of demand kilowatt hours up to kilowatt hours Birmingham Boston Com pany A First 1 000 kilowatt hours Company B d o Bridgeport A ll current First 60 hours use of demand B u ffa lo Next 120 hours use of demand Excess B utte First 25 kilowatt hours Next 25 kilowatt hours Charleston First 50 kilowatt hours Next 50 kilowatt hours C hicago First 30 hours use of demand Next 30 hours use of demand Excess First 30 hours use of dem and C incinnati Nest 30 hours use of demand Excess Cleveland C om pany A First 500 kilowatt hours E xcess C om pany B All current Next 600 kilowatt hours Columbus First 75 kilowatt hours Dallas First 800 kilowatt hours Denver All current Detroit First 3 kilowatt hours per active room Excess Fall River First 25 kilowatt hours Mext 975 kilowatt hours H ou ston First 30 hours use of demand Excess Indianapolis Company A First 50 kilowatt hours Next 150 kilowatt hours Company B First 50 kilowatt hours N ext 150 kilowatt hours De cem ber 1913 June 1925 Cents i Cents D e cem ber 1925 June 1926 De cem ber 1926 Cents Cents Cents M O 1 1 3 O 1 1 3 O First 150 kilowatt hours 2 For determination of demand see explanation following table 3 First 50 kilowatt hours 4 First 40 kilowatt hours 8 The gross rate is 10 cents per kilowatt hour with discounts of 10 per cent for a monthly consumption of 1 to 25 kilowatt hours and 15 per cent for a m onthly consumption of 25 to 150 kilowatt hours The average family used 25 or more kilowatt hours per month All current 7 First 100 kilowatt hours 8 First 25 kilowatt hours 8 First 36 hours use of demand For determination of demand see explanation following table 1 First 10 kilowatt hours 0 1 Service charge 30 cents per month additional 1 1 First 2 kilowatt hours per active room 2 1 First 200 kilowatt hours 3 u First 2 kilowatt hours per 16 candlepower of installation 1 All current This rate applies to a 5 year contract with a minimum charge of 1 per month For a 5 1 year contract the rates per kilowatt hour are 10 cents without a m in im u m charge or 9 cents with a minimum of 1 per month 507 RETAIL PRICES OF ELECTRICITY T N E T P R IC E P E R K IL O W A T T H O U R F O R E L E C T R I C I T Y F O R H O U S E H O L D USE IN D E C E M B E R 1913 A N D JU N E A N D D E C E M B E R 1925 A N D 1926 F O R 51 C IT IE S Continued able C ity TT lfU Hif y ftT V D e cem ber 1913 June 1925 D e cem ber 1925 June 1926 Cents All mirrent First 5 kilowatt hours per active room 9 9 minimum 3 rooms N ext 5 kilowatt hours per room Excess First 200 kilowatt hours Cents Cents Cents Cents is Measure of consumption per month Little R ock Los Angeles First 100 kilowatt hours Company A Company B d o to 149 kilowatt hours First 25 kilowatt hours Manchester Next 50 kilowatt hours M em phis First 6 kilowatt hours per room Excess Milwaukee First 9 kilowatt hours for each of the first 6 active rooms 1 9 Additional energy up to 9 kilowatthours for each active room E xcess M inneapolis First 3 kilowatt hours per active room Next 3 kilowatt hours per active room M obile First 50 kilowatt hours First 20 kilowatt hours Newark Next 480 kilowatt hours All current New H aven N ew Orleans First 20 kilowatt hours Next 30 kilowatt hours New York Company A First 1 000 kilowatt hours Company B A ll currents Company C First 60 hours use of demand N orfolk First 60 kilowatt hours Omaha All c u r r e n t Next 125 kilowatt hours Peoria First 5 kilowatt hours for each of the first 2 rooms 2 8 Second 5 kilowatt hours for each of the first 2 rooms 2 8 Philadelphia Company A First 12 kilowatt hours Next 36 kilowatt hours Company B First 20 kilowatt hours Next 480 kilowatt hours Pittsburgh First 30 hours use of demand N ext 60 hours use of dem and Portland M e All c u r r e n t Portland Oreg Company A First 9 kilowatt hours N ext kilowatt hours N ext 50 kilowatt hours D e cem ber Io T For determination of demand see explanation following table 6 All current 7 First 100 kilowatt hours 1 First 3 kilowatt hours per active room minimum 3 rooms 6 1 First 4 kilowatt hours for each of the first 4 active rooms and the first 2 4 kilowatt hours for each addi 7 tional active room 1 First 5 kilowatt hours for each of the first 5 active rooms and the first 2X kilowatt hours for each addi 8 A tional active room 1 And the first 7 kilowatt hours per month for each active room in addition to the first 6 9 2 Additional energy up to 100 kilowatt hours 0 2 Excess 1 22 First 500 kilowatt hours 2 Surcharge 25 cents per m onth additional 3 2 First 3 0 hours use of connected load 4 2 First 250 kilowatt hours 5 2 Price includes a coal charge 6 2 A discount of 5 per cent is allowed on all bills of 2 or over when payment is made within 10 days from 7 date of bill 2 A nd 4 kilowatt hours for each additional active room 8 291 to 200 kilowatt hours 8 Next 48 kilowatt hours 0 8 The number of kilowatt hours paid for at this rate is that in excess of the first 9 kilowatt hours until 1 100 hours7 use of the demand is reached After 100 hours of demand have been consumed the lower rate can be applied For determination of demand see explanation following table 3 Next 70 kilowatt hours 2 3 Next 100 kilowatt hours 3 508 WHOLESALE AND RETAIL PRICES T a b l e 1 1 N E T P R IC E P E R K IL O W A T T H O U R F O R E L E C T R I C I T Y F O R H O U S E H O L D USE IN D E C E M B E R 1913 A N D JU N E A N D D E C E M B E R 1925 A N D 1926 F O R 51 C IT IE S Continued C ity Portland Oreg Con Company B Providence R ichm ond Rochester St Louis Company A Company B St P a u l Salt Lake C it y San Francisco Company A Company B Savannah Scranton Seattle Com pany A Com pany B Springfield Company A Company B Washington D C A Measure of consumption per m onth First 13 kilowatt hours Next 7 kilowatt hours Next 50 kilowatt hours A ll cu rren t First 60 kilowatt hours All current First 9 kilowatt hours per active room Excess First kilowatt hours Excess First 3 kilowatt hours per r o o m Next 3 kilowatt hours per room E xcess First 250 kilowatt hours First 10 kilowatt hours Next 40 kilowatt hours First 10 kilowatt hours Next 40 kilowatt hours First 100 kilowatt hours Excess First 150 kilowatt hours First 40 kilowatt hours d o First Next First Next First 30 kilowatt hours kilowatt hours kilowatt hours kilowatt hours hours use of dem and D e cem ber 1913 Cents D e cem ber 1925 June 1926 Cents Cents Cents Cents June 1925 De cem ber i For determination of demand see explanation following table 6 All current 7 First 100 kilowatt hours 10 First 10 kilowatt hours 17 First 4 kilowatt hours for each of the first 4 active rooms and the first 2 kilowatt hours for each addi tional active room 2 Excess 1 8 First 6 per cent of demand For determination of demand see explanation following table 4 3 Next 6 per cent of demand For determination of demand see explanation following table 5 3 For an installation of 600 watts or less 7 kilowatt hours will apply For each 30 watts of installation 6 in excess of 600 watts 1 additional kilowatt hour will apply 3 Service charge 50 cents per month additional Reductions under the fuel clause were 1 mill in D e 7 cember 1926 and June 1925 and 2 mills in December 1925 and June For a house of 4 rooms or less 18 kilowatt hours for 5 or 6 rooms 27 kilowatt hours and for 7 or 8 rooms 8 36 kilowatt hours 3 For a house of 6 rooms or less 15 kilowatt hours for a house of 7 or 8 rooms 20 kilowatt hours 40 First 30 kilowatt hours 41 First 60 kilowatt hours 42 First 30 hours use of demand For determination of demand see explanation following table 48 Next 30 hours use of demand For determination of demand see explanation following table Determination of Demand O EVERAL cities have sliding scales based on a variable number of kilowatt hours payable at each rate The number of kilowatthours payable at each rate in these cities is determined for each cus tomer according to the watts of installation either in whole or in part in the individual home The number of watts so determined is called the customer s 4 demand 4 In Baltimore the demand is the maximum normal rate of use of electricity in any half hour period of time It may be estimated or determined by the company from time to time according to the cus RETAIL PRICES OP ELECTRICITY 509 tomer s normal use of electricity and may equal the total installation reduced to kilowatts In Buffalo the demand consists of two parts lighting 25 per cent of the total installation but never less than 250 watts and power 2y2 per cent of the capacity of any electric range water heater or other appliance of 1 000 watts or over and 25 per cent of the rated capacity of motors exceeding one half horsepower but less than 1 horsepower The installation is determined by inspection of premises In Chicago the equivalent in kilowatt hours to 30 hours use of demand has been estimated as follows For a rated capacity of 475 to 574 watts 11 kilowatt hours 575 to 674 watts 12 kilowatt hours 675 to 774 watts 13 kilowatt hours and 775 to 874 watts 14 kilowatt hours Although the equivalent in kilowatt hours to 30 hours use of demand of from 1 to 1 500 watts is given on the printed tariff the equivalent is here shown only for installations of from 475 to 874 watts the connected load of the average workingman s home being as a rule within this range In Cincinnati the demand has been estimated as being 70 per cent of the connected load excluding appliances In Cleveland from December 1913 to December 1919 inclusive Company A determined the demand by inspection as being 40 per cent of the connected load From December 1919 to the present time there has been a flat rate for all current consumed In Houston the demand is estimated as 50 per cent of the con nected load each socket opening being rated at 50 watts In New York the demand for Company C when not determined by meter has been computed at 50 per cent of total installation in residences each standard socket being rated at 50 watts and all other outlets being rated at their actual kilowatt capacity In Pittsburgh since December 1919 the demand has been deter mined by inspection The first 10 outlets have been rated at 30 watts each the next 20 outlets at 20 watts each and each additional outlet at 10 watts Household utensils and appliances of not over 660 watts each have been excluded In Portland Oreg the demand for Company A has been estimated as one third of the connected lighting load Ranges heating devices and small power up to rated capacity of 2 kilowatts are not included For Company B the demand when not based on actual measure ment was estimated at one third of the connected load No demand was established at less than 233 watts In Springfield 111 the demand for Company A in December 1913 was the active load predetermined as follows 80 per cent of the first 500 watts of connected load plus 60 per cent of that part of the connected load in excess of the first 500 watts minimum active load 150 watts In Washington D C the demand is determined by inspection and consists of 100 per cent of the connected load excluding small fans and heating and cooking appliances when not permanently connected 510 WHOLESALE AND RETAIL PRICES Wholesale Prices in the United States Wholesale Prices in 1926 HE general trend of wholesale prices was downward in 1926 From January to December the bureau s weighted index num ber including 404 commodities or price series declined 6 per cent Farm products in particular showed large decreases in price Grains fell over 18 per cent from January to November and al though a slight recovery took place in December the end of the year found prices considerably below those of the beginning these prices in 1926 averaged about 14 per cent lower than in 1925 Cattle prices declined in the early months of the year reacted to some extent in June but declined to new low levels in August Somewhat higher prices prevailed during the rest of the year Hog prices were erratic rising to high levels in June and subsiding thereafter Prices of sheep and lambs also varied widely during the year the average being well below that of 1925 Compared with 1913 prices cattle in 1926 were relatively much lower than either hogs or sheep Cotton hides tobacco and wool averaged considerably lower than in the year before while potatoes were higher Timothy hay varied but little in price from the preceding year but alfalfa and clover hay showed increases All farm products considered in the aggregate were about 10 per cent lower than in 1925 Among food products there were marked variations during the year in the prices of fresh and cured meats butter eggs coffee flour fruits lard and sugar Prices in this group averaged about 3 per cent lower than in 1925 Clothing materials showed considerable declines from prices of the preceding year cotton goods in particular being much cheaper Prices of anthracite coal owing to the strike were available for only 10 months of the year These showed a small decline from March to June and a rise thereafter Averages for 1925 and 1926 based on months for which prices could be obtained showed an increase of nearly 4 per cent Bituminous coal declined in the early months of the year but increased rapidly thereafter In November prices were 22 per cent above those prevailing in April The aver age for 1926 was however only 3 per cent above the 1925 average Coke prices were quite erratic Connellsville furnace coke at the ovens averaging 7 84 per ton in February and declining to 2 84 in June Crude petroleum fuel oil and gasoline were fairly stable in price during most of the year Iron and steel prices averaged slightly below those of 1925 being highest in January and lowest in June Nonferrous metals like wise were somewhat lower than in the year before the December average being but little above the pre war level All metals averaged 2 5 per cent lower than in 1925 Prices of lumber were on a par with those of the year before while other building materials were somewhat cheaper Chemicals showed a drop from 1925 prices but fertilizer materials and drugs showed a slight increase Housefurnishing goods including furniture were cheaper than in 1925 T 511 WHOLESALE PRICES In the group of miscellaneous commodities cattle feed prices were 13 per cent lower than in 1925 while leather paper and pulp and other commodities particularly rubber also were lower Comparing prices in 1926 with those prevailing in 1913 the group of commodities showing the largest increase was that of fuels in which the rise was 79 9 per cent Clothing materials came next with an increase of 75 9 per cent Other increases were Building mate rials 73 4 per cent house furnishing goods 61 8 per cent foods 52 9 per cent farm products 42 2 per cent chemicals and drugs 30 6 per cent metals 26 7 per cent and miscellaneous commodities 23 9 per cent All commodities on an average were 51 per cent higher in 1926 than in 1913 The table which follows shows for each of the 10 groups the number of commodities or separate commodity units for which com parable wholesale prices were obtained for use in the weighted index for the years 1925 and 1926 and the number that increased or decreased in 1926 as compared with the year previous T a b l e 1 C H A N G E S IN A V E R A G E P R IC E S F R O M 1925 T O 1926 B Y G R O U P S OF C O M M O D IT IE S Cloth ing ma Fuels terials Metals All Build Chemi Houseand ing ma cals and furnish Miscel com metal ing laneous m od drugs products terials goods ities Farm prod ucts Foods Increases Decreases N o change Total Change Wholesale Prices 1913 to 1926 T HE figures in the table which follows afford a comparison of wholesale price fluctuations of different groups of commodities since 1913 Similar information for each month of the period from 1913 to 1924 has been published in Bulletin No 367 pp and Bulletin No 390 pp 512 WHOLESALE AND RETAIL PRICES T a b l e S I N D E X N U M B E R S OF W H O L E S A L E P R IC E S B Y G R O U PS A N D SU B G R O U P S OF C O M M O D IT IE S Clothing ma terials Foods Farm products drains Live stock and poul try Other farm prod ucts All farm prod ucts Meats a Year and month G Butter cheese Other and foods milk All foods Boots and shoes Cotton goods 1925 Average for year January February M arch April M a y June July A ugu st Septem ber October N ovem b er December 1926 Average for year January February M arch April M a y June July August Septem ber October N ovem b er D ecem ber 513 WHOLESALE PRICES T a b l e 2 IN D E X N UM BERS OF WHOLESALE PRICES BY GROUPS A N D SUBGROUPS OF COM M ODITIES Continued Clothing materials Year and month Metals and metal prod ucts Fuels A ll cloth Anthra Bitumi Other ing cite coal nous fuels coal mate rials All Non metals and ferrous metals metal prod ucts All fuels Iron and steel l W oolen goods Silks etc Average for year January February M a r c h April M a y June July August September October N ovem ber December Average for year January February M arch April M a y J u n e J u l y August September October Novem ber D ecem ber i Insufficient data 514 WHOLESALE AND RETAIL PRICES T able 2 I N D E X N U M B E R S OF W H O L E S A L E P R IC E S B Y G R O U P S A N D S U B G R O U P S O F C O M M O D IT IE S Continued Chemicals and drugs Building materials All Drugs chemi and phar cals maceu and drugs ticals Lum ber Brick Struc tural steel Other build ing mate rials All build ing mate rials Year and month Ferti Chemi lizer cals mate rials 1925 Average for year January February M arch A pril M a y June July A ugu st September October N ovem ber Decem ber Average for year January February M arch A pril M a y June July August September October Novem ber D ecem ber 515 WHOLESALE PRICES T a b l e 2 IN D E X N UM BERS OF WHOLESALE PRICES B Y GROUPS A N D SUBGROUPS OF COM MODITIES Continued House furnishing goods Year and month Miscellaneous All housePaper furnish Cattle Leather and feed ing pulp goods All com Other All modi miscel miscel ties laneous laneous Furni ture Fur nish ings a o W a ie a Average for year January February M arch A pril M a y June July A u g u st September October Novem ber December Average for the year January February March A pril M a y J u n e July August September October November December a WHOLESALE AND RETAIL PRICES TREND OF WHOLESALE PRICE X IIO ft too R 100 JAN FLB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SZPT O CX NOV DEC Wholesale Prices of Agricultural and Nonagricultural Commodities T H E figures in the following table furnish a comparison of wholeA sale price trends of agricultural and nonagricultural commodities during the period from January 1910 to December 1926 inclusive These index numbers have been made by combining into two groups the weighted prices of all commodities included in the bureau s regu lar series of index numbers Roughly speaking all articles origi nating on American farms have been placed in the first group while all remaining articles have been put in the second The five year period instead of the year 1913 forms the base in this presentation T a b l e 3 I N D E X N U M B E R S OF W H O L E S A L E P R IC E S OF A G R IC U L T U R A L A N D N O N A G R IC U L T U R A L C O M M O D IT IE S B Y Y E A R S A N D M O N T H S 1910 T O M onth Agri cul tural Nonagricultural 1910 Average for year January February M arch April Agri cul tural Nonagricultural Nonagricultural Agri cul tural j 97 3 I 102 8 I Agri cul tural Nonagricultural Agri cul tural Nonagricultural Agri Noncul agritural cultural WHOLESALE PRICES T able 3 I N D E X N U M B E R S OF W H O L E S A L E P R IC E S OF A G R IC U L T U R A L A N D N O N A G R IC U L T U R A L C O M M O D IT IE S B Y Y E A R S A N D M O N T H S 1910 T O 1926 Continued M onth Agri cul tural Nonagricultural 1910 M a y June July August September October Novem ber December Average for year January February M a rch April M a y J u n e July August September October November D ecem ber Average for year January February M arch April M a y J u n e J u ly August Septem ber October N ovem b er D ecem ber Agri cul tural Nonagricultural A gri N onagricul cultural tural Agri cul tural Nonagricultural Agri cul tural Nonagricultural Agri Nonagriculculthral tural Trend of Wholesale Prices in the United States 1801 to 1926 r T HE trend of wholesale prices in the United States since the beginning of the last century is shown by the figures in the following table The index numbers for the years 1801 to 1840 are arithmetical means of unweighted relative prices of commodities as published on pages 235 to 248 of Bulletin No 367 of the Bureau of Labor Statistics They were originally computed by Alvin H Han sen of the University of Minnesota on prices in the year 1825 as the base but are here converted to the 1913 base in conformity with the bureau s practice For the years 1801 to 1815 the index numbers were constructed from monthly quotations of commodities appearing in the Boston Gazette and for the years 1816 to 1825 from quotations in the Bos ton Patriot The index numbers for 1825 to 1840 were made from monthly prices at New York as published in the report of the Secretary of the Treasury for 1863 The quotations were taken for the first of each month or as close thereto as possible When a range 518 WHOLESALE AND RETAIL PRICES of prices was shown the arithmetical mean of the quotations was used The average annual price for each commodity was found by adding the monthly quotations and dividing the sum by the number of months for which quotations were given For some years it was not possible to obtain quotations for all months The Boston quotations include 79 commodities and the New York quotations 63 commodities The index numbers for 1841 to 1889 also are arithmetical averages of unweighted relative prices and have been taken from the Report of the Committee on Finance of the United States Senate on Wholesale Prices Wages and Transportation March d Cong 2d sess Rept No 1394 Pt I p 9 As originally published these figures were computed with 1860 as the base year They are here changed to 1913 as 100 The prices used are in currency and the number of commodities varies from approximately 150 in the earlier years to 250 in the later years of the period The index numbers from 1890 to 1926 are the bureau s regular weighted series In using the data in this table it should be borne in mind that the figures in the three series here joined are not strictly comparable since they are based on different lists of commodities in different markets and are moreover unweighted for the years prior to 1890 It is believed however that they reflect with a fair degree of accuracy wholesale price changes in general over the period stated T able 4 I N D E X N U M B E R S OF W H O L E S A L E P R IC E S 1801 T O Year Index number Year Index number Year Index number ft WHOLESALE PRICES 519 Method of Computing Index Numbers of Wholesale Prices IN CONSTRUCTING the index numbers for the various groups of commodities the average price of each article in the year 1913 se lected as the base period in order to provide a pre war standard for measuring price changes has been multiplied by the estimated quan tity of that article marketed in the census year 1919 The products thus obtained have been added to give the approximate value in ex change in 1913 of all the articles in each group and of the total list of commodities Similar aggregates have been made for each other year and for each month since January 1890 by multiplying the average price of each article for the year or month by the quan tity marketed in 1919 and adding the results The index number for each group and for all commodities for each year and for each month has then been obtained by comparing the aggregate for such year or month with the corresponding aggregate for 1913 taken as iOO If during the period under consideration there had been no changes in the list of commodities included in the index numbers the percentage changes in the cost of the different groups of commodi ties would be accurately measured by dividing the aggregates for the months and years specified by the corresponding aggregates for 1913 However articles have been added or dropped from time to time as circumstances demanded while substitution of one article for another at a different price has been necessary in numerous instances There fore in computing the index numbers for a series of years a method had to be adopted that would allow for variations in the number and kind of commodities This method which is identical in principle with that now being used by the bureau in its reports on retail prices and on wages consists in computing two separate aggregates for any year or month in which a change occurs the first aggregate being based on the list of articles before making additions subtractions or substitutions and the second aggregate on the revised list of articles In this way comparisons between any two consecutive years or months is limited to aggregates made up of identical commodities The in dex numbers are therefore chain relatives tied back to a fixed base viz 1913 To ascertain the quantities of the various commodities marketed in 1919 every available source of information official and private was drawn upon In the case of articles consumed to a large extent by the producer as corn oats hay etc only the portion actually marketed as near as could be determined was taken A similar plan was fol lowed with regard to semimanufactured articles such as cotton and worsted yarns pig iron and steel billets which often are carried into further processes of manufacture in establishments where pro duced The quantity of each article sold in the markets was ascer tained as nearly as possible and used to weight the prices for different years and months In the selection of commodities for inclusion in the bureau s reports on wholesale prices it has been the aim to choose only impor tant and representative articles in each group To this end in addi tion to utilizing all available information from official sources careful inquiry has been made in the principal market centers to determine 520 WHOLESALE AND RETAIL PRICES which articles within the general class or group enter to the largest extent into exchange from year to year Thus for some years past eggs classed as firsts have been quoted instead of the new laid grade at one time carried since it has been ascertained that firsts are relatively more important in the market In the case of butter and several other articles the quotations have been enlarged in recent years by the addition of lower priced grades that were found to con stitute a considerable part of the volume of sales In the case of commodities classed as chemicals or drugs where a range of prices was found the lower quotations were selected because these quota tions are believed to represent the prices of larger lots while the higher quotations represent the prices of smaller lots The sources from which price quotations for the past two years have been drawn are as follows T a b l e 5 SO U RC E S OF P R IC E Q U O T A T IO N S 1925 A N D 1926 Source Farm prod Foods ucts Cloth ing mate rials Fuels Metals Build Chemi House M is and ing cals furnish cella metal ing and prod mate neous rials drugs goods ucts Standard trade journals Manufacturers or sales a gen ts Boards of trade associa tions etc Federal or State bureaus Total All com m od ities So far as possible the quotations for the various commodities have been secured in their primary markets For example the prices quoted for livestock and most animal products as well as for most grains are for Chicago wheat and flour prices are mainly for Kansas City and Minneapolis pig iron and steel prices are for Pittsburgh etc The prices used are in all instances where this information could be obtained based on first hand transactions Thus the cattle and other livestock prices used are those paid by slaughterhouses to the commission man acting for the producer Grain prices are those ruling on the floor of the exchange for grain shipped in by country elevators Cotton and wool prices are for sales made to manufac turers Cotton and woolen goods prices are in most instances those quoted by manufacturers to wholesalers jobbers and manufacturers of wearing apparel Butter and egg prices are for consignments to the wholesale trade Fluid milk prices are those to producers for milk delivered on city platform Flour prices are those made by millers to large wholesale dealers jobbers and bakers Leather prices are those from tanners to manufacturers Coke prices are those to operators of blast furnaces Pig iron prices are those to foundry operators and large steel makers Steel prices are those to jobbers or large manufacturing consumers For commodities of great importance more than one price series has been included In no case however is an article of a particular description represented by more than one series of quotations for the same market For most articles weekly prices have been secured 521 WHOLESALE PRICES In a large number of instances particularly since the beginning of 1918 it has been possible to obtain average monthly prices from daily quotations For those commodities whose prices are quite stable such as certain textiles and building materials only first of the month prices have been taken These details are summarized for 1925 and 1926 as follows T a b l e 6 N U M B E R OF C O M M O D IT IE S OR SER IES OF Q U O T A T IO N S C L A S S IF IE D AS TO F R E Q U E N C Y Farm prod ucts Foods Cloth ing mate rials W eek ly M on th ly Average for m on th T o t a l Frequency of quo tation Fuels Metals Build and ing metal prod mate rials ucts Chem icals and drugs Housefurnish Miscel laneous ing goods All com m od ities It is obvious that in order to arrive at a strictly scientific average price for any period one must know the precise quantity marketed and the price at which each unit of the quantity was sold It is manifestly impossible to obtain such detail and even if it were possible the labor and cost involved in such a compilation would be prohibitive The method employed here which is the one usually employed in computing average prices is believed to yield results quite satisfactory for all practical purposes Wholesale Prices in the United States and in Foreign Coun tries 1913 to 1926 N THE following table the more important index numbers of wholesale prices in foreign countries and those of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics have been brought together in order that the trend of prices in the several countries may be directly compared In some instances the results here shown have been ob tained by merely shifting the base to the year 1913 i e by dividing the index number for each year or month on the original base by the index number for 1913 on that base as published In such cases therefore these results are to be regarded only as approximations of the correct index numbers It should be understood also that the validity of the comparisons here made is affected by the wide differ ence in the number of commodities included in the different series of index numbers Finally it should also be remembered that the prices given are in the currencies of the respective countries and consequently that the index in each country is affected by any change in the values of its currency For the United States and several other countries the index num bers are published to the fourth significant figure in order to show minor price variations I 522 WHOLESALE AND RETAIL PRICES I N D E X N U M B E R S OF W H O L E S A L E P R IC E S IN T H E U N IT E D S T A T E S A N D IN C E R T A IN F O R E IG N C O U N T R IE S Index numbers expressed as percentages of the index number for 1913 Country United States Czecho Canada Belgium Bulgaria slovakia D en mark Finland See text explanation France Ger many Central D om in Minis Central General Federal Bureau ion Bu try of Director Bureau Computing of Labor reau of Indus General of Sta Finans Bureau Statisti Statisti of Sta tistics tidende of Sta cal Bu cal B u agency Statis Statis try and tistics revised tistics reau tics reau tics Labor index Comm odi ties Year and month January April July October January February M arch April M a y June July August S eptem ber October N ovem ber D ecem ber Riccardo Bachi January February M arch April M a y June July August Septem ber October N ovem ber D ecem ber January February M arch April M a y June July August Septem ber October N ovem ber D ecem ber Italy commodities since April commodities prior to commodities in 1920 and commodities in 1922 3 April 4 July July June WHOLESALE PRICES IN D E X NUM BERS OF WHOLESALE PRICES IN THE UNITED STATES AND IN CER TA IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES Continued Country Netherlands Nor way Spain Swe den Swit United zer King dom land Cen Cen Insti tute tral tral of Cham Bu Bu Geog ber of Dr J Computing reau reau raphy Lo agency Com of of and merce renz Sta Sta Sta tistics tistics tistics Aus tralia N ew Zea land B u reau of Board Cen sus of Trade and Sta tistics Cen sus and Sta tistics Office re vised South Africa Japan China India B u reau of Office M ar of kets Cen Bank Treas Labor of Office sus ury Japan De B om and Tokyo part bay Sta tistics ment Shang hai C o m m o d i Year and month January A p r il July O ctober January February M arch A pril M a y June J u l y August September October N ovem ber Decem ber January February M arch April M a y June J u ly August September October N ovem ber Decem ber January February M arch April M a y June J u ly A ugust September October N ovem ber Decem ber July 52 commodities in commodities from August 1920 to December items PRODUCTIVITY OF LABOR 525 Meaning of Labor Productivity HE question of the productivity of labor although it had been a matter of interest to specialists and technicians for a long time did not occupy a prominent place in the attention o industry and the general public until after the war But within the last few years a widespread popular interest in the subject has developed both here and abroad Of particular importance in this respect has been the action of various trade union organizations which by official pronouncement and by actual practice have com mitted themselves to the principle of basing wages in part at least upon the productivity of the workers As a result of all these things the statistical data available for an analysis of this problem have greatly increased in recent years thus making it possible in certain industries to measure the productivity of labor and to express the changes in productivity in numerical terms Productivity of labor means work done in a given time ordinarily it is best expressed as the output per man per hour although it may be stated as output per man per day per crew per week etc The advantage of using man hour output as a basis of measurement is that it is more precise and exact than the others The productivity of labor must be clearly differentiated from the efficiency of labor or from any term which is narrowed down to express only the output due to the ability and willing cooperation of the workers themselves It is of the utmost importance that these two ideas be kept clearly distinct The notion of labor productivity contains no implication as to the causes of the large or small output the laborer is simply used as the unit of measurement in expressing the technical progress or decline in an industry over a period of time regardless of whether the changes in output were due to new machinery managerial skill or better work by the employees There are two ways of expressing the productivity of labor first in the actual physical output of the product per man hour per man day or whatever the unit of measurement is and second by means of index numbers The former method has several advan tages It shows the absolute level of productivity at a given time it stands by itself in that it does not require any comparative figures from another period and above all it is easily understood by everyone But the value of this method is very greatly reduced because of two important defects It requires data more specific and more complete than are usually available and it can very seldom be used at all to express the productivity of labor in a whole industry For example with reference to the former point it is clear that the actual physical output per man hour could not be computed from a chain index of employment such as that published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics The other disadvantage restricts still more the use of the method It is possible to measure the actual output per T PRODUCTIVITY OF LA OR man in an industry where there is only a single important product such as coal cement sugar or cigarettes and this has been already done in the case of coal But where there is a multiplicity of products and this includes the great majority of industries it is necessary to use the method of index numbers a method in which there is a statistical device for dealing with the problem of multiple products Labor Productivity as Measured by Physical Output Coal Mining HE productivity of coal miners has been recorded for many years and data on this point are available for nearly all the important coal producing countries In the recent report of the British Coal Commission 1 there is a table showing the yearly per capita output of coal for some 50 years past The results are given in the form of five year averages so as to get representative data by avoiding the peaxs of the good years and the troughs of depression years T T a b l e 1 A V E R A G E Y E A R L Y O U T P U T IN TO N S OF C O A L P E R P E R S O N E M P L O Y E D IN C O A L M IN IN G United States Period United Kingdom France Belgium 1 G erm any1 Bituminous Anthracite Total The Belgian figures throughout like the German ones from onward are based on an assumed number of full workers i e the number of persons required to produce the recorded output if both mines and men had worked continuously without unemployment or absence Provisional figure subject to modification The table is affected of course by the changes in ownership brought about by the war and by the variations in methods of re porting over so long a period The figures for France since 1919 include Alsace Lorraine but not the Saar The Belgian figures include Limburg from 1917 onwards while the German figures exclude Alsace Lorraine after 1918 the Saar and Hultschin after 1920 and Upper Silesia after June 1922 The American figures represent in only one fifth of the industry and in only 54 per cent In commenting upon this table the report calls attention to the sharp contrast in per capita output between the United States and 1 G reat B rita in L on d on R oy a l C om m ission on th e C oal In d u s try R e p o rt V o l I 529 MEASURED BY PHYSICAL OUTPUT the European countries and also to the difference in the trend of productivity in Great Britain and elsewhere From the period down to the war it is pointed out the American produc tion rises conspicuously the French German and Belgian outputs remain substantially unchanged while the British output falls from 358 to 218 tons per capita British mining even before the war was losing ground as compared with other European countries and America and since the war the loss has been increasing One im portant factor which has been responsible for the decline in British output is the small scale production incident to the existence of no less than 1 400 coal mining companies in Great Britain as con trasted with only 70 companies in the whole Ruhr district of Germany Another table showing the comparative productivity in the United States and in some foreign countries during recent years has been compiled from other sources T a b l e 2 A N N U A L P E R C A P IT A O U T P U T OF C O A L IN V A R IO U S C O U N T R IE S Average yearly output in tons of coal per person employed United States 3 Year N ova Scotia Canada 2 Nether lands Bitum i nous Anthra cite N ova Scotia Department of Public W orks and Mines Report on Mines 1925 See Labor Review M a y 1926 p 89 2 Germany Reichskohlenrat Statistische Ubersicht liber die Kohlenwirtschaft im Jahre 1924 Berlin 1925 See Labor Review January 1926 p United States Geological Survey reports 4 H eavy washeries output The above data on yearly output per man have one serious defect no account is taken of the fact that the working year may vary from 150 days to nearly 300 days The sharp declines from 1920 to 1921 for example are due for the most part to the fewer number of days worked in the latter year Even the five year aver ages used by the British Coal Commission do not obviate this difficulty entirely The most satisfactory unit for expressing pro ductivity is the man hour and while there are no data on this very point the German Federal Coal Council Reichskohlenrat has recently issued a bulletin in which are included international statis tics of per capita output per shift together with the duration of the shift in hours Thus from these figures it is possible to get a rough approximation of the man hour output The following table con tains the data as given by the German Federal Coal Council 3 2 G erm any R eich sk oh len ra t Jah re 1924 B erlin 1925 S ta tistisch e U b ersich t iiber d ie K o h le n w irts c h a ft im 530 PRODUCTIVITY OF LABOR T able 3 O U T P U T OF C O A L P E R C A P IT A P E R S H IF T IN L E A D IN G C O U N T R IE S O N BASIS OF T O T A L W O R K E R S E M P L O Y E D 1913 Country nours of work United States Anthracite Rit nm innns Great Britain France Belgium Czechoslovakia Poland D om brova Cracow Germany Dortmund West Upper Silesia Aix La ChapeUe Lower Silesia Saxony R uhr H 9 9 9H m 8H 8 9 8H y H 8 9 8 8H 66 8H M Output Output Output Output per Hours per Hours per Hours Hours per of work shift of work shift of work shift of work shift tons tons tons tons Country United States Anthracite Bituminous Great B ritain France Output Output Output Output per per Hours per Hours Hours per of work shift shift of work shift of work shift tons tons tons tons 1922 Belgium Czechoslovakia Poland East Upper Silesia D om brova C racow Germany Dortm und West Upper Silesia Aix La C hapelle Lower Silesia Saxony R uhr l A H H ry m m H 8V H 8X International statistical data on coal production and espe cially those on per capita output of mine workers are not com parable from country to countiy because the location and richness of the coal deposits the methods of mining and the mechanical and technical equipment vary greatly in the individual countries Only national data are comparable In Germany in all the mining districts the per capita output per shift showed a great falling off in postwar years up to 1924 when an improvement set in This improvement was chiefly due to an in crease in the duration of the shift by one hour Owing to the de creased per capita output a greatly increased working force had to be employed in all mining districts In 1924 however the working staffs had been reduced considerably especially in the Ruhr district and the improvement in per capita output must therefore in part be also ascribed to increased efficiency of the workers The improve ment in per capita output continued during the first quarter of 1925 In Great Britain the per capita output per shift reached its lowest point in 1920 with 0 81 ton In 1921 and 1922 it rose to 0 90 and 1 01 tons respectively It decreased again slightly in 1923 to 1 ton MEASURED BY PHYSICAL OUTPUT 531 and in 1924 to 0 98 ton and during the first quarter of 1925 stood at 1 01 a decrease of about 11 per cent as compared with 1913 This decrease is largely due to a reduction of the duration of the shift in postwar times from 8 to 7y2 hours While the total of production has increased in France per capita output per shift has decreased considerably in 1924 the per capita output was only 0 62 ton as against 0 69 ton in 1913 I f only under ground workers are considered the corresponding figures are 1 08 and 0 88 tons Belgian coal production in 1924 shows an increase over that in 1913 but the per capita output per shift of all mine workers and that of all underground workers has decreased in postwar times although that of pick miners has increased from 3 48 tons in 1913 to 3 87 tons in 1924 in spite of a reduction of the daily hours of labor from nine to eight The newly acquired Polish mines in East Upper Silesia show a great falling off in production in spite of the fact that the working force employed has been greatly increased The mines in Dombrova and Cracow have maintained their pre war production but only by means of a working staff twice as large as in 1913 The per capita output per shift in the East Upper Silesia mines has decreased from 1 32 tons in 1913 to 0 66 ton in 1922 In 1923 it rose to 0 67 ton in 1924 to 0 80 ton and in the first two months of 1925 to 1 01 tons In Czechoslovakia the per capita output per shift was the same in 1924 as in 1913 namely 0 84 ton In contrast with the large coal producing countries in Europe the United States not only maintained its pre war coal production in most of the postwar years but even increased it considerably in 1920 and 1923 A slump in bituminous coal production took place in 1921 and in 1922 in both bituminous coal and anthracite production In the latter year this was due to the miners strike which lasted several months In 1924 producers curtailed bituminous coal pro duction considerably owing to unfavorable conditions in the iron and steel industry The most remarkable fact is that in postwar times the per capita output per shift in American bituminous coal mines increased from year to year in spite of shorter hours of labor in 1913 the average per capita output was 3 61 short tons and in 1924 it had gradually increased to 4 56 tons In anthracite production per capita output reached its highest level in 1922 with 2 31 short tons which represent an increase of about 14 per cent over 1913 since then per capita out put has fallen olf considerably and in 1924 it was only 2 short tons as compared with 2 02 short tons in 1913 Common Brick Industry ago study3 THE Bureau of Labor Statistics several yearsbrick made a United of the manufacture of common building in the States beginning with the digging or gathering of the clay and end ing with the loading of the brick for shipment from the plant and showing the average time cost of labor and the average money cost of labor in manufacturing 1 000 bricks 3 Bureau of Labor Statistics Bui No 356 Washington PRODUCTIVITY OF LABOR The report was compiled in part from establishment cost state ments covering a specified period of time whenever such cost figures were found to be available and in part worked out from the number of thousand brick produced and the individual hours worked The data were gathered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics through its agents from the records of T9 manufacturers of common building brick employing 5 076 wage earners in 23 States for a pay period in the latter part of 1922 or early in 1923 The time cost per 1 000 bricks for each department was ob tained by dividing the total number of one man hours worked in the several departments during a stated period of time by the number of thousand bricks produced in that period of time The three processes of manufacture are 1 The stiff mud process 2 soft mud process and 3 dry clay process Stiff mud is clay of such a degree of consistency that brick molded from it can be stacked hacked eight high as they come from the machine without injuring the one at the bottom Very little water is applied during the making In the soft mud process because of the application of water in quan tity during manufacture the bricks come from the machine so soft that they can not be lifted or moved by hand The clay is pressed into molds by the machine after which the molds are automatically ejected one oy one from the machine and the bricks dumped from the molds onto metal pallets The dumping may be done either by hand or automatically by the brick machine In the dry clay process no water is applied The clay is gathered and usually weathered several months before it is made into brick It is so dry and so compactly pressed in the molds that the bricks are taken directly from the brick making machine and set in the kilns where they are water smoked and burned it not being necessary to dry them in the dryer or in the open air as must be done with green brick molded from stiff mud or from soft mud clay It has been estimated by competent authorities that 50 per cent of the common brick manufactured in the United States is produced by the stiff mud process 40 per cent by the soft mud process and 10 per cent by dry clay process Nearly com mon bricks were produced in the United States during 1922 an in crease of 30 per cent over 1921 but 10 per cent less than in 1914 The wage districts shown in this report were formed by grouping or combining data of States in which the average earnings per hour of employees in the industry were approximately the same regard less of the geographical location or by showing data for one State only when the average earnings per hour were not approximately the same as for any other State The brick yard departments are 1 Clay pit 2 machine house 3 setting 4 burning 5 loading and 6 miscellaneous The digging loading and transferring of clay from its source to the machine house is done in the clay pit department and the hoisting of the clay to the pug mill the pugging granulating tempering of the clay the molding of the clay into brick the transferring of the green brick from the brick machine to the dryer or to the open air drying yard and the drying of the brick is done in the machine house In the setting department the dried bricks are taken from the 533 MEASURED BY PHYSICAL OUTPUT drying place and set in the kiln The firing or burning of the kilns with wood coal oil or gas is done by the burning department After this the bricks are taken from the kilns and loaded onto carts wagons trucks railroad cars boats or barges The average time cost expressed in hours and hundredths of an hour per 1 000 bricks are shown in Table 4 for each of the three processes of manufacture by wage districts and for each of the six departments into which the work of manufacturing brick is divided and for all departments combined The number of establishments for which costs are shown by departments in some instances exceeds the number for all depart ments This is due to the inclusion of data for one or more depart ments of establishments in which there was no work in the clay pit department no burning no loading etc and the exclusion of the data for such establishments from the data used in computing time and labor costs per 1 000 bricks for all departments combined In other instances the number of plants reported under all depart ments exceeds the number for individual departments This is explained by the fact that certain plants had full cost records for all departments combined but not for each department separately T a b l e 4 A V E R A G E T IM E C O ST P E R 1 000 B R IC K B Y D E P A R T M E N T P R O C E S S A N D D IS T R IC T Stift mud process Clay pit District 1 K a n s a s K e n t u c k y N e braska N ew Jersey Ohio Pennsylvania Wisconsin 2 Florida Georgia Louisiana Mississippi South Caro lina M aryland North Carolina Virginia Illinois Arkansas Missouri Total Machine house EsEm tablish ploy ees ments Tim e cost manhours per 1 000 bricks EsEm tablish ploy ees ments 16 Tim e cost manhours per 1 000 bricks Setting EsEm tablish ploy ees ments Tim e cost manhours per 1 000 bricks Soft mud process 1 Connecticut Massachusetts 2 N ew Jersey N ew Y ork Kentucky Ohio Pennsyl vania Louisiana Mississippi Texas 5 Michigan Total Dry clay process 1 Kansas Missouri Texas Total 534 PRODUCTIVITY OF LABOR T a b l e 4 A V E R A G E T I M E C O S T P E R 1 000 B R I C K B Y D E P A R T M E N T P R O C E S S A N D D IS T R IC T Stiff mud process District Kentucky N e 1 Kansas braska N ew Jersey Ohio Pennsylvania W isconsin 2 Florida Georgia Louisiana Mississippi South Caro lina Maryland North Carolina Virginia Illinois Arkansas Missouri Total Miscellaneous Loading Burning Tim e cost Es E m man Es E m tab ploy hours tab ploy lishlish ees per mts ees mts 1 000 bricks Tim e cost manhours per 1 000 bricks A ll departments Tim e cost EsEsE m manEm tabploy hours tab ploy lishlish ees ees per mts 1 000 mts bricks Time cost manhours per 1 000 bricks Soft mud process 1 Connecticut Massachusetts 2 N ew Jersey N ew York 3 Kentucky Ohio Pennsyl vania L o u is ia n a M is s is s ip p i Texas Michigan Total Dry clay process 1 Kansas Missouri Texas Total The cost figures in the above table represent the average time cost man hours per 1 000 bricks when applied to the plants and the States as grouped by districts They do not however show the very great differences between individual plants To illustrate the wide differences two plants both included in Table 4 under the stiff mud process have been selected for comparison Plant A is in district 2 and Plant B is in district 4 Plant B is very large is equipped with the best improved machinery and labor saving devices and is also efficiently organized and operated while plant A is small and not so well equipped organized or operated The table below gives a de tailed comparison of these two plants thus emphasizing the vast differences in labor productivity which exist in the industry 535 MEASURED BY PHYSICAL OUTPUT T able 5 A V E R A G E T IM E C O ST P E R 1 000 B R IC K S IN U SIN G S T IF F M U D PR O C ESS Total employees Total hours TW O E S T A B L IS H M E N T S Output in bricks per man hour Man hours per 1 000 bricks Operations Plant B Plant A Plant B Plant A Plant B Plant A Plant B Plant A C lay pit Machine house Setting crew B u rn in g Loading Miscellaneous a T otal It is q uite astonishing to find that one plant has an output of only 56 bricks per man hour while the other produces 254 bricks per man hour or to reverse the units of measurement that the first plant expends 17 73 hours of labor to turn out 1 000 bricks while in the second plant the same output requires only 3 93 hours The smaller plant still manages to exist however because such low wages are paid that the total labor costs in the two plants are about the same The average earnings of all employees in Plant A was 15 cents per hour while in Plant B the average earnings were 79 cents per hour or over five times as much Another factor contributing to the survival of the smaller plant is the decentralization of the industry which has not yet reached the stage of development where the large efficient plants are sufficiently organized to drive the small local manufacturer out of business The results are almost as striking even when whole districts are compared instead of individual plants The next table presents for each district the average production rate per man hour in the plant as a whole and in the machine house department only The plants included in this table cover only such as furnished detailed information for all departments into which the manufacture of brick is divided the information for the machine house being com plete and not including in any case any work of any other depart ment In arriving at the average production rate for the plant the num ber of employees actually necessary to operate all departments com bined was multiplied by the number of hours the brick machine was in operation during the pay period covered The aggregate man hours so obtained was then used as the divisor of the number of thousand bricks produced by the machine during that period The production rate for the machine house was obtained by the same method by using the act ual number of employees complete machine house crews necessary to operate that department The number actually necessary to man all departments or to man the machine house department only was used instead of the number found on the pay records because it is frequently found that owing to turnover of personnel the number of individuals appearing on the pay rolls exceeds the number of full time men actually nec essary to man the plant as a whole or the machine house department alone 536 PRODUCTIVITY OF LABOR T able 6 P R O D U C T IO N OF B R IC K S P E R M A N H O U R A L L E M P L O Y E E S M A C H IN E H O U S E E M P L O Y E E S B Y P R O C E SS A N D D I S T R I C T Production rate per man hour num ber of bricks Num ber of employees District and process Number of estab lish ments Stiff mud process 1 Kansas Kentucky Nebraska New Jersey Ohio Pennsylvania W isconsin Florida Georgia Louisiana Mississippi South Carolina Maryland North Carolina Virginia Illinois Arkansas Missouri Machine All em ployees house depart all de part ment only ments Em ployees of ma chinehouse depart ment only Total Soft mud process 1 Connecticut Massachusetts New Jersey New York Kentucky Ohio Pennsylvania Louisiana Mississippi Texas i 5 M ichigan T otal All de part ments AND This table makes it clear that the two plants previously compared were merely representative of their respective districts For the stiff mud process the output per man hour in district 4 the plants of which are all located in or near Chicago is over four times what it is in district 2 consisting wholly of Southern States even in the macliine house department alone the man hour output in the Chicago district is three and six tenths times that in the South These differ ences are due to the improved machinery generally used especially to the mechanical handling of the product the character of the clay and to the process of burning For the soft mud process there is almost as great a divergence in productivity in different parts of the country The average output per man hour in district 3 Kentucky Ohio Pennsylvania is over four times the output per man hour in district 4 Louisiana Missis sippi and Texas but the significance of the comparison is greatly reduced because of the fact that the data for district 4 are for one plant only Cotton Textile Industry New England Cotton Mill TN SOME industries statistics of production and employment are not sufficiently comprehensive or else the units of measurement of production are not precise enough to be comparable so that it is impractical to attempt to get any expression of productivity for the industry as a whole In such eases it is necessary to get results by using the method of samples Data on productivity are obtained from some representative establishments in the industry Sometimes MEASURED BY PHYSICAL OUTPUT 537 these results can be assumed to be indicative of conditions throughout the industry Two such intensive studies have recently been made in the cottontextile industry One of these covers the productivity of a New England cotton mill from 1838 to 1925 4 A long established New England mill producing staple goods was selected and a study was made of its production record This mill was built in 1813 and until 1890 devoted itself exclusively to the manufacture of a standard grade of sheetings In the latter year the manufacture of flannels was in troduced and in 1910 these formed 82 7 per cent of the total output declining however to 25 9 per cent of the total in 1919 In 1920 a new mill was erected equipped with the latest improved machinery and a complete conveyor system for distributing the stock in process from the time it leaves the storehouse in bales until it arrives in the cloth room as cloth This new mill was turned over exclusively to the manufacture of sheetings and pillow tubings and the manufac ture of flannels remained in the old mill Much thought and attention have been given to putting produc tion in this new mill on a highly scientific basis and careful studies are constantly being made for the purpose of detecting and checking all possible waste and maintaining production and efficiency at a maximum An excellent opportunity is thus afforded for making comparisons of the productivity of the new and scientifically equipped and operated sheeting mill with the old mill operating with old machinery and under less advantageous conditions An opportunity is afforded further to make a 50 year comparison of efficiency in production of the same grade of cloth without the dis turbing factor of flannels the new mill being devoted exclusively in 1925 to the manufacture of sheetings of practically the same grade as those produced in 1876 Neither yards nor pounds are satisfactory units of measurement in determining the output of the mill so a new unit was devised The plant records show for each grade of cloth manufactured the number of picks to the yard and this figure multiplied by the yards produced gives the output in picks which are the filling or cross threads interlaced with the warp yarns by means of the shuttle The whole product thus reduced to picks was then thrown back again into pounds by means of a constant that is an arbitrary statis tical unit of conversion Even this standardized pound is far from being a perfect unit because no allowance can be made for the differ ences in the conditions which exist in the manufacture of the cloth and which may influence the productivity of the workers Since most of the workers were on piece rates there were no data on actual man hours so these had to be calculated by multiplying the number of full time workers by the mill hours This results in a quite accurate estimate of man hours In these calculations certain classes of workers were excluded such as all those who participated in management all clerical and administrative workers and even certain overhead groups of manual laborers chiefly yardmen and repair shop employees The man hours as finally computed cover only those workers directly concerned with the productive process beginning with the opening and picking operations and ending with 4 See Labor Review October 1926 p 21 538 PRODUCTIVITY OF LABOR the weave room Even the cloth room workers who finish the cloth and prepare it for shipment were not included The productivity of the workers was found by dividing the total output of the mill by the total man hours This man hour produc tion was calculated both by straight pounds and by pounds derived by first reducing the whole product to picks and then reconverting the picks into pounds a standard grade of sheeting produced in this mill being used as a unit The following table shows the results T able 7 M A N H O U R P R O D U C T IO N OF C O T T O N C L O T H IN A N E W C O T T O N M IL L IN P O U N D S A N D P IC K S 1838 T O 1925 ENGLAND Units of cloth produced per man hour u u ii ui iuea5uiciu6ub Straight pounds Pounds based on D grade Product reduced to picks Product reduced to 36 inch picks f7 53 sheeting flannel both sheeting flannel sheeting flannel i The proportions that flannels formed of the total product in the years when flannels and sheeting were com bined were as follows per cent per cent per cent and per cent On the basis of straight pounds production in this mill increased between 1838 and 1925 from 0 98 pound per man hour to 7 53 pounds in the sheeting mill and to 8 94 pounds per man hour in the flannel mill The flannel mill would thus seem at first sight to be more efficient than the sheeting mill The discrepancy comes of course because of the fact that flannels with fewer yards to the pound than the sheetings give a false index of productivity a much higher one than is justified in comparison with the production of sheetings This is seen when the output is calculated in pounds on the basis of picks By this method the man hour production of cloth shows an increase between 1876 and 1925 from 2 28 pounds to 8 12 pounds in the sheeting mill and 4 36 pounds in the flannel mill The sheeting mill figures are the better index of productivity As noted previously the whole output in 1876 consisted of sheetings only so the man hour output of 1876 is directly comparable with the sheet ing mill output of 1925 In 50 years then the man hour output increased from 2 28 pounds to 8 12 pounds or an increase in produc tivity of 256 per cent The two periods in which the greatest increases in productivity took place were and The first period covers a span of a quarter of a century which saw the introduction of many technical improvements in the industry Thus in 1855 there were 134 new looms installed in the seventies the first stop motions were placed on the looms making it possible for one operative to tend more looms beginning with 1874 the whole system of spinning began to be changed from throstle to ring spinning The remark able increase in productivity between 1919 and 1925 is due to the fact that the figures for the latter year are for the new mill while those for 1919 are for the old mill The superiority of the new mill is due to several factors 1 The more efficient routing of MEASURED BY PHYSICAL OUTPUT 539 material which results in the elimination of a number of workers 2 a better layout of the plant which prevents useless transporta tion of material and 3 new and improved machinery such as the Barber Colman machine for tying ends The point to be empha sized in this connection is that technical progress in the cotton textile industry is far in advance of productive performance I f the indus try ever becomes prosperous enough to discard the older factories and machinery the productivity of labor can probably be increased many times in a very few years Southern Cotton Mill Bureau of Labor Statistics5 recently conducted a study of xabor productivity and labor costs in cotton manufacturing in one of the southern mills in which practically the same class size and quality of goods had been manufactured during the entire 15year period from 1911 to 1925 In calculating the man hours it was determined that figures covering a pay roll period during 1911 one half month or two weeks would under normal conditions be sufficiently representa tive and comparable with figures for a similar period during 1925 and would when reduced to the man hour basis give practically the same results as figures for a longer period The question of what constitutes chargeable productive labor is somewhat arbitrary It was decided for the purpose of the survey to include all who were actively engaged in the production of the output so that productive labor in this instance covers supervisory and general help such as engineers and firemen carpenters and electricians or watchmen whose labor is necessary for the operation of the plant and conse quent production of the material The survey covered only the manufacture of the fundamental article gray cloths and disregarded any bleaching dyeing or other converting process which might be used in connection with it No attempt was made to express the labor productivity for the process of cloth manufacture as a whole but figures on man hour output were obtained for each of the three major divisions of the work yarn production cloth production and finishing operations The manhour output of yarn in pounds was calculated for the whole labor force engaged in this particular process and also for the largest group of workers in the process the spinners The productivity of weavers and of all workers engaged in cloth production proper was determined in the same way the output being measured in pounds In the case of the finishing department which includes inspecting folding wrapping etc the amount of cloth turned out was recorded in both pounds and linear yards so the man hour output was calcu lated for both measurements The table following shows the results obtained in this study 5 See Labor Review September 1926 pp 7 18 540 PRODUCTIVITY OF LABOR T able 8 M A N H O U R O U T P U T IN S P IN N IN G W E A V IN G A N D F IN IS H IN G O P E R A T IO N S IN A C O T T O N M IL L Item 1911 Yarn produced Total pounds Per man hour All yarn workers do Spinning d o Cloth woven Total d o Per man hour All cloth workers d o W eaving do Production of finished cloth d o Total yards fpounds Per man hour yards There are of course many uncertainties in the figures In the case of yarn production for example no attempt was made to sepa rate the warp yarn production from the filling yarn production although variations in the relative proportions of these would make considerable difference in the amount of work required since the filling yarn was of a finer grade necessitating more twist in the spinning and requiring more yards to weigh a pound Roughly about two thirds of the yarn was warp yarn and the remaining onethird was filling yarn The variation in these proportions may be responsible for the apparent decline in the man hour output in spinning from 1911 to 1916 In the production of woven cloth the man hour output of weavers T increased much more rapidly between 1916 and 1925 than did that of the other workers in this process The increase in man hour output for the whole department from 8 26 pounds in 1916 to 10 31 pounds in 1925 is due almost entirely to the 50 per cent increase in the output of weavers which means that the productivity of the other workers must have remained about constant The sharp decline in the output of the workers engaged in finish ing operations is due to the fact that a larger number of workers were used in this department in order to insure better quality o f the finished product Paper Box Board Industry A S A RESULT of two conferences held in Washington D C in 1924 and 1925 the great majority of paper box board manufac turers agreed to eliminate Sunday work and many of them changed from a two tour to a three tour system thus instituting the 8 hour day The Bureau of Labor Statistics secured detailed information from 11 paper box board mills for a representative two week pay period in 1924 and a similar period in 1925 presenting in detail the changes resulting from reduced working hours especially with refer ence to the effect of the shortened hours upon output 6 In the seven establishments that changed from two tours to three tours the average days of operation decreased from 11 1 days in 1924 to 10 5 days in 1925 The average daily tonnage output of these seven plants however increased from 150 tons in the two week period in 1924 to 166 tons in the two week period in 1925 6 For detailed report see Bureau o f L a b or Statistics Bui No 407 Washington MEASURED BY PHYSICAL OUTPUT In the four plants that reduced their working week from six days to five days the average daily tonnage decreased slightly from 107 tons in the two week period in 1924 to 106 tons in the two week period in 1925 The table which follows gives the output in pounds per man hour This production is arrived at by dividing the total output in pounds for the two week period by the total hours worked in the beater room the machine room and in all departments T able 9 O U T P U T IN PO U N D S P E R O N E M A N H O U R IN A T W O W E E K P E R IO D 1924 A N D 1925 B Y E S T A B L IS H M E N T Output per one man hour in Beater room Machine room A ll departments Establishment Per cent of change Per cent of change Per cent of change M ills which changed from 2 tours to 3 tours Lbs Lbs Lbs Lbs Lbs Average Average Grand average N o N o N o N o N o N o N o Lbs M ills which changed from 6 days to 5 days of production N o N o N o N o i Two of these mills also reduced their days of production from 6 to 5 Study of the table shows that for the seven plants that changed from two tours to three tours the output per man hour increased in every case and for every department In the beater room the average output per man hour increased from 642 pounds to 723 pounds in the machine room the increase was from 612 pounds to 729 pounds per man hour and for all departments there was an increase from 162 pounds to 180 pounds per man hour For two of the mills No 1 and No 4 the increases were very small but for the other five mills and especially for No 5 and No 7 the net improve ment in productivity was quite substantial In the four mills which reduced the working days from six to five the results are not so striking In the beater room the average output per man hour increased from 513 pounds to 565 pounds but in the machine room and for all departments combined there was a decline in productivity from 632 to 613 pounds per man hour in the machine room and from 151 to 146 pounds per man hour for all departments It must be emphasized however that Plant No 8 which showed large decreases in productivity throughout was manufacturing a better grade of board in 1925 than in 1924 so that the figures for this plant are not strictly comparable With this 542 PRODUCTIVITY OF LABOR plant eliminated it is apparent that there was a slight increase in output per man hour following the change from the six day week to the five day week Another way of analyzing the situation is to express the changes in productivity in terms of the number of man hours required to produce a ton of paper box board These are shown in Table 10 T able 10 L A B O R C O S T P E R T O N OF P R O D U C T IN M A N H O U R S I N A T W O W E E K P E R IO D IN 1924 A N D 1925 B Y E S T A B L IS H M E N T Labor cost per ton of product in man hours in Beater room Machine room All departments Establishment Per cent of change Per cent of change Per cent of change 1924 Man hours Man hours Man hours Mills which changed from 2 tours to 3 tours Average N o N o N o N o N o N o N o M ills which changed from 6 days to 5 days of production Average Grand average N o N o N o N o i T w o of these mills also reduced their days of production from 6 to 5 The data in this table simply express in another way the same results as the preceding table The only difference is that the com parison is reversed the unit being a ton of product instead of a manhour In the seven establishments which changed to the three tour system the number of man hours required to produce a ton of boxboard declined 10 9 per cent in the beater room 15 9 per cent in the machine room and 10 2 per cent in all departments The apparent in crease in man hours per ton of product among the four plants which changed from the six day to the five day week is due solely to the in fluence of the plant mentioned above which changed the quality of its product in 1925 Pottery Industry A KECENT bulletin of the Bureau of Labor Statistics7 contains data on the productivity of labor in various phases of the pot tery industry The data having especial significance are those on pro ductivity of the clay shop in the manufacture of semivitreous ware 7 Bureau of Labor Statistics Bui No 412 Washington MEASURED BY INDEX NUMBERS Since the crew rather than the individual worker is the unit for production purposes the output has been expressed in crew hours rather than in man hours A report as to the production of semivitreous 7 inch plain edge plates was obtained for 58 crews each consisting of a jigger man a batter out a mold runner a finisher and a clay carrier for a fractional part of the time the fractional time of the carrier for each crew is from an eighth to a sixteenth of the total time given by the carrier to the several crews to which he delivers clay The average production per crew per hour was 28 1 dozen distributed as follows N um ber o f Output of plates per crew per hour crews 2 Under 20 dozen and under 24 dozen and under 26 dozen and under 28 dozen and under 30 dozen and under 32 dozen and under 36 dozen Data as to the production of ordinary semivitreous tea cups were obtained for 42 crews each consisting of a jigger man a bailer a mold runner and a clay carrier for a fractional part of the time The average production per crew per hour was 53 dozen distributed as follows Number of Output of cups per crew per hour crews 32 and under 34 dozen and under 44 dozen and under 46 dozen and under 48 dozen and under 52 dozen and under 54 dozen and under 56 dozen and under 58 dozen and under 62 dozen and under 64 dozen and under 66 dozen dozen In the study of production of semivitreous saucers figures were obtained for 48 crews each consisting of a jigger man a batter out a mold runner a finisher and a clay carrier for a fractional part of the time The average production per crew per hour was 42 8 dozen distributed as follows Number of Output of saucers per crew per hour crews 32 and under 36 dozen and under 40 dozen and under 44 dozen and under 48 dozen and under 52 dozen Labor Productivity as Measured by Index Numbers S INDICATED above changes in productivity can be meas ured by means of index numbers This method must be used for all industries in which there is more than one product For example the system of expressing productivity in A 544 PRODUCTIVITY OF LABOR terms of tons of coal or number of bricks per man hour can not be applied to the iron and steel paper and pulp or rubber tires in dustries Also the index number is a more satisfactory unit for measuring changes over a period of time The Bureau of Labor Statistics has undertaken to calculate indexes of productivity for a number of industries for which it is impracticable to measure the actual output per man hour in products The original data on annual production from which the indexes were constructed were derived from a variety of sources The bulk of the data was taken from the Census of Manufactures and the Department of Commerce monthly magazine Survey of Current Business Sometimes the Department of Commerce itself gathers original production statistics in certain industries but for the most part the survey is a compilation of data furnished by trade associa tions and private agencies 8 Occasionally it was found advisable to use some other than these two sources The data on meat production for instance were taken from a pamphlet of the Department of Agri culture 9 while the figures for pig iron and steel ingot production were taken directly from the annual reports of the American Iron and Steel Institute The index of man hours was constructed from 1 the average number of men employed in the industry each year 2 the average full time official hours per week and where possible 3 the average hours actually worked per week The average number of men em ployed is given in the Census of Manufactures for the census years these figures can be supplemented by the monthly indexes of employ ment published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics covering the period for some industries and for others The average full time official hours per week were determined from the census reports on prevailing hours of labor supplemented by special studies of the Bureau of Labor Statistics Usually such special studies contain statistics on average hours actually worked by the employees and the data on this point were incorporated into the index of man hours whenever possible In the boot and shoe in dustry 1 for instance there is a considerable amount of information 0 on actual hours of labor as distinguished from official full time hours On the basis of all these sources the index of employment was com bined with an index of hours to form an index of man hours Such an index is subject to a certain amount of inaccuracy very difficult to estimate Inadequate statistics on part time in bad years and over time in prosperous years the occasional use of interpolation to span the gaps in the data and the necessarily frequent averaging all these operate in the direction of inaccuracy On the other hand as against these must be listed the comprehensiveness of most of the data and the fairly close correlation of data from two different 8 T h e orig in o f th e s ta tis tics o f p rod u ction ap p earin g in the S u rvey o f C u rren t B u sin ess is as f o l l o w s A u tom ob iles N a tion a l A u tom ob ile Cham ber o f C o m m e rc e su ga r W ille t an d G ray S ta tistica l S u ga r T ra d e J o u r n a l rubber tires R ubber A ss o cia tio n o f A m e r ic a flour R u s se ll s C om m ercial N e w s paper and pulp F ed era l T ra d e C om m ission N ew sp rin t S erv ice B ureau and the A m erican P a p er and P u lp A ss o cia tio n iro n a n d steel A m e rica n Iron a n d S teel I n s t i t u t e lea th er tan n in g b oots and shoes D e p a rtm e n t o f C om m erce B u rea u o f the C e n s u s cem ent petroleum D ep a rtm en t o f C om m erce B u rea u o f M ines U n ited S tates D ep a rtm en t o f A g ricu ltu re B ureau o f A n im a l In d u stry M eat p ro d u ction con su m p tion and fo re ig n tra d e in th e U nited States b y J o h n R oberts W a sh in g ton B u rea u o f L a b or S ta tistics B uis N os and 374 545 MEASURED BY INDEX NUMBERS sources The man hours index in most of the 11 industries is not so accurate as the production index but the probable error in either case is not large enough to destroy the value of the resulting produc tivity index Alter indexes of production and man hours had been constructed for an industry these two were combined to form an index of productivity with 1914 as the base That is not an ideal year for a productivity base because of the fact that there was a serious de pression at that time but in the case of many industries it is impos sible to get data prior to 1914 Even when it is possible to push the indexes back to 1909 or 1904 the uncertainties in the figures and the probable inaccuracies are much too great in all except one or two industries to justify using any of these years as a base The year 1913 would have been a very satisfactory base as far as industrial conditions were concerned but it was not a census year Therefore in the following table the productivity indexes for all industries have been based on 1914 although wherever possible indexes have been constructed for and 1899 The indexes for these early years of course can not be anything more than the most general approximations of the productivity situation and they must not be considered to be so clearly indicative of actual conditions as those of recent years Secondly it must be emphasized once more that these index num bers give absolutely no indication as to the absolute amount of out put per man hour in each industry the index is relative only We can draw the conclusion that the output per man hour in the iron and steel industry in 1925 was over two and one half times what it was in 1899 but we do not know how many tons of pig iron were pro duced per man hour in either case The productivity indexes for 11 industries are given in the table below T a b l e 1 I N D E X E S OF P R O D U C T IV IT Y OF L A B O R IN 11 IN D U S T R IE S Iron and steel Slaugh Leath tering Petro Paper Cement Auto Steel Boots er tan and leum manu mo and Year Indus Blast and meat refin fac works shoes ning try pulp turing biles pack fur ing and as a naces rolling ing whole mills Rub ber tires 100 Flour Canemill sugar refin ing ing This figure is not representative of productivity in the automobile industry in 1918 because of the fact that the Government for war purposes placed a restriction on the number of cars which could be produced In addition many manufacturers were extensively engaged in executing war orders 2 Estimated For details see December 1926 issue of the Labor Review pp 546 PRODUCTIVITY OF LABOR Some detailed explanation of the various indexes is essential to a clear understanding of the meaning and import of the figures so a brief analysis of the productivity index for each industry will be made in order to emphasize the peculiar conditions affecting the index For a more complete and detailed exposition of the condi tions in each industry it will be necessary to refer to the articles on productivity which have appeared in the Labor Review 1 1 Automobile Industry IN THE automobile industry production can be measured only by the number of cars produced although these represent a wide variety of models sizes and workmanship Since 1914 several im portant changes in the production of cars have taken place First there has been a disproportionate increase in small light cars as con trasted with heavy ones Second the production of passenger cars has increased far more than the production of trucks and business vehicles Third the closed car which was a negligible factor in 1914 has now almost superseded the open car Fourth the growth of the automobile bodies and parts industry has reduced the work of some automobile companies to very little more than mere assembling Not all these factors can be taken into account statistically in the computation of an index of production for the industry but the more important ones can Separate production figures are given for closed cars open cars and trucks so that the changing proportions of these three can be eliminated as a factor by assigning a weight to each type the weights being based largely on the comparative value of each Secondly the man hour data were made to cover the bodies and parts branch as well as the automobile industry proper Con cerning the remaining point it is not unreasonable to assume that the trend toward smaller cars is at least partly counterbalanced by improved quality all along the line In reference to productivity it may be said that the automobile industry is one which in 10 years has grown from almost nothing at all into one of the leading industries in the country Under the stimulus of a rapidly expanding demand the technique of mass production has been perfected to such an extent that the output per man hour has been increased nearly three times It is obvious that in a new industry like this one the productivity of labor can be increased much more rapidly than in an old well established indus try where a high level of productivity has been maintained for years Cane Sugar Refining T H IS is an industry in which there is a single basic raw material uniform in quality while the products are quite diversified It is impossible in the present state of statistical reports to do anything in the way of making an adequate index of the output in products Quite a large percentage of the workmen in a refining plant are engaged in the production of cube pressed or wrapped 11 July 1926 pp 1 19 iron and steel automobiles boots and shoes and paper and pulp October 1926 pp cement manufacturing leather tanning flour milling and cane sugar refining November 1926 pp petroleum refining and slaughtering and meat packing December 1926 pp iron and steel revised and rubber tires MEASURED BY INDEX NUMBERS 547 sugar and other specialties which can not be adequately accounted for in estimating the final total product For these and other reasons it seems better to construct an index of production from the amount of raw material used in each year This is also an industry in which the basic processes are very highly chemical and mechanical with comparatively little labor involved However since the war there has been a great develop ment of specialties such as pressed and wrapped table sugar the production of which involves a large amount of labor that was not necessary when nearly the whole product was disposed of as ordi nary granulated sugar The tendency in recent years has been for sugar refineries to multiply the kinds of manufactured sugar and the sizes of containers All this results in the employment of a large labor force not directly concerned with the refining but which is charged up against the industry and reduces the productivity index The marked improvement in the last two years is probably due to the fact that this side line has become a factor of such impor tance that attention is being directed toward improving the produc tivity of this class o f labor by the introduction of machinery re routing of materials etc Another factor to be taken into consideration is the fact that in the refining processes proper equipment is much more important than men that is production can be expanded enormously up to the full capacity of the equipment without the addition of a pro portionate amount of labor and on the other hand a curtailment of output does not reduce the labor force much Sugar refining is not the only industry in which this is the case but it is affected in a much greater degree than most Thus the amount of sugar refined increased from an index of 112 in 1921 to 161 in 1925 with a prac tically stationary labor force but this was not due to any marked improvements in machinery or increases in refining plants Lastly in taking notice of the situation in 1919 attention must be called to the fact that this was a year of extreme shortage high prices and Government regulation The United States Sugar Equalization Board was still operating and the available raw sugar was being apportioned among refiners in accordance with the orig inal agreement in 1918 These chaotic and uncertain conditions naturally resulted in a great increase in clerical workers as well as wage earners each plant would keep all the men it considered necessary to run at full speed while the actual delivery of raw sugar to be refined might be much below the capacity o f the plant It should also be noted that turnover in 1919 must have been exceed ingly high and the refineries would keep an extra force on hand to guard against being short handed when shipments of sugar arrived All these things combined resulted in a very high employment index for that year although the output of sugar was not exceptionally large hence the statistics are hardly comparable with those of other years In summary it should be again emphasized that the index of productivity is open to considerable doubt Due to the nature of the industry the chaotic conditions in 1918 to 1920 and the recent tendencies in marketing an index of productivity however accurate would not be so significant as the indexes for the other industries 548 PRODUCTIVITY OF LABOR Flour Milling Industry COLOUR milling is difficult to handle because 1 it is such a small scale industry so much so that the individual proprietors are almost as numerous as the salaried employees and the large corporation is the exception 2 the industry contains many grist mills which grind grain on shares or for a stipulated price without buying any grain themselves and 3 there are several important products and several raw materials The effect of these three is to make it difficult to construct a production index The most impor tant product of this industry of course is wheat flour but other products of importance are corn flour and corn meal rye flour bran and middlings and feed screenings etc Allowance must be made for all of them because the output of wheat flour is not always in dicative of the production of the others The method used in this study was simple addition by tonnage without the use of any system of weights This gives the offal like feed or bran as much influence in determining the index as a valuable product like wheat flour but there seems to be no other method In view of the fact that the employment data are also subject to a wide range of error it is evi dent that considerable allowances must be made for the productivity indexes in this industry The production of milling products varies relatively little from year to year as is to be expected in an industry supplying a basic food product There was a peak in wheat flour production in 1919 because of the heavy exports to Europe while in 1921 Europe bought the raw wheat and flour production in this country reached the lowest point in years These two years represent the extremes in production of milled products for the last 13 years The increase in productivity therefore has come about through a reduction in employment The total man hours expended in the milling industry in 1925 was over 30 per cent below that of 1914 while production in 1925 was only 6 per cent below Iron and Steel Industry CO N SID ERIN G first the composite index of both branches of the iron and steel industry attention must be called to the sharp fluctuations in annual production Of all the major industries in this country iron and steel is probably the most sensitive to conditions of prosperity and depression and while the fluctuations in produc tion are quickly communicated to the employment nevertheless there is enough of a lag to cause productivity to fall in periods of depression The trend of productivity itself is worthy of some comment No amount of probable error in the figures could nullify the conclusion that there was a great advance in productivity during the years coincident with the early development of the United States Steel Corporation This increase in productivity undoubt edly continued through the period but the depression in 1914 wiped out all the gains and the productivity index fell to the level of 1909 The beginnings of war prosperity in 1915 and 1916 MEASURED BY INDEX NUMBERS 549 were accompanied by high productivity which however declined during the years of American participation in the war This was probably the result of influences both internal and external to the industry The reorganization incident to the performance of war orders for the Government would account for some of the decline while the transportation crisis and the loss of workers to the Army undoubtedly accentuated it In 1919 under pressure of the strike the productivity index continued to fall and once more crossed the 1909 line The effect of the abolition of the 12 hour day can be seen in the last great advance of productivity in 1925 Despite the large production of that year there were fewer workers in the industry than in or 1923 although the hours of so many employees had been reduced The man hour productivity of the workers in an 8 hour day has increased to such an extent that no more labor has been required than before it went into effect Considerable caution must be exercised in interpreting the results shown by the segregated indexes It is clear that in blast furnace operation the productivity index is not so much affected by prosperity and depression as are the steel mills or to put it another way the employment fluctuates about as sharply and quickly as production On the other hand it is evident that the steel works and rolling mills can not dispense with their workers so easily in bad times From the data on steel works and rolling mills it might be inferred that the productivity in this branch of the industry remained below the 1909 level all during the period Such however is not the case It just happens that all three years for which separate indexes can be constructed were bad years for the industry 1914 was a year of severe depression in 1919 occurred the strike and in 1921 the bottom dropped out of the market It is in fact almost certain judging from the composite index that the productivity index in steel works and rolling mills was over 100 in every missing year When all due allowances have been made the fact remains that the blast furnace productivity index has increased much more rapidly than that of steel works and rolling mills but it is by no means cer tain just what this indicates Superficially it mignt seem evident that there has simply been a greater improvement in blast furnace operation but there is another possible interpretation of the figures which is worth serious consideration The blast furnace is a single productive unit while many distinct operations are grouped together under the heading Steel works and rolling mills In the second place it is extremely doubtful if pro duction of steel ingots is anything like as good a measure of steelmanufacturing activity as pig iron production is of blast furnace output Just as the composite productivity index of both branches of the industry effectively conceals the remarkable productivity in creases in blast furnaces so the general index for steel works and rolling mills may conceal great improvements in the subdivisions This could only be established by a special field investigation how ever for no census data are available on this point 550 PRODUCTIVITY OF LABOR Leather and Boot and Shoe Industries T H E leather tanning and boot and shoe industries are so closely related that even their respective labor productivities are some what interdependent This is due to the fact that nearly the whole leather output of the tanneries must be marketed with the boot and shoe manufacturers Therefore any variation in the demand of the public for shoes practically determines the condition of the boot and shoe industry and profoundly affects the tanning industry For this reason the indexes of productivity in these industries react uite similarly at times as shown in the last three or four years or example In fact the close similarity of the indexes in the two years is in itself good evidence that the indexes are quite accurate The calculation of an index of production for leather tanning is exceedingly difficult because of the fact that both the raw materials and the products are so diversified and there is no one uniform unit of measurement in either case In constructing the index the less important products were omitted and only the production data for sole belting upper and patent leather were included Since the original data on this output are expressed in hides sides butts skins etc these have all to be reduced to comparable units by means of the table of conversion used by the Census Office Even at that all sole and belting leather is eventually expressed in pounds while the upper and patent leather unit is the square foot Therefore these two must be first turned into separate indexes and then com bined later The productivity index for leather tanning indicates that the great improvement in man hour output came right after the big depres sion of The leather industry was one of the first to be struck by the depression so that for all practical purposes 1920 was the depression year in this industry The depression drove many small firms out of business and greatly reduced the employment although the leather output did not decline very markedly from the peak in 1919 In 1922 and 1923 the total output for the industry was higher than that of 1919 but the man hours did not even rise to the 1914 level again It seems likely that the crisis in the leather industry was more financial than industrial and the great advance in productivity was due more to the elimination of inefficient firms than to any special improvements in production Since 1923 the annual output of leather has decreased steadily and this factor has been responsible for the decline in productivity Productivity in the boot and shoe industry since the war closely parallels that in the leather industry There are no production data for boots and shoes in 1920 but it seems probable that this industry like leather experienced the depression early in the year and that the productivity were it available would show a decline irom 1919 After reaching a high point in 1922 productivity in boots and shoes has declined since that time The comparatively slight increase in output per man hour in the boot and shoe industry can be ascribed to two influences 1 The declining production in recent years be cause of poor demand and 2 the rapid development in the demand for odd styles and specially made shoes which has prevented any advance at all in mass production In addition to these factors with in the industry itself there is another which must not be overlooked 551 MEASURED BY INDEX NUMBERS Up to and including the year 1921 the statistics on production of boots and shoes were gathered by the Census Office at the regular census periods but beginning with 1922 the figures have been com piled from monthly reports of over 1 000 firms in the industry representing practically complete production However the data from such monthly reports w hile complete enough for all practical purposes are almost certain not to be comparable to the data gathered in the biennial census of manufactures because the latter covers even the smallest firms In many industries it has been possible to adjust such monthly figures upward to bring them into line with the census figures but this can not be done in the case of boots and shoes because the two sets do not overlap and so there is no basis of comparison It is not likely that an adjustment of this kind would make more than a few points difference in the productivity indexes for The results obtained in this study of productivity stand in rather strong contrast with some other data on productivity in the boot and shoe industry published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics These are the data on the labor time involved in manufacturing 100 pairs of shoes by the hand methods of 1863 and the machine methods of and 1923 1 The two sets of index numbers are compared 2 in the following table T able S C O M P A R IS O N OF P R O D U C T IV IT Y I N D E X W IT H T H E L A B O R T IM E M A N U F A C T U R IN G 100 P A IR S OF SHOES Labor time Hours Index of output per hour Productivity index Index OF The discrepancy here seems to be sufficiently large to cast doubt on one or the other or both of the indexes but as a matter of fact it is not difficult to reconcile the two sets of data The labor time figures are for a particular type of shoe in a particular establishment and represent the very best performance that could be expected at the time and place But of course one particular establishment may have advanced much more rapidly than the general trend of the industry and secondly the labor time on a medium priced shoe which could be manufactured in large quantities would be vastly different than that necessary in small shops on specialty and novelty shoes Therefore both results may be quite correct but each must be interpreted in its own way The labor time figures seem to show that considerable labor saving machinery and improved methods have been introduced into the industry in the last quarter century and that the best practice of 1925 should be more than double the best performance of the nineties but the productivity data for the industry as a whole can be interpreted as showing that the increased labor productivity under mass production has been about counter balanced by the growth in the demand for specialty and novelty shoes The production of boots and shoes is still a small scale in dustry for the most part and there is a wide gap between the best possible machine performances on standard shoes and the actual industry wide situation on productivity 1 Bureau o Labor Statistics But No Washington PRODUCTIVITY OF LABOR Paper and Pulp Industry T HE index of productivity for this industry must be considered in the light of the uncertainties in the production index In computing the total output of the industry account must be taken of at least six different classes of manufactured paper newsprint boxboard book wrapping fine writing and all other and of four kinds of pulp sulphite sulphate soda and ground wood The first problem is that of weighting the different kinds of paper and pulp in the construction ot separate indexes for paper and pulp respectively and the only method which can be followed is that of weighting in accordance with relative prices which in this case are not very satisfactory for this purpose Then there is another difficulty to be overcome in combining the paper index with the pulp index Since the manufacture of the pulp is only an intermediate step in the manufacture of paper it would be logically sound to use pulp production only as the measure of the total output of the industry and this procedure would have the advantage that the pulp index is much more accurate than the paper index and very much simpler to compute But there are two ob stacles to such a solution o f the problem First pulp is often manu factured and then put into storage so that the output of paper in a given year would not be exactly proportional to the production of pulp This in itself is not important enough however to justify the rejection of the method But there is a much more serious cause of discrepancy between pulp production and paper production namely the importation on a large scale of manufactured pulp from Canada In 1919 the imports from Canada were 200 000 tons of mechanical pulp and 435 000 tons of chemical pulp while in 1925 these had increased to 330 000 tons of mechanical and tons of chemical In the latter year about one third of the total chemical pulp used in the United States was imported Since the amount of pulp manufactured in this country will probably continue to decline relatively it is obviously impossible to use either pulp or paper pro duction alone as the key to the output of the industry as a whole Consequently the two separate indexes were combined into a com posite production index both being weighted equally The productivity index indicates that there has been a fairly steady increase in man hour output since 1904 The decline in 1920 and 1921 can undoubtedly be at least partly accounted for by inade quate data on hours of labor during the depression It is probable that this industry like boots and shoes would show much more remarkable productivity increases for particular plants on standard ized products like newsprint or wrapping paper but any such ad vances are partly counterbalanced by the low productivity in spe cialty products Petroleum Refining D ETROLEU M refining consists in the separation of crude petro leum into its constituent parts by a process of distillation The crude oil is composed of hydrocarbons of different atomic weights each of which has its own distinctive properties including its own boiling point When petroleum is subjected to heat the more vola MEASURED BY INDEX NUMBERS 553 tile parts of the liquid become vaporized and pass off into a con denser where they are cooled and liquefied again The first products of distillation are gasoline or naphtha the second are kerosene or illuminating oil and the third gas oil or fuel oil The remainder after paraffin wax has been extracted becomes lubricating oil In view of the fact that the products of the industry are so diversi fied while crude petroleum is the only important raw material it T has been the custom of the engineers and accountants within the industry to use crude petroleum consumption as a measure of the output of products Since the total volume of the products in gallons or barrels is substantially equal to the amount of crude petroleum consumed this method would be quite satisfactory if it were not for the recent development of the cracking process This process which may be described as distillation under pressure causes gas oil or low quality crude oil to yield additional gasoline instead of other products The chemical explanation of this is that the combination of pressure with heat cracks the molecules of heavier hydrocarbons so that they break down producing the lighter hydrocarbons which go to make gasoline The advantage of this process is that it greatly increases the amount of gasoline which can be recovered from a barrel of crude oil as is shown by the fact that the production of gasoline per barrel of crude petroleum increased from 7 gallons in 1914 to nearly 15 gallons in 1925 The effect of this increase in the quality of the products should be expressed in the index of production but as yet no method has been devised for doing so The industry still uses crude petroleum consumption as a measure of production so that method was fol lowed in calculating an index of production for the industry al though such an index is obviously an inadequate measure of output and results in a productivity index which is too low for recent years Portland Cement Industry manufacture of Portland cement differs from most of the xiidustries considered in this series in two important respects 1 It is to a certain degree an extractive industry and bears some resemblance to other extractive industries such as mining lum bering farming fishing etc in that the output is dependent to some extent upon the richness of the deposits of raw material and the condition of the weather 2 the output of the industry consists of a single product practically uniform in quality and easily meas urable in quantity From a statistical point of view there is no problem of weighting combining indexes or estimating the total value of the product as must often be done in other industries The only operation involved in making an index of production is to reduce the actual production figures to percentages The production of cement fell off markedly during the war the total output in 1918 being fully 20 per cent below the output of 1914 and the output in 1919 being about 9 per cent below that of 1914 Under these conditions the productivity remained about sta tionary with no significant increase in 1919 over 1914 In the next six years however the annual output was doubled from barrels in 1919 to barrels in 554 PRODUCTIVITY OF LABOR This great expansion was accompanied by a marked increase in productivity The output per man hour increased from an index of 103 in 1919 to 161 in 1925 because although the production was doubled the number of man hours expended increased only 25 per cent Rubber Tire Industry T H E great increase in productivity in the rubber tire industry can be explained in large measure by the remarkable expansion of the industry in the last decade The production index for 1925 was 680 nearly seven times as great as in 1914 Or stated in terms of the original production figures themselves the output of casings increased from about in 1914 to nearly in 1925 and the output of inner tubes increased from slightly less than to over in the same period The production index is very conservatively estimated in fact it is probably too low because of the weight assigned to truck tires the production of which increased at a slower rate than that of casings and inner tubes Employment reached a high point in 1919 when according to the computations mentioned above there must have been nearly 130 000 employees in the industry This number was cut to around 69 000 in 1921 and rose again to 87 000 in 1923 The preliminary census figures for 1925 give only the number of wage earners not including salaried employees but the number of the latter employed in 1925 can be estimated on the basis of the relative number in 1923 The result of this computation indicates that the total number of workers on the pay rolls in 1925 must have been around 96 000 The productivity index while it is extremely high is not sur prising in view of the production index A rapidly expanding industry is always favorably situated for an increase in output per man hour especially when as in this case the industry is a new one with the technique of production largely undeveloped The industry can scarcely be said to have been in existence 20 years ago although of course the rubber industries from which it branched were well developed The growth of the industry has naturally paralleled that of the automobile industry and it is interesting to note the close similarity of the two productivity indexes In both cases the output per man hour in 1925 was approximately three times that in 1914 Slaughtering and Meat Packing Industry T H E slaughtering and meat packing industry is an interesting one A for a productivity study because it differs so markedly from all other industries in its class Statistics on meat production for instance show that there is comparatively little change from one year to the next although there has been a gradual increase during the past 20 year period Periods of prosperity and depression do not influence the output of meat products to anything like the same extent that they influence the output of iron and steel automobiles paper etc This is probably not so much due to any policy of stabili zation within the industry as it is to the nature of the business Meat is a basic food commodity and consumption figures indicate that the public buys meat quite regularly regardless of whether times are good or bad and on the other hand the farmers in depres sion years are either unable or unwilling to hold the animals on the MEASURED BY INDEX NUMBERS 555 farm with the results that large numbers are unloaded onto the market regardless of prices This tends to keep up the volume of slaughtering in bad years In the second place although in total value of products it is one of the leading industries in the country ranking first in 1919 and 1921 and third in 1923 yet in respect to value added by manufacture it is far down the list being twelfth in 1919 and sixteenth in 1921 and 1923 In very few industries is the contrast as sharp as this Again this is an industry in which labor occupies a peculiar position Of all the large industries in this country slaughtering and meat packing ranks as one which is probably least susceptible to mechani zation Direct hand labor still plays an important if not a predomi nant part in the processes of slaughtering and packing Yet in spite of this strategic importance of labor in the industry labor cost is a comparatively small item Data from the Census of Manufac tures shows that on the average the amount paid in salaries and wages is only about 7 per cent of the total value of the goods pro duced while the cost of the raw materials constitutes 87 per cent of the value of the products with 6 per cent remaining for profits and overhead expenses It is difficult to explain the productivity situation The output per man hour seems to have declined steadily from 1909 to 1919 and in the latter year the output was barely 80 per cent of what it was in 1909 Then the figures show that by 1921 the lost ground had been fully made up the productivity being 3 7 per cent higher than in 1909 and about 30 per cent greater than in 1919 After 1921 there was a steady improvement until the high point was reached in per cent above the man hour output of 1914 In 1925 there was a slight decline in productivity but in view of the great decline in meat production in that year this is not surprising It is barely possible that 1914 and 1919 were both exceptional years and not at all indicative of the productivity situation in the industry at those times The former was a year of exceedingly low production while in 1919 the industry was still being affected by the war conditions One factor which might have been responsible in part for the situa tion is the character of the labor force itself In an industry so dependent upon hand labor skill speed and experience are neces sary qualifications for many of the jobs and it is possible that many of these experienced men went into the Army during the war ana were lost to th e industry This might account for the low produc tivity figures for 1919 but this factor could not have been operating in 1914 At any rate the indexes show that there was a marked decline in productivity for 10 years following 1909 and then a sharp recovery in the last six years In 1925 the output per man hour exceeded that of 1909 by about 10 per cent but at the same time it was about 27 5 per cent greater than the productivity in 1914 Productivity of Labor on the Railroads rF H E results of a recent study published in the Labor Review show A that the recent increases in the productivity of labor have not been confined to manufacturing industries On the railroads there has been a steady increase in the productivity of labor since 1890 although the greatest changes have taken place in the last 10 years 556 PRODUCTIVITY OF LABOR Due to the fact that in 1915 the Interstate Commerce Commission changed the rules for reporting the service of employees there is a break in the character of the data at this point Prior to this time no reports were made by the railroads on the actual hours worked by employees nor were the data classified in such a way that the pro ductivity of the different classes of workers could be separately determined Therefore it is only since 1915 that a productivity index for train and engine crews could be calculated The unit used as the measure of transportation output is the traffic unit computed by adding the ton miles of freight to three times the number of passenger miles This is the generally accepted method of combining these two incommensurable units The man hours used in the computations are the hours of duty reported by the companies but prior to 1915 there were no data of this kind so that the only figures available for the period are the total number of employees each year In view of the fact that the hours worked per day declined slightly during this period the use of the total number of employees as an index of man hours operates conservatively on the productivity index The data used in the study include line haul roads only the service of switching and terminal roads not being included This does not imply that yard and terminal service is excluded however for the greater part of such work is done by the line haul roads For the years the figures represent the operations of all railroads in the country while those for the years are for Class I roads only Since the latter include about 95 per cent of all railroad employees the error thus introduced is not serious The index numbers of productivity of all employees from 1890 to 1926 is shown in Table 3 T able 3 IN D E X N U M B E R S OF P R O D U C T IV IT Y OF A L L R A I L R O A D IN T H E U N IT E D S T A T E S 1890 T O 1926 Year ending June June June June June June June June June June June June June June June June June June June Traffic Manunits hours i Traffic units per manhour m o Year ending June June June June June June June June Dec Dec Dec Dec Dec Dec Dec Dec Dec Dec months EM PLOYEES Traffic M anunits hours i Traffic units per manhour Man hours for the years are assumed to be proportional to number of employees 2 Index numbers based upon figures representing the operations of only a part of the year would not be comparable with those based upon the entire year s operations Derivative figures traffic units per manhour are exempt from this restriction 557 MEASURED BY INDEX NUMBERS The table shows an increase of 154 per cent in the 37y2 years from July to 1926 or an average of 4 1 per cent per year In general the curve of productivity has been quite smooth although there has been a marked bending upward because of the rapjd in crease of productivity in recent years The rate of increase for the 23 years from July to June was only 2 per cent per year while for the 14y2 years from July to Decem ber the rate was 5 1 per cent per year For the whole period traffic increased 366 8 per cent or an average of 10 per cent per year while man hours increased only 88 5 per cent or 2 4 per cent per year Table 4 shows the index numbers of traffic units per man hour for all employees and for train and engine crews on Class I line haul railroads for the period The base period selected is the 2 year period from July 1914 to December 1916 In the first year under the new rules 1915 fiscal year about 20 of the larger carriers failed to report any data for employees nor were the data reported by the other roads as carefully collected as in later reports In 1916 the change was made from the fiscal to the calendar year so that by using this 2 year period as a base it is possible to use the data from three full yearly reports T able 4 I N D E X N U M B E R S OF P R O D U C T I V I T Y OF R A IL R O A D L A B O R IN T H E U N IT E D S T A T E S 1915 T O 1926 July Dec All employees Year ending June June Dec Dec Dec Dec Dec Dec Dec Dec Dec Dec months Traffic units Train and engine crews Traffic Traffic Hours on units per Hours on units per duty duty man hour man hour i Index numbers based upon figures representing only a part of the year s operations would not be com parable with those based upon the entire year s operations Derivative figures traffic units per manhour are exempt from this restriction As shown in the table the output per man hour of all employees increased 40 5 per cent during the period For train and engine crews alone the increase was 34 5 per cent In this connection it is important to note that the railroad shop workers are included in the man hours because there are no data available for computing the man hours index without them This is especially important because of the practice of some railroads of farming this work out to con tractors However the figures of the United States census on employees in railroad repair shops show that the increase in this 558 PRODUCTIVITY OF LABOR class of labor on the railroads is at least equal to the increase in other classes Therefore the indexes of productivity are not affected seri ously by this situation The results of this study serve to emphasize the fact that the recent increases in the productivity of labor have not been confined to manufacturing industries The increase in productivity on rail roads since 1890 is probably far in excess of that in a great many industries and it is all the more remarkable because of the fact that it has been a steady increase not one due to the adoption of any revolutionary methods or inventions SICKNESS STATISTICS 559 Disabling Sickness Among Industrial Employees HE United States Public Health Service has been carrying on a study of the morbidity records of a group of industrial mutual benefit associations and company medical departments since January 1920 The reports which are made monthly by these companies to the Public Health Service cover those cases lasting eight days or longer for which sick benefits have been paid with the exception of the reports for 1920 which include a number of cases lasting only seven days The reports do not include all disabling sickness since the benefit associations do not pay sick benefits for illness resulting from the venereal diseases from the violation of any civil law or from willful or gross negligence and in most cases they do not pay for chronic diseases contracted prior to the date of joining the organization There are certain rules also which if not complied with many result in a member being denied disability benefits thus further limiting the number of cases recorded and the age limits for eligibility to mem bership prevent the age distribution from being typical of that of em ployees as a whole The data from the company medical departments have so far as possible been made to conform with those from the benefit associations by excluding diseases for which the latter do not pay benefits It is evident that the incidence rates of sickness shown by these reports are an understatement of the extent of sickness in industry although in view of the general lack of statistical informa tion as to industrial morbidity the information even though inade quate and incomplete is believed to be of value T Sickness Rates for 1922 and 1923 1 T HE number of persons used as the basis for the calculation of A sickness frequency rates is in the case of benefit associations the number of members and in the case of medical departments the number on the pay roll at the end of each month About 90 per cent of the total number of employees for whom reports were made were men Sickness cases among women include only diseases common to both sexes but in spite of that fact the frequency of cases among the women was about 35 per cent higher than among the men The table following shows the frequency of different diseases lasting eight consecutive days or longer in 1923 compared with 1922 1 United States Public Health Service Public Health Reports Oct pp Frequency of disabling illnesses among industrial employees T SICKNESS STATISTICS N U M B E R O F C ASES OF SIC K N E SS C A U S IN G D IS A B IL IT Y OF ON E W E E K OR L O N G E R A M O N G A G R O U P O F I N D U S T R IA L E M P L O Y E E S A N D N U M B E R OF CASES P E R 1 000 PE R S O N S IN 1922 A N D 1923 able Num ber of cases General grouping of diseases and conditions causing disability 1922 N um ber of cases per 1 000 persons Number of persons included in the record General diseases Diseases of the nervous system Diseases of the circulatory system Diseases of the respiratory system Diseases of the digestive system Diseases of the genito urinary system Diseases of the skin and cellular tissue Diseases of the bones and organs of locom otion External causes nonindustrial accidents Hi defined diseases T o t a l Including influenza and grippe 2 including organs of special sense eyes ears During both 1922 and 1923 the high frequency of influenza and grippe was outstanding accounting for 21 per cent in 1922 and 24 per cent in 1923 of all the disabilities for which sick benefits were paid Even in 1921 when there was no marked epidemic of in fluenza as was the case in the two following years the curve for influenza or grippe rose as high as the curve for all other respiratory diseases combined The other epidemic diseases including typhoid fever smallpox malaria measles etc formed only 2 4 per cent of the total number of cases less even than appendicitis This is considered to reflect an important achievement in public health work The following table shows the number of cases of sickness per 1 000 persons and the per cent of total cases in 1923 classified according to the principal causes of disability T able 2 P R IN C IP A L C AU SES OF D IS A B IL IT Y IN 1923 A M O N G A G R O U P O F W A G E E A R N E R S IN D I F F E R E N T IN D U S T R IE S Principal cause of disability N um ber of Per cases cent N um of ber of per 1 000 total cases per cases sons Num ber of persons covered in the records Influenza and grippe A ll other respiratory diseases Nonindustrial accidents R heum atism Diseases of the pharynx Diseases of the stomach and diarrhea Principal cause of disability 4 Degenerative diseases Diseases of the skin Appendicitis Epidem ic and endemic dis eases A ll other diseases N um ber of Per cases cent N um per of ber of 1 000 total cases per cases sons T otal There was marked seasonal variation in the incidence rate of dis abilities lasting longer than one week This was due almost exclu sively however to the cases of influenza and grippe supplemented by the other respiratory diseases which also had their highest inci dence at the time when influenza and grippe were most prevalent SICKNESS AMONG INDUSTRIAL EMPLOYEES 563 These diseases produced an extremely high sickness rate in January February and March in each of the four years studied but the records showed that when all the diseases of the respiratory system were eliminated there was comparatively little seasonal variation in the sickness rate The frequency rate varied greatly among the different establish ments The lowest male sickness rate was 48 cases per 1 000 persons and the highest 198 while the rate for women ranged from 29 to 261 per 1 000 These differences suggest the report states that detailed studies of those establishments having the highest rates in comparison with the sickness incidence in the establishments having the lowest rates would provide a starting point for combating the waste and inefficiency resulting from needlessly high disability rates in industry Sickness Rates for 19242 Hr HE report for 1924 shows that during tne year there were A 10 948 cases causing disability of eight days or longer in a group of 114 065 male industrial workers employed in different industries The leading cause of serious disability was influenza and grippe accounting for 18 per cent of all the sickness claims During recent years the report states no other disease has been so disastrous from the standpoint of interrupted production wages lost and cost to sick benefit associations and any considerable reduction in its fre quency even in nonepidemic years would mean the elimination of thousands of days of disability for American wage earners For the five years ending December the frequency rate for this disease was 6 6 times the frequency of the epidemic endemic and infectious diseases against which health work is so largely directed The next most important cause of disability in 1924 as in the two preceding years was nonindustrial accidents It appears from the rates for these years that the trend of nonindustrial accidents is upward due without doubt to the increasing number of automobile accidents Acute and chronic rheumatism diseases of the stomach and diarrhea and diseases of the pharynx all having practically the same frequency formed the next most important groups while ap pendicitis was more frequent than pneumonia The rate for pul monary tuberculosis was not much above the general death rate for this disease due probably to the fact that many o f those who are tubercularly inclined either do not get into industry or leave before they are actually incapacitated A compilation of the annual incidence rates for different diseases and disease groups for the five years ending December shows that respiratory diseases including influenza and grippe pulmonary tuberculosis and disease of the pharynx accounted for 47 per cent of all the cases of sickness A comparison of the sickness frequency according to sex shows that the women who were members of the sick benefit associations had 44 per cent more sickness than the men during the three years ending December although these reports cover in most cases benefits paid only for diseases which are common to both sexes 2 U nited S tates P u b lic H e a lth S ervice P u b lic H e a lth Sickness a m o n g in d u s tria l em p loy ees R e p o rts Jan pp 564 SICKNESS STATISTICS When the waiting period for sickness benefits is less than one week the difference is even more marked and the records of industrial medical departments indicate that the disability rate for women may be nearly twice the male rate when all sickness causing absence from work for one day or longer is included The frequency of different diseases and groups o f diseases is shown for men in the iron and steel industry in public utilities and in a group of miscellaneous industries The highest disability rate was found among the men in the public utilities In this industry the rate was high for practically all ailments there being no one specific disease or disease group which stood out as accountable for the high frequency rate The lowest rate was found in the iron and steel industry where the frequency rate was especially low for diseases of the nervous system and the digestive system and for bronchitis influenza and grippe Because of the heavy nature of the work in this industry there is evidently a selective process of recruitment and dismissal which results in the employment of physically stronger workers The pneumonia rate was so high among these workers however that it suggested the desirability of a special study pneumonia morbidity and mortality in this industry Severity rates were computed for those reporting associations which had the same benefit period and while the number was too few to be conclusive it showed that certain disease groups are much more important from the standpoint o f the amount of time lost than from their frequency of occurrence These groups included diseases of the nervous system of the circulatory system and of the genito urinary system while influenza and grippe were important from the point of view both of frequency and or severity 0 1 Hookworm Disease in Cotton Mill Villages of Alabama and Georgia 3 STUDY of the value of sanitation as a factor in hookworm control in a section of the country where the soil is heavily infested with hookworms was made in the summer of 1925 in four cotton mill villages in southern Alabama and Georgia These villages which were owned and controlled by the mill owners were chosen because they were well sanitated and because the residents originally came from rural districts where there was practically no sanitation and where hookworm disease was so severe as to form an economic menace to the people affecting particularly the health of children of school age After the families have moved into the village where the housing and sanitary conditions are better and there is little or no oppor tunity for them to come in contact with infested soil practically no new infestation is acquired and the hookworms previously acquired die in from three to five years In view of this fact it seemed that a comparative study of the incidence and intensity of infestation in sanitated and unsanitated districts and study of the hookworm A 3 T h e J ou rn a l o f In d u s tria l H ygien e S eptem ber 1926 pp 3 8 2 r H o o k w o rm d is ease in c o tto n m ill villa g es o f A la b a m a an d G e o r g ia A stu d y on th e va lu e o f s a n ita tio n in a s o il p ro v in ce h ea v ily in fested w ith h ook w orm b y D o n a ld L A u gu stin e HOOKWORM DISEASE IN ALABAMA AND GEORGIA 565 infestation of individuals having different lengths of residence in the mill villages would show the value of sanitation in the control of hookworm disease A total of 386 children from the four villages was examined for hookworm of whom 263 or 68 1 per cent showed some degree of infestation Each child was given a general physical examination which included his weight and the determination of his hemoglobin value and all individuals with outstanding physical defects were excluded Among those excluded were 17 positive cases which were found to be unsatisfactory for examination for intensity of in festation Fifty five of the children examined had received hookworm treat ment and o f this number only 13 were found to be free from hook worms In most cases the treatments were given however from T one to several years before the family left the farm so that the treatments were only a slight factor in influencing the condition of the children Of the total of 369 who were examined for intensity of infestation 123 were negative 176 were lightly infested 60 were moderately infested and 10 were heavily infested Although a high incidence of the disease is shown for the entire group a comparison of the intensity of infestation according to the length of residence in the villages shows that the intensity decreased rapidly with the increasing years of residence so that after seven years the disease was practically eliminated The resulting improvement in health is shown by a comparison of the weight and of the hemoglobin of the children as great improvement was evident among those who had been longest away from the country in spite of the fact that only a few hookworm treatments had been given at the mill village In view of the fact that residence m the sanitated area had re sulted in so largely eliminating the disease it is recommended that all children from heavily infested areas should be examined by an intensity method on their entrance into mill villages and that a standard treatment be given to all children suffering from the disease in order to relieve suffering and bring about an earlier control of the disease than can be secured by sanitation alone STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS 567 Strikes and Lockouts in the United States 1926 HE following tables present statistics of strikes and lockouts in the United States in 1926 and also for purposes of com parison statistics of strikes and lockouts for preceding years back to 1916 inclusive by years States causes and industries The term dispute is used in this report interchangeably with strikes and lockouts The bureau has no machinery for the prompt and full reporting of strikes and lockouts but depends largely upon newspapers trade journals and labor periodicals for the preliminary reports of dis putes These preliminary reports are followed up by correspond ence and any necessary revision is made For these reasons the data here presented do not pretend to be absolutely complete or fully accurate It is believed however that practically all of the more significant strikes and lockouts are recorded and that the information submitted is sufficiently accurate to give a fair presenta tion of the situation in the United States in the matter of strikes and lockouts T Strikes and Lockouts Beginning in 1926 T ABLE 1 shows the number of strikes and lockouts beginning in 1 1926 by months and the number of persons involved table 1 S T R IK E S A N D L O C K O U T S B E G IN N IN G IN 1926 B Y M O N T H S 1 Disputes in which number of em ployees directly involved is known M onth Total number of disputes Average Number of Num ber of number of employees disputes employees involved per dispute January February M arch April M a y June July August September O ctob er N ovem ber December M onth not stated T otal i Excluding those involving fewer than 6 persons and those lasting less than 1 day STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS IN THE UNITED STATES Table 2 shows the number of disputes in which the number of em ployees directly involved was reported the number of such employees and the average number of employees per dispute T a b l e 2 N U M B E R OF D IS P U T E S A N D E M P L O Y E E S IN V O L V E D B Y Y E A R S 1916 T O 1926 Disputes in which number of employees involved was reported Disputes in which number of employees involved was reported Employees Year N um ber of dis putes Employees Aver age per dispute Number Year N um ber of dis putes A ver age per dispute i Num ber i Excluding those involving fewer than 6 persons and those lasting less than 1 day Disputes by Months and Years T ABLE 3 shows the number of disputes beginning in each month 1 1916 to 1926 T a b l e 3 N U M B E R OF D IS P U T E S B E G IN N IN G IN E A C H M O N T H 1916 T O 1926 Number of disputes beginning i n Year Jan Feb Mar Apr M ay June July Aug Sept Oct M onth N ov Dec not stated i Excluding those involving fewer than 6 persons and those lasting less than 1 day roia i dis putes STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS IN THE UNITED STATES Place of Occurrence of Disputes T A B LE 4 shows the number of disputes beginning in each year 1916 to 1926 by States and by sections of the country T a b l e 4 N U M B E R O F D IS P U T E S B E G IN N IN G IN E A C H Y E A R 1916 T O 1926 B Y S T A T E S A N D S E C T IO N S OF T H E C O U N T R Y State and section California Colorado Connecticut District of Columbia 9 Florida Georgia H a w a ii 4 5 Idaho Illinois I n d ia n a Iow a Kansas K entucky Louisiana M aine M aryland Massachusetts Michigan M in n e so ta M i s s i s s ip p i M issou ri M ontana Nebraska N evada N ew Hampshire New Jersey N ew M exico New Y o r k North Carolina North Dakota O h io Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Porto R ico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee T e x a s Utah Verm ont Virginia Virgin Islands Washington West Virginia W isconsin W yom ing In tersta te Total North of the Ohio and east of the Mississippi 3 186 South of the Ohio and east of the Mississippi 174 West of the Mississippi 425 Interstate Io i Excluding those involving fewer than 6 persons and those lasting less than 1 day STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS IN THE UNITED STATES Causes of Dispute r T HE principal causes of strikes for each year 1916 to 1926 are shown in Table 5 T a b l e 5 P R IN C IP A L C A U S E S OF D IS P U T E S B E G IN N IN G IN E A C H Y E A R 1916 T O 1926 N um ber of disputes beginning in Cause of dispute i 1926 Increase of wages Decrease of wages Wages not otherwise specified Nonpaym ent of wages Increase of wages and decrease of hours Decrease of wages and increase of h ou rs Increase of hours Decrease of hou rs Recognition of union Recognition and wages Recognition and hours Recognition wages and hours General conditions Conditions and wages Conditions and hours Conditions wages and hours Conditions and recognition Discharge of foreman demanded Discharge of employees Em ploym ent of nonunion m e n Objectionable persons h ired Discrimination Open or closed shop Closed shop and other causes Unfair products In regard to agreement N ew agreement S ym p ath y J u risd iction U 1 4 8 2 U nsatisfactory food Miscellaneous N ot reported Excluding those involving fewer than 6 persons and those lasting less than 1 day Industries and Occupations Affected Hr ABLE 6 shows for each year 1916 to 1926 the number of labor disputes occurring in the industries named T able 6 N U M B E R OF D IS P U T E S IN S P E C IF IE D IN D U S T R Y G R O U P S 1916 T O 1926 Number of disputes m ausiry 1916 Building trades Clothing F u rn itu re Iron and steel Leather Lum ber Metal trades Mining coal Mining other Paper m anufacturing Printing and publishing Shipbuilding Slaughtering meat cut ting and packing Stone Textile Tobacco Transportation steam and electric Excluding those involving fewer than 6 persons and those lasting less than 1 day io 14 9 STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS IN TH E UNITED STATES 573 Principal Strikes and Lockouts in 1926 f L O A K and suit workers New York The most important dis turbance during the year was the strike of about 40 000 cloth ing workers in New York City beginning July 1 Their demands at the outset included a working week of 40 hours instead of 44 wage increases and a minimum of 36 weeks employment during the year The industry embraces the manufacture of women s cloaks suits and skirts and is characterized by a system of production peculiar to itself There are three employing groups namely a the in side manufacturers represented by the Industrial Council of Cloak Suit and Skirt Manufacturers Inc 6 the independent manufacturers and c the submanufacturers or contractors repre sented by the American Cloak and Suit Manufacturers Association who get their orders and material from still another group called jobbers who do not employ labor directly but by reason of their resources and strategic position in the industry constitute a most powerful indirect factor being represented by the Merchants Ladies Garment Association An agreement was reached with the inside manufacturers on November 13 which also applied it was said to the employees of the independent manufacturers This agreement runs to June and calls for a 42 hour week until the first Monday of June 1928 and a 40 hour week thereafter Important wage increases are also stipulated The manufacturers in the industrial council secured the right to reorganize their shops i e to the extent of displacing 10 per cent of their force annually a point in dispute which had been stressed during the later phases of the struggle It was pro vided that all members of the council having a regular force of 35 or more employees and who have paid in wages and overtime the equivalent of 32 weeks employment during the year preceding reorganization shall have the right to displace 10 per cent of their workers New firms admitted to the council will not be privileged to reorganize until they have been members of the council for six months This agreement disposed of the dispute with the inside manufacturers and the independent manufacturers but there still remained the submanufacturers or contractors Here the disagree ment centered largely in the right of reorganization Finally through the intervention of the higher officials of the union the strike was practically settled on December 15 through agreements to sub mit to arbitration the differences with the submanufacturers especially that as to the right of reorganization in shops employing fewer than 35 workers The decision of the arbitrators was reported in the press of December 21 and appears to allow the right of reorganiza tion to shops employing 35 workers on condition that the firms have been in business two years that they provide 32 weeks employ ment and that after June only those submanufacturers em ploying 40 or more workers shall have the reorganization privilege Shops with fewer than 35 workers are excluded from reorganization rights Wage increases were allowed as in the case of employees of the inside manufacturers Fur workers New York The fur workers of New York City were called out on general strike February 16 The strike order 574 STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS IN THE UNITED STATES applied to some 12 000 workers of both sexes and followed the lockout order of the Associated Fur Manufacturers Association Inc of February 11 affecting 5 000 or more workers in the shops it controlled The strike order of the union however included not only the manufacturers association but the independent manufac turers who immediately declared a lockout The agreement under which the furriers had been working expired January and the two sides had been unable to get together upon the terms of a new agreement in which the union wanted to include a 40 hour week a contribution from the employers of 3 per cent of their pay rolls for the establishment of a fund to insure all workers against periods of unemployment and an equal division of work during the year to minimize the slack season and the lay off An agreement to run until January was finally consum mated on June 15 and the workers began to return on the 16th more than fourth months after the disturbance began By this strike the workers gained a minimum wage increase of 10 per cent and a 40 hour week during eight months of the year during September October November and December overtime of four hours on Saturday is permitted to be paid for at regular rates Some losses however were sustained in other directions These are set forth in the following full account of the settlement taken from the June issue of the Fur Worker the official organ of the union After a protracted conference on Thursday June 10 lasting until Friday June a m the 17 week old strike of the New York furriers was finally settled For some days previously outside mediators had been ironing out the points acceptable to both parties The main difficulty seems to have been what points the union should barter away in order to gain a 40 hour week for eight months in the year In the editorial and other columns in this issue the new agreement is closely analyzed Here the changes are given with explana tory notes The twelve points 1 One collective agreement in the industry N o t e Until now there was only one collective agreement with the Asso ciated Fur Manufacturers while all the independents signed individual agree ments with the union Most of these employers were required to deposit cash security as guaranty for their compliance with provisions and the union officials were free to visit their shops at any time for purpose of control They could not visit any association shop save in company with the appointed official of the association Since two new associations have recently sprung up most of the employers will now seemingly enjoy unusual privileges 2 Agreement to terminate January Hours of work 40 per week five day week 4 No overtime except that during the months of September October Novem ber and December manufacturers are permitted to work four hours on Satur day Single time to be paid for such hours N o t e By these terms the workers lose the benefit of time and a half pay ment for overtime In other words it means that during the four busy months there will be a six day week consisting of 44 hours So that the union did not secure a clear gain of the five day 40 hour week 5 Legal holidays 10 New Year Lincoln s Birthday Washington s Birthday shall not be paid for N o t e Thus the workers lose three days wages a year 6 Minimum wage increase 10 per cent Second class work revised and lim ited to following skins Angora astrakhan common buffalo coneys dog hamster horse jackal kangaroo llama lion mice muffion American opossum rabbits all types sheep swan thibet wallaby wombat and zebra STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS IN TH E UNITED STATES Foremanship Each firm is allowed one foreman for nailing operating and cutting and one foreman head finisher for finishers A firm one of whose members is actually continuously managing the shop is not entitled to a foreman for operating nailing and cutting unless it employs at least 10 wofkers excluding finishers For finishers that intent is not to limit the employment of a foreman in such a case The conference committee shall have authority to legislate on this subject as the needs of the situation may demand 8 No apprentices be permitted until February No worker shall be discharged in a week preceding a holiday week 10 The entire garment shall be made on the same premises and no section of a garment shall be given out to contractors Paragraph 3 of article 28 to read Firms giving out merchandise for the production of complete garments to be made by any other firm shall imme diately file the names of such firm or firms with the conference committee It is understood that in the exercise of the right of the manufacturer to give such work to other firms first consideration and preference shall be given to the workers employed directly by the firm N o t e The changes in this provision imply a mere change of words The words part of a garment in the old agreement are replaced by the word merchandise and the words outside shop or contractor are replaced by the words any other firm or firms Eliminate article 31 of the agreement N o t e This implies the loss of the unemployment insurance fund 12 Penalties a For violation of overtime First offense The worker pays the amount earned at time and a half the employer the same amount Second offense Double the amount of first offense For violation of minimum scale First offense The worker pays the amount under the scale collected The employer pays the same amount Second offense Double the amount of first offense c For violation of contracting regulations First offense A maximum of 150 Second offense A maximum of 300 Third offense Suspension or expulsion Method of imposing penalties It shall be the duty of the conference committee to recommend to the asso ciation or the union as the case may be the imposition of penalties in accord ance with the above schedules upon firms or workers found guilty of violations of these regulations The moneys so collected shall be turned over to the conference committee and proper separate accounts kept The money shall be disposed of as follows Moneys collected from manufacturers shall be disposed of as the members of the conference committee representing the association shall deem proper Moneys collected from workers shall be disposed of as the members of the conference committee representing the union shall deem proper Subject to ratification by the respective organizations Dated June a m Textile workers New Jersey A protracted disturbance among the woolen and worsted textile workers of Passaic N J and vicinity began January 25 at the Botany Worsted Mills when some of the employees struck in response to the call of the so called United Front Committee headed by Albert Weisbord They demanded that the 10 per cent cut in wages made last summer be returned that overtime be paid for at the rate of 50 per cent extra and that there be no discrimination against members of the United Front Committee Other mills gradually became involved until the strikers numbered between eight and twelve thousand 576 STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS IN THE UNITED STATES Following the withdrawal of the so called United Front Committee and the induction of the strikers into the American Federation of Labor as Local 1603 of the United Textile Workers of America a settlement was effected with one of the mills viz the Passaic Worsted Spinning Co on November 11 which recognized the right of the workers to organize and to bargain collectively and provided that no discrimination and preference would be shown in employing help that a closed shop would not be demanded and that in the event of future trouble the workers would remain at work pending arbitration Further settlements along similar lines were effected with the T Botany Worsted Mills and the Garfield Worsted Mills on December 13 and with the Dundee Textile Co cotton and silk on December 20 Additional settlements were reached with the Forstmann Huffman Co on February 14 and with the New Jersey Worsted Mills and the Gera Mills on February 16 but these were less suc cessful as the mills simply agreed to reemploy the workers as rapidly as conditions would permit without discrimination on account of membership in legitimate organizations The strike against the remaining mill the United Piece Dye Works was also called off as reported in the press in accordance with the decision of the strikers at a gathering in Lodi on the night of February 28 The union it was said had the verbal assurance of the mill officials that there would be no discrimination against any former workers because of union affiliation TURNOVER OF LABOR Labor Turnover in American Industry A B 0R turnover is one of the subjects about which much has been said but about which except in sporadic instances little has been done The subject first rose to prominence during the war when the demand for products emphasized the need for suf ficient and stable labor forces in industry and private employers as well as Government authorities having to do with the administra tion of labor and with the production of war materials began to study the question The Bureau of Labor Statistics in 1918 19 made a number of studies of labor turnover on the Pacific coast and in various cities of the Middle West the results of which were published in the Labor Review 1 In the June 1920 issue were given data for the years 1910 to 1919 covering altogether 260 establishments with more than 500 000 workers 2 The Federal Board for Vocational Education among the other Federal agencies interested in the subject of labor mobility in November 1919 published as its Bulletin No 46 a re port on labor turnover bringing together the available data on the subject With the end of the war period and the advent of the industrial depression labor turnover while still of interest became less press ing In times of labor scarcity and good business turnover in creases but in times of business depression turnover decreases Individual firms however kept turnover records and studies of individual plants or industries were made but until recently no very comprehensive detailed work has been done along this line although as before stated much has been written on the general subject of turnover mainly from the point of view of holding the man to the job The restriction of immigration however the tendency toward a longer period of schooling for children and the prevailing high wages as compared with those of a few years ago are cited as reasons for the need of the more careful conservation of industrial labor and the more careful study by employers of late years 1 Increased efforts to reduce absenteeism and tardiness sickness and acci dents among employees may be viewed as corollaries of the fundamental fact that industrial labor is rather scarce and very expensive Individual manu facturers are scrutinizing as never before the facts and figures showing the labor turnover experience of their own plants Among the forces making for the recent rapid spread of group insurance an important place must be assigned to the desire of employers to conserve that part of the labor supply which they have managed to preempt 8 1 See issu es o f Septem ber 1919 t o J une L a te r p u b lish ed in m uch grea ter d eta il b y P a u l P B rlssen d en and E m il F ra n k e l un d er the title T h e C auses o f L a b or T u r n o v e r N ew Y ork T h e R o n a ld P ress C o B ro w n B usin ess S ervice A p r LABOR TURNOVER IN AMERICAN INDUSTRY Labor Turnover by Industries Coal Industry TOURING the course of the survey of the coal mining industry made by the United States Coal Commission in 1921 valuable data were secured on labor mobility in both the anthracite and bituminous fields Summary data from the commission s report are given in the table below T a b l e 1 L A B O R T U R N O V E R IN T H E C O A L M IN IN G I N D U S T R Y IN 1921 Source U S Coal Commission Report Washington 1925 parts 2 p 507 and 3 p 1267 Anthracite Occupation Bituminous Average number on Separations Turnover per cent pay roll Contract miners Contract laborers Loaders Machine miners Pick miners Inside day m en Outside day men T otal Average number on Separations Turnover per cent pay roll Contract loaders The study disclosed as regards the bituminous industry 1 That the turnover for the industry as a whole is not remarkably high as compared with other industries although it is excessive in some districts 2 That for various reasons labor is much more unstable in nonunion districts than in union districts 3 That in mixed nonunion and union districts the turnover percentage occupies a middle point between the extremes of the other two 4 That the turnover among machine miners is noticeably lower than for the other two tonnage worker groups pick miners and loaders 5 That the turnover is higher among outside day men than among inside day men although the stability is greater in the first group Cotton Mills r THE United States Women s Bureau in a recent report Bui No A 52 made a study of lost time and labor turnover in 18 cotton mills 9 of which were in the North and 9 in the South The rates of turnover found were as follows T a b l e 2 L A B O R T U R N O V E R IN C O T T O N M IL L S IN 1922 M ills and sex of workers Average number of Final sepa full time rations workers Turnover per cent Northern mills M en W om en T otal Southern mills M en W o m e n T otal Grand total 581 LABOR TURNOVER IN AMERICAN INDUSTRY Silk Industry C H E N E Y Bros silk manufacturers have for a number of years been keeping labor turnover records Data collected by the com pany 4 show that the rate of turnover based on the average daily number of employees for the last 10 years has been as follows T urnover p e r ce n t i The data show that married men are the most stable employees followed in order by single women single men and finally by mar ried women The relation of length of service and stability is shown in the statement below giving the yearly rate of turnover for each clas sified service group T urnover p e r ce n t Under 1 year and under 2 years and under 3 years and under 5 years and under 10 years and under 20 years and under 30 years and under 50 years General Labor Turnover Records G 17 OR several years about 25 employers in various lines of business located in and about Philadelphia have been furnishing labor turnover data to the University of Pennsylvania department of indus trial research More recently the National Metal Trades Association has invited the university to extend its work to include members of that association The work of collection of labor turnover data being done by Brown University and the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co is described by Prof W A Berridge as follows Since May 1925 certain Rhode Island manufacturers have been reporting on their monthly labor turnover experience to the bureau of business research at Brown University They now number about 45 and employ about 25 000 wage earners 7 Since January 1926 certain national manufacturers have been reporting 4 F a cto ry A p ril W h a t 86 yea rs have ta u g h t u s a bou t selectin g la b o r by H o ra ce B Cheney re p rin te d in L a b or R eview M ay a n d A m erican M anagem ent A ss o cia tio n Office E xe cu tiv e Series N o 2 1 A s ta tistica l a n a lysis o f personnel 5 N ine m onths 6 D a ta fro m B ro w n B usin ess Service A p r a n d F a cto ry S eptem ber Y o u r la b o r t u r n o v e r g o o d o r b a d b y W A B erridge a n d o rig in a l d a ta fu rn ish e d to th e B ureau o f L a b or S ta tistics by P ro fe s so r B erridge 7 Figures as of early February 582 LABOR TURNOVER IN AMERICAN INDUSTRY on a similar schedule to the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co In this investigation the reporting manufacturers now number about 175 they employ about 800 000 wage earners 7 or between 8 and 10 per cent of the total number employed in American factory industries according to the censuses of manufactures In both cases the index numbers form only part of a comprehensive project for measuring analyzing and so far as possible improving the stability of labor The form circulated each month calls simply for the following six items 1 Total accessions 2 Total separations a Voluntary quits b Lay offs c Discharges 3 Average number on pay roll The collecting organization then figures for each reporting manu facturer the ratio of each of the first five items to the average number on pay roll Each of the five resulting sets of rates is then arrayed in order of magnitude After considerable experimental study of the distribution thus formed the central or median item was decided upon as the most reliable and significant form of average for the pur pose at hand The median rate successfully controls the influence of extremely high or low rates and that of companies having unusually large work forces it tends to approximate the mode or normal it is easily determined and it seems to avoid some of the difficulties arising from a changing size of sample number of reporting com panies The median was therefore adopted for all but the total separation rate which is the sum of the medians for the three com ponent rates above specified Chart 1 presents a graphic conspectus of the two sets of index numbers resulting from these investigations that of Brown Uni versity May 1925 through December 1926 at the left that of the Metropolitan Life Co January through December 1926 at the right Although all the curves are plotted at monthly intervals the chart is scaled in equivalent annual rates In each case the full line represents the total separation rate ignoring miscellaneous sepa rations The area beneath the full line is divided to show the chang ing composition of the total separation rate the voluntary quit rate the lay off rate and the discharge rate being represented by the three component areas or zones The accession rate is shown by the crossed line To study the earlier effects of seasonal and cyclical changes upon labor turnover experience each of the indexes is being extended back to 1919 as rapidly as the collection of returns from representative establishments makes that possible Thus far such an extension has been completed only for the voluntary quit rate This more extended picture is shown in Chart 2 for both the national and the Rhode Island groups These two charts and their companion tables present several inter esting problems of interpretation only a part of them can yet be solved and a treatment of even these is beyond the scope of the pres ent descriptive article Suffice it to say that systematic efforts are being made to throw more light upon them by intimate study of 7 Figures as of early February 1927 583 LABOR TURNOVER IN AMERICAN INDUSTRY length of service distribution sex distribution plant location pro duction stabilization personnel policy and other factors which are known or supposed to affect labor turnover experience Such infor mation is already proving highly valuable in interpreting the rela tionships between the composite experience measured by these indexes and the experience of an individual company or plant Among the next steps in the index number section of these investi gations is the preparation of corresponding indexes for a certain regional labor markets and certain selected industries Among o oO o O o o K o CO o o the manufacturers reporting to the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co certain well represented industries will be selected for intensive analysis This can not however be done for any large number of industries until the number of reporting establishments is somewhat larger Partly with a view to such enlargement certain properly equipped local organizations are being invited to cooperate in the company s undertaking Before the end of 1927 more information along this and other lines of attack should be available 5 3 hart 2 I n d e x e s op V o lu n ta r y Q u it R ate A m ong S elected F a c t o r ie s U nited S tates r e p o r tin g to M e tro p o lita n L ife R h o d e Isla n d r e p o rtin g t o B ro w n U n iv e rsity M on th ly rate on eq u iva len t an n u al b a sis LABOR TURNOVER I N AMERICAN INDUSTRY C 585 LABOR TURNOVER IN AMERICAN INDUSTRY T able 3 A V E R A G E T U R N O V E R R A T E S IN E A C H M O N T H OF 1926 IN S E L E C T E D A M E R I C A N F A C T O R IE S M onthly rate stated on equivalent annual basisJ Rhode Island factories reporting to Brown University M onth Acces Total Volun sepa sion ration tary quit rate rate ra te2 rate January F ebruary M arch A pril M a y June July August September October N ovem ber December Factories reporting to Metropolitan Life Insurance Co Total Dis Acces sepa Volun L ay charge sion ration tary off quit rate rate rate ra te 2 rate Dis charge rate The annual turnover rates are derived from the monthly rates b y m ultiplying each m onthly rate b y 365 and dividing b y the number of calendar days in the month represented 2 Arithmetic sum of last three columns T able 4 A V E R A G E M E D IA N V O L U N T A R Y Q U IT R A T E IN S E L E C T E D F A C T O R IE S M onthly rate stated on equivalent annual basis i M onth Rhode Island factories numbering up to 40 January February M arch A p ril M a y J u n e July August September October N ovem ber December Average American factories numbering up to 160 Rate not adjusted for seasonal variation January February M arch April M a y August September October Novem ber December Average a i Index obtained b y multiplying each m onth s median rate b y 365 and dividing b y the number of calendar days in that month As 1920 and 1924 were leap years the figures for each m onth in those years were multiplied b y 366 and divided by the number o f days in that month 586 LABOR TURNOVER IN AMERICAN INDUSTRY T able 4 A V E R A G E M E D I A N V O L U N T A R Y Q U IT R A T E IN S E L E C T E D F A C T O R IE S Continued M on th American factories numbering up to 160 Rate adjusted for seasonal variation January February M arch April M a y June July August September October N ovem ber December Average Since April 1926 the Wisconsin Industrial Commission has been collecting data on labor turnover in the industries in that State These data are published from month to month in the Wisconsin Labor Market The following table taken from the February 1927 issue shows for December 1926 and January 1927 the separation rates on an annual basis and weighted monthly rate of turnover in the various kinds of employment In the computation of these fig ures the separation rate per capita of work force for clerical em ployees and for manual employees for the time covered by the pay roll report The labor turnover is then converted to an annual basis by multiplying the separation rate for the pay roll period covered by the number of such pay roll periods in one year T able 5 L A B O R T U R N O V E R IN W IS C O N S IN IN D U S T R IA L E S T A B L IS H M E N T S D E C E M B E R 1926 A N D J A N U A R Y 1927 Separation rates per 100 employees ex pressed on an annual basis weighted b y number of employees January 1927 K ind of employment N um N um ber of plants ber of em report ployees ing Agriculture Logging Mining Lead and zinc Iron Stone crushing and quarrying Manufacturing Stone and allied industries Brick tile and cement blocks Stone finishing 2 Annual loss o f em ployees at sepa Janu ration ary rates 1927 shown b y Janu ary reports De cem ber 1926 M onthly turn over rate weighted b y number of employees Janu ary 1927 De cem ber LABOR TURNOVER IN AMERICAN INDUSTRY T able 5 L A B O R T U R N O V E R IN W IS C O N S IN IN D U S T R IA L E S T A B L IS H M E N T S D E C E M B E R 1926 A N D J A N U A R Y Continued Separation rates per 100 employees ex pressed on an annual basis weighted b y number of employees January 1927 K ind o f employment N um ber o f plants report ing Manufacturing Continued Metal Pig iron and rolling mill products Structural iron works Foundries and machine shops Railroad repair shops Stoves Alum inum and enamel ware M achinery A utom obiles Other metal products W ood Sawmills and planing m ills Box factories Panel and veneer m ills Furniture Sash door and interior finish Other w ood products Rubber L e a th e rTanning Boots and shoes Other leather products Paper Paper and pulp m ills Paper boxes Other paper products Textiles Hosiery and other knit goods Clothing Other textile products Foods Meat packing Baking and confectionery M ilk products Canning and preserving Flour mills Tobacco manufacturing Other food products Light and power Printing and publishing Laundering cleaning and dyeing Chemical including soap glue and ex plosives Construction B uilding Highway Railroad Marine dredging sewer digging Communication Steam railways Electric railways Express telephone and telegraph Wholesale trade Hotels and restaurants Retail trade sales force o n ly Miscellaneous professional services Annual loss o f em ployees N um at sepa Janu ber of ration ary em rates 1927 ployees shown b y Janu ary reports De cem ber 1926 M on th ly turn over rate weighted b y number of employees Janu ary De cem ber C T LABOR TURNOVER IN AMERICAN INDUSTRY Causes of Labor Turnover OEPARATIONS may be either voluntary or involuntary that is the workers may leave or be discharged Reasons for discharge are easy enough to obtain but this is not always the case with data as to exactly why the workers leave The latter reasons however are important to the employer as indicating possible undesirable conditions in the plant which should be remedied One large em ployer states It is the problem of our management to reduce at all times the causes that impel good employees to leave the com pany 8 This same employer found however that the reasons for leaving were so scattered as to indicate no outstanding cause Authorities seem to agree that general industrial conditions and the demand for labor have a great deal to do with labor turnover The manager of industrial relations of a large oil refining company in Pennsylvania even goes so far as to say that in his opinion labor turnover is due primarily to general employment conditions and that the policies of the individual plant have little to do with it He states that according to his observations there is much closer relationship of labor turnover with national employment conditions than with pension systems insurance plans welfare features and other gestures of a friendly management 9 In support of this opinion he compares the recent trend of the labor turnover in his own company with the employment conditions in the State of Penn sylvania as a whole and also with the total labor turnover of over 50 concerns in the city of Philadelphia employing some 40 000 workers In both of the comparisons presented in the form of charts he finds a close relationship between the turnover curve of his own company the curve of general employment conditions in the State and the curve of turnover conditions in other plants of Philadelphia Commenting on this relationship he concludes The sharp drop in company turnover since the middle of 1923 has again been accompanied by a parallel drop in other industries in the city of Phila delphia Is it not fair to conclude that labor turnover at least as exhibited in our company is a function of general economic forces to a far greater extent than is generally supposed Somewhat the same conclusion was arrived at by the United States Commissioner of Labor Statistics after studying the figures of the United States Coal Commission In a speech delivered at the eightysixth annual meeting of the American Statistical Association at New York City December he said As a quantitative measure of the success of welfare plans shop committee plans stock distributions and other schemes having as their basic economic purpose the holding of employees I consider labor turnover to be of direct and primary importance It is all very well to say that the elements entering into turnover are so varied that it can not be considered an answer to any question but the fact remains that if any industrial relations plan has been introduced for the purpose of holding the employees the real test of the success or failure of that plan is Dofes it hold the employees Labor turnover is the individual 8 A m erican M anagem ent A s s o c ia t io n A s ta tis tica l a n alysis o f p ersonnel b y J P L am b N ew Y ork M a n u fa ctu rin g In d u stries O ctob er 1926 S um m arized in L a b o r R eview D ecem ber 1926 p LABOR TURNOVER IN AMERICAN INDUSTRY 589 strike By merely computing turnover percentages you can not it is true determine the cause of those strikes but you can be sure that any specific scheme of management introduced to prevent dissatisfaction among the em ployees of that establishment has failed to reach the cause of the dissatisfaction High labor turnover in poorly paid industries or establishments is naturally attributed to low wages and where the greatest percentage of turnover is in the more poorly paid occupations in an establishment or industry we seem to have further confirmation of this natural assumption but when we find a high rate of turnover and high rates of wages side by side we must realize that wages are not all that men work for When we find benevolent feudalism paying high wages giving steady em ployment or as steady as can be found anywhere else in the industry furnish ing its own free schools and paying its teachers building its own churches and paying its preachers furnishing the employees clubrooms shower baths and Christmas turkeys and yet discover a perfectly staggering percentage of labor turnover does it not show that these individual strikes are against feudalism of any kind form or fashion benevolent or otherwise and that wages and wash rooms supplied with perfumed soap do not give us the answer as to what industrial relations should be I know the coal industry because of the fitfulness of employment is not an exceedingly good one to use to illustrate my point However when the comparison is made between mines or localities in which work in the mines is exceedingly fitful where taken as a whole the miners do not average half time and compare it with mining districts where employment is very much more steady and yet the turnover is very much greater we can say that fitful employment is not a principal factor in labor turnover in coal mines To be specific take the coal fields of central Illinois It was found by the Coal Commission that 65 per cent of the employees were continuous throughout the year that 35 out of each 100 men quit during the year and that it re quired the hiring of 65 other men to keep these 35 jobs filled In other words while the percentage of turnover was 65 as applied to the total number of jobs yet this 65 per cent operated only upon 35 per cent of the places to be filled In Colorado 45 out of each 100 continued in their employment throughout the year and it required 125 hirings to fill their places In other words there was a labor turnover of 125 per cent with a 45 per cent stable force In Logan W Va 25 per cent of the employees remained on the pay roll for the year Out of each 100 jobs 75 men quit and it required the hiring of 230 men to keep these 75 jobs filled In other words the turnover was 230 per cent of the entire force but was active with only 75 per cent of the force W e have here a quantitative answer as to the success of methods adopted having for their prime purpose the holding of men to their jobs In the central Illinois coal fields there are no methods and from 65 per cent to 69 per cent of the men stay put In other fields there are nothing but methods and from 25 per cent to 45 per cent of the men stay put in one field as low as 19 per cent This does not prove that there is no room for improvement in industrial relationship in Illinois but it does prove that the methods of some localities do not do the work as efficiently as no methods in Illinois and would certainly cause any business man to stop and consider as to whether or not there was some better and less expensive way of doing it Cost of Labor Turnover E S T IM A T E S of the cost of replacement of workers who leave vary widely A the 1925 meeting of the Rocky Mountain Coal Mining Institute the cost of breaking in a new man in the coal in dustry was placed at 100 1 The figures following showing esti 0 mated cost oi replacement per man are taken from Industrial Man agement September 1925 pages See Labor Review May 1925 p 30 0 590 LABOR TURNOVER IN AMERICAN INDUSTRY C o st o f rep la ce Shoe i n d u s t r y m en t p e r m an Factory A Factory B Rubber industry Fan and blower plant Electrochemical plant Automobile industry Soap industry Wire industry Linoleum plant Radiator and boiler factory I f n ew m an is a n exp erien ced op era tor 12 I f new m an is un skilled op era tor 13 L o w c o s t d u e t o lo c a tio n o f fa c t o r y in a shoenraking ce n te r w h ere th e la b o r is p re d om in a n tly sh oe la b or UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE AND STABILIZATION OF EMPLOYMENT 591 Unemployment Insurance and Stabilization of Employment HE evils of unemployment or irregular employment tire evident The possible remedies fall under two general heads 1 Unemployment insurance plans by means of which the risk to the individual worker is met by the payment to him of some form of benefit during periods of unemployment and 2 plans for stabil izing or regularizing business undertakings so that fluctuations in employment therein will be prevented or held within narrow limits Provision of some form of insurance against unemployment in foreign countries dates back many years and has assumed various forms In the earliest systems the risk of unemployment was as sumed to be a personal one and the entire cost was borne by the workers There was a certain industrial factor in these early forms of insurance in that the funds were usually set up by the tradeunions Experience showed however that the risk was too great and the trade union organizations were unable to cope with it un aided The social nature of the risk was recognized when these funds were subsidized by government agencies throwing part of the burden upon the community as a whole Systems by which the burden is borne in varying combination and degree by the community the employers and the workers are now in force in a number of foreign countries In the United States unemployment insurance has not been made a matter of legislation in any of the States although in some of them State laws on the subject have been urged similar in general idea to that o f the workmen s accident compensation laws now in effect almost universally in the United States On the other hand the seriousness of the problem of unemploy ment is now clearly recognized in this country and various remedial plans have been and are being tried although for the most part on a limited scale and of an experimental character Primarily these plans are directed to the stabilization of employment but involve in a number of cases resort to the principle of insurance the usual objective however being to insure employment to the worker rather than to insure him against unemployment Among the methods which are now being tried to secure for workers a reasonable degree of regular employment are the stabiliza tion of seasonal industries by creating a steady demand through advertising and judicious marketing by developing supplementary lines and by manufacturing for stock in times when orders are scarce the decasualizing of labor in such industries as longshorework and harvesting through better systems of employment and the estab lishment of unemployment insurance which has for its purpose not so much the payment of an out of work dole as of guaranteeing a certain minimum of employment during the year to all the regular workers in the industry This latter method meets the growing T UNEM PLOYM ENT INSUKANCH demand for treatment to be applied at that point where emergency remedies fail a method of relief which will be reliable and as pain less as possible to all concerned and which will cure so far as it is possible to cure the disease and prevent its recurrence Insurance of employment or of wages if work can not be furnished is the method therefore which has found most general acceptance Brief description is given below of the various plans and methods in effect in this country for relieving and curing the evils of un employment This is based upon a general survey made by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in supplemented by such in formation regarding later developments as has come to the attention of the bureau Trade Union Out of Work Benefits THE survey unemployment IN the Bureau ofofLabor Statistics relief methods above referred to made inquiry regarding tradeunion out of work benefits of 161 national and international unions Replies were received from 138 of the 161 unions so addressed Only 3 of the 138 national or international unions reported a plan for out of work benefit now in operation 4 reported that such plans had been in operation within the last few years but had been aban doned and 13 that certain of their locals had such plans Three organizations responded that unemployment insurance had been rejected by the national convention and one that the convention voted to leave the matter to local action Seven unions reported that their locals had made agreements providing for a guaranty of employ ment One reported a national agreement providing such a guar anty Seven unions explained that provision had been made for the division of work in slack periods by agreement with employers or through employment offices or both Fifteen of the national or international unions reported provision for payment of the dues of unemployed members In some cases it was stated that because the nature of the Avork was continuous there was little need for such plans and in others that the organization was too small to carry out such a plan One union stated that such a plan was not favored because of its effect upon individual initiative The latest available data1 show that unemployment benefits under the three national plans now operated are those of the Diamond Workers Protective Union of America the Deutsche Amerikanische Typographia and the International Association of Siderographers The plan of the diamond workers has been quite successful A comparatively high benefit rate has been paid with few interruptions The position of this union is unique however as diamond cutting is practically a profession There are comparatively few workers in the industry they are practically 100 per cent organized and are almost all located in New York City Difficulties of administration are therefore greatly minimized The Deutsche Amerikanische Typographia shows an unusual record over a long period of years Benefits have been paid since 1885 1 Labor Review April 1924 pp July 1924 pp 8 32 American Federation of Labor Trade union benefits by George W Perkins and Mathew Woll Washington TRADE UNION OUT OF WORK BENEFITS 595 When the unemployment fund of the Diamond Workers Pro tective Union was started in was transferred from the general fund to the out of work benefit fund Members paid 10 cents per working week The waiting period was 5 weeks and the benefit 6 for the first week and 1 per day thereafter for not more than 78 days per fiscal year Membership of the union at that time averaged 350 In July 1913 the benefit was increased to 7 50 and the waiting period made 3 weeks instead of 5 During 1914 and 1915 expenditures greatly exceeded the income and large sums were taken from the general xund of the union At the end of 1915 payments were suspended and members assessed 1 per working week until January 1 1917 when payments were resumed and assess ments reduced to 25 cents In 1920 it became necessary to make the rule that members who at the close of any fiscal year had received benefits for two consecutive periods could not draw further benefits until the fund should be replenished Since its inception there has been a net loss of about At the present time members are assessed 50 cents per week The national benefit of the Deutsche Amerikanische Typographia is supplemented by only 1 of the 16 locals affiliated to the organi zation This local continues the 6 benefit to unemployed members if necessary for a total period of 14 weeks each year making a total of 30 weeks and a sum of 180 the maximum that a member of the local may receive Payment of Dues of Unemployed Members A N INDIRECT form of unemployment benefit which seems to be growing in popularity is the exemption of unemployed mem bers from the payment of dues by a system of out of work stamps This form of benefit obviously does not buy bread but it has the advantage of members retaining their good standing so that they are eligible for other union benefits It also serves to prevent dis organization of the union and protects in some degree the employed worker The International Molders Union of North America has perhaps the most elaborate system of the sort For the three years 1922 to 1924 the dues exempted in this union amounted to The following national and international unions provide for the payment of the dues o f their unemployed members Coopers black smiths boiler makers brewery workmen railway carmen electrical workers metal polishers molders piano organ and musical instru ment workers shoe workers stove mounters cigar makers pattern makers machinists leather workers maintenance of way employees oil field workers paper workers and textile workers while granite cutters are exempt from one half the dues The cigar makers union reported in 1923 the sum of 16 059 in dues paid for out of work members Local Union Plans r HE national and international unions which report that eerT tain of their locals pay out of work benefits are as follows Bakers and Confectionery Workers International Union of America 596 UNEM PLOYM ENT INSURANCE International Stereotypers and Electrotypers Union of North Amer ica International Photo Engravers Union of North America Litho graphers International Protective and Beneficial Association and International Wood Carvers Association of North America Fifteen locals of the bakery workers union make provision for out of work benefit during the winter months usually from Novem ber to April The general plan is similar in all the locals The benefits paid usually amount to 10 per week for a specified number of weeks and members must be in good standing in order to receive benefits Certain of the bakery workers locals do not favor unemployment benefits but prefer the division of work during slack periods The steadily employed workers are required to give up one or one and one half days per week to the unemployed who substitute for them In this way unemployed members get three or four days work per week at the regular rate per day Unemployed members are given preference when assignments are made for overtime work for which they are paid the time and one half rate The cooperation of the employer is secured by agreement Another agreement provides that Every boss must recognize a substitute for a steady man which is sent by the local union if capable One local whose members are deliverymen or salesmen as they are called by the trade provides that a member out of work may accompany a regular man on his route and receive the regular man s pay for the day Such plans the unions reporting them deem preferable to the payment of gratuitous benefits because the member earns what he receives and the suspicion of charity is removed Local unions of the International Photo Engravers Union exempt members from local union dues during unemployment and pay the international dues of unemployed members Most of the local unions also maintain unemployment funds The benefits vary but in the main approximate 25 per week The stereotypers provide unemployment benefits through local unions and the lithographers international which discontinued benefits on a national scale in 1924 reports that benefits are paid by nearly all its locals Members of the Amalgamated Lace Operatives of America are paid unemployment benefits by the local unions Insurance Plans and Guaranteed Employment Through Collective Agreements T H E inadequacy of the insurance against unemployment which the national and local trade unions have been able to support and the growing conviction on the part of the unions that unemployment like accidents should be to some extent at least a charge upon industry have led to insistence by certain of the unions that employ ers contribute in some way to their protection from the hazard of unemployment It is argued that only as industry is made to bear a part of the burden of unemployment will it seriously attack the problem of prevention Certain plans have been worked out prin GUARANTEED EM PLOYMENT THROUGH AGREEMENTS 597 cipally in the clothing trades by which the burden is jointly borne by employers and workers or by the employers alone One national and a number of local unions have concluded agree ments which provide a guaranty of a specified number of weeks employment In these cases the employer assumes the risk except in the sense that the workers bear the burden of the remaining jobless weeks The period guaranteed varies In a number of cases wage decreases were accepted by the workers in return for the guaranty clause The Cleveland plan represents what may be called a general market plan Cleveland Garment Industry Plan A PLAN by which garment workers were guaranteed employment or pay therefor for a definite period each year was established in the Cleveland garment industry by decision of the board of referees handed down in May 1921 It affects from 2 500 to 3 000 garment workers affiliated with the International Ladies Garment Workers5 Union and manufacturers who are members of the Cleve land Garment Manufacturers Association Its primary purpose is to eliminate seasonal unemployment through the device of offering an incentive to manufacturers to bring about its reduction The plan was the result of a compromise the union agreeing to the introduction of production standards and the employers consent ing to the assurance of a definite minimum annual income to the workers that is the union offers a reward for increased employment the manufacturers a reward for increased production As now constituted the scheme provides that each worker shall be assured of at least 40 weeks of employment each year The worker who exceeds 12 weeks of idleness is entitled to draw upon the unem ployment fund to the extent of one half of his weekly minimum The employer s liability is limited to 10 per cent i e he must lay aside each week a sum equal to 10 per cent of his total direct labor pay roll on the basis of the May 1919 wage scale the peak scale to constitute an unemployment insurance fund for his plant and pay the workers one half of their minimum wage for all time unem ployed over 12 weeks each worker to accumulate the full period of permissible unemployment before he begins to draw on the fund Obviously if an employer can keep his workers from 13 weeks of idleness he will retain the fund The fund is not actually laid aside but the employer gives a surety bond to the board of referees which has charge oi the fund in an amount equal to the contemplated percentage of his pay roll This prevents holding idle capital but fully protects the worker It was estimated from available records that the average factory in the industry was working about 36 weeks a year leaving 16 weeks of unemployment Under the plan therefore industry is made re sponsible for 4 of the 16 weeks to the extent of one half of the worker s wage and responsibility for a maximum of 12 weeks is borne by the worker Should a worker secure other work during his lay off his right to draw his unemployment pay from his reg ular employer is not affected and assuming that he received the same S9 598 UNEM PLOYMENT INSURANCE 11 2 wage he would after the 12 week period receive times his scale The unemployment pay not only is a substitute for employment but is in the nature of a penalty imposed on the particular em ployer for failure to get work for his employee It also eliminates the incentive for workers to remain idle which would exist if they should lose their unemployment pay by securing other work When a worker is laid off he is given a duplicate lay off slip marked with the date of lay off and if possible the time of return When he returns the date is marked on the slip When the worker s slips show that he has accumulated 12 weeks of unemployment the benefit begins By this method the worker knows exactly where he stands and misunderstandings are avoided The manufacturer s record of unemployed time is kept on a form provided for the purpose The employer is given some latitude in the matter of employment of casual workers New employees must pass a two weeks proba tionary period before acquiring the status of regular employees but each employer is permitted to employ for a period not exceeding four weeks once in each of the two seasons additional workers not to exceed 20 per cent of the workers in any one department The manufacturers association is responsible for submission to the impartial chairman of weekly data of the amount of the pay roll of each manufacturer the amount paid out of the fund and the amount available in the fund so that the amount of unemployed time mav be properly checked Numerous methods of meeting the situation have been devised by the employers affected by this plan They have taken risks in cut ting garments ahead of sales they have added other lines of work they have increased their sales forces they have taken greater chances in purchasing materials in advance and have accepted orders to be made up in otherwise idle time without profit or even at a loss The plan has undoubtedly proved an incentive to efficiency There was an increase of work in the shops and an indirect gain through increased labor stability and increased production resulting from continuity of employment It seems to be simple practical fair in its limitation of liability and remunerates the worker in accordance with the work done Its effectiveness in reducing seasonal unem ployment refutes to some degree at least the argument that the burden of idle factories and weeks of nonproduction are so great that employers need no other incentive Recurring seasons of unemploy ment have been accepted as a matter of routine and this plan of rewarding the manufacturer who succeeds in holding down his sea sonal unemployment to a minimum furnishes the shop incentive The results depend upon his own efforts not upon those of other manufacturers The xund has acted as an automatic gradation of the scale The manufacturer pays a scale which is in direct propor tion to his unemployment Employers having no unemployment as interpreted by the referees decision pay 100 per cent others pay 101 per cent others 110 per cent and so on according to efficiency in regularizing employment This effort to secure work on the part of individual employers has taken work from other employers and other workers and the manu facturers argue that it puts the Cleveland market at a disadvantage GUARANTEED EM PLOYMENT THROUGH AGREEMENTS 599 competitively until the plan is made country wide The argument that two thirds of the wage was an incentive to idleness on the part of the workers and the charge that workers preferred idleness to the fill in work are largely eliminated by the reduction of the payment for idle time to one half of the minimum wage Chicago Clothing Industry Plan A PRELIM INARY agreement between the Amalgamated Cloth ing Workers and the Chicago clothing manufacturers upon the basic principles governing the establishment of an unemployment insurance fund was concluded May The details of the scheme were worked out later and the principles terms and condi tions of its operation were finally adopted in September 1923 2 Under this plan the weekly contribution to the unemployment fund is 3 per cent of the pay roll V 2 per cent from the employer and l 1 per cent from the employee Unemployment benefits are paid at the rate of 40 per cent of the average full time weekly wages of the beneficiary and in no case may exceed 20 for each full week of unemployment and no beneficiary may receive more than an amount equal to five full weekly benefits in a single year No benefits shall be paid to an employee who voluntarily leaves his employment or to an employee who is discharged for cause or who declines to accept suitable employment Contributions to the fund began the first pay roll week after May but it was agreed that no benefits should be paid out until May 1924 as a reserve fund had to be formed The September issue o f the Advance the official organ of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America contains an editorial on the operation of the scheme from which the data below are taken The collection system and the payment of benefits has now become nearly automatic In the six months ending October members of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers were paid in unemployment benefits and in the next six months more than a million and a half dollars for the year ending April The contributions to the fund for the two years closing April aggregated a little over a million dollars a year On May the balance on hand was In one year the temporary cutters averaging 600 were paid 79 151 in unemployment benefits These workers have recently had protracted out of work periods and have received 10 weeks5 benefits at the rate of 33 per cent of their average earnings This was effected through a special agreement with the permanent cutters who were willing to have a reduction made in their own benefit rate There have been notably few difficulties in the administration of the fund despite its pioneer character Although 70 000 separate checks for unemployment benefits were drawn in favor of members of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers in one year the number of complaints against the fund was strikingly low No grievances in regard to favoritism or unfairness have been presented 2 See Labor Review July 1923 pp November 1923 pp July 1924 pp 600 UNEM PLOYM ENT INSURANCE The expense of administration amounted to only 5 per cent of the total income which is regarded as an unprecedented record in the insurance field The fact that the unemployment insurance scheme has weathered two of the most adverse years the men s clothing industry of Chicago has ever experienced is considered an evidence of the basic strength of the plan New York Clothing Industry Plan Q N November the agreement to establish a similar unem ployment insurance fund was formally ratified by the New York Clothing Manufacturers Exchange and the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America Ladies Garment Workers Fund New York City A N UNEMPLOYMENT insurance fund was established by the agreement made February by the Association of Dress Manufacturers Inc and the Joint Board of the Cloak Skirt Dress and Reefer Makers Union of the International Ladies Gar ment Workers Union to be in effect until December This agreement affected 30 000 workers employed in 2 000 shops which had an annual output of worth of dresses and an annual pay roll of more than The fund established by this agreement was to be maintained by deductions of 1 per cent of the workers wages and of 2 per cent of the employers pay rolls Employment of one year in the New York market is required for membership in the fund and members must register at a registration office Unemployed members are paid 10 a week for 12 weeks 6 weeks in the fall and 6 weeks in the spring and benefits are not paid until the full period of employment has accumulated Members who work 17 full weeks each in the fall and spring seasons are not entitled to benefits as there is a recognized dull period of 9 weeks in each season This section of the agreement has been included in the new agreement which will last until June A similar agreement is in effect in this industry in Boston and Baltimore Cloth Hat and Cap Industry T H E Joint Council of New York of the United Cloth Hat and Cap Makers of North America concluded an agreement in Sep tember 1924 with the Cloth Hat and Cap Manufacturing Associa tion which provided for the maintenance of an unemployment fund solely by the employers The members of the manufacturers asso ciation pay 3 per cent of their pay roll by check each week to the joint council and the association has no rights or interest in the fund beyond the obligation to make the weekly payment Benefits amount to 10 per week for male members and 7 per week for female members but no member can receive more than four weeks benefits from July to December nor more than three weeks5 benefits from January to June Similar plans are in effect in Chicago Philadelphia Boston Balti more and Scranton ESTABLISHMENT INSURANCE AND GUARANTY PLANS 601 A plan guaranteeing payment for 48 weeks employment each year is in effect in Milwaukee St Paul and in some the Balti more plants manufacturing cloth hats and caps I f the factory is in operation 48 weeks or more the operative receives only his regular wages but if the factory operates only 47 weeks the employee will receive 1 per cent of his yearly earnings in addition to his regular wages I f the factory is in operation only 46 weeks the employee will receive 2 per cent additional if it operates 45 weeks he will receive 3 per cent additional and if it operates but 44 weeks he will receive 4 per cent additional In case the factory is in operation 43 weeks or less each operative is to receive in addition 5 per cent of his yearly earnings A sum equal to 5 per cent of the pay roll each week is given by each firm to the union to be kept until the number of weeks of employ ment for the ensuing year is determined The entire amount is returned to the firm in case 48 weeks work is provided 4 per cent is returned if 47 weeks work are given and so on In Lowell Mass an agreement which expires February provides that each employer shall employ the members of the union working in his plant not less than 49 weeks during each year of the life of the agreement 0 1 Other Guaranty Plans NE union is reported as having a national agreement providing for a guaranty of employment The United Wall Paper Crafts of North America reports agreements with manufacturers in the wall paper industry in 14 cities guaranteeing to machine printers color mixers and print cutters 48 weeks employment per year The agreement covers three periods During the first period 43 weeks work at full pay is guaranteed and half time for any time that workers should be idle up to 48 weeks For the second and third periods 50 weeks of employment are guaranteed 45 weeks at full pay and half pay for the other five weeks The Philadelphia local of the Steel and Copper Plate Printers makes verbal agreements in which week workers are guaranteed 50 and 52 weeks work per year some on straight salary basis and some on a minimum with a bonus for production Locals of the American Federation of Musicians have agreements providing that its members will be employed in the theaters for a specified number of weeks in each season Establishment Insurance and Guaranty Plans THE unemployment risk has never been measured and the A plans now operating in certain industrial establishments have little or no basis in actuarial science They are merely carefully worked out experiments and quite frankly acknowledged as such Apparently they have been variously motivated sometimes by a sense of social responsibility sometimes by the purely selfish motive of keeping a skilled force intact and sometimes by a combination of such motives The essential thing however whatever the motive is that this group of employers has cared enough about the problem 602 U NEM PLOYM ENT INSURANCE to be willing to undertake experiments which promise something worth while Insurance Plan of a Paper and Novelties Company A S A T present constituted the fund maintained by this company is administered by a small committee composed of an equal number of representatives of the management and the works com mittee The plan provides that employees with more than six months service who are temporarily laid off shall receive 80 per cent of their regular wages if they have dependents and 60 per cent if they have none When employees of either class secure temporary work outside they are entitled to an amount equal to 10 per cent of their outside earnings plus 90 per cent of their earnings with the company the unemployment fund being used to make up the differ ence between this amount and the pay they receive outside When transfers are made within the factory full wages are paid to timeworkers and 90 per cent of their six weeks average earnings to pieceworkers the difference between what they are worth on the new job and their earnings is charged to the unemployment fund The committee administering the fund may stop payments to anj em ployee after six days payments if in its opinion the employee is not making an attempt to secure outside work In case of long continued depressions if it becomes necessary to discharge workers they are given two weeks notice or pay for the same period Up to 1926 the fund had amounted to about approxi mately 40 000 having been paid out of it since 1920 The amounts actually paid out each year have been negligible in comparison with the annual pay roll as in 1921 although the payments were ten times greater than in any other year they totaled only about seven tenths of 1 per cent of the total yearly pay roll Unemployment Sinking Funds in Two Textile Finishing Establishments T H E unemployment insurance plan in effect in two textile finishing plants is a part of a general partnership plan which pro vides life insurance health benefits accident insurance and profit sharing By the unemployment feature of the plan two sinking funds are provided designed to make the wages of both capital and labor constant At the end of each year the board of directors of the company sets aside from the net profits of the company if any a sum sufficient to raise the sinking fund for capital s minimum wage to an amount equal to 6 per cent on the invested capital This would amount to about After this is accomplished a further sum to the amount of is set aside to establish a sinking fund to be drawn upon by labor when the company is unable to furnish employment Both funds are to be raised before the division of any profits and both bear interest at 6 per cent Interest on labor s fund may be used in the discretion of the board of operatives for sick benefits etc Interest on capital s sinking fund is at the dispo sition of the board of directors From labor s sinking fund known as the unemployment guaranty fund each operative who has been on the regular pay roll of the ESTABLISHMENT INSURANCE AND GUARANTY PLANS 603 company for 12 consecutive months receives half pay for all time lost due to employment for less than 48 hours a week not including overtime These payments are continued until the fund drops below 50 000 or a figure similarly proportionate to the pay roll when half time is paid for all time lost under 35 hours per week At least 24 hours pay per week is guaranteed until the fund is exhausted In weeks in which holidays occur the 48 hour limit is reduced by the number of hours lost by such holiday the 35 hour limit is not affected Six holidays are counted The period during which benefits may be drawn is limited only by the fund The plan provides that at the end of the year the amount in excess of 85 000 in the employee s sinking fund is to be distributed as profits to officers and employees of the company it being understood that the 85 000 bears a ratio to the pay roll and may be increased or decreased accordingly An operative forfeits his share of the fund if he is discharged for crime or neglect of duty provision is made for appeals from dis charges or if he leaves without giving one week s notice or with out satisfactory agreement with his foreman The operation of the fund is under the jurisdiction of the board of management made up of 12 members 6 of whom are elected annually by the board of directors and 6 representing the operatives selected by the board of operatives from their number Since the fund is made up of surplus earnings obviously it is not increased when there are no earnings Unemployment during the slump following the peak years of 1919 and 1920 was more severe than ever before in the experience of the companies From the nature of the work these companies are able to control only to a very limited extent the question of regularization i e of operating or not operating In one plant the fund available for benefits at the beginning of 1920 when payment of benefits began was approximately Three years of depression followed During the first year of opera tion about 7 per cent of the total annual pay roll was distributed in benefits By June 1923 the fund was exhausted In the other plant the plan has been siomewhat more successful Payments of about 2y2 per cent of the total annual pay roll were made during the first year of its operation between 400 and 500 oper atives sharing in the distribution and receiving an average of about 35 each Two per cent of the total pay roll was paid out in 1921 approximately 2 4 per cent in 1922 and about 0 9 per cent in 1923 There was probably as much unemployment in 1923 as in the pre vious years but because of the sliding scale upon which the fund operates the actual drafts upon it were not so heavy Unemployment Compensation for Discharged Railroad Employees A NOVEL plan of compensation during unemployment resulting from dismissal for any cause was adopted by an important railroad company operating about 900 miles of road and employing approximately 14 000 workers The scheme is a feature of a com prehensive group insurance plan based upon a contract between the company and a commercial insurance carrier which became effective on January 1 1922 604 UNEM PLOYM ENT INSURANCE The insurance plan of this company is based on the idea that there are five major hazards against which the employee and his family should be protected if he is to reach his highest efficiency They are accident sickness superannuation unemployment and death The insurance plan now furnishes some sort of protection against all of these contingencies The provision for unemployment compensation applies to em ployees within 24 months or more of continuous service who subscribe for and continue to carry at least two of the three forms of contrib uting insurance to which they are eligible Such employees are automatically insured at the company s expense against unemploy ment resulting from dismissal for any cause in the amount of 15 per week for a period not to exceed six weeks or for so much of that time as the employee is unable to find employment Employees whose average annual compensation for the preceding two calendar years of service has not been more than 1 000 are paid 10 per week for the same period The plan does not cover lay offs Although the company assumes all charges under this plan em ployees may be said to bear a part of the cost of protection against unemployment in that they are required to subscribe to two forms of contributory insurance in order to benefit by it The cost per employee is small however the amount depending upon the amounts and kind of insurance to which he subscribes In the railroad industry although the business fluctuates there is little unemployment unless there is unusual business depression For this reason and because the greatest turnover occurs among employees with less than two years service the number o f claims paid has been very small Although about 68 per cent of the em ployees of the company were eligible for this form of insurance only 103 claims were paid during the first three and one half years that the insurance was in effect Guaranteed Employment in a Soap Manufacturing Plant P FFECTIYE August a large soap manufacturing concern guaranteed to 5 500 employees in its four largest plants and in offices located in 26 cities of the United States and Canada full pay ment for not less than 48 weeks of employment in each calendar year less only time lost by reason of the customary holiday closings or through fire flood or strike or other extreme emergency The guaranty is subject to three provisions First In order to benefit by the employment guaranty the em ployee must be a participant in the company s profit sharing plan by which it is provided that any employee except salesmen and travel ing representatives who has been in the employ of the company for not less than six months and who is earning less than 2 000 a year may purchase at the market value the nearest number of full shares of the common stock of the company the total cost of which to him equals or exceeds the amount of his annual earnings The employee pays the company in cash each year after the purchase of the stock until it is fully paid for not less than 5 per cent of the amount of his annual wages Quarterly profit sharing dividends are paid by the company on the amount of the employee s wages at the rate of ESTABLISHMENT INSURANCE AND GUARANTY PLANS per cent for first year of participation 11 per cent for the second year etc the rate increasing 1 per cent a year until after the eleventh year when it remains stationary at 20 per cent Approximately 70 per cent of the employees have availed themselves of this opportunity Second The company reserves the right under this guaranty to transfer an employee to work other than that at which he is regu larly employed The original rule provided that the employee be compensated for such work at his regular wage rate New regula tions effective May limit the full wage guarantee to tempo rary transfers By the terms of the third provision the company reserves the right to discharge any employee at any time for cause and further reserves the right to terminate or modify the guaranty in whole or in part at any time after serving six months notice to that effect I f it should become necessary because of dull times to reduce the size of the force the company states that a 10 or even a 15 per cent reduction in personnel could be made without cutting into the ranks of the old employees because this percentage would represent the natural turnover those who retire leave or are discharged No reserve fund has been necessary to finance the plan because there has been little additional cost involved Guaranteed Full Time Earnings in Two Paper Mills T H E unemployment compensation plan of two associated paper mills in Holyoke Mass was inaugurated for the purpose of rewarding length of service and loyalty to the firm 3 A progressive increase of wages is provided for during the first four years of em ployment and after the completion of five years of satisfactory continuous service full time earnings are guaranteed The plan applies to all wage earners from sweepers to skilled paper makers numbering about 600 but not to office employees executives or others on a salary basis The base rates at which employees are hired are equal to and in many cases higher than the rates for similar work in the locality and for skilled workers a service differential of 2 cents an hour above the base rate is added for each of the first four years of satisfactory service and of 1 cent an hour for unskilled workers so that at the end of the fourth year skilled workers are receiving 8 cents an hour differential and unskilled workers 4 cents an hour differential above the base rates There are no further service differentials after the first four years but instead the workers may apply for and if their work is satisfactory receive a signed agreement which guarantees full time employment The agreement specifies that if the plant is not in operation a sufficient number of hours to equal or exceed the amount of the salary the regular wage rate will be paid weekly This amount will be subject to adjustment under any condition affecting a general adjustment of wages No compensation is paid for lost time due to legal holidays For the purpose of the wage payments the year is divided into IB periods of 4 weeks each so that a man earning 40 a week for 8 T h is sum m ary is tak en fro m an a rtic le b y D r H erm an F eld m a n in In d u s tria l M anage m ent N ew Y ork M a rch 606 UNEM PLO YM EN T INSURANCE example is guaranteed 160 for every 4 week period I f short time occurs the worker is excused until he is needed and is paid the difference between his earnings and the guaranty Extra earnings for overtime during a given period are applied against any short time occurring during the period although overtime within any 4 week period is not balanced against short time in another period The plan is regarded as unusual in two respects First because as soon as an employee has received the protection of the guaranty no wages are lost on account of any waiting period or other qualify ing stipulation and second because although the agreement stipulates that the company has a right to terminate the plan on four weeks notice this is merely a technical provision designed to save the firm from legal liability if it is in danger of bankruptcy This clause reads The company reserves the right to terminate this agree ment under any conditions which in the opinion of the company may make it powerless to continue it but is followed by the state ment It is not the intention of the company to exercise this right except in case of serious fire or other calamity or conditions beyond our control Under such conditions termination of the agreement will not become effective except after four weeks notice The liability of a company in a plan of the kind described obviously depends upon the proportion of employees who will stay five years and thus be covered by this guaranty When the plan was started it was made retroactive to the extent that five years of prior service was counted At that time there were 121 employees with this length of service while in October 1925 there were 275 or an increase from 19 per cent to 45 per cent of the full working force This increase in the average length of service has therefore increased the liability of the company but the firm has weighed the matter care fully and considers that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages The reasons which convince the firm that the risk is worth taking are that the extra payments have proved not to be so large as might be expected certain economies are possible and the liability which must be assumed stimulates constructive planning The firm also believes that a wise investment in human nature is economically sound During the period from March 1 1921 to October the sum paid for time during which the employees under the guaranty were excused from reporting for duty amounted to 9 644 or 0 27 per cent of the total pay roll for both companies for that period while the amount of wages paid to workers under guaranty while engaged on work supplied them other than their regular duties was or 1 56 per cent of the total pay roll for the period The question of discharge is important in a plan of this kind as the power of dismissal might be abused in a dull period During the time the plan has been in operation only 5 employees covered by the guaranty have been discharged 2 for excessive drinking 2 for insubordination and 1 for repeated carelessness The rules specify that no employee of five years standing shall be discharged without the case being first submitted to the general superintendent or manager An employee may be suspended without pay pending investigation by the general superintendent and if the charge is incompetency the question of placing such an employee in work better ESTABLISHMENT INSURANCE AND GUARANTY PLANS 607 suited to his capabilities is considered For infringement of rules or insubordination an employee may be summarily dismissed Guaranteed Time in the Meat Packing Industry A STUDY by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showing the trend of wages and hours of labor in the slaughtering and meat packing industry in 1925 Bulletin No 421 shows the practice of guaranteeing pay for a stated number of hours a week in force in a large number of plants Of the 86 plants included in the study the employees in a few of the important occupations in 3 plants and in a few of the impor tant departments in 9 plants and all of the employees of 43 plants have by agreement or promise the assurance of pay for a specified number of hours per day or week This assures to these employees pay at their regular rate for the specified number of hours whenever the hours of work are less than the guaranteed hours of pay To be entitled to pay it is necessary for the employee to report for duty and work all the hours of operation on each day or in each week The guaranty by 51 plants is 40 hours per week A few o f these guarantee 6 hours pay for each day the employee reports for duty and does any work One plant guarantees 30 hours one 45 one 48 and one 57 hours per week There is no guaranty however in 31 of the 86 plants included in the study This plan which was put into effect in the packing industry prior to the war had its origin in the uncertainty of livestock receipts and the consequent variation of hours in the service of the butcher gangs and the desirability of keeping the skilled force intact in order that there might be present as wanted experts on the various jobs and the work might be carried on without a break The guaranty is not applicable to weeks or proportions of weeks during which the men are not called for work The fact that an employee begins a week gives him a guaranty of 40 hours employment for that week provided he reports for duty and does such work as is offered him The right of lay off is always present I f an em ployee voluntarily does not work a complete day when work is offered the guaranteed minimum wage is reduced by an amount equal to pay for the uncompleted portion of the day Overtime is generally understood to mean any time worked by employees on any regular workday or in any full week in excess of the regular or customary full time hours per day or per week as determined by the regular time of beginning work on each day minus the regular time taken for lunch Many 38 of the plants in this industry covered in 1925 report that the overtime rate of time and a half begins not with the completion of the regular hours per day or week but after the completion of a fixed number of hours Thus for instance 14 plants whose full time hours are 8 per day and 48 per week pay extra for overtime only after 10 hours per day or 54 hours per week 14 plants pay time and a half for all overtime while 34 plants pay only the regular rate VACATIONS Vacations with Pay for Wage Earners URING recent years there has been a marked change in the attitude of industrial employers toward the granting of annual vacations with pay to factory and shop employees Ten years ago when the Bureau of Labor Statistics made its first study of welfare work in industrial establishments in the United States the idea that it was possible to give a vacation with pay to workers paid on an hourly or daily basis had made very little progress Of 389 establishments which reported on the subject at that time only 16 gave vacations to the larger part of the shop or unsalaried force In this number only those establishments were included which did not require a longer period of service by their employees than two years in order to be entitled to a vacation Although quite a number of companies gave vacations after periods of employment varying from 5 to 25 years it was considered that the possibility of receiving a vacation under these conditions was so remote as to have little interest for the majority of the workers or little effect upon them D General Survey of Vacation Plans A SIMILAR study by the bureau completed in August 1926 indi cates the realization by a growing number of employers that the cost of giving vacations to the rank and file of the employees can be met successfully The data secured show that the practice of giving vacations to shop employees has grown appreciably in the past few years Of the 430 firms which reported on the subject 133 give vacations to all employees who have a record of service with the firm varying in the different establishments from a few months to not more than two years These companies include 60 manufacturing establishments and public utilities with about 195 600 employees 50 stores with about 127 320 employees 19 employers of large office forces such as banks and insurance companies with approximately 40 250 employees 2 hotels with a total of 3 700 employees and 1 mining company and 1 marble quarry with a total of 2 760 employees Length of Service Required method of determining the length of vacation with reference to the length of service is of considerable importance and sev eral schemes for the solution of the problem have been reported In addition to the plan of specifying a definite length of service of six months one year or two years before a vacation is granted some establishments take into consideration the date of employment with reference to the summer vacation period This method is reported especially by stores which allow summer vacations to all clerks on the rolls previous to such dates as the 1st day of September January VACATIONS FOE WAGE EARNERS or March Other establishments determine the length of time to be granted on a cumulative basis at a certain rate per month for the time employed usually with the requirement that the maxi mum vacation shall not exceed one week or in some cases two weeks In a few instances it was reported that pay was given for a certain number of legal holidays in addition to the regular vacation with pay Seventeen of the manufacturing establishments 1 public utility 29 stores and all of the offices 19 require less than 1 year s service for vacation 26 factories 7 public utilities 20 stores and 2 hotels require 1 year s service and 7 factories 2 public utilities and 1 store require 2 years service before a vacation is granted while 1 mining company gives 3 days if no time is lost during the year and the quarry divides the majority of its employees into five groups the length of vacation varying from half a day to 2 weeks for the different groups For factory employees on an hourly rate of pay the usual vacation is 1 week although when less than 1 year of service is required it may be for varying lengths of time from 3 days to a week One factory requiring 2 years service gives 2 weeks vacation while another plant which allows 1 day a month during the first year increases this to 2 weeks after the first year s employment A public utility with more than 7 500 employees allows all weekly employees except those employed during the month of April 1 day for each full month of service during the 12 month period prior to May 1 of any given year with a maximum vacation of 2 weeks In addition to this employees who are entitled to two full weeks vacation are allowed to leave the Friday night preceding their vaca tion Weekly employees whose service entitles them to less than 1 full week s vacation may take without pay additional time to make up 1 full week while those entitled to more than 1 week but less than 2 weeks vacation may take additional time at their own expense to make up 2 weeks During 1925 approximately 43 per cent of 3 977 weekly employees received 2 weeks vacation while the balance or 57 per cent received either no vacation or less than 2 weeks the average for this group being approximately 1 week s vacation with pay All hourly employees who have been in the service of the company for 1 year prior to May 1 of any given year receive 12 days vacation with pay but those who have been in the service of the company less than a year do not receive any vaca tion During 1925 approximately 59 per cent of 3 344 hourly em ployees received 2 weeks vacation with pay One of the hotels gives 1 week to housemen and 10 days to maids and the other hotel allows all the unsalaried workers a week with pay after one year of service in the establishment In addition to the 133 establishments granting vacations for em ployees with service of not more than two years 47 plants require a period of service ranging from 3 to 25 years One company which allows 1 week after 3 years employment increases this to 9 days for 4 years and 2 weeks for 5 years A rather unusual plan is that of a company which gives em ployees who have been with the firm 1 year 1 week s vacation with pay those who have worked from 2 to 5 years the choice of 1 week s VACATIONS FOR WAGE EARNERS 613 vacation with V 2 weeks pay or 2 weeks vacation with 1 week s pay while those who have worked more than 5 years have the choice of 1 week s vacation with V 2 weeks pay or 2 weeks vacation with 1y2 weeks pay In other words employees get a bonus if they choose to take only 1 week s vacation Quite a number of the companies allow employees to take additional time without pay being usually limited to 1 week It seems to be a quite general practice to recognize continued serv ice by increasing the length of the vacation in most instances the vacation being increased to 2 weeks after employees have been 10 years with the company One firm with about 225 employees is reported as giving 1 month with pay to both office and shop em ployees after 10 years service and in addition to full pay for this period the company also gives each employee a medal and a check for 100 Store and office employees in almost all instances are given two weeks after their second year of employment Season of Vacation Eligibility and Cost IT IS important of course to arrange vacations so that there will be as little interference with the work as possible In cases where a plant shuts down for inventory or repairs this naturally becomes the vacation period for the employees and in these cases employees who are eligible for a vacation receive the pay for the time to which they are entitled Comparatively few establishments reported a shutdown however and it seems to be the general practice to arrange vacations some time between the middle of June and Labor Day In one machine shop the shop employees are given a week at the Christ mas holidays while one establishment manufacturing food products gives the vacation to the office workers in the summer and to the factory workers in the winter In some cases the vacation may be taken any time during the year It is customary to require continuous service for a certain specified time in order to be eligible for vacation This is always the case when the vacation is called or is regarded as a bonus In some instances perfect attendance and punctuality are required for a threemonth period or in other cases the vacation is given to all who have lost not more than a stated number of hours during the year Where the workers are on a piece rate the average rate o f pay for the year is usually given them Very little information has been secured as to the cost to employers of paid vacations One firm with 1 275 employees reports that the vacation plan cost the company 30 000 in 1925 and another with 400 employees that it cost Vacation Information TT IS often a problem to workers who have been granted a vacation perhaps for the first time in their lives to know where to go or what to do with the time given them In this connection the person nel department can be and often is of great assistance in furnishing employees with information in regard to resorts and trips 614 VACATIONS FOR WAGE EARNERS Where companies maintain a summer camp in the country the mountains or at the seashore or some other body of water as is uite frequently the case the employees and often members of their amilies have the privilege of spending their vacations there The rates at these camps are usually less than at resorts where the facili ties for entertainment are similar and such camps are naturally within a reasonable distance of the city in which the firm is located These camps are usually equipped to take care of a considerable number at one time Provision is made for the various forms of outdoor recreation and a number of firms have reported an outdoor swimming pool where no other place suitable for swimming was available A very interesting nonprofit making service has been developed in New York City called the Vacation Bureau Service which is de signed to serve industrial and commercial establishments and their employees The bureau was started about two years ago and was financed for a two year period by a special contribution after which time it was expected that the industries would contribute sufficient to pay the expense of maintaining this service The purpose of the bureau is to obtain and make available reliable information regarding good vacation places in the territory most frequented by residents of New York City for their vacations Rep resentatives visit shore mountain and country resorts in an everwidening radius about the city and the data secured cover the nature of the accommodations cost of board and of transportation kind of recreation and amusements available and in fact all the information which a person would naturally wish to secure in looking up a place to spend his or her vacation While this information is as far as possible secured at first hand recommendations of responsible towns people are secured and persons visiting the resorts as a result of the information furnished by the bureau are requested to report as to whether or not the accommodations and service were satisfactory with a view to eliminating objectionable places The time of trains or boats and connections are also furnished After last summer s season it was reported that about 150 firms in New York City had subscribed to the bureau and it was felt that it had passed beyond the limits of an experiment and had shown that it filled a real industrial need Results of Giving Paid Vacations IS of if I T results course extremely difficultfactnot impossible to estimate the of paid vacations The that so many employers are taking up the practice however would seem to indicate that although the results may not be very tangible still there is a favorable effect on the morale and perhaps also on the stability of the labor force The large number of employees reported by some firms as having a considerable length of service to their credit is quite remarkable although it must be remembered there are many more important factors than a policy of paid vacations which contribute to the sta bility of the labor force One firm with approximately 16 500 em ployees reports 4 500 employees with a service record of at least 5 years while another with 5 600 employees had 1 400 employees with VACATIONS FOR WAGE EARNERS 615 a record of 10 years service and 544 with 20 years service all of whom received a vacation of one or two weeks during the past year Vacation Policies in New York Factories A STUDY of vacation policies in manufacturing industries in the State of New York made in 1925 by the Bureau of Women in Industry of the New York Department of Labor showed that of 1 500 firms furnishing information 270 gave vacations to part or all of their production workers in some instances pieceworkers being excluded from participation in the vacation plan It was found that large plants more often had vacation policies for production workers than small plants and that 60 per cent of the plants required that workers be employed for one year in order to qualify for vacations Ninety eight per cent of the plants maintaining vacation policies reported that the results were satisfactory Vacation Policies of Cincinnati Establishments A SURVEY of the vacation policies for production workers in factories stores and miscellaneous establishments in Cin cinnati Ohio has been made recently by the Consumers League of that city Of 272 firms replying to a preliminary questionnaire 145 stated that they had no vacation policy 16 refused information and 111 reported that paid vacations are given to all or part of their production force The establishments granting vacations include 52 factories 50 stores and 9 miscellaneous establishments and 15 948 of the 23 729 employees of these companies were entitled to receive vacations at the time the study was completed Sixty seven of these firms grant vacations to the entire production force and 44 to a part only of these workers The length of vacation varies from 1 day to 2 weeks 1 week being given in the majority of cases The minimum period of service re quired in order to establish eligibility for vacations ranges from 1 week to 10 years only 13 of the establishments however require service of more than 1 year before a vacation is granted Although there is a minimum service requirement in all cases the length of the vacation is not as a rule graduated according to length of service as less than a third of the firms reporting on this point stated that they have a graduated scale Of the 32 firms which stated that the length of vacation depends on the length of service the minimum length of vacation given is less than a week in 7 cases and 1 week in 25 cases while the maximum vacation is 2 weeks in 30 cases and 4 weeks in 2 cases In the latter instance service of 10 years or more is required and women having that length of service are given six weeks In general the vacations granted by these firms are given during the summer months although in some cases employees are allowed to take their vacation at any season of the year which they choose Several factories reported shutdowns during which time employees entitled to vacations are paid and one store reported that it closes for a week twice a year when all employees are paid for each period Another store had tried the shutdown vacation for two years but had decided to discontinue it and allow the employees to take their vacation when they please 616 VACATIONS F JE WAGE EARNERS O l The time of paying for the vacation is important from the stand point of the employee Of 86 companies replying to this question 52 reported that they pay before the vacation 17 after 10 when the employee wishes 5 on the usual pay day and 1 firm giving 2 weeks pays part before and part after the vacation while another retains the entire amount until the first week in December The policy in regard to giving pay for legal holidays varies among the firms having vacation plans Fifty four companies reported that they paid for from 3 to 7 legal holidays in addition to the vaca tion allowed 4 reported no pay for such holidays while in 53 cases the number of holidays paid for was not specified A number of these companies have been granting vacations for many years one store stating that it originated its vacation plan 66 years ago The majority of both stores and factories however have adopted the practice within the last few years Although the majority of the employers interviewed failed to ex press their personal opinions regarding the results of giving vaca tions a number regarded them as of importance in reducing turnover and in improving the morale the health of the workers and the quality of work and efficiency or in increasing loyalty to the firm Vacations Given as a Result of Collective Agreements T N ADDITION to vacations granted by establishments as a form of what may be called welfare work definite provisions for vacations are frequently made in the agreements concluded between organized workers and their employers While no complete infor mation is available of the extent of this practice particularly as many of the union arrangements on this point are verbal a compila tion by the American Federation of Labor of union agreements con taining vacation regulations covering the years records 215 such provisions The majority of these agreements are local but in some of the railroad telegraphers agreements the entire rail road system is covered In a few cases the vacations are without pay although they are given for a definite period The usual length of service required in order to be eligible for vacations is one year and the length of the vacation in the majority of cases is two weeks The number of agreements which in some cases cover Canadian unions are as follows Bakery workers 1 blacksmiths 2 electrical workers 4 engineers steam and operat ing 10 fire fighters 86 glass bottle workers 2 meat cutters and butcher workmen 4 street and electric railway workers 29 tailors 2 teamsters and chauffeurs 13 railroad telegraphers 14 typo graphical workers 46 all members of the United Wall Paper Crafts of North America 1 and maintenance of way employees on various railroads l f VOCATIONAL EDUCATION 617 Organization and Objects of Federal Board for Vocational Education 1 HE vocational education act creating the Federal Board for Vocational Education was approved February This law provides a plan of cooperation between the Federal Gov ernment and the States for the promotion of vocational education in the fields of agriculture home economics and industry Under the act the Federal Government does not undertake the organization or immediate direction of vocational training in the States but agrees to make from year to year substantial financial contribution to the support of such training and to cooperate in fostering and promoting vocational education and the training of vocational teachers The grants of Federal money are conditional and the acceptance of these grants imposes upon States specific obligations to expend the money paid over to them in accordance with the provisions of the act The State must show the kinds of vocational education for which it is proposed that the appropriations shall be used and the kinds of schools and the equipment of the schools in which the instruction is to be given The State must also set up courses of study methods of instruction and qualifications of teachers who are to give such instruction The autonomy of the States however has been entirely preserved by the following provisions a The Federal Government deals with the work in the States only through an official State board created by the legislative ma chinery of the State b The Federal Government deals with the State only in terms of standards and policies not in terms of particular institutions or individuals The Federal Government deals with a State in terms of the conditions within that particular State and not in terms of the United States as a whole T General Provisions of the Federal Vocational Education Act nrH E Federal vocational education act provides that 1 a All schools receiving Federal aid must be under public supervision or control b Instruction in these schools must be of less than college grade and 4 designed to meet the needs of persons over 14 years of age who 4 have entered upon or who are preparing to enter upon a vocation and c Every dollar of Federal funds must be matched by a dollar o f State or local funds or both The Federal Board for Vocational Education is an independent body with four ex officio members the Secretary of Labor the 1 T h is a rtic le is based e n tirely u p on th e a n n u al rep orts o f th e F e d e ra l B o a r d fo r V o ca tio n a l E d u ca tion VOCATIONAL EDUCATION Secretary of Agriculture the Secretary of Commerce and the United States Commissioner of Education and three members appointed by the President representing respectively labor agricultural and manufacturing and commercial interests The civilian rehabilitation act of 1920 charged the Federal Voca tional Education Board with the promotion of vocational rehabili tation of persons disabled in industry or otherwise and their return to civil employment In 1921 the soldier sailor rehabilitation work of the Federal board was transferred to the United States Veterans Bureau Vocational Education in the United States Prior to Passage of Federal Act OR nearly a quarter of a century preceding the passage of the Federal vocational education act of 1917 there had been a growing realization in the United States of the need of a more practical education The World War sharply accentuated the need for vocationally trained citizens and brought into relief the country s failure to provide adequate facilities for such training The following brief account of the status of vocational education prior to the Federal act of 1917 is abstracted from the report of the Federal board 1918 F Trade and Industrial Education YW HEN the Federal act was passed only 8 of the 48 States could be said to have developed State systems providing State aid for vocational education namely California Connecticut Indiana Massachusetts New Jersey New York Pennsylvania and Wiscon sin These States had laws which provided for the participation of the State in financially assisting vocational schools and most of these States provided fairly well for various types of vocational education To a certain extent out of the experience of these schools there came to be recognized certain types of schools which were known as the all day the part time and evening schools and the Federal act shaped somewhat in accordance with the experience of these States provided for these three kinds of schools Secondary schools in their development had come to be run pri marily to provide preparation for higher institutions and due to this influence almost any secondary school had to formulate its course of study in terms of college entrance The attempt to compromise with this requirement and the growing demand on the part of the public for a more practical education led to the organization of technical high schools and manual training high schools The four year courses of these institutions gave the pupils experience in various kinds of industrial work but seldom gave complete preparation for a vocation and did not meet the real need of the very large proportion of boys who had to leave school for industrial employment In the States above mentioned and in a number of cities in other States schools had been organized which gave a preparation for PRIOR TO PASSAGE OF FEDERAL ACT 621 one trade or industrial pursuit In most instances however these schools were not organized on a four year basis and in many cases the majority of the pupils in these schools had not completed an elementary education While the desirability of organizing part time education had been rather generally accepted only two States Wisconsin and Pennsyl vania had up to April 1917 given the subject serious enough at tention to provide for the compulsory part time schools for young persons over 14 years of age Some of the other States had pro vided for permissive part time education but with the notable ex ception of Boston few cities had taken advantage of this provision of the State acts Scattered here and there throughout the country there were part time classes usually on the week about basis for boys employed in industrial pursuits At least five of the States above mentioned had made provision for evening industrial classes to provide instruction supplementary to the day employment In the conduct of evening schools in general no clear distinction or division was commonly made between classes to promote efficiency and classes designed to extend general education In many of the cities there were privately endowed schools giving some form of trade or industrial education Much credit is due to these institu tions in showing the way to give effective evening school work In the field of teacher training only two of the eight States above mentioned could have been said to have entered prior to 1917 upon any program of providing trade or industrial education and in these two States the work had been only fairly begun As a whole the States had almost no experience in training teachers for any kind of service in trade or industrial schools Agriculture IN high schools were reported as giving instruction in agriculture in a serious way About 25 per cent of these schools stated that their courses were vocational in purpose The proportion of such schools whose work was actually vocational was probably smaller In 1918 probably between 20 and 25 per cent of all high schools were giving vocational instruction in agriculture Before the Federal act was passed the States had established and were maintaining partly through Federal aid institutions of college grade equipped to prepare practical farmers and specialists in agri cultural science These institutions had not however except in a few instances established training departments for teachers of voca tional agriculture nor was such training offered in other educational institutions except in an inadequate way Since the passage of the act every State has through its State board for vocational educa tion set up plans for the training of these teachers and has desig nated institutions where the work is to be carried on Home Economics T TP TO the time of the passage of the Federal vocational education act there were comparatively few schools in the United States giving courses in vocational home economics although every State had some type of home economics in the schools According to the 622 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION report of the board for there is a fundamental difference be tween home economics education as a form of vocational education and instruction in home economics subjects as usually given as a part of general education There were only a few schools in the East and a few other schools scattered throughout the country which did have the vocational point of view and in which an attempt had been made to provide a course of study planned to prepare the student for home making Many of the colleges however were offering excellent courses in home economics as a part of their fourvear college course and much good teacher training work was being done Commercial Education W 7H IL E commercial education is probably the oldest form of vocational training in this country it had been so closely identified with academic courses in public high schools for more than 25 years preceding the creation of the Federal Board for Voca tional Education that the vocational aspect of such training had been lost sight of to a large extent Developments Under the Federal Act S A RESULT of the cooperation established between the States and the Federal Government relative to the promotion and support of public vocational education the number of Fed erally aided schools giving vocational education increased from 1 741 in to 7 930 in 1926 During the same period the pupils enrolled in vocational courses in schools receiving Federal aid have increased from 164 186 to Tables 1 2 and 3 give statistics in some detail from 1918 to 1926 regarding the number of vocational education reimbursement units the pupils enrolled and teachers of vocational courses in such institutions These tables as well as all other data in this article are from the annual report of the Federal Board for Vocational Education 1926 A T a b l e 1 N U M B E R O F R E IM B U R S E M E N T U N IT S F E D E R A L L Y A ID E D B Y F IS C A L YEARS 1918 TO 1926 Agricultural schools Trade and industrial schools Home economics schools Part time Year E ven Part ing time All day Short Even Gen All unit iTotal ing Trade eral day Total Even Part A ll Total ing time day course exten con sion tinua tion Provisional subject to final audit of State accounts Grand total DEVELOPMENTS UNDER FEDERAL ACT Table 2 gives the number and sex of pupils in and teachers of voca tional courses in Federally aided agricultural trade and industrial and home economics schools by years 1918 to 1926 T able 2 P U P I L S IN A N D T E A C H E R S O F V O C A T IO N A L C O U R S E S IN F E D E R A L L Y A I D E D S C H O O LS F I S C A L Y E A R S 1 918 T O 1926 Pupils Teachers Year Males Females Total Males Females Total Provisional subject to final audit of State accounts 2 Includes 42 male pupils enrolled in home economics classes 14 in evening schools and 28 in all day schools Table 3 shows the number and sex of pupils enrolled in vocational courses in agricultural trade and industrial and home economics schools or classes organized under provisions of the State plan as approved by the Federal Board for Vocational Education including both those Federally aided and those not Federally aided by years 1924 to 1926 T a b l e 3 P U P IL S I N V O C A T IO N A L C O U R SE S IN SCH O OLS B O T H F E D E R A L L Y A ID E D A N D N O T F E D E R A L L Y A ID E D F IS C A L Y E A R S 1924 T O 1926 Year Males 1924 i Females Total i Prior to 1924 enrollment in schools not Federally aided was not available 3 Includes 42 male pupils in home economics schools 40 in evening classes and 2 in all day classes Expenditures for Vocational Education TABLES 4 and 5 show the amounts expended including Federal State and local expenditures in the specified years for voca tional schools vocational teacher training and vocational civilian rehabilitation T a b l e 4 E X P E N D IT U R E S F E D E R A L S T A T E A N D L O C A L U N D E R V O C A T IO N A L E D U C A T IO N A C T F O R S P E C IF IE D K IN D S OF V O C A T IO N A L E D U C A T IO N F O R F IS C A L Y E A R S 1918 T O 1926 Amounts expended for vocational education Year Agricultural Home economics Includes expenditures for salaries of supervisors 2 Not including expenditures for part time general continuation schools s Provisional subject to final audit of State accounts Part time general continuation Trade or industrial VOCATIONAL EDUCATION T a b l e 5 E X P E N D I T U R E S F E D E R A L S T A T E A N D L O C A L U N D E R V O C A T IO N A L E D U C A T IO N A C T F O R T E A C H E R T R A IN I N G IN S T IT U T IO N S F O R F IS C A L Y E A R S 19X8 TO 1926 Amounts expended for training of teachers of Year Agriculture i Home economics Trade or indus trial subjects Provisional subject to final audit of State accounts It is interesting to note that the financial contributions of the several States to vocational education have increased more rapidly than the contributions of the Federal Government Thus according to the annual report of the board for 1926 the total State and local funds utilized for the operation and development of the programs of vocational education and o f civilian vocational rehabilitation have continued to exceed the amounts required to match Federal funds For the fiscal year 1926 on the basis of figures officially reported for each dollar of Federal funds there has been provided for voca tional education 2 54 and for civilian vocational rehabilitation 1 19 The statement below shows the amount expended from Federal and State funds for civilian vocational rehabilitation by years 1922 to 1926 A m ou n t exp en d ed Trade and Industrial Education Service A S INDICATED in Table 6 attendance in the trade and industrial classes increased from 117 934 pupils in 1917 18 to 466 152 in 1926 Of the latter number enrollments in the general continuation schools were in other federally aided trade and industrial school P ro v isio n a l su b ject to final a u d it o f State a ccou n ts 625 DEVELOPMENTS UNDER FEDERAL ACT T able 6 N U M B E R A N D S E X O F P U P IL S E N R O L L E D IN V O C A T IO N A L C O U R S E S IN T R A D E A N D 1918 T O 1926 I N D U S T R IA L SC H O O LS F E D E R A L L Y A ID E D F I S C A L Y E A R S Pupils enrolled in Part time schools Year Evening schools All day schools Trade extension Males Females Males Females JJL 194 General continuation Males tf Females Males Females Among the special developments of recent years in the trade and industrial education work of the board the following description of the board s activities in regard to apprenticeship and plant training may be cited Report of Federal Board for Vocational Education 1926 pp Apprenticeship INURING the past three years material progress has been made in the establishment of various types of programs for apprentice ship training in many of the skilled trades This development has taken place more or less generally throughout the entire country This interest in training for apprenticeship has arisen within the past few years as a result of a number of different factors Formerly both employers and employees recognized definite periods of apprentice ship in the skilled trades A definite schedule of wages for appren tices was in effect The labor unions had definite apprenticeship quotas and youn men took pride in entering upon apprenticeship Within comparatively recent years this situation has largely broken down The apprenticeship quotas set by the local unions are in most cases no longer restrictive since it is only in an exceptional locality where a full quota of apprentices is found at work Many employers do not hire apprentices because they do not wish to be bothered with a learner whose labor is often regarded as not worth very much in proportion to his pay for a considerable period of time subsequent to his employment Moreover desirable young men are no longer entering upon apprenticeships preparatory to becoming tradesmen but instead either take training for semiprofessional or professional positions or secure jobs as specialized operatives at much higher wages than an apprenticeship would pay them Several years ago the situation began to become increasingly ap parent and evident to interested employers and employees in many of the skilled trades and a revival of interest in apprenticeship followed In recognition of this fact joint committees have been estab lished in different trades and in various localities to draw up plans 626 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION of apprenticeship training The State boards for vocational education and local officials in charge of vocational education in many cities of the country have accordingly represented the public on such joint committees and have assisted not only by advising them but ma terially in the way of setting up cooperative public programs of apprenticeship under agreements drawn up to insure adequate train ing to apprentices under such a plan As apprentice education has developed within the past few years in many localities organized as it is under the guidance of a joint committee representing the employer the employee and the public providing for definite rota tion oi work experience through the various levels of the trade and containing provision for definite organized educational training in connection with the work experience it has been demonstrated that young people of the present day and generation will enter appren ticeship to learn a skilled trade Where the program has been set up providing such incentives as those just enumerated insuring defi nite training and education together with adequate increases in pay as the learner advances not only has the existing quota established by the joint committee been filled with desirable young people but in many cities a waiting list has been established The actual accom plishments now recorded in a number of cities in various trades in reestablishing a system of apprenticeship under modern conditions has led to tentative attempts in several of the States during recent sessions of legislatures to secure the enactment of a State apprentice ship law similar to the one which is in successful operation in the State of Wisconsin While no other State has as yet enacted such comprehensive legislation the indications are that it will only be a very short time until several additional States have such legislation upon their statute books Even without the aid of a State law on apprenticeship the State of Pennsylvania has organized a State apprenticeship committee to promote apprenticeship in the plumbing trade No attempt has been made to enumerate all centers or States offer ing apprenticeship training in one or the other of the skilled trades It may be said that as the development has been taking place through out the country successful plans for offering apprenticeship training provide for a joint committee in charge of the program representing employers employees and the public a definite schedule of working experience in the different levels of the trade a plan for rotating apprentices among various employers where seasonal or other con ditions operate to interfere with effective training proper wage increases at different stages of the apprenticeship period and a defi nite course of part time instruction organized particularly for the special trade and conducted by the public school authorities Expe rience has fully demonstrated within the past two or three years that such a plan is successful in attracting desirable young people who will enroll as apprentices in trades with the expectation of complet ing their apprenticeship and becoming full fledged tradesmen Plant Training DROGRAM S for training for their own employees have been maintained by many plants and industrial organizations par ticularly in types of work involving high skill Of recent years 627 DEVELOPMENTS UNDER FEDERAL ACT there has been a noteworthy development of training programs in the case of industries employing special operatives on work classed as semiskilled labor Impetus was given to the establishment of plant training programs during the war period With the easing off o f high speed production and pressure many plants abandoned training programs established at that time During the past several years however many programs have been reestablished or created partly as a direct result of the leadership and supervisory service ren dered to industrial plants by State boards of vocational education and city officials in charge o f vocational education In certain cases the classes have been established supervised and aided from public funds although conducted directly in the plant In other cases the plants have preferred to operate their own programs and to finance them themselves only asking for advisory assistance from the State department for vocational education Agricultural Education Service T TNDEK the direction o f the Federal Board for Vocational Educa tion in cooperation with th State boards for vocational education vocational agriculture is now being taught in the public schools of every State in the Union From 609 in 1917 18 the number of vocational agricultural schools receiving Federal aid for salaries of teachers increased to 4 371 including 264 short unit courses in 1926 while at the close of the same fiscal year the number o f pupils enrolled in such schools and short unit courses was 108 852 as compared with 15 453 in 1918 a gain of over 600 per cent Table 7 gives certain details concerning the enrollment in voca tional courses in Federally aided agricultural schools 1918 to 1926 T a b l e 7 N U M B E R A N D S E X OP P U P IL S E N R O L L E D IN V O C A T IO N A L C O U R SE S IN F E D E R A L L Y A ID E D A G R IC U L T U R A L SCH O O LS F O R F IS C A L Y E A R S 1918 T O 1926 Pupils enrolled in Year Evening schools Males Females Part time schools All day schools Males Males Females Females Short unit courses Males Females According to the report of the board for 1923 the courses given in these agricultural schools have been made more practical and are chosen with regard to their adaptability to local conditions thus eliciting increased interest on the part of pupils and greater support on the part of the community than did the more formal courses previously followed 628 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION Home Economics Education Service the last three years report D URING board for 1926 while1924r 1926 according to the educa of the the program of vocational tion in home economics has had a substantial growth numeri cally both in the number of vocational schools of all types and in enrollment in these schools and in teacher training institutions the more important developments are found in such improvements in the programs in organization administration and instruction as have made possible the rendering of a much enlarged social service Outstanding among these improvements are 1 The increased availability of vocational instruction in home economics for girls and women out of full time school 2 The use of itinerant teachers for adult classes in home making 3 The basing of courses of instruction on known group needs 4 The increasing of tlie range of content to meet varying needs of groups to be instructed 5 The organizing of the content into short units to secure flexibility 6 The taking note of occupational needs of employed girls and women 7 The developing of checking devices for educational control 8 The improving of preemployment teacher training 9 The improving of the program for training teachers in service 10 The training of experienced home makers as teachers in vocational schools 11 The providing of local supervisors to promote home making instruction for girls and women especially for the groups out of full time school 12 The developing of more constructive programs of work on the part of State supervisors of home economics Table 8 shows that there has been an increase in the enrollment in vocational courses in Federally aided home economics schools from 30 799 in 1918 to 177 146 in 1926 an expansion of 475 per cent T a b l e S N U M B E R O F W O M E N A N D GTRLS E N R O L L E D IN V O C A T IO N A L C O U R S E S IN H O M E E C O N O M IC S TO 1926 SCH OOLS FEDERALLY A ID E D F IS C A L YEARS 1918 Home economics pupils in Year Evening schools Part time schools All day schools Includes 44 male pupils 2 Includes 42 male pupils enrolled in home economics classes 14 in evening schools and 28 in all dayschools Commercial Education Service 17HILE no funds are appropriated by the Federal vocational education act for commercial schools definite provision is made under the law for aiding the States in the solution of the important problems relating to better training for the occupations commonly classed as commercial DEVELOPMENTS UNDER FEDERAL ACT 629 Prior to the three year period the work of the Fed eral board in the field of commercial education had included three distinct kinds of activity 1 Making studies investigations and reports for use in aiding the States in giving instruction in commerce and commercial pursuits 2 Assisting State boards for vocational education in solving prob lems in administering commercial schools and in organizing courses of study and instruction in commercial subjects and 3 Showing school administrators teachers of commercial subjects and business men the need for a vocational type of commercial education During the past three years according to the report of the board for 1926 a distinctly new line of work has been added which here after undoubtedly will be the fourth kind of activity carried on by the Federal board although in a way it but supplements the three older kinds This fourth activity is cooperating with national organ izations of business men in developing an educational program for those engaged in the business represented by the organization Thus during the past two years the National Association of Retail Grocers has been given help in organizing and outlining an educational pro gram for retail grocery store managers and their employees and the Laundryowners National Association has been assisted in making the first steps toward a similar end Tentative arrangements have been made also for helping other national trade organizations during the coming year Vocational Rehabilitation D R IO R to the enactment of the Federal civilian vocational reha bilitation act of 1920 several States had legislation looking to some form of restoration to a vocational status of the physically handicapped In general the service as well as the efforts of various industrial corporations and philanthropic agencies was mainly along placement lines The recognition of the economic losses arising from the failure to rehabilitate the industrially disabled led to the passage of the above mentioned Federal act The annual record of permanently disabling industrial and public accidents emphasizes the need of Federally aided rehabilitation work Previous to the passage of the Federal vocational rehabilita tion act which became effective June only six States were engaged in rehabilitation work The following brief description of the growth of this work under the supervision of the Federal Board for Vocational Education is abstracted from the board s report for 1926 Number of States Engaged in Rehabilitation Work T O DATE 39 States have accepted the national civilian vocational A rehabilitation act The nine States which have not established rehabilitation services are Connecticut Delaware Florida Kansas Maryland South Carolina Texas Vermont and Washington Indi cations point to the probable passage of rehabilitation legislation in five or six of these States during the calendar year 630 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION Extent of Program T O ASCERTAIN the degree to which the problem of the disabled is being met in the States one must know the volume of service being given as well as the extent of the problem Since the inaugu ration of the national civilian vocational rehabilitation program 24 000 disabled persons have been refitted or retrained and estab lished in self supporting employment At the present time 14 000 persons are in process of rehabilitation in the 39 States engaged in the work During the last fiscal year persons were rehabilitated The Problem I7ACH year many thousands of persons are injured through em ployment or public accident diseases or congenital conditions but not all of them become permanently disabled Of those who are permanently incapacitated physically not all are vocationally handi capped Furthermore many persons who become vocationally han dicapped are able to rehabilitate themselves When these factors limiting the problem of vocational rehabilitation are borne in mind and when it is also realized that accurate statistics of public acci dents and disabilities arising out of disease and congenital conditions are not available the difficulty of arriving at a satisfactory estimate of the number of disabled persons in need of rehabilitation at any one time is readily understood Many of the States have in various ways sought to secure adequate data as to the problem and all know that it is not being met Several of them have taken censuses of the disabled only to find that the disabled population exceeded their original estimates Students of accident and disability statistics and of the rehabilitation program have estimated that each year there are added to the army of the physically disabled in need of vocational rehabilitation from 50 000 to 70 000 persons These fig ures compared with those of accomplishments given above furnish some idea of the extent to which the rehabilitation problem is being met in the States Expenditure of Federal and State Moneys T TNDER the act each year is authorized to be made available to the 48 States To the 39 States now cooperating about is allotted In the fiscal year 1926 in round num bers of this amount was expended by these States which expenditure represents 68 per cent of the allotted Federal funds During the same year these States expended from their own moneys This means that for every dollar of Federal money that was expended 1 19 of State money was expended However the proportion of State money expended is in reality much larger for much money is expended each year by the States for certain phases of the rehabilitation work that are not subsidized from Federal funds Fifteen States expended last year practically all of their Federal allotments DEVELOPMENTS TINDER FEDERAL ACT 631 Progress with respect to reduction of cost per case is shown in the statement following The average cost per case is secured by dividing the total number of cases rehabilitated in the year into the total expenditures from both Federal and State funds for all purposes including administration for all cases both rehabilitated and still active A v e ra g e co s t per Fiscal year case in country Returns of National Civilian Vocational Rehabilitation Program UTNALLY in estimating the economic returns of the civilian vocaA tional rehabilitation program it is striking to observe that the average weekly wage of all persons rehabilitated in the United States during the fiscal year 1924 was 26 07 An analysis of the ages of these persons at the time of rehabilitation shows them as having on the average a life expectancy of at least 20 years Thus their total earnings during a period of 20 years following their rehabilitation will be This is an enormous return when compared with the total cost to the Federal and to the State Governments of rehabilitating these persons that is Study of Vocational Guidance as Related to Civilian Vocational Rehabilitation IT IS generally conceded that the two most important phases of any rehabilitation program are advisement and supervision I f a disabled person can be properly advised prior to beginning a course of training and is carefully supervised while in training the chances are that he will prove a successful rehabilitant The battle is half won if the advisement and the supervision function Experience has shown that there is a lack of knowledge on the part of supervisors and field agents particularly those just entering upon rehabilitation work of the principles of practical guidance work There is a need therefore of placing in their hands certain data on guidance A study is now in progress which will be published in the fiscal year of 1927 It will cover 1 A general statement on the guidance movement showing its scope and importance and steps in progress 2 Guidance in civilian rehabilitation 3 Mental and aptitude tests and their possible use in rehabilita tion 4 Training information on 25 vocations showing for each a Specifications of job objectives b Selection of trainees c Program of instruction d Training facilities e Employment information 632 VOCATIONAL EDUCATTOK Early Investigations of Vocational Education HE interest of the Federal Government in industrial education before the setting up of the Federal Vocational Education Board was manifested by several important investigations of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics Among the reports on such surveys are the following Twenty fifth Annual Report of the United States Commissioner of Labor 1910 Industrial Education 1911 Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics No 159 Short unit courses for wage earners and a factory school experiment 1915 Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics No 162 Vocational Education Survey of Richmond Va United States Bureau of Labor Statistics Bulletin No 199 Voca tional Education Survey of Minneapolis Minn The first listed report covered not only public industrial schools but also philanthropic industrial schools apprenticeship schools con ducted either by employers alone or by employers in cooperation with industrial schools and correspondence schools Industrial education activities of a similar character under private auspices are still being carried on in various parts of the country and there are also some industrial educational enterprises conducted by trade unions T Rehabilitation Work of the United States Veterans Bureau 3 HE provisions of law extending the life of rehabilitation benefits beyond June did not become effective until July Consequently the bureau s activities throughout the year were motivated by the idea that the best possible adjustment of veter ans into employment must be made by June The bureau by reason of this time limitation had to choose in many cases between providing the benefits desired by the veteran such as the first two or three years of an extended professional course or curtailing the course to one which would fit the veteran for employment in a re lated occupation requiring less training The policy insisted on during the year was that indicated by section 6 of the World War veterans act It shall be its duty the bureau s to provide for the placement of rehabilitated persons in suitable or gainful occupa tions and was formulated as follows T In the case of trainees inducted prior to June whose individual training programs as outlined contemplate training beyond June the individual training program shall be revised to give a rounded out course of training which can be completed on or before June and which will meet the requirements of employability in the occupation stated as the employment objective or if this can not be obtained on or before June in another occupation which will capitalize the training already pro vided which can be attained on or before June If no occupation can 3 United States Veterans Bureau 1926 pp Annual report of the director 1926 Washington REHABILITATION WORK OF THE VETERANS BUREAU 633 be found which will properly capitalize the training already provided the trainee shall be given the option of continuing his present course to June at which time all duty and obligation of the United States will cease and after which no further expenditures may be incurred or of pursuing another course to be prescribed by the bureau Record shall be made of the trainee s option and all pertinent circumstances In the case of trainees inducted on or subsequent to June the em ployment objective and the individual training program shall be selected and outlined in such a way that the requirements of employability in the employ ment objective selected can be met on or before June In no case shall a waiver or statement of the trainee agreeing to bear the cost of training after June as needed to complete a course be considered by the bureau or made the cause of deviating from the principles of the preceding paragraphs It may be pointed out that the reaction of a veteran desiring the first years of a physician s training whose objective was reduced by the bureau in accordance with the above quoted policy to 4 assist 6 ant bacteriologist requiring only two years training was in general unfavorable nevertheless it appeared essential having regard to the veteran s chances of immediate gainful employment at the conclusion of training to insist in the great majority of cases on the reduction of objective Many such readjustments which had not resulted satis factorily were corrected after the end of the fiscal year under the terms of the amendatory act of July The watchword of the year was adjustment into employment and work was directed along this line by the following instructions issued to field stations in September 1925 Less than 10 months remain for the completion of rehabilitation work Within this short period 19 000 beneficiaries must be trained to employ ability and placed in suitable employment The limited remaining time calls for added efforts from all in order that we may really complete our work successfully rather than to close by the operation of law We shall serve our beneficiaries well if each trainee is given full opportunity to attain employ ability in an actual pay roll job and is promptly employed immediately upon rehabilitation General training toward vague or unattainable objectives will not equip trainees to meet the immediate problem of earning a living such objectives must be studied and the efforts of the trainee directed toward an actual job To be a satisfactory facility for placement training an establishment must be willing to cooperate fully in arranging and following a program of instruc tion based upon actual requirements of a definite job for which men are em ployed by the firm In addition only those firms should be utilized especially in the last stages of training which can furnish employment upon rehabili tation Every effort must be made to offer employment to every trainee immediately upon rehabilitation Trainees for whom placement training is authorized under existing policies can if proper efforts are made be placed in actual employment for the last month or two of the training period training being continued pursuant to a program which will insure employability in the actual job which the trainee will fill upon rehabilitation Training beyond the point of employability is of course not authorized by law and can not be per mitted This plan for absorbing placement trainees into actual employment will enable the bureau to secure numerous employment opportunities for trainees as they occur slightly in advance of rehabilitation Each rehabilita tion assistant is also the employment officer for his cases he must be constantly searching for satisfactory employment opportunities where his trainees can complete training and secure employment It is recognized that there are still in training many cases of the problem type in which training has continued for long periods A definite employment opportunity compatible with the trainee s ability which gives him an oppor tunity to demonstrate to himself that he is able to earn his own living is the happiest solution of these cases 634 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION Continuous effort careful study and close supervision of the training and employment problems in each by all bureau officers will bring a successful termination of rehabilitation work Will every individual in your organization put forth the extra effort which means success Adjustments as indicated were effected in all cases affording an opportunity to initiate the process of absorption into employment through the medium of arrangements satisfactory to the trainee the employer and the bureau While desirable adjustments reason ably insuring rehabilitation as intended were in many cases attain able through the application of procedure provided by regulations viz changes in training program objective or facility in general more positive results were gained from a process of adjustment em bracing a definite agreement for employment in a specific job in the selected objective entered into by and acceptable to both trainee and trainor Negotiations for agreements of this nature fully rec ognized the necessity of establishing beyond all reasonable doubt the suitability of the pay roll job proposed and the ability of the trainor fully to discharge his part of the agreement It was impera tive however that the trainee fully understand and be satisfied with the action taken and that the trainor be wholly convinced of the practicability of the arrangement from the business viewpoint and satisfied with the trainee s ability Whenever possible employment was arranged in the objective for which training was being provided but in problem cases where inaptitude physical condition questionable advisement or failure to profit from training provided had retarded progress in that objective to such a degree as apparently to defeat rehabilitation at the anticipated date adjustments into employment in a reduced objective in a former occupation or in some other objective attain able without anj prolongation of the training period were regarded as justified Painstaking care was exercised to insure detailed and accurate record of any change in objective or deviation from the previously recorded training arrangements and compliance with all other recognized requirements of procedure Where the accepted adjustment involved such modification of the rehabilitation date as to preclude 60 day notice before termination of training waiver of this notice was encouraged in the trainee s acceptance of the adjust ment proposed and made of record Except in rare instances where justified by physical condition of the trainee retardation in training for reasons beyond his control or failure to profit or cooperate pro longation of the training period was unnecessary While the curtailment of courses seemed arbitrary at times to those affected it is felt that the program resulted in actual rehabilitation in a majority of instances So far as present information goes there will be no substantial number of justifiable appeals to the T director for correction of error and no substantial increase in the training load from the latest August 31 figure of 1 386 a figure already 31 76 per cent lower than the total training status as of June At the beginning of this year there were in training status 21 417 veterans on the maintenance and support pay roll sec 400 and 1 520 under section 402 without such allowance the accumulative per centages of termination having reached 86 5 per cent and 93 1 per 635 REHABILITATION WORK OF THE VETERANS BUREAU cent in the two groups respectively During the year these totals were reduced to 1 825 and 202 respectively making reductions of load during the year of 91 5 per cent and 86 T per cent in the two groups with final accumulative percentages of termination of 98 8 per cent and 99 1 per cent The percentage of terminations in comparison with previous years showed a rapid but not unanticipated increase The bureau while recognizing certain unsatisfactory aspects of its training program takes particular pride in the regularly increasing yearly percentage of terminations and especially of rehabilitations Each year has shown steady and increasing progress toward the goal Tables 1 and 2 give a synopsis of rehabilitation activities 1922 to 1926 under sections 400 and 402 of the World War veterans act T able 1 S U M M A R Y O F W O R K O N E N T E R E D T R A IN IN G F IS C A L Y E A R S 1922 T O 1926 Training load 1922 LOAD S E C T IO N Total training status beginning of period Total entered training during period Training load for period Rehabilitated during period Permanently discontinued during period Deceased after induction during period Total terminated during period Remaining training status at end of period Per cent of training load rehabilitated Per cent of training load permanently discontinued Per cent of training load deceased Per cent of training load terminated Per cent of training terminations which were permanently discontinued C i i Decrease due to the transfer of the case files of deceased trainees to central office T able 3 S U M M A R Y OF W O R K ON E N T E R E D T R A IN IN G F IS C A L Y E A R S 1922 T O 1926 LOAD SE C T IO N 402 Training load Total training status beginning of period Total entered training during period Training load for period Completed during period Permanently discontinued during period Deceased after induction during period l 2 Total terminated during period Remaining training status at end of period Per cent of training load completed Per cent of training load permanently discontinued Per cent of training load deceased Per cent of training load terminated Per cent of training terminations which were permanently dis 47 2 continued Decrease due to the transfer of the case files of deceased trainees to central office Twenty six bureau beneficiaries completed vocational training in the insular possessions and foreign countries during the fiscal year 636 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION while the number in active training status on June was as follows Insular possessions 6 and foreign countries 7 On the financial side the reduction of expenditure to for vocational rehabilitation to the close of the fiscal year as com pared with to the corresponding date in 1925 and in 1924 is a source of satisfaction though not recognized as a saving since it results rather from the normal progress of a diminishing task than from economies in management Of the total expenditure 92 4 per cent went directly to trainees as their allowance for maintenance and support 1 2 per cent for sup plies 4 2 per cent for tuition 0 3 per cent for travel and the remain ing 1 9 per cent for miscellaneous expenses The expenses for ad ministration are not included in the total here under consideration The average rate of maintenance and support allowance was 126 50 per month a slight increase over the experience of earlier years due it is believed wholly to increase in number of dependents while the average monthly rate of other training expenses has been reduced to 12 15 per month the reduction being due chiefly to the lack of necessity for initial purchases of supplies and equipment on account of the absence of new inductions Immediately subsequent to the conclusion of the fiscal year on July amendatory legislation was enacted permitting the continuance of courses when the veteran had not attained employ ability but not later than December in placement and project cases and not later than July in institutional cases This provision made it possible for the bureau to extend needed benefits especially to late entrants namely those inducted in June 1925 or immediately prior thereto It is a matter of considerable satisfaction that the aggregate load from which such continuations are to be drawn was only 2 027 cases which has been further reduced by a review of employability features covering a portion of the load only to 1 386 August It is anticipated that the eventual number of continuations including those resulting from correction of error or appeal will not exceed 1 300 of which approx imately 900 will be institutional cases WOMEN IN INDUSTRY Extent and Distribution o f Women in Industrial Employment OR a long time the employment of a woman in factory mill or store was looked upon as a temporary phase her serious busi ness in life was in the home and her work outside was either an unfortunate accident or a means of passing the time until she had the home in which to carry on her normal activities Because of this belief comparatively little interest was manifested in the conditions under which she worked the wages she got or the work she did Industry was looked upon as predominantly a masculine affair into which from time to time individual women might enter stay a short time and pass on but their presence there was too temporary a matter to demand any serious consideration The beginning of a change in this attitude was seen during the seventies of the last century when several State labor bureaus made studies of varying extent into the earnings and occupations of working women As his annual report for 1888 the United States Commissioner of Labor published a study of working women in large cities dealing with some 17 427 women in 343 distinct industries This was the most important investigation of the subject which had been made up to that time In 1894 Congress passed a resolution authorizing the commissioner to investigate and make report upon the conditions attending the employment of women and children their wages earnings sanitary surroundings and cost of living the effect of various employments upon their health and longevity what measures are taken to protect their physical condition and to protect them from accidents the rate of wages paid them in comparison with the rates paid men and the effect if any their employment has had upon the employment and wages of men This was the most ambitious study which had then been under taken but it was in turn outdistanced by an investigation carried on in pursuance of a resolution of Congress passed in 1907 which authorized the Secretary of Labor and Commerce to report upon the industrial social moral educational and physical condition of woman and child workers in the United States This investiga tion put the question upon a new basis It definitely established the fact that the presence of women in industry was not a mere acci dental or individual matter but that they formed an important factor in the industrial development of the country that they were there from economic pressure and not as a matter of whim or fancy that there was every indication that they would continue to be em ployed probably in increasing numbers and that the welfare of the whole country as well as of the individual woman and the in dividual business would be advanced by recognizing these facts and adjusting industry accordingly This report was followed by a series of studies of women in in dustry published by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics F W OMEN IN INDUSTRY but these did not satisfy the demand oi the women of the country for special attention to the problems of women industrially em ployed and in 1918 the Women in Industry Service was organized in the Department of Labor In 1920 Congress established this as a separate and permanent agency called the Women s Bureau to formulate standards and policies which shall promote the welfare of wage earning women improve their working conditions and advance their opportunities for profitable employment Since that date the Federal Women s Bureau has been the chief source of information on general questions of women in industry A number of the States have similar bureaus or divisions and have published valuable studies of local conditions but they deal only with their own States while the Federal bureau is free to cover a wider field The data used in the present article except where credited to other sources are taken either from census data brought together by the Women s Bureau or from the original studies of that bureau Number and Distribution of Women Gainfully Employed T 1 HE following table shows the number and per cent of women and girls gainfully employed at each of the census dates since 1870 giving for comparative purposes the same data concerning men T a b l e 1 P R O P O R T IO N OF W O M E N A N D OF M E N G A IN F U L L Y O C C U P IE D Sex and census year Population 10 years of age and over Persons 10 years of age and over en gaged in gainful occupations Num ber W omen Sex and census year Population 10 years of age and over Per cent Persons 10 years of age and over en gaged in gainful occupations Num ber M en Per cent U S Bureau of the Census Fourteenth Census Population 1920 V 4 Occupations p 33 2 Figures for 1890 are exclusive of persons in Indian Territory and on Indian reservations areas specially enumerated at that census but for which occupation statistics are not available The apparent decrease in the percentage of women employed in 1920 is explained as probably due to the change in the date for which the data were collected In comparing the figures for 1910 and 1920 it is necessary to bear in mind that the census date changed from April 15 in 1910 to January 1 in 1920 This change in date the Bureau of the Census points out probably accounts for the decrease shown in the number of women engaged in agricultural pur suits since in most localities agricultural work is at or near its lowest ebb in January To the extent the decreases were actual they are believed to have resulted mainly from the change in the census date and changes in the enumerators instructions 1 1 U S W om en s B ureau B ui N o 4 6 F a cts a bou t w o rk in g w om en a g r a p h ic p re se n ta tion based o n cen sus sta tis tics W a sh in g ton 1925 p 2 641 DUMBER GAINFULLY EMPLOYED Occupation d distribution The following table shows the distri bution of gainfully employed women by main occupational divisions in 1910 and 1920 T a b l e 2 D IS T R IB U T IO N OF W O M E N B Y M A IN O C C U P A T IO N A L D IV IS IO N S 1910 A N D 1920 1 Females 10 years of age and over 1910 Occupational division Number Agriculture forestry and animal husbandry Extraction of minerals Manufacturing and mechanical industries Transportation Trade Public service not elsewhere classified Professional service Domestic and personal service Clerical occupations Total all occupations U S Bureau of the Census Fourteenth Census 2 Less than one tenth of 1 per cent Population Per cent Num ber Per cent V 4 Occupations p 34 Here it will be observed that agriculture in its various branches and domestic and personal service show a decrease both absolute aiid relative in the numbers employed As far as agriculture is con cerned it is probable that the decrease is merely apparent accounted for by the change in the census date For domestic service no such extraneous cause can be discovered and the decrease is probably real All other occupations show an increase during the decade and this is especially marked in the group of clerical occupations The extent to which women are gainfully employed differs widely in different parts of the country the industrial States having many woman wage earners while in the agricultural and mining States the proportion is much lower Table 3 shows the number of females aged 10 years and over and the proportion gainfully employed for each of the States in which one fifth or more are so employed T able 3 N U M B E R A N D P R O P O R T IO N OF W O M E N G A IN F U L L Y E M P L O Y E D 1920 Females 10 years of age and over Engaged in gain ful occupations State Number Engaged in gain ful occupations State Total number Total number South Carolina Rhode Island Massachusetts Mississippi N ew Hampshire Connecticut N ew Y ork Georgia Alabama N ew Jersey Females 10 years of age and over Per cent Number M aryland Florida Louisiana North Carolina California Illinois M aine Delaware Pennsylvania Per cent ft a W OMEN IN INDUSTRY Nativity and Race T H E distribution by nativity and race of the women gainfully employed in 1920 is shown by Table 4 T able 4 P R O P O R T IO N OF W O M E N IN S P E C IF IE D N A T I V I T Y A N D R A C E G R O U P S G A IN F U L L Y O C C U P IE D 1910 A N D 19201 Females 10 years of age and over 1910 N ativity and race group 1920 Engaged in gain ful occupations Engaged in gain ful occupations Total number Total number Number Native white native parentage N ative white foreign or mixed parentage Foreign born white Negro Indian Chinese Japanese and all other Indian Chinese Japanese All other Per cent Number Per cent T o t a l Total all g r o u p s U S Bureau of the Census Fourteenth Census Population 1920 V 4 Occupations p 340 2 Separate occupation figures for Chinese and Japanese for 1910 are not available 3 Per cent not shown base being less than 100 It will be noticed that gainful employment is more common among the colored than in any of the other large racial groups next in this respect come the native whites of foreign or mixed parentage fol lowed by the foreign born whites and the native whites of native parentage In absolute number the last named group is by far the largest forming over two fifths of the whole body of women gain fully employed while the negro women form only a trifle over oneeighth Women Industrially Employed Although there are over women gainfully employed public interest as manifested in studies investigations and legisla tion is mainly concerned with those who are frequently but not very accurately referred to as being industrially employed This term is often used to cover those who are in manufacturing and me chanical industries in such branches of domestic and personal service as laundries hotels and restaurants in mercantile establishments in transportation as represented by the telephone and telegraph and to some extent in clerical occupations The following definitions taken from Bulletin No 27 of the Women s Bureau show some of the classes of workers most commonly made the subject of investiga tions and reports Mamfacturing and mechanical industries Under manufacturing ancl mechanical industries are grouped not only all factory laborers 643 NUMBER GAINFULLY EMPLOYED and semiskilled operatives but all persons engaged in the skilled building and hand trades together with their apprentices and all persons working in manufacturing industries in proprietary official and supervisory capacities Clerks in factories are grouped with clerical occupations Transportation This term includes water transportation road and street transportation including the building repair and clean ing of streets railroad transportation and transportation by ex press post telegraph and telephone The 106 625 women engaged in this general division of occupations in 1910 had practically doubled in 1920 Trade Under u trade are listed wholesale and retail dealers and most of their employees bankers brokers and money lenders real estate and insurance agents undertakers and workers in coal and lumber yards grain elevators stockyards and warehouses The number of women engaged in trade increased 42 7 per cent from 1910 to 1920 and in many occupations mainly those of a pro prietary nature enormous increases are shown Of the total net increase of 199 704 women in trade or 82 4 per cent were engaged in two occupations which women have long pursued clerks in stores and saleswomen in stores There is no occupation listed under trade in which women are not engaged Age Distribution rT ABLE 5 shows the age distribution in 1920 of all women gain fully employed T able 5 A G E OF W O M E N IN E A C H M A IN O C C U P A T IO N A L D IV IS IO N Number Agricul Ex Manufac ture trac turing Trans forestry tion and me porta aud a of chanical mal hus min industries tion bandry erals Public service not Trade else where classi fied Profes sional service Domestic and personal service years and over Age group 10 to 16 years to 19 years to 24 years to 44 years to 64 years years and over Age unknown Clerical occupa tions Per cent 10 to 16 years to 19 years to 24 years to 44 years to 64 years years and over Age unknown years and over ts i U S Bureau of the Census Fourteenth Census Population 1920 V 4 Occupations p 376 Table WOMEN IN INDUSTRY A comparison of these figures shows that the lowest age level is found in the group engaged in transportation where 66 3 per cent were under 25 and only 3 9 per cent over 44 In all probability this is due to the fact that telephone operating is almost entirely in the hands of distinctly young women and girls Next comes clerical occupations with 59 3 per cent under 25 and 4 2 per cent over 44 followed by manufacturing and mechanical industries with 46 6 per cent under 25 and 15 4 per cent over 44 while trade shows 41 3 per cent under 25 and 14 8 per cent over 44 It will be seen that the groups in which public interest is most developed are in the main composed of young women but that along with these are very con siderable numbers of middle aged or even elderly women Women 5 in industry 5 is by no means an affair of girls in their teens Hours and Earnings of Working Women HE features most frequently considered in the investigations of working women are their occupations their homes their earnings the conditions under which they work their age and marital status and their need of protective legislation No general studies have been made covering all industries in all parts of the country but a number of partial investigations have dealt with these features in particular localities or industries T Hours of Work for Women T H E hours of work may be determined by legal regulation by trade union agreements or by the custom of the particular com munity or industry In general men s hours are decided by agree ments or by custom but for women many States of the Union have some legislation regarding the hours they may be employed Where men and women work in the same industry they usually have the same hours as appears in the studies of hours given elsewhere in this handbook Sometimes the women simply come under the hours agreed upon by the trade unions and the employers sometimes the laws restricting women s hours indirectly determine the men s hours too because the work of the sexes is so interdependent that when one stops the other must stop also The hours of women however have always received special attention and a number of studies have been made with a view to discovering how far legal regulation is necessary or desirable One of the most comprehensive of these studies was published in 1925 by the Women s Bureau as Bulletin No 43 cover ing the hours worked in September 1922 by 162 662 women in 13 States employed in various forms of manufacturing and mechanical industries in mercantile establishments in 5 and 10 cent stores and in laundries Taking the group as a whole the number and propor tion of women working various daily scheduled hours were as follows N um ber Under 8 hours hours Over 8 and under 9 hours P e r cen t HOURS AND EARNINGS OF WORKING WOMEN N um ber 9 hours Over 9 and under 10 hours hours Over 10 and under 11 hours hours Over 11 hours Total P e r ce n t A point of interest here is that not one of the States included had an 8 hour law for women yet practically one fifth of those studied were working a day of eight hours or less Only two States Arkansas and Ohio enforced so short a day as nine hours in any industry and only 19 8 per cent of the women were in these two States but 76 6 per cent of the women studied had a day of nine hours or less On the other hand nearly one sixth had a day of 10 hours or over The proportion in the extreme groups varied widely in different States as shown in Table 1 T a b l e 1 D I S T R I B U T I O N OF W O R K IN G W O M E N A C C O R D IN G T O L E N G T H OF W O R K IN G D A Y B Y S T A T E S State N um ber of women studied South Carolina Virginia Alabama Georgia Kentucky Indiana Per cent having scheduled day o fState 10 horns 8 hours or less Iowa M a ry la n d Ohio Missouri N ew Jersey N um ber of women studied Per cent having scheduled day of 10 hours 8 hours or less These figures suggest that there is no close relation between the hours permitted by law and those actually worked Neither Alabama nor Iowa had any restrictions upon the hours women may work yet in Alabama the proportion working a 10 hour day was less than half that of South Carolina which had a nominal 10 hour day while in Iowa only one sixteenth worked as long as 10 hours and none had a longer day New Jersey and Maryland both permitted a 10 hour day yet in both the proportion working such a day was small while in the former State 19 per cent and in the latter 33 5 per cent had a day of 8 hours or less It is pointed out that the prevalence of a working day of a given length within a State may be determined by the presence of one large industry with a uniform policy as to hours Thus in South Caro lina Georgia and Alabama a large number of the women studied were in textile mills in which the 10 hour day predominated There was considerable difference among the industries in this respect Table 2 shows the distribution by length of working day of the women in the three industries which employed the largest number of women 646 WOMEN IN INDUSTRY TABLE 2 S C H E D U L E D D A I L Y H O U R S iN T H R E E L E A D IN G IN D U S T R IE S Percentage of women whose scheduled daily hours were Industry C lothing Textiles General mercantile N um ber of women report Un ed der g Over 8 and un der 9 g Over 9 and un der Over Over and un der and un der It will be noticed that just half of the women working in the tex T tile industry had a day of 10 hours or more while of those in mer cantile employment 83 9 per cent had a day of 8 hours or less In the clothing industry 97 5 per cent were found in the groups having 8 and under 10 hours A shortened Saturday was common in most of the industries so that the weekly hours can not be gauged by the length of the working day In this respect there was wide variation the regular working week varying from under 44 to over 60 hours A 50 hour week was the standard for the largest group of women when the workers of all the States surveyed were considered to gether In this respect one third of all women had a scheduled week of 48 hours or less Rhode Island New Jersey and Maryland took the lead with approximately 68 per cent 55 per cent and 52 per cent of the women reported in each respectively showing such a schedule An overwhelming majority of the South Carolina workers on the other hand regularly put in more than 54 hours a week while in both Georgia and Alabama practically two thirds of tne women reported had a scheduled week of more than 54 hours The Women s Bureau calls attention to the fact that the legal regulation of women s hours has nowhere secured for them terms as favorable as those enforced by many trade unions in the benefits of which women share The most advanced legal standards yet established set for women an 8 hour day and a 48 hour week while in the more effectively organized trades a 44 hour week is common and a 40 hour week is by no means unknown The foregoing statements show that the standards established by trade union agreements for all classes of workers have gone ahead of those set by law for woman workers The greater proportion of union labor thinks in terms of an 8 hour day with a 2 or 6 day y week Wages and Earnings of Women T H E studies of hours and wages given elsewhere in this Hand book include women as well as men and information as to their wages in specified trades can be found in those studies Here it is sufficient to point out that in general women are found in the less well paid occupations and that when they are in the same occupation as men they are often paid at a lower rate This is not true of course of occupations in which the piece rate system of pay ment prevails Table 3 from the December 1926 number of the 647 HOURS AND EARNINGS OF WORKING WOM EN bulletin issued monthly by the Industrial Commissioner of New York shows the difference in the level of men s and women s earnings in factory occupations in that State T able 3 M E N S A N D W O M E N S A V E R A G E W E E K L Y E A R N I N G S IN R E P R E S E N T A T IV E N E W Y O R K S T A T E F A C T O R IE S N O V E M B E R SH O P W O R K E R S O N L Y Total State N ew York C ity Remainder of State Industry M en W omen Stone clay and glass products Miscellaneous stone and mineral products Lime cement and plaster Brick tile and pottery Glass Metals machinery and conveyances Gold silver and precious s to n e s Brass copper aluminum etc Pig iron and rolling mill products Structural and architectural ironwork Shect mfttal work and hardware Firearms tools and cutlery Cooking heating and ventilating apparatus Machinery including electrical apparatus Automobiles carriages and aeroplanes Cars locomotives and railroad repair w ork Boat and ship building Instruments and appliances W ood manufactures Sawmill and planing mill products Furniture and cabinetwork Pianos organs and other musical instruments Miscellaneous wood and allied products Furs leather and rubber goods Leather Furs and fur goods Boots and shoes Miscellaneous leather and canvas goods Rubber and gutta percha goods Pearl horn bone celluloid hair etc Chemicals oils paints etc Drugs and chemicals Paints dyes and colors Animal and mineral oil p ro d u c ts Miscellaneous chemical products Paper Printing and paper goods Paper boxes and tubes Miscellaneous paper goods Printing and bookmaking Textiles Silk and silk goods W ool manufactures Cotton g ood s Cotton and woolen hosiery and knit goods Other textiles and allied products Clothing millinery laundering etc M en s clothing M en s shirts and furnishings W omen s clothing W omen s underwear and furnishings W omen s headwear Miscellaneous sewings Laundering cleaning dyeing etc Food beverages and tobacco Flour feed and other cereal products Fruit and vegetable canning and preserving Groceries not elsewhere classified Meat and dairy products Bread and other bakery products Confectionery and ice cream Beverages Cigars and other tobacco products Water light and power T otal M en W om en M en W omen o In the series of average weekly earnings for men and women the group and grand totals are weighted according to the percentage representation of men and women in each industry 2 N ot computed because not enough firms report separately 648 WOMEN IN INDUSTRY It will be noticed that the women s earnings as shown here are conspicuously low their range being from 10 58 in beverages to 32 04 in furs and fur goods while men s earnings range from 22 07 in tobacco products to 56 83 in miscellaneous stone and mineral prod ucts In July 1926 the same office issued a study of the earnings of men and women showing the lower level of the women s returns and giving some reasons for the situation which may be thus sum marized 2 The most conspicuous fact brought out by the study according to this summary is the difference in the earnings of the sexes Women work in different trades and different occupations from those of men but taking all places open to women and all those open to men in factories the average earnings for men in 1924 25 were 31 36 a week and those for women were 17 45 or about 56 per cent of the earnings received by the men This is perhaps in part due to the narrower field open to women It is pointed out that there are very few manufacturing industries in which men form less than 20 per cent of the working force but there are many in which women constitute less than 1 per cent of all the workers Over 60 per cent of all the women in factories are in either the clothing or the textile groups and the food industries account for 10 per cent more On the other hand they have but a small repre sentation in the important group of metal working industries and very few are at work on wo 1 1 J or the manufacture of build s ing materials like cement where employment has been unusually high in the last t vu yeam A second reason is that women suffer more seriously from un employment than men do Seasonal unemployment affects par ticularly such industries as the sewing trades in which they are especially numerous and in these the women s trades are more severely hit than the men s A different kind of seasonal irregularity is found in such establishments as candy factories in which a regular force is maintained throughout the year and extra workers are taken on for the busy season These extra workers are almost entirely women In the matter of employment women furnish an extra large proportion of the workers in the irregular or satellite industries and in those where the develop ment of highly industrialized organization has proceeded to only a slight degree They furnish also a large share of the irregular forces in the more highly or ganized industries These reasons however do not seem to cover the situation in other than factory industries where the same differences exist The Massa chusetts Department of Labor and Industries made a study of office workers based on conditions as of May from which Table 4 is taken 2 New York Department of Labor Special bulletin No 143 Employment and earn ings of men and women in New York State factories Albany 1926 649 HOURS AND EARNINGS OF WORKING WOMEN T able 4 C L A S S IF IC A T IO N OF O F F IC E W O R K E R S SALARY GROUP M ale BY S E X O C C U P A T IO N A N D Female Total Occupation and salary group N um ber Percent N um ber Percent N u m b er Per cent Clerical section Less than 16 a week and under and under and under and under 40 40 and under and over Total all wage groups Stenographic section Less than 16 a w e e k and under and under and under and under and under and over Total all wage groups Accounting and bookkeeping section Less than 16 a week and under and under and under and under and under and over Total all wage groups Office appliance section Less than 16 a week and under and under and under and under and under and over Total all wage groups Total all sections Less than 16 a week and under and under and under and under and under and over Total all wage groups As these figures deal with salaries not earnings the question of irregularity of employment does not enter into consideration and there is no inevitable difference in the occupations yet the great majority of the women are grouped in the low salary classifications and of the men in the high Only 10 8 per cent of the women as against 59 9 per cent of the men were drawing salaries of 30 and over a week and only one half of 1 per cent of the women as against 18 3 per cent of the men reached the scale of 50 and over weekly These differences are usually explained on the ground that a man s wage is designed to support a family while the woman worker being usually young and single has only her own needs to consider and is sometimes subsidized by her family even in this respect and that as she will marry and leave industry after a few years pro 650 WOMEN IN INDUSTRY vision for her support in old age does not come into the question To test this assumption the Women s Bureau has made several studies dealing with the responsibility of woman workers for the support of others 3 Family Status of Working Women T A K IN G the census figures the Women s Bureau prepared Table 5 showing the marital condition of working women T able 5 M A R IT A L C O N D IT IO N OF W O M E N IN E A C H D IV ISIO N 1910 A N D 1920 M A IN O C C U P A T IO N A L W omen 15 years of age and over engaged in gainful occupations Occupational division Married Total number N um ber Agriculture forestry and animal husbandry Extraction of minerals Manufacturing and me chanical industries Transportation Trade Public service not else where classified Professional service Domestic and personal service Clerical occupations Per cent Single wid owed di vorced and unknown N um ber Married Total number Per cent N um ber Per cent Single w id owed di vorced and unknown N um ber Per cent A ll occupations U S Bureau of the Census Fourteenth census Population 1920 V 4 Occupations p 693 Table 3 This shows that in 1920 almost 1 in 4 of the gainfully em ployed women were married the proportion running from 1 in every 11 among those engaged in clerical occupations to almost 1 in 2 in the small group engaged in the extraction of minerals Among those usually included in studies of working women the proportion runs from 1 in 8 in transportation to practically 1 in 4 in manufacturing and mechanical industries It was felt however that the census classification was too in clusive The family responsibilities of a widow with several chil dren may be widely different from those of a single woman a fact which is obscured by putting them into one group To test the effect of this the Women s Bureau took the census data of four localities and reclassified it separating those who had been married from the single The statement following shows the result in Jack sonville Fla 3 U n ited S tates W om en s B u rea u B u i N o 3 0 T h e share o f w a g e e a rn in g w om en in fa m ily sup p ort W a sh in g ton an d B ui N o 4 1 T h e fa m ily sta tu s o f b re a d w in n in g w om en in fo u r selected cities W a sh in g ton HOURS AND EARNINGS OF WORKING WOMEN Marital status Single Married husband living with family Married husband not living with family Widowed Divorced Marital status not reported T o ta l N um ber Per cent This shows that the proportion of woman breadwinners in Jack sonville who were or had been married was 73 per cent instead of the 50 8 per cent whom the census classified as married in other words the economic and social position of 22 per cent of the woman breadwinners was obscured by grouping them with the single In Butte Mont the reclassification did not show as marked a change but still made a considerable difference as appears from the fol lowing Marital status Single Married husband living with family Married husband not living with family Widowed Divorced Marital status not reported Total N um ber Per cent Passaic N J showed only 8 3 per cent of its woman breadwinners who were widowed divorced or whose marital status was not re ported and the fourth locality studied Wilkes Barre and Hanover Township Pa showed 10 8 per cent Taking the whole group of 38 446 women and girls over 14 who were studied in the four local ities approximately 55 per cent were or had been married Practically all of the married women in industry including under this heading the divorced the widowed and those living apart from their husbands were found to be working from economic necessity Sometimes they were the sole breadwinner of the family and some times while there were other workers the family income was wholly insufficient without their earnings Frequently the same conditions were true of single women at work Of the 31 482 breadwinning women in the four cities who reported on the number of wage earners in the family 27 per cent were in families having no men wage earners and 21 per cent were classed as the sole breadwinner in the family Butte shows the largest proportion of women breadwinners living in families lacking male wage earners about 37 per cent and Passaic the small est proportion approximately 15 per cent In this latter city was found also the smallest percentage of women as sole breadwinners 9 per cent Jack sonville on the other hand takes the lead in this respect with three tenths of its breadwinning women so classfied The women with broken marital ties reporting on the number of wage earn ers in the family showed over four fifths of their number as breadwinners in families devoid of men wage earners and not far from three fourths of these women were classed as sole breadwinners in the family It is apparent from facts and figures that the proportions of single women and of married women with husbands incapacitated for breadwinning who are compelled to earn a livelihood not only for themselves but for dependents are sufficiently large to challenge at 4 L ess th a n on e ten th o f 1 p er cen t 652 WOM EN IN INDUSTRY tention In many cases the burdens of such women would be less ened if there were more general recognition of the fact that women frequently are the sole support of families and haye as great a need as do men of a wage rate sufficient to cover the cost of living for dependents Protective Legislation for Working Women ROBABLY there is no other question concerning women in industry on which there is such sharp disagreement as that of protective legislation Those who advocate it hold that women are more susceptible to injury from long hours overstrain and indus trial poisons than men are and that at the same time because of their racial function injuries to them have a more serious social effect than in the case of men Therefore for the sake both of the individual woman and of society the law should step in and protect women from undesirable conditions especially since they are later entrants into industry than men are less used to organization and are accordingly less able to protect themselves The opponents of such legislation claim that it may easily become a handicap to the women it is intended to aid making it impossible for them to enter the better paid occupations and forcing them to crowd into the already overcrowded badly paid ones Moreover they point out that at present we have very little reliable information about the effect of given occupations or conditions upon women s health and that much of our special legislation for them is based upon a general impression that such and such conditions are desirable rather than upon accurate knowledge Where the advocates of protective legislation for women would forbid their employment in an occupation patently hazardous or carried on under evidently unhealthful conditions the opponents of such legislation would devote themselves to prohibiting employ ment under such terms for any worker and would legislate specially for women only where it can be definitely proved that some condition harmless to men is injurious to them In regard to the special liability of women to injury it seems to be definitely established that they are more susceptible than men to some forms of industrial poisons Dr Alice Hamilton a specialist in this subject thus states the situation in a pamphlet Bui No 57 prepared for the Women s Bureau P It would not be right to leave the subject of women in the poisonous trades without speaking of two further aspects of the subject First the evidence of a greater susceptibility to poisons on the part of women as compared with men and second the evidence of poisoning in the offspring which results from poisoning in the mother In England in 1897 when both men and women worked in the white lead T factories the men had a rate of 1 case of lead poisoning for every 17 employed but the women showed 1 case for every 8 to 9 employed a rate just double that of the men In 1910 the women dippers in the British potteries had twice as high a rate as the men In 1920 women ware carriers in American potteries who worked with men in the dipping rooms had a rate of almost 5 per cent while no cases were reported among the men Among the dippers helpers the men had a rate of 8 4 per cent but the women s rate was 14 4 per cent Women are also more liable to the severest forms of lead poisoning the brain form in which there is unconsciousness delirium convulsions and blindness The British figures show that 34 9 per cent of the lead poisoned PROTECTIVE LEGISLATION FOB WORKING WOM EN 653 women potters suffered from this form of the disease while only 15 per cent of the cases among the men were of the severe type Among American cases the percentage is 22 5 for women and 5 8 for men During the war the English found that T N T poisoning was worse among women munition workers than among men the Germans found that dinitro benzene poisoning was decidely worse among women and the Americans found that women in the smokeless powder works suffered more from ether poisoning than did men Most of our information concerning the damage to the next generation which is caused by industrial poisoning has been drawn from the lead trades We have evidence based on French statistics and on animal experiments that lead poisoning in the father affects the offspring but the evidence is much stronger with regard to the effect of lead poisoning in the mother There are striking statistics from English reports and also from the French which leave no doubt whatever that a woman who has chronic lead poisoning is more likely to be sterile than a normal woman If she becomes pregnant she is more likely to abort or to bear a stillborn child and if her child is born living it is more likely to die within the first year of life We have no figures with regard to the effect of other poisons than lead but we do know that both carbon monoxide gas and benzol may produce abortion and that the latter by causing anemia renders a healthy pregnancy almost impossible It is plain to all that if a poison is circulating in the blood of the mother it is practically certain to affect the child she is carrying Apart from these special poisons there seems to be very little definite knowledge regarding any harmful effect of industry upon women At the Women s Industrial Conference held in Washington in January 1926 at the call of the Women s Bureau one meeting was devoted to the health problems of women in industry at which several papers were presented and these were followed by an attempt on the part of the audience to discover just what foundation in recorded fact exists for the belief that there is need of legislation to protect the health of working women Questions from the floor brought out the fact that except as to the poisons noted above there are no authoritative data showing the effect of different occupations or even of industrial employment in general upon a woman s capacity for successful motherhood and that there is an almost equal lack of information concerning its influence upon her own health Questions were put as to the effect of industrial employment especially of specific occupation upon the health of woman workers apart from their maternal functions and Doctor Thompson of the United States Public Health Service was called upon to answer He spoke of detailed studies being carried on by the service in textile mills which show that the loss of time through illness is much greater in the case of women than of men He was unable however to say how the morbidity rate of women in the mills compared with that of women in the general population or of women not industrially employed Speaking on this point at another meeting Miss Josephine Gold mark called attention to a study of death rates made in Fall River Mass by Dr Arthur Perry of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics which showed that taken by race and age groups the death rates of female textile mill operatives were higher than those of female nonoperatives This was true of male operatives also as compared with male nonoperatives but in their case the disparity was not so great Further questions brought out the fact that there are no data showing the effect upon infantile mortality of the indus trial employment of the mother The infantile death rate is affected by many causes and as yet no studies have been made sufficiently comprehensive and detailed to show the relative weight of different 654 WOMEN IN INDUSTRY factors such as poverty insanitary environment industrial employ ment of the mother lack of intelligent care during pregnancy and confinement and the like A special meeting of this conference was devoted to the subject of protective legislation for women two speakers upholding and two opposing it The following summary taken from the account of the conference published in the Labor Review for March 1926 gives the main arguments on both sides Miss Mary Van Kleeck of the Russell Sage Foundation and Miss Mabel Leslie of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers spoke in favor of such legislation and Miss Josephine Casey of the Street Car Workers Union and Miss Gail Laughlin of the National Woman s Party opposed it Miss Van Kleeck called attention to the fact that they all whether they favored or opposed such legislation are working for certain definite improve ments in the condition of gainfully employed women such as a reasonably short workday opportunity to fit themselves for skilled trades and to enter them when fitted good working conditions fair pay and the like The only point on which the two sides differ is as to how these can best be obtained There are a number of methods to be used such as organization of the workers so that they may be strong enough to secure good conditions for themselves education of public opinion to insist upon good conditions education of em ployers to a perception of the improved efficiency which comes with the health and contentment of the workers and among the rest the method of forbid ding by law specific undesirable conditions Why not use this method along with the rest Organization and education are good methods but slow and it is notoriously hard to organize working women By prohibiting by law long hours or night work or dangerous trades for women protection is secured for them while they are being organized and awakening to their own power to secure good conditions Moreover shortening hours by legislation protects the unorganized workers against the strain of overfatigue and gives them leisure and strength to devote to the consideration of labor questions thus helping them to gain education and promoting their unionization Miss Josephine Casey speaking on the other side followed with an appeal to the trade union women to work through the union instead of trusting to legislation Miss Mabel Leslie speaking in favor of special legislation dwelt on the advantages she had herself experienced through the shortening of hours by law in New York State Miss Laughlin closing for the opposition declared that they object to so called protective legislation for women because it handi caps them in competition with men because both directly and indirectly it hinders their entrance into profitable and suitable employments because it tends to perpetuate the idea of woman s inferiority classing her with children as a weakling who must be cared for by others instead of being able to defend her own interests and because in placing her on a different footing before the law from men it opens the door to other legal discriminations against her Laws restricting the hours of women but not of men not only keep women out of certain occupations in which occasional overtime may be necessary but hinder their working up from the ranks into administrative positions The better positions in industry go to people who can do the work not to those who can work till a certain hour and then must stop It is unreasonable to say that since men provide an eight hour day for themselves through their unions an eight hour law for women does not place them at a disadvantage The union limitation provides for overtime at an increased rate of pay in case of an emer gency while the legal restriction is absolutely rigid Naturally under such conditions the employer will take a man in preference to a woman and the law tends to give men the choice of jobs relegating women to those which are so unpleasant or so ill paid that men do not want them The ends sought by the so called protective legislation should be obtained by women for themselves through organization It is not to the point to say they can not be organized for experience shows that they can be One great obstacle in the way of doing so however is the attitude fostered by the continual repetition of the assertion that they can not be organized and that they must be protected by legislation The way to protect them is to give them equal opportunity not to impose on them restrictions and limitations If there are conditions which can best be EFFECTS OF INVENTIONS UPON W O M E N S EM PLOYMENT 655 regulated by law make the law applicable to the worker not to the sex This can be done for when it has been shown that work of a certain kind is injurious either to the health of the worker or through the worker to the community the courts have upheld restrictions upon the labor of men as well as of women Effects of New Inventions Upon the Field of Women s Employment HE Women s Bureau of the United States Department of Labor issued in 1926 a report Bulletin No 50 dealing with the changing opportunities for the employment of women as a re sult of industrial research T The usual objective in applying the results of such research is to reduce costs increase production and create new products or forms of service When the objective is achieved the employment opportunities of men or women or both are affected Among the applications of research which affect the employment of women are cited the utilization of hitherto dormant resources the development of new raw materials the invention of new products and new methods of communication changes in methods which reduce excessive labor and hazard and improve working conditions thus reducing the number of occupations from which women rightly are debarred because of the physical strain involved the increase in transportation facilities and the calculating and record ing inventions and the new commercial inventions brought into existence to keep distribution and accounting abreast with expanding industry As an instance of the development of new raw materials the report cites the discovery of how to produce from wood pulp cotton waste and other materials a viscose substance somewhat aldn to the silk worm s secretions and the further discovery of how to spin this substance into the fine filaments which are the basis of artificial silk T or rayon This has not only created an entirely new industry peculiarly adapted to women but has added a new field to the textile industry in which women have always been employed A somewhat similar development is found in the case of perfumes Within the past decade chemical research has discovered how to extract and to build up the perfumes of a thousand blooms and the flavors o f acres of orchards from lumps of soft coal which are but the residue of long dead forests and of millions upon millions of buried blooms This industry is of such recent growth that the number and distribution of its workers is not known but women are employed in it and it is known to be increasing rapidly in importance The effect of new inventions upon the field of women s employment is seen especially in the developments which followed the introduc tion of the typewriter the telephone and the radio Not only are women employed in the actual operation of these to such an extent that typewriting and telephone operating are looked upon as dis tinctively feminine occupations but they are largely employed in the manufacture of the various instruments used and with each new application of electricity this field of their work increases The sub 656 WOMEN IN INDUSTRY stitution of one material for another often opens up new avenues for the employment of women An instance of this is the growing use of aluminum ware in the household which is a recent development the lightness of aluminum makes it possible to employ women in its manufacture more extensively than was possible when heavier metals were used In the glass industry changes in methods and materials used have brought women into many occupations and the use of the rare new minerals for the manufacture of small parts has opened up a new field for them One firm manufacturing tungsten and molybdenum products states that 70 per cent of its factory pay roll is made up of women who are employed on light assembling jobs and on light machines such as riveting machines While pointing out that the field ox possible developments of this kind is wide the report calls attention to two important facts dis closed by the survey made That the increased opportunities for the employment of women growing out of the foregoing developments in applied research do not necessarily increase the total number of women in industry and commerce beyond the growth occasioned by the growth in the adult woman population An analysis of census figures indicates that the increased opportunities are resulting in a continued relief of the congestion of woman labor in the older so called woman employing industries a relief started by the shortage of male labor during the war That the wider distribution of women over the field of industry and com merce and their advancement into better occupations have not on the whole reduced the number nor impaired the quality of the employment opportunities of men for neither men nor boys have taken the places in the old industries deserted by women The numbers of both men and boy wage earners have increased more than the numbers of woman and girl wage earners during the decade represented by the last population census This fact should not convey the idea that occupations have not been shifted from men to women from women to men and from both to machines as a result of applied research it is only to show that the net increase in the number of women s employment opportunities resulting from applied research has not been accompanied by a net decrease in the employment opportunities for men Trend of Employment of Women and Men HE purpose of this article is to compare the trend of employ ment and to some extent wages for men and women over a period of years for certain important industries Between 1890 and 1910 there was an increase in the proportion of T females 10 years of age and over engaged in gainful occupations from 17 37 to 23 37 The percentage dropped to 21 14 in 1920 It is possible that the date at which the census was taken may have affected the 1920 figures the 1890 and 1900 censuses were as of June 1 the 1910 census as of April 15 and the 1920 census as of January 1 The changes in per cent of women employed in the various in dustry groups since 1890 are shown in Table 1 T TREND OF EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN AND MEN 657 TABLE 1 P E R C E N T OF A L L F E M A L E S 10 Y E A R S O F A G E A N D O V E R E N G A G E D IN G A IN F U L O C C U P A T IO N S B Y IN D U S T R Y G R O U P Per cent of females 10 years of age and over in gainful occupations Industry group 1890 Agriculture etc Extraction of minerals Manufacturing Transportation T r a d e Public service Professional Domestic and personal Clerical Total em ployed Total unemployed Grand total 1 Less than one hundredth of 1 per cent N ot reported separately As the table shows there was an increase in the per cent engaged in agriculture from 3 33 in 1890 to 5 23 in 1910 and then it dropped to 2 68 in 1920 Here the date of taking the census for 1920 makes the figures questionable In manufacturing there was the same move ment but the date of the census may have had no material effect Trade and transportation show an increase from 0 99 in 1890 to 2 18 in 1920 while the professional class increased from 1 35 in 1890 to 2 51 in 1920 There was a marked falling off in domestic and personal service from 7 23 in 1910 to 5 41 in 1920 The clerical employees in cluded in the other groups in 1890 and 1900 were classified sepa rately in the later years and increased from 1 72 in 1910 to 3 53 per cent in 1920 Table 2 shows the per cent of total population males as well as females 10 years of age and over engaged in gainful occupations each year For men there are yearly changes but no perceptible long time trend while for females there is a distinct upward trend The second section of the table shows the same information for persons 16 years of age and upward Again there is no distinctive trend as far as males are concerned but for females the increase is even more noticeable increasing from 18 9 per cent in 1890 to 24 per cent in 1920 T a b l e 2 T R E N D O F E M P L O Y M E N T O F P O P U L A T IO N 10 Y E A R S OF A G E A N D O V E R A N D 16 Y E A R S OF A G E A N D O V E R B Y S E X Per cent gainfully employed Year Persons 10 years of age and over Males r Females Persons 16 years of age and over Males Females WOMEN IN INDUSTRY Changes in the various nativity groups are shown in Table 3 The table shows that the per cent of females 10 years of age and over engaged in gainful occupations among the native whites of native parents increased from 12 4 per cent in 1890 to 17 2 per cent in 1920 There were fluctuations but no definite trend in the percentages for native whites of foreign parents or in those for foreign born whites Negro women work for wages to a far greater extent than white women In per cent of negro women were employed in gainful occupations but the percentage went down to 38 9 in 1920 Many negro women are agricultural laborers and here again it may be stated that the date of the census of 1920 January 1 may have affected the figures T a b l e 3 P E R C E N T A G E S OF F E M A L E S M Y E A R S OF A G E A N D O V E R E N G A G E D IN G A IN F U L O C C U P A T IO N S B Y N A T I V I T Y G R O U P S A N D B Y Y E A R S N ativity 1890 Native whites 12 4 N ative parentage parentage Foreign or mixed 19 8 Foreign born whites Negroes native and foreign b o r n Cotton Goods Industry N THE cotton manufacturing industry in 1850 females con stituted 64 per cent of the total number of employees In 1860 they formed 62 per cent The 1870 census gave returns for children including thereunder males under 16 and females under 15 but did not report the sexes separately Of the adult employees in the indus try however in that year females constituted 62 per cent The decade following saw a wonderful development of machinery in the industry and in 1880 the percentage of female employees among total employees had dropped to 57 In 1890 the eensus figures again segregated children without reporting their sex as was the case also in the censuses of 1899 and 1904 but based upon adult employees females constituted 55 per cent in per cent in 1899 and 46 per cent in 1904 In 1909 the census again began reporting the sex of all employees females forming 44 per cent in that year 42 per cent in 1914 and 43 per cent in 1919 Like figures for 1921 and 1923 are not available From 1907 to 1913 the several wage studies of the Bureau of Labor Statistics covered only selected occupations no attempt being made to copy the entire pay rolls of the establishments covered Beginning with 1914 the agents of the bureau copied the entire pay roll for the period specified and the published figures of the bureau give the earnings by sex of all employees It thus becomes necessary to divide the bureau s material for the industry as a whole into two periods the first extending from 1907 through 1913 and the second extending from 1914 to 1926 5 In many of the selected occupations covered during the first period women only were employed The 5 D u rin g the first p eriod these w a ge stu dies w ere m ade a n n u a lly sin ce 1914 h ow ever th ey h a ve been m ade o n ly every tw o years 659 TREND OF EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN AND M EN per cent which women formed of the total number of employees from 1907 to 1913 can therefore be compared neither with the census fig ures nor with the figures of the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the second period They do however represent largely the same mills and the same occupations in those mills While the main purpose of the present article is to trace the trend of female employment in the industries discussed it was considered worth while also to draw from the record the earnings of men and women in the industry and in the selected occupations so as to pre sent at the same time the relation of the earnings of women to those of men In the first period 1907 to 1913 the proportion of women in the total number of employees in cotton mills gradually decreased from 62 per cent in 1907 to 59 per cent in 1913 In the second period covering the entire pay roll of the plants scheduled and extending from 1914 to 1926 the percentage began with 43 showing that the proportion of women in the industry as a whole was rather less than in the selected occupations covered in the former group In per cent were women although during the boom year 1920 fol lowing the war the per cent reached 47 Coming now to the specific occupations which have been carried on a uniform l asis since 1907 we find the percentage of female drawing frame tenders did not vary greatly though with the excep tion of the war period and the subsequent boom there was a slight tendency downward Speeder tenders show a very consistent drop from 78 per cent in 1907 to 54 per cent in 1926 In the occupation of frame spinner in the cotton mills women have always predomi nated and the slight change in percentage from year to year can hardly be construed as indicative of anything It would seem how ever that in the occupation of weavers there is a significant drop in the percentage of women employed probably due in 1924 and 1926 to the increased number of looms which the male weavers were required to tend T able 4 NUMBER AND PER CENT OP WOMEN AND THEIR EARNINGS AS COM PARED WITH THOSE OF MEN IN COTTON MILLS 1907 TO 1926 Num ber of employees Earnings per hour Women Occupation and year Men W omen Per cent women are of total M en Amount Per cent of men s earnings The industry First period Selected occupations Second period W hole industry S W OM EN IK INDUSTRY T able 4 N U M BER AND PE R CENT OF W OM EN A N D T H E IR E A R N IN G S AS COM PARED W ITH THOSE OF MEN IN COTTON MILLS 1907 TO 1926 Continued N um ber of employees Earnings per hour W omen Occupation and year M en W omen Per cent women are of total M en Amount Per cent of men s earnings The industry Continued Beamer tenders Creelers or tiers in Doffers Drawers in Drawing frame tenders Speeder tenders i9ii Spinners frame Ill TREND OF EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN AND MEN T able 4 N U M B E R A N D P E R C E N T OP W O M E N A N D T H E IR E A R N IN G S AS C O M P A R E D W IT H T H O S E OF M E N IN C O T T O N M IL L S 1907 TO 1926 Continued Num ber of employees Earnings per hour W omen Occupation and year M en W omen Per cent women are of total M en Amount Per cent of men s earnings The industry Continued Weavers i The general impression that the wage increases during and since the war have affected women relatively much more favorably than men does not seem to be borne out by the facts revealed in these tables In the cotton industry as a whole the earnings of women in 1914 were 87 per cent of those of men In 1920 when wages were at their peak women s wages were 88 per cent of the wages of men but in 1926 they were again 87 per cent of the wages of men In a few occupations where the wages of females during the boom period exceeded the earnings of the males a fair presumption is that boys were introduced into these occupations and were competing with women who were older and more efficient Other Industries TTHE records of the Bureau of Labor Statistics for certain other industries have been analyzed and tabulated in the same way as for the cotton industry These data are given in the table below T able 5 N U M B E R A N D P E R C E N T OF W O M E N A N D T H E IR E A R N IN G S AS C O M P A R E D W IT H T H O S E OF M E N IN S P E C IF IE D IN D U S T R IE S 1907 T O 1926 Woolen and worsted mills Num ber of employees Occupation and year M en The industry First period Selected occupations W omen Earnings per hour Per cent women are of total W omen M en Amount Per cent of men s earnings W OM EN IN INDUSTRY T able 5 N U M BER A N D PER CENT OF W OM EN AND TH E IR EARNINGS AS COMP A RE D W ITH THOSE OF M EN IN SPECIFIED INDUSTRIES 1907 TO 1926 Continued Woolen and worsted mills Continued Earnings per hour Num ber of employees W omen Occupation and year M en W omen Per cent women are of total M en Amount Per cent of men s earnings The industry Continued Second period Whole industry Comber tenders D offers Gill box tenders Spinners frame Weavers TREND OF EMPLOYMENT OF W OMEN AND MEN T able 5 N U M B E R A N D P E R C E N T OF W O M E N A N D T H E IR E A R N IN G S AS C O M P A R E D W IT H T H O S E OF M E N IN S P E C IF IE D IN D U S T R IE S 1907 T O 1926 Contd Men s clothing industry N um ber of employees Earnings per hour W omen Occupation and year M en W omen Per cent women are of total M en Amount Per cent of m en s earnings The industry First period Selected occupations Second period W hole industry H and sewers Machine operators Boot and shoe industry The industry First period Selected occupations Second period W hole industry Skivers upper WOM EN IN INDUSTRY T able 5 N U M BER A N D P E R CENT OF W OM EN AND TH E IR EARNINGS AS COM P A RE D W ITH THOSE OF M EN IN SPECIFIED INDUSTRIES 1907 TO 1926 Contd Boot and shoe industry Continued N umber of employees Earnings per hour W omen Occupation and year M en W omen Per cent women are of total M en Amount Per cent of m en s earnings The industry Continued Vampers In many industries there are certain occupations which have been held almost exclusively by women just as there are occupations that are and have always been held by men and while these occupations of course enter into the figures shown for the industry as a whole it has not been considered worth while to discuss these as separate occupations So far as conclusions can be drawn from a study of the industries covered in this article it would seem that relatively to men the employment of women is to say the least not increasing in these older manufacturing industries and that we must look to the newer industries for an enlargement of the field of female employment and to the clerical commercial and industrial fields WORKERS EDUCATION 665 Workers Education in the United States HE purposes of adult workers education is to provide better facilities for the training of labor leaders and for the broader education of all workers At the close of the war only occa sional experiments of this kind had been made in this country As late as 1920 a survey by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics of adult working class education in Great Britain and the United States Bulletin No 271 disclosed very few examples of workers educational undertakings in the United States Thereafter however the movement became more active and in 1926 the secretary of the Workers Education Bureau reported workers colleges or study groups in more than 300 industrial centers in some 40 States By 1926 also there were full time directors of workers education in a number of States Practically all of these enterprises are financed by labor organizations At the 1926 convention of the American Federation of Labor the progress of workers education since the preceding convention was reviewed It was estimated that 5 000 adult workers had been added to those enrolled in systematic instruction classes constituting a total of over 40 000 The federation s committee on education the executive council reported has 243 local cooperating committees and included within its work of the past year the continuation of a survey of social text books cooperation with the research department of the American Federation of Teachers an investigation of a number of educational developments the furnishing of local committees with data on provisions for recreation an inquiry concerning the health activities of labor unions and the issuance of a pamphlet of health rules Since the 1920 survey referred to above the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics has made no first hand investigation of adult workers education The present article merely summarizes recently published articles and reports on some of the more significant de velopments along this line T Worked Education Bureau D ROB ABLY the most important present influence in workers education is the Workers Education Bureau This organiza tion was founded in April 1921 by a small group of teachers and trade unionists The aims and activities of the central agency were made the sub ject of careful study by the executive council of the American Federation of Labor and the bureau was given the most cordial support by the education committees of the 1922 and 1923 conven tions of the federation while the delegates at the latter meeting recommended the affiliation of the various unions with the bureau WORKERS EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES At the 1924 convention held at El Paso the following plan of the executive council of the federation was unanimously adopted 1 That each national and international union provide each year an education fund equivalent to one half cent per member per annum 2 That this educational fund be paid quarterly to the Workers Education Bureau for the educational service to their membership 3 That the local unions be urged to undertake active affiliation with the Workers Education Bureau and pay an annual membership fee of 1 for the regular educational service of the bureau The report of the executive council of the American Federation of Labor to the 1925 convention of that body declared that the Workers Education Bureau of America may now be said to constitute an essential part of the educational service of the American Federation of Labor In the first half of unions became actively affiliated with the bureau in conformity with the plan agreed upon at the El Paso meeting and at the present time the affiliated bodies include almost 500 national and international unions State federations of labor and central and local labor unions in various parts of the United States According to its amended constitution the purpose of the bureau is to collect and disseminate information concerning organized labor s educational efforts and to coordinate assist and stimulate such efforts Any labor organization not dual or seceding in character is eligible for membership as are also all workers educational enter prises under trade union control and devoted to general education for workers Annual membership dues for the different groups of organizations and individuals are as follows 1 1 International and national trade unions one half cent per member per year payable quarterly 2 State federations of labor 10 central labor unions 5 local unions 1 other forms of trade and labor organizations 5 3 American Federation of Labor Workers study classes and trade union colleges 2 per class or 1 for each local union affiliated therewith 5 Honorary members 100 sustaining members 25 contributing mem bers 10 cooperating members 5 associate members 2 The constitution provides that the bureau s executive committee shall consist of the president and secretary of the association and 9 other members to be selected or elected as follows One to represent State federations of labor city central bodies local unions and other forms of labor organization two to represent workers educa tional enterprises three to represent the American Federation of Labor and three to represent international and national tradeunions The constitution also provides for biennial conventions Among the problems discussed at the 1925 convention of the bureau were Education and social program education and industrial peace and education and international peace The character of the education aimed at places emphasis upon economic and labor subjects but by no means neglects the so called cultural branches Thus at the 1925 convention recommendation was made to include in a labor college curriculum the following subjects 1 A t the 1926 con v en tion o f th e fed era tion a recom m en d a tion f o r m ore adequ ate co n trib u tio n s than th ose h ere re p o rte d w a s u n a n im ou sly a d op ted w o r k er s e d u c a t io n in t h e u n it e d St a t es Labor history Trade union problems policies and aims Labor and State 2 History with emphasis on social and economic forces and systems 3 Economic geography 4 Economics particularly in relation to the industry of the group taught 5 Social psychology and sociology 6 Labor law and legislation 7 Public speaking and parliamentary law as far as possible in connection with the subject matter of other classes 8 Literature with emphasis on social interpretation 9 English with use of textbooks that are of value from a labor point of view and with exercises of practical value to trade unionists 10 Health with special reference to industrial conditions The bureau has instituted a monthly news service for its members for labor colleges and for the labor press and also furnishes outline lessons on psychology economics and other subjects to some of the official labor organs Among the publications issued under the auspices of the Workers Education Bureau are the following Workers Bookshelf Vol 1 Joining in Public Discussion by Alfred Dwight Sheffield Vol 2 The Control of Wages by Walton Hamilton and Stacy May Vol 3 The Humanizing of Knowledge by James Harvey Robinson Vol 4 Women and the Labor Movement by Alice Henry Vol 5 The Labor Movement in a Government Industry by Sterling D Spero Vol 6 A Short History of the American Labor Movement by Mary Beard Vol 7 Readings in Trade Unionism by David Saposs Workers Education Pamphlet Series 1 How to Start Workers Study Classes by Broadus Mitchell 2 How to Run a Union Meeting by Paul Blanshard 3 Workers Education by Arthur Gleason 4 The Voluntary Basis of Trade Unionism by Samuel Gompers 5 The American Federation of Labor by Matthew Woll 6 Child Labor by William Green 7 How to Keep Union Records by Stuart Chase 8 The Women s Auxiliary and Workers Education by Theresa Wolfson 9 The public Library and Workers Education by E C Lindeman In the spring of 1926 the executive committee of the Workers Education Bureau authorized the establishment of a research depart ment and the following October the director of this newly created agency entered on active duty According to Workers Education New York November 1926 work has already been begun on a study of the content courses of study and curricula of workers classes in this country and in Europe a study of trade union con ventions committees etc and an interpretation of teaching methods as developed at the Frankfort on the Main Academy of Labor in Germany Brookwood Labor College2 DROOKW OOD College founded in 1921 is a resident coeduca tional workers institution located at Katonah N Y about 40 miles from New York City The full course is two years of eight months each The first year courses are How to study training in speaking and writing sociology social economics history of the American labor movement 2 Brookwood Bulletin and announcement of courses 1927 Katonah N Y WORKERS EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES current events and labor dramatics The second year courses are Sociology the structure government and administration of tradeunions trade union organization labor legislation and administra tion foreign labor movements speaking and writing labor journal ism public speaking statistics workers education and the strategy of the labor movement Except in unusual cases no student will be admitted to the college who has not worked in industry and who has not been a member of a labor union for at least a year No examination nor specific scholastic preparation is required for entrance In general no student can enter without being prepared to pay 200 during each scholastic year Exception however may be made to this regulation Farmer organizations and trade unions are requested to establish scholarships of 450 per student per year for which amount their candidates if accepted may avail themselves of the college courses without further obligation Various scholarships have already been contributed a limited number of them being at the disposal of the college The charges for tuition and scholarships do not meet the total expenses of students for the year To make up the deficit each student gives seven hours of work a week Such activities are assigned by a students work committee and include dishwashing waiting on the table house cleaning repair work and clerical and library assistance A campaign for a building and endowment fund was begun in June 1926 Of the 19 members of the board of directors 10 are selected by the labor members of the college corporation 5 by the faculty 2 by graduates and 2 by students There is also a students organization which is primarily re sponsible for student discipline and also controls student activities and acts in an advisory capacity in educational matters Summer Labor Institutes T H E inauguration of summer institutes at Brookwood Labor Col lege by important labor organizations is an interesting develop ment of the workers educational movement and is indicative of the increasing trend in trade unionism toward the study and discussion of the larger aspects of industrial problems Three of these confer ences were held consecutively July 12 to August under the auspices respectively of the United Textile Workers of America the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and Operators and a group of railway labor unions 3 Textile Workers Institute The Texile Workers Institute which opened July 12 was organized for the purpose of securing from the Brookwood faculty additional data as to the best possible methods the United Textile Workers of America could adopt to assist in stabilizing the textile industry The discussion covered not only the matter of raw material used in the industry but also banking trans8 D a ta a re fro m A m erican F ed era tion ist W ash in g to n D C S eptem ber 1926 pp J o u rn a l o f E le c tr ic a l W ork ers a n d O p erators W a sh in g ton D C A u gu st 1926 pp L o co m o tiv e E n gin eers J ou rn al C levelan d Septem ber 1926 pp and 7 1 2 an d B rook w ood R eview K a ton a h N Y M a y J u n e 1926 pp 1 and 3 w o r k e r s e d u c a t io n in th e u n ite d sta tes 671 portation and distribution problems relative to the manufacture of textiles Electrical Workers Gicmt Power Conference A giant power in stitute was in session from July 19 to 31 and was attended by dele gates from 10 local unions of the International Brotherhood of Elec trical Workers and Operators and representatives from several other labor organizations Engineers economists and national labor officials were among the speakers whose subjects included The relation of giant power to the building trades public ownership of giant power mastering of power production labor the public and giant power trends the giant power situation in Pennsylvania and in New York Railway Employees Institute The program of the railway labor institute which met in the early part of August included the follow ing addresses The development of the railroad industry activities of the Interstate Commerce Commission in the regulation of rail roads and in the direction of transportation developments company unions analysis of the Parker Watson Act technical training and the effect of the new type of locomotive and of automatic train control on engineers and benefits of union management cooperation on several railroads Educational Activities of International Ladies Garment Workers Union HT HE International Ladies Garment Workers Union was one of L the first labor organizations in the field of workers education in the United States 4 The principle was approved at the Cleveland convention of the organization in 1914 and in the winter of 1917 18 the New York Board of Education allowed the use of four public schools as unity centers where popular lectures and courses might be given and meetings held under the auspices of the union The Workers University which opened early in January 1918 under the same auspices is located in the Washington Irving School New York City By 1923 24 there were eight unity centers operating in New York City and two others were organized one in Boston and one in Philadelphia According to a report made to the eighteenth convention of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union held in December 1925 the educational department of the organiza tion had expanded and improved its work in the preceding 18 months Numerous educational health and social activities were be ing carried on in the unity centers and classes of an advanced character were being conducted at the Workers University and at the International Ladies Garment Workers Union Building The 1926 27 Bulletin of the Educational Department of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union contains an out line of 29 courses under the auspices of that union Eighteen of these courses are given at the Workers University at Washington Irving High School New York City 5 at the unity centers or eve ning classes conducted in the public schools of the same city and 6 4 L evin e L o u i s T h e W om en s G a rm en t W ork ers L a d ies G arm ent W ork ers U nion N ew Y ork 1924 A H is to ry of th e In te rn a tio n a WORKERS EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES by the extension division in the offices of local unions for members who can not attend regular classes The titles of these various courses cover a wide range such as The place of workers in history Labor situation in basic industries Economics of the women s garment industry Shop economics Eng lish and Physical training Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America A EESOLUTION passed at the seventh biennial convention of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers held in Montreal in May 1926 emphasizes the importance of the educational work of that organization and recommends that each local appoint an educational secretary The resolution follows The convention calls upon all local organizations to renew the educational activities which were carried on in the previous years It particularly empha sizes the following 1 The educational forums conducted for the benefit of the larger numbers of our members and their families 2 The publication of the almanacs and calendars approved by the Philadel phia convention of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers and which met with so much success in and outside of the organization The convention calls attention to the correspondence course in the economics of the clothing industry and the related problems given by the education department The course has been decidedly successful and the success of it is due to the fact that an effort has been made to carry on educational activities in close relation to the problems of our own industries and of immediate signifi cance to the life of our members We recommend that this work be developed and members be encouraged to take up these studies The convention further recommends that efforts be made to organize children of the amalgamated members into junior amalgamated clubs or leagues and have these clubs or leagues linked with similar trade union movements wherever such are developed for the purpose of bringing the children of our fellow members closer to the life and aspirations of their parents and the movement The activi ties of these clubs or leagues should be kept free from specific or sectarian propaganda They should attempt to develop in the children a sympathetic attitude toward an understanding of the struggle for a better life and a richer civilization such as the labor movement carries on The convention further recommends that in order to carry these decisions into the actual life and make them effective each local union and joint board be requested to appoint an educational secretary as they see fit upon whom shall rest the responsibility for developing the above educational activities which are essential to the intellectual growth of our organization as well as to the growth of the economic power of our movement Headgear Workers Educational Plan T 1HE interest of the Cloth Hat Cap and Millinery Workers InA ternational Union in education is reflected in the following plan agreed upon By the general education committee of that organization and approved by its general executive board in August The committee shall have a meeting with the executive board of every local union in New York City to discuss and agree upon a program of educa tional work Every local union may arrange its own educational work as it deems best Whatever work the local may arrange such as classes forums etc will have the full cooperation of the general education committee 2 The locals shall be urged to distribute the history of our union among our membership and to promote the sale of books on various phases of the labor movement published by the Workers Education Bureau 6 The Headgear Worker Long Island City Sept w orkers e d u c a t io n in the u n it e d states An open forum shall be established on general labor problems to consist of a series of lectures and discussions under the auspices of the general educa tion committee 4 Arrangements shall be made for 12 musical evenings with lectures and talks on current problems of the labor movement to take place during the fall and winter 5 The librarian of the committee was instructed to prepare a series of out lines to be used by the local officers at regular shop meetings for an introduction to a discussion on various trade union and labor problems connected as far as possible with the current problems of the organization Such an introduction not to take more than 20 minutes The outline shall also contain recommended readings on the subject 6 To invite active members and shop chairmen to write to The Headgear Worker about general union and shop problems making any inquiries which are to be answered and explained by the editor in a special column devoted to this purpose The Headgear Worker shall also devote some space to the outlines of lectures or educational articles which are especially necessary for the locals out side of New York 7 The expenses of the educational activities shall be met partly by the local unions and partly by the general office the contribution of the general office to be used primarily for the smaller locals who are not in a position to spend much for educational work Schools for Women A MONG the more important educational undertakings for woman workers are the National Women s Trade Union League school for woman organizers the Bryn Mawr Summer School and the sum mer sessions attended by woman workers at the University of Wis consin National Women s Trade Union League Training School The establishment of a school to train women in trade union organiza tion work was recommended at the 1913 convention of the National Women s Trade Union League of America and within the year the school was started in Chicago under the management of the officers and members of the league s executive board and a special com mittee This school makes special academic training possible for trade union girls who have shown an aptitude for leadership through work in their own locals Under an arrangement with the educa tional department of the league the woman workers of this school are admitted as unclassified students for three months in the laborproblems class under the general political economy course at the Uni versity of Chicago This three months course is followed by field work and office practice The educational opportunities afforded by this training school are made possible through the practical coopera tion of friends of the National Women s Trade Union League of America 6 Classes in English parliamentary discussion psychology economics literature and sex hygiene have been organized by the Women s Trade Union League of New York and several other branches of the national league are cooperating in the workers edu cational activities in their respective localities Bryn Mawr Summer School The Bryn Mawr College summer school for women in industry held its sixth session of eight weeks in 1926 and was attended by 102 students including 5 colored girls from 23 trades Only about one third of these industrial workers were trade union members The number of students in the past five years has averaged 100 per annum Each girl who has a scholarship 6 Life and Labor Bulletin Chicago May 1925 674 WORKERS EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES is selected with care by a local committee and is obliged to attend local educational classes before she is admitted to the Bryn Mawr school Among the courses of study are Modern industrial society litera ture social history economics psychology English composition public speaking and physical training The system of elective studies for the first and second year students has been carefully worked out 7 The composition courses are especially popular When there was some question of the money needed to enlarge the teaching staff for such courses the president emeritus of the college M Carey Thomas declared We must have this additional assistance even if it means cutting somewhere else for the school will be missing one of its real opportunities if it does not do all it can to help the labor movement find a voice and pen 8 The sense of freedom at the Bryn Mawr summer school is due to the fact that its operation is completely in the hands of a council made up of the faculty and students which is responsible only to the joint administrative committee which has charge of the college building and grounds in summer 8 Wisconsin University Summer School 9 A summer school for working women was held in 1925 at the University of Wisconsin and fitted into the regular summer sessions The 40 working women from 9 middle western States who constituted the newly inau gurated school took courses in English economics and physical edu cation which were especially adapted to meet the needs of women wage earners Teachers acted as leaders and counselors in class dis cussions many of which were held in the open on the university campus The 1926 session w also attended by 40 girls about 2 ras to 1 being trade unionists Characteristics of Trade Union Colleges A S STATED above there are workers colleges or classes in more than 300 industrial centers in some 40 States Lloyd M Crosgrave field representative of the Workers Education Bureau sets forth some of the prevailing practices in such enterprises as follows 1 0 1 The workers college usually consists of one or more classes conducted by adequate instructors In addition to this there is usually an open forum where matters of importance are thoroughly discussed 2 The college is as a rule carried on under the auspices of a local labor organization Generally it is the central trades and labor assembly in the particular city where the college exists although there are cases in which trade unions have their own college 3 The students in the workers college are for the most part adult wage earners 4 The workers college is conducted for the purpose of making its members more useful to themselves to the labor movement and to society in general 5 The workers college is self determining so far as its practices are con cerned It decides what it shall study when and where it shall meet who shall 7 W o rk e rs E d u ca tio n N ew Y ork A u g u st A b r ie f re v ie w o f sum m er s ch o o ls a n d la b o r in s titu te s b y S pen cer J M iller jr 8 A m e rica n F ed e ra tio n ist W a sh in g ton A u gu st 1925 p B ry n M a w r sum m er s ch o o l b y D r A m y H ew es 9 A m erica n F ed era tion ist W a sh in g ton O ctob er 1925 p p W isco n sin s sum m er s ch o o l f o r w o rk in g w om en b y J oh n P T r o x e l l W o rk e rs E d u ca tio n A u gu st 1926 p A b r ie f rev iew o f sum m er sch ools an d la b or in s titu te s by S pen cer J M ille r jr 10 A m erica n F ed era tion ist W a sh in g ton A u gu st 1925 pp w orkers e d u c a t io n in the u n it e d states 675 be its instructors how the classes shall be carried on etc As a rule of course it meets in the evening and if possible it assembles in one or more labor halls although frequently it is necessary to get other places because the halls may not be large enough or numerous enough The teachers are usually persons who are connected with nearby educational institutions and who specialize in the subject they are called upon to teach They are generally paid a sum of money for their assistance 5 a night being a very common wage 6 The most common subjects studied are Public speaking English compo sition English literature history of organized labor and current labor problems A notable feature of some of the workers colleges and classes is their liaison with important institutions for higher education This relation has already been pointed out in the case of several schools for woman workers Another outstanding instance is the inaugura tion of courses for workers at Springfield and Holyoke Mass by a joint executive committee comprised of two members of the faculty of Amherst College and two representatives each from the Holyoke Central Labor Union and the Springfield Labor Union The Boston Trade Union College is in close touch with neighboring universities and avails itself of academic instruction and advice The teachers at the Columbus Ohio Workers College are members of the faculty of the State university and the Workers College at Hamilton which is controlled altogether by the local cooperative trades and labor council and draws its instructors mainly from Miami University The Federated Trades Council of Colorado Springs has recently de cided to maintain a chair in labor problems at Colorado College 1 1 The multiplication of summer courses and institutes for workers is 7 another indication of the increasing momentum of their educational movement The labor chautauquas conducted in 1925 in mine district No 2 Pennsylvania were a new development and were conducted for the purpose of popularizing the miners problems and convincing the community that these problems were its problems The chautauquas are reported as having been very effective in holding the miners together during the strike Other Workers Education Institutions COMMONWEALTH College 1 at Mena Ark is a resident school 2 for the higher education of young men and women from workingclass families Three 80 week years of instruction are open to stu dents who have a secondary school education or its equivalent while promising applicants who are not ready for college may be allowed to enter a two year preparatory course as probationers The gen eral aim according to the college announcements is to fit students for a life of cultural richness coupled with practical social useful ness with the special purpose of training them for social service work and activities in the labor movement The tuition fee at Commonwealth College is 100 per annum Students work four hours a day at plowing building or whatever needs to be done in exchange for lodging board and laundry services The teachers also take part in the comijiunal or industrial work 11 T h e B ro o k w o o d R eview K a ton a h M a rch 1926 p 4 12 L a b or R eview W ash in g ton June 1925 pp A new exp erim en t in e d u ca tion fo r w ork ers b y H a ro ld C o y p ress relea se fro m C om m on w ealth W o rk e rs 4 S ch o o l received A pr 676 WORKERS EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES Under this arrangement the college can at present provide for only 50 students Its 320 acre farm however is being developed a can nery was to be operated in the summer of 1926 and the setting up of small shops was also in contemplation The extension of such activities the management hopes will ultimately make the college entirely self supporting The Rand School of Social Science one of the oldest institutions in the United States for educating adult workers is under the direc tion of the American Socialist Society It receives support from the International Ladies5 Garment Workers the Amalgamated Cloth ing Workers and the Workmen s Circle 1 This institution offers 3 opportunities for study of the aims and methods of the labor move ment in the economic and political fields and endeavors to give to participants in the movement such instruction and training as will make them more efficient workers for the cause of labor Many thousands of young men and women have received instructions at this school and large numbers of them are taking an active part in the industrial and political organizations of the labor world The Workmen s Circle is a Jewish socialistic fraternal organization which has schools in about 40 cities in the United States and Canada In 1924 approximately 5 000 students took about 10 hours work a week after public school hours in Jewish history and literature and in the American and international labor movement 1 The Work 4 People s College at Duluth established in 1903 is under the auspices of the Industrial Workers of the World The Workers School in New York City is conducted by the Workers Communist Party primarily for the training of party members and sympathizers The American Labor Year Book for 1927 p 163 states that this is the largest single workers school in the country 13 H od gen M a rg aret T W ork ers E d u ca tion in E n gla n d a n d th e U n ited S ta tes N ew Y o rk and L on d on 1925 p A m erica n L a b o r Y e a r B ook 1925 N ew Y ork 1925 p 219 WORKMEN S COMPENSATION Workmen s Compensation in the United States as of January 1 1927 a HE adoption of workmen s compensation for industrial injuries in lieu of the rule of the employer s liability for injuries due to his negligence stands out in its effect on the status of the worker as one of the most important legal economic developments of modern times A right to relief based on the fact of employment practically automatic and certain replaces the doubtful contest for a recovery based on proof of the employer s negligence and of the absence of the common law defenses T Recognition of the Principle A BROAD Germany in 1884 and Great Britain in 1897 and were influential in turning attention to the system of benefits for r injuries due to employment not necessarily to a proved negligent act Laws of Maryland and Montana 1909 were results of early efforts to enact State laws but without adequate regard for either legal or economic principles The first official recognition of the principle by the Congress of the United States was the Federal act of 1908 providing limited benefits for designated classes of employees of the United States though acts of 1882 Life Saving Service and 1900 Postal Service had made some provision of this nature for the services indicated Concurrently with these dates the subject came to attract quite general attention from State legislatures Investigative commissions began to be provided for as early as 1903 Massachusetts and 1905 Illinois but no legislative results followed Later commissions in both these States and two and even three commissions in others indicate the degree of caution with which the approach was made to the subject of compensation legislation The following tables show the progress of action both in the appointment of commissions and in the enactment of laws T a b l e 1 S T A T E S E T C IN W H IC H C O M M IS S IO N S W E R E A P P O IN T E D A N D IN W H IC H C O M P E N S A T IO N LA W S W E R E E N A C T E D B Y Y E A R S T O JU N E State etc Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Year com mission was ap pointed Year compen sation law was enacted State etc District of C olum bia Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Year com mission was ap pointed Year compen sation law was enacted Public employees only a Except for the statement relative to the longshoremen s and harbor workers act of 1927 on p 683 the data herein are as of January W O R K M E N S COMPENSATION T a b l e 1 S T A T E S E T C IN W H IC H C O M M IS S IO N S W E R E A P P O IN T E D A N D IN W H IC H C O M P E N S A T IO N LA W S W E R E E N A C T E D B Y Y E A R S T O JU N E C ontd Year com mission was ap pointed Year compen sation law was enacted Kentucky Louisiana M aine M aryland Massachusetts M ichigan M innesota Missouri U State etc Montana Nebraska N evada N ew Hampshire N ew Jersey N ew M exico N ew Y ork North Dakota Voluntary 3 Law declared unconstitutional 4 Appointed b y the governor Year com mission was ap pointed Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Philippine Islands Porto R ico Rhode Island South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin W yom ing United States Year com pen sation law was enccted 1910 State etc Rejected on referendum 6 T w o laws one compulsory declared unconstitutional T a b l e 2 N U M B E R OF W O R K M E N S C O M P E N S A T IO N C O M M IS S IO N S A N D L A W S B Y YEARS Year Commis States sions etc en formed or acting provided original for law Year i Philippine Islands Commis States sions etc en formed or acting provided original for law g 1 2 Year Commis States sions etc en formed or acting provided original for law T o ta l United States The 40 commissions above accounted for operated in 32 jurisdic tions while laws have been enacted by the legislatures of 43 States the Territories of Alaska and Hawaii the Philippine Islands and Porto Eico and by Congress for the civil employees of the Federal Government and for the employees of the government of the District of Columbia Not every law has been preceded by a commission therefore but every commission except that of Arkansas appointed in 1919 has been followed by the enactment of a law though in some cases so remotely as to suggest a lack of any real connection between the two events Indeed the United States commission considered only a statute relating to railroad employees as to whom no law has yet been enacted The year 1911 was marked by the creation of the largest number of commissions as well as by the enactment of the largest number of laws But one investigative commission has been appointed since 1916 that of Arkansas said to be to remove con stitutional objections to a pending bill only five have been created since 1913 and it is obvious that the day of their usefulness is ended PROGRESS OF LEGISLATION 681 either as an aid in determining the desirability of compensation legislation or of working out deviations from accepted standards so as to meet supposed local peculiarities Progress of Legislation DEFEKENCE to the foregoing tables discloses both the progress AV and extent of compensation legislation All laws now on the statute books have either followed the investigations of commissions or have been enacted under conditions making the results of such commissions available to those interested The first of the laws of this class is the elective compensation law of New York 1910 followed at the same session by a compulsory law for hazardous occupations The latter law was declared uncon stitutional after a very brief term of existence but after an amend ment to the constitution a new law was passed which has been sus tained by both the State and the Federal courts Of the 10 laws enacted in 1911 7 provided for simple compensa tion 3 containing also provisions for insurance while in 1912 three States enacted compensation laws and one an insurance law in 1913 seven States were added to the list in five of which compen sation only was provided for while in two there is also a system of insurance In 1914 compensation laws were enacted in two States though in one Kentucky the law was declared unconstitutional before the time for it to take effect Of the 10 new laws enacted in 1915 one taking the place of the unconstitutional statute of Mon tana 9 provided for compensation merely while 1 established an insurance system A new compensation law was passed in Kentucky in 1916 in lieu of the earlier law declared unconstitutional this and a law of Porto Eico which requires the insurance of the liabilities fixed by it are the only new laws of the year though important amendments were made in Louisiana and New York Indeed prac tically every year is marked by amendments whose tendency is in general to strengthen the laws and enlarge their scope The extension of compensation legislation to five additional States in 1917 one in 1918 four in 1919 besides the inclusion of public employees of the District of Columbia and one in 1920 marks the present bounds of compensation legislation Of these two of the laws of 1918 one in 1919 and the Arizona law of 1925 provide for a State insurance system though in only one of them is this system exclusive The Missouri enactment of 1919 was rejected by a refer endum vote as was one of 1923 A new enactment 1925 was voted on in November 1926 it was adopted coming into administrative effect November and as to compensation payments on January The table following shows in chronological order the States etc 1 that have enacted compensation laws 1 In th e d iscu ssion th a t fo llo w s th e w ord S tate w ill be used t o in clu d e a ll ju r is d ic tion s T e rr ito ria l a n d oth er 682 W ORKMEN S COMPENSATION T a b l e 3 S T A T E S H A V IN G C O M P E N S A T IO N L A W S W IT H T H E D A T E O F T H E IR E N A C T M E N T A N D C O M IN G IN T O E F F E C T State United States1 Washington Kansas Nevada New Jersey California New Hampshire Wisconsin Illinois Ohio Massachusetts Michigan Rhode Island Arizona West Virginia Oregon Texas Iowa Nebraska Minnesota Connecticut New York Maryland Louisiana Approved M a y 30 1908 Mar do Mar Apr 4 1911 Apr 8 1911 Apr M a y 3 1911 June 10 1911 June 15 1911 July 28 1911 Mar Apr June 8 1912 Feb Feb Apr Apr Apr Apr M ay 29 1913 Dec Apr June Effective Aug Oct Jan July July Sept Jan M ay M ay Jan July Sept Oct Sept Oct July Sept July July Oct Jan July N ov Jan State Approved W yom ing Indiana M on ta n a Oklahoma Vermont M aine Colorado Hawaii Alaska Pennsylvania Kentucky Porto R ico South Dakota N ew M exico Utah Idaho D ela w a re Virginia North Dakota Tennessee Dist of Columbia Alabama Georgia M issouri Feb Mar do Mar Apr do Apr Apr Apr June 2 1915 Mar Apr Mar Mar Mar Mar Apr 2 1917 Mar Mar 5 1919 Apr July 11 1919 Aug Aug Apr Effective Apr 1 1915 Sept 1 1915 July 1 1915 Sept 1 1915 July Jan Aug 1 1915 July 1 1915 July 28 1915 Jan 1 1916 Aug 1 1916 July 1 1916 June 1 1917 June 8 1917 July 1 1917 Jan 1 1918 Do Jan 1 1919 July 1 1919 Do D o Jan 1 1920 Mar 1 1921 N ov Public employees only 2 Earlier laws of Montana 1909 N ew York 1910 and Kentucky 1914 were declared unconstitutional 8 The law of Missouri was suspended awaiting the results of a referendum The dates given above are the dates of the actual inception of com pensation methods in the various jurisdictions As indicated by the footnotes earlier laws were enacted in a few States but were never really operative The existing laws of a number of jurisdictions widely differing in some instances from those enacted at the dates given above are of more recent enactment but the operation of a compensation law has been continuous since the original act became effective There are therefore at present but five States in the south eastern portion of the Union that are without compensation laws 2 Efforts have been made and are continuing to secure legislation in some at least of these States Important nelds of legislation lie outside of State control however and Congress has delayed action in areas exclusively within its juris diction Thus in the exercise of its function as local legislature for the District of Columbia although 43 of the 48 States represented have compensation laws it has thus far failed to provide for private employments in the District where an antiquated and rigorous inter pretation of the common law is the sole recourse of injured workers Employees in interstate commerce are also dependent on Congress for remedial legislation which thus far consists only in a liberaliza tion of the employers liability rule by acts of 1908 and 1910 Origi nally applicable only to carriers by railroad an act of 1915 amended in Stat extends to injured seamen the same rights and remedies as are granted to railroad employees by these acts As above stated a Federal commission made an extensive study in of the subject of compensation for injured railroad em ployees reporting a bill which passed both Houses but with amend r ments that were not agreed upon when the Congress expired Occa 2 N orth C arolin a S ou th C arolin a F lorid a M ississip p i an d A rka n sas MOGBESS OF l e g isl a t io n 683 sional movements for a law have been made since 1912 but no bill has ever even been reported out Another group of workers that occupy a very anomalous position is also dependent on Congress for relief and that is those engaged in maritime employments The longshoremen and harbor workers gen erally are localized but for at least a part of the time are within mari time jurisdiction Two attempts have been made to amend the Judi cial Code so as to permit the application of local compensation laws but the Supreme Court has held both acts unconstitutional as attempt ing to remit to the divergent statutes of the States a subject that requires uniform treatment at the hands of Congress alone In the meantime the act of relative to seamen was passed but was promptly held not to apply to longshoremen The Hoquiam Fed C C A 253 This construction prevailed for a number of years until a decision of the Supreme Court on October to the effect that the act of 1920 relating to seamen is applicable to longshoremen International Stevedoring Co v Haverty 47 Sup Ct 19 This decision relates to longshoremen only and not to the very extensive group of harbor workers repair men etc who are also subject at times to maritime jurisdiction In 1926 a bill to compensate longshoremen and harbor workers generally was considered by both Houses of Congress passing the Senate June It remained in the hands of the House Judi ciary Committee until January when the measure was reported out in an amended form Subsequent amendments brought the bill into an approved form and it became a law March in effect July 1 1927 as the exclusive remedy for the classes of mari time workers crews and masters of vessels being excluded covered by the act This act compensates occupational diseases as well as accidental injuries pays 66 per cent of wages as benefits subject to a weekly maximum of 25 and is administered by deputy commis sioners appointed bv the United States Employees Compensation Commission which formulates rules for the administration of the act Besides the statutory enactments noted above there have been con stitutional provisions made in a number of States adopted with a view to the removal or forestalling of objections to compensation legislation on grounds of constitutionality Thus the constitution of Arizona adopted on the admission of that State into the Union in 1910 amended 1925 provides specifically for the enactment of a compensation law Amendments in favor of such legislation were adopted in 1911 in California in 1912 in Ohio again amended 1923 in 1913 in New York and Vermont in 1914 in Wyoming and in 1915 in Pennsylvania In Oklahoma alone of all the States where the question has been submitted to the people was such an amend ment rejected This took place on August the amendment failing along with eight others submitted at the time Of this it has been said that the questions passed upon were rejected as a whole on account of other facts than the attitude of the public toward this particular subject The importance of such amendments to the Constitution as pre liminary to the enactment of compulsory laws has been greatly dis counted by reason of decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States upholding compensation laws of various types and form as 684 w o r k m e n s c o m p e n s a t io n not in conflict with constitutional provisions so that in the ab sence of specific limitations which may be found by way of excep tion in some State constitutions no bar appears to the enactment of a compensation law compulsory in form and of general application However in but two States California and Illinois thus far has an original elective law been supplanted by a compulsory one Nature of Laws T H E rapid growth of compensation legislation involving as it has the almost simultaneous enactment of laws in a number of States has operated to prevent the adoption of any one form of law as a type so that although a single fundamental principle underlies the entire group of laws of this class its expression and application pre sent great diversity of details in the different States This extends not only to the primary factors of the scope of the laws and the amount of compensation payable under them but also to the matter of making the laws compulsory or voluntary in their acceptance the securing or not securing the payments of the benefits the mode of securing where it is required methods of administration of election or rejection etc No fixed form of analysis or summary presentation can give in complete detail the provisions of the laws under consideration They relate not only to the compensation of accidents but to accident reporting safetv provisions the enforcement of safety laws the establishment insurance systems premium rates investments the scaling of payments in cases of certain forms of negligence or their increase under certain conditions procedure in arbitration forms of appeal and a great variety of subjects on which it would be impos sible to generalize and which can be discovered only by a reading of the individual statutes though th use of the index to the laws will aid in this The adoption by a few States of laws generally similar can be clearly recognized but it is obvious that at the present time it can not be said that any one type of law is predominantly approved However it seems none the less certain that the welfare of both employer and employee as well as the public interest generally would be served by the general adoption of uniform laws just and certain in their operations and not dependent for their acceptance the personal views or interests of individuals or groups of indi viduals It is encouraging to note in this connection that though there is such diversity and a manifest disposition on the part of some admin istrative and legislative bodies to regard variations as warranted by local conditions if not absolutely desirable there are certain discov erable tendencies to move in a common direction and thus approach a common end In several States amendments have been made at every session of the legislature since the original enactment These changes liberalize the laws by reducing the waiting time increasing the amount of benefits paid either by percentage increases raising the maximum or both and by increased medical aid There are also some extensions of inclusions or coverage while occupational diseases have been recognized as compensable until at the present time there are 12 States and the Federal Government caring for such NATURE OF LAWS 685 injuries The percentage of wages paid as compensation is now 65 in 5 States and 66 in 12 States and in the Federal statutes so that 25 States as against 20 at the beginning of the year 1920 pay 60 per cent orjnore In States fixed the maximum weekly payments at 12 or less Now no State has a maximum less than 12 for temporary total disability and only 6 have as low a standard as that while 13 pay 18 or more as against 5 at the earlier date The waiting time is now less than one week in 9 jurisdictions one week in 28 and more than one week in 10 while at the earlier date only 4 laws fixed a waiting time of less than one week 22 of one week and 20 of more than one week Another change that indicates a recognition of the previous and in many cases continuing inadequacy of relief consists of amend ments making permanent partial disability payments additional to the payments for temporary total disability or the healing time Such changes have been made comparatively recently in Colorado Georgia Hawaii and New Mexico while in New York if the healing time is protracted beyond specified periods the schedule for partial disability payments is correspondingly extended The restriction on term and amount of payments by way of medical relief has been raised or eliminated in a few States in recognition of the impor tance of adequate treatment to restore the injured man to his employ ment In two States new requirements as to insurance have been made In most States 32 the employer and employee may exercise a choice as to accepting the provisions of the compensation law Election by the employer is presumed in a majority of the States but in 10 s positive action is required Where the employer rejects the law actions for damages may be brought without the customary common law defenses Where he elects to accept the provisions of the law the acceptance by the employee is taken for granted in the absence of rejection except in Kentucky where positive accept ance is required In New Hampshire the employee may make his choice of remedy after the injury has been received I f the em ployer has accepted and the employee rejects the law actions for damages are subject to the common law defenses except in 2 States New Jersey and Pennsylvania where the defenses are abrogated absolutely The laws are compulsory in 14 States neither employer nor em ployee having the option of choosing another remedy except in Arizona where a workman may elect prior to the injury not to come under the act Suit is permitted in a number of States if the em ployer has failed to insure or permits premiums to remain unpaid No law is of complete coverage and the terms elective and compulsory apply to the laws in regard to the occupations said to be covered by the acts Employers in other occupations than those so classed as covered 5 may generally accept the terms of the 5 acts but forfeit no defenses by failure to do so The following map indicates the extent of compensation legislation in the United States and whether its acceptance is elective or com3 K en tu ck y M aine M a ssachu setts M ich ig a n M on ta n a N evada N ew H am p shire R h od e Isla n d T exa s a n d W e st V irgin ia COMPENSATION AND INSTJBANCE SYSTEMS 687 Comparison of Compensation and Insurance Systems INSURANCE of the employer s liability to pay compensation is i recognized as an essential feature of the system in all but three jurisdictions This may be effected through private insurance stock or mutual companies self insurace proof of solvency with or without the giving of a bond or other security or by insurance in State funds which may be exclusive or competitive The following table shows for each compensation State whether compensation is compulsory or elective and the forms of insurance provided for by the various laws This table relates only to private employments for while public employments are covered in whole or in part in most States and compulsorily in some where the law is elective as to private employments the subject is of less general interest and complexity T able 4 C O M P E N S A T IO N A N D IN S U R A N C E S Y S T E M S Insurance required in State Compensation compulsory 14 or elective 32 Alabam a Elective Alaska d o Compulsory Arizona California do E lective Colorado Connecticut d o Delaware d o Georgia d o Hawaii Com pulsory Idaho d o Illinois d o In d ia n a E lective Iowa do Kansas d o Kentucky d o d o Louisiana d o Maine M aryland Compulsory M assachusetts Elective Michigan do d o Minnesota M issouri do M o n ta n a d o Nebraska d o N e v a d a d o New H am pshire d o New Jersey d o New M exico d o New York Compulsory North Dakota d o Ohio d o Oklahoma d o Oregon E le c tiv e P enn sylvania d o Porto R ico Compulsory Rhode Island Elective South D akota d o Tennessee d o Texas do U ta h C ompulsory V erm ont Elective V irginia d o W ashington Compulsory West Virginia Elective W isconsin d o W yom ing C ompulsory state fund Excluclusive 8 or competitive 11 Com petitive d o d o Com petitive Private companies 34 or b y self insurance 35 Either Do Do Do Do Do Do Do Do Do Do Do Do Do C om petitive Do Private compamies C om petitive Either Do Do Competitive Do Do Exclusive Self insurance c Either Do Com petitive Do Exclusive d o Self insurance d Either Exclusive C om petitive Do Exclusive Do Do C om p etitive Do Private companies Com petitive Either Do Do Exclusive d o Self insurance Either Exclusive As toemployers b Compulsory as to coal mining Self insuring employers must contribute to maintenance of State fund system a Employers accepting the act must furnish proof of solvency or give bond no other provision as to insurance Coal mining only 4 A labam a A laska an d K ansas 688 WORKMEN S COMPENSATION Of the 43 States requiring insurance 19 have provisions for a State fund though in Tennessee this is by a separate act limited to coal mining only In 8 of these the fund is exclusive acceptance of the system being also compulsory in 5 of this group In Ohio and West Virginia approved risks may be carried by the employers them selves but under condition that contribution is made to the Statefund system In 11 States the system is competitive Of the 34 States permitting insurance in private companies all but 2 Massachusetts and Texas permit self insurance as well and of the number permitting self insurance 35 all but 3 New Hamp shire Ohio and West Virginia also permit private insurance In deed it would seem that employers in New Hampshire are free to take out private insurance and that there is both statutory and administrative weakness in the lack of more definite requirements that insurance be secured The somewhat anomalous provisions of the Idaho statute seem to contemplate an exclusive State fund but with an option for selfinsurance and the deposit of a surety bond or guaranty contract as one means of satisfying the industrial accident board as to the security of payments The reports of the board indicate however that the system is competitive in practice and that approved private companies are admitted to do business in the State A sort of State mutual system supervised by the State but man aged by the employers is provided for in 3 States Kentucky Massa chusetts and Texas but these are in effect only private compet ing organizations Scope or Coverage O LAW undertakes to cover all employments Various restrictive provisions are employed the most important numerically being the exclusion of agriculture and domestic service Interstate com merce is exempt by reason of the exclusive action of Congress though its law creates liability and does not provide compensation Laws that apply only to hazardous or extrahazardous employments ex clude others thereby distinguished as nonhazardous Casual em ployments are usually exempted and those not for gain frequently Hazardous employments States whose laws apply only to haz ardous employment are 12 in number Illinois Kansas Louisiana Maryland Missouri when there are less than 10 employees Mon tana New Hampshire New Mexico Oklahoma Oregon Washington and Wyoming Enumeration is made in the laws but it is not com plete in several a blanket clause being used in some while in others the commission or board may make additions The principal in dustrial employments with the exception of interstate transporta tion are uniformly included in these lists Numerical exemptions Employers of less than a stipulated num ber of employees are exempt from the operation of the laws of 23 States Voluntary acceptance is generally provided for as is the case in regard to employments not classed as hazardous The follow ing table shows the list of States in which the number of employees determines coverage 689 COMPENSATION AND INSURANCE SYSTEMS T able 5 S T A T E S M A K IN G N U M E R IC A L E X E M P T IO N S BY M IN IM U M R E Q U IR E M ENTS Employers are exempt who have less than 2 em ploy ees 1 Oklahoma 3 em ploy ees 6 4 employees 3 Colorado Arizona K entucky N ew Mexico N ew York i Ohio Texas Utah Wisconsin 5 employees 6 Alaska Connecticut Delaware Kansas N ew H a m p shire Tennessee 6 employees 2 10 em ployees 2 11 employees 2 Maine Georgia Vermont Rhode Island Missouri Virginia 16 em ployees 1 Alabama 1 Numerical exemption applies only in case of nonhazardous employments Agriculture and doTnestic service The exclusion of agriculture is universal among the compensation laws of the United States except in Hawaii and New Jersey and of domestic service except in New Jersey Voluntary acceptance of the laws in these occupations is quite generally provided for though in some cases it appears that their exclusion is intended to be absolute Threshing grain etc is specifically included in Kentucky Minnesota and South Dakota separate act Public employment Employees in the service of the State and its subdivisions and municipalities are included generally in 26 States in several o f these the inclusion is compulsory where the law is elec tive as to private undertakings The States are Arizona if receiv ing not over California Colorado Connecticut Hawaii Idaho if receiving not over Illinois Indiana Louisiana Maine Michigan Montana Nebraska Nevada New Jersey if re ceiving not over New York North Dakota Ohio Oregon Pennsylvania Porto Rico Rhode Island South Dakota Utah Vir ginia West Virginia and Wisconsin In 14 States there is a partial inclusion of public employees Ala bama Delaware Georgia Iowa Kansas Kentucky Maryland Massachusetts Minnesota Oklahoma Vermont Washington and Wyoming Public employees are excluded in seven States Alaska Missouri New Hampshire New Mexico Tennessee and Texas though in Missouri and Tennessee the law authorizes an affirmative acceptance of its provisions by the State its counties and municipal corporations Other exclusions Employees whose employment is but casual and sometimes or not in the usual course of the employer s trade or business are quite generally excluded while outworkers are men tioned in a few laws Exclusion of employees receiving above a designated wage or salary is provided in a few States as follows Hawaii 36 per week Missouri 3 600 per year North Dakota executive officers receiving more than 2 400 per year Porto Rico 1 500 per year Rhode Island 3 000 per year and Vermont 2 000 per year The abrogation of the common law defenses in suits against non electing employers does not apply to logging operations under the law of Maine Clerical and other occupations not subject to the hazards of the employment are excluded in a few States 690 W O R K M E N S COMPENSATION Occupational Diseases O LAW in its original enactment made specific provision for compensating occupational diseases The dominant idea of acci dent has given way by degrees however until at the present time 12 States and the Federal Grovernment provide compensation either for occupational diseases generally or for designated diseases of this class The Federal statute and that of North Dakota include under the term injury any disease proximately caused by the employ ment while that of California compensates for any injury or disease arising out of the employment The other laws are gener ally more restrictive in their terms The States recognizing occupa tional diseases as entitled to compensation are California Connecti cut Hawaii Illinois in certain employments by separate act Massachusetts by court decision Minnesota list New Jersey list New York list North Dakota Ohio list Porto Rico list Wisconsin and the United States The law of Kentucky also by recent amendment includes injuries or death due to the inhala tion in mines of noxious gases or smoke commonly known as 4bad air and also shall include the injuries or death due to the inhalation of any kind of gas Election IN 22 of the 32 elective States election is presumed in the absence of active rejection this presumption affecting both employer and employee In 10 States the emplo er must take positive action but if he acts the employee s acceptance is presumed except in Kentucky where he must sign an acceptance In 7 of these Kentucky Maine Michigan Montana Nevada New Hampshire and Rhode Island acceptances are filed with designated State authorities while in the other 3 Massachusetts Texas and West Virginia the act of insur ing signifies election Inducement to election is offered by the abrogation of the commonlaw defenses where the employer rejects the law and by continuing them in effect where a rejecting employee sues an employer who has accepted it Exceptions to this are the laws of New Jersey and Pennsylvania which abrogate the defenses absolutely without regard to the acceptance or rejection of the act 3 Suits for Damages A CTIONS for damages are generally forbidden where both parties have accepted the act but in New Hampshire an elective State the employee may after his injury choose which remedy he will pursue Where under an elective law the employer has accepted the act a rejecting employee may sue but the employer retains the common law defenses except in New Jersey and Pennsylvania Upon failure of an employer to provide the insurance required by the act or his default in premiums the employee may in 24 States 5 bring 5 A rizon a C a lifo rn ia C on n ecticu t D elaw are In d ia n a Io w a K en tu ck y M a ry lan d M ich iga n M on ta n a N ebraska N evada N ew Y ork N orth D a k ota O hio O klahom a O regon P en n sy lv a n ia Rh de Isla n d S ou th D a k ota Tenn essee U tah W est V irg in ia a n d W yo m in g COMPENSATION AND INSURANCE SYSTEMS 691 action for damages with the common law defenses removed Suit may be brought also in 9 States 6 if there is intent or deliberate intent on the part of the employer to injure or if the injury is due to his gross negligence or willful misconduct No suits are permitted in 16 States 7 Waiting Time 1WIOST laws require a minimum duration of disability as a condi tion to the payment of compensation benefits This does not apply to medical and hospital relief which is to be provided at once Two States require no waiting time Conflicting provisions of the South Dakota statute call for 10 days5waiting time on the one hand and for compensation from date of injury on certification of disability on the other In practice the latter provision is said to prevail In several States the waiting time is compensated for if the dis ability continues for a specified term or a part may be taken up in each of certain consecutive weeks until all is compensated for The following table shows the waiting time required in each State also the number of weeks of disability required for the payment of compensation from date of injury shown in the figure in parentheses following the name of the State T a b l e 6 W A IT IN G T I M E R E Q U IR E D B Y E A C H S T A T E A N D T E R M R E Q U IR E D F O R FU LL P A Y M E N T N o waiting time 2 3 days 5 Maryland Oregon South Dakota Missouri 4 Utah Washington United States 5 days 1 1 week 31 Oklahoma Alaska 8 Arizona 2 California Connecticut 4 Georgia Hawaii Idaho c Illinois 4 Indiana Kansas Kentucky Louisiana 6 Maine Massachusetts 4 Michigan 6 Minnesota 4 N ebraska 6 N evada 1 N ew Hampshire 1 N ew Jersey 7 N ew Y ork 7 N orth Dakota 1 Ohio Porto Rico Rhode Island 4 Tennessee 6 Texas Vermont West Virginia Wisconsin 3 W yom ing days 4 Colorado New Mexico Pennsylvania Virginia 6 2 weeks 4 Alabama 4 Delaware 4 Iow a d Montana B y administrative construction of conflicting provisions b From first day of disability in case of partial disability but no adjudication until after two weeks One third taken up in each of fifth sixth and seventh weeks of disability d From date of injury in case of permanent partial disability in other cases one third is taken up in each of fifth sixth and seventh weeks of disability 6 A rizon a K en tu ck y M a ry lan d O regon P o rto R ico T exa s U tah W a sh in g to n and W est V irgin ia 7 A labam a A la sk a C olorad o H a w a ii Id a h o Illin o is K a n sa s L ou isia n a M aine M as sachusetts M in n esota N ew Jersey N ew M exico V erm on t V irg in ia an d W isco n sin 692 W O R K M E N S COMPENSATION Compensation Scale rT lHE amounts actually payable under the acts are determined by three factors the rate usually a percentage of the wages term and in most States a fixed maximum weekly or total payment or both Per cent of vmges In all but two States Washington and Wyo ming the amount of compensation is based upon wages A few States however provide fixed lump sums or pensions for certain injuries but apply the percentage system to all others In most of the States the prescribed percentage remains uniform for all injuries A few States have varying percentages for different types of injuries and in several the percentage varies with conjugal condition and number of children Using as a basis the rates for temporary total disability it appears that 50 per cent of the employees wages is allowed in compensation in 16 States Alabama 60 per cent if two or more children Alaska Colorado Connecticut Delaware Georgia Illinois 65 per cent if three or more children Montana New Hampshire New Mexico Oregon 40 to 66 per cent according to number of dependents Porto Rico Ehode Island Tennessee Vermont and Virginia 55 per cent in 3 States Idaho increased 5 per cent for each child total payments not over 16 weekly Indiana and South Dakota r 60 per cent in 8 States Hawaii Iowa Kansas Michigan Nevada Pennsylvania Texas and Utah 65 per cent in 5 States Arizona California Kentucky Louisiana and Wisconsin and 66 per cent in 12 States Maine Maryland Massachusetts Minnesota Missouri Nebraska New Jersey New York North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma and West Virginia and also under the Federal statute Maximmrb term amd amount It is obvious that the reduction of a workman s income by one half or even by one third the most liberal percentage provision leaves a large proportion of his loss uncom pensated But to restrict further the burden on the employer even though it transfers it necessarily to the injured employee and his family the term of payment is not fixed by the period of disability in most States but by an arbitarv maximum death benefits likewise rarely continue for the period ox their probable need The table following shows for the various States the maximum period and amount of benefits in case of death permanent total dis ability and partial disability The limitations are in many cases more restrictive for temporary total disability than for permanent total disability though where the latter is compensated for life the former is as a rule compensated during its continuance In a few cases the rates for temporary disability are higher than for permanent disability The provisions as to partial disability here reproduced are distinct from those contained in the schedules found in most laws 693 COMPENSATION AND INSURANCE SYSTEMS T able 7 M A X I M U M P E R IO D S A N D M A X I M U M A M O U N T OF C O M P E N S A T IO N P A Y A B L E IN CASE D IS A B IL IT Y OF D E A T H P E R M A N E N T TOTAL D IS A B IL IT Y A N D P A R T IA L Permanent total disability Partial disability Weeks Death Amount Weeks State Weeks Amount Death or remarriage Alabama Alaska Arizona California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iow a Kansas K entucky Louisiana M aine Maryland Massachusetts M ich ig a n Life Life Life Life Life Life Am ount During disability 1240 During disability During disability 500 Death or remarriage 3 300 I I Death or remarriage 3 000 Life Life Life 300 N ew Jersey N ew M e x ico N ew Y ork N orth D akota Ohio Death or remarriage Death or remarriage Life Life Life During disability During disability During disability Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Porto R ico Rhode Island N ot covered Death or remarriage Life Life Life Life Life South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Verm ont Virginia Washington West Virginia W isconsin W yom ing United States Death or remarriage Death or remarriage f Death or remarriage For life if 70 per cent or more disabled 2 T o orphans or abandoned children till 16 Maxim um During disability 8 000 Life Minnesota Missouri M on ta n a Nebraska N evada New Hampshire During disability Then 25 per cent of annual earnings for life T o minor dependents till 16 There is quite apparent a tendency to recognize the greater eco nomic loss in case of a permanent total disability than in case of death Death benefits continue in eight States8 and under the Fed eral law for life or until remarriage while 18 States9 and the Fed8 A rizon a M in n esota N evada N ew Y ork N orth D a k ota O regon W a sh in g to n W est V irg in ia A rizo n a C a liforn ia C olorad o Id a h o Illin o is M a ry lan d M in n esota M issou ri Ne braska N evada N ew Y ork N orth D a k ota O hio O regon South D a k ota U tah W a sh in g to n W est V irgin ia SS WORKMEN S COMPENSATION eral Government pay life benefits for permanent total disability The significance of the latter provision is qualified in a few States by the limitation on the total amount payable as 3 000 in South Dakota and 5 000 in Maryland Measured by these the 10 000 fixed in Minnesota has the merit of comparative liability but its provisions would be exhausted in 500 weeks at the maximum allowed rate of 20 per week This period is equaled in eight other States1 0 establishing limitations and exceeded in four 1 But here again a 1 comparative liberality in term of payment is affected by the maxi mum amount payable which does not exceed 5 000 except in two States 6 000 in Maine and 7 000 in Michigan Except in two States 1 deiath benefits are a percentage of the em 2 ployees wages in six there is the requirement that the total shall not exceed three or four years earnings 1 Minimum periods are 260 3 weeks Vermont and 285 weeks Delaware Thirteen States1 4 pay for 300 weeks seven1 for from 312 to 360 weeks and six1 from 5 6 400 to 500 weeks In Delaware New Jersey and Pennsylvania pay ments to certain minors continue to the age of 16 regardless of the expiration of the period fixed W eekly maximum and minimum Another leveling feature of most laws is the establishment of a weekly maximum and minimum The former may prevent the higher paid employee from securing the full proportion of his earnings that the percentage provision would indicate while the minimum named is often affected by a qualifica tion that if the wages received are less than such minimum the amount of the actual wages shall be paid as a benefit The result of the various restrictions has been computed as placing upon the injured worker about 50 per cent of the burden of industrial acci dents in the most favorable States and from 65 to 80 per cent in those less favorable In most cases the actual maximum and minimum payments are named but in a few it is the basic wage that is noted payments being computable therefrom No maximum or minimum provision is fixed in two States Alaska and Arizona Under the provisions for tem porary total disability five States1 have a maximum of 12 tw o1 7 8 of over 12 and under 15 twelve1 of 15 five2 of 16 one 2 of three2 of 18 while twelve2 permit amounts above 18 per week 2 3 Monthly maximums are prescribed in Nevada 72 Oregon 97 Wyoming 90 and by the Federal law In d ia n a M aine M a ssa ch u setts M ich ig a n O klahom a P e n n sy lv a n ia R h o d e Isla n d V irg in ia 11 A la b a m a C on n ecticu t N ew M ex ico Tennessee 32 A la sk a a n d W yom in g 13 T h ree yea rs in C a liforn ia K a n sa s N ew H a m p s h ir e fo u r yea rs in Illin o is S ou th D a k ota W iscon sin 14 A la b a m a G eorgia In d ia n a Io w a L ou isia n a M aine M ich ig a n W isco n sin N ew J ersey N ew M ex ico P en n sy lv a n ia R h od e Isla n d and V irgin ia 15 C olorado C on n ecticu t H a w a ii a n d U tah 312 w e e k s K e n tu ck y N ebraska T exa s Id a h o M on ta n a T enn essee 4 00 w e e k s M a ry lan d an d O h io M a ssa ch u setts C olora d o N ew M ex ico P en n sy lv a n ia Tenn essee V irg in ia 18 In d ia n a M ich ig a n A labam a D ela w a re G eorgia Iow a K en tu ck y M on ta n a N ebraska N ew H a m p sh ire P o r t o R ico S ou th D a k ota a n d V erm on t 20 Id a h o M a ssa ch u setts R h od e Isla n d U tah W est V irgin ia 21 N ew J ersey 22 M aine M a ry lan d and O klahom a 23 W isco n sin O hio Illin o is H a w a ii L o u isia n a M in n esota M is s ou ri N ew Y ork N orth D a k ota a n d T exa s C a lifo rn ia C o n n e cticu t 21 695 COMPENSATION AND INSURANCE SYSTEMS Partied disability Temporary partial disability is usually com pensated for by the payment of a fixed percentage of the wage loss the term and amount both weekly and total being limited The term and maximum amount fixed by the various statutes are pre sented in the table on page 693 Permanent partial disabilities are dealt with in two ways one by paying a percentage of the wage loss the other by payments for fixed periods for specified injuries The two methods exist side by side in most States all the laws but that of New Hampshire and the Federal statute having schedules of greater or less fullness while injuries not included therein are compensated on a percentage basis In all but three States the schedule payments are weekly amounts based on wages while in these three Alaska Washington and Wyoming the payments are fixed sums In Wisconsin weekly periods are fixed only for lesser permanent partial injuries major injuries being compensated on the basis of percentage of permanent total disability Schedule provisions may provide for payments in addition to the period of total disability healing period or they may cover the entire allowance for the injury other than medical aid Such pay ments are exclusive in 19 States 2 and are in addition to the healing 4 period in 25 2 In Massachusetts compensation is paid for the term 5 of total disability and also for partial disability after the schedule period the same is true in Rhode Island subject to a maximum term of 300 weeks In Maine the schedule payment is in lieu of temporary total disability payments but subsequent partial disability is compen sated to extend not more than 300 weeks from the date of the injury In New York the schedule payments are normally in lieu of all other payments but if the period of temporary total disability is pro tracted beyond designated periods the schedule period is extended correspondingly In Georgia a uniform period of 10 weeks is allowed as healing time The following table shows the number of weeks payments pro vided by the laws of the several States for the injuries specified T a b l e 8 N U M B E R OF W E E K S F O R W H IC H C O M P E N S A T IO N IS P A Y A B L E F O R S P E C I F IE D IN JU R IE S IN T H E S E V E R A L S T A T E S Loss of State Arm at Thum b shoul Hand der Ala Ariz t Calif C olo C onn fc Del In M id Ring Lit S ight H ear H ear dex dle fin tle Leg at Other of ing ing Foot Great fin fin ger fin toe one hip one both toe ger ger ger ear eye ears e Payments under this schedule are exclusive o f or in lieu o f all other payments b Payments under this schedule are in addition to payments for temporary total disability during the healing period c Compensation varies with occupation and age Figures given are for labqrer 45 years of age 24 A la b a m a A la sk a C a liforn ia D ela w a re Ind ia n a Io w a K ansas K en tu ck y L ou isia n a M ich ig a n M issou ri M on ta n a N ew Y ork O klahom a P e n n sy lv a n ia T enn essee T exa s W e st V irg in ia a n d W iscon sin A r iz o n a C olorad o C on n ecticu t G eorgia H a w a ii Id a h o Illin o is M a ry lan d M assa ch u setts M inn esota N ebraska N evada N ew J ersey N ew M e x ico N o rth D a k ota O hio O regon P o r to R ico R h od e Isla n d S ou th D akota U tah V erm on t V ir g in ia W a sh in g to n and W yom in g 696 W O R K M E N S COMPENSATION T a b l e 8 N U M BE R OF WEEKS FOR W HICH COM PEN SATION IS P A Y A B L E FOR SPECI F IE D INJURIES IN TH E SE V E RA L STATE S C ontinued Loss of State Ga 2 Hawaii 2 Idaho 2 Arm In M id Ring L it Sight Hear Hear Leg at at ing ing Thum b dex dle fin tle F o o t Great Other o f fin fin fin one one both shoul Hand toe toe hip ger der ger ger ger ear eye ears Ind Iowa 1 Kans 1K y 1 La 1 M e M d 2 Mass 5 M ich 1 M inn 2 M o M on t N ebr N ev 2 N J 2 N M exA N Y N D ak 2 Ohio Okla Oreg Pa R I S D a k A Tenn 1 Tex 1 U ta h 2 V t A V a W Va W is Payments under this schedule are exclusive of or in lieu of all other payments 2 Payments under this schedule are in addition to payments for temporary total disability during the healing period Payments cover total disability Partial disability based upon wage loss m ay be compensated at end of periods given for not over 300 weeks in all 8 Payments unless this schedule are in addition to payments for temporary total and permanent partial disability 6 In lieu of other payments unless period of temporary total disability exceeds fixed periods for each class of injury Medical Benefits A L L compensation States now provide medical benefits In 9 States2 and under the Federal law neither time nor amount is 6 limited The period is without limit in 8 other States which limit the amount while the time but not the amount is limited in 11 States However time or amount or both may be increased in the discretion of the commission in 19 States so that there are but 9 States2 in which both items are absolutely restricted 7 26 C a lifo rn ia C on n ecticu t H a w a ii Id a h o N ebraska N ew Y o rk N o rth D a k o ta P o r to R ic o a n d W a sh in g ton 27A la b a m a lim ite d su p ervision b y com p en sation co m m is s io n e r A la sk a K a n sa s L ou isia n a N ew H am p sh ire N ew M exico R h od e Isla n d co m m is s io n e r o f la b o r e xe rcise s ce r ta in fu n c t io n s Tenn essee and W y o m in g fu n d is supervised b y S ta te t r e a s u r e r 697 COMPENSATION AND INSURANCE SYSTEMS The provision is generally without cost to the workman but in Alaska the employer may deduct 2 50 per month in Arizona and Nevada one half the cost not over 1 per month and in Washing ton one half the cost from the employee s wages to maintain a medical fund The following table presents the facts in more detail T a b l e 9 M A X I M U M P E R IO D S A N D A M O U N T S OF M E D IC A L V A R IO U S C O M P E N S A T IO N L A W S State M axim um period Alabama Alaska Arizona California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Georgia H a w a ii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iow a Kansas K entucky Louisiana M aine Maryland Massachusetts M ichigan M in n e s o t a Missouri M ontana Nebraska days 1 year 90 days 1 U nlim ited 60 days U nlim ited 30 days do U nlim ited do 8 weeks 1 30 days 1 4 weeks 50 days 90 days 1 U nlim ited 30 days 1 U nlim ited 2 weeks 1 90 days d o days 1 6 months Unlimited Maxim um amount 100 Unlimited 1 Unlimited Unlimited 200 Unlimited i 100 100 Unlimited Unlimited 1200 Unlimited i 100 150 i Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited State S E R V IC E M axim um period UNDER Maxim um amount N evada months 1 N ew Hampshire 14 days N ew Jersey Unlimited New M exico days New Y ork U nlim ited North Dakota d o Ohio d o Oklahoma d a y s i Oregon U nlim ited Pennsylvania days Porto R ico U nlim ited Rhode Island weeks South Dakota weeks Tennessee days Texas weeks 1 Utah U nlim ited Verm ont weeks Virginia days W ashington Unlimited K West Virginia d o W isconsin days 1 W yom in g Unlimited United States do Unlimited Unlimited i 100 150 Unlimited Unlimited UOO Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited 800 Unlimited 300 Unlimited Additional service in special cases or at discretion of commission Employees contribute Administration and Settlement of Claims r l HE desirability of an administrative agency charged specifically T with the supervision of the compensation laws is recognized by all but nine States2 having such laws In these States the agree 8 ments between the parties may be without supervision or there may be provision for approval by the court commissioner of labor in Rhode Island Disputes are settled by the courts though arbitra tors are provided for in Kansas Summary procedure is generally directed but a jury trial may be demanded in certain cases Appeals to courts usually limited to questions of law are provided tor in practically all jurisdictions Accident Reporting and Prevention M OTHING is more striking in connection with the subject of acci dent reporting than its lack of uniformity The importance of complete reports showing causes nature severity and costs has been too little recognized even among those charged with the administra tion of the laws while the employer has been too prone to minimize or disregard the occurrence of accidents except as an unfortunate A la b a m a C olora d o K a n sa s M on ta n a Tenn essee a n d V erm on t N ew M ex ico R h od e Isla n d S outh D akota 698 W O R K M E N S COMPENSATION incident and a possible source of an action for damages The neces sity of securing complete data for purposes of safety engineering as well as for the determination of fair and adequate insurance rates is however gaining recognition but much yet remains to be done before actually comparable reports from the various States are available Only 21 States2 call for reports of all accidents while 9 require 9 reports of those causing disability of one day3 or more than one 0 day 3 Other periods prescribed are More than two days Penn 1 sylvania one week Georgia or requiring medical etc aid and Khode Island more than one week Illinois and Virginia 10 days Colorado and over two weeks Alabama In four States3 reports 2 are to be made as directed or required by the authorities The States3 whose compensation laws contain no provisions for reports 3 of accidents have other laws on the subject limited however to coal mines except in Louisiana which requires reports of accidents causing disability of two weeks or more where women and children are employed In Tennessee besides the reports by coal operators in the State fund mine operators generally and employers in mills factories etc must report the former to the chief mine inspector and the latter to the inspector of factories and workshops Existing deficiencies in the compensation laws in regard to acci dent reporting and prevention are offset to some extent by the fact that most States and in particular those of industrial importance have inspection agencies for factories mines etc which are charged with duties of prevention chiefly by way of enforcing safety statutes though some may also prescribe standards Though some develop ment appears in the direction of combining compensation adminis tration with the enforcement of labor laws generally the present situation is one of distributed rather than consolidated responsibility However the agency that administers compensation laws is also given certain powers as to safety devices at least of inspection in 18 States 3 4 Nonresident Alien Dependents r lHE reopening of the question of discriminatory treatment of alien T nonresident dependents came with the enactment of compensa tion laws The rule had become almost universal under the liability system that they should have the same status as residents or citizens of the States but of the 22 State compensation laws on the statute books at the close of the year 1913 nearly one third 7 made dis criminations unfavorable to such claimants while in 1916 of 35 States nearly one half 17 effected discriminations At the pres ent time of 46 States 28 have provisions more or less discriminatory so that an increasing tendency in the direction of less favorable Arizona California involving time loss or medical aid Delaware Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Montana Nevada New Jersey New York North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Porto Rico South Dakota Tennessee in coal mines in State fund Utah Washington Wisconsin and Wyoming 8 Connecticut Hawaii Idaho Minnesota and Vermont or requiring medical aid 0 8 Indiana Iowa Kentucky and Texas 1 3 Kansas Nebraska New Hampshire and West Virginia 2 8 Alaska Arizona Louisiana and New Mexico 3 3 Arizona California Colorado Hawaii Idaho Indiana Maryland Montana New 4 Jersey New York North Dakota Ohio Oregon Pennsylvania Utah Vermont West Virginia and Wisconsin COMPENSATION AND INSURANCE SYSTEMS 699 treatment is recognizable This may be by way of exclusion 4 States35 reduced benefits 16 States36 permitting commutations to lump sums in reduced amounts 3 States37 restricting possible beneficiaries to persons of designated relationship a provision that may exist alone or in connection with reduced benefits 10 States38 or the presumption of dependency may be destroyed California In 8 States 3 nonresident aliens are placed on the same footing as 9 residents while in 10 4 they are not mentioned In 4 of these latter 0 Indiana Massachusetts North Dakota and Rhode Island they have been included by administrative or court action as is the case with the Federal employees statute T A number of States except residents of Canada from their dis criminatory provisions or declare such provisions subject to conflict ing terms of any treaty or deny all benefits to aliens whose national laws would exclude citizens of the United States in like circum stances The Supreme Court of Kansas held a provision of the State law that limited benefits to 750 except to residents of Canada to be in conflict with the treaty with Italy and also with the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment so that it could not stand Vietti v Fuel Co Kans Pac 881 An inferior court of Pennsylvania found the law o f that State restricting benefits to two thirds the normal award also in conflict with the treaty with Italy and therefore ineffective The Supreme Court of the State upheld the law however Liberate v Royer Pa Atl 257 and this decision was affirmed by the Supreme Court of the United States Idem Sup Ct 373 on the ground that the treaty dealt only with remedies for injuries and death due to the employer s negligence a factor not involved in compensation legislation and as the act providing compensation is elective and the workman had accepted there was no conflict with the treaty in question A now abrogated provision of the law of New Jersey ex cluded nonresident aliens and was so enforced Gregutis v Waclark Wire Works 91 Atl 98 92 Atl A la b a m a H a w a ii N ew M ex ico an d S outh D a kota 36 A la sk a A rizo n a C olora d o D ela w a re G eorgia Id a h o Io w a K e n tu ck y M aine M on ta n a N evada P en n sy lv a n ia U tah V irg in ia W a sh in g ton a n d W y o m in g 8 M a ry lan d N ebraska and N ew Y ork 7 D e la w a r e K en tu ck y M a ry lan d N ebraska N ew Y ork O regon P e n n sy lv a n ia W ash in g to n W est V ir g in ia a n d W yom in g 39 C on n ecticu t I llin o is M ich iga n M in n esota O hio T enn essee T e xa s an d W iscon sin 40 In d ia n a L ou isia n a M assa ch u setts M issou ri N ew H am p sh ire N ew J e rse y N orth D a k ota P o r to R ic o R h od e Isla n d a n d V erm on t WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR 701 Wage Studies of the Bureau of Labor Statistics HE question that most concerns the workingman in his indus trial life is his wage rate Close upon this item follow his hours of labor the amount of employment available and what his wage will buy Further wages constitute the most important factor m the cost of production There is a great and constant demand therefore for information concerning wages as well as employment and prices and this demand comes from all sources employers employees legislators economists and the general public The Bureau of Labor Statistics devotes a large part of its efforts to supplying information on these several subjects as is indicated by the wage material presented in this volume and also by the list of wage publications of the bureau In the very important field of union wage scales a study is made each year This inquiry is limited to the general trades wherein the workers are paid at time rates The organized workers in these trades usually have a standard mini mum rate which is the prevailing rate for the trade in the locality Piece rates are so great in number and so little understood by those not in the industry that they are not included in the union wage inquiry In the most important manufacturing industries and in coal mining a wage study is made about every two years It is recognized that a yearly study should be made in all of the most important industries but funds are not available therefor Wage statistics are difficult to collect To be of the greatest service they must be assembled by occupations Establishments seldom compile wage statistics for their own purposes They know their own wage rates of course but do not put them in tabular form Further very few employers5 organizations collect and compile figures from their membership It is not often that wage data can be obtained from employers by correspondence The questionnaire method is satisfactory in some lines of inquiry but not in the collection of wage data Except in rare instances it has been found that the only satisfactory method is to send special agents to compile the statistics from the employers7 pay rolls and this is the usual method pursued by the bureau In many industries a large proportion of the employees are paid at piece rates and no record is kept of the time worked by them In such industries it is necessary to arrange with the employers and some times with the employees as well to keep a special record of the hours worked during the pay period studied A complete census of wages in all establishments in an industry in the United States is prohibitive because of cost Hence the sampling method must be used Selection is first made of typical representa tive plants from which to request wage data These must be selected with care so as to insure a geographical representation as well as a wage representation for the locality All employees are included in the report obtained from a plant except in the case of a very few T WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR large plants where to cover all employees would distort the repre sentative character of the total data collected in the locality A sufficient number of plants is taken to insure a fair cross section of the country as a whole In some instances 20 per cent of all wage earners in the industry in the county may be covered in other instances as high as 30 per cent or 40 per cent As soon as possible after the data are collected summary figures are prepared and published in the Labor Review Later the informa tion is published in greater detail in bulletin form Not only is a complete wage census for all establishments pro hibitive because of cost but a compilation of wage data for a full year even in the representative plants taken is prohibitive for the same reason There is fluctuation in employment and considerable turnover of labor in all industries and a story of yearly earnings is for general statistical purposes impossible The Bureau of Labor Statistics has probably the greatest fund of wage statistics in the world Its many studies have been made possible by the cooperation of employers in opening their records and assisting in the transcribing of the data All data are held strictly confidential and the final figures are published in such a man ner that the identity of no plant is revealed In the following pages of this section there are presented sum maries of all the wage studies made by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of sufficiently recent date to be of present value There are also added summaries of wage studies made by other official agencies for certain industries not covered by the bureau s studies Union Scale of Wages for Time Workers 19261 HE Bureau of Labor Statistics collects each year as of May 15 date regarding the wage scales of organized workers employed on time rates in representative cities The 1926 study covered 66 cities and 78 trades or subdivisions of trades distributed in the fol lowing groups All of the several building trades chauffeurs team sters and drivers granite and stone cutters laundry workers line men longshoremen the printing and publishing trades and streetrailway motormen and conductors Data were obtained for 824 313 members of organized trades including 59 717 street railway motor men and conductors who are treated separately in the following tabu lation for reasons explained below It should be particularly noted that these surveys include only time workers and thus do not include by any means all the organ ized workers in the country a very great number of whom work on piece rate systems which do not lend themselves readily to tabulation The 1926 survey showed that the hourly average rates for the organized workers covered excluding street railway motormen and conductors increased 5 2 per cent over 1925 the average rate of wages per hour being 1 148 in 1926 as against 1 091 in 1925 Dur ing the same period the average hourly rates of street railway motor men and conductors increased 0 2 per cent T 1For complete report see Bureau of Labor Statistics Bui No 431 705 UNION SCALE OF WAGES FOR TIME WORKERS Table 1 and the accompanying chart show by index numbers the change in union wage rates and hours of labor from 1907 to 1926 The base 100 is 1913 These index numbers include all trades in all cities that were covered in preceding years except the street railway employees for whom rates of wages per hour were obtained but whose hours of labor are so variable that no attempt was made to report them These street railway occupations are omitted from all three columns of the index numbers below as of necessity they could not be included in the second and third columns Since 1907 there have been some variations as to trades and cities included in the index numbers Table X N D E X I N U M B E R S O F U N IO N W A G E R A T E S A N D H O U R S OF L A B O R IN T H E U N IT E D S T A T E S A S O F M A Y E A C H Y E A R 1907 T O Index numbers of Index numbers of Year Rate of Rate of Full time wages hours wages per week per hour per week full time Year Rate of Full time Rate of wages wages hours per hour per week per week full time The index numbers reveal that beginning with 1907 there was a steady advance each year in rate of wages per hour up to 1922 when there was a falling off as compared with 1921 The year 1923 706 WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR showed quite an advance over 1921 and thereafter a continuous advance took place each year In 1926 union wage rates per hour as a whole were two and one half times as great as in 1913 and 2 79 per cent as much as in 1907 Full time hours of labor per week decreased 7 2 per cent in 1926 as compared with 1913 and 9 6 per cent as compared with 1907 Be cause of the reduction in hours the index numbers for rates of wages per full week do not run so high as the index numbers for rates of wages per hour The table below shows the average union wage rates per hour average full time working hours per week the number of quota tions on which 1926 averages are based and index numbers of hourly rates for selected years 1913 to 1926 The index numbers for other years back to 1907 may be found in Bulletin 404 of this bureau but are omitted here for want of space For some trades data were not collected as early as 1913 hence no index numbers could be computed for them on a 1913 base In computing an average rate each rate quoted is multiplied by the number of union members having that rate The products are added and the sum divided by the grand total of membership in other words the rates are weighted by the number of union members The membership data are furnished the bureau for this sole purpose and are held strictly confidential A city may enter into an average one year because the trade has an effective wage scale but that city may drop out the next year because the trade can not enforce its scale or because the union has disbanded Hence the grand average may vary to a greater extent than the rate in any city reporting for both years The index numbers are computed from these averages Index numbers have not been computed for the several industry groups except for the building trades shown on page 710 In the table below only hourly rates are included Equivalent weekly rates do not exactly parallel hourly rates because of changes in working hours T able 2 A V E R A G E W A G E R A T E S P E R H O U R A V E R A G E F U L L T I M E H O U R S P E R W E E K A N D IN D E X N U M B E R S OF H O U R L Y R A T E S F O R S E L E C T E D YE A R S Trade Bakery trades Bakers Average rate N um of wages per ber of hour quota tions M ay 1926 M ay M ay M ay 1921 M ay 1922 M ay 1923 M ay 1924 M ay 1925 M ay 1926 Aver age hours per week Q Index numbers of rates of wages per hour Building trades Asbestos workers B rick la yers Sewer tunnel and caisson Building laborers Carpenters Millwrights Parquetry floor layers Wharf and bridge Cement fiuishers Helpers N o data for 1913 u n io n scale of w ages foe t im e 707 w orkers TABLE 2 A V E R A G E W A G E R A T E S P E R H O U R A V E R A G E F U L L T IM E H O U R S P E R W E E K A N D I N D E X N U M B E R S O F H O U R L Y R A T E S F O R S E L E C T E D Y E A R S Con Trade Average rate N um of wages per ber of hour quota tions M ay 1926 M ay M ay Index numbers of rates of wages per hour Aver age hours per week 1926 M ay 1921 M ay 1922 M ay 1923 M ay 1924 M ay 1925 M ay i i C C l Building trades Continued Composition roofers Helpers Elevator constructors Helpers Engineers portable and hoist ing Glaziers Hod carriers Tnsidewiremen Fixture hangers Lathers Piece work T ittia w rlr Marble setters Helpers Mosaic and terrazzo workers Painters Fresco Sign plasterers Laborers Plumbers and gas fitters Plumbers laborers Sheet metal workers Ship carpenters Slate and tile roofers Steam and sprinkler fitters Helpers Stonemasons Structural iron workers Finishers Tile la y e r s Helpers Average Chauffeurs Teamsters and drivers Average Granite cu tters Stonecutters Average W i Chauffeurs and teamsters and drivers Granite and stone trades Miscellaneous Laundry workers Linemen Longshoremen Printing and publishing Boole and job Bindery wom en Bookbinders Compositors Electrotypers Machine operators Piece work T im ew ork Machine tenders machinists Machinist operators i N o data for 1913 Per 1 000 laths 8 Per 1 000 ems 708 WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR T a b l e 2 A V E R A G E W A G E R A T E S P E R H O U R A V E R A G E F U L L T IM E H O U R S P E R W E E K A N D I N D E X N U M B E R S OF H O U R L Y R A T E S F O R S E L E C T E D Y E A R S Con Trade Average rate N um of wages per ber of hour quota tions M ay 1926 M ay M ay 1925 M ay Index numbers of rates of wages per hour M ay 1922 M ay 1923 M ay M a y 1925 M ay 1926 Aver age hours per week 1926 Printing and publishing Book and job Continued Photo engravers Press assistants and feeders i Pressmen Cylinder Platen Average b Printing and publishing News paper Compositors D ay work Night w ork Machine operators day work Piece w ork Tim e w ork M a ch in e o p e ra to rs n ig h t work Piece w ork Tim e w ork Machine tenders machinists D a y w o rk Night w ork Machinist operators D ay w ork Night w ork Photo engravers D ay work N ight w ork Pressmen web presses D ay w ork Night w ork Stereotypers D ay w ork N ight w ork Average M otorm en and conductors Average all trades i N o data for 1913 3 Per 1 000 ems 4 N ot reported N ot including street railway motormen and conductors Table 3 shows the per cent of increase in weekly wage rates in 1926 as compared with specified years beginning with 1907 the earliest year fer which data are available Lack of space compelled the omission of certain years intervening between 1907 and 1925 The figures are not index numbers but may be converted into index num bers The first line of the table shows that the weekly rate of bakers in 1926 was 194 2 per cent higher than in 1907 This means that the rate was nearly three times as much in 1926 as in 1907 Read as index numbers the 1907 figure would be 100 and that for 1926 would be 294 2 In all the trades appearing weekly rates more than doubled be tween 1907 and 1926 709 UNION SCALE OF WAGES FOE TIME WORKERS TABLE 3 P E R C E N T OF IN C R E A S E IN F U L L T IM E R A T E S OF W A G E S P E R W E E K IN 1926 AS C O M P A R E D W IT H S P E C IF IE D P R E C E D IN G Y E A R S Per cent of increase in full time rates of wages per week in 1926 as compared with Occupation 1907 Baltery trades Bakers U i l il O Building trades Asbestos workers Bricklayers Sewer tunnel and caisson Building laborers Carpenters Millwrights Parquetry floor layers W harf and bridge Cement finishers Helpers Composition roofers Helpers Elevator constructors Helpers Engineers portable and hoist ing Glaziers H od carriers Inside wiremen Fixture hangers Lathers Marble setters Helpers Mosaic and terrazzo workers Painters Building Fresco Sign Plasterers Laborers Plumbers and gas fitters Laborers Sheet metal workers Ship carpenters Slate and tile roofers Steam and sprinkler fitters Helpers Stone masons Structural iron workers Finishers Tile layers Helpers Chauffeurs and teamsters and drivers Chauffeurs Teamsters and drivers Granite and stone trades Granite cutters Stonecutters Miscellaneous Laundry workers Linemen Longshoremen Printing and publishing Book and job Bindery women B ookb in d ers Compositors Electrotypers Machine operators i Decrease 2No data 3Decrease of less than one tenth of 1 per cent 710 WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR T able 3 PER CEN T OF INCREASE IN FULL TIM E RATES OF WAGES PER W EE K IN 1926 AS C O M PARED W ITH SPECIFIED PRECEDING YEARS Continued Per cent of increase in full time rates of wages per week in 1926 as compared with Occupation Machine tenders machinists 2 Machinist operators Photo engravers Press assistants and feeders Pressmen Cylinder Platen U Printing and publishing Book and job Contd Printing and publishing Newspaper Compositors D ay work Night w ork Machine operators D ay work Night w ork Machine tenders machinists D a y work Night w ork Machinist operators D ay work N ight w ork Photo engravers D ay work N ight w o r k Pressmen web presses D ay work Night work Stereotypers D ay work N ight w ork i Decrease 2 N o data Because of the wide interest in building operations and the result ant inquiries to the bureau for wage changes in building trades as a group the table below is published T able 4 IN D E X N U M B E R S OF U N IO N R A T E S OF W A G E S B U IL D IN G T R A D E S PER H O U R IN T H E Year Index numbers Year Index numbers Hours and Earnings in Anthracite Mining 1924 HE bureau made a study of wages and hours of labor in the anthracite industry in Pennsylvania in 1922 and again in 1924 2 The data were taken from pay rolls and other records of the companies for a half month pay period The 1924 data are mostly as of T 2 F or fu ll report see Bui No 416 711 ANTHRACITE M IN IN G the second half of October and the first half of November and coyer 34 136 underground or inside employees and 10 364 surface or outside workers employed at 56 of the principal collieries of the district The employees for whom data were obtained represent about 28 per cent of the 160 000 anthracite mine workers reported by the United States Geological Survey for 1924 Table 1 shows the average number of starts and average hours and earnings for each occupation of material importance By start is meant a day on which work was done regardless of whether or not the employee worked a full day Of the 56 collieries included in the study one was in operation on 8 days in the half month covered and thus afforded its employees the opportunity to work on that many days two were in operation on 9 days twelve on 10 days five on 11 days three on 12 days twenty eight on 13 days and five on 14 days The two major occupation groups of the industry are those of miners and miners laborers each in turn subdivided as indicated by the table For each of these occupations the table gives average hours and earnings based on 1 time at the face or seam of coal excluding time for lunch on 2 time at the face including time for lunch and on 3 total time in the colliery including time for lunch and time of travel in colliery from shaft to face and return The aver age hours and earnings for other inside occupations and for all out side occupations are based on actual working time T able 1 A V E R A G E N U M B E R OF S T A R T S A N D A V E R A G E H O U R S A N D E A R N IN G S OF M IN E E M P L O Y E E S B Y O C C U P A T IO N S 1922 A N D 1924 Inside work N um ber of Occupation Average hours A ver In half month age Per start pay roll period num based on based on ber of starts Year days Em Col p loy in half Tim e at face Tim e at face lieries ees month Tim e Tim e m in InEx Ex col In col period clud cludclud clud lier lieries ing ing ing ies ing lunch lunch lunch lunch a Miners C om pany Consideration Contract Laborers Com pany miners Consideration miners Contract miners WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR T able 1 AVE R AG E N U M BE R OF STARTS AN D AV E R AG E HOURS AND EARNINGS OF M IN E E M PLO Y E ES B Y OCCUPATIONS 1922 A N D 1924 Continued Inside work Continued Average earnings Occupation Average rate of wages per Year hour at face exclud ing lunch Per hour based on Tim e at face Exclud ing lunch Miners C om pany Consideration Contract Laborers Company miners Consideration miners Contract miners Includ ing lunch Tim e in collieries Per start day In half month pay roll period Num ber of Occupation Blacksmiths Average Average Average earnings number hours worked of starts days Year in half In half In half Per E m month month Per month Per hour at Col ploy pay start pay start face ex lieries roll ees day roll roll day cluding period period period lunch Bratticemen Cagers Car runners Door tenders b oys Drivers Engineers Laborers Machinists Masons Motorm en M otor brakemen Pum pm en T im b e r m e n Trackm en Other em ployees D ANTHRACITE M IN IN G T a b l e 1 A V E R A G E N U M B E R OF STARTS A N D AVE R AG E HOURS A N D EARNINGS OF M IN E EM PLOYEES B Y OCCUPATIONS 1922 A N D 1924 Continued Outside worh N um ber of Occupation Average Average Average earnings number hours worked of starts days Per In half in half In half Year E m month month Per month Per hour at Col pay start face ex pay start lieries ploy roll day cluding roll ees roll day lunch period period period Blacksmiths Cagers Carpenters Car runners Dumpers Engineers Firemen Jig runners Laborers Loaders Machinists Oilers Platemen Repairmen Slaters b oys Timber cutters Trackm en Other em ployees Ashm en In this table it is seen that in the half month for which data are presented the 11 778 contract miners covered in 1924 worked an average of 10 8 starts that is on 10 8 calendar days that they were at the face or seam of coal an average of 68 5 hours excluding time for lunch and at the face 73 9 hours including time for lunch that they were in the colliery an average of 81 4 hours including time for lunch and time o f travel from shaft to the face and return Their average hours per start were 6 3 based on time at face excluding time for lunch 6 8 based on time at face including time for lunch and 7 5 based on total time in colliery They earned an average of 1 432 per hour based on time at the face excluding time for lunch 1 327 based on time at the face including time for lunch and 1 204 based on total time in mine Their earnings averaged 9 07 per start and 98 07 for the half month covered in this study Comparing averages for contract miners it will be observed that average starts and hours were less and average earnings more in 714 WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR 1924 than in 1922 The increase in average earnings is due in part to the September 1923 increase of 10 per cent in wage rates and in part apparently as is usually the case with tonnage or piece workers when the opportunity for work is less to speeding up in 1924 result ing in greater production per man per hour than in 1922 Company miners company miners laborers consideration miners and consideration miners laborers are time workers at a specified rate per hour or day At times they may do other work or be paid piece rates earning more per hour than their regular rate per hour this often occurring with consideration miners who are shown as having an average rate of 0 861 per hour compared with an average earning of 0 933 per hour based on time at face excluding time for lunch Average rate of wages per hour are therefore shown for these occupations in order that the average rate of wages per hour may be compared with the average earnings per hour As contract miners and contract miners laborers are tonnage workers average rates of wages per hour are not shown for them their tonnage rates are variable In number of employees earnings and actual performance con tract mining forms the basic occupation in anthracite mining The 11 778 employees in this occupation constitute a little over 26 per cent of the 44 500 employees in the 56 collieries studied Contract miners were not employed in one of the collieries the work usually done by them being performed by consideration miners The con tract miners assisted by their laborers drill holes into the seams of coal by hand or by electric or compressed air coal mining machines load the holes with explosives and shoot or blast the coal from the seams For this they are paid a tonnage rate or its equivalent the unit of pay usually being a mine car of specified capacity as iy or 3 tons of 2 240 pounds Classified earnings per hour are given in Table 2 As before stated average earnings per hour on the basis of time spent at the face are greater than on the basis of hours spent in the colliery since the latter include the unproductive time spent in travel Of the 11 778 contract miners covered in 1924 it is seen that based on the time at the face including time for lunch 112 or 1 per cent earned 50 and under 60 cents per hour but based on the total time in colliery including time for lunch and travel 168 of them or 1 per cent as a round figure were in this earnings group Based on time at the face 23 per cent earned less than 1 per hour but based on total time in the colliery 33 per cent earned less than 1 per hour Based on the time at the face 98 per cent and based on the total time in the colliery 99 per cent of them earned less than 3 per hour 715 ANTHRACITE M IN IN G T able 2 N U M B E R A N D P E R C E N T OF C O N T R A C T M IN E R S A N D C O N T R A C T M IN E R S L A B O R E R S E A R N IN G E A C H C L A S S IF IE D A M O U N T P E R H O U R 1922 A N D 1924 Data are for 29 collieries covered in 1922 and 55 in 1924 the 55 in 1924 include 24 of the 29 covered in the 1922 study N um ber based on Per cent Actual based on Classified earnings per hour Tim e at face including lunch Tim e in colliery including lunch and travel Cumulative based on Tim e in Tim e in colliery Tim e colliery Tim e including including at face at face lunch including lunch including lunch lunch and and travel travel Contract miners Under and under and under and under and under and under and under and under and under and under and under and under and under and under and under and under and under and under and under and under and over T otal Contract miners laborers Under and under and under and under and under and under and under and under and under and under and under and under and under and under and under and under and under and under and under and under and over Total i Less than 1 per cent i l i V WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR The per cent of increase in tonnage rates of contract miners is shown in the table below on the basis of the 1902 piece rates as 100 Explo sives and labor are paid for from the miners gross earnings As these expenses may not have changed during the years 1902 to 1923 in the same proportion as the rates have changed the index numbers should not be construed as representing exact changes in net earnings or rates It is assumed however that they approximately represent the trend of rates and earnings of contract miners Table 3 P E R IO D OF W A G E A G R E E M E N T A N D I N D E X N U M B E R S O F P IE C E O R T O N N A G E R A T E S O F C O N T R A C T M IN E R S Period of wage agreement Apr to M ar Apr to M ar Apr to M ar A pr to M ar Apr to Mar Apr to M ar Apr to M ar Apr to Mar Apr to M ay M ay 1912 to M ar Index numbers i i 114 22 i 114 40 i Period of wage agreement Index numbers Apr to Mar Apr to M ar Apr to M ar M ay 1916 to M ay M ay 1917 to N ovem ber November 1917 to November 1918 November 1918 to November 1919 N ovember 1919 to Mar April 1920 to Sept Sept Average for period adjustments made m onthly Still in effect January 1927 The rates paid in 1902 differed from mine to mine and often even within a mine on account of varying conditions In 1903 the An thracite Coal Commission made an award by which contract miners were given an increase of 10 per cent over the 1902 rates making a base index of 110 for 1903 and also provided for an additional in crease of 1 j er cent of the 1903 rate for each 5 cent advance in the wholesale price of coal at New York City above 4 50 per ton This award continued in effect 9 years During these years the 10 per cent increase plus the 1 per cent increase caused by the advance in the wholesale price of coal at New York City over the April 1903 price resulted in increases varying from an average of 14 22 per cent in 1907 to 14 95 per cent in 1904 and 1911 The May 1912 agreement eliminated the 1 per cent increase for each 5 cent advance in the wholesale price of coal at New York City and increased the 1903 rate index 110 10 per cent thus making the index 121 for 1912 which continued in effect four years or to March The May 1916 agreement increased this rate 7 per cent making the index 129 47 The May 1916 rate was increased by the agree ment of May 1917 by 10 per cent to an index of 142 42 by that of November 1917 by 25 per cent to an index of 161 84 by that of November 1918 which continued in force until April 1920 by 40 per cent to an index of 181 26 and by the August 1920 award of the Anthracite Coal Commission by 65 per cent to an index of 213 63 This award continued in effect until September 1923 when the strike of that year was settled at which time the rate made by the award was increased 10 per cent to an index of 234 99 or a little more than two and one third times the 1902 rate By agreement 717 ANTHRACITE M IN IN G made in February 1926 at the end of the strike which began Sep tember the September 1923 rates were continued m effect The chart below shows graphically the above information Time workers have a specified hour for beginning and quitting work and for lunch The vast majority of these workers at the 56 collieries studied begin work at 7 a m work 4 2 or 5 hours in the morning take 30 minutes for lunch work 3 or 3y2 hours in the afternoon and quit work at 3 30 p m The full time hours of these employees are therefore eight per day exclusive of lunch time As they are paid by the day or hour the hours worked are recorded on the pay rolls of the companies A few pumpmen engineers firemen motormen car runners cagers and others work more than eight hours per day and a very few also work on Sunday Both overtime and Sunday work are paid for at the regular rate GZ RATES FOR CONTRACT MINERS e s t a b l is h e d r 200 ZOO A R 9 MA 9i s too RJ 1 C S O L IK O T F IV G PERIODS o o l3I O o o 9 O Q o ro a o O o O O S o o rfcj o Zo no I9ZI I92T The hours of contract miners and of contract miners laborers are presumed or expected to be the same as those of the time workers but in actual practice their hours are usually more or less irregular Some of them enter the collieries as early as 6 or 6 30 a m begin work immediately on arrival at the face and work throughout the day eating their lunch while waiting for mine cars or material some quit for the day at or near noon while others enter the col lieries around 7 a m take as much time for lunch as they desire and often quit work before the mine as a whole ceases operation The 9 hour day and 54 hour week established by the 1903 award of the Anthracite Coal Strike Commission became 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week under the May 1916 agreement The 8 hour day as defined by the 1916 agreement is as follows An 8 hour day means eight 8 hours of actual work for all classes of labor at the usual working place exclusive of noontime for six 6 days per week if 718 WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR the operator desires to work his mines to that extent excluding legal holidays The time required in going and coming from place of employment in and about the mine shall not include any part of the day s labor The basic 8 hour day established in 1916 has not been changed The number of days of operation and the number of days the mines were closed by causes during the 12 months ending October were reported for 51 of the 56 collieries and during the 12 months ending December for 5 collieries One colliery was in operation only 47 days one 183 days one 251 days one 255 days one 259 days one 269 days six 271 to 279 days twenty five 280 to 289 days sixteen 290 to 299 days two 302 days and one 303 days The average number of days of operation of the 56 collieries based on the days of operation of each colliery during the year weighted by the number of miners of each type and their laborers of each colliery was 286 7 The average earnings per start of the 23 715 employees in these occupations as a group during the half month pay period covered in 1924 were 7 77 On the basis of the 286 7 average days of opera tion this gives a possible or theoretical average yearly earning of 2 228 for the employees in these occupations The Geological Sur vey reports 274 as the weighted average days of operation in anthra cite mining in 1923 which with the 7 77 average per start or day gives possibly yearly earnings of 2 129 for the men who worked full time One colliery was closed 254 days because of lack of market or of orders and 10 days because of mine disability it was also shut down 52 Sundays and 3 holidays One was closed 40 days on account of lack of railroad cars 25 days on account of transportation disability 50 days on account of strikes on 52 Sundays and 10 holidays and on 6 days by other causes O f the other 54 collieries the reasons for closing were as follows No market or lack of orders 17 collieries 1 to 41 days Strikes 26 collieries 1 to 42 days Mine disability 22 collieries 1 to 20 days Lack of railroad cars 4 collieries 1 or 2 days Sundays 54 collieries 52 days Holidays 54 collieries 6 to 12 days Other causes 53 collieries 1 to 25 days Hours and Earnings in Bituminous Coal Mining HE bureau made a study of hours and earning s of employees in bituminous coal mines in 1922 and in the winter of A like study was started late in 1926 but the results are not available at the time this Handbook goes to press The 1924 25 material here summarized is shown in comparison with like figures for 1922 These data were obtained from pay rolls and other records of mines in all of the principal bituminous coal producing States In most instances the data were obtained person ally by special agents of the bureau In a few cases only the com panies preferred to compile the returns T 8 For detailed data see Labor Review for February 1926 and Bui No 416 BITUMINOUS COAL MINING 719 The three basic occupations in bituminous coal mining are those of hand or pick miners machine miners and hand loaders These men are usually paid a rate per 2 000 pound ton of run of mine coal that is coal just as mined including slack The machine miners undercut the coal by machine The hand loaders shovel the coal into cars from the floor of the mine after it has been undercut by the machine miners and blasted from the seam of coal by the loaders or by shot firers The hand or pick miners undercut the coal with a pick blast it from the seam and shovel it from the floor of the mine into mine cars Loaders and miners are usually paid tonnage rates All other employees inside and outside the mines are usually paid time rates that is rates per hour day or week The 1924 data are for 124 691 underground or inside wage earners and 16 028 surface or outside5 employees a total of or 23 per cent of the 620 000 bituminous coal mine workers reported in 1924 by the United States Geological Survey Based on informa tion as to employment conditions obtained by agents during the time covered by the 1924 study it is estimated that the 140 719 formed much more than 23 per cent of the total number actually at work at the time of the study In several of the States especially Indiana Kansas and Ohio so many mines were closed on account of lack of market that the agents had to canvass practically all companies in operation in order to get a satisfactory volume of data Therefore as a whole the figures are a good representation of the conditions as to hours and earnings in the industry in the period taken Table 1 shows for each State and for all States combined for 1922 and for 1924 average number of starts in a half month pay period and average hours and earnings for the miners and the loaders that is for employees who actually do the digging and the loading of coal into mine cars The term starts means the number of days on which employees worked regardless of whether or not a full day s work was done The table presents average hours and earnings for each of the six specified occupations based on 1 time at the face including time for lunch and 2 total time in the mine including time for lunch and time of travel in mine from its opening to the face and return The term face5 means the surface of the seam 5 of coal on which the men are working or broadly their place of work in the mine The time for lunch as reported was usually about 30 minutes and the time of travel in the different mines ranged from 10 minutes per day for the mine with the shortest travel to 2 hours for the one with the longest time of travel The average time was 40 minutes per day for the round trip or 20 minutes each way Reading Table 1 it is seen that 1924 data are presented for 61 936 hand loaders 21 424 pick or hand miners 6 499 machine miners 170 contract loaders 102 machine loaders and 1 036 gang miners and that the average hours and earnings in the half month were less in 1924 than in 1922 The average hours per start however were somewhat more in 1924 than in 1922 In the half monthly pay period in 1924 hand loaders worked an average of 8 1 starts the average in the different States ranging from 6 in Indiana to 8 9 in Pennsylvania Based on time at the face 720 WAGES ANI BOtTRS OF LABOR including time for lunch loaders worked an average of 63 3 hours the average in different States ranging from 45 3 in Indiana to 72 3 in Pennsylvania These employees earned an average of 81 1 cents per hour based on time at the face including time for lunch the average by States ranging from 49 2 cents in Alabama to 1 092 in Illinois They earned an average of 6 32 per start or day the average by States ranging from 3 85 in Tennessee to 8 76 in Illinois The figures for other occupations may be compared in like manner The earnings per hour oi the two predominant occupations hand loaders and hand miners were practically the same in 1924 being approximately 81 cents per hour for time at the face and 75 cents per hour for time in the mine Machine miners earned 1 163 per hour at the face and 1 079 per hour in the mines T a b l e 1 A V E R A G E N U M B E R OF S T A R T S D A Y S OR P A R T S OF D A Y S A N D A V E R A G E H O U R S A N D E A R N IN G S OF L O A D E R S A N D M IN E R S B Y S T A T E S 1922 A N D 1924 The data in this table are for employees who actually do the digging and loading of coal into mine cars Num ber of Occupation and State Average hours Average earnings Aver age In half Per start Per hour month num based on based on ber of based on starts In Year days half in Em Tim e Mines ployees Tim e Tim e m onth Per half start at at at m onth Time face Time face face Tim e in pay includ in includ in includ period ing mine ing mine mine ing lunch lunch lunch a Loaders hand Alabama Colorado Illinois Indiana K entucky Ohio Pennsylvania Tennessee Utah Virginia W ashington West Virginia W yom ing Total ao Miners hand or pick A labam a Colorado Illinois Indiana Kansas i Loaders in this State also did machine mining 721 BITUMINOUS COAli MINING T able 1 AVERAGE NU M BER OF STARTS DAYS OR PARTS OF DAYS AND AVERAGE HOURS AND EARNINGS OF LOADERS AN D M INERS B Y STATES 1922 AND 1924 Con Average earnings Average hours Aver age In half num Per start Per hour month based on based on ber of starts based on In Year days half Tim e Tim e Tim e in m onth Per Mines Em at start ployees half at at Time face Time face Tim e pay month face in in in period pay includ mine includ mine includ mine ing ing period ing lunch lunch lunch Num ber of Occupation and State Miners hand or pick Contd Alabama Kentucky Virginia West Virginia Total Ohio West Virginia Other States T otal Illinois Indiana Pennsylvania West Virginia Other States T otal as K entucky Ohio Pennsylvania Tennessee Utah Washington West Virginia W yom ing Oth States ier T o t a l Miners machine Alabama Colorado Illinois Indiana K entucky O hio Pennsylvania Tennessee Utah Virginia West Virginia W yom ing T otal Loaders contract Loaders machine Miners gang 722 WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR Table 2 presents for 1922 and 1924 the average number of starts or days and average hours and earnings for inside and outside occupations in which the employees are usually time workers that is paid at rates per hour day or week The averages are based on hours actually worked T able 3 A V E R A G E N U M B E R OF S T A R T S D A Y S O R P A R T S OF D A Y S A N D A V E R A G E H O U R S A N D E A R N IN G S IN S P E C IF IE D O C C U P A T IO N S 1922 A N D 1924 The data in this table are for employees of all inside and outside occupations except loaders and minersi Average Average hours worked number of starts days made in In half Per half month start Em ployees month pay day pay period period N um ber of Occupation Year Mines Average earnings In half month pay penod Per start day Per hour Inside work Brakemen Brattice men and timbermen C agers Drivers L a b orers M otorm en P u m p m e n Trackmen Trappers boys Other em ployees i S io U H H io U Outside work Blacksmiths Carpenters and car repair men E ngin eers Laborers Other em ployees N ot including data for 8 employees whose starts were not reported 2 N ot including data for 79 employees whose starts were not reported a N ot including data for 2 employees whose starts were not reported 4 N ot including data for 89 employees whose starts were not reported N ot including data for 237 employees whose starts were not reported frN ot including data for 6 employees whose starts were not reported 7 N ot including data for 30 employees whose starts were not reported 8 N ot including data for 137 employees whose starts were not reported 9 N ot including data for 9 employees whose starts were not reported N ot including data for 22 employees whose starts were not reported 1 N ot including data for 24 employees whose starts were not reported 1 12 N ot including data for 51 employees whose starts were not reported w N ot including data for 75 employees whose starts were not reported Table 3 shows for 1924 the number of the 61 936 hand loaders 21 424 hand or pick miners and 6 499 machine miners in each classi fied earnings group based on 1 the actual hours at the face or seam of coal including time for lunch and 2 the actual hours in the mine including time of travel from the opening of the mine to the face and return the working hours and the time for lunch BITUMINOUS coal 723 MINING T a b l e 3 N U M B E R A N D P E R C E N T A C T U A L A N D C U M U L A T IV E OF L O A D E R S H A N D O R P IC K M IN E R S A N D M A C H IN E M IN E R S E A R N IN G E A C H C L A S S IF IE D A M O U N T P E R H O U R 1924 Num ber of hand loaders based on Occupation and classified earnings per hour N um ber of hand or pick miners based on N um ber of machine miners based on Tim e Time Tim e Tim e Tim e Tim e in mine in mine in mine at face at face at face including including including including lunch and including lunch and including lunch and lunch time travel time lunch time travel time lunch tim e travel time Under and under and under and under and under and under and under and under and under and under and under and under and under and under and under and under and under and under and under and under and over T otal Table 4 shows for the miners and loaders of each of the States included in the study and for all of these States combined the number of miners and loaders average starts average earnings per start average days of operation and estimated possible average annual earnings The miners and loaders in this table include 61 936 hand loaders 21 424 hand or pick miners 6 499 machine miners 170 contract loaders 102 macnine loaders and 1 036 gang miners a total of 91 167 or 65 per cent of the total number of wage earners covered in this study The days of operation in year for all mines o f the State are the days reported by the United States Geological Survey for the calendar year 1924 weighted by the total number of employees of all occu pations in each mine All the listed States combined averaged 172 days in the calendar year and the average for the States ranged from 136 days for Indiana to 226 for Virginia The method of computing the average 172 is explained in a footnote of the table The aver age for all bituminous mines in the United States in 1924 was 171 days The estimated possible average annual earnings of miners and loaders based on average earnings per start and days of operation of the mines included in the study by the bureau are 1 300 The aver age by States ranged from 757 for Tennessee to 1 483 for Illinois Many of the mines were shut down at the time of the bureau s study although they may have worked earlier in the year To get wage data it was necessary to find mines in operation This in part explains why the mines covered had a greater average number of days of operation than had all mines of the State in the calendar 724 WAGES AND HOURS OF ABOR year 1924 But this condition does not affect the representative character of the published hours per start or earnings per hour nor probably does it materially affect the time and earnings of a half month pay period in the season when running Any estimate of possible yearly earnings however should take all mines into consid eration Fewer days of work mean less money earned The last column of the table shows the estimated amount the miners and loaders would have made had they worked all days their mines operated Thus with 172 days of work they would have earned 1 128 as against a possible 1 300 in the mines of the bureau canvass with a range from 649 in Tennessee to 1 287 in Colorado T a b l e 4 E S T IM A T E D PO SSIB LE A N N U A L E A R N IN G S OF M IN E R S A N D L O A D E R S B Y S T A T E S State Alabama Colorado Illinois Indiana Kansas K entucky Ohio Pennsylvania Tennessee Virginia West Virginia Total Average days of Possible y e a r l y o p e r a t i o n in earning s of minAverage Mines year ers andl loaders Mines Miners starts in Average report covered and earn tinlf nan days ings per ingoper by loaders month of bureau covered start ation Mines re All mines In mines In all porting of S tate1 studied mines of State A s reported b y U S Geological Survey The average for the total is for these same States with the days for each State weighted b y the number of miners and loaders shown in the table 2 Computed b y m ultiplying the average earnings per start b y the average days o f operation in year end ing Oct for mines reporting 3 Com puted b y m ultiplying the average earnings per start b y the average days of operation in the cal endar year 1924 of all mines of State Wages and Hours of Labor in the Boot and Shoe Industry 1926 STUDY of wages and hours of labor in the boot and shoe industry in the United States was made by the bureau in 1926 4 Data were obtained for 29 925 male and 22 772 female wage earners This survey like those of former years covered a representative group of establishments in each State where boot and shoe manufacturing is of material importance These establish ments were limited to those whose principal products were men s women s or children s shoes made by the welt McKay or turn process Data were not included from establishments whose main or entire product was nailed or pegged shoes or specialties such as slippers leggings felt or rubber footwear etc Wherever pos sible the 1926 data were obtained from the same establishments as A 4 For complete report see forthcoming bulletin 725 BOOT AND SHOE INDUSTRY in 1924 In some instances however these plants were not operat ing had moved to some other locality or ceased to be representative The data for 1926 were copied bv agents of the bureau directly from the pay rolls or other records oi 154 establishments in 14 States According to the 1923 United States Census of Manufactures ap proximately 97 per cent of the wage earners in the industry were in these 14 States and of the whole number of wage earners in this industry in the United States this study covers about 23 per cent The figures were collected as of the late summer and early autumn Data for a few large establishments are for only a part of the total number of employees of such establishments as the inclusion of the total number of wage earners in these establishments would have tended to impair the representative character of the averages for the States in which the establishments are located Table 1 and the chart on page 726 show by index numbers the changes in average full time hours per week in average earnings per hour and in average full time earnings per week for each of the years in which the bureau made studies of the industry from 1910 to 1926 inclusive The averages for 1913 are used as the base or 100 The full time hours per week decreased slightly over 11 per cent between 1913 and 1926 average earnings per hour increased 119 1 per cent or considerably more than doubled and average full time earnings per week increased approximately 95 4 per cent during the same period Because of the reduction in the average full time hours per week the average full time earnings per week did not show the same proportion of increase as that for the average earnings per hour T a b l e 1 I N D E X N U M B E R S OF H O U R S A N D E A R N IN G S IN T H E B O O T A N D SHOE IN D U S T R Y IN S P E C IF IE D Y E A R S 1910 T O Index numbers of Year Full time hours per week Earnings per hour Full time earnings per week Table 2 shows for 1924 and 1926 average full time hours per week average earnings per hour and average full time earnings per week for each of the principal occupations in the industry and for the industry as a whole Referring to the totals at the end of the table it is seen that the average full time hours per week of males in all occupations com bined increased from 48 9 in 1924 to 49 0 in 1926 There was no 3S 726 WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR change in average full time hours per week of females nor of males and females combined The average earnings per hour of males in all occupations com bined increased from 60 2 cents in 1924 to 62 2 cents in 1926 those of females from 39 4 to 40 1 cents and those of males and females combined or for the industry from 51 6 to 52 8 cents Average full time earnings per week of males increased from 29 44 in 1924 to 30 48 in 1926 those of females from 19 31 to 19 65 and those of males and females combined or for the indus try from 25 28 to I9ZI TABLE S A V E R A G E H O U R S A N D E A R N IN G S IN T H E B O O T A N D SH OE I N D U S T R Y 1924 A N D 1926 B Y O C C U P A T IO N A N D S E X Occupation Sex A ver A ver A ver N um N um age full age age full ber o f ber o f earn time time Year estab em ings weekly hours lish ploy per earn per ments ees week hour ings Cutting department M ale d o Cutters vamp and whole shoe machine Male do Female d o Cutters trimmings hand M ale d o Female d o Skivers uppers M ale d o Female do Cutters vam p and whole shoe hand BOOT AND SHOE INDUSTRY T able 3 AVERAG E HOURS AN D EARNINGS IN THE BOOT AND SHOE IN D U STRY 1924 AND 1926 B Y OCCUPATION AN D SEX Continued Occupation Sex Aver ver A ver N um N um age full Aage age full ber of ber of time time earn Year estab em hours ings weekly lish ployper per earn ments week hour ings Sole leather department M ale d o Cutters insole d o d o Channelers outsole or insole d o d o Fitting or stitching department M ale d o Female d o Folders hand and machine M ale d o Fem ale d o do Lining makers d o M ale T o p stitchers d o F em ale d o Vampers M ale d o Fem ale d o M ale Fancy stitchers Fem ale d o Lasting department M ale d o Female d o Male d o d o do d o d o Cutters outsole Cementers and doublers hand and machine Assemblers for pulling over machine Pullers over machine Bed machine operators Turnlasters hand Bottoming department Goodyear welters Goodyear stitchers M cK a y sewers Heelers w o o d Edge trimmers M ale d o d o d o d o d o d o d o d o d o Male d o do do d o do Female do Male do Female do M ale d o Female d o B oth d o Finishing department Buffers Treers Repairers not cobblers All occupations WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR Table 3 presents for each State average full time hours per week average earnings per hour and average full time weekly earnings in 15 of the most important occupations for which data are presented in Table 2 Of the 15 occupations shown here 7 are presented for both sexes These occupations cover 17 per cent of the males and 31 per cent of the females included in the 1926 study The purpose of the table is to illustrate variations in hours and wages as between the several States T able 3 A V E R A G E H O U R S A N D E A R N IN G S F O R 15 S P E C IF IE D O C C U P A T IO N S IN T H E B O O T A N D SHOE IN D U S T R Y B Y S E X A N D S T A T E 1926 State Aver Aver Aver Aver Aver Aver N um N um age N um N um age age age age age ber of ber of full full ber of ber of full full estab em time earn time estab em time earn time lish ploy hours ings weekly lish ploy hours ings weekly per per ments ees per per ees earn hour earn ments week ings week hour ings Cutters vam p and whole shoe hand male Illinois M aine M aryland and Virginia Massachusetts M ichigan M innesota Missouri N ew Hampshire N ew Jersey N ew Y ork Ohio Pennsylvania W isconsin Total Lining makers including lining closers side and top facing stitch ers female Illinois M aryland and Virginia Massachusetts M ichigan M innesota Missouri New Hampshire N ew Jersey N ew Y o r k O h io Pennsylvania W isconsin T otal Cementers and doublers hand and machine including reinforcers pasters and fitters female T o p stitchers including undertrimmerS and barber trimmers female 77 M117 aine Vampers female Illinois M aine M aryland and Virginia Massachusetts M ichigan M innesota M issouri N ew Ham pshire N ew Jersey N ew Y o r k Ohio Pennsylvania Wisconsin T otal Bed machine operators male COMMON LABOR T able 3 A VE R AG E HOURS AND EARNINGS FOR 15 SPECIFIED OCCUPATIONS IN THE BOOT AN D SHOE IN DU STRY B Y SEX AND STATE 1926 Continued State A ver A ver Aver A ver Aver Aver age age N um N um age N um N um age age age ber of ber of full earn full ber of ber of full earn full tim e tim e time time estab em estab em ings weekly lish p loy hours ings weekly lish ploy hours per per per earn per ments ees earn ments ees week hour week hour ings ings Goodyear stitchers male Edge trimmers male Illinois M aine Maryland and Virginia Massachusetts M ichigan Minnesota Missouri N ew Hampshire N ew Jersey N ew Y ork Ohio Pennsylvania Wisconsin ft Total Entrance Rates of Wages of Common Labor 1926 O ARRIVE at a definite wage rate for common labor presents many difficulties the greatest being that the term common labor has many interpretations among different industries and even among different localities or plants in the same industry In order that comparable data might be secured the Bureau of Labor Statistics during 1926 sent out questionnaires every three months to employers in 13 important industries which require con siderable numbers of common laborers asking for the rate per hour paid to unskilled adult male common laborers when first hired Many employers increase rates of pay to laborers after a few weeks of employment have demonstrated the degree of fitness for the work required and in many cases laborers not considered fit are dropped after a certain time has elapsed It is believed there fore that the only truly comparable data are entrance rates Some establishments report two or more rates for example one for an 8 hour day and one for a 10 hour day one for white and one for colored workers or one each for different departments These distinctions have not been maintained in the tabulations although it is apparent that the lowest rates shown are for those localities where there are many colored or Mexican laborers while the highest rates shown are for localities where an 8 hour day is known to be more or less in force The latest report on this subject published in 1926 was for Oc tober 1 and was based on reports covering 135 902 common laborers distributed among the 13 industries as follows T Number Automobiles Brick tile and terra cotta Cement Electrical machinery apparatus and supplies Foundry and machine shop products Iron and steel Leather Lumber sawm ills WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR Number Paper and pulp Petroleum refining Slaughtering and meat packing Public utilities General contracting Total The distribution by geographic divisions was as follows New England 8 388 Middle Atlantic East North Central West North Central South Atlantic East South Cen tral 6 432 West South Central 7 040 Mountain 5 348 Pacific The weighted average rate for the several industries combined was 43 4 cents the lowest and highest rates reported being 15 cents and 1 125 respectively The highest average rate in any of the indus tries 49 5 cents appears in general contracting and the lowest average rate 33 4 cents in sawmills The highest rates paid in most districts were reported by general contractors and they considerably increase the average rate for the several industries combined The October 1 average rate 43 4 cents is more than one half cent higher than the average rate of July 1 which was 42 8 cents By omitting the figures for general contracting an average rate of 40 9 cents is obtained for October 1 which is the same as the average rate for the same industries on July 1 The corresponding average rates on April 1 and January 1 were 40 5 cents and 40 2 cents respectively The high low and average rates for each of the 13 industries in the United States and in each section of the United States as of October 1 1926 are presented in the table following H O U R L Y W A G E R A T E S P A ID F O R C O M M O N L A B O R O C T O B E R The rates on which this table is based are entrance rates paid for adult male com m on labor Geographic divisions Industry Automobiles L ow High Average Brick tile and terra cotta L o w High Average Cement L ow High Average Electrical machinery apparatus and supplies L ow High Average Foundry and machine shop prod ucts L o w H igh Average United East West South East States New M id North North At South West South M ou n Pa Eng dle Cen Cen lan Cen Cen tain A t cific land lantic tral tral tral tral tic Cents Cents Cents Cents Cents Cents Cents Cents Cents Cents COTTON GOODS INDUSTRY H O U R L Y W A G E R A T E S P A I D F O R C OM M ON L A B O R O C T O B E R C on tin u ed Geographic divisions Industry Iron and steel L ow High Leather L ow TTigh Average Lum ber sawmills L o w High Average Paper and pulp L ow High Average Petroleum refining L ow High Average Slaughtering and meat packing L ow High Average Public utilities 1 L ow High Average General contracting 2 Low High Average Total L ow High Average United M id East West South East West States New dle North North A t South South M ou n Pa Eng A t Cen Cen lan Cen Cen tain cific land tral tic tral tral lantic tral Cents Cents Cents Cents Cents Cents Cents Cents Cents Cents Including street railways gas works waterworks and electric power and light plants 2 Including building highway public works and railroad construction Wages and Hours of Labor in the Cotton Goods Industry 1926 SUMMARY of the 1926 study of wages and hours of labor of employees in the cotton goods manufacturing industry in the United States which was recently completed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics is presented in this article 4 The data given show average full time hours per week earnings per hour and full time earnings per week by occupation and sex for 46 879 males and 36 103 females Comparative figures for 1924 covering 45 056 males and 32 939 females are also given The 1926 averages were compiled from the pay rolls and other records of 151 cotton mills in 12 States According to the 1923 United States census of manufactures 92 per cent of the wage earners in the industry were in these 12 States A 4 For complete report see forthcoming bulletin 732 WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR Data were obtained for a representative pay period of one week for all occupations except weavers for whom a two week pay period was taken With few exceptions the pay periods covered occurred within the interval from June to September Index numbers of average full time hours per week earnings per hour and full time earnings per week are presented in Table 1 for the industry as a whole for each year from 1910 to 1926 for which the bureau has made studies of the industry with the 1913 average taken as the base or 100 Index numbers are not shown for 1915 nor for subsequent odd years because data were not collected in such years Between 1913 and 1920 average full time hours per week decreased 10 per cent earnings per hour increased 224 per cent and full time earnings per week increased 192 per cent Average full time earnings per week did not increase in the same proportion as average earn ings per hour because of the reduction in average full time hours per week Average full time hours per week increased from an index of 89 8 in 1920 to 92 4 in 1926 or 3 per cent average earnings per hour decreased from 324 3 to 221 6 or 32 per cent and average full time earnings per week decreased from 291 8 to 205 2 or 30 per cent The peak in average earnings per hour and in average full time earnings per week in cotton goods manufacturing was reached in 1920 The greatest increase in average earnings per hour in any 2year period was made between 1918 and 1920 when they rose from 180 4 to 324 3 or 80 per cent The greatest decrease in any 2 year period occurred between 1920 and 1922 from 324 3 to 223 0 or 31 per cent The index rose from 223 0 in 1922 to 251 4 in per cent but fell again in 1926 to per cent T a b l e 1 I N D E X N U M B E R S OF H O U R S A N D E A R N IN G S IN T H E C O T T O N G O O D S IN D U S T R Y IN S P E C IF IE D Y E A R S 1910 T O 1926 Index numbers of average Year Full time hours per week Earnings per hour Full time earnings per week Table 2 shows for the years 1924 and 1926 average full time hours per week earnings per hour and full time earnings per week for each of the principal occupations in the industry From 1924 to 1926 average full time hours per week of males in all occupations combined increased from 53 5 to 53 8 those of females from 52 3 to 52 8 and those of males and females combined or the industry from 53 to 53 3 COTTON GOODS INDUSTRY 733 In the same period average earnings per hour of males decreased from 39 to 34 7 cents those of females from 34 7 to 30 1 cents and those of males and females combined from 37 2 to 32 8 cents Aver age full time earnings per week of males decreased from 20 87 in 1924 to 18 67 in 1926 those of females from 18 15 to 15 89 and earnings in the industry as a whole from 19 72 to 17 48 In 1924 the highest average earnings per hour of males in any occupation were those of mule spinners 74 6 cents and the lowest were those of spooler tenders 19 2 cents For females the hourly earnings ranged from 44 8 cents earned by slubber tenders and beamer tenders to 26 8 cents earned by trimmers or inspectors In 1926 hourly earnings of males ranged from 65 6 cents for mule spinners to 19 cents for spooler tenders and those of female werkers from 41 1 cents for beamer tenders to 24 6 cents for spooler tenders and trimmers or inspectors 734 WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR T a b l e 2 AVERAGE HOURS AND EARNINGS IN THE COTTON GOODS IN DU STRY BY OCCUPATIONS AND SEX 1924 AND 1926 Year N um ber of estab lish ments d o Card tenders and strippers Card grinders d o Drawing frame tenders d o Fem ale Slubber tenders Male Fem ale Speeder tenders Male Fem ale Spinners m ule Male Spinners frame do Fem ale D offers Male F em ale Spooler tenders Male F em ale Creelers or tiers in Male F em ale Warper tenders Male F em ale Beamer tenders Male F em ale Slasher tenders Male Drawers in d o F em ale W arp tying machine tenders Male 1926 d o L oom fixers d o W eavers F em ale Trimmers or inspectors Male F em ale Other employees Male F em ale All employees Male Female All employees male and female Occupation Sex Picker tenders Male N um Average ber of full time hours em per ployees week Average earnings per hour Average full timo earnings per week 735 COTTON GOODS INDUSTRY Table 3 shows for each of seven specified occupations and for each State the 1926 average full time hours per week earnings per hour and full time earnings per week T able 3 A V E R A G E H O U R S A N D E A R N IN G S F O R S E V E N S E L E C T E D O C C U P A T IO N S IN T H E C O T T O N G O O D S I N D U S T R Y B Y S E X A N D S T A T E 1926 Occupation sex and State Number of establish N um ber of employees ments Average full time hours per week Average earnings per hour Average full time earnings per week Picker tenders male Alabama C onnecticut Georgia Maine Massachusetts N ew Hampshire New Y ork N orth Carolina Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina Virginia Total Card tenders and strippers male Alabama Connecticut Georgia Maine Massachusetts N ew Hampshire New Y ork N orth Carolina Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina Virginia T otal Speeder tenders male Alabama Connecticut Georgia M aine Massachusetts New Hampshire New Y ork North Carolina Rhode Island South Carolina Virginia T otal Speeder tenders female Alabama Connecticut Georgia M aine Massachusetts N ew Hampshire N ew Y ork North Carolina Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina Virginia Total 736 WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR T a b l e 3 AVERAGE HOURS AND EARNINGS FOR SEVEN SELECTED OCCUPATIONS IN THE COTTON GOODS IN DU STRY B Y SEX AND STATE 1926 Continued Occupation sex and State Number of establish Number of employees ments Spinners frame male Connecticut Georgia Massachusetts N ew Hampshire N ew York North Carolina South Carolina Other States Average full time hours per week Average earnings per hour Average full time earnings per week Rhode Island South Carolina Virginia T o t a l Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina Virginia Total Spinners frame female Alabama C nnnent ir nt Georgia M aine Massachusetts N p w Hampshire New Y ork North C arolin a P p n n svlvR T iia Slasher tenders male Alabam a Connecticut Georgia Maine Massachusetts New Hampshire New Y ork N o r t h C a r o lin a T o t a l Loom fixers male Alabama Connecticut Georgia Maine Massachusetts N ew Hampshire New Y ork North Carolina Pennsyl vania Rhode Island South Carolina V irginia T o t a l Weavers male Alabam a C onnecticut Georgia M a i n e Massachusetts New H am pshire N ew Y ork N orth Carolina Pennsylvania R hode Island South Carolina Virginia T otal 737 FARM LABOR T able 3 AVERAGE HOURS AND EARNINGS FOR SEVEN SELECTED OCCUPATIONS IN THE COTTON GOODS IN DU STRY BY SEX AND STATE 1926 Continued Occupation sex and State N um ber of N um ber of establish employees ments Average full time hours per week Average earnings per hour Average full time earnings per week Weavers female Alabama Connecticut Georgia M aine Massachusetts N ew Hampshire N ew York North Carolina Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina Virginia Total Wage Rates of Farm Labor 1910 to January 1927 HE United States Department of Agriculture compiles quar terly the current wage rates of hired farm labor Data are compiled separately for workers employed by the month and by the day and separation is also made between wage rates which include board and those which do not include board Wage rates by the day without board are of course the more nearly compara ble with the wage rates of industrial workers Table 1 shows for the United States as a whole average farm wage rates and index numbers thereof from 1910 to January 1927 From 1923 to January 1927 the details are also given for the months of January April July and October It will be noted that the wage rates for October are regularly the highest of any of the months reported The averages in Table 1 are as noted for the United States as a whole There are wide variations between the several States This is brought out in Table 2 which gives the average wages by geo graphical divisions and States for October 1925 and October 1926 T Table 1 A R M F W A G E R A T E S A N D IN D E X N U M B E R S 1910 TO JAN U ARY 1927 Average yearly farm wage 1 Per month Index Weighted numbers average of farm wage wages rate per 1910W ith m onth out board Per day Year W ith board W ith out board W ith board i Yearly averages are from reports b y crop reporters giving average wages for the year in their localities except for 1924 and 1926 when the wage rates per month are a straight average of quarterly rates April July October of the current year and January of the following year and the wage rates per day are a weighted average of quarterly rates April weight 1 July weight 5 October weight 6 January of the following year weight 1 a This column has significance only as an essential step in computing the wage index 738 W AGES AND HOURS OF LA BO R T able 1 F A R M W A G E R A T E S A N D I N D E X N U M B E R S 1910 T O J A N U A R Y Con Average yearly farm wage Per month W eighted Index numbers average o f farm wage wages rate per 1910m onth W ith out board Per day Year With board W ith out board W ith board January A p ril July October January A pril J uly O c to b e r January April July October January April July O ctober January I I9ZI 739 FOUNDRIES AND MACHINE SHOPS T able 2 A V E R A G E W A G E S P A ID T O H IR E D F A R M L A B O R B Y G E O G R A P H IC A L D IV ISIO N S A N D S T A T E S O C T O B E R 1925 A N D 1926 Per month w ith board State and division Per month w ith out board Per day with board Per day w ith out board 1925 M aine N ew Hampshire Verm ont Massachusetts Rhode Island Connecticut N ew Y ork New Jersey Pennsylvania North Atlantic Ohio In d ian a Illinois M ich igan Wisconsin M innesota Iowa Missouri North Dakota South Dakota Nebraska Kansas North Central Delaware M aryland Virginia West Virginia North Carolina South Carolina Georgia F lorida South Atlantic K e n tu ck y Tennessee Alabama Mississippi Arkansas Louisiana Oklahoma Texas South Central Montana Idaho Colorado N ew M exico Arizona Utah Nevada Washington Oregon California Western United States W yom ing Foundries and Machine Shops 1925 HE Bureau of Labor Statistics in recent years has made two studies of wages and hours of labor in these closely related industries one in 1923 and another in 1925 5 Owing to the almost unlimited variety of products manufactured in machine shops and the special machinery necessary in the manu facture of a large number of those products the bureau deemed it T 5For complete report see Bui No 422 740 WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR advisable in 1925 as in 1923 to limit the study to those plants in which the machinery used was fairly comparable The machine shops covered in this article were engaged in machining parts for and as sembling or constructing engines and machinery used in various kinds of factories mills mines construction operations etc While the ma chines used in the establishments covered vary in type and size with the product manufactured they are similar in nature and the opera tions are essentially the same The foundries included were mainly en gaged in casting parts for the same class of product In a large num ber of cases a foundry and a machine shop were in the same plant The data are for one representative pay roll period each year The 1925 data are as of the spring and summer and were obtained from 413 foundries and 511 machine shops in 28 States Table 1 shows average earnings per hour average full time hours per week and average full time weekly earnings for 11 of the princi pal foundry occupations and for a group of other employees which includes all foundry occupations not shown separately and for 21 machine shop occupations including two groups of miscel laneous employees grouped under other skilled machine shop occupations and other employees Averages for all foundry employees combined and for all machine shop employees combined are also shown These averages are brought into comparison with those for 1923 for all occupations for which information is available T a b l e 1 A V E R A G E H O U R S A N D E A R N IN G S F O R P R IN C IP A L O C C U P A T IO N S IN F O U N D R IE S A N D M A C H IN E SHOPS 1923 A N D 1925 B Y S E X A N D Y E A R Foundries Occupation Sex Male Chippers and rough grinders d o do Core makers d o Female do Male Crane operators d o Cupola tenders d o do Laborers d o F em ale do Male Molders hand bench do d o Molders hand floor d o d o M olders machine d o d o M older s helpers floor d o d o Pattern makers d o d o R ough carpenters do d o Other foundry employees do Female M ale A ll occupations d o Female d o A ll occupations male and fem ale Year N um ber of estab lish ments N um Average Average full ber of earnings time em per hours per ployees hour week A few employees classed as other em ployees in 1923 were included with laborers in 1925 Average full time weekly earnings FOUNDRIES AND M ACH IN E SHOPS T able 1 AVERAGE HOURS AND EARNINGS FOR PRIN CIPAL OCCUPATIONS IN FOUNDRIES A N D M ACHINE SHOPS 1923 AN D 1925 B Y SEX A N D Y E A R Continued Machine shops Occupation Sex M ale d o Female d o Blacksmiths M ale d o Blacksmith s helpers d o d o Boring mill hands and operators d o d o Crane operators d o do Drill press hands and operators d o d o F em ale d o M ale Fitters and bench hands d o Fem ale d o Grinding machine hands and operators M ale d o Female K M ale Laborers d o Fem ale1 Laborers packers for shipping M ale Lathe hands and operators engine d o Lathe hands and operators turret d o d o Female2 M ale M achinists d o Machinist s and toolmaker s helpers d o d o Milling machine hands and operators d o d o Fem ale2 Packers and craters Male 2 Fem ale2 Planer hands and operators M ale d o Screw machine hands and op era tors Male d o Other machine hands and operators d o d o F em ale d o Toolmakers M ale d o Other skilled machine shop occupations d o do F em ale do Male Other machine shop em ployees d o Fem ale d o 3 Assemblers A il occupations A ll occupations male and female M ale do Female do Year N um N um Average ber of full time estab ber of hours em lish per ments ployees week Average full time weekly earnings Included with Other em ployees in 1925 8 N ot shown separately in 1923 report s Includes employees in some other occupations shown separately for males 38t4H Average earnings per hour 742 WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR Comparing the 1925 averages for employees in foundries with those for 1923 as shown by Table 1 a slight reduction in working time accompanied by an increase in hourly earnings is shown for every occupation for which separate figures are given except female laborers in which occupation hourly earnings show an increase of almost 7 cents per hour but full time hours per week also increased 0 8 hour The general decrease in full time weekly hours was more than offset by the increase in hourly earnings and full time weekly earn ings show an increase in every instance The reduction in full time weekly hours is due not so much to a shortening of the hours per day as it is to the recent practice in some foundries of eliminating en tirely work on Saturday The largest reduction took place in the occupation of machine molders The average full time hours per week of this occupation were 51 9 in 1923 but were reduced to 50 1 in 1925 The decrease for all occupations combined was 0 9 hour or from 52 4 hours in 1923 to 51 5 in 1925 Increases in earnings per hour in foundries varied from 1 3 cents for female core makers to 8 9 cents for male cupola tenders Con sidering all employees the increase amounted to 5 2 cents or from 55 8 cents in 1923 to 61 0 cents in 1925 Average full time hours per week for machme shops show a de crease as between 1923 and 1925 for practically every occupation The decrease in almost every instance however was less than one hour and amounted to an average o f only 0 4 hour for all occupa tions combined Average earnings per hour in machine shops increased for each occupation resulting in increases in weekly earnings in every case Female assemblers received the highest increase in hourly earnings or 9 4 cents per hour and blacksmiths helpers the least or 1 5 cents Among the male employees screw machine hands and opera tors received the largest increase 7 9 cents per hour The average increase for all employees was 4 3 cents from 55 9 cents per hour in 1923 to 60 2 cents in 1925 While Table 1 is valuable in summing up the situation in the in dustry in the United States as a whole it does not show the varia tion within the occupations among the several States Space does not permit a showing by States for all occupations but four typical foundry occupations and four typical machine shop occupations have been selected to illustrate the variation The same kind of averages are shown by States in Table 2 for these eight occupations as are shown for all occupations in the preceding table except that they are shown for 1925 only Taking the occupation of male laborers in foundries for example the averages for the 10 931 employees covered in the study are 52 5 hours per week 48 1 cents per hour and 25 25 per full time week When the averages for the occupation in the various States are con sidered however wide differences in hours and earnings are noted Laborers in Oregon averaged only 46 hours per full time week while laborers in Minnesota averaged almost 58 hours Five States had average full time hours per week of less than 50 Likewise laborers in Georgia averaged only 25 8 cents per hour while those in Wash ington received more than twice that amount or an average of 55 4 cents per hour Seven States had an average of less than 40 cents 743 FOUNDRIES AND M ACHINE SHOPS per hour and seven had an average of 50 cents or over Full time weekly earnings of laborers ranged from 14 37 in Georgia to 28 67 in Illinois The seven other occupations show similar variations T able 2 A V E R A G E H O U R S A N D E A R N IN G S F O R E IG H T S E L E C T E D O C C U P A T IO N S IN F O U N D R IE S A N D M A C H IN E SHOPS 1925 B Y S E X A N D S T A T E J Foundries State N um ber of N um ber estab of em lish ployees ments Aver age full time hours per week Aver age earn ings per hour Aver age full time weekly earn ings N um ber of N um ber estab of em lish ployees ments Laborers male Alabama California Colorado Connecticut Georgia Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana M a in e M aryland Massachusetts M ichigan Minnesota Missouri N ew Hampshire New Jersey N ew Y ork Ohio Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island Tennessee Texas Washington Wisconsin T otal T otal Included under Other States Aver age full time weekly earn ings Pattern makers male Aver age earn ings per hour Molders hand floor male Molders machine male Alabama California Colorado Connecticut Georgia Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana M aine M aryland Massachusetts M ichigan Minnesota Missouri N ew Hampshire N ew Jersey N ew Y ork Ohio Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island Tennessee Texas Washington Wisconsin Other States Aver age full time hours per week WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR T a b l e 2 AVERAGE HOURS AND EARNINGS FOR EIGH T SELECTED OCCUPATIONS IN FOUNDRIES AND M ACHINE SHOPS 1925 B Y SEX AND STATE Continued Machine shops State N um N um ber of ber estab of em lish ployees ments A ver age full time hours per week Aver age earn ings per hour Aver age full time weekly earn ings N um ber of N um estab ofber em lish ments ployees Fitters and bench hands male Aver age full time hours per week Aver age earn ings per hour Aver age full time weekly earn ings Laborers male Alabama California Colorado Connecticut Georgia Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana M aine Maryland Massachusetts M ichigan M innesota M issou ri N ew Hampshire N ew Jersey N ew Y ork Ohio Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island Tennessee Texas Washington Wisconsin Total Alabama California Colorado Connecticut Georgia Illinois Indiana Iow a Kansas Kentucky Louisiana M aine Maryland Massachusetts M ichigan Minnesota M issouri N ew Hampshire New Jersey N ew Y o r k Ohio Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island Tennessee Texas Washington Wisconsin Total Toolmakers male Lathe hands and operators engine male A total of 410 of the 413 foundries covered in the study reported the days of operation during the year ending December One plant reported only 70 days operated while one reported 312 days the average for all was 285 days The 410 plants were closed an average of 82 days due to the following reasons Sundays 745 HOSIERY AND UNDERWEAR INDUSTRY 52 Saturdays 5 vacations and holidays 9 inventories and plant disability 1 business depression or lack of orders 14 and other causes 1 The days o f operation of 505 of the 511 machine shops covered ranged from 214 to 340 and the average was 298 days No data were available for 6 of the plants The 505 plants were closed an average of 67 9 days throughout the year due to the following rea sons Sundays 52 days Saturdays 1 day vacations and holidays 7 days inventory and plant disability 1 day business depression or lack of orders 6 days and other causes less than 1 day Wages and Hours of Labor in the Hosiery and Underwear Industry 19264 The bureau has made several wage studies in the hosiery and underwear industry the latest one for which data are available having been made in 1926 In hosiery manufacture this study covered 10 250 male wage earners and 20 296 female wage earners employed in 105 representative establishments in 18 States while in underwear manufacture it covered 2 860 male wage earners and 12 188 female wage earners in 85 representative establishments in 15 States According to the 1923 census of manufactures the States represented contain 94 and 93 per cent respectively of the wage earners employed in the manufacture of hosiery and underwear The two industries combined cover 13 110 male wage earners and 32 484 female wage earners from which figures it will be noticed that nearly three fourths of the employees in these industries are females The data presented were taken by agents of the bureau directly from the pay rolls and other records of the establishments mainly as of the last quarter of 1926 Index numbers for average earnings per hour average full time hours per week and average full time earnings per week for the two closely related industries combined are presented in Table 1 The same data are shown graphically in the chart on page 746 T able 1 I N D E X J U M B E R S O F C U S T O M A R Y H O U R S A N D N E A R N IN G S I N T H E H O S IE R Y A N D U N D E R W E A R IN D U S T R Y F O R S P E C IF IE D Y E A R S 1910 T O Year Average full time Average hours per earnings per hour week Average full time earnings per week Year Average Average full time Average full time hours per earnings earnings per hour week per week Table 2 shows the average full time weekly hours hourly earnings and full time weekly earnings for 1924 and 1926 for the principal oc cupations the averages for males and females being presented sep arately In the 1926 study the data for hosiery and for underwear were kept separate In previous studies these two closely related For full report see forthcoming bulletin 746 WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR industries had been treated as one industry There are several occupations which are common to both industries and for these occupations the combined figures for 1924 are shown in comparison with the figures for each industry for 1926 The task of segregating the data for each industry in earlier years in the common occupa tions was too great to warrant such action T a b l e 2 A V E R A G E H O U R S A N D E A R N IN G S IN T H E H O S IE R Y A N D U N D E R W E A R IN D U S T R Y 1924 A N D 1926 B Y O C C U P A T IO N A N D S E X Number of Occupation Sex A v e r age A ver age fun earn Year E stab E m time ings lish ploy hours per ments per ees week hour Boarders hosiery M M F F F F F F M M F F M M F F F F Buttonhole makers underwear Button sewers underwear Cutters hand layers up and markers underwear Cutters power underwear Finishers underwear A ver age full time earn ings per week HOSIERY AND UNDERWEAR INDUSTRY Table 2 AVERAGE HOTJBS AND EARNINGS IN THE HOSIERY AND UNDERWEAR INDUSTRY 1924 AND 1926 BY OCCUPATION AND SEX Continued Occupation Sex N um t er of A ver age full Year time E stab E m hours lish ploy per ments ees week Folders hosiery and underwear hosiery underwear Inspectors hosiery and underwear hosiery underwear Knitters transfer hosiery F F F F F F M M F F M M M M M M F F M M F F M F M M F F F F M M M F F F F M M F F M M F F F F F F F F F F F M M M F F F M M M F F F Knitters full fashioned hosiery full fashioned leggers hosiery full fashioned footers hosiery helpers full or fashioned hosiery lady hose string work hosiery Knitters rib hosiery Knitters cuff or ankle underwear Knitters web or tube underwear Loopers hosiery Machine fixers hosiery and underwear hosiery underwear Menders hosiery and underwear hosiery underwear Pairers or maters hosiery Pressers hosiery and underwear underwear hosiery and underwear underwear Press hands hosiery and underwear underwear hosiery and underwear underwear Seamers underwear full fashioned hosiery Toppers full fashioned hosiery Welters hosiery and underwear hosiery Hemmers underwear Winders hosiery and underwear hosiery underwear hosiery and underwear hosiery underwear Other employees hosiery and underwear hosiery underwear hosiery and underwear hosiery underwear M A ll occupations hosiery and underwear hosiery M underwear M hosiery and underwear F hosiery F F underwear hosiery and underwear M and F hosiery M a n d F underwear M a n d F A v e r A ver age full age earn time ings earn per ings hour per week WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR Table 3 shows the number of establishments number of employees average earnings per hour average full time hours per week and average full time earnings per week by States in 1926 for all occu pations combined It will be noted that the average earnings per hour range from 21 5 cents in Alabama and Louisiana to 79 7 cents in New Jersey the average full time hours per week from 47 6 in New Jersey to 55 2 in North Carolina and the average full time earnings per week from 11 83 in Alabama and Louisiana to 37 94 in New Jersey T able 3 A V E R A G E H O U R S A N D E A R N IN G S I N T H E H O S IE R Y A N D U N D E R W E A R I N D U S T R Y B Y S T A T E S 1926 State Number Num ber Average Average Average full time of estab of em earnings full time lishments ployees hours per per hour earnings week per week Alabama and Louisiana Connecticut Georgia Illinois Indiana Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota and W isconsin New Hampshire and Vermont New Jersey New York North Carolina Ohio Pennsylvania Rhode Island Tennessee Virginia All States Data for five fairly representative occupations are tabulated by States in Table 4 T a b l e 4 A V E R A G E H O U R S A N D E A R N IN G S IN F IV E S E L E C T E D O C C U P A T IO N S O F T H E H O S IE R Y A N D U N D E R W E A R IN D U S T R Y 1926 B Y S E X A N D S T A T E Occupation Number Number Average Average Average full time full time of estab of em hours per earnings earnings lishments ployees per hour per week week Hosiery Knitters transfer female Alabama and Louisiana Georgia Illinois Massachusetts Michigan N ew Hampshire and Vermont North Carolina Ohio Pennsylvania Rhode Island Tennessee Virginia W isconsin Other States A ll States HOSIERY AND UNDERWEAR INDUSTRY T able 4 A V E R A G E H O U R S A N D E A R N IN G S IN F IV E S E L E C T E D O C C U P A T IO N S O F T H E H O S IE R Y A N D U N D E R W E A R IN D U S T R Y 1926 B Y S E X A N D S T A T E Contd Occupation Average Num ber Num ber full time Average of em of estab earnings lishments ployees hours per per hour week Average full time earnings per week Hosiery Continued Knitters full fashioned leggers male New Jersey N ew Y ork North Carolina Pennsylvania Wisconsin Other States A ll States Loopers female Alabama and Louisiana Georgia Illinois Indiana Massachusetts Michigan New Hampshire and Vermont New Jersey New York North Carolina Ohio Pennsylvania Rhode Island Tennessee Virginia Wisconsin All States Knitters web or tube male Connecticut Georgia Illinois Indiana Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota and W isconsin New Hampshire and Vermont N ew Y ork Ohio Pennsylvania Rhode Island Tennessee A ll States Underwear Seamers female Connecticut Georgia Illinois Indiana Massachusetts Michigan Miqnesota and W isconsin N ew Hampshire and Vermont N ew Y ork Ohio Pennsylvania Rhode Island Tennessee A ll States WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR Wages and Hours of Labor in the Iron and Steel Industry 1926 STUDY of wages and hours of labor in the iron and steel industry was made by the Bureau of Labor Statistics early in 1926 6 Similar studies had been made at different intervals in preceding years Ten of the principal departments were covered in the 1926 inquiry and data were obtained from a sufficient number of plants to insure the figures being fairly representative Table 1 consists of index numbers showing the changes be tween 1913 and 1926 in average full time hours per week earn ings per hour and full time weekly earnings for the industry as a whole and for each department for the years covered by the bureau s studies In one instance puddling mills the index number starts with 1914 as no figures for this department are available for 1913 Although in 1913 data were collected for the principal occupations only beginning with 1914 data have been collected for all occupa tions in the years appearing in the table The change in the rates of the principal productive occupations combined closely followed the change in all occupations as between 1914 and 1915 and as it is highly desirable to have index numbers for the industry based on 1913 the year selected as the base for many of the bureau s index numbers the very small change between 1913 and 1914 has been assumed to be the same for all occupations com bined as worked out from the change in the principal productive occupations From 1914 onward the index for each year appearing in the table is based on a combination of employees in all occupa tions of the plants reported Earnings per hour and per week reached their highest point in 1920 It is known that there was a great reduction in 1921 although the bureau did not collect data that year and this reduction con tinued into 1922 Since that year there has been a considerable in crease and in 1926 earnings per hour were two and one eighth times the earnings of 1913 There were variations in the different depart ments however Between 1924 and 1926 there was a decrease of about 1 per cent in hourly earnings in the industry as a whole and in the same interval hours of labor decreased a little more than 2 per cent The average hourly earnings of all employees in six of the depart ments increased averages in four departments decreased the decrease iii the blast furnace department being very slight The increases were due to increased production rather than to any particular changes in basic rates of pay while the decreases were due primarily to reduc tions in rates As indicated above for the industry as a whole the decreases more than offset the increases From 1913 to 1922 there was a decrease in average hours of 4 per cent Later in 1923 a very material decrease was made and this is indicated in the 1924 index number which was 84 for the industry as a whole In 1926 the index was 82 meaning that average full time hours per week in the industry generally were reduced 18 per cent from 1913 to 1926 A For complete report see forthcoming bulletin 751 IRON AND STEEL INDUSTRY T able 1 IN D E X N UM BERS OP HOURS A N D EARN ING S IN THE IR O N A N D STEEL IN D U STRY IN SPECIFIED YEARS 1913 TO 1926 Index numbers of Department and year Full time hours per week Earn Index numbers o f Full time earn ings per week 100 All departments Blast furnaces Bessemer converters Open hearth furnaces Puddling mills Bloom ing mills per hour Department and year Blooming mills Con Plate mills Bar miUs Standard rail mills Sheet mills Tin plate mills Full time earn ings per week Full time hours per week Earn ings per hour The 1926 study shows that most of the departments in the industry are operated largely on a 3 shift 8 hour basis The 12rhour shift is rapidly disappearing although the 10 hour shift is quite common in some departments While the working time within each department varied but little as between 1924 and 1926 the average full time hours per week vary considerably between the several departments In tin plate mills in 1926 employees worked an average of 48 1 hours per week while in blast furnaces the average was 59 8 hours This difference is largely due to Sunday work From the nature of the blast furnace process Sunday work is necessary and many em ployees work 7 days per week Also in the open hearth depart ment a considerable amount of Sunday work is done and a majority of the employees work on Sunday at least once every two or three weeks It is not customary to operate the other departments on 752 WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR Sunday and the 7 day work in these departments is usually confined to fix up or repair work While there was a reduction in hourly earnings as shown by the wage study the bureau s employment figures indicate that there was steadier work throughout the year 1926 which produced higher an nual earnings per capita than in 1924 or 1925 The number of plants and the number of employees covered in each department in 1924 and 1926 together with the average earn ings per hour for all emplpyees are shown in the following table T able 2 N U M B E R O F P L A N T S A N D E M P L O Y E E S A N D A V E R A G E H O U R L Y E A R N IN G S IN T H E IR O N A N D S T E E L IN D U S T R Y B Y D E P A R T M E N T S 1924 A N D 192G N um ber of Department Year Plants Blast furnaces Bessemer converters Open hearth furnaces Puddling mills Blooming mills Plate mills Standard rail mills Bar mills Sheet mills Tin plate m ills Employees Average earnings per hour IRON AND STEEL INDUSTRY Average full time hours per week earnings per hour and earnings per full week in 1924 and in 1926 are shown in the following table for the major occupations in each department Common labor is a very important occupation in this industry It is of importance even beyond the limits of the occupation proper for this basic labor rate is used to a large extent to determine the rates for other occupations requiring little skill Quite a large per centage of the force is semiskilled at best and there are many occupa tions for which the requirements are very little different from those of ordinary labor However in this survey the term common labor has been used to cover as far as possible only the wholly unskilled laborers working in and about the mill proper but upon whose work the mill is not primarily dependent for operation Table 3 AVERAGE CUSTOMARY HOURS AND EARNINGS IN THE IRON INDUSTRY 1924 AND 1926 BY DEPARTMENT AND OCCUPATION AND STEEL Blast furnaces Occupation Year Stockers Bottom fillers T op fillers Larry m en Larry men s helpers Skip operators Blowers Blowing engineers Blowing engineers assistants Stove tenders Keepers Keepers helpers Iron handlers and loaders Pig machine m en Cinder m en Laborers N um N um ber of Average Average Average full time full time ber of em hours per earnings weekly plants ployees per hour week earning Open hearth furnaces Stockers Stock cranemen Charging machine operators D oor operators Melters helpers first Melters helpers second Melters helpers third T a ble WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR 3 AVERAGE CUSTOMARY HOURS AND EARNINGS IN THE IRON AND STEEL INDUSTRY 1924 AND 1926 BY DEPARTMENT AND OCCUPATION Continued Open hearth furnaces Continued Year N um ber of plants Stopper setters Steel pourers M old cappers Ladle cranemen Ingot strippers Engineers locomotive Switchmen Laborers Occupation N um Average Average ber of full time Average full time em hours per earnings weekly per hour ployees week earnings Bessemer comerters Stockers Cupola melters Cupola tappers Blowers Regulators first i 1926 Regulators second Vessel men Vessel men s helpers Cinder pitm en Bottom makers Bottom makers helpers Ladle liners Ladle liners helpers Stopper makers Stopper setters Steel pourers M old cappers Ingot strippers Laborers Puddling mills Stockers Puddlers Puddlers level handed Puddlers helpers 755 IRON AND STEEL INDUSTRY Table AVERAGE CUSTOMARY HOURS AND EARNINGS IN THE IRON AND STEEL INDUSTRY 1924 AND 1926 BY DEPARTMENT AND OCCUPATION Continued Puddling mills Continued N um Average Average Average ber of full time earnings full time em hours per weekly per hour week ployees earnings Year N um ber of plants Bushelers level handed Bushelers helpers H e a te r s Heaters helpers Bloom boys Roll engineers Rollers Roughers Catchers Hook ups R oll hands other Hotbed men Shearman Shearmen s helpers Laborers Occupation Bushelers Blooming mills Pit cranemen Heaters Heaters helpers Bottom makers Bottom makers helpers Roll engineers Rollers Manipulators Table m en Shearmen Shearmen s helpers Laborers Bar mills Stockers Heaters Heaters helpers 756 T a ble WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR 3 AVERAGE CUSTOMARY HOURS AND EARNINGS IN THE IRON AND STEEL INDUSTRY 1924 AND 1926 BY DEPARTMENT AND OCCUPATION Continued Bar mills Continued Occupation Year N um N um ber of Average Average Average full time full time ber of em hours per earnings weekly plants ployees per hour earnings week Chargers and helpers Drag downs R oll engineers Rollers Roughers Catchers Stranders Finishers H ook ups R oll hands other Hot bed men Shearmen Shearmens helpers Bundlers Laborers i Sheet mills Pair heaters Rollers Rollers level handed Rollers helpers or finishers Roughers Catchers Matchers Doublers Sheet heaters Sheet heaters level handed Sheet heaters helpers Shearmen Shearmen s helpers Openers Openers level handed Picklers Feeders Laborers 757 IRON AND STEEL INDUSTRY Table AVERAGE CUSTOMARY HOURS AND EARNINGS IN THE IRON AND STEEL INDUSTRY 1924 AND 1926 BY DEPARTMENT AND OCCUPATION Continued Plate mills Occupation Year N um N um Average Average Average ber of ber of full time earnings full time em plants ployees hours per per hour weekly week earnings Charging crane and charging machine operators Heaters Heaters helpers Roll engineers Rollers sheared plate mills Screw men sheared plate mills Table operators sheared plate mills Hook men sheared plate mills Roll hands other sheared plate mills Rollers universal mills Screw men main rolls universal mills Screw men side rolls universal mills Roll hands other universal mills Shearman Shearmen s helpers Laborers ia Tin plate mills Rollers Rollers level handed Roughers Catchers Screw boys Doublers Doublers level handed Doublers helpers H ea ters Heaters level handed Heaters helpers Shearmen Shearmen s helpers Openers male Tinners Redippers Risers Branners male Assorters female Laborers 758 T a ble WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR 3 AVERAGE CUSTOMARY HOURS AND EARNINGS IN THE IRON AND STEEL INDUSTRY 1924 AND 1926 BY DEPARTMENT AND OCCUPATION Continued Standard rail mills Occupation Year Charging machine operators Reheaters Reheaters helpers Roll engineers Rollers Assistant rollers Table lever m en Table men Guide setters Hot saw m en Hot saw helpers H otbed lever m en Hotbed m en Straighteners Straighteners helpers Chippers Drillers and punchers Cold saw men Cold saw helpers Inspectors Laborers N um N um Average Average Average ber of full time earnings full time ber of em hours per per hour weekly plants ployees week earnings Hours and Earnings in the Men s Clothing Industry 1926 TUDIES of wages and hours of labor in factories making men s ready made clothing have been made by the Bureau of Labor Statistics at various intervals since 1911 Such a study was made in 1926 6 when data were gathered for 33 659 wage earners employed by 198 establishments operating 359 shops in the most important clothing centers The wage earners covered formed 27 per cent of the wage earners in the industry in the localities visited The 1926 data are as of midsummer Establishment as here used includes one or more shops in a city or locality under one ownership Some establishments do all the cutting but do not make the various garments that work being done by coat pants or vest contractors other establishments not only do all the cutting but also make one or all of the different articles of clothing letting contracts for such garments as they do S 8 For complete report see Bui No 435 759 M E N S CLOTHING INDUSTRY not manufacture in their own shops A contractor s shop is regarded in this article as a separate establishment each shop of a manufac turer is counted as a separate shop For a few very large establishments the data cover only a part of the total number of employees or shops of such establishments as the inclusion of the total number of wage earners in these establish ments would have tended to impair the representative character of the averages for the cities in which these establishments and shops are located Table 1 presents index numbers showing the relative change in full time hours per week earnings per week and full time weekly earnings with 1913 taken as 100 The same data are shown graphi cally in the chart on page 760 T a b l e 1 I N D E X N U M B E R S OF H O U R S A N D E A R N IN G S IN T H E M E N S C L O T H IN G I N D U S T R Y F O R S P E C IF IE D Y E A R S 1911 T O Index numbers of Year Full time hours per week Earnings per hour Full time earnings per week From 1911 to 1926 there was a drop of 18 per cent in the full time hours in this industry Except for a slight recession in 1914 earn ings per hour increased each year from 1911 to 1924 There was a slight falling off in 1926 yet hourly earnings even in that year were nearly three times as much as in 1913 and more than 3y3 times as great as in 1911 Because of reduced hours full time weekly earnings did not advance so much as hourly earnings However in 1926 weekly earnings were 2y2 times those of 1913 Table 2 shows both 1924 and 1926 averages for each occupation and for the industry Average earnings per hour of males in all occupations combined increased from 93 1 cents per hour in 1924 to 93 7 cents per hour in 1926 and those of females from 54 4 to 54 8 cents Paradoxically however the average earnings for the industry as a whole both sexes combined decreased in the same time from 76 to 75 cents per hour This decrease for the industry was due to a larger percentage of females being included in the 1926 study than in that of 1924 The average full time earnings per week of males in all occupations increased from 41 15 in 1924 to 41 51 in 1926 those of females in creased from 23 94 to 24 28 and those of males and females com bined decreased from 33 52 to 33 23 Average full time hours per week for the industry increased from 44 1 in 1924 to 44 3 in 1926 In 1924 the highest occupational average earnings per hour for males were 1 111 for cloth cutters and the lowest other employees 760 WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR excepted 85 6 cents for hand sewers on coats In 1926 the highest average earnings per hour for males were those of cloth cutters and the lowest other employees excepted 85 1 cents for ex aminers in the shop and stock room The earnings of females in 1924 other employees excepted ranged from 44 7 cents per hour for hand sewers on pants to 63 8 cents for basters on vests and in 1926 ranged from 41 cents per hour for coat fitters and trimmers to 63 8 cents for operators working on coats T a b l e 3 A V E R A G E H O U R S A N D E A R N IN G S IN T H E M E N S C L O T H IN G I N D U S T R Y 1924 A N D 1926 B Y O C C U P A T IO N A N D S E X Occupation Sex Basters coat Male d o Female d o Basters pants do d o Basters vest do d o A ll basters d o d o Year Number Num ber Average Average full time earnings of em of estab hours lishments ployees per week per hour Average full time weekly earnings m e n s T able c l o t h in g 761 in d u st r y a AVERAGE HOURS AND EARNINGS IN THE M E N S CLOTHING IN D U STRY 1924 AN D 1926 BY OCCUPATION AN D SEX Continued Occupation Sex Male d o Cutters cloth do d o Examiners shop and stock room d o d o Female d o Fitters and trimmers coat Male d o F e m a le Hand sewers coat Male d o Female d o Hand sewers pants d o d o Hand sewers vest d o d o A ll hand sewers d o d o Operators coat Male d o Female d o Operators pants Male d o Fem ale d o Operators vest Male d o Female d o A ll operators Male d o Female d o Pressers coat Male d o Female Presser pants Male d o Female Pressers vest Male d o Female d o A ll pressers Male d o Female Shapers coat Male d o Female Other employees Male do Female d o Bushelers and tailors All occupations All occupations male and female Male d o Female d o Year Number Number Average Average full time earnings of estab of em hours lishments ployees per hour per week Average full time weekly earnings Average hours and earnings are shown in Table 3 for each city for certain of the most important occupations for which data are presented in Table 2 These occupations cover 71 per cent of the males and 68 per cent of the females included in the 1926 study 762 WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR T able 3 AVERAGE HOURS A N D EARNINGS FOR NINE SELECTED OCCUPATIONS IN THE M E N S CLOTHING IN DU STRY B Y SEX A N D C ITY 1926 Basters coat male C ity Baltimore Boston B uffalo Chicago Cincinnati Cleveland N ew Y ork Philadelphia Ra tprn Pennsylvania 2 Rochester St Louis Buffalo and Cleveland Basters coat female Aver Aver Aver Aver Aver Aver N um N um age age N um N um age age age age ber of ber of full full full ber of full earn time estab ber of time earn estab em em time time lish ploy hours ings weekly lish ploy hours ings weekly per per per ments ees per earn ments ees earn week hour week hour ings ings T otal Baltimore Boston Buffalo Chicago Cincinnati Cleveland New Y ork Philadelphia Eastern Pennsylvania R och ester St L o u i s g T otal Baltimore B oston Buffalo Chicago Cincinnati Cleveland N ew Y ork Philadelphia Eastern Pennsylvania Rochester St Louis Cleveland and St Louis Cutters cloth male Q Operators coat male T otal g A 9 1 A i X Q T otal AC O A 30 A U A 90 AT T oa oO o u 24 g 6 4 11 T7 i AA A T C AQQ O oo O OO Q Q 60 Q Operators pants female Operators coat female Operators pants male Baltimore Boston Buffalo Chicago Cincinnati Cleveland N ew Y ork Philadelphia Eastern Pennsylvania Rochester St Louis Buffalo and Rochester Hand sewers coat female Data which were obtained for but one establishment were com bined w ith data for one or more other cities to avoid publishing data for a single establishment 2 Exclusive of Philadelphia 763 MOTOR BUS OPERATORS T able 3 AVERAGE HOURS AN D EARNINGS FOR NINE SELECTED OCCUPATIONS IN THE M E N S CLOTHING IN DU STRY B Y SEX AN D C ITY 1926 Continued Pressers coat male Operators vest female C ity Aver Aver A ver Aver Aver Aver age N um N um age age N um N um age age age full ber of ber of full earn full ber of ber of full earn time time estab em time estab em time ings weekly lish ploy hours ings weekly lish ploy hours per per earn per ments ees ees earn ments per hour week hour ings ings week Baltimore Boston Buffalo Chicago Cincinnati Cleveland N ew Y ork Philadelphia Eastern Pennsylvania Rochester St Louis T otal Pressers vest male Pressers pants male Baltimore Boston Buffalo Chicago C incinnati Cleveland N ew Y ork Philadelphia Eastern Pennsylvania Rochester St Louis T otal Exclusive of Philadelphia Wages and Hours of Motor Bus Operators 1926 HE use of the motor bus in urban and interurban transportation has increased with remarkable rapidity in recent years No official census of the industry has been made but data com piled by the National Automobile Chamber of Commerce and pub lished under the title of Facts and Figures of the Automobile Industry 1926 Edition indicate roughly the present importance of motor bus transportation According to this source there were in January 1926 a total of 69 425 motor buses in operation in the United States of which 37 500 were operating as common carriers and covering a total route mileage approximately as great as the steamrailroad mileage of the country The development of this new industry has had an important in fluence upon the existing transportation agencies and in addition it has created an extensive field of employment for labor The total number of motor bus operators in the United States is not known but as there are approximately 70 000 buses in operation many of T 764 WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR which carry a conductor as well as a driver and many that operate more than one shift per day it is evident that the total number of bus operators is now very large In order to throw some light on the working conditions of this large T and growing number of bus operators the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 1926 has made a preliminary survey of the wages and hours of labor of employees in the cities of Chicago and New York The re sults are shown in detail in the accompanying table The data col lected cover 1 557 employees in Chicago and 1 580 in New York In both cities the services Tepresented were partly urban and partly interurban As indicated in the table both wage rates and working hours are extremely variable In Chicago the hourly rates varied from 42 9 to 87 5 cents and the full time weekly rates from 25 to 52 50 The regular hours of work ranged from an 8 hour day and a 6 day week to an 11 hour day and a 7 day week In New York the variations in wages and hours were similarly wide W A G E R A T E S A N D H O U R S OF W O R K OF A U TO B U S O P E R A T O R S M A Y 1926 Rate of wages C ity com pany and occupation Per hour Per week full time Chicago Com pany N o 1 Drivers first 3 m onths Drivers second 3 months Drivers third 3 months Drivers tenth to fifteenth m onth Drivers sixteenth to twenty first m onth Conductors Com pany N o 2 Drivers Conductors and lecturers Com pany N o 3 Drivers first 6 m onths Drivers second 6 months Drivers second year Drivers third year Drivers fourth year Drivers after fourth year Conductors first 6 months Conductors second 6 m onths Conductors second year Conductors third year Conductors fourth year Conductors after fourth year Com pany No 4 Drivers first 6 months Drivers after 6 months C om pany N o 5 D rivers D rivers D rivers Com pany N o 6 Drivers Conductors long distance tours Conductors sight seeing coaches Com pany N o 7 Drivers ComDanv N o 8 Drivers Estimated average 2 A nd tips each extra trip 4 1 each extra trip 8 Maxim um after which overtime rate is paid Rated according to ability regardless of length of service 7 Overtime for extra drivers 61 cents per hour E very other Sunday off with pay Hours Full For For For day Saturday full week over Sun holi time days days Regulor rate muttiplied by X l 9X1 9X r 1 9X i9 X 9X 9X 66X 9X 66X 9M 66M 9 X M X 9XrWX 9X 66X l g g ix ix 1H IX IX IX IX IX IX IX IX IX IX IX IX IX IX IX 1 1 1 l l l l l 9Xr 9X X 57 9Xr 9M IX 65 l l l l 1 l l l l io io MOTOR BUS OPERATORS W AGE RA TE S AND HOURS OF W ORK OF AUTO BUS OPERATORS M AT Con Rate of wages C ity com pany and occupation Per hour Chicago C ontinued Com pany N o 9 Drivers Conductors and lecturers Com pany N o 10 Drivers Company N o 11 Drivers Company N o 12 Drivers Com pany N o 13 Drivers Company N o 14 Drivers New York City Company N o 1 Drivers first 2 m onths Drivers first 2 m onths Drivers after 2 months Drivers after 2 months Company N o 2 Drivers Company N o 3 Drivers Company No 4 Drivers first year Drivers first year Drivers second year Drivers second year Drivers third year Drivers third year Drivers fourth year Drivers fourth year Drivers after 4 years Drivers after 4 years Conductors first year Conductors first year Conductors second year Conductors second year Conductors third year Conductors third year Conductors fourth year Conductors fourth year Conductors after 4 years Conductors after 4 years Company No 5 Drivers Company No 6 Drivers Company No 7 Drivers first 3 months Drivers first 3 months Drivers after 3 months Drivers after 3 m on th s Company No 8 Drivers first 6 m onths Drivers second 6 m onths Drivers third 6 months Drivers fourth 6 months Drivers fifth 6 m on th s Drivers sixth 6 m onths Drivers after 3 years Drivers interstate Company No 9 D rivers D rivers D riv ers Company No 10 Drivers Drivers Per week full time For For For over Sun holi time days days Hours Full day Saturday full week Regular rate multiplied by io io ii 0 875 H K 455 W i l 38 64 is w 40 88 i 51 10 M i 833 u 556 is 952 h m i 11 7 X 17 IX 11X 7 17 ix 1 1X 7 1 1X M 11K 70 9X i 0 48M U 8U X 8X 59X X 8X 51X 1 7IX 1 7IX 1 7IX 17IX 17IX 1 7IX 1 7IX 17IX 17IX M m 7 17IX 17IX 17IX 17IX Xr 934 57 Q 934 57 X 9X Rated according to ability regardless of length 1 After completion of regular runs 7 of service 18 40 per week June 21 to Labor D ay N o hourly rate hours vary from 3 to 15 per day i Varies 1 to 7 per trip io M inim um rate majority are paid higher salary 3 One day off every two weeks 0 and all receive tips 2 And bonus 1 n Changed June 1 1926 to 7 50 per day of 8 hours 22 One Sunday off per month 12 E very seventh and eighth day off with pay 2 One day off every 15 days 3 w For time on other than school bus 2 And 10 per week bonus June to October 4 i Minimum inclusive w Maximum a 3 per trip fi i0 Indefinite interurban route i 766 WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR Earnings and Hours in the Motor Vehicle Industry 1925 HE Bureau of Labor Statistics made a study of wages and hours of labor in the motor vehicle industry including passenger automobiles and trucks in 1922 and again in 1925 7 Many companies make nearly all of the several parts of a vehicle and also assemble the vehicle as a whole Other companies buy many parts and are engaged mainly in assembling the vehicle and placing it on the market In the bureau s studies the attempt has been to cover the manufacture of the entire machine and data were therefore obtained not only from factories turning out finished machines but also from those making bodies motors sheet metal stampings radiators forgings transmissions gears and axles The data are for one representative pay period in the year The 1925 figures are as of the late fall and winter and were obtained from 99 establishments The study covers practically all of the employees engaged in the manufacturing process in each of the several plants beginning with the employees who receive the raw material and end ing with those who load the finished product Executives power house employees office clerks persons engaged in drafting or experi mental work and building eonstruction employees are not included For a few large plants only a representative part of the total number of employees was taken as the inclusion of the total number of wage earners therein would have tended to impair the representative char acter of the averages for the States in which the plants are located Table 1 below shows for each occupation and for the industry average full time hours per week average earnings per hour and average full time weekly earnings in 1922 and 1925 The employ ment of women is so common in the industry that their wages are shown separately in many occupations The average earnings of males in all occupations combined in creased from 66 2 cents per hour in 1922 to 72 9 cents per hour in 1925 those of females from 43 8 to 46 7 cents and the average for the industry as a whole from 65 7 to 72 3 cents an increase of 10 per cent It is also seen that the average full time earnings per week of males in all occupations increased from 33 19 in 1922 to 36 67 in 1925 those of females from 22 05 to 23 40 and those of males and females combined from 32 92 to 36 37 The average full time hours per week for the industry increased from 50 1 in 1922 to 50 3 per week in 1925 In 1922 the highest average earnings per hour for males were 93 1 cents for letterers stripers and varnishers and the lowest ap prentices excepted 49 5 cents for laborers In dingmen made the highest average earnings per hour and laborers earned the lowest average per hour 57 cents The earnings of females in 1922 ranged from 35 2 cents for inspectors to 68 cents per hour for other skilled occupations and in 1925 ranged from 36 1 cents per hour for inspectors to 69 6 cents for ljathe operators T For complete report see Bui No 438 767 MOTOR VEHICLE INDUSTRY T a b le 1 AVERAGE HOURS AND EARNINGS IN THE M OTOR VEHICLE IN D U STRY BY OCCUPATION AN D SEX 1922 AND 1925 Occupation Sex Apprentices Male d o d o d o F e m a le Male d o d o F e m a le Male d o Fem ale d o M ale d o d o d o Female d o Male d o Female Male d o Female do M ale d o d o d o d o d o do d o F e m a le Male d o do Male do Fem ale do Male d o do d o d o do Fem ale do M ale do do do Fem ale Male d o Fem ale d o M a le d o Female d o Male do d o Fem ale do Assemblers axle Assemblers b od y fram e Assemblers chassis Assemblers final Assemblers frame Assemblers m otor Automatic operators lathe and screw ma chine Bench hands machine shop Blacksmiths B ody builders Boring mill operators Bumpers Crane operators Cutters d oth and leather Die setters sheet m etal s D ingm en Door hangers Drill press operators Forge shop helpers Gear cutter operators Grinding machine operators Hardeners Helpers Inspectors Laborers Lacquer rubbers Lathe operators Aver N um Aver Aver ber of Number age full age age full time time Year estab of em earn lish ployees hours ings per weekly earn per ments hour week ings Included in b od y builders in 1922 2 Included in sheet metal workers skilled in 1922 3 Included in other skilled occupations or in other employees in 1922 4 Included in trim bench hands in 1922 6 N ot found in 1922 process developed since WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR T a b l e 1 AVERAGE HOURS AND EARNINGS IN THE M OTOR VEHICLE IN D U STRY B Y OCCUPATION AND SEX 1922 A N D 1925 Continued Occupation Sex Letterers stripers and varnishers Male d o M achinists d o d o Metal finishers d o Metal panelers d o Milling machine operators do d o Fem ale d o M olders belt and d r i p Male Painters general d o d o Female Jfaint sprayers Male do vPlaner and shaper operators d o do Platers do Polishers and buffers d o d o Punch press operators d o d o Fem ale Sandblasters etc Male do f Sanders and rough stuff rubbers d o Sewing machine operators do d o Fem ale d o Male Sheet metal workers skilled Sheet metal workers do do i Fem ale Straighteners Male iTesters final and road d o do Testers motor M a le d o T ool and die makers d o d o T o p builders do d o Female d o Trim bench hands Male d o F em ale d o Varnish rubbers Male do Welders and braziers d o Welders spot and b u t t do Woodworking machine operators K do Other skilled occupations d o do Female d o Other employees Male d o Female d o All occupations A ll occupations male and female Male do Female d o Aver N um Aver Aver ber of Number age full age age full time time Year estab of em earn lish ployees hours ings per weekly per earn ments hour week ings a i Included in b od y builders in 1922 Included in other skilled occupations or in other employees in 1922 0 Included in painters general in 1922 769 MOTOR VEHICLE INDUSTRY Average hours and earnings in 1925 are shown in Table 2 for each State for 18 of the most important occupations for which data are shown in Table 1 In these 18 occupations are found 55 5 per cent of the male workers and 69 4 per cent of the female workers included in the 1925 study It will be observed that all of the important automo bile manufacturing States appear in the table and further that fig ures are given separately for females in several of the occupations T a b l e 2 A V E R A G E H O U R S A N D E A R N IN G S F O R 18 S E L E C T E D O C C U P A T IO N S IN T H E M O T O R V E H IC L E IN D U S T R Y B Y S E X A N D S T A T E 1925 Aver N um age ber of N um full estab ber of time em lish ployees hours per ments week State Aver age earn ings per hour Aver age full time weekly earn ings Aver N um age ber of N um full ber of estab time em lish hours ments ployees per week Assemblers axle male Illinois Indiana Michigan N ew Jersey N ew Y ork Ohio T otal Illinois Indiana Michigan N ew Jersey N ew Y ork Ohio Pennsylvania W isconsin P e n n s y lv a n ia W isconsin N ew Jersey and Ohio S Assemblers b o d y frame male Assemblers frame male Automatic operators lathe and screwmachine male Assemblers motor male Illinois In d ia n a M ichigan N ew Jersey N ew Y ork Ohio Pennsylvania W is c o n s in T otal Aver age full time weekly earn ings Assemblers chassis male T otal Aver age earn ings per hour Drill press operators male Drill press operators female Illinois M ichigan N ew J e rs e y N ew Y ork Ohio Pennsylvania Wisconsin Illinois and Ohio Indiana T otal i Data which were obtained in this occupation for but one establishment in a State were com bined with data for one or more other States averages for which were approximately the same to avoid publishing data for a single plant 770 WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR T a b le 2 AVERAGE HOURS AND EARNINGS FOR 18 SE LECTED OCCUPATIONS IN TH E M OT OR VEHICLE IN DU STRY B Y SEX A N D STATE 1925 Continued State Aver N um age ber of N um full ber of estab em time lish hours ments ployees per week Aver age earn ings per hour Aver age full time weekly earn ings Aver N um age ber of N um full estab ber of time em lish hours ments ployees per week Grinding machine operators male Inspectors male Total Wisconsin Inspectors female Laborers male T otal Laborers female Illinois TnrHftna M ichigan New Jersey New York O h i o Pennsylvania Wisconsin Lathe operators male T otal Lettercrs stripers and varnishers male Illinois In d ia n a M ichigan N ew Jersey N ew Y ork Ohio Pennsylvania Wisconsin Ohio and PennsylvaniaT ota l Aver age full time weekly earn ings Illinois Indiana M ichigan N ew J e r s e y N ew Y ork Ohio Tllinois TpHiana M ichigan N ew Jersey N ew Y o r k O h i o Pennsylvania W isconsin Illinois N ew York and Wisconsin Aver age earn ings per hour Machinists male i Data which were obtained in this occupation for but one establishment in a State were combined with data for one or more other States averages for which were approximately the same to avoid publishing data for a single plant 771 MOTOR VEHICLE INDUSTRY T a b l e 2 AVERAGE HOURS AND EARNINGS FOR 18 SELECTED OCCUPATIONS IN THE M OTOR VEHICLE IN DU STRY B Y SEX AN D STATE 1925 Continued State Aver N um age ber of Num full estab ber of time em hours lish ployees per ments week Aver age earn ings per hour Aver age full time weekly earn ings Milling machine operators male Illinois Indiana Michigan New Jersey N ew Y ork Ohio Pennsylvania W isconsin Illinois Indiana and Ohio C Total Aver Num N um age ber of full estab ber of time em lish ployees hours per ments week Aver age earn ings per hour Aver age full time weekly earn ings Sewing machine operators male Sewing machine operators female T ool and die makers male Illinois Indiana M ichigan N ew Jersey N ew Y ork O h io Pennsylvania Wisconsin Total T op builders male Illinois Indiana M ich ig a n N ew Jersey N ew Y ork O h io Pennsylvania Wisconsin N ew Jersey and New Y ork T otal T op builders female Total Trim bench hands male Illinois Indiana Michigan New Jersey N ew York Ohio Pennsylvania Wisconsin Illinois New Jersey and Pennsylvania New York and Penn sylvania l T rim bench hands female i Data which were obtained in this occupation for but one establishment in a State were combined with data for one or more other States averages for which were approximately the same to avoid pub lishing data for a single plant 772 WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR Regular Hours of Operation T H E regular or customary hours of an establishment are the nor mal hours of work as established by a fixed time for beginning work and for quitting work less the time off duty for lunch or dinner Regular hours per day in different plants may vary and yet the full time hours per week be the same that is one plant may operate all departments three 8 hour shifts on each of six days another may operate only a day shift of 8y2 hours Monday to Friday and 5y2 hours on Saturday In either of these cases the full time hours per week are 48 Also the regular hours of one department in an establishment may differ from the regular hours of other departments in the same establishment Such variations as to hours of operation were found in all but a few of the plants covered Allowance was made for these variations in computing average full time hours of the employees in each occupation Overtime Work r YERTIME work is usually regarded as work performed outside of the regular hours of operation and in most automobile plants is expected at certain seasons of the year In 1925 a few plants on account of heavy orders were operated overtime almost every week in the year Regular hours of operation were to be resumed however as soon as sufficient building space could be added to increase the production capacity The straight or regular rate for all overtime was paid by 41 of the 99 plants covered in 1925 An increase over the straight rate was paid to all employees by 38 plants and to the time workers by 9 plants xor overtime and for work on Sunday or holidays usually at the rate of time and a half One plant paid one and one fifth times the regular rate to the employees in one occupation Two plants paid extra for Sunday and holiday work only The remaining 8 plants limited extra pa for overtime to the employees of a department or of a few occupations or by a specified time or number of hours per day after which extra pay began Wages of Civil Employees Under the United States Naval Establishment 1927 s N DECEMBER 1926 the Navy Department published a schedule of wages covering all civil employees in the Naval Establishment and in the field service of the United States Marine Corps This schedule became effective January and is to remain in force the remainder of the calendar year The schedule has been very materially abridged both as to occupa tions and localities for publication below It is believed that the abridged statement however covers most of the items that are of I 8 U S N a v y D ep a rtm en t S ch ed u le o f w ages f o r c iv il em p loy ees u n d e r th e N a v a l E sta b lish m en t fo r th e ca len d a r y e a r 1927 W a sh in g ton 773 CIVIL EMPLOYEES IN NAVAL ESTABLISHMENT general interest The rates published are maximum rates The minimum rate is 10 cents under this maximum rate and there is an intermediate rate 5 cents under the maximum rate table 1 H O U R L Y W A G E R A T E S IN C L O T H IN G W O R K E R S S E R V IC E Navy Supply Depot Brooklyn N Y Rato per hour Occupation Assistant custom cutter B a ster Bushelman Canvas irmfrgr Chopper Cloth sponger Clothing examiner Coat finisher Coat maker Coat operator Collar maker Custom cutter Cutting machine operator Cutter and marker Die machine operator Rate per hour Occupation Double needle operator Dress coat maker Finish presser Fitter General tailor Head custom cutter Head buttonhole maker Operator female Pocket maker Trim mer Trouser finisher Trouser maker Trouser operator Underpresser Vest maker Depot of Supplies United States Marine Corps Philadelphia Pa Baster Coat fitter Coat maker Coat operator Custom cutter Cutter Cutter and marker Designer embroideress Embroideress Examiner nlot hing Finisher Operator female Presser Sponger Tailor first class Tailor second class Trimmer T able 2 O U R L Y R A T E S OF W A G E S I N T H E L A B O R E R H E L P E R A N D M E C H A N IC A L H S E R V IC E Trade or occupation Bos N ew Phila W ash Nor Charles N ew Mare Puget Great ing Or Is ton Y ork del folk ton ton phia leans land Sound Lakes Group I Laborer com m on i Group II Hammer runner H eavy Others Helper Blacksm ith s H eavy fire s Other fires Boilermaker s Coppersmith s Electrician s Flange turner s Forgers h e a v y General Machinist s Molder s i Rate for laborer common at Naval Powder Factory Indianhead M d and Naval Proving Ground Dahlgren Va 0 50 per hour 774 WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR T a b l e 3 HOURLY KATES OF WAGES IN THE LABORER HELPER AND M ECH ANICAL SERVICE Continued Trade or occupation Wash New Mare Bos New Phila ing Nor Charles Or Is Puget Great del folk ton Sound Lakes ton York phia ton leans land Group II Continued Helper C ontinued Pipefitter s f Sheet metal worker s Shipfitter s W oodworker s Hodcarrier TTnldftr nn Tjaborer classified Oiler Rivet heater Sand bias ter Stablekeeper Stevedore Teamster Group III Anglesmith H eavy fires Other fires Blacksmith H eavy fires Other fires Boat builder RniiArTTiakei Box m ak er Brakemen Buffer and polisher Butcher Calker w ood Calker and chipper iron Cement finisher Cement worker Chauffeur Conductor r a ilr o a d Cooper Coppersmith C r a n e m a n e le c t r ic u n d e r 20 to n s Cupola tender Diesinker D iv er Driller Electricians Electroplater Engineman Locom otive Hoisting and portable Steam shovel Fireman Flange turner Forger D rop H eavy Foundry chipper Frame bender Furnace man Angle w ork Foundry Heater H eavy forge heater Other forge Galvanizer Gardener Instrument maker J o in e r Ladle man foundry Lead burner Leather worker J Letterer and grainer Loftsman Machine operator Machinist Mason brick or stone M elter Electric Open hearth iri6 M illm an M older Rate for laborer classified at Naval Powder Factory Indianhead M d and Naval Proving Ground Dahlgren Va 0 50 per hour PAPER BOX BOARD INDUSTRY T a b le 2 HOURLY R ATES OF WAGES IN THE LABORER HELPER AND M ECH AN ICAL SERVICE Continued Trade or occupation Wash Bos New Phila ing Nor Charles New Mare Puget Great Or Is ton York del folk ton ton leans land Sound Lakes phia Ordnance m an Packer P a in te r Pattern makftr Pipe coverer and insulator Pipefitter Plasterer Plum ber Printer job Puncher and shearer Rigger Riveter R odm an Sailmaker Sawfiler Sewer Sheet metal worker Shipfitter i Shipwright Tile and plate setter Toolmaker Trackm an Upholsterer Water tender Welder Electric Gas Wharf builder Group IVb Apprentice First c la ss Second class Third class Fourth class Wages and Hours of Labor in the Paper Box Board Industry 1925 HE Bureau of Labor Statistics collected data concerning wages and hours of labor in this industry in 1925 from 70 establish ments in 21 States 9 The figures for each establishment are for a representative pay period of two weeks during the spring or summer To avoid identification of plants certain States were grouped The Other New England 5 group includes Maine New Hampshire 5 and Vermont Group 1 of the Southern States includes Virginia and West Virginia and Group 2 consists of Alabama Georgia Loui siana South Carolina and Tennessee The days of operation for the 12 months ending December for 68 of the 70 establishments covered ranged from 63 to 311 the average for those reporting being 270 days The difference between this average and the possible full time of 366 days was due to the following conditions 62 establishments did not operate on any Sunday 5 establishments were closed from 42 to 51 Sundays and 1 was closed on 11 Sundays Six establishments were closed on all Saturdays 1 was closed on all except 2 14 from 35 to 48 and 15 from 1 to 28 Saturdays Sixtyseven establishments were closed for holidays from 2 to 13 days 49 were closed on account of market conditions from 2 to 80 days T a For complete report see Bui No 407 776 WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR and 19 establishments were closed for repairs from one half day to 231 days Seven establishments were closed from 1 to 7 days for such causes as no fuel oil high or low water electrical trouble fire and vacation Between January and the period of this survey a number of changes took place in both wage rates and hours of labor Twelve establishments reported changes in wage rates which affected all the productive employees In these establishments the increases in hourly rates ranged from 5 to 50 per cent depending on the occu pation Three of the establishments reported that since their plant changed to 5 day operation employees working 4 nights or more received an additional 13 hours pay that is the same pay for 5 nights that was previously received for 6 Two of the 12 establish ments reported decreases to tour bosses only ranging from 14 to 17 per cent of their weekly earnings Twenty four establishments reported a decrease in the weekly hours of labor These reductions affected the tour workers in 23 of these establishments while in one establishment the working time of yard employees only was reduced 1 hour a day In 19 plants the days of operation were reduced from 6 days to 5 days a week the regular weekly hours thereby being decreased from 72 to 60 hours in 8 establishments from 48 to 40 hours in 7 establishments from 72 to 40 hours in 3 establishments and from 65 to 40 hours in 1 establishment Three other plants that had previously been operating 5 days a week reduced their hours from 60 to 40 and another establishment reduced its weekly hours from 72 to 48 A summary by States showing average full time hours earnings per hour and full time earnings is shown below It will be noted that the average full time hours for two weeks range from 98 8 in Massachusetts to 137 8 in Group 2 of the Southern States the aver age for all States being 108 6 The average earnings per hour range from 30 1 cents in Group 2 of the Southern States to 62 3 cents in Massachusetts which exactly reverses the standing of the States as compared with average full time hours The average full time earn ings for two weeks range from 41 48 in Group 2 of the Southern States to 62 70 in New Jersey and Pennsylvania the average for all States being 56 25 T a b l e 1 A V E R A G E H O U R S A N D E A R N IN G S IN T H E P A P E R B O X B O A R D I N D U S T R Y B Y S T A T E S 1925 M A L E E M P L O Y E E S O N L Y N um ber of State Estab Em lishments ployees Average full time hours per 2 weeks Average earnings per hour Average full time earnings per 2 weeks M assachu setts Connecticut Other New England States New York N ew Jersey and Pennsylvania Ohio Indiana Illin ois Michigan Minnesota and W isconsin Southern States Group Group Total 777 POTTERY INDUSTRY The following table shows similar data for each occupation A study of the table shows that the average full time hours per two weeks range from 97 8 for finisher s helpers to 117 0 for rewinders finishing room the average for all occupations being 108 6 The average earnings per hour range from 28 3 cents for other employees female to 79 9 cents for machine tenders the average for all occu pations being 51 7 cents The average full time earnings for two weeks range from 30 51 for other employees female to 83 42 for machine tenders the average for all occupations being 56 15 The averages in both this and the preceding table are computed from full time hours per week hours actually worked and earnings actually received by each employee during the representative pay period used Full time hours as used in these tables means the number of hours fixed by the establishments as constituting the regular working hours for the period specified T able 2 A V E R A G E H O U R S A N D E A R N IN G S IN T H E P A P E R B O X B O A R D I N D U S T R Y 1925 B Y O C C U P A T IO N A N D S E X Num ber of Occupation and sex Average full time hours Estab E m p lo y per 2 weeks lishments ees Male Head beatermen Assistant head beatermen Plug pullers Jordan men Beater helpers Machine tenders Back tenders Third hands Finishers W inderm en Finishers helpers Weighers Cutter b oys Broke boys Screen m en Felt checkers Finishers finishing room Cutters finishing r o o m Rewinders finishing room Laborers Other employees All occupations male Female Other employees All occupations male and female Average earnings per hour Average full time earnings per 2 weeks I t w ill b e n oted th a t finish ers h elp ers a re sh ow n to h a ve receiv ed a s lig h tly h ig h er a v e ra g e ra te p er hou r th a n finishers T h is is due to th e fa c t th a t in th e 11 esta b lish m en ts e m p loy in g b oth finish ers an d finish ers h elpers the a vera ge ea rn in g s p e r h o u r o f th e la tte r a re high er th a n th ose o f finish ers in esta b lish m en ts w h ere o n ly fin ish ers a re em ployed Wages and Hours of Labor in the Pottery Industry 1925 URING the summer and early fall of 1925 the Bureau of Labor Statistics with the cooperation of the manufacturers and the wage earners made a study of wages hours and earnings and other conditions in the general ware pottery industry in the United States 1 General ware pottery includes table ware and such other 0 D 1 For complete report see Bui No 778 WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR articles as may be made incidentally therewith The study did not cover other sanitary ware or any industrial porcelain Data were obtained for 10 323 wage earners in 46 potteries making semivitreous ware and for 2 684 wage earners in potteries making vitreous ware The study was limited to a representative two week pay period To avoid identification and to meet the request of many of the potteries the data are presented in six groups of establishments these groups being specified in the prefatory note at the top of Table 1 Space does not permit giving in this article figures for all occupa tions therefore only representative occupations appear in the table Averages are shown also for each class of ware for all males and all females and for all employees of both sexes combined Compar ing averages for semivitreous ware it is seen that the employees of each sex worked approximately the same number of days and hours that all males collectively earned an average of 52 44 in two weeks 5 70 per day and 70 5 cents per hour and that females earned 26 54 in two weeks 2 99 per day and 38 5 cents per hour In comparing these general figures it must be borne in mind that there is much difference in the character and class of the work performed by males and by females in a pottery The averages for both sexes in semivitreous potteries show 9 1 days or 72 5 hours worked in two weeks and 8 hours per day and 43 27 earned in two weeks 4 76 per day and 59 6 cents per hour In two weeks there are 12 working days As stated above the employees of semivitreous potteries worked an average of 9 1 days The loss of 2 9 days in two weeks was due principally to the fact that a very large majority of the potteries were not operated on Saturday thus accounting for approximately 2 days o f lost time Several potteries were operated less than 5 days per week or less than 10 days in two weeks and frequently work was not available for some employees1even though the pottery was operating On the other hand a few employees did not work the full time available because of sickness or personal business or because of entering or leaving employment in the pottery This has its influence on earn ings Most of the potteries especially the semivitreous complained that business conditions were poor The normal or customary hours of operation of the great majority of the potteries included in the study are 9 per day and 54 per weeK Working hours in a pottery however are more nominal than normal as so many employees are pieceworkers and to quite an extent de termine their own time In actual practice a very considerable percentage of the employees especially those in the clay shop kilns and dipping room work considerably less than 9 hours per day or 54 per week some not more than 6 6 or 7 hours per day This condition was quite pronounced in the period under study 779 POTTERY INDUSTRY T a b le 1 AVERAGE DAYS HOURS AND EARNINGS IN THE PO T TE R Y IN DUSTRY B Y OCCUPATION SEX AN D GROUP OF PLANTS 1925 Groups and 5 are semivitreous plants Group 1 includes 11 plants of 4 large companies 5 of which are located in East Liverpool Ohio and 6 in near by W est Virginia Group 2 includes 11 plants of other companies in East Liverpool Group 3 includes 15 plants in Ohio outside East Liverpool 2 in Pennsylvania and 1 in West Virginia Group 4 includes 3 plants in Trenton Group 5 includes 3 plants 1 each in Maryland Tennessee and Virginia Group 6 includes 7 vitreous plants 3 in N ew York 2 in Pennsylvania and 1 each in N ew Jersey and West Virginia Occupation sex and group Number of Average Average hours Average earnings worked number of days worked Estab E m in two Per lish ployees weeks In two Per In two Per weeks d a y weeks day hour ments Semivitreous ware Groups l t o 5 Slip makers male Group Group Group Group Group a 7 9 0 s T otal M old runners male Group Group Group Group Group T otal Finishers female Group Group Group Group Group T otal Turners male Group Group Group Group Group T otal Laborers slip house male Group Group Group Group Group T otal Batters out male Group Group Group Group Group T otal Jigger men Group Group Group Group Group T otal Handlers male Group Group Group Group Group Total 780 WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR T a b le 1 AVERAGE DAYS HOURS AND EARNINGS IN THE P O T T E R Y INDUSTRY BY OCCUPATION SEX AND GROUP OF PLANTS 1925 Continued Occupation sex and group Average hours Number of Average Average earnings worked number of days worked Estab Em in two Per lish ployees weeks In two Per In two Per weeks day weeks day hour ments Semivitreous ware Groups 1 to 6 Contd Casters male Group Group Group Group Group T otal Sagger makers hand male Group Group Group Group Group T otal Sagger makers machine m ale 1 Group Group Group Group T otal K iln placers bisque male Group Group Group Group Group T ota l K iln drawers bisque and glost male Group Group Group Group Group T o t a l Drawers in warehouse bisque and glost female Group Group Group Group Group Brashers female Group Group Group Group Group T o t a l Total Dippers male Group Group Group Group Group T ota l Include operators weighers and finishers as found in various potteries POTTERY INDUSTRY T a b le 1 AVERAGE DAYS HOURS AND EARNINGS IN THE P O T TE R Y IN D U S T R Y B Y OCCUPATION SEX AND GROUP OF PLANTS 1925 Continued Occupation sex and group N um ber of Average Average hours Average earnings worked number of days worked Estab E m Per Per lish ployees in two In two Per In two day weeks weeks day weeks hour ments Semivitreous ware Group 1 to 6 Contd Dippers helpers female Group Group Group Group T o t a l Kiln placers glost male Group Group Group Group Group Total Dressers female Group Group Group Group Group Total Warehousemen Group Group Group Group Group T ota l Gilders and liners male Group Group Group Group Group Total Gilders and liners female Group Group Group Group Group T otal Transferrers decalcomania and print fe male Group Group Group Group Group Total Kiln placers and drawers decorating male Group Group Group Group Group T otal 782 T WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR able 1 AVERAGE DAYS HOURS AND EARNINGS IN THE P O T TE R Y IN DU STRY BY OCCUPATION SEX AND GROUP OF PLANTS 1925 Continued Occupation sex and group Average hours Num ber of Average Average earnings worked number of days Estab E m worked Per lish ployees in two In two Per In two Per weeks weeks day weeks day hour ments Semivitreous ware Group 1 to 5 Contd Packers male Group Group Group Group Group T otal Total male Group Group Group Group Group T otal Total female Group Group Group Group Group T o t a l Total male and female Group Group Group Group Group T ota l Vitreous ware Group 6 Slip makers male Laborers slip house male Batters out m ale Jigger m en M old runners male Finishers female Turners male Handlers male Casters m ale Laborers sagger shop male Sagger makers hand male Sagger makers machine male TTiln placers bisque male Kiln drawers bisque and glost male Drawers in warehouse bisque and glost fe m a le Brushers female Dippers male Dippers helpers male Kiln placers glost male Dressers male Dressers female W arehousemen Gilders and liners male Gilders and liners female Transferers decalcomania and print fe male Printers m ale Kiln placers and drawers decorating m ale Packers male A ll occupations m ale A ll occupations female A ll occupations male and female i LOTTERY INDUSTRY 783 The number of glost kilns drawn by the pottery industry as a whole during a specified period of time and the amount of the pay roll totals are each indicative of the general trend of business and of employment during that period To obtain an index of production and thus be able to show ap proximately the trend of the pottery industry the bureau obtained the number of glost kilns drawn each month January 1923 to Sep tember 1925 whenever available from the records from each of the potteries included in the study Glost kilns drawn do not of course perfectly represent the amount of employment in a pottery as a whole as stock may accumulate preparatory to firing or the glost kiln may be unusually active for a short time and draw on accumu lated stock Index numbers based on the aggregate number of glost kilns drawn appear in Table 2 together with index numbers of wages paid as taken from pay roll totals The bureau for several years has been receiving monthly reports as to the number of employees and pay roll totals for the pay period of each month that ends nearest the 15th from a large number of manufacturing establishments including the majority of the pot teries covered in this wage study During the wage study pay roll totals were obtained from most of the other potteries visited Nearly all potteries have a two week pay roll thus the employ ment reports in the main speak for the first half of each month The bureau in its employment study has felt that it could not ask for a report for every pay period during the year When pay rolls are assembled in large numbers the one pay period of the month is considered fairly representative of the month as a whole In this wage study it was not deemed expedient to ask the pot teries to go back through old records to get out pay roll data to furnish full month pay roll figures Thus the glost kilns drawn represented the full month with its variable number of working days while the pay roll totals roughly represent the first half of each month However with this limitation the trend of the figures through the 33 month period fairly represent production and em ployment conditions of the industry No wage adjustments of any importance were made during the period covered During the wage study the semivitreous potteries especially generally complained of the depressed conditions of their industry as compared with 1923 and the early part of 1924 and also as com pared with the busy years preceding the depression of 1921 Figures of this table confirm the general statement as to low business since the summer of 1924 The employers in a few vitreous plants spoke in a little more hopeful way which their figures appear to warrant 784 WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR T able 2 IN D E X NUM BERS OP PRODU CTION AND OF EM PLO Y M E N T IN THE POT T E R Y IN DU STRY JANUARY 1923 TO SEPTEM BER 1925 January Index numbers Year and month Semivitreous Index numbers Vitreous Year and month Glost A m ou n t Glost A m ou nt kilns of pay kilns of pay rolls draw n rolls January February M arch April M a y Vitreous Glost A m o u n t Glost A m ou n t kilns of pay kilns of pay d raw n rolls draw n rolls d raw n 1923 January February M arch A pril M a y June July August September October Novem ber D ecem ber Semivitreous 1924 June July August September October November December January February M arch April M a y J u n e July August September Earnings of Steam Railroad Employees 1926 ACH year the Interstate Commerce Commission publishes a summary of wage statistics of Class I steam roads in the United States including switching and terminal companies The report for the year 1926 covered employees The fol lowing table has been drawn from the summary for the two years stated Total time worked as shown in the table includes both straight time and overtime E E A R N IN G S OF S T E A M R A IL R O A D E M P L O Y E E S IN 1925 A N D 1926 D d a ys H hours 1926 Occupation Average number of em ployees Average time worked per employee days or hours during year Total U nit time i Average earnings per employee Per year 1925 Aver age earn ings per day or hour Per day or hour I Executives officials and staff assistants Executives general officers and assistants Division officers assistants and staff assistants D D Total II Professional clerical and general D Architectural chemical and engineering assistants A Architectural chemical and engineering assistants B D D i Includes both regular and overtime 785 STEAM RAILROAD EMPLOYEES EARNINGS OF STEAM RAILROAD EM PLOYEES IN 1925 AND 1926 Continued 1926 Occupation Average number of em ployees Average time worked per employee days or hours during year U nit II Professional clerical and general Continued Subprofessional engineering and laboratory assistants Professional and subprofessional legal assistants Supervisory or chief clerks major departments Chief clerks minor departments and assistants Clerks and clerical specialists A Clerks B Clerks C Mechanical device operators office Stenographers and secretaries A Stenographers and typists B Storekeepers sales agents and buyers Ticket agents and assistant ticket a gents Traveling auditors or accountants Switchboard operators and office assistants Messengers and office boys Elevator operators and other attendants Lieutenants and sergeants of police Patrolmen Watchmen without police authority Supervising traffic agents Traffic advertising and development agents Fire and time service inspectors and office superin tendents Claim agents and investigators Real estate and tax agents and investigators Examiners instructors and special investigators Miscellaneous trades workers other than plum bers Motor vehicle operators Teamsters and stablemen Janitors and cleaners Total time Average earnings per employee Per Per day year or hour D D D D H H H H H H H H D H D H D H H D D D D D D H H H H Total D aily basis H ourly basis III Maintenance of way and structures D H Roadmasters and general foremen Assistant general foremen Supervising and scale inspectors Inspectors Bridge and building workers Gang foremen skilled labor Carpenters Ironworkers Painters Masons bricklayers plasterers and plumbers Skilled trades helpers Regular apprentices Portable steam equipment operators Portable steam equipment operators helpers Pumping equipment operators Gang foremen Extra gang and work train laborers Bridge and building signal and telegraph laborers Gang or section foremen Laborers Extra gang and work train Track and roadway section Other than track and roadway Signal telegraph and electrical transmission General foremen and supervising inspectors Assistant general foremen and inspectors Gang foremen signal and telegraph skilled trades Linemen and groundm en Signal men and maintainers Signal men and maintainer helpers Assistant signal men and maintainers Total Daily basis H ourly basis 1925 A ver age earn ings per day or hour D D H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H D D H H H H H D H WAGES AND HOURS OP LABOR EARNINGS OF STEAM RAILROAD EM PLOYEES IN 1925 AN D 1926 Continued 1926 Occupation Average number of em ployees Average time worked per employee days or hours during year Total U nit time Average earnings per employee 1925 A ver age earn ings per day or hour Per Per day year or hour IV Maintenance of equipment and stores General foremen maintenance Assistant general foremen and department foremen maintenance General foremen stores Assistant general foremen stores Equipment shop and electrical inspectors mainte nance Material and supplies inspectors Gang foremen and gang leaders skilled la b o r Blacksmiths Boilermakers Carmen A Carmen B Carmen C Carmen D Electrical workers A Electrical workers B Electrical workers C Machinists Sheet metal workers Skilled trades helpers Helper apprentices Regular apprentices Shops engine houses power plants and stores Gang foremen laborers Laborers Comm on laborers Coach cleaners Stationary engineers steam Stationary firemen and oilers steam and electrical plants Coal passers and water tenders steam station boiler room s Total D aily b a s is H ourly basis D D D D Oil D D H H H H H H H H H H H H II H H H H H H H H H H D H V Transportation other than train engine and yard Chief train dispatchers and train dispatchers and direc5 418 Station agents Supervisory major station nontelegraphers Supervisory smaller stations nontelegraphers Nonsupervisory smaller stations nontelegraphers Telegraphers and telephoners Chief telegraphers and telephoners or wire chiefs Clerk telegraphers and clerk telephoners Telegraphers telephoners and towermen Station masters and assistants Supervising baggage agents Baggage agents and assistants Baggage parcel room and station attendants Freight stations warehouses grain elevators and docks General foremen Assistant general foremen Gang foremen Callers loaders scalers sealers perishable freight in spectors Truckers stations warehouses and platforms Laborers Coal and ore docks and grain elevators Stations warehouses platforms and grain elevators H D H H H H H H D D H H H H H H H H H STEAM RAILROAD EMPLOYEES EARNINGS OF STEA M R A ILR O A D E M PLOYEES IN 1925 A N D 1926 Continued 1926 Occupation Average number of em ployees Average time worked per employee days or hours during year Unit Total time Average earnings per em ployee 1925 A ver age earn ings per day or hour Per Per day year or hour V Transportation other than train engine and yard Continued Stewards restaurant etc managers and dining car su pervisors Chefs and first cooks dining cars and restaurants Second and third cooks dining cars and restaurants Waiters and lodging house attendants Camp and crew conks and kitchen helpers Barge lighter etn officers and workers Ferryboats and towing vessels Deck officers Engine room officers Deck and engine room workers Deck and engine room officers and workers steamers Floating equipinent shore workers and attendants Transportation and dining service inspectors Parlor and sleeping car conductors Train attendants Bridge operators and helpers Crossing and bridge flagmen and gatemen Foremen laundry and laundry workers H H H H H H H H H H H D H H H D H Total Daily basis Hourly basis D H Yardmasters and assistants Switch tenders Outside hostlers Inside hostlers Outside hostler helpers Total D aily basis Hourly basis D H H H H D H H H H H H H VI a Transportation yardmastersf switch tenders and hostlers VI 6 Transportation train and engine Road passenger service Conductors Assistant conductors and ticket collectors Baggagemen Brakemen and flagmen Engineers and motormen Firemen and helpers R oad freight service Conductors through freight Conductors local and way freight Brakemen and flagmen through freight Brakemen and flagmen local and way freight Engineers and motormen through freight Engineers and motormen local and way freight Firemen and helpers through freight Firemen and helpers local and way freight Yard service Conductors and foremen Brakemen and helpers Engineers and motormen Firemen and helpers TT 9 537 l H H H H H H T otal H Grand total Daily basis Hourly basis D H 788 W A G E S A N D H O U R S OF L A B O R Wages and Hours of Labor in Sawmills 1925 SURVEY of hours of labor and earnings in the lumber manu facturing industry in the United States was made during the summer of 1925 and covered 23 States 1 Schedules were 1 obtained from 299 representative sawmills the data being copied directly from the establishment pay rolls The number of employees scheduled was 61 193 approximately 20 per cent of the wage earners in the industry as shown by the United States Census report of 1919 Of the total number of employees scheduled 38 were women found working in a common labor capacity in 5 mills in 4 States and were not included in the following tables Owing to the fact that some employees were found working at more than one occupation during the pay period scheduled some duplications were necessary in order to show each occupation separately The comparative changes in wage rates and hours in the industry as a whole are shown by the following table of index numbers for the years indicated from 1910 to 1925 on the basis of 1913 as 100 A T a b l e 1 I N D E X N U M B E R S OF H O U R S A N D E A R N IN G S IN S A W M IL L S IN S P E C IF IE D Y E A R S 1910 TO Year Full time hours per week Earnings per hour Full time earnings per week The customary hours worked by the industry w rere quite uniform from 1910 to 1915 During the war period the hours were reduced 8 per cent from the 1913 hours as shown by the index number 92 for 1919 from 1921 to 1925 the hours worked were 6 per cent less than in 1913 The earnings per hour fluctuated somewhat from 1910 to 1915 ranging from an index of 91 in 1915 to 100 in 1913 In 1919 the rate jumped sharply increasing 94 per cent over the 1913 earnings In 1921 the rate dropped about 14 per cent from 1919 as indicated by the index 166 In 1923 it increased to 180 and dropped back only 2 points in 1925 Full time earnings per week showed about the same relative fluctuations as the earnings per hour Table 2 shows average full time hours per week average earnings per hour and average full time weekly earnings for the employees in 11 selected occupations in 1925 All of the remaining employees are grouped under Other employees Comparative figures are also shown for 1923 The figures for 1925 show an increase in full time hours when com pared with 1923 in each of 8 occupations and a decrease in 1 occupation In 2 occupations no change occurs 1 F or complete report see Bui No 789 SAWMILLS In comparing the earnings per hour for the years 1923 and 1925 a decrease is shown in 10 occupations and an increase in 1 occupa tion Full time earnings per week show decreases in 8 occupations and increases in 3 occupations I9K Z In the group of Other employees Hours and earnings both increased between 1923 and 1925 T able 2 A V E R A G E H O U R S A N D E A R N IN G S F O R 11 S E L E C T E D O C C U P A T IO N S IN S A W M IL L S 1923 A N D Occupation Tear N um ber of estab lishments Number of employees Average full time hours per week Sawyers head band HO Sawyers head circular Doggers Setters Saw tailers head s a w Sawyers gang Sawyers resaw Edgermen Trimmer operators Machine feeders planing m ill Laborers Other employees All employees Average earnings per hour Average full time earnings per week WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR Average full time hours per week average earnings per hour and average full time earnings per week as of 1925 are shown by States for laborers and head band sawyers in Table 3 These two occupa tions are shown in detail as one represents the great mass of un skilled employees and the other represents the most highly skilled and the highest paid employees in the industry Of the 299 establishments 257 reported head sawyers on band saws 25 reported head sawyers on circular saws and 17 reported head sawyers on both band and circular saws The full time hours per week of head sawyers band ranged from 48 hours in the States of Idaho Oregon and Washington to 62 1 hours in South Carolina the average for all States combined was 57 7 hours Average earnings per hour in this occupation ranged from 66 9 cents in Pennsylvania to 1 14 in Washington and the average for all States combined was 87 7 cents Average full time weekly earnings ranged from 39 67 in Pennsylvania to 63 54 in Florida Although Washington leads in average hourly earnings Florida exceeds her in average weekly earnings by 8 82 This difference is caused by the much smaller number of hours worked in Washington The average full time earnings for all States combined was 50 60 per week About 60 per cent of all employees reported are classified as laborers Their full time hours per week ranged from 48 hours in Idaho and Oregon to 60 7 hours in Louisiana the average for all States combined was 57 5 hours Average hourly earnings showed a very wide range the average for South Carolina being 17 3 cents while in Oregon it was 48 6 cents the average for all States com bined was 30 9 cents Full time weekly earnings ranged from 10 48 in South Carolina to 25 27 in California with an average in all States of 17 77 Table 3 V E R A G E A H O U R S A N D E A R N IN G S OF S A W Y E R S H E A D B A N D A N D O F L A B O R E R S B Y S T A T E S 1925 Sawyers head band State Number of estab lishments Num ber of em ployees Average full time hours per week Average earnings per hour Average full time earnings per week Alabama Arkansas California Florida Georgia Idaho K entucky Louisiana M aine Michigan M innesota T Mississippi M ontana North Carolina Oregon Pennsylvania South Carolina Tennessee Texas V irg in ia W ashington W est Virginia W isconsin Total 791 SEAMEN T able 3 AV E R AG E HOURS A N D EARN INGS OF SAW YERS H E A D BAN D A N D OF LABORERS B Y STATES 1925 Continued Laborers Num ber of estab lishments State Alabama A rkan sas Average full time hours per week Average earnings per hour Average full time earnings per week California F lorida Georgia Idaho Kentucky Louisiana M aine Michigan M inn esota Mississippi Montana North Carolina Oregon Pennsylvania South Carolina Tennessee Texas Virginia Washington West Virginia W isconsin Total N um ber of em ployees Wages of Seamen 1926 HE Bureau of Navigation of the United States Department of Commerce compiles detailed data including wage rates of seamen in the American merchant marine with comparative wage rates of other countries The tables below are compiled from its publication Merchant Marine Statistics 1926 All wages shown in these tables except American are taken from consular reports The American figures are averages taken from reports of shipping commissioners The wages on foreign vessels are stated in the United States equivalents of the foreign values taken at the exchange rate on January 1 of the year named When more than one rate has been reported for foreign vessels due to length of service or other conditions the highest is usually given in the table The wages on American motor ships average about 10 per cent more than on steamships Table 1 gives a summary view of the average monthly wage rates of four typical classes of seamen as of January for the United States and for certain important foreign countries T 792 WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR T a b l e 1 A V E R A G E M O N T H L Y W A G E S OF C E R T A IN C LASSES O F A M E R I C A N A N D F O R E IG N S E A M E N ON S T E A M A N D M O T O R C A R G O V E SSE L S OF 5 000 GROSS TO N S OR O V E R J A N U A R Y Able sea men Nationality American P rivate United States Shipping B oard British Danish D u tch French German Italian Norwegian Spanish Swedish Carpenters Chief engi neers M3 Firemen Wages were somewhat reduced b y an agreement in force from M a y to Feb Table 2 gives detailed data similar to the above for all classes of seamen and for the three years and A V E R A G E M O N T H L Y W A G E S OF A M E R IC A N A N D F O R E IG N S E A M E N ON S T E A M A N D M O T O R C A R G O V E S SE LS OF 5 000 GROSS T O N S A N D O V E R ON J A N U A R Y A N D 1926 T able American British Danish D utch U S Shipping Board Private Position D eck department First mate Second mate Third mate Fourth m ate Boatswain Carpenter Seaman able bodied Seaman ordinary Engineer department Chief engineer Second engineer Third engineer Fourth engineer Junior engineer Fireman Greaser Water tender Coal passer or wiper Steward department Chief steward Second steward C ook Second cook Mess steward Mess b oy l SEAMEN Table 2 A V E R A G E M O N T H L Y W A G E S O F A M E R IC A N A N D F O R E IG N S E A M E N ON S T E A M A N D M O T O R C A R G O V E S S E L S O F G R O S S T O N S A N D O V E R ON J A N U A R Y A N D 1926 C on tin u ed French German 1 Italian1 Spanish Norwegian Position D eck department First m ate Second mate T hird mate Fourth m ate B o a tsw a in Carpenter Seaman able bodied Seaman ordinary Engineer department Chief engineer Second engineer Third engineer Fourth engineer Junior engineer Fireman Greaser W ater tender Coal passer or wiper Steward department Chief steward Second steward C ook Second cook Mess steward Mess b oy N o report for 1924 3 The wages for the positions given below were somewhat reduced b y an agreement in force from M a y to Feb Table 3 shows the variations in the wage rates of seamen according to the destination of the vessels T a b l e 3 A V E R A G E M O N T H L Y W A G E S P A ID O N A M E R I C A N M E R C H A N T V E S S E L S OF 500 GROSS T O N S A N D O V E R 1926 A S R E P O R T E D B Y T H E S H IP P IN G C O M M IS SIO N E R S Steam vessels Destination Boat Car First Able seam en swains penters mates 74 62 Great Britain Continental61 urope 73 E South America W est Indies Mexico and Central Am erica Atlantic and Gulf coasting trade Asia and Australia Pacific coasting trade Africa Atlantic to Pacific ports and vice versa Steam vessels Continued Destination First engi neers 251 Great Britain Continental E urope 243 South Am erica W est Indies Mexico and Central A m erica 239 Atlantic ana Gulf coasting trade Asia and Australia Pacific coasting trade A frica Atlantic to Pacific ports and vice versa Second mates Fire men Sailing vessels Second Able Boat Car First engi neers seam en swains p enters mates T rim mers Second mates WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR Wages and Hours of Labor in the Slaughtering and MeatPacking Industry HE Bureau of Labor Statistics made studies as to wages and hours of labor in the slaughtering and meat packing industry in and 1925 Summary figures for 1925 are shown here in comparison with similar figures for the preceding years named Separate statements are given for the following de partments Cattle killing hog killing sheep and calf killing offal hide casing cutting of fresh beef cutting of fresh pork lard and oleo oil sausage cured meat canning and maintenance and repair Data are not collected for the employees in certain of the minor departments in the industry The groups excluded are Officials T I d fd 192 0 I9 Z I office clerks salesmen power house employees foremen employees of box brush cooper tin or other shops in which the products are entirely new the employees of butterine mincemeat produce ex tract soap curled hair wool bone or fertilizer departments The 1925 study covered 52 702 males in 86 establishments and 6 595 females in 78 establishments The average wage rate per hour for the industry both sexes com bined was 26 2 cents in 1917 in 1921 it had advanced to 48 9 cents and in 1925 it was 48 3 cents or 84 per cent higher than in 1917 Because of a temporary shift to another occupation or because of an increased rate for overtime however an employee s earnings per hour may differ slightly from the rate for his regular occupation 1 For full report see Bui No 795 SLAUGHTERING AND MEAT PACKING INDUSTRY Thus in 1925 while the average rate was 48 3 cents per hour the average earnings per hour were 49 2 cents The average rate of wages per hour for all males included in the studies was 27 1 cents in cents fti cents in 1923 and 50 1 cents in 1925 and for all females 17 9 cents in cents in cents in 1923 and 34 7 cents in 1925 The average hourly rates as also the averages of earnings per hour full time hours per week full time earnings per week days and hours worked in one week and earnings received in one week are shown in Table 1 Part of the same data are shown graphically in the chart on page 794 T able 1 H O U R S R A T E S A N D E A R N IN G S IN T H E S L A U G H T E R IN G P A C K IN G I N D U S T R Y A N D 1925 AND Average hours per week Aver Aver N um N um age age ber of days ber earn work estab of em Index ings lish ed in Basic A ctu num per ments ployees Aver one or reg ally age bers hour week ular work rate 1917 ed 100 Wages per hour Sex and year Males Females Total M EAT Average earnings per week Full time Actu ally re ceived i i i i N ot including data for one establishment in which employees were paid biweekly Hours of labor The regular or customary full time hours per day and j er week of each establishment included in the report are as determined by a specified time of beginning work in the morn ing on each day of the week for the midday meal and of quitting work on each day of the week The hours per day and week may be the same for the employees of two or more occupations or estab lishments even though there be a difference in the time of beginning and quitting work The hours of employees of different establish ments may and often do differ on account of difference in time of beginning and quitting work of the amount of time taken at noon for the midday meal of a short Saturday and on account of other causes The average full time hours per week for the employees of an occupation are the hours per week of the employees of an occu pation weighted by the number of employees in the occupation In the 1917 study it was found that each of the 83 packing plants covered in that year had what was then called regular working hours per day and per week The hours of each plant were established by a time of beginning and quitting work on each day of the week In actual practice however the hours of work at that time varied so much from day to day and week to week that no effort was made to 796 WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR compute averages for that year for any occupation or for the indus try The nominal hours of the 83 plants covered in 1917 as fixed by time of beginning and quitting work were 60 per week in 73 plants 55 in 4 plants and from 52y2 to 57y2 per week in 6 plants The average full time hours per week of males in all occupations and departments combined were 48 4 in in 1923 and 50 2 in 1925 and the hours of females were 48 3 in in 1923 and 49 4 in 1925 The approximate 10 hour day in 1917 was reduced to an approximate 8 hour day in 1918 by Judge Samuel Alschuler of Chicago who at that time as United States administrator was adjusting differences between employers and employees in the slaugh tering and meat packing industry In July 1922 how7 ever the 9 hour day and 54 hour week was inaugurated by many of the plants covered in 1921 and 1923 a fact which affected the average full time hours of all employees combined shown above Guaranteed hours of pay Of the 86 plants covered in the 1925 study the employees in a few of the important occupations in 3 plants and in a few of the important departments in 9 plants and all of the employees of 43 plants have by agreement or promise the assur ance of pay for a specified number of hours per day or week This assures to these employees pay at their regular rate for the specified number of hours whenever the hours of work are less than the guar anteed hours of pay To be entitled to pay it is necessary for the employee to report for duty and work all the hours of operation on each day or in each week The guaranty by 51 plants is 40 hours per week A few of these guarantee 6 hours pay for each day the em ployee reports for duty and does any work One plant guarantees 30 hours one 45 one 48 and one 57 hours per week There is no guaranty however in 31 of the 86 plants included in the study Overtime Overtime is generally understood to mean any time worked by employees on any regular workday or in any full week in excess of the regular or customary full time hours per day or per week as determined by the regular time of beginning work on each day minus the regular time taken for lunch Many 38 of the plants in this industry covered in 1925 report that the overtime rate of time and a half begins not with the completion of the regular hours per day or week but after the completion of a fixed number of hours Thus for instance 14 plants whose full time hours are 8 per day and 48 per week pay extra for overtime only after 10 hours per day or 54 hours per week Fourteen plants pay time and a half for all overtime while 34 plants pay only the regular rate Work on Sundays and holidays In this industry work on Sun days and holidays is limited to a very small per cent of the employees of a plant and usually to only a small per cent of the mechanics in the maintenance and repair department who repair buildings and equipment Work on holidays is not frequent Provision is made for payment of double the regular rate for this work by 21 of the plants of 1y2 times the regular rate by 32 plants and for payment of the regular rate by 33 plants Table 2 shows the hours rates and earnings of employees in sev eral of the principal occupations in five departments in the years 1923 and 1925 by sex The list of occupations is long and figures 797 SLAUGHTERING AND MEAT PACKING INDUSTRY for all of them are shown in the Labor Review for May 1926 and in Bulletin No 421 but to conserve space in this publication only a few occupations in each department can be presented T a b l e 2 H O U R S R A T E S A N D E A R N IN G S IN T H E S L A U G H T E R IN G A N D M E A T P A C K IN G IN D U S T R Y 1923 A N D 1925 B Y D E P A R T M E N T S E X A N D S P E C IF IE D O C C U P A T IO N Cattle killing department Sex and occupation Average Average hours earnings Aver N um Aver Average per week per week N um age ber age ber rate days of earn worked of Year estab of ings in one em wages A c lish per A c per week Basic ments ployees hour hour tually Full tually or time re regular worked ceived Males Drivers and penners Knockers Headers Foot skinners Leg breakers Floormen or siders Hoisters Backers Gutters and bung droppers Hide droppers Tail sawyers Splitters Trimmers bruises rounds 1923 skirts and tails 1925 Washers and w ip ers Laborers Truckers Females Carcass wipers bruise and tail trimmers neck rag in serters and laborers Hog killing department Males Laborers Shacklers Stickers Scalders Hookers on Shavers and scrapers Headers Includes drivers penners steamers singers washers and aitchbone breakers and toe pullers 2 Includes tubmen droppers gamb cutters polemen and duckers 3 Includes hookers off hangers off straighteners and chain feeders 798 T WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR 2 HOURS RATES AND EARNINGS IN THE SLAUGHTERING AND M E AT PACKING IN DU STRY 1923 AN D 1925 B Y D E P A R T M E N T SEX A N D SPECIFIED OCCUPATION Continued able Hog killing department Continued Sex and occupation Average Average hours earnings Aver N um N um age Aver Average per week per week ber age rate days ber earn worked of of of Year estab ings in one A c em wages per lish A c week Basic tually ployees per or tually Full ments time re hour hour regular worked ceived Males Continued G utters S p litters Leaf lard pullers Bruise trimmers head re 1923 movers and kidney pullers 1925 Truckers Females Kidney pullers shavers sing ers neck brushers and spreaders Casing department Males Casing pullers or runners Strippers Fatters and shiners Turners Blowers graders and inspec 1923 tors Salters and packers Trimmers and casings Laborers Females Casing pullers or runners Blowers graders and in spectors Trimmers of casings Sausage department Males Truckers and forkers Machine tenders choppers grinders mixers curers feeders and cutters Casing workers washers turners returners measur ers cutters tiers and fat ters Staffers Includes bung droppers and rippers open 799 SLAUGHTERING AND MEAT PACKING INDUSTRY T able 3 H O U R S R A T E S A N D E A R N IN G S IN T H E S L A U G H T E R IN G A N D M E A T P A C K IN G IN D U S T R Y 1923 A N D O C C U P A T IO N Continued 1925 B Y D E PA R T M E N T SEX AN D S P E C IF IE D Sausage department Continued Sex and occupation Average Average hours earnings Aver A ver N um per week per week N um age Average ber age ber rate days of earn worked Year estab of of em wages ings in one A c lish per A c week Basic ments ployees per or tually Full tually hour hour re regular worked time ceived MaZes Continued Linkers twisters tiers and 1923 hangers 1925 Laborers Cooks Smokers Inspectors packers scalers shippers and mailers Females Casing workers washers turners returners meas urers cutters tierers and fatters Linkers twisters tierers and hangers Packers wrappers inspec tors la b e le r s ta g g ers tierers and packers help ers Canning department Males Steam tenders process men and retort men Passers and pilers cans Packers and mailers Truckers Laborers Females M achine tenders preparing 1923 and stuffing meat into cans 1925 Staffers meat into cans b y 1923 hand 1925 Packers sliced bacon and 1923 chipped dried beef in cans 1925 glass jars or cartons b y hand Cappers Labelers and wrappers W eighers filled cans Passers and pilers cans Trimmers meat b y hand M achine tenders preparing andjstuffing meat into cans 8 Including roustabouts ham cylinder washers cleaners up ham pressers hangers cooks helpers and smokers helpers 800 WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR Table 3 shows 1925 averages by department and geographical district for 3 of the representative occupations in the cattle killing department 3 in the hog killing department 2 in the casing depart ment 2 in the sausage department and 2 in the canning department These figures indicate the variations between the several districts T a b l e 3 A V E R A G E H O U R S R A T E S A N D E A R N IN G S IN T H E S L A U G H T E R IN G A N D M E A T P A C K IN G D IS T R IC T IN D U S T R Y 1925 B Y O C C U P A T IO N D E P A R T M E N T S E X A N D IDistrict 1 includes 14 plants in Chicago district 2 includes 14 plants in Kansas City Omaha St Joseph East St Louis and St Louis district 3 includes 16 plants in Kansas Iowa Minnesota South Dakota and Wisconsin district 4 includes 6 plants in Oklahoma and Texas district 5 includes 13 plants in Indiana Michigan Ohio western N ew York and western Pennsylvania district 6 includes 9 plants in Connecticut Massachusetts eastern New York and eastern Pennsylvania district 7 includes 5 plants in Florida and Maryland and district 8 includes 9 plants in California Colorado Oregon and Washington Cattle killing department Sex occupation and district N um Num Aver Aver A ver age age age ber ber rate days of of earn of estab em wages ings worked per in one lish ploy per week ments hour ees hour Average hours per week Average earn ings per week Basic A ctu or reg ally ular worked Full time A ctu ally re ceived Males Floormen or siders District District District District District District District District Total Total T otal Splitters District District District District District District District District Laborers District District District District District District District District Hog killing department Males Laborers i District District District District District District District District Total i Includes drivers penners steamers singers washers aitchbone breakers and toe pullers 801 SLAUGHTERING AND MEAT PACKING INDUSTRY T a b l e 3 A V E R A G E H O U R S R A T E S A N D E A R N IN G S IN T H E S L A U G H T E R IN G A N D M E A T P A C K IN G IN D U S T R Y 1925 B Y D IS T R IC T Continued O C C U P A T IO N D E P A R T M E N T S E X A N D Hog killing department Continued Sex occupation and district N um N um Aver Aver Aver Average hours age per week ber ber age age rate of of earn days of estab em wages ings worked A ctu lish ploy per in one Basic per ally ments ees week or reg hour hour ular worked Average earn ings per week Full time A ctu ally re ceived Males Continued Shavers and scrapers District District District District District District District District T otal Gutters 2 District District District District District District District District Total Casing department Males Casing pullers or runners District District District District District District District District Total Blowers graders and inspectors District District District Districts 4 and District District Total Females 3 Includes bung droppers and rippers open 802 WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR T able 3 AVE R AG E HOURS RATES A N D EARNINGS IN TH E SLAUGHTERING AN D M E AT PA C K IN G IN D U ST R Y 1925 B Y OCCU PATION D E P A R T M E N T SE X AND D IS T R IC T Continued Sausage department Sex occupation and district N um N um A ver A ver Aver Average hours age per week ber age ber age rate of of earn days of estab em ings worked Basic lish ploy wages per in one or reg A ctu per ally ments ees week hour hour ular worked Average earn ings per week Full time A ctu ally re ceived Males Machine tenders 3 District District District District District District District District Total Total Staffers District District District District District District District District Canning department Females Packers District District District Districts 4 and District District District Total Labelers and wrappers District Districts 2 and District District District T ota l Includes cutters choppers grinders mixers curers and feeders Wages and Hours of Labor in the Woolen and Worsted Goods Industry 1926 N THIS article is presented a summary of the results of a study of wages hours and earnings in 1926 in the woolen and worsted industry in the United States made by the Bureau of Labor Statistics 4 For 1926 average full time hours per week earnings per hour and full time earnings per week are shown by occupation I 4 For complete report see forthcoming bulletin WOOLEN AND WORSTED GOODS INDUSTRY 803 for 22 152 males and 17 818 females For purposes of comparison similar data are shown for 23 248 males and 18 374 females in 1924 Index numbers also are given for years available from 1910 onward The 1926 averages cover 112 representative mills in 8 States Data were not collected in New Jersey in 1926 because of the un settled labor conditions in that State Data were obtained for a representative pay period of one week for all occupations except weavers for whom a two week pay period was taken Except in two mills the pay periods taken tell within the period from June to October Table 1 and the chart on page 804 show for the industry as a whole index numbers of average full time hours per week earn ings per hour and full time earnings j er week for each of the specified years 1910 to 1926 inclusive with the 1913 average taken as the base or 100 No figures are shown for 1915 or for subse quent odd years as data were not collected in such years The index numbers of earnings per hour and full time earnings per week show a decrease of approximately 8 per cent between 1924 and 1926 Between 1913 and 1920 average full time hours per week decreased 13 8 per cent average earnings per hour increased 253 7 per cent and average full time earnings per week increased 203 6 per cent Between 1920 and 1926 average full time hours per week increased from an index of 86 2 in 1920 to an index of 88 in 1926 or 2 per cent average earnings per hour decreased from 353 7 to 276 5 or 22 per cent and average full time earnings per week decreased from 303 6 to 242 3 or 20 2 per cent Between 1913 and 1926 average full time hours per week decreased 12 per cent average earnings per hour increased 176 5 per cent and average full time earnings per week increased 142 3 per cent The full time weekly earnings did not increase in the same proportion as average earnings per hour because of the reduction in average full time hours per week It will be observed that 1920 was the peak year for wages in woolen and worsted mills and between 1920 and 1922 there was a pronounced decrease This was followed by an increase in 1924 and this increase followed in turn by a decrease in 1926 T able l I N D E X N U M B E R S OF H O U R S A N D E A R N IN G S I N T H E W O O L E N A N D W O R S T E D IN D U S T R Y IN S P E C IF IE D Y E A R S 1910 T O 1926 Index numbers of average Year Full time hours per week Earnings per hour Full time earnings per week WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR Table 2 shows for 1924 and 1926 average full time hours per week earnings per hour and full time earnings per week for each of the principal occupations in the industry The average full time hours per week of males in all occupations increased from 49 2 in 1924 to 49 3 in 1926 those of females from 48 9 to 49 3 and those of males and females combined from 49 1 to 49 3 Average earnings per hour of males in all occupations decreased from 57 8 cents in 1924 to 54 5 cents in 1926 those of females from 46 7 to 41 8 cents and those of males and females combined from 53 3 to 49 1 cents Average full time earnings per week of males in all occupations combined decreased from 28 44 in 1924 to 26 87 in 1926 those of females from 22 84 to 20 61 and those of males and females com bined from 26 17 to 24 21 In 1924 the highest average earnings per hour for males were those of loom fixers 87 cents and the lowest were those of doffers 30 1 805 WOOLEN AND WORSTED GOODS INDUSTRY cents In 1926 also the two extremes of average earnings per hour for males were held by these two occupations their earnings being 80 7 and 28 cents respectively The average hourly earnings of females ranged in 1924 from 31 5 cents for doffers to 65 4 cents for weavers and in 1926 from 28 cents for doffers to 69 8 cents per hour for wool sorters T a b l e 2 A V E R A G E H O U R S A N D E A R N IN G S IN T H E W O O L E N A N D W O R S T E D IN D U S T R Y B Y O C C U P A T IO N A N D S E X 1924 A N D 1926 Sex Occupation W ool sorters Wool washer tenders Picker tenders Card tenders Card strip p ers Card grinders Gill box tenders Comber tenders Drawing frame tenders Spinners m ule Spinners frame Doffers Twister tenders Spooler tenders Dresser ten d ers Drawers in Loom fixers W eav ers Cloth inspp fit nrs Burlers M enders Perchers N um ber Number Average Average Average full time of em Year of estab earnings full time hours earnings lishments ployees per week per hour per week Female M ale do d o Female M ale do d o Female M ale Female M ale Female Male d o F e m a le Male Fem ale d o d o Male d o F e m a le M ale d o Female M ale Female do F e m a le Male Female M ale T WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR 2 AVERAGE HOURS AND EARNINGS IN THE W OOLEN AND W ORSTED IN DU STRY BY OCCUPATION AND SEX 1924 AN D 1926 Continued able Sex Occupation F u lle r s Washer tenders cloth Dryer tenders cloth Truckers Laborers dyehouse Other employees A ll employees A ll employees female Year Average Number Num ber full time of estab of em hours lishments ployees per week Average Average earnings full time earnings per hour per week M ale d o d o d o d o d o Female Female Male male and Table 3 shows by States for each of eight specified occupations the 1926 average full time hours per week earnings per hour and full time earnings per week T a bl e 3 A V E R A G E H O U R S A N D E A R N IN G S F O R E IG H T S E L E C T E D O C C U P A T IO N S IN T H E W O O L E N A N D W O R S T E D I N D U S T R Y B Y S E X A N D S T A T E 1926 Occupation sex and State N um ber of establish ments Num ber of em ployees Average full time hours per week Average earnings per hour Average full time earnings per week Card tenders male Connecticut M aine Massachusetts N ew Hampshire N ew Y ork Pennsylvania Rhode Island Vermont Total Other S ta tes Card tenders female M aine Massachusetts N ew Hampshire Pennsylvania Total Drawing frame tenders male Massachusetts Pennsylvania Rhode Island Other States Total Drawing frame tenders female Massachusetts N ew Y o r k Pennsylvania Rhode Island Other States Total 807 WOOLEN AND WORSTED GOODS INDUSTRY T able 3 A V E R A G E H O U R S A N D E A R N IN G S F O R E IG H T S E L E C T E D O C C U P A T IO N S IN T H E W O O L E N A N D W O R S T E D IN D U S T R Y B Y S E X A N D S T A T E Continued Occupation sex and State Num ber of establish ments Spinners mule male Oonnp ntiftiit M aine Massachusetts N ew Hampshire N ew Y ork Pp nnsyl vania Rhode Island Verm ont Total Spooler tenders female M aine Massachusetts New Hampshire N ew Y ork Pennsylvania Rhnrtp Tsland Verm ont Total Loom fixers male Copnp o t icnt M aine Massachusetts N ew Hampshire N ew Y o r k Pennsylvania Rhode Island Verm ont Total Weavers male Connecticut M aine Massachusetts N ew Hampshire N ew Y o r k Pennsylvania R hode Island V erm ont T otal Weavers female Connecticut Maine Massachusetts New Hampshire New York Pennsylvania Rhode Island Verm ont Total Burlers female Connecticut Maine Massachusetts New Hampshire New York Pennsly vania Rhode Island Verm ont N um ber of em ployees Average full time hours per week Average earnings per hour Average full time earnings per week Total Menders female Connecticut M aine Massachusetts N ew H am pshire N ew Y ork Pennsylvania Rhode Island Verm ont Total WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR International Comparison of Real Wages HE International Labor Office presents in the International Labor Review of January 1927 a comparison of real wages in various large cities of the world as of October in continuation of similar figures compiled periodically by that office The more significant points in this comparison are brought out in the table below The figures given are in the form of index numbers using London as the base or 100 In considering the figures presented it is very important to note that the wage data relate only to a very few categories of workers building engineering furniture and printing and publishing and the price data are limited to certain articles of food and to rent Thus the index numbers can be taken only as a very rough indication of the relative levels of real wages of adult male workers in certain occupations and cities In many instances however the figures shown indicate such wide differences between cities that they may be accepted as reflecting real differences in the level of well being of the workers in different countries According to the table Philadelphia had the highest real wage level of any of the 19 cities included its index number based on food only being 183 or 83 per cent higher than London which is used as the base Ottawa Canada and Sydney Australia were next highest to Philadelphia with Copenhagen the highest of the European cities At the other extreme cities like Rome Italy and Brussels Belgium have a wage level of one fourth that of Phila delphia and less than one half that of London T I N D E X N U M B E R S OF C O M P A R A T IV E R E A L W A G E S IN V A R IO U S C IT IE S O C T O B E R 1 1926 ILondon October General average index numbers City Philadelphia Ottawa Sydney Copenhagen D u blin L ondon Amsterdam Stockholm l Oslo Berlin General average index numbers C ity W ith Based on food allow ance only for rent Warsaw P ragu e Riga L odz Rome 3 Brussels V ien na T allinn Lisbon 3 W ith Based on food allow ance only for rent The figures are based on wages in the building furniture making and printing industries only For other cities the metal industry is also included 2 Based on a weighted average wage For other cities an unweighted average has been used 3 The figures for Lisbon and R om e are relatively low This m ay be accounted for in part b y the differ ences in the items of food consumption in the southern European countries from those ordinarily consumed in most of the other countries included in the table WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR 809 International Comparison of Trend of Wages 1914 to 1925 N A report published in 1926 on Wage changes in various coun tries 1914 to 19259 3 the International Labor Office has for the 3 third time undertaken the difficult but interesting task of re cording the movements in money wages and of estimating the changes in the real wages of the workers of the world by comparing changes in money wages with those in the general level of prices Real wages are in nearly every case calculated with reference to the pre war level The report gives the data country by country and presents in a summary general conclusions as to the movement of wages as a whole A digest of these summary conclusions is given below I Wage Situation 1920 to 1925 IN THE period 1920 to 1922 the different countries could be arranged into three fairly definite groups Those in which real wages were definitely higher than before the war those in which the level was about the same and those in which the level was definitely below the pre war level In the first group were found most of the ex neutral European countries in the second group the chief western European countries and non European countries and in the third group the central European countries The last named group Ger many Austria Hungary Bulgaria Poland Latvia Rumania and Finland was distinguished by the fact that in all these countries in 1920 and 1922 there was a continual depreciating currency and steadily rising prices This led to the phenomenon of the time lag when wages were continually trying to catch up to prices and in evitably caused a fall of real wages On the other hand when prices were falling or when they became relatively stable after a period of rising prices real wages tended to rise The chief factor affecting the wage situation in the years was the changes in the level of prices In many countries they fell somewhat while in others particularly those in which prices rose most rapidly in the years 1920 to 1922 or 1923 they became much more stable Throughout the period prices remained relatively stable in Great Britain Sweden Switzerland the Netherlands Canada South Africa Australia New Zealand and the United States More over since 1922 the four countries Germany Austria Poland Hungary in which currency was at that time inflated and prices were rapidly rising have all attempted to stabilize their currency and in general have succeeded Movement of Money Wages 1922 to 1925 T H E tables of money wages given in the report indicate that in Sweden Australia and Canada money wages remained fairly stable after 1922 in Great Britain after 1923 and in Austria after 1924 In Denmark rates although showing a rise of about 5 per 18 I n te rn a tio n a l L a b o r Office W a g e ch an ges in v a rio u s co u n trie s 1914 t o 1925 S tu dies and R ep orts Series D W a g es a n d H o u r s N o 16 G en eva 1926 T h e first re p o rt o f th e In tern a tion a l E ab or Office o n th is s u b je ct co v e re d th e yea rs p u b lish ed in a n d th e s c n o rt cov ered th e yea rs p u b lish e d in eo d re p 810 WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR cent from 1923 to 1924 were more stable in 1925 than in 1921 and 1922 In Germany money wages rose from 1923 to 1924 after a period of monetary disturbance In Poland money rates became fairly stable in March 1924 and remained so throughout the year In the United States there was an increase from 1922 to 1923 and a decrease from 1923 to 1924 in 1925 the changes are not very con siderable In Norway Greece Finland Rumania Belgium Hun gary France and Japan wages up to 1925 had not shown any marked tendency toward stabilization Movement of Real Wages 1922 to 1925 A S REGARDS real wages several features are worth noting It will be seen that in the countries in which the currency was seriously depreciated the stabilization of the currency was followed by a change in the wage situation Wages were much more closely adjusted to the level of prices and the level of real wages gradually rose In Germany real wages of skilled workers which were estimated at about 50 per cent of their pre war level in July 1923 rose to 75 per cent in January 1924 and 90 per cent in July 1924 and have remained fairly stationary at this level till July 1925 For unskilled workers the level rose from a little over 60 per cent in July 1922 to 90 per cent in April 1924 and 100 per cent in July 1925 In Austria no general average figures are available and the movement differs somewhat from one industry to another but in every industry however real wages in 1924 were higher than those in 1923 although in some industries wages rose much sooner than in others In Poland real wages which were apparently only 50 per cent of their pre war value at the end of 1923 rose rapidly at the beginning of 1924 almost to their pre war purchasing power and fell slightly during 1924 and rose again in 1925 In Hungary wage data are not sufficiently adequate to give definite con clusions in the engineering industry however real wages which had consid erably declined from the last quarter of 1923 to the first quarter of 1924 owing to the rapid rise in the cost of living rose to about 75 per cent of their pre war level in the autumn It will thus be seen that the group of countries in which in 1922 wages were substantially below the pre war level are moving into the second group countries in which real wages are at or near the pre war level The countries which in 1924 25 are still in the former group are Hungary and Latvia and possibly Rumania A further change between 1922 and 1925 which is noticeable is that many countries have moved up from the group in which wages were at or near the pre war level to the group in which real wages are higher than those current in In the United States and in Canada real wages were in 1924 and 1925 higher than in 1922 when they were about equal to the level of 1914 In Australia Denmark Sweden Norway and the Netherlands real wages in 1924 and 1925 remain as in 1922 above the pre war level In France the material available is not very complete and relates only to two dates in 1921 and 1924 and the real wages are not based on a complete cost of living index The apparent rise in real wages from 1921 to 1924 must therefore be accepted with caution In Spain Italy and Switzerland wages in 1924 seem to be distinctly above the pre war level and in Belgium Czechoslovakia Finland and New Zealand wages are at about the pre war level As regards Great Britain the general situation appears to be about the same as in 1922 i e real wages are on the whole somewhat below pre war level though the disparity between the level of wages in different industries is very noticeable In certain industries such as coal mining shipbuilding and engi neering whose prosperity depends to a certain extent on their export trade wages are depressed while in industries such as building and printing which do not depend on foreign trade real wages are considerably above the level T obtained before the war As regards the remainirig countries Japan Greece and South Africa the information is not sufficiently complete to enable any conclusion to be drawn FIVE DAY W E EK IN AMERICAN INDUSTRY 811 Comparison of Wages of Skilled and Unskilled Workers TOURING the period of rapidly rising prices the money wages of unskilled workers in many countries increased to a greater extent than those of skilled workers and those of low salaried officials more than those of the higher salaried categories This was partly due to the fact that increases were sometimes granted at a flat rate to all classes of workers in a given industry which of course meant a greater relative increase for the lower paid workers This policy was doubtless prompted by the consideration that wages of unskilled workers are much nearer the subsistence minimum than those of skilled workers and increases in wages to compensate for the increased cost of living are more urgent in their case than in the case of skilled workers When prices began to fall or became relatively stable there was a tendency to a reversal of this movement In 1914 unskilled workers wages were about 50 to 70 per cent of skilled workers wages in 1920 they were about 80 to 90 per cent In countries in which wages and prices rose the least between 1914 and the ratio generally shows the least variation Thus in the United States Australia and New Zealand as well as in Great Britain the ratio increased less than in Austria Germany and Poland In Austria unskilled workers wages rose to about 95 per cent of the skilled and in Germany to about 90 p r cent Since 1920 in most countries 1922 in Germany and 1923 in Austria the ratio of unskilled workers wages to those of skilled has declined though it is still in most countries higher than the pre war ratio It should be noted that France and Hungary appear to be in an exceptional position for the ratio of un skilled to skilled in 1924 is almost identical with that obtaining in 1914 In France the ratio has not apparently changed since 1914 But it seems in spite of these two exceptions to be a general feature of the postwar wage situation that unskilled workers are relatively better paid in comparison with skilled workers than before the war Relative Wages of Men and Women IT IS a noteworthy fact that during and since the war women in general have received proportionately larger wage increases than the men The causes of this are probably similar to those noted in the case of unskilled workers and also perhaps to the reduced supply of male labor during and since the war and the consequent opening of employments to women This tendency continued in the years 1922 to 1925 I f the real wages of male workers are compared with those of the female workers in the same industry for certain countries it will be found that except for cotton weavers in the United States and metal workers in Austria the index numbers of real wages of female workers are in every instance higher than those of male workers The Five Day Week in American Industry O GENERAL survey has ever been made regarding the preva N lence of the 5 day week in American industry but considerable information on the subject is available in the material obtained by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in its surveys of wages and hours oi labor in various industries in its studies of collective agreements among the organized trades and in various items from trade jour nals etc An analysis of this material has been made with the following results 812 WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR Summary F THE larger industries in the country the regular full time 5 day week is most prevalent in the manufacture of men s cloth ing Here according to the recent study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics no less than 45 per cent o f the establishments covered and almost one third of the employees were working a 5 day week The 40 hour week however was not common the average hours being 44 3 per week The 5 day week has also made considerable progress in recent years in certain other branches of the clothing trades Thus under recent agreements most of the fur workers an industry employing about 14 000 persons are working on a 5 day 40 hour week basis but with provision for some Saturday work in the busy fall season Similarly the organized workers in the cloth hat and cap industry in New York and Philadelphia have agreements calling for a 5 day 44 hour week to be reduced to a flat 40 hour week in 1927 The organized cloak skirt and dress makers of Boston waterproof garment workers cutters pressers and buttonhole makers of New York the cloak skirt dress and reefer makers unions of New York and the ladies tailors and custom dressmakers local also of New York all have the 5 day week and in most cases the flat 40 hour week Among some of the building trades the 5 day week is fairly well established more than 6 per cent of the union membership in all the trades covered by the bureau s 1926 study working on a flat 5 day week basis the trades most affected thereby being lathers painters and plasterers In addition the 5 day week for part of the year occurs not infrequently among the granite and stone trades In the printing and publishing of newspapers especially those in foreign languages a working week of 40 hotors or less but worked variously in five or six days is quite frequent In total about 5 per cent of all the newspaper printing trades covered by the bureau s 1926 study were found to be on a working basis of not over 40 hours a week In the book and job branch of the printing industry the 5 day 40 hour or less week was infrequent but was found to occur in a few cities Other organized trades covered by the bureau s recent study in which the 5 day week existed to a greater or less extent were Bakers 1 4 per cent of those covered by the study and laundry workers 7 8 per cent of those covered by the study In the large manufacturing industries covered by the regular wages and hours surveys of the bureau the 5 day week as a regular working practice was found to a greater or less extent in the paper boxboard industry in foundries and machine shops and in the iron and steel industry In the paper box board industry the bureau s study made in the spring of 1925 found that in 60 per cent of the establish ments employing about two thirds of the total working force can vassed the productive forces were working on a regular 5 day week basis In the foundries and machine shops covered by the bureau s study 3 8 per cent of the plants employing 3 5 per cent of the working force had a regular 5 day week In addition about 1 per cent of FIVE DAY W EEK IN AMERICAN INDUSTRY 813 the plants and employees covered alternated between a 5 day week and a full 6 day week as the prevailing working basis for the majority of the employees The actual weekly hours were usually in excess of 40 although a few plants limited their working time to a flat 5 day 40 hour week The iron and steel industry as a whole still has many employees on rather long hours but the 5 day week exists in certain occupations in certain plants Thus the 1926 survey by the bureau found that 2 1 per cent of all the employees covered worked a regular 5 day or 5 night week Most of the 5 turn workers were in the bar mills 13 per cent of the total employees therein and in the puddling mills 6 per cent of the total employees therein In addition to the adoption of the 5 day week as a regular practice in certain industrial establishments as described above there has been of recent years a significant extension of the practice of Satur day closing in the summer months The practice is most extensive in retail stores and offices but is known to exist also in other lines of business although no very satisfactory data are available on this subject Other instances of the five day week of which the bureau has record are more or less isolated The following pages include references to these as well as giving in somewhat greater detail the data upon which the above summary is based Bakeries Building Trades Laundries and Printing and Publishing THE Bureau of Labor Statistics makes an annual survey of wage A rates and hours among organized wage earners in various indus trial communities The study is limited to trades in which payment is by time rates or if by piece rates by some simple measure such as ems in the case oi printers Organized trades working on a more or less complicated piecework system are omitted from the annual survey The 1926 survey covered 66 cities and 824 313 union members for 764 596 of whom regular working hours were obtainable the street railway employees having such variable hours of labor that they were not included in the tabulations on this point The trades cov ered were Bakery building chauffeurs teamsters and drivers granite and stone laundry workers linemen longshoremen print ing and publishing book and job and newspaper Of the total of 764 596 members it was found that 35 689 or 4 7 per cent had a regular working week of only 5 days during the whole year 3 670 or 0 5 per cent had a regular working week of 5 days for a part of the year and 1 063 or 0 2 per cent had a schedule which called for 6 days but not over 40 hours per week In the aggregate therefore there were 40 422 or 5 3 per cent of the total who worked 5 days or 40 hours or less per week for the whole or a part of the year The table following shows the percentage of the total membership of each trade group so far as canvassed falling into each of three classes 1 Working 5 days per week the whole year 2 working 5 days part of the year and 3 working 6 days but 40 hours or less per week 814 WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR T able 1 P E R C E N T OF T R A D E U N IO N M E M B E R S W O R K IN G A 5 D A Y O R 40 HOUROR LE SS W E E K B Y T R A D E G R O U P S Per cent o f total number reported in each trade group working Trade group 5 days per week whole o f year 5 days per 6 days but week part 40 hours or less per of year week Bakers W orking 4ft hours or less W orking over 40 hours T o t a l Building trades W orking 40 hours or less W orking over 40 hours Granite and stone trades W orking 40 hours or less W orking over 40 h o u rs T o t a l T o t a l Laundry workers Working 40 hours or less W orking over 40 h o u rs Total Printing and publishing book and job Working 40 hours or less Working over 40 hours T o t a l Printing and publishing newspaper W orking 40 hours or less W orking over 40 hours T o t a l Less than one tenth of 1 per cent The detailed data for the individual unions published in the Labor Review for December 1926 indicate that the straight 5 day week is most frequent among the building trades especially the painters and plasterers Among the granite and stone trades the short work week is rather frequent for part of the year but with the provision that 4 hours on Saturday may be worked from March or April to October The laundry union reported as having a 5 day week has a 9 hour day and the day off is Monday instead of Satur day as in most of the trades The short week in the printing and publishing industry occurs chiefly but not entirely among the foreignlanguage newspapers the total weekly hours in a number of cases being under 40 Men s Clothing Industry r HE bureau s study of wages hours and earnings in the men s T clothing industry has just been completed It covers 10 of the larger cities and a group of several small cities The data were gathered in the summer of 1926 and were taken from the pay rolls of 198 establishments operating 359 shops and employing 33 659 wage earners Ninety seven of these establishments or 45 5 per 815 FIVE DAY W EEK IN AMERICAN INDUSTRY cent with 10 872 workers or 32 3 per cent of all the workers included in the survey had a regular or customary working time of 5 days a week The proportion of males having the 5 day week was 39 6 per cent of all males employed and of females 24 8 per cent of all females employed in the shops covered by the study As between the four principal departments of the men s clothing industry the proportion of workers having the 5 day week varied as follows Cutting 26 8 per cent coat 32 7 per cent pants 32 8 per cent vest 34 5 per cent the total being 32 3 per cent as above noted The following table shows these facts in greater detail by cities T able 2 N U M B E R A N D P R O P O R T IO N OF E M P L O Y E E S W O R K IN G A 5 D A Y W E E K IN M E N S C L O T H IN G IN D U S T R Y 1926 Wage earners having a 5 day week Total wage earners included in study Male Female Total Hours C ity M on day Fri N um Per N um Per N um Per Per to ber cent ber cent ber cent Thurs day week day Male Fe male Total B altim ore Boston Buffalo Chicago Cincinnati Cleveland N ew Y ork i 5 5 1 f 70 1 Philadelphia Rochester St Louis Eastern Pennsylvania m 8H 8V X 8H I 8 8H I 9 J 8 8H X 9H 9 8H 8 i 8 8 9 I 9 9H 9 10 X T otal M onday to Wednesday 8 hours Thursday 9 hours 2 Tuesday and Thursday 9 hours Saturday 8 hours 3 Exclusive of Philadelphia Iron and Steel Industry A LTHOUGH in the iron and steel industry some departments operate continuously and still have many employees on rather long shifts the five day week exists in certain employments in certain mills Thus the 1926 survey of wages and hours by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the iron and steel industry showed that 2 1 per cent of all the employees covered worked only five working turns a week about one half working solely on the day turn and the other half working either on the night turn or on alternating night and day turns Most of the five day workers were in the bar mills where 13 per cent of the total employees worked a five turn week and in the puddling mills where 6 per cent of all the employees worked a fiveturn week 816 WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR Paper Box Board Industry IN THE spring of 1925 the Bureau of Labor Statistics made a study of hours and wages in the paper box board industry The study covered 70 establishments which employed almost 10 000 employees In 42 of these 70 plants or 60 per cent the productive employees worked a five day week These 42 plants employed a total of 6 721 or about two thirds of all employees covered At the time of this study the paper box board industry was in a period of transition as regards the matter of the length of the working week Foundries and Machine Shops HT HE 1925 survey made by the bureau of wages and hours in foundries and machine shops covered 413 foundries with 40 393 workers and 511 machine shops with 86 274 workers Analysis of the data obtained shows that the five day week for the majority of the employees prevailed in 35 of the 924 foundries and machine shops combined or 3 8 per cent the number of employees working in establishments where the five day week prevailed was 4 417 or 3 5 per cent of the total number of employees in the plants covered In addition 9 plants with 1 082 employees or 0 9 per cent of the total employees covered alternated between a five day and a six day week this practice growing out of arrangements by which one fuil day Saturday every other week is preferred to a half day every Saturday Other Trades and Industries IN THE other industries covered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics periodic surveys of hours of labor wages and earnings the regu lar full time five day or 40 hour week was either not reported at all or was reported onty in such exceptional cases as to be of negligible importance These industries were Lumber pottery coal and metal mining woolen and worsted hosiery and underwear slaughtering and meat packing cotton goods paper and pulp and automobiles Other clothing trades In various branches of the clothing trades other than men s clothing the five day week has made considerable progress of recent years as indicated by the collective agreements in force Although the bureau does not have a complete file of these agreements the following summary of those available is of interest Fur workers in organized shops in New York Chicago Boston and several other cities are now working under agreements which call for the 5 day 40 hour week for the greater part of the year provision being made for some Saturday work in the rush fall season The proportion of employees in the industry covered by this arrangement is not available but is known to be very large Cloth hat crnd cap industry Workers in organized shops in this industry have the 5 day 44 hour week in New York and Philadelphia the hours to be reduced to 40 beginning July Cloak shirt and dress makers of Boston in organized shops have a 5 day 42 hour week Waterproof workers cutters pressers and buttonhole makers in the organized shops of New York City have a 5 day 40 hour week FIVE DAY W E EK IN AMERICAN INDUSTRY 817 Cloak skirt dress and reefer makers in the organized shops of New York City have a 5 day 40 hour week Ladies Tailors and Custom Dressmakers Local No 38 of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union New York City have recently obtained the 40 hour week according to the union journal Optional Five Day Week COM E agreements provide for a regular week of more than 40 hours divided into 5 working days but permit modification under certain conditions Thus the agreement between the cut sole workers local of the Shoe Workers Protective Union and certain employers of Haverhill Mass fixes a regular 5 day 45 hour week but authorizes the agent of the local union to permit overtime at the regular rate if he deems overtime work necessary and provides that any dispute on this point may be arbitrated Five Day Week Without Reduction in Total Hours A NOTHER type of 5 day week is that where by arrangement between the employees and management of an establishment the old hours per week are retained but are spread over 5 days instead of 6 thus making Saturday a holiday There is here no question of a shortened work week but simply of a rearrangement of working hours so as to give two consecutive free days each week end An example of this type is referred to in the Railway Age of October p 786 The shop of Jenkins Bros valve manufacturers Bridgeport Conn has worked a 5 day week as recently discussed by Henry Ford since May The plant employs about 700 men Both proprietors and employees are said to be enthusiastic in praise of the arrangement The employees work 48 hours a week the same as they did when the week was spread over 6 days but they have all day Saturday as well as Sunday to themselves The usual schedule is 9y2 hours a day for four days and 10 hours on the fifth day The plan having been under discussion for some time was finally submitted to a vote of the employees in the month above named and the favorable vote was almost unanimous The Five Day Week in Summer IN A large number of business concerns the 5 day week for two or three summer months has become customary The practice is probably most extensive among retail stores and offices but exists in other lines of business A report of the Merchants Association of New York on Holiday practices of offices stores and factories in New York City published in 1925 reports one or more instances of regular Saturday closing in summer among manufacturing concerns printing and publishing a railroad office and a railroad shop and retail stores in the city of New York Resolution of American Federation of Labor on Shorter Work Week A RESOLUTION adopted by the forty sixth annual meeting of the American Federation of Labor in October 1926 formally approves of a policy of progressively shortening the working hours 818 WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR and working days per week but does not attempt to establish a specific schedule of hours or days The resolution in full is as follows Whereas under present methods of modern machine industry the workers are continually subject to the strain of mechanized processes which sap their vitality and Whereas if compelled to work for long hours under modern processes of pro duction the vitality health and very life of the workers is put in serious jeopardy Resolved That this convention place itself on record as favoring a progressive shortening of the hours of labor and the days per week and that the executive council be requested to inaugurate a campaign of education and organization to the end that the purpose of this resolution shall be placed into effect References A BIBLIOGRAPHY on the five day week in industry was printed in the January 1927 issue of the Labor Review Mr Ford s statement regarding the proposed establishment of the five day week in the plants with which he is associated was originally published in the World s Work for October 1926 It is reproduced in full in the Labor Review for December 1926 The attitude of representative labor officials and employers toward the five day week is summarized in the Labor Review for December 1926 Index A Page A b ra siv e w h eels a rtificia l m a n u fa ctu re o f d u st h a za rd A ccid e n ts in d u s t r ia l E xp erience by in d u s try E xperience 1925 A m erican in d u stry F a ta l in va riou s cou n tries F ederal G overnm ent service freq u en cy ra te s M inors ch ild re n a t w o r k P h ilip p in e Islands P rev en tion con feren ce W ash in g ton D C R e p o rtin g a n d p rev en tion un d er com p en sation and in su ra n ce system s S ta tistics S ta te S ta tistics p resen t sta tu s o f A cto rs c o lle c tiv e b a rg a in in g b y A d am son la w ra ilro a d d isp u tes A d ju stm en t b oard s ra ilroa ds W atson P a rk er A c t o f A greem ent street ra ilw a y C hicago in su ra n ce p ro v isio n s A greem ents See C ollective agreem ents A g r ic u ltu r e C hild la bor m ig ra to ry E d u ca tio n se rv ice N egro in v o c a tio n a l ed u ca tion o f th e T ra in in g in U nited S tates p rio r to passage o f F ed era l v o c a tio n a l a c t A lc o h o l m eth yl See M eth y l a lc o h o l A lie n d ependents n on resid en t sta tu s u n d er w ork m en s com pensation a n d in su ra n ce s y stem s A lm sh ou ses A m erica n co s t an d co n d u ct o f A m erican F ed era tion o f L abor resolu tion on sh orter w ork w eek A m erican R a ilw a y E xp ress Co em ployees a rb itra tio n o f A m usem ents in d u stry trade unions See T ra d e u n io n s P u b lic serv ice A n ilin p oison in g eye le sio n s A n n u ity system s d eferred old age r e lie f A n th ra cite m in ing See C oal m in in g A n th ra x cases in va riou s in d u stries A p p r e n tic e s h ip P lans typ es o f B u ildin g tra d e agreem ents p ro v isio n s in T ra in in g p rog ress in va riou s typ es o f U nion ru les and sca rcity o f a p p ren tices A rb itra tio n boards W atson P ark er A ct o f A rb itra tio n s o f 1926 p rin c ip a l A rsen ic trich lo rid e effects o f exp osu re on w o r k e rs A u tom ob ile in d u stry la b or p ro d u c tiv ity m easured b y in d ex num bers B B akeries five day w eek in Bakers o ccu p a tio n a l tr e n d B an k in g and c r e d it org a n iza tion s c o o p e ra tiv e B enefit See I n s u r a n c e B enefit p lan s Benefits trade union See T rad e un ion s B enefits B enzol p oison in g final r e p o rt o f N a tion a l S a fe ty C ouncil C om m ittee B itu m in ou s co a l m in ing See C oal m in in g B ook bin din g trade unions See T r a d e u n io n s P aper e t a B o o t and shoe in d u stry E m p loy m en t o f w om en and m en tren d o f L a b o r p r o d u c tiv ity m easured b y in d ex nu m bers O ccu p a tion a l tren d s h oe an d lea th er w o rk e rs T rad e un ion s See T ra d e u n ion s W ages and h ou rs o f la b o r in B ox board paper See P a p e r b ox b oa rd B rass fou n dries h ea lth h a za rd s B rick com m on See C om m on b rick B ro o k w o o d L a b o r C ollege B ry n M aw r C ollege sum m er sch o o l f o r w o r k in g w om en B u ild in g a n d lo a n a ss o cia tio n s B u ild in g co n stru ctio n a ccid en t re c o rd B u ild in g in d u stry w ages in P o rto R ic o B u ild in g p erm its in p rin c ip a l cities o f the U nited S tates B u ild in g t r a d e s F ive d a y w eek in O ccu p a tion al t r e n d INDEX c Page C an e su gar refin in g la b o r p ro d u c tiv ity m easured b y in d e x n u m bers Cd nii6ri6S F r u it a n d veg etab le ch ild la b or in F ru it skin diseases a m on g em ployees in C arbon m o n o x id e P h y sio lo g ica l effects o f lo w co n ce n tra tio n s P o iso n in g d ia g n osis P o iso n in g E ye s ym p tom a tolog y T re a tm e n t C arpenters D enver a rb itra tio n o f C ata ra cts occu p ation a l s y m p to m a to lo g y Cem ent P o rtla n d See P o rtla n d cem en t C ensuses o f m an ufactures occu p ation a l data fr o m Censuses o f occu p ation s d a ta fr o m C h em ical p oison in g effect and tre a tm e n t C hem icals See E xp losiv es dyes an d ch em icals in d u stry C hild co s t o f b rin g in g u p C hild endow m en t b y the S ta te C h ild endow m en t See dso F a m ily a llow a n ces C hild l a b o r A ccid e n ts to m in ors A g ricu ltu re m ig ra tory w ork ers E x te n t and ch a ra cte r o f F ru it and vegetable ca n n eries H om e w o r k P o r to R ic o R e strictio n s on em p loym en t o f See also M in ors C iv il em ployees in U nited S tates N aval E stablishm ent w ages o f C laim s w ork m en s com p ensation a d m in istration and settlem en t o f C lay w ork ers trade unions See T r a d e u n io n s Glass and cla y w ork ers C lerks occ u p a tio n a l tre n d C loak and suit w ork ers strike N ew Y ork C loak sk irt and dress m akers B oston five day w eek Cloak sk irt dress and re e fe r m akers N ew Y o rk C ity five day w eek C lock and w a tch d ial p a in tin g in d u stry See R a d io a ctiv e su b sta n ces C loth H at Cap and M illin ery W ork ers In te rn a tio n a l U nion ed u ca tion a l w o r k o f C loth h a t and ca p in d u s t r y F ive d a y week in U nem ploym ent insurance fu n d C lo th in g in d u s t r y E m p loy m en t gu a ra n ty p lan C h ic a g o N ew Y o r k L a d ies C leveland a rb itra tio n o f M en s E m p loy m en t o f w om en a n d m en tre n d F ive d a y w eek in H ou rs and earnings in O ther than m en s five day w eek in C loth in g W ork ers o f A m erica A m algam ated ed u ca tion a l w o rk o f C oal d u st exp losion s rock d u st as a p re v e n tiv e o f C oal m in in g A ccid e n t r e c o rd A n th ra cite m ining hou rs and earnings B itu m in ou s coa l m in ing hou rs and earnings L a b or p ro d u c tiv ity m easured b y p h y sica l o u tp u t L a b o r tu rn o v e r C oal re ta il prices See R eta il p rices C odes See S a fe ty cod es C offee p lan ta tion s w ages P o rto R ic o C oke oven s a ccid en t re c o rd C ollective a g r e e m e n ts A cto rs b arga in in g b y F orm purpose developm ent e tc G u aran teed em ploym ent and in su ra n ce plan s th ro u g h V a c a tio n p rov is ion s in C olu m bia U n iversity la b ora tory rep ort o n tetra eth y l lead g a so lin e C om m ercial e d u ca tion s e rv ice C om m ercia l ed u ca tion U n ited S ta tes p r io r t o p assage o f F ed era l v o c a tio n a l edu ca tio n a c t C om m on b rick in d u stry la b or p r o d u c tiv ity m easured b y p h y sica l o u tp u t C om m on labor en tra n ce rates o f w a g es C om m onw ealth College M ena A r k C om pen sation scale w orkm en s com p en sation and in surance system s C o n cilia tio n tribu n a ls in w a g e cla im s u its C o n cilia tio n w ork U n ited S ta tes D ep a rtm en t o f L a b o r C on d u ctors and train m en o n eastern ra ilroa ds a rb itra tion o f C onsum ers coop era tiv e en terp rises C o n v ict la b or ex ten t and ch a r a c te r o f INDEX 821 C o o p e r a tio n P a ge B a n k in g an d cred it org a n iza tio n s C red it u n io n s H o u sin g In su ra n ce by org an ized la bor In su ra n ce field M ovem en t P h ilip p in e Isla n d s S t o r e s S ocieties in th e U nited S ta tes W ork sh op s co o p e ra tiv e C ost o f b rin g in g up a ch ild C ost o f l i v i n g P o r to R i c o U nited S tates tre n d U n ited S ta tes a n d fo re ig n cou n tries com p a rison C o tto n go o d s in d u s t r y E m p loy m en t o f w om en and m en tre n d L a b or p r o d u c tiv ity m easured b y p h y sica l o u tp u t M ills la b or tu rn o v e r in M ill villa ges h ook w orm d isease in A la b a m a a n d G eorg ia W a g es an d h ou rs o f la b o r in W ork in gm en s fa m ilies incom e aiid expen ditures C red it and b an k in g org an iza tion s co o p e ra tiv e C redit unions c o o p e ra tiv e D eath benefits trad e union See T r a d e u n io n s B enefits D efen d er in crim in a l cases system o f lega l a id w o r k D erm a titis lim e See Skin d isea ses D ia l p a in tin g in d u stry w a tch and clock See R a d io a ctiv e su b sta n ces D is a b ility benefits tra d e u n ion See T ra d e u n ion s B en efits D iseases in d u stria l See In d u s tria l diseases an d p oiso n s D u sts A b ra s iv e w h eels m a n u fa ctu re o f B ra ss fo u n d r ie s C oal d u st ex p losion s rock d u st as a p rev en tiv e o f E xp lo sio n h azard s in in d u strial p la n ts F u r c u ttin g and fe lt h a t m a n u fa ctu re L ead m o to r ca r p a in ters N ew South W a les M anganese g r in d in g p lan t V ir g in ia M ercu ry M in in g in d u stry du st elim in a tion en gin eerin g h ygien ic a sp e cts R o ck d ust as a p rev en tiv e o f coa l d u st exp lo sio n s T a n n in g in d u stry D yes See E xp losiv es dyes and ch em ica ls in d u stry E le c tr ic ra ilw a ys See R a ilr o a d s S treet ra ilw a y s E le c tr ic a l W ork ers G ia n t P ow er C o n feren ce E m ig ra tion P o r to R ic o E m ig ra tio n and im m igration P h ilip p in e Isla n d s U nited States s t a t is t ic s E m p loy m en t gu aran teed and in su ra n ce p lan s th rou gh c o lle c tiv e a gre e m e n ts E m p loy m en t o f w om en a n d m en tre n d E m p loym en t o ffic e s A ctiv itie s P h ilip p in e Isla n d s A s source o f s ta tis tic s E m ploym en t S ervice U nited States w o rk o f E m p loym en t sta tistics existin g sou rces a n d ch a ra cter o f E m ploym en t steam ra ilro a d s E m ploym en t tren d o f m a n u fa ctu rin g in d u stries E ngin eers an d firem en steam o cc u p a tio n a l tre n d E rdm an A c t o f E xp en d itu res and incom e w ork in gm en s fa m ilie s E x p lo siv es dyes an d ch em ica ls in d u s try a ccid en t re c o rd E xp lo sion s coa l d u st rock d u st as a p rev en tiv e o f E y e co n se rv a tio n in in d u s try E y e diseases s y m p to m a to lo g y in o cc u p a tio n a l diseases F a c t o r y in s p ection a ctiv itie s o f P h ilip p in e bu rea u o f la b o r F a c to r y w orkers sick lea ve w ith p a y F a m ily a llo w a n c e s A gricu ltu re fo re ig n cou n tries B elgium recen t d evelop m en ts F ra n ce recen t d ev elop m en ts F un ds fo re ig n c o u n trie s G erm any recen t d ev elop m en ts M ethods o f gra n tin g fo r e ig n co u n trie s M ovem en t begin n in g o f fo re ig n co u n trie s 822 INDEX F a m ily a llow a n ces C on tin u ed Tage P o p u la tio n p rob lem rela tion t o P riv a te in d u stry fo r e ig n cou n tries P u b lic em p loy m en t fo re ig n co u n trie s S ystem o f nu m ber o f p erson s em p loyed fo re ig n co u n trie s See also C hild en d ow m en t F a rm l a b o r D iv isio n o f U n ited S tates E m p loy m en t S e rv ice O ccu p a tion al t r e n d W ag e ra te s F a rm ers p ro p e rty in su ra n ce co o p e ra tiv e F a ta l a ccid en ts See A ccid e n ts F ed era l B o a r d fo r V o ca tio n a l E d u ca tio n org a n iza tio n a n d o b je c ts F ed era l G overnm ent service a ccid e n ts in F e lt h a t m an u fa ctu re See F u r c u ttin g a n d fe lt h a t m a n u fa ctu re F ilip in o la borers in H a w a ii F irem en a n d engineers steam o cc u p a tio n a l tre n d F ire w o r k s m an u fa ctu re p h osp h oru s n e c ro sis F ish erm en o cc u p a tio n a l tren d F ive d a y w e e k A m erican F ed era tion o f L a b or re so lu tio n o n s h o rte r w o r k w eek A m erica n in d u stry su m m a ry B ak eries b u ild in g trad es la u n d ries and p rin tin g a n d p u b lish in g Cloak sk irt and dress m akers B o s t o n C loak sk irt dress a n d reefer m akers N ew Y ork C ity C loth h a t an d cap in d u s try C loth in g trades oth er th a n m en s F ou n d ries and m achine siiop s F u r w ork ers N ew Y ork C hicago B o sto n Ir o n and steel in d u stry L a d ies ta ilo rs and cu stom dressm akers N ew Y ork C ity M en s c lo th in g in d u stry O p t io n a l P a p er box b oa rd in d u stry S um m er m on th s W a te rp r o o f w orkers cu tters pressers a n d b u tto n h o le m akers N ew Y ork C ity 816 W ith o u t red u ction in to ta l h ou rs F lo u r m illin g in d u stry la b or p ro d u c tiv ity m easured b y in d e x n u m bers F o o d reta il p rices See R eta il p rice s F o u n d ry a n d m ach in e s h o p s F iv e d a y w eek in W ages a n d h ou rs o f la b or in F ou n d ries b rass See B ra ss fo u n d r ie s F r u it ca n n eries See C an neries F r u it g r o w in g a n d pa ck in g w ages P o r t o R ic o Fum es h y d roflu oric effect o f See also G ases a n d fu m es F u r c u ttin g a n d fe lt h a t m an u fa ctu re o cc u p a tio n a l h a zard s F u r d y ein g in d u stry health hazards in the use o f in term ed ia te d yes F ur w ork ers Strike N ew Y ork F ive d a y w eek in G a rm en t in d u stry gu aran teed em p loym ent plan C levelan d G arm ent tra d es u n ion s See T ra d e u n ion s G arm ent w ork ers la dies un em p loym ent insurance fu n d N ew Y ork C ity G a rm en t W o rk e rs U n ion I n te rn a tio n a l L a d ie s e d u ca tio n a l a ctiv itie s Gas re ta il p rices See R e ta il p rice s G ases a n d f u m e s A rs e n ic trich lo rid e effects on w ork ers exp osed t o B en z ol o r benzene B ra ss fo u n d r ie s C arbon m o n o x id e C hem ical p oiso n in g E y e diseases F ire w o rk s m a n u fa ctu re F u r cu ttin g and fe lt h a t m a n u fa ctu re H yd roflu oric acid effects o f fu m es H yd rogen sulphide gas p o iso n in g Ir r ita n t gases M ercu ry p o iso n in g P h o to e n g ra vin g in d u stry T etra eth yl lea d gasolin e com m ittee rep ort U nited S tates P u b lic H ea lth S e rvice T e tra e th yl lead gasolin e la b o r a to ry rep ort C olum bia U n iv e r sity G asolin e tetraeth y l lead health hazard in use o f G overn m en t service F ederal a ccid en ts in G u aran ty o f em ploym ent and u n em p loym en t in surance plan s o f in d u stria l estab lish m en ts See also U n e m p lo y m e n t In su ra n ce G u idance v o ca tio n a l See V o ca tio n a l g u id a n ce G roup life insurance exp erien ce in the m etal tra d e s INDEX 823 H P age H a w a ii la b o r co n d itio n s in H a w a iia n H om es C om m ission w ork o f H ea d gea r w o r k e rs ed u ca tion a l p la n H e a rt disease in d u stria l a sp e cts H ea t and h u m id ity See Steam la u n d ries 628 H om e econ om ics e d u ca tion service H om e econ om ics tra in in g in U nited S ta tes p rio r to F ed era l v o c a tio n a l e d u ca tio n a c t H om e w ork in d u stria l o f ch ildren P h ila d elp h ia a n d N ew J e rse y H o m estea d a llotm en ts f o r sm all fa rm ers P o r to R ic o H o o k w o rm disease c o tto n m ill villa g es o f A la b a m a an d G e o rg ia H o s ie r y a n d un d erw ea r w a g es a n d hours o f la b or in See W a g es H o u rs H o u s in g B u ild in g p erm its in p rin cip a l cities U n ited States C h ica go sm a ll w a ge earners liv in g co n d itio n s C oop era tiv e h ou sin g s o cie tie s N ew Y ork la w P o r t o R ic o H o u s in g an d sa n ita tio n m ig ra to ry ch ild w ork ers in a g ric u ltu re H yd roflu oric a cid e ffe ct o f fu m es H yd rogen sulp hid e ga s p oiso n in g H u m id ity and heat See Steam la u n d rie s i I m m ig r a tio n M exican im m ig r a tio n M ovem en t in O ccu p a tion s o f im m igran ts a n d em ig ra n ts O rien ta l im m ig r a tio n P h ilip p in e Isla n d s e m ig ra tion and im m ig ra tion G6 Q u ota re s trictio n la w s Q u ota s a ct o f 1924 a n d a lien s a d m itted th ereu n d er S ta tistics 1820 to In com e and exp en d itu res w ork in gm en s fa m ilie s In d ex n u m b e r s E m ploym en t m eth od o f com p u tin g L a b or p ro d u c tiv ity a s m easurec1 b y R e ta il p rices o f fo o d m eth od s o f co n s tru c tin g W h olesa le prices m eth od o f com p u tin g In d u s tria l a ccid e n t com m ission s lega l a id w o r k o f In d u stria l diseases a n d p oison s recent stu dies o f In d u stria l W ork ers o f th e W o r l d M em bership S ch ool u n d er a u sp ices o f In d u s tria l and tra d e e d u ca tion se rv ice I n d u s tria l a n d tra d e ed u ca tion U n ited S ta tes p r io r t o pa ssag e o f F e d e ra l v o c a tio n a l ed u ca tion a c t In s titu te s su m m er la b o r In su ra n ce B en efit p lan s ty p es o f B y org a n ized la b o r C o o p e r a t iv e M ea t p a ck in g in d u s try gu aran teed tim e in P a p e r and n ov e ltie s com p any p lan o f P a p e r m ills gu aran teed fu ll tim e ea rn in gs in P lans typ e s o f R ailroa d em ployees discharged unem ploym ent com p ensation f o r S oa p m a n u fa ctu rin g p la n t g u a ra n teed em p loy m en t in S treet ra ilw a y s C h ica go agreem ent p r o v is io n s T e x tile fin ish in g establishm ents un em p loym ent sin k ing fu n d s in U nem ploym ent and gu aran teed em ploym ent throu gh c o lle ctiv e agreem ents U nem ploym ent a n d g u a ra n ty o f em p loym ent plan s o f in d u stria l esta b lish m en ts I n v e n t io n s E ffects o f u p on field o f w om en s em p loy m en t R ig h ts o f em p loy ees t o th e ir I r o n a n d s teel in d u s try A ccid e n t re c o rd N egro em p loym en t o f P en n sy lv a n ia steel in d u stry F iv e d a y w eek in L a b o r p ro d u c tiv ity m easured b y in d e x n u m bers O ccu p a tion a l tre n d W ag es and h ou rs o f la b o r in Ir r ita n t gases a c tio n o n re sp ira to ry tr a c t J u n ior d ivisio n o f th e U n ited S tates E m p loym en t S ervice K K n ig h ts o f L a b or m em bership INDEX L P age L a b or banks co n d itio n o f L a b o r c o n d it io n s H a w a ii P h ilip p in e Isla n d s P o r to R ic o L a b or in stitu tes sum m er L a b or org a n iza tion s an d un em p loym en t P h ilip p in e Isla n d s L a b or org a n iza tion s See also T ra d e u n ion s L a b o r p ro d u c tiv ity See P r o d u c tiv ity o f la b o r L a b or t u r n o v e r A m erica n in d u s try C auses o f C ost o f L a ce a n d la ce cu rta in in d u stries la b o r rela tion s in t h e L a d ies c lo th in g in d u stry C leveland a rb itra tio n o f See G arm ent w ork ers la dies L a d ies ga rm en t w ork ers L a d ies ta ilo r s and cu stom dressm akers five day w eek L aund ries steam See Steam la u n d ries L ead E x cr e tio n o f b y n orm a l p erson s P oison in g death s P oiso n in g m o to r ca r p a in ters re p o rt o f cases N ew S outh W ales P oison in g o cu la r L e a th e r i n d u s t r y L a b o r p ro d u c tiv ity m easured b y in d ex nu m bers O ccu p a tion a l tren d lea th er and shoe w ork ers See also B o o t and sh oe in d u s try L ea ve sick w ith pay See iSick lea ve w ith p a y L ega l a id o rg a n iza tio n s L egal a id w o r k in the U nited S ta tes L e g is la tio n F ed era l reg a rd in g ra ilro a d la b or disp u tes p rio r to W a tso n P a rk e r A c t o f L eg isla tion w ork m en s com p en sation p rog ress L ife in su ra n ce g rou p See G rou p life in su ra n ce L im e d erm a titis See S kin d isea ses L iq u or trade union s See T r a d e u n io n s F ood liq u o r e tc L iv in g co n d itio n s o f sm all w age ea rn ers in C h ica g o L ock ou ts See S trikes an d lo ck o u ts L u m b er in d u stry tra d e u n ion s See T r a d e u n io n s M in in g o il e tc M M a ch in e shops See F ou n d ry an d m a ch in e s h op s M angan ese p oison in g rep ort o f six ca ses M a n u fa ctu res cen suses o f o cc u p a tio n a l d a ta fr o m M a n u fa ctu rin g in d u stries em p loym en t in tre n d M ea t p a ck in g See S la u g h terin g and m eat p a ck in g M e d ia tio n b oard W a tson P a rk er A c t o f M ed ica l benefits w ork m en s com p en sation and in su ra n ce system s M en and w om en rela tiv e real w ages o f M en s c lo th in g in d u stry See C loth in g in d u stry M e rcu ry p o iso n in g M eta l m ines a ccid e n t r e c o r d M etal t r a d e s E x p erien ce w ith grou p life in su ra n ce O ccu p a tion a l t r e n d M eta llu rgica l in d u stry accid en t re c o rd M eth yl a lco h o l poison in g o cu la r sym p tom s M exica n s and N egroes in C hicago h ou sin g and liv in g c o n d itio n s M ig ra tio n o f the N egro M ig ra to ry ch ild w orkers in a g ricu ltu re M illin g flour See F lo u r m illin g M in in g in d u s t r y E n g in eerin g h y g ien ic a sp ects o f d u st e lim in a tio n In m in e s H ea lth h a z a r d s M iners co a l a n d iron o c c u p a tio n a l tre n d M inim u m w a g e la w s m en M inim um w a g e la w s w om en a n d m in ors M otor bus op era tors w ages and h ou rs o f M otor v eh icle in d u stry earnings a n d hou rs in N N a tion a l W om en s T ra d e U nion L eague tra in in g s c h o o l N aval E stablishm ent United S tates w ages o f c iv il em p loyees in N egro A d a p ta tio n to n orth ern in d u stria l co n d itio n s E m p loy m en t o f C levelan d O h io in d u stries P en n sy lv a n ia steel in d u s try P en n sy lv a n ia in d u stries R a ilroa d s a n d o th e r in d u strie s W est V irgin ia i n d u s t r i e s INDEX 825 N egro C on tin u ed P age H ou sin g a n d liv in g con d ition s C h ica go M ig ra tion o f V o ca tio n a l ed u ca tion o f in a g ric u ltu re N ew la n d s A c t o f 1913 ra ilro a d la b or d isp u tes N ew spapers W a sh in g ton D C a rb itra tio n o f N ickel refining c o n tr o l a n d trea tm en t o f nick el ra sh N ysta gm u s o cc u p a tio n a l ey e s y m p tom a tolog y o O ccu p a tion a l diseases u n d er w ork m en s com p en sation O c cu p a tio n a l d is t r ib u t io n P o p u la tio n g a in fu lly e m p loy ed W om en g a in fu lly em p loyed O ccu p a tion s a n d earnings P h ilip p in e Isla n d s O ccu p a tion s trend o f in the p op u la tion d a ta o f censuses Office w ork ers sick lea v e w ith p a y N ew Y o r k O il in d u s try tra d e u n ion s See T ra d e u n ion s O ld a ge p e n s io n s In d u s tria l p la n s S ta te la w s S ystem s n ow in fo rce cr iticism T rad e u n ion See T rad e un ion s B enefits W isco n sin and M on tan a la w s in op e ra tio n See also P en sion s O u tp u t p h y sica l See P r o d u c tiv ity o f la b o r p P a p e r a n d n ov elties com p an y un em p loym ent in su ra n ce p lan o f P a p e r and p ulp in d u stry la b o r p ro d u c tiv ity m easured by ind ex num bers P a p e r b ox b oa rd i n d u s t r y F iv e d a y w eek in L a b o r p ro d u c tiv ity m easured b y p h y sica l ou tp u t W ag es a n d h ou rs o f la b or in P aper m ills A ccid e n t re c o r d G u aran teed fu ll tim e ea rn in g s in P a y ro lls as s ou rce o f em p loy m en t s ta tis tic s P en sion s See O ld age pen sion s T ra d e u n ion s P e rso n a l a n d p ro fe s sio n a l service o c c u p a tio n a l tre n d P e tro leu m refining la b or p ro d u c tiv ity m easured by in d ex n u m bers P h ilip p in e I s la n d s B u rea u o f labor a c tiv itie s L a b o r c o n d itio n s an d re la tio n s in th e P h o sp h oru s n ecrosis in firew orks m a n u fa ctu re P h o to e n g ra v in g in d u stry h ea lth su rv ey P h y s ica l e x a m in a tio n S treet ra ilw a y em p loy ees W ork ers in in d u stria l e sta b lish m e n ts P ilo ts a sso cia tio n s co o p e ra tiv e P la n t em ployees p rog ra m s fo r tra in in g P o iso n s in d u strial See In d u stria l diseases and p o iso n s P o r tla n d cem ent in d u s t r y A c c id e n t re c o rd L a b o r p ro d u c tiv ity m easured by ind ex num bers P o r to R ic o la b or co n d itio n s in P o tte r s trade unions See T r a d e u n io n s G lass and c la y P o tte r y in d u stry la b o r p ro d u c tiv ity m easured b y p h y sica l o u tp u t P o tte r y in d u stry w ages a n d hou rs o f la b or in P rice s See R e ta il p r ic e s W h olesa le p rices P r in tin g t r a d e s F ive d a y w eek in H ea lth survey 1922 to H y g ie n ic co n d itio n s O ccu p a tion al t r e n d T rad e un ion s See T r a d e u n io n s P a p er p rin tin g e tc P riso n m a d e good s co m p e titio n o f P ro fe s s io n a l a n d p erson a l service o cc u p a tio n a l tren d P r o d u c tiv ity o f l a b o r M eaning o f M easured b y p h y sica l o u tp u t M easured b y in d e x nu m bers P u b lic H ea lth S ervice U nited S tates com m ittee re p o rt o n te tr a e th y l le a d g a so lin e P u b lic service trade unions See T ra d e u n ion s P ulp pap er and See P a p er and p u lp Q Q uarries a ccid e n t re c o rd Q uota im m igration See Im m ig ra tio n R R a d io a ctiv e substances use o f effects o n h ealth o f w o r k e rs R adium See R a d io a ctiv e su b sta n ces R a ilro a d la b or a c t o f R a ilro a d L abor B oard cre a tio n and fu n ctio n s o f 826 INDEX R a ilr o a d s P age E le c tr ic a ccid en t exp erien ce 1 923 an d N egro em p loym en t o f P ro d u ctiv ity o f la bor as m easured b y in d ex nu m bers Steam a ccid en ts a ll k inds experien ce 1888 to Steam em ployees earnings 1925 a n d S team em p loy m en t o n U n em p loy m en t com p en sa tion f o r d isch a rg ed em ployees R a ilw a y E m p loyees I n s titu te R a n d S ch ool fo r S o cia l S cien ce R efin in g cane sugar See C an e su gar refin in g R efin ing p etroleu m See P etroleu m refin in g R e h a b ilita tio n v o c a tio n a l See V o ca tio n a l e d u ca tio n R e ta il p r i c e s C oa l E le c tr ic ity D eterm in a tion o f Food H o w ob ta in ed In d ex num bers m eth od s o f co n stru ctin g U nited S tates G a s P h ilip p in e I s la n d s R o ck dust as a p rev en tiv e o f coa l d u st exp lo sio n s Rubber in d u stry a ccid en t r e c o rd R ubber tire in d u stry la b o r p ro d u c tiv ity m easured by in d e x nu m bers s S a fe ty codes n a tion a l developm ent o f S ailors occ u p a tio n a l tre n d S a n ita tio n a n d hou sin g m ig ra to ry ch ild w ork ers in a g ricu ltu re S aw m ills w ages and hou rs o f la b o r in S ch oolin g m ig ra to ry ch ild w ork ers in a g ric u ltu re Seam en w ages o f S h oe in d u stry See B o o t and sh oe in d u stry S ick benefits trade union See T rade un ion si B enefits S ick leave w ith p a y S ickness disablin g am on g in d u stria l em p loyees S ilk in d u stry la b o r tu rn o v e r in S k illed a n d u n sk illed w ork ers w a ges o f co m p a riso n diseases D e fe c ts caused b y v a rio u s su b sta n ces D erm a titis ro s sig n o l ta n n in g in d u s try D erm a tosis fr u it p o is o n in g fr u it ca n n eries L im e d erm a titis S la u g h terin g and m eat p a ck in g in d u s t r y G uaranteed tim e in L a b o r p ro d u c tiv ity m easured by index num bers W ages and h ou rs o f la bor in S m a ll cla im s cou rts le g a l a id w o r k S oap m a n u fa ctu rin g p lan t gu aran teed em ploym ent in S ta b iliza tion o f em p loym ent a n d un em ploym ent in su ra n ce S team engineers a n d firem en o cc u p a tio n a l tre n d S team la u n d r ie s F iv e d a y w eek in W o rk in g co n d itio n s upon h ea lth o f w ork ers effect o f S teel in d u stry See Ir o n a n d steel in d u stry See R a ilro a d s S team ra ilw a ys S tereotyp ers D e tro it a rb itra tio n o f S tre e t r a ilw a y s P h y sica l exa m in a tion o f em ployees C hicago agreem ent in su ra n ce p ro v isio n s E a s t S t L ou is and v ic in ity a rb itra tion o f E a stern M assa ch u setts a rb itra tio n o f S trik es a n d l o c k o u t s B enefit tra d e u n ion See T r a d e u n io n s B en efits P h ilip p in e Isla n d s strik es s ta tis tics U n ited S tates S u ga r in d u s t r y C ane sugar refining la b o r p ro d u c tiv ity as m easured b y in d e x n u m b ers W ag es in P o r t o R ic o S u its f o r d am ages u n d er w ork m en s com p en sa tion T T a n n in g in d u stry o c c u p a tio n a l d isease h a za rd s T ea m sters etc occ u p a tio n a l tre n d T e tra e th y l lea d ga solin e re p o rt o f C olum bia U n iv e rsity la b o r a t o r y T e tra e th y l lea d ga solin e re p o rt o f com m ittee a p p o in te d b y U n ite d S ta tes P u b lic H ea lth S ervice T e x t ile i n d u s t r y A ccid e n t r e c o r d O ccu p a tion al t r e n d Strike N ew J ersey T e x tile W ork ers In s titu te U nem p loym ent sin k in g fu n ds te x tile fin ish in g p la n ts T ire rubber See R u b ber tire in d u s try INDEX 827 T o b a cco tra d e u n ion s See T ra d e u n ion s F ood liq u or e tc Page T o b a cco p la n ta tion s w ages P o rto R ic o T ra d e a n d in d u s tria l e d u ca tion serv ice T ra d e a n d in d u s tria l ed u ca tion U n ited S tates p rior to passage o f F e d e ra l v o c a t io n a l ed u ca tion a c t T r a d e u n io n s B enefits D ea th D is a b ilit y S ick O u t of w ork S trike and lo c k o u t U n e m p lo y m e n t B o o t an d sh oe in d u stry m em bership etc B u ild in g trad es m em bership etc C loth in g trad es m em bership etc C olleges ch a ra cte ris tics o f F ood liqu or and to b a cc o in d u stries m em bership etc G a rm en t tra d es m em bership etc G la ss an d cla y in d u stries m em bership etc In d u stria l W ork ers o f the W o rld m em bership etc I n s u r a n c e K n ig h ts o f L a b or m em bership M eta ls a n d m a ch in ery in d u stries m em bership etc M ining oil a n d lu m b er in d u stries m em bership etc M iscellaneou s in d u stries m em bership O ld age p e n s io n s O rgan ization a n d m em bership A m erican P aper p rin tin g and b ook b in d in g ind ustries m em bership etc P u b lic s erv ice a n d am u sem ents m em bership etc T e x tile s and c lo th in g in d u stries m em bership etc T ra n s p o rta tio n in d u stry m em bership etc W o o d w o rk in g in d u stry m em bership etc W h ite c o l l a r u n io n s T ra in m en a n d co n d u cto rs o n ea stern ra ilroa d s a rb itra tio n o f T u r n o v e r o f la bor See L a b o r tu rn o v e r u U nd erw ear See H osiery a n d u n d erw ea r U n e m p lo y m e n t B enefits tra d e u n ion See T r a d e u n io n s B enefits D a ta o n In su ra n ce a n d s ta b iliz a tio n o f em p loy m en t P h ilip p in e I s la n d s S ta tistics va lu e o f d efin ite S urvey o f Colum bus O h io U nion H ea lth Center N ew Y o r k U nion rules and s ca rcity o f ap p ren tices U nion sca le o f w ages fo r tim e w ork ers U n iversity o f W iscon sin sum m er s ch o o l f o r w ork in g w om en U n sk illed an d s k illed w ork ers m on ey w a ges o f in te rn a tio n a l co m p a riso n V V a c a tio n s w ith p a y C in cin n a ti esta b lish m en ts p o lic y o f C o lle ctiv e a greem ents p ro v is io n s in N ew Y o r k fa cto rie s p o licie s o f S u rvey o f v a ca tio n p la n s V egeta ble ca n n eries See C an n eries V eteran s B ureau U n ited S ta tes re h a b ilita tio n w o r k o f V o ca tio n a l e d u c a t io n F ed era l a ct d evelop m en ts u n d er F ed era l B oa rd fo r org a n iza tion a n d o b je c ts E xp en d itu res f o r In v estig a tion s o f e a rly N egro in a g ric u ltu re U nited S tates p rio r to passage o f F ederal a c t R eh a bilitation C ivilia n v o c a tio n a l gu ida n ce as related to stu dy o f G row th o f w ork un der su p ervision o f F ed eral B o a r d W o rk o f U n ited S ta tes V etera n s B u rea u V o ca tio n a l gu ida n ce s tu d y o f as rela ted to civ ilia n v o c a tio n a l re h a b ilita tio n w W ages A n th ra cite m in in g ea rn in g s an d hou rs B itu m in ou s co a l m in in g ea rn in g s an d hours B o o t an d shoe in d u s try w a g es a n d hou rs B u ild in g in d u stry P o r t o R ic o C iv il em ployees un der U nited S ta tes N aval E sta blish m en t C laim s fo r un paid a ctiv itie s o f bureau o f labor P o r to R ic o C loth in g m en s w a ges a n d hou rs Coffee in d u stry P orto R ic o Com m on la bor en tra n ce rates C om parison o f skilled and un skilled w ork ers C otton good s in d u stry w ages and hours F arm labor rates 1910 t o J an uary 828 INDEX W ag es C on tin u ed Page F r u it g r o w in g a n d p a ck in g P o r t o R ic o F oun d ries and m achine shops w ages an d hours H osiery a n d u n d erw ear in d u stry w a ges and hou rs Ir o n and steel in d u stry w ages and hou rs M on ey w a g es m ovem en t o f 1922 to M otor b u s op era tors w a g e s and h ou rs M otor v eh icle in d u stry ea rn in g s a n d h ou rs P a p er b ox board in d u stry w ages a n d hours P a ym en t o f le g is la tio n P h ilip p in e Islands w ages and hours P o tte r y in d u stry w ages and hou rs R ea l I n te rn a tio n a l com p a rison o f M ovem en t o f 1922 to T ren d o f in te rn a tio n a l com p a rison 1914 to R ela tive o f m en an d w om en S aw m ills w ages a n d hours Seam en S la u g h terin g and m eat p ack ing w a ges a n d hou rs S team ra ilro a d em ployees ea rnings 1925 and Stu dies o f b y U S B ureau o f L a b or S ta tis tics S u ga r in d u stry P o r t o R ic o T o b a cco in d u stry P o r t o R ic o U n ion sca le f o r tim e w ork ers W om a n w ork ers hours and ea rn in gs W oolen and w orsted g ood s w ages and hou rs W a itin g tim e w ork m en s com p en sation an d in su ra n ce system W a tch and clock d ia l p a in tin g in d u stry See R a d io a ctiv e su b sta n ces W a te r p r o o f w ork ers cu tters pressers and b u tton h ole m akers five day w eek W a ts o n P a rk e r law o r R a ilro a d la b o r a ct o f W h olesa le p r i c e s In d e x num bers m eth od o f co m p u tin g P h ilip p in e Isla n d s w h olesa le a n d re ta il p rice s U n ited S tates A g ricu ltu ra l a n d n o n a g ricu ltu ra l com m od itie s T ren d 1801 to to U n ited S tates a n d fo r e ig n cou n tries 1913 to W om en in in d u s t r y A g e d istrib u tio n E m p loy m en t ex ten t o f E m p loy m en t o f w om en an d m en tre n d F a m ily sta tu s H ou rs o f w o r k N a tiv ity and race 1910 and N ew in v en tion s effects o f upon field o f w om en s em p loym en t O ccu p a tion a l d istrib u tio n P r o te c tiv e legisla tion f o r e la tiv e w ages o f m en and w om en R W a g es and e a rn in g s W om en s T ra d e U nion L eague N a tional See N ational W om en s T ra d e U nion L eagu e W o o d w o rk in g c r a fts o cc u p a tio n a l tre n d See T ra d e u n ion s W o o d w o rk in g in d u stry tra d e u n ion s W oolen and w o r ste d g ood s in d u stry w a ges and h ou rs o f la bor in W oolen a n d w o rste d m ills tren d o f em p loy m en t o f w om en a n d m en W o rk P eop le s C ollege D u lu th W ork ers E d u ca tion B u rea u W ork ers ed u ca tion in th e U nited S ta tes W o rk e rs H ea lth B ureau N ew Y ork C ity W o rk e rs p rod u ctiv e s ocieties co o p e ra tiv e W o rk e rs S chool N ew Y ork C ity o f W ork ers C om m u n ist P a r ty W ork in g m en s fa m ilies in com e and exp en d itu res o f W ork m en s C ircle s ch ools a n d s tu d en ts W ork m en s c o m p e n s a t io n A ccid e n t rep ortin g an d p re v e n tio n A d m in istra tio n and settlem en t o f cla im s C om pen sation sca le C om pen sation a n d in su ra n ce system s co m p a riso n E le c tio n L e g isla tio n N atu re o f la w s P rog ress o f M ed ical benefits N on resid en t alien dep en d en ts O ccu p a tio n a l diseases R e co g n itio n o f p rin c ip le S cop e o r co v e ra g e S uits fo r d am ages W a itin g tim e See W oolen and w orsted go o d s W o rste d good s LIST OF BULLETINS OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS The following is a list o f all bulletins o f th e Bureau o f Labor Statistics published since July 1912 except that in th e case o f bulletins giving th e results o f periodic surveys o f th e bureau o n ly th e latest bulletin o n a n y o n e su b ject is here listed A co m p lete list o f th e reports and bulletins issued prior to July 1912 as well as th e bulle tins p u blish ed since th at date will b e furnished o n application Bulletins marked thus are o u t o f p rin t Wholesale Prices N o 284 In d ex nu m bers o f w h olesa le p rices cou n tries N o W h olesa le p rices 1890 to 1925 in th e U n ited S ta tes and fo re ig n Retail Prices and Cost of Living No No No N o N o N o N o S ugar p rices fr o m refiner t o con su m er W h ea t an d flou r p rices fro m fa rm e r t o con su m er B u tter p rices fr o m p ro d u ce r to con sum er F o re ig n fo o d p rice s as a ffected b y th e w a r C ost o f liv in g in th e U n ited S tates T h e use o f co s t o f liv in g figures in w a g e a d ju stm en ts R e ta il p rices 189 0 to 1925 Wages and Hours of Labor No 146 W ages an d re g u la rity o f em p loy m en t and s ta n d a rd iza tio n o f p iece ra tes in the d ress a n d w a is t in d u s try o f N ew Y o rk C ity No 147 W ages and re g u la rity o f em p loy m en t in th e cloa k suit an d sk irt in d u s try N o 161 W ages an d h ou rs o f la b or in th e clo th in g a n d cig a r in d u strie s 1911 t o 1913 N o 163 W a g es a n d h ou rs o f la b or in th e b u ild in g and re p a irin g o f stea m ra ilroa d ca rs 1907 to No 190 W ag es and h ou rs o f la b o r in th e co tto n w oo le n an d silk in d u stries 1907 to 1914 N o 204 S treet ra ilw a y em p loy m en t in th e U n ited S tates N o 225 W ages an d h ou rs o f la b o r in th e lum ber m illw o rk a n d fu r n itu re in d u strie s 1915 N o 265 In d u s tria l s u rv ey in s elected in d u stries in th e U n ited S ta tes 1919 N o 297 W ag es and h ou rs o f la b o r in th e p etroleu m in d u stry 1920 N o 348 W ag es a n d h ou rs o f la b or in th e a u tom ob ile in d u s try 1922 N o 356 P r o d u c tiv ity co s ts in the com m on b rick in d u stry N o 358 W ages an d h ou rs o f la b o r in th e a u tom ob ile tire in d u s try 1923 N o 360 T im e a n d la b o r co s ts in m a n u fa ctu rin g 100 p a irs o f shoes N o 365 W ag es a n d h o u rs o f la b o r in th e p a p er a n d p u lp in d u s try 1923 N o 371 W ages a n d h ou rs o f la b o r in c o tto n g o o d s m a n u fa ctu rin g 1924 N o 374 W ages and h ou rs o f la b o r in th e b o o t and shoe in d u s try to 1924 N o 376 W a g es a n d h ou rs o f la b or in th e h o s ie ry an d u n d erw ea r in d u s try t o 1924 N o 377 W ag es a n d h ou rs o f la b o r in w oolen an d w o rste d g o o d s m a n u fa ctu rin g 1924 N o 381 W ag es a n d h ou rs o f la b o r in th e iro n a n d steel in d u s try 1 907 to 1924 No 394 W ag es a n d h ou rs o f la b or in m e ta llife ro u s m ines 1924 N o 407 L a b or co s t o f p ro d u c tio n an d w a g es a n d h ou rs o f la b o r in t h e p a p e r b oxboard in d u stry N o 412 W ages h ou rs a n d p r o d u c tiv ity in th e p o tte r y in d u stry 1925 N o 413 W ages a n d h ou rs o f la b o r in th e lu m b er in d u s try in th e U n ited S tates 1925 N o 416 H ou rs a n d e a rn in g s in a n th ra cite a n d bitu m in ou s co a l m in in g 1922 and 1924 N o 421 W ag es a n d h o u rs o f la b or in th e sla u g h terin g a n d m e a t p a ck in g in d u stry 1925 N o 422 W a g es a n d h o u r s o f la b o r in fo u n d rie s and m ach in e sh op s 1925 N o 431 U n ion s ca le o f w a g es an d h ou rs o f la bor M a y N o 435 W a g es a n d h o u rs o f la b o r in th e m en s clo th in g in d u stry 1911 t o 1926 Employment and Unemployment No 109 S ta tistics o f un em p loym en t and the w o rk o f em p loy m en t offices in th e U nited S tates N o 172 U n em p loy m en t in N ew Y o rk C ity N Y No 183 R e g u la rity o f e m p loy m en t in th e w om en s rea d y to w e a r g a rm en t ind ustries No 195 U n em p loy m en t in the U n ited S tates N o 196 P roceed in g s o f th e E m p loy m en t M a n a gers C on feren ce h e ld a t M in n eap olis M in n J a n u a ry No 202 P roceed in g s o f th e con feren ce o f E m p loy m en t M a n a gers A ss o cia tio n B o s ton M ass h eld M a y No 206 T h e B ritis h system o f la b or exch a n g es No 227 P roceed in gs o f th e E m p loy m en t M a n a gers C on feren ce P h ila d e lp h ia P a A p ril 2 a n d i Employment and Unemployment C on tin u ed N o 235 E m p loy m en t system o f th e L a k e C a rriers A ss o cia tio n No 241 P u b lic em p loy m en t offices in th e U n ited S tates N o 247 P roceed in gs o f E m p loy m en t M a n a gers C on feren ce R och ester N Y t M a y N o 310 I n d u s tria l u n e m p lo y m e n t A s ta tis tica l stu d y o f its e x te n t and causes N o 409 U n em p loy m en t in C olum bus O hio 1921 to 1925 Proceedings of Annual Meetings of International Association of Public Employment Services N o 192 F irs t C h ica go D ecem ber 19 an d S econd In d ia n a p o lis Septem ber 24 and T h ird D e tro it J u ly 1 a n d N o 220 F o u rth B u ffa lo N Y J u ly 20 and N o 311 N in th B u ffa lo N Y Septem ber N o 337 T en th W a sh in g ton D C Septem ber N o 355 E lev en th T o ro n to C an ada S eptem ber N o 400 T w e lfth C h ica go 111 M a y N o 414 T h irteen th R och ester N Y S eptem ber Women and Children in Industry N o 116 H on rs ea rn in g s a n d d u ra tion o f em p loym en t o f w a g e e a rn in g w om en in selected in d u stries in th e D is tr ic t o f C olu m bia P ro h ib itio n o f n ig h t w o rk o f y o u n g p ersons T e n h o u r m axim u m w ork in g d a y fo r w om en an d y o u n g p erson s W o rk in g h ou rs o f w om en in th e pea ca nn eries o f W isco n sin E m p loy m en t o f w om en in p o w e r la u n d ries in M ilw aukee H ou rs ea rn in g s and co n d itio n s o f la b o r o f w om en in In d ia n a m e rca n tile esta b lish m en ts an d ga rm en t fa cto rie s No 167 M inim um w a g e le g is la tio n in th e U n ited S ta tes a n d fo re ig n co u n trie s No 175 S um m ary o f th e re p o rt on c o n d itio n o f w o m a n a n d ch ild w a g e ea rn ers in th e U n ited S tates No 176 E ffe ct o f m in im u m w a g e d eterm in a tion s in O regon No 180 T h e b o o t an d shoe in d u stry in M a ssa ch u setts as a v o c a tio n fo r w om en No 182 U n em p loy m en t a m on g w om en in d ep a rtm en t a n d o th e r re ta il sto re s o f B oston M ass N o 193 D ressm a k in g as a tra d e f o r w om en in M assa ch u setts N o 215 In d u s tria l ex p erien ce o f tra d e sch ool g irls in M a ssa ch u setts No 217 E ffe ct o f w ork m en s com p en sa tion la w s in d im in ish in g th e n e ce ss ity o f in d u s tria l em p loy m en t o f w om en an d ch ild ren No 223 E m p loy m en t o f w om en a n d ju v e n ile s in G reat B rita in d u rin g th e w a r N o 253 W om en in t h e le a d in d u stries N o No No No N o Workmen s Insurance and Compensation including laws relating thereto No No No N o No N o N o 243 N o 301 N o 312 N o 379 No 423 C are o f tu b ercu lou s w a g e ea rn ers in G erm any B ritis h n a tio n a l in su ra n ce a ct 1911 Sickness and a ccid e n t in su ra n ce la w o f S w itzerla n d L a w r e la tin g t o in su ra n ce o f sa la ried em ployees in G erm a n y C om p en sa tion f o r a ccid en ts t o em ployees o f th e U n ited S tates P roceed in g s o f th e con feren ce on s o cia l in su ra n ce ca lle d b y th e In te rn a tio n a l A s s o cia tio n o f In d u s tria l A ccid e n t B oard s a n d C om m ission s W a sh in g to n D C D ecem b er W ork m en s com p en sa tion le g is la tio n o f th e U n ited S ta te s a n d fo re ig n co u n tries 1 917 a n d 1918 C om p a rison o f w ork m en s com p en sation in su ra n ce a n d a d m in is tra tio n N a tio n a l h ea lth in su ra n ce in G reat B rita in 1911 to 1920 C om p a rison o f w ork m en s com p en sa tion la w s o f th e U n ited S ta tes as o f J a n u a ry W ork m en s com p en sa tion le g is la tio n o f th e U n ited S ta te s a n d C anada Proceedings of Annual Meetings of the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions No N o N o No N o N o N o N o N o N o N o N o T h ird C olum bus O h io A p ril F ou rth B o sto n M ass A u g u st F ifth M a d ison W is Septem ber S ixth T o ro n to C an ada S eptem ber Seventh San F ra n c is co C alif S eptem ber E ig h th C h ica go 111 S eptem ber N inth B a ltim ore M d O ctob er T en th St P a u l M in n S eptem ber E lev en th H a lifa x N ova S cotia A u gu st In d e x t o p roceed in g s T w e lfth S a lt L a k e C ity U tah A u g u st T h irte e n th H a rtfo rd C onn S eptem ber I n p re ss Industrial Accidents and Hygiene No 104 L ea d p o iso n in g in p otteries tile w ork s an d p orcela in en a m eled s a n ita ry w a re fa cto rie s No 120 H y g ien e o f th e p a in ters tra d e No 127 D a n g ers to w ork ers fro m d u s t an d fum es and m eth od s o f p ro te ctio n No 141 L ea d p oison in g in the s m eltin g a n d refin in g o f lead No 157 In d u s tria l a ccid en t sta tistics No 165 L ea d p o ison in g in th e m a n u fa ctu re o f s tora g e b atteries No 179 In d u stria l p oison s used in th e ru bber in d u stry TO Industrial Accidents and Hygiene Continued No 188 R e p o rt o f B r itis h d ep a rtm en ta l com m ittee o n th e d a n ger in th e use o f lead in th e p a in tin g o f b uild in gs N o 201 R e p o rt o f com m ittee o n s ta tis tics a n d com p en gation in su ra n ce c o s t o f the In te rn a tio n a l A ss o cia tio n o f In d u s tria l A ccid e n t B o a rd s a n d C om m issions N o 207 C au ses o f d ea th b y o ccu p a tion No 209 H yg ien e o f th e p rin tin g trades N o 2 19 In d u s tria l p oison s used o r p rod u ced in th e m a n u fa ctu re o f e xp losiv es N o 221 H ou rs fa tig u e a n d h ea lth in B ritis h m u n ition fa cto rie s N o 230 In d u stria l efficien cy an d fa tig u e in B ritis h m u n ition fa cto rie s No 231 M o r ta lity fr o m resp ira tory diseases in d u s ty tra d es in o rg a n ic d u s ts N o 234 S a fe ty m ovem en t in th e iro n and steel in d u s try 1907 t o No 236 E ffects o f th e a ir ham m er on th e han d s o f sto n e cu tte rs N o 249 In d u s tria l h ea lth an d efficiency F in a l re p o rt o f B ritis h H e a lth o f M u n ition W ork ers C om m ittee No 251 P rev en ta b le death in th e co tto n m a n u fa ctu rin g in d u stry N o 256 A ccid e n ts a n d a ccid e n t p rev en tion in m a ch in e b u ild in g N o 267 A n th ra x a s an o cc u p a tio n a l disease N o 276 S ta n d a rd iza tion o f in d u strial a ccid e n t sta tis tics N o 280 In d u s tria l p oiso n in g in the m ak in g o f coa l ta r d yes and d y e in term ed ia tes N o 291 C arbon m on oxid e p oison in g N o 293 T h e p rob lem o f d u st p h th isis in th e g r a n ite sto n e in d u stry N o 298 C au ses a n d p rev en tion o f a ccid en ts in th e iron a n d steel in d u stry 191 0 to 1919 N o 306 O ccu p a tion a l ha zard s and d ia g n os tic s ig n s A g u id e to im p a irm en ts to be look ed fo r in h a zard ou s o ccu p a tio n s N o 339 S ta tis tic s o f in d u stria l a ccid e n ts in th e U n ite d S tates N o 392 S u rv ey o f h y g ien ic c o n d itio n s in th e p rin tin g tra d es N o 405 P h os p h oru s n ecrosis in th e m a n u fa ctu re o f firew ork s a n d in th e p re p a ra tio n o f p h osp h oru s N o 425 R e co rd o f in d u s tria l a ccid e n ts in th e U n ite d S ta tes t o 1925 N o 426 D ea th s fro m lead p oison in g N o 427 H ea lth su rv ey o f th e p rin tin g trad es 1 922 to 1925 N o 428 P roceed in g s o f the In d u stria l A ccid e n t P re v e n tio n C on feren ce held a t W a sh in g ton D C J u ly Conciliation and Arbitration including strikes and lockouts No 124 C o n cilia tio n a n d a rb itra tio n in th e b u ild in g tra d e s o f G re a te r N ew Y ork No 133 R ep ort o f th e in d u s tria l co u n cil o f t h e B ritis h B o a r d o f T ra d e o n it s in q u iry in to in d u stria l agreem ents No 139 M ich ig a n cop p er d is t r ic t strike N o 144 In d u s tria l co u rt o f th e cloa k su it and s k ir t in d u s try o f N ew Y o r k C ity J N o 145 C on cilia tion a rb itra tio n and s a n ita tion in th e dress an d w a is t in d u s try o f N ew Y o rk C ity No 191 C ollectiv e b a rg a in in g in th e a n th ra cite co a l in d u stry No 198 C ollectiv e a greem en ts in th e m en s c lo th in g in d u stry N o 233 O peration o f th e in d u s tria l d isp u tes in v e stig a tio n a ct o f C an ada N o 255 J o in t in d u s tria l cou n cils in G rea t B rita in N o 283 H is to ry o f th e S h ip bu ild in g L a b o r A d ju s tm e n t B oard 1 917 t o 1919 N o 287 N a tion a l W a r L a b o r B oa rd H isto ry o f its fo rm a tio n a ctiv itie s e tc N o 303 U se o f F ed era l p o w e r in settlem en t o f ra ilw a y la b or d isp u tes N o 341 T ra d e a greem ent in th e silk rib b on in d u s try o f N ew Y o r k C ity N o 402 C ollectiv e b a rg a in in g b y a cto rs N o 419 T ra d e agreem ents 1925 Labor Laws of the United States including decisions of courts relating to labor N o N o N o N o No N o N o L a b o r la w s an d th e ir a d m in istra tion in th e P a cific S ta tes W ag e p a ym en t leg isla tion in th e U n ited S tates M inim um w a g e leg isla tion in th e U n ited S tates L a b or la w s th a t h a ve been d ecla red u n con stitu tio n a l K a n sa s C ou rt o f In d u stria l R ela tion s L a w s p r o v id in g f o r bureaus o f la b or s ta tis tics e tc L a b or law s o f th e U n ited S tates w ith d ecisio n s o f co u rts re la tin g thereto N o 408 L a w s re la tin g to th e p a ym en t o f w ages N o 417 D ecision s o f co u rts a n d o p in ion s a ffe ctin g la bor 1925 N o 434 L a b o r le g is la tio n o f 1926 Foreign Labor Laws No 142 A d m in is tra tio n o f la b or la w s and fa c t o r y in sp e ctio n in ce r ta in cou n tries E urop ean Vocational and Workers Education No 159 S h ort u n it cou rses f o r w a g e earners a n d a fa c t o r y s ch o o l experim ent No 162 V o ca tio n a l ed u ca tion su rv ey o f R ich m on d V a N o 199 V o ca tio n a l ed u ca tion su rv ey o f M in n eap olis M inn N o 271 A d u lt w o rk in g cla s s ed u ca tion in G reat B rita in and th e U n ited States I ll Safety Codes N o 331 C ode o f lig h tin g fa cto rie s m ills a n d o th e r w o rk p laces N o 336 S a fe ty cod e f o r the p ro te ctio n o f in d u s tria l w o rk e rs in fo u n d rie s N o 350 S p ecifica tion s o f la b o r a to ry tests fo r a p p ro v a l o f e le ctric h e a d lig h tin g d e v ic e s fo r m o to r veh icles N o 351 S a fe ty cod e f o r th e co n stru c tio n care a n d use o f la dd ers N o 364 S a fe ty cod e f o r th e m ech a n ica l p ow er tra n sm ission a p p aratu s N o 375 S a fe ty cod e f o r la n u d ry m a ch in ery and op e ra tio n s N o 378 S a fe ty cod e f o r w o o d w o rk in g plan ts N o 382 C ode o f lig h tin g sch o o l build in gs N o 410 S a fe ty co d e f o r p a p er and p ulp m ills N o 430 S a fe ty co d e f o r p ow er presses a n d fo o t a n d h a n d presses N o 433 S a fety cod e fo r th e p rev en tion o f d u s t exp losion s N o 436 S a fe ty co d e f o r th e use ca re a n d p ro te ctio n o f a b ra s iv e w h eels Industrial Relations and Labor Conditions N o N o N o N o N o N o N o N o In d u s tria l u n rest in G reat B rita in C hinese m ig ra tion s w ith sp ecia l referen ce t o la b o r co n d itio n s In d u s tria l re la tio n s in the W est C oast lum ber in d u s try L a b or re la tio n s in th e F a irm o n t W V a b itu m in o u s co a l field P o s tw a r la b or co n d itio n s in G erm any W ork s co u n cil m ovem en t in G erm any L a b or co n d itio n s in th e sh oe in d u stry in M a ssa ch u setts 1920 t o 1924 L a b or rela tion s in t h e la ce a n d la ce cu rta in in d u strie s in th e U n ite d S ta te s Welfare Work No 123 E m p loy ers w e lfa re w ork N o 222 W elfa re w o rk in B ritish m u n ition s fa cto rie s No 250 W e lfa re w ork f o r em ployees in in d u s tria l esta b lish m en ts S tates in th e U n ited Cooperation N o 313 C on su m ers co o p e ra tiv e s ocieties in th e U n ited S ta te s in 1920 N o 314 C oop era tiv e cr e d it s ocieties in A m erica an d in fo r e ig n co u n trie s No 437 C oop era tiv e m ovem en t in th e U n ited S ta tes in 1925 o t h e r th a n a g ric u l t u r a l Housing No 158 G ov ern m en t a id to hom e o w n in g and h ou sin g o f w o r k in g p eop le in fo re ig n cou n tries N o 263 H ou sin g b y em p loyees in th e U n ited S tates N o B u ild in g op e ra tio n s in rep resen ta tiv e c itie s in 1920 N o 4 24 B u ild in g p erm its in t h e p rin c ip a l cities o f th e U n ite d S ta tes 1925 Proceedings of Annual Conventions of the Association of Governmental Labor Officials of the United States and Canada N o N o No N o N o N o N o Seventh S eattle W ash J u ly E ig h th N ew O rleans L a M a y N inth H a rrisb u rg P a M a y T en th R ich m on d V a M a y E lev en th C h ica go III M a y T w e lfth S a lt L a ke C ity U tah A u g u st T h irte e n th C olu m bus O hio J u n e Miscellaneous Series No 174 S u b ject in d e x o f th e p u b lica tio n s o f th e U n ited S ta tes B u re a u o f L a b o r S ta tis tics u p to M a y N o 208 P ro fit sh a rin g in th e U n ited S ta tes N o 242 F o o d s itu a tio n in ce n tr a l E u rop e 1917 N o 254 In te rn a tio n a l la b o r leg isla tion a n d th e s o cie ty o f n a tio n s N o 268 H isto rica l su rv ey o f in te rn a tio n a l a ctio n a ffe ctin g la b o r N o 282 M u tu al r e lie f a ss o cia tio n s a m on g G ov ern m en t em p loy ees in W a sh in g to n D C N o 299 P erson n el resea rch agen cies A gu id e t o o rg a n ize d resea rch in e m p lo y m e n t m an agem ent in d u s tria l rela tion s tra in in g a n d w o r k in g co n d itio n s N o 319 T h e B u rea u o f L a b o r S t a t is t ic s Its h isto ry a ctiv itie s a n d o rg a n iza tio n N o 326 M eth od s o f p ro cu rin g and com p u tin g s ta tis tica l in fo rm a tio n o f th e B ureau o f L a b o r S ta tistics r i9 2 3 N o 342 In te rn a tio n a l S eam en s U n ion o f A m e r ic a A s tu d y o f its h is to r y a n d p ro b lem s N o 346 H u m a n ity in gov ern m en t N o 372 C on v ict la b o r in 1923 N o 386 T h e co s t o f A m erica n a lm shouses N o 398 G row th o f lega l aid w o r k in th e U n ited S tates N o 401 F a m ily a llo w a n ce s in fo re ig n cou n tries N o 420 H a n d b ook o f A m erica n tra d e u n ion s IV